HELLO!!!! Thank you for the wonderful update, “dod”!! You’re great, but you know that already.
Thank you for sending on Camille’s wedding announcement. Congrats to her for the thousandth time!!! yay weddings!!! eternal families!!!!!!!!! What a blessing!!!! yayayaya!!!!
I have not seen the TGIfridays here, but I have heard of it... never been, don’t care to go.
AH!!! E. Abbott gets home is 9 days!!!!!! I am happy that you are going to his homecoming. Tell that family hello for me.
YES! I got a new camera today. It isn’t the one that I would normally get, but they were very limited on their selection. They had like, 2. So I got one of them. At first, my card wasn’t working, and so I had to go and take out the money from a cajero, and so I carried around some cash. I hate spending money. If I didn’t take so many pictures, I wouldn’t have bought it, but whatever. Thank you for putting the money into my account. Also, I didn’t have time to take my 8 month marker picture, so I will send that next week. Sorry to disappoint.
Wow, I have a hard time believing that I have 8 months. It’s especially weird because I have pretty much been with Hermana G the whole time, or for at least... 6 months of it. It’s crazy. I guess I am supposed to be super close with her :), which I don’t mind. She’s funny.
Mom, thank you for the recipe. I am glad you attached it to this email. Man, we’re gonna be making that real soon. I actually was thinking about those the other day. Ah, I love your cookies, good stuff.
Also, I read that talk from E. Holland. -- Good man. I enjoyed it. Thank you for that link :) (Jan. 15th - MTC devotional talk about missionaries investing in the work.)
And also, I have heard about them, only from Brent. He told me that his cousin is one of the pilot missions and has them. Have you heard anything about us getting them? Why not Riss's mission? I hope we don’t get them. It seems unnecessary. Buy more copies of The BOOK OF MORMON instead. We’re always short on those here. Those change people's lives, not iPads. Feel free to send that sentence to the prophet ;) haha
• What was your best thing you ate this week? Well...... we’ve been limited on food this week. I will tell you the story in a bit, but we did have some ice cream that was super good. Also, I have been on a yogurt and oatmeal kind of diet. Just because I love them both so much. I love them. OH!!!! We had come fresh cookies, and those were really great. I loved them. Also, this nice lady always makes us fresh juice. Yum!!!! I love the juice here, it’s so fresh and delicious. ONE MORE THING! There are these candies here called trululus, and I love them! I am eating them, as we speak. They are like peach-ios, but strawberries, they are so addicting. I eat them a lot, kinda – I would eat them more if I could and wasn’t so worried about cavities. Those things are packed full of sugar, but so great. Love those. Maybe I will send some home for you to try.
• What was the worst thing you ate? Well... I would have to say yogurt, or oatmeal. The yogurt that I had was warm, and the oatmeal was flavored gross. We tried to flavor it with syrup and cinnamon, not super great, but we were on short supply of items to flavor oatmeal with...
• Have you tried something new on your mission that we don't have back home? Yeah, we eat this type of rice, and I really like it. I will for sure make it for you when we get home. Also, we have fried plantains. I do love those!! One thing that we don’t have back home (thank goodness) is Habituelas con dulce, or sweet beans. Super gross. But we do eat beans a lot, and I don’t like those. You can’t be picky yourself. I have to just suck it up and be a man.
• Did you like it? The beans were NASTY!. Never eating those again, so gross. I think mom would even hate it.
But yeah!!! I am going to tell you about my week now. Not much happened, but whatever. :)
Ok, so last Sunday, our ice box froze over big time. It was super icy, and annoying because we couldn’t use it. Super annoying. So, Herm B. decided to knock off the ice from the box, and in doing so, she ruptured one of the valve things. All of a sudden, a lot of smoke and stuff came from the freezer... but hey, the ice was gone! Anyways, we kept the food in the fridge because we figured that the piece of gum would stop the leak from the freezer. Not true, by the end of Monday, the fridge was warm. Uh oh. We told the elders and went to bed. We cooked all of our chicken, so it wouldn’t go bad, and we worked on eating our yogurt that we had just bought. Turns out that our fridge was broken. We would buy ice and put it in for the stuff that needed to be cold, but ice only lasts so long on an island. The fridge started to smell really bad. There were already flies getting in, and making it their home. We just kept things covered, next to the bags of ice. It worked for a bit, but then one day, I think it was Friday morning, I go to the fridge to eat a piece of left over pizza. I open the fridge, and I see little tiny worms all over. NOPE! They were not worms, they were MAGGOTS! All over in our fridge that already smelled like poop. Yuck. Kinda grossed me out a bit. Not super a lot, because our house is already pretty unsanitary (but no worries, I have not gotten sick-- yet!) and so Herm B. cleaned it out, and the house still smells pretty bad. We still had a bit of food left. We threw a lot of our original food away, but there were a few things that we couldn’t part with, like the yogurt. So, we bought another bag of ice, cleaned out the metal sink, and made our own little fridge. It was nice.
We still don’t have a fridge. So....... I guess we’ll have to not buy stuff for the fridge. That’s too bad, cuz I really love yogurt. And it’s not normal yogurt. It’s all drinkable stuff. Ah, I like it.
The other night our district leader called us. The other 2 herms in the house had been having really bad numbers. Like, 3 lessons a week-type of bad numbers. And he didn’t know why. So we told him H. G. was sick, and she hurts a lot, and all that stuff. Then, he goes on to tell us that we are really great missionaries. That "All of the other herms in the zone have really been struggling," but we’ve been doing really well. So that made us feel happy. We really are having a lot of success, and a lot of fun. I love it, because I didn’t think a mission would be this fun. Can’t complain. I have a great companion. I really love Herm B. But next week, we are going to try to get a lot a lessons in, it’ll be our "week of excellence" where we DOMINATE! I am excited. You know how I love to dominate at everything. :) I will let you know how it goes. Next week, I guess...
I HAVE EIGHT MONTHS ON A MISSION! Time flies. So sad.
So A is really progressing. I love her so much. We have a FHE with her tonight, and we’re excited about that. She’s getting excited to get baptized. She told us that she wanted to come to Utah when we get back, so we could introduce her to the prophet. I will have to take some pictures tonight with my new camera, so you can "meet her" and see how adorable she is.
