#42 [Cidra - 18] Dec. 30th, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :) 2014!!

Looking back at everything that has happened since last year, I've realized I've changed so much for the better, and I've become such a better person. I can't even imagine who I'd be now if it weren't for my missionary service and the people I've met here on this beautiful island. I am so thankful the Lord sent me here.

Something I'm really loving right now is reading. I've been borrowing books from members and reading those along with the scriptures in my personal study time and during lunch. I read The Infinite Atonement, by Tad R. Callister, I read David A. Bednar's book Increase in Learning, and I'm reading The Inevitable Apostasy right now (also by Tad R. Callister), and reading has really become one of my absolute favorite things to do. I love learning about the Church, I love learning about Jesus Christ. I love learning about everything. "To become a good teacher, you must first become a good learner." And I've found that to be very true. As I've come to learn more about the Gospel, I've become a more effective teacher, because I actually understand what I'm teaching — even in a different language! It's amazing what knowledge and understanding will do for a missionary. I'm just so thankful for this time I've had to increase and deepen my understanding of the Gospel and everything that has to do with the Church.

That's been the most life-changing experience I've had on my mission: not so much seeing the changes in other people (although that's been an amazing thing in and of itself), but seeing the changes and progression in me. And I can't believe I only have 9 months left to do this... I'm not thinking about coming home, obviously, but I'm scared to lose the love of learning that I've developed. That's why I asked for books for Christmas!! :) Could you also get me one called "The Day of Defense"? Thanks. I'm dying to read that one, and it's not by an apostle or anyone in the Church, but I've heard wonders about it. It's about two missionaries who were invited to some kind of conference and who had all of these ministers from other faiths asking them questions about everything the Mormons do. I can't wait to read it! So thanks! But anyway, enough about me.

Christmas was great, obviously, cuz I got to talk to you all of you AND TO RAE! And afterwards, we ate at E__ and M__'s house. They were sweet and even got us gifts, too! Lots of people gave us things, especially food. But it was really nice, Hermana Archila and I definitely felt the Lord's love for us. And I tried the traditional pastels for the first time. And Elder in my district forewarned me about pastels before, but I tried them anyway. They look like yule logs, if you know what I mean. And have the grossest texture. But the Boricuas love them. Don't know why, but they do. And I tired it to be brave. Hurray for cultural experiences!

Yesterday, we had four investigators at church. One, J__, came for the first time. We call him J__ P__ because he owns a shake shop and that's how we met him. But anyway, at Church, we had the Priesthood/RS classes combined since it was the 5th Sunday. The Bishop showed a movie about Preach My Gospel and it was good, but then he had all the J__'s in the congregation stand up and share what the had learned. J__, our investigator, got up and shared. It was a really good time at Church. I'm not sure what the difference was with this week, but I felt like it was more spiritual than other Sundays before. And I felt like our investigators learned a TON in all of the classes.

A__ #2, the 20 year-old, is probably getting baptized within the next week. We're hoping on Saturday because we feel like he's finally ready now, but we'll see what he decides. R__ has stopped progressing, even though he still gives us ice cream after every visit. Last week, he gave us another gallon to take home... Then he took the liberty to tell us we were gaining weight! I don't know if I believe it, but I might just be in denial! :) Hopefully after all the Boricuas stop giving us food with the end of the Christmas season, we'll start going down on the weight scales again. :) But whatever. More of me to love, right!? :)

A__ L__, our convert, is progressing a lot. We had a lesson with him about Jacob 5 and he loved it. He's so happy to be a member of the Church, and I feel so lucky to be here, seeing the happiness of a convert for the first time. (Since I had to leave the area right after J__ and A__'s baptism, and right before R__ and R__'s.) But it's been cool for me seeing a recent converts excitement! I love it! It sure is motivational!

Well anyway, I've gotta go. It was really great seeing everyone and talking to everyone on Wednesday. Can't say I'm homesick, but as I'm sure you could tell, my eyes got a little wet. :)

Well, take care, and don't party too hard this week. I LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson

Me and some fish at A__ L__s' house. We were invited to go fishing today, but we decided not to. :) It smelled bad. 

#41 [Cidra - 17] Dec. 23rd, 2013

Happy Christmas, Harry!

Okay, so there's not much to say since I'll be talking to you in less than TWO days! I'm so excited! We'll be going to E__ and M__'s house to do it, and so I will be able to Google Hangout with you! If plans change, I'll let you know. We'll work it out! :) But I am so excited! 12 p.m. your time. Be there. I'll try to be. :)

We have a ton of things planned for this week; we'll be going to the President's house for dinner tomorrow night so we're excited; our District is preparing a song/dance thing for them or something. I dunno. But it'll be good I think. We also did a gift exchange and so that was something fun we did.

I'm sorry I'm lame and didn't send you anything for Christmas.

Speaking of marriage... Happy Anniversary this past week! I'm so proud of you for getting married and having us as your children! :) You guys are great!

It's actually been "cold" here for the past few days. It's a rough winter; around the low 70's. It's great! :)

I haven't received any packages yet, we'll be getting all the mail from this past month tomorrow at President's house. But thanks in advance