Also, there is the menos activa in our area named E. She’s the best. The only reason that she is MA is because she had surgery on her mouth - so half of her mouth is gone, and she’s not allowed to leave her house. So we talked with her, and I love her. She’s the funniest Dominican lady I have ever met. She has such a zeal for life, or a zest as mom would probably say. Ah, so much love for that lady.
So we dropped this lady a while ago because she wasn’t showing much interest. Then, her sister comes up to us the other day, and chews us out, so we decided to go back. We go to N's house, and she is there, so we climb up to her small house, on some really steep and thin stairs. I honestly don’t know how these old ladies climb, especially when they are overweight. It’s a talent for sure. Anywho, we go into her house and she asks us if we can help her paint her nails. SERVICE! So we did. We chat for a bit, and laugh and talk about life. Then, we had a really spiritual lesson about the Book of Mormon. It was super filled with the spirit. No tears, but the spirit was there. She opened up to us and told us about her difficult life, and all that stuff. We told her the BOM could help her, and just yeah, great lesson! She had 2 of her daughters (probably granddaughters) on their small bed, and one of them was super restless, but they were sleeping, and all of the sudden, the big girl, who is restless, mutters, "quiero refresco"- which translates, "I want a soda" and then lets a HUGE FART out! It lasted about 5 seconds. It was by far the BIGGEST fart I have ever heard coming from a 5 year old. We all looked at each other, and then just laughed for a long time. I think that really bonded us. We kept talking about the power of her gas... and then we’d bring it back to the spirit, but it’s hard to focus and not crack a smile when it repeats in your head a gazillion times. :) hhhhahhhahah. I love the mission. And potty humor. Definitely get that from dad :)
We also MIGHT have a baptism this week. I say might because this girl, N., has had a date before, and she failed, so... we’ll see. I think she will, but she could back out. She backed out the day of-last time, when I wasn’t here. So... we’ll see! She is 16 and neighbors with the ward mission leader.
My personal progress is progressing. I am chugging along, and I am for sure going to finish on time. I will not quit. I am excited. Hopefully I can get a medallion. If not, I am going to buy one from the temple. They are like, 40 pesos. :) It’s not really cheating, right?
Other than that, my week has been pretty normal. I am loving it here. It rained the other day, and then one day, it was just thundering all the day long, with not much rain. I love this country. I love it so much. Not enough to live here when I am older, but I will definitely come back. I love it. I feel so attached to it. I love that I can serve God and have these cool experiences all at the same time.
The other day, at district meeting, the DL told me, "Hey Hermana Erickson, I really like your get up today." I was wearing that coral blouse you and Jake picked out. And the DL is pretty stylish, so when he compliments you, he means it ahah. Well done.
Well, that is all for now. Thank you for all that you do. I love you more than I love yogurt, and we all know that is a lot. Thank you for your help with personal progress and everything else. I am very lucky to have a great family. Thank you :)
I love you all. I will write you next week! I hope you have a happy, healthy, safe, productive, relaxing, eventful, spiritual week!!!
With demasiado love and appreciation,
Hermana Erickson 1. aka, RACHEL!
Ps, sorry if my emails sounds immature for a missionary. I am the worst at writing things down and expressing my thoughts well, BYE!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
#35 [Independencia - 7] August 5th, 2013
Love you
MUCHO grande, too!! good one, mom! You sure are improving on your
Spanish skills. Dad, have you learned more Spanish? or still working
with "David el autobus?" haha.
But I am glad to hear that the funeral went well and that the house was still standing when you returned.
Gross... I can’t believe Madeline is married now... and that Camille is getting married. I have still not seen any pictures of her, but whatever. Madeline looks pretty. Weird that she’s old enough to get married.... ick. I’d rather not think about that...
HAHAHAHA the purpose of the photos with my Book of Mormon is EXACTLY that, dad!! – To motivate you to read the Book of Mormon and perish not, haha. kidding. I don’t know why I take them. I think they are funny, and it’s interesting to find all of the dead things here on the island. The other day, we found a dead dog in the road, but the cool thing about that one was that it was on fire – smelled like a bbq – and looked super gross. Didn’t put my Book of Mormon next to that one, but Herm. B. took a picture. Interesting culture here, but I love it.
But that about covers it for your email that to sent to me, so will talk about ME!
Ok, so dad, me and my companion talk about our families all the time, and she pretty much knows all about everyone - and I know about her family, too. It sounds like you and her dad would really get along. You should find him and hang out with him... haha. But every time she talks about him, I think of you, haha – anyways...
So my camera is broken. Absolutely broken. It won’t shut, nor turn on and it’s sad because I have not taken any pictures for a long time. So I will buy a new one I guess, nothing else I can really do. People tell me that they will rip me off if I try to get it repaired, so I will probably buy a new one. So sad, that camera has so many new memories, but yeah. If I have a big charge from my card, that is why. I don’t know how expensive it will be.
Things with Herm. G. have actually been great. Herm. B. is like a new person! Wow, God knows best when it comes to companions. I have a testimony of that one.
If you ever feel like writing a normal letter, you could do that and include a wallet sized pic of the family, that would be cool. Sorry, I feel like I ask a lot from you guys. It’s just a convenience.
Another thing that I realized earlier this week is that I am super blessed. I have mentioned this before, but my mission seems too easy. I feel like I have not had too many downs. When it comes to how long I have been serving and how many times I have been disappointed, it seems like an unusually small number. I just love it, and I am definitely not complaining that it’s too easy. It’s just easier than I expected, and it’s not that I am not invested in my people – I am. It’s a nice gift from God.
So there is this song that is always on. If you want to hear Dominican music, it’s called ̈El VIdä by Mark Anthony. Google it, or YouTube. It’s catchy.
We have our temple trip coming up1!!!! We are going to go August 23rd, I think. I am super excited. It has been too long. When was the last time you went to the temple?
So A. is our main person right now. We love her so much!!! She is so ready for this gospel. So she’s been to church 3 times, and the first two, she had a hard time recognizing the spirit. So this last week, we decided to talk to her about fasting, since it would be a fast Sunday. So we taught her, and she said she would fast. So on Sunday, she didn’t eat, and we talked about fasting twice -- once in the investigator’s class, and then in relief society. But in the investigator’s class, she asked if she could pay fast offerings. They said yes, so she did. Then, in relief society, she asked if she had to be a member to bear her testimony. NOPE! So during the last 10 minutes of RS, she got up!!! We felt like proud parents. She said that she had been fasting to feel the spirit, and then today, she felt it!!!! We were stoked. We are so excited for her. She’ll be baptized for sure without a doubt. Man, I love seeing people progress.
We actually have 11 fechas this week. That means 11 people have dates to be baptized. We’re hoping for them all! and working with them. We have a cute little family that is half Haitian and half Dominican, which is weird because the Dominicans hate the Haitians, but I like them both. Racism is not cool, but it’s funny.... umm... yep. But it’s wrong.
But yeah, that was the week. Kinda bummed out because my camera broke, but such is life. Things happen. And then I have been doing personal progress – speaking of that, mom, or dad, or the family, I need your help!!! Can you write down my POSITIVE qualities? and either email them or write a letter or a dear elder? please!!!!? I need it for my personal progress... goodness, the things they have you do.
But yeah, that is my week in review. This upcoming week should be good.
Love,
Hermana Erickson 1
But I am glad to hear that the funeral went well and that the house was still standing when you returned.
Gross... I can’t believe Madeline is married now... and that Camille is getting married. I have still not seen any pictures of her, but whatever. Madeline looks pretty. Weird that she’s old enough to get married.... ick. I’d rather not think about that...
HAHAHAHA the purpose of the photos with my Book of Mormon is EXACTLY that, dad!! – To motivate you to read the Book of Mormon and perish not, haha. kidding. I don’t know why I take them. I think they are funny, and it’s interesting to find all of the dead things here on the island. The other day, we found a dead dog in the road, but the cool thing about that one was that it was on fire – smelled like a bbq – and looked super gross. Didn’t put my Book of Mormon next to that one, but Herm. B. took a picture. Interesting culture here, but I love it.
But that about covers it for your email that to sent to me, so will talk about ME!
Ok, so dad, me and my companion talk about our families all the time, and she pretty much knows all about everyone - and I know about her family, too. It sounds like you and her dad would really get along. You should find him and hang out with him... haha. But every time she talks about him, I think of you, haha – anyways...
So my camera is broken. Absolutely broken. It won’t shut, nor turn on and it’s sad because I have not taken any pictures for a long time. So I will buy a new one I guess, nothing else I can really do. People tell me that they will rip me off if I try to get it repaired, so I will probably buy a new one. So sad, that camera has so many new memories, but yeah. If I have a big charge from my card, that is why. I don’t know how expensive it will be.
Things with Herm. G. have actually been great. Herm. B. is like a new person! Wow, God knows best when it comes to companions. I have a testimony of that one.
If you ever feel like writing a normal letter, you could do that and include a wallet sized pic of the family, that would be cool. Sorry, I feel like I ask a lot from you guys. It’s just a convenience.
Another thing that I realized earlier this week is that I am super blessed. I have mentioned this before, but my mission seems too easy. I feel like I have not had too many downs. When it comes to how long I have been serving and how many times I have been disappointed, it seems like an unusually small number. I just love it, and I am definitely not complaining that it’s too easy. It’s just easier than I expected, and it’s not that I am not invested in my people – I am. It’s a nice gift from God.
So there is this song that is always on. If you want to hear Dominican music, it’s called ̈El VIdä by Mark Anthony. Google it, or YouTube. It’s catchy.
We have our temple trip coming up1!!!! We are going to go August 23rd, I think. I am super excited. It has been too long. When was the last time you went to the temple?
So A. is our main person right now. We love her so much!!! She is so ready for this gospel. So she’s been to church 3 times, and the first two, she had a hard time recognizing the spirit. So this last week, we decided to talk to her about fasting, since it would be a fast Sunday. So we taught her, and she said she would fast. So on Sunday, she didn’t eat, and we talked about fasting twice -- once in the investigator’s class, and then in relief society. But in the investigator’s class, she asked if she could pay fast offerings. They said yes, so she did. Then, in relief society, she asked if she had to be a member to bear her testimony. NOPE! So during the last 10 minutes of RS, she got up!!! We felt like proud parents. She said that she had been fasting to feel the spirit, and then today, she felt it!!!! We were stoked. We are so excited for her. She’ll be baptized for sure without a doubt. Man, I love seeing people progress.
We actually have 11 fechas this week. That means 11 people have dates to be baptized. We’re hoping for them all! and working with them. We have a cute little family that is half Haitian and half Dominican, which is weird because the Dominicans hate the Haitians, but I like them both. Racism is not cool, but it’s funny.... umm... yep. But it’s wrong.
But yeah, that was the week. Kinda bummed out because my camera broke, but such is life. Things happen. And then I have been doing personal progress – speaking of that, mom, or dad, or the family, I need your help!!! Can you write down my POSITIVE qualities? and either email them or write a letter or a dear elder? please!!!!? I need it for my personal progress... goodness, the things they have you do.
But yeah, that is my week in review. This upcoming week should be good.
Love,
Hermana Erickson 1
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
#34 [Independencia - 6] July 29th, 2013
Hello!!!
Oh man, that is one thing I really miss- scripture time with the family. Such good times. There are some chapters in the BOM that always remind me of those times, and I just get super happy when I read them.
Dad, I am so glad to hear that our missionary service has blessed you with winning. Congrats on the Walmart gift card. What a blessing! :) Now we won’t run out of money!! hahaha...
Sad that Uncle Delton died. I liked him. He bought me a little bunny from the auction. Also, his name sounds like Kelton’s. I just put that together, because I was thinking that I really like that name and I might name my kid after him, and then I remembered Kelton’s name. uh... moving on. Yep :) Send my condolences to her. So thankful that there is a plan that God created to give us hope in our times of sorrow: we can see our loved ones again!!
The weather here has been pretty hot. We are expecting lots of rain, but so far, just hot. The only times we get wet are when we just sit there and do nothing, because we are sweating a lot. Not pleasant at all.
Ok, well that concludes your letter. Sounds like a pretty eventful week. Can you have Josh tell me all about EFY? He never writes to me.
Ok, so this week was pretty great. Turns out that Monday was a perfect day!!! After running and emailing and such, we wrote letters, and then we only had one appointment, who lives about 45 minutes away - walking. She was a lady at church, who was invited by her cousin. Her name is A. She’s 25. Anyways, we go there, and I was kinda expecting a lady that was not super interested, but she asked us SO MANY QUESTIONS, and then we’d say something, and she’d be like, “That’s exactly what I wanted to know!!” Wow, she is for sure prepared. I love her. She’s full of this zest for life, and she has a cute little boy. Ah, love her! Anyways, the other day, we went back to her, and we asked her if she had read the folleto that we left with her, and she said no. UGH! I was super upset, because she seemed like such a prepared person :( and then she continues, ̈I didn’t read the folleto, but I started reading my cousin’s Book of Mormon instead.. sorry!̈ and boy, we felt silly. It’s much better to read the BOM than the folleto. And we checked where she had read, and she was in chapter 21 of 1 Nefi!!! in 3 days!!! yeah. You can say golden if you want. We have been blessed with her. She came to church again on Sunday, and we set a baptismal date with her for the 24th of August. She plans on finishing the BOM before that date. Ah, I am super stoked for her. :)
Also, we took a member with us all day long on Tuesday, I think, but we took her all around our area, and we felt super bad because we walked for about 2 hours before an appointment was there. We’d walk from one side of our area to the other, which is about an hour away. Anyway, we were walking, and you know how I find EVERYTHING on the ground? Well, we’re walking, and I look down, and I see 400 pesos. Yes – and that equals 10 dollars. We looked around, and no one was there. Money, just sitting there, so I picked it up. I gave 200 to the member because we felt bad to make her walk around in the super hot weather. God blesses us in mysterious ways, that’s for sure. Then, we went to this lady’s house, whose name is R. She’s way nice, but I think she just likes us as friends. We’ll see. Anyways, at the very end of our lesson, she tells us to hang tight, and so we do. Before we know it, she comes out with fancy glasses full of coke. Well, Beesley is stubborn when it comes to drinking carbonation, and I don’t like it, and the member definitely gave me a glare when I sipped it to make sure it was coke. She thought that members couldn’t have caffeine. Judged. Anyways, I really didn’t want to drink it, and neither did the other two. So while R. went inside real quick, we poured it in the plants. We went there. Yes we did. :) I don’t think the plants were even real. But, haha good times in the mission. It’s always an adventure!
Ok, so I already told mom this, but I thought I would mention it here, as well. So I am officially starting my personal progress! Yes. My goal is to finish it in one transfer, and I have it all planned out so that I can do it. It’ll be hard, but I think I’ll learn a lot from it because When I got it before, I didn’t really do it with any intentions, just to do it. So yeah. Heather, are you doing yours? I’ll probably get my second one before you get your first. Kinda embarrassing, huh? My bet to you still stands. If you finish before I do, I will but you some really cute stuff from here. They have so much cute things that I think you would love. Anyways, I am excited for that.
OH! Do you remember T? The guy that had to get married back in Azua? Well, good news, he got married :) I called the Herms in Azua last night, and they gave me the lo down on things there. K., A., and C. all got the Melchizedek Priesthood!!! And they all blessed the sacrament the other Sunday. Ah, I wish I could see them perform their duties in the priesthood. What studs. And then, they all gave talks the same Sunday mom did!!! ps -- well done on your talk. I am glad that you recorded it, dad. Thank you. Anyways, so they are all doing well. T. got married the other day, and HE'S GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!! I am thrilled. I feel so happy, and sad because I can’t be there–but it doesn’t matter who baptizes him, as long as he gets baptized, right? Ah, I am so happy.
So with transfers, anything could really happen. I love being with Beesley, and we have so much fun together, and get work done, so I love her. But I was thinking that we would probably not stay together, but we are! And we are still in Independencia. We freaked out when the elders told us that. Hermana Gamez gets to come live with me. Since she’ll be with B..., she’ll probably be more attached to me. I was hoping that I would stay here, just for A. All of our other investigators they aren't not progressing, but they keep disappointing us. After all, salvation isn’t cheap, why should the mission and conversion be easy?
Oh!!! We had a miracle happen the other day. So on Saturday, the Herms had a baptism, and the elders who originally taught her got to come to it, since they lived 20 minutes away. Afterward, they told us that they had a less active woman they wanted us to go to. So they took us to her street, and it was late at night. So they point to a house with the lights on, and tell us it’s the one above it. So the next day, we go out and go to the house. But it turns out to be a random lady that we weren’t looking for – a little disheartened, we thanked her for her time, and then decided to invite her to church. We introduced ourselves and gave her the horario, and then we start leaving, and she goes, "Wait, do you think you could stop by another day and talk to us a little about your church?̈".......Stunned for a sec, we looked at her, trying to process what just happened, and then out of our mouths comes, "....uh... yeah... uh.. whi..which day would work best for you?" We were NOT expecting that. That never happens. We have not gone back to her, but we think there is some potential there!
We went to the corner (where the less active brother-in-law lives,) and asked him where she lived, just to make sure, and it was the next building over that was hers. So apparently God had us misunderstand their directions so we could find N. We’ll see what happens. I am stoked for her.
But yeah!! That about concludes my week! I went running again this week. It’s gonna be a weekly thing, because I am pretty much forcing Beesley to go with me. It’ll be good for us :)
But I love you!! I am so grateful to be a representative of Christ!! I love being here!!
Thank you for your support!! If you want to tell everyone to lumping send me mail, please do. I love writing letters (speaking of that, could you get Louie’s address? I don’t have it.) and then let them all know that if they are too poor to buy a stamp, DEARELDER is FREE!!! (it must be good!!) Also, people in the family can take 5 minutes to tell me about EFY or girls they like, or something silly. Sacrifices are what make us good people. Just let some people know that. I definitely don’t feel like a loner here though, and I appreciate all that I have gotten. Just a little spiel about that. Also, I am grateful that I have not gotten Dear Jane’d, yet. I don’t count on it, but it has happened to 2 people in the last month. Apparently there is a trend going on or something. Speaking of that, KELTON HAS 23 DAYS LEFT! ah!!!!!!
Anyways. Love you all. Love you all more than I can tell you. Thanks again for all you do. I will keep representing you with pride!! Have a wonderful week!!!
Peace and love forever!
-Hermana Erickson 1
Oh man, that is one thing I really miss- scripture time with the family. Such good times. There are some chapters in the BOM that always remind me of those times, and I just get super happy when I read them.
Dad, I am so glad to hear that our missionary service has blessed you with winning. Congrats on the Walmart gift card. What a blessing! :) Now we won’t run out of money!! hahaha...
Sad that Uncle Delton died. I liked him. He bought me a little bunny from the auction. Also, his name sounds like Kelton’s. I just put that together, because I was thinking that I really like that name and I might name my kid after him, and then I remembered Kelton’s name. uh... moving on. Yep :) Send my condolences to her. So thankful that there is a plan that God created to give us hope in our times of sorrow: we can see our loved ones again!!
The weather here has been pretty hot. We are expecting lots of rain, but so far, just hot. The only times we get wet are when we just sit there and do nothing, because we are sweating a lot. Not pleasant at all.
Ok, well that concludes your letter. Sounds like a pretty eventful week. Can you have Josh tell me all about EFY? He never writes to me.
Ok, so this week was pretty great. Turns out that Monday was a perfect day!!! After running and emailing and such, we wrote letters, and then we only had one appointment, who lives about 45 minutes away - walking. She was a lady at church, who was invited by her cousin. Her name is A. She’s 25. Anyways, we go there, and I was kinda expecting a lady that was not super interested, but she asked us SO MANY QUESTIONS, and then we’d say something, and she’d be like, “That’s exactly what I wanted to know!!” Wow, she is for sure prepared. I love her. She’s full of this zest for life, and she has a cute little boy. Ah, love her! Anyways, the other day, we went back to her, and we asked her if she had read the folleto that we left with her, and she said no. UGH! I was super upset, because she seemed like such a prepared person :( and then she continues, ̈I didn’t read the folleto, but I started reading my cousin’s Book of Mormon instead.. sorry!̈ and boy, we felt silly. It’s much better to read the BOM than the folleto. And we checked where she had read, and she was in chapter 21 of 1 Nefi!!! in 3 days!!! yeah. You can say golden if you want. We have been blessed with her. She came to church again on Sunday, and we set a baptismal date with her for the 24th of August. She plans on finishing the BOM before that date. Ah, I am super stoked for her. :)
Also, we took a member with us all day long on Tuesday, I think, but we took her all around our area, and we felt super bad because we walked for about 2 hours before an appointment was there. We’d walk from one side of our area to the other, which is about an hour away. Anyway, we were walking, and you know how I find EVERYTHING on the ground? Well, we’re walking, and I look down, and I see 400 pesos. Yes – and that equals 10 dollars. We looked around, and no one was there. Money, just sitting there, so I picked it up. I gave 200 to the member because we felt bad to make her walk around in the super hot weather. God blesses us in mysterious ways, that’s for sure. Then, we went to this lady’s house, whose name is R. She’s way nice, but I think she just likes us as friends. We’ll see. Anyways, at the very end of our lesson, she tells us to hang tight, and so we do. Before we know it, she comes out with fancy glasses full of coke. Well, Beesley is stubborn when it comes to drinking carbonation, and I don’t like it, and the member definitely gave me a glare when I sipped it to make sure it was coke. She thought that members couldn’t have caffeine. Judged. Anyways, I really didn’t want to drink it, and neither did the other two. So while R. went inside real quick, we poured it in the plants. We went there. Yes we did. :) I don’t think the plants were even real. But, haha good times in the mission. It’s always an adventure!
Ok, so I already told mom this, but I thought I would mention it here, as well. So I am officially starting my personal progress! Yes. My goal is to finish it in one transfer, and I have it all planned out so that I can do it. It’ll be hard, but I think I’ll learn a lot from it because When I got it before, I didn’t really do it with any intentions, just to do it. So yeah. Heather, are you doing yours? I’ll probably get my second one before you get your first. Kinda embarrassing, huh? My bet to you still stands. If you finish before I do, I will but you some really cute stuff from here. They have so much cute things that I think you would love. Anyways, I am excited for that.
OH! Do you remember T? The guy that had to get married back in Azua? Well, good news, he got married :) I called the Herms in Azua last night, and they gave me the lo down on things there. K., A., and C. all got the Melchizedek Priesthood!!! And they all blessed the sacrament the other Sunday. Ah, I wish I could see them perform their duties in the priesthood. What studs. And then, they all gave talks the same Sunday mom did!!! ps -- well done on your talk. I am glad that you recorded it, dad. Thank you. Anyways, so they are all doing well. T. got married the other day, and HE'S GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!! I am thrilled. I feel so happy, and sad because I can’t be there–but it doesn’t matter who baptizes him, as long as he gets baptized, right? Ah, I am so happy.
So with transfers, anything could really happen. I love being with Beesley, and we have so much fun together, and get work done, so I love her. But I was thinking that we would probably not stay together, but we are! And we are still in Independencia. We freaked out when the elders told us that. Hermana Gamez gets to come live with me. Since she’ll be with B..., she’ll probably be more attached to me. I was hoping that I would stay here, just for A. All of our other investigators they aren't not progressing, but they keep disappointing us. After all, salvation isn’t cheap, why should the mission and conversion be easy?
Oh!!! We had a miracle happen the other day. So on Saturday, the Herms had a baptism, and the elders who originally taught her got to come to it, since they lived 20 minutes away. Afterward, they told us that they had a less active woman they wanted us to go to. So they took us to her street, and it was late at night. So they point to a house with the lights on, and tell us it’s the one above it. So the next day, we go out and go to the house. But it turns out to be a random lady that we weren’t looking for – a little disheartened, we thanked her for her time, and then decided to invite her to church. We introduced ourselves and gave her the horario, and then we start leaving, and she goes, "Wait, do you think you could stop by another day and talk to us a little about your church?̈".......Stunned for a sec, we looked at her, trying to process what just happened, and then out of our mouths comes, "....uh... yeah... uh.. whi..which day would work best for you?" We were NOT expecting that. That never happens. We have not gone back to her, but we think there is some potential there!
We went to the corner (where the less active brother-in-law lives,) and asked him where she lived, just to make sure, and it was the next building over that was hers. So apparently God had us misunderstand their directions so we could find N. We’ll see what happens. I am stoked for her.
But yeah!! That about concludes my week! I went running again this week. It’s gonna be a weekly thing, because I am pretty much forcing Beesley to go with me. It’ll be good for us :)
But I love you!! I am so grateful to be a representative of Christ!! I love being here!!
Thank you for your support!! If you want to tell everyone to lumping send me mail, please do. I love writing letters (speaking of that, could you get Louie’s address? I don’t have it.) and then let them all know that if they are too poor to buy a stamp, DEARELDER is FREE!!! (it must be good!!) Also, people in the family can take 5 minutes to tell me about EFY or girls they like, or something silly. Sacrifices are what make us good people. Just let some people know that. I definitely don’t feel like a loner here though, and I appreciate all that I have gotten. Just a little spiel about that. Also, I am grateful that I have not gotten Dear Jane’d, yet. I don’t count on it, but it has happened to 2 people in the last month. Apparently there is a trend going on or something. Speaking of that, KELTON HAS 23 DAYS LEFT! ah!!!!!!
Anyways. Love you all. Love you all more than I can tell you. Thanks again for all you do. I will keep representing you with pride!! Have a wonderful week!!!
Peace and love forever!
-Hermana Erickson 1
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
#33 [Independencia - 5] July 22nd, 2013
THANK YOU FOR THE FALCON UPDATE!! Poor falcon. I am sure he or she is in a better place. No need to shed any tears. :)
Wow, was Grandma’s thing really a year ago? Whoa. I am really glad that passed. That was a scary time; that’s for sure. Glad she’s healthy. I love our family. Cool fact about Riss’s president, as well. Hopefully she gets special treatment - haha
Also, sorry about your cousin... you are probably at the funeral right now. I hope that is going well for you and the rest of the family. You can think about the falcon, too. He never got a funeral.
Thank you for taking those letters around. It means a lot to me.
CAN YOU SEND ME A WEDDING INVITATION FOR CAMILLE?!?!
:) I floss and wear my retainer on occasion – about twice a week for the retainer, and close to 5 times a week for the floss. Can’t go about letting my pearly whites get all cavity infested! Not me.
ANOTHER RAFTING TRIP FOR JEFF? I was unaware that he went on a first one!!! Have him email me! It’s been too long since I have heard from my pal.
Glad you celebrated national ice cream day. We had forgotten about it until Sunday, and it was too late to buy any, darn. So sad, but I don’t really like the ice cream here; makes me sick. So I might stop eating it. Probably not, but for now, yes.
Dad, thank you for the weekly report. I feel like these emails serve like a journal, and it’s great. So keep it up!
Mom, I am excited for you to speak. You can let everyone know that I love my mission, and I am doing well. Also, I love that talk. I feel like I have been blessed with peace in my life very much, which is actually one of the reasons I came on my mission, did you know that? I wanted a hard time, because I have not really had one, so I thought that a mission would be a good place to have some trials, but so far... it’s been going really well. I think trials have a lot to do with your attitude. But I really like this part of the talk: “The peace to which I am referring is not just a temporary tranquility. It is an abiding deep happiness and spiritual contentment.” That is how I feel. I felt that before the mission, but now, I feel it so much deeper. I am so grateful to be here, helping other people find this peace that is so valuable, and helping them have more tranquility in their crazy, Dominican lives. But you can just tell the ward that I am doing well, that my testimony is going well, and that I love the mission. and that I love my family, cuz I do ̈:) or just tell them whatever. If you want to crack a joke, you can in my name :) permission granted. haha
I am going to answer your questions :)
Strangest happening of the week? Haha, oh man. This didn’t happen to us, but to the other sisters, and for some reason, I think it’s hilarious. haha... Ok, so they have this investigator named O. She’s been investigating for over a year. She has wanted to get baptized super badly since the beginning, but she wasn’t married. So for the last year, they have been working on papers and all that jazz, since it’s hard to get married here in this country. Anyways, the sisters were setting a goal for her baptism, and she immediately said the 16th of July, and that day happened to be a Tuesday, but whatéer, so they set it for that day, hoping they could get the last of her marriage papers done before then. But things weren’t looking too good. No progress with that, so turns out that she didn’t get baptized on Tuesday. BUT, something crazy happened that made it so she can get baptized this Saturday – her husband died. Yep, and what day did he die on?, the 16th of July. Weird, huh? So technically, she could’ve been baptized on the date she picked so suddenly. Kinda creepy, but God works in mysterious ways. He’s a cool Guy. And her husband died of heart problems. He was not a member, nor did he ever want to accept the gospel. But yay, she’s getting baptized!!!
Highlight of the week? Well, I really enjoyed the package. But another thing happened that was pretty funny. Remember F., the Peruvian soccer player? Well, we had another lesson with him, and he is just the heaviest person I know. Heavy means super cool here, so he is SUPER HEAVY (jevy, but still.) We were talking to him about the church, and he was telling us of his doubts, and then his wife comes along, and is a part of the church that "feels the spirit" by jumping and shouting and rolling on the ground. Anywho, she comes along and is like, “Oh, you’re MORMONS. Honey, don’t listen to them, they don’t worship God, they worship MORMON.” So we explained it to her, and then her hubby was like, “I can do what I want, I like this church so far.” And so the wife was trying to get him to make us leave, and F. totally gave it to her in a loving, husband-wife type of way. And then he was like, “Every bell, has it’s own ring, and I am just looking for the one I like.” And that made her quiet, but then he goes off, and starts laughing, and is like, “One time, I went to her church, and I walked in, and they were all like rolling on the ground and screaming and jumping up and down, and twitching, and I thought to myself, THIS IS CRAZY, THIS IS NOT THE SPIRIT, and so I left. That was the worst experience of my life.” hahahah - he was just dissing his wife’s church right in front of her. It was SUPER funny. We were both trying to hold back tears of laughter. We laugh a lot in our companionship... but yeah, that was a nice highlight. And then to make it better, he came to church on Sunday for the first time. :)
Best teaching moment? We have these young men who we teach, and we brought along a ward girl the entire day to teach with us because she is going an a mission. So we go to their house, and the guy says “que lo que en toque” which apparently is a greeting, and the girl was like, “that’s a bad thing to say, don’t teach them that.” So they got into a fight, and the spirit was totally gone, which was so dumb. So we tried to bring it back around, and it was failing. Then we decided to read a chapter from the BOM and read 2 nefi 2, and it brought the spirit super strong. We talked about how this life is so short when compared to eternal life, and that if we make stupid decisions in this life, we’ll regret it in the next life. So we need to sacrifice some things in this life for a better life in the life to come. It was a neat experience because the spirit was way strong, and you could tell that people were touched. The young man we were talking to is in a band, and has lots of girlfriends, and drinks because of his work, so we talked about being an example, and all that stuff, and he talked about his life and all that. It was great. No tears, but that’s probably good. I laugh in awkward situations, and crying is DEFINITELY an awkward situation. But after the prayer, they started arguing again. I was just super happy that the scriptures brought so much spirit. Definitely fortalecio my testimony about that awesome book.
Also, I hope you enjoy my Book of Mormon comparisons. I sure do enjoy finding all sorts of dead animals here in the DR. Nothing more appetizing than a dead animal surrounded by fleas!!! Love it.
Also, we did an English class and this guy showed up. Pedro - nice fellow.
ALSO; THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR that SURPRISE PACKAGE!!! IT WAS SO GREAT. I got it on Friday from the elders. They were all anxious to see who it was from, since it didn’t have a return address. I could tell it was from you guys though, because of the florescent orange paper. :) I LOVE ALL OF THE CLOTHES. I AM NOT SURE IF THE SHOES WILL TOTALLY FIT, BUT I THINK THE ONES WITH BOWS WILL. THE OTHERS ARE A BIT TIGHT. BUT THANK YOU SO SO MUCH. I WILL WRITE A LETTER TO THE FAMILY THAT BROUGHT IT TO ME. THANK YOU. And thanks to Heather for the EFY cd. We have been listening to it non stop. It has some good stuff on it. They did well.
Another random thing, do you know where any pictures of my friends are? I kinda really wish I had a few of them. Like of me and Mel and Carm and Lou, and Michelle, and all of them. And Kasha. I should have one of Kasha. If you could find any, or print any out and send a yellow envelope here, I would be very happy, because I meant to grab a bunch before I left, but as you may recall, December 12 was a pretty hectic day.
Ok, so here are some highlights from my week –
I also saw a little boy playing Temple Run on Sunday during church. He didn’t do very good. I could’ve beaten him easily. I guess he was failing because it was Sunday, and you don’t do that kinda stuff on Sunday. Serves him right.
We had exchanges with the CCM missionaries on Friday. I was very excited. Then I got my companion, who is coming into the field this next transfer (this upcoming week), and I asked her how confident she was in Spanish, and she said not at all, and it seriously felt like I was all alone. AALOOOOOOOOOOOOONNE! (go Heart, haha) and I liked it, but it was annoying. She said about 7 words the entire day. I really can’t judge, because I was given the chance to learn Spanish in my youth, which rocks big time. I sound more native than some of the natives! yeah! Anyways, it made me laugh because she kept saying the ̈spiritu sanchez̈ for ̈espiritu santo.̈ bless her heart. I give her props for trying. I hope she learns before this next week. But let’s be real, I will probably end up training her...
Um... oh!!!! This morning was wonderful. We woke up, cleaned the house, and then had personal study. Then, me and Herm B. decided to go for a run, so we ran a lot, and we ran on the cliff side of the ocean, it was beautiful. And then we did a little yoga by the cliffs and then swam in the ocean and got all wet. Kidding. The last part obviously didn’t happen. We did get wet though. Sweat wet. And then we shubbed and cleaned off, and I have not felt cleaner in the last 7 months than I have felt today. I love it. I wish we could go running like that everyday. We ran for about 40 minutes, and I am super out of shape, but hey, I didn’t feel super fat... So we decided that if we stay together this next transfer, we are going to do this every p-day. We feel so great. :) I miss the simple things in life, like going running whenever I want to. Good times.
Wow, what a letter!! I apologize that it is super long! and might not make sense. I just get so excited to write, that my letters end up turning out like my brain threw up on the page – sorry. But thank you for your love and support. I love being here and think about you often. I love this work.
Have a wonderful week, don’t forget to read your scriptures.
love you all demasiado :)
peace out until next week (TRANSFERS!)
Hermana Erickson
Wow, was Grandma’s thing really a year ago? Whoa. I am really glad that passed. That was a scary time; that’s for sure. Glad she’s healthy. I love our family. Cool fact about Riss’s president, as well. Hopefully she gets special treatment - haha
Also, sorry about your cousin... you are probably at the funeral right now. I hope that is going well for you and the rest of the family. You can think about the falcon, too. He never got a funeral.
Thank you for taking those letters around. It means a lot to me.
CAN YOU SEND ME A WEDDING INVITATION FOR CAMILLE?!?!
:) I floss and wear my retainer on occasion – about twice a week for the retainer, and close to 5 times a week for the floss. Can’t go about letting my pearly whites get all cavity infested! Not me.
ANOTHER RAFTING TRIP FOR JEFF? I was unaware that he went on a first one!!! Have him email me! It’s been too long since I have heard from my pal.
Glad you celebrated national ice cream day. We had forgotten about it until Sunday, and it was too late to buy any, darn. So sad, but I don’t really like the ice cream here; makes me sick. So I might stop eating it. Probably not, but for now, yes.
Dad, thank you for the weekly report. I feel like these emails serve like a journal, and it’s great. So keep it up!
Mom, I am excited for you to speak. You can let everyone know that I love my mission, and I am doing well. Also, I love that talk. I feel like I have been blessed with peace in my life very much, which is actually one of the reasons I came on my mission, did you know that? I wanted a hard time, because I have not really had one, so I thought that a mission would be a good place to have some trials, but so far... it’s been going really well. I think trials have a lot to do with your attitude. But I really like this part of the talk: “The peace to which I am referring is not just a temporary tranquility. It is an abiding deep happiness and spiritual contentment.” That is how I feel. I felt that before the mission, but now, I feel it so much deeper. I am so grateful to be here, helping other people find this peace that is so valuable, and helping them have more tranquility in their crazy, Dominican lives. But you can just tell the ward that I am doing well, that my testimony is going well, and that I love the mission. and that I love my family, cuz I do ̈:) or just tell them whatever. If you want to crack a joke, you can in my name :) permission granted. haha
I am going to answer your questions :)
Strangest happening of the week? Haha, oh man. This didn’t happen to us, but to the other sisters, and for some reason, I think it’s hilarious. haha... Ok, so they have this investigator named O. She’s been investigating for over a year. She has wanted to get baptized super badly since the beginning, but she wasn’t married. So for the last year, they have been working on papers and all that jazz, since it’s hard to get married here in this country. Anyways, the sisters were setting a goal for her baptism, and she immediately said the 16th of July, and that day happened to be a Tuesday, but whatéer, so they set it for that day, hoping they could get the last of her marriage papers done before then. But things weren’t looking too good. No progress with that, so turns out that she didn’t get baptized on Tuesday. BUT, something crazy happened that made it so she can get baptized this Saturday – her husband died. Yep, and what day did he die on?, the 16th of July. Weird, huh? So technically, she could’ve been baptized on the date she picked so suddenly. Kinda creepy, but God works in mysterious ways. He’s a cool Guy. And her husband died of heart problems. He was not a member, nor did he ever want to accept the gospel. But yay, she’s getting baptized!!!
Highlight of the week? Well, I really enjoyed the package. But another thing happened that was pretty funny. Remember F., the Peruvian soccer player? Well, we had another lesson with him, and he is just the heaviest person I know. Heavy means super cool here, so he is SUPER HEAVY (jevy, but still.) We were talking to him about the church, and he was telling us of his doubts, and then his wife comes along, and is a part of the church that "feels the spirit" by jumping and shouting and rolling on the ground. Anywho, she comes along and is like, “Oh, you’re MORMONS. Honey, don’t listen to them, they don’t worship God, they worship MORMON.” So we explained it to her, and then her hubby was like, “I can do what I want, I like this church so far.” And so the wife was trying to get him to make us leave, and F. totally gave it to her in a loving, husband-wife type of way. And then he was like, “Every bell, has it’s own ring, and I am just looking for the one I like.” And that made her quiet, but then he goes off, and starts laughing, and is like, “One time, I went to her church, and I walked in, and they were all like rolling on the ground and screaming and jumping up and down, and twitching, and I thought to myself, THIS IS CRAZY, THIS IS NOT THE SPIRIT, and so I left. That was the worst experience of my life.” hahahah - he was just dissing his wife’s church right in front of her. It was SUPER funny. We were both trying to hold back tears of laughter. We laugh a lot in our companionship... but yeah, that was a nice highlight. And then to make it better, he came to church on Sunday for the first time. :)
Best teaching moment? We have these young men who we teach, and we brought along a ward girl the entire day to teach with us because she is going an a mission. So we go to their house, and the guy says “que lo que en toque” which apparently is a greeting, and the girl was like, “that’s a bad thing to say, don’t teach them that.” So they got into a fight, and the spirit was totally gone, which was so dumb. So we tried to bring it back around, and it was failing. Then we decided to read a chapter from the BOM and read 2 nefi 2, and it brought the spirit super strong. We talked about how this life is so short when compared to eternal life, and that if we make stupid decisions in this life, we’ll regret it in the next life. So we need to sacrifice some things in this life for a better life in the life to come. It was a neat experience because the spirit was way strong, and you could tell that people were touched. The young man we were talking to is in a band, and has lots of girlfriends, and drinks because of his work, so we talked about being an example, and all that stuff, and he talked about his life and all that. It was great. No tears, but that’s probably good. I laugh in awkward situations, and crying is DEFINITELY an awkward situation. But after the prayer, they started arguing again. I was just super happy that the scriptures brought so much spirit. Definitely fortalecio my testimony about that awesome book.
Also, I hope you enjoy my Book of Mormon comparisons. I sure do enjoy finding all sorts of dead animals here in the DR. Nothing more appetizing than a dead animal surrounded by fleas!!! Love it.
Also, we did an English class and this guy showed up. Pedro - nice fellow.
ALSO; THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR that SURPRISE PACKAGE!!! IT WAS SO GREAT. I got it on Friday from the elders. They were all anxious to see who it was from, since it didn’t have a return address. I could tell it was from you guys though, because of the florescent orange paper. :) I LOVE ALL OF THE CLOTHES. I AM NOT SURE IF THE SHOES WILL TOTALLY FIT, BUT I THINK THE ONES WITH BOWS WILL. THE OTHERS ARE A BIT TIGHT. BUT THANK YOU SO SO MUCH. I WILL WRITE A LETTER TO THE FAMILY THAT BROUGHT IT TO ME. THANK YOU. And thanks to Heather for the EFY cd. We have been listening to it non stop. It has some good stuff on it. They did well.
Another random thing, do you know where any pictures of my friends are? I kinda really wish I had a few of them. Like of me and Mel and Carm and Lou, and Michelle, and all of them. And Kasha. I should have one of Kasha. If you could find any, or print any out and send a yellow envelope here, I would be very happy, because I meant to grab a bunch before I left, but as you may recall, December 12 was a pretty hectic day.
Ok, so here are some highlights from my week –
I also saw a little boy playing Temple Run on Sunday during church. He didn’t do very good. I could’ve beaten him easily. I guess he was failing because it was Sunday, and you don’t do that kinda stuff on Sunday. Serves him right.
We had exchanges with the CCM missionaries on Friday. I was very excited. Then I got my companion, who is coming into the field this next transfer (this upcoming week), and I asked her how confident she was in Spanish, and she said not at all, and it seriously felt like I was all alone. AALOOOOOOOOOOOOONNE! (go Heart, haha) and I liked it, but it was annoying. She said about 7 words the entire day. I really can’t judge, because I was given the chance to learn Spanish in my youth, which rocks big time. I sound more native than some of the natives! yeah! Anyways, it made me laugh because she kept saying the ̈spiritu sanchez̈ for ̈espiritu santo.̈ bless her heart. I give her props for trying. I hope she learns before this next week. But let’s be real, I will probably end up training her...
Um... oh!!!! This morning was wonderful. We woke up, cleaned the house, and then had personal study. Then, me and Herm B. decided to go for a run, so we ran a lot, and we ran on the cliff side of the ocean, it was beautiful. And then we did a little yoga by the cliffs and then swam in the ocean and got all wet. Kidding. The last part obviously didn’t happen. We did get wet though. Sweat wet. And then we shubbed and cleaned off, and I have not felt cleaner in the last 7 months than I have felt today. I love it. I wish we could go running like that everyday. We ran for about 40 minutes, and I am super out of shape, but hey, I didn’t feel super fat... So we decided that if we stay together this next transfer, we are going to do this every p-day. We feel so great. :) I miss the simple things in life, like going running whenever I want to. Good times.
Wow, what a letter!! I apologize that it is super long! and might not make sense. I just get so excited to write, that my letters end up turning out like my brain threw up on the page – sorry. But thank you for your love and support. I love being here and think about you often. I love this work.
Have a wonderful week, don’t forget to read your scriptures.
love you all demasiado :)
peace out until next week (TRANSFERS!)
Hermana Erickson
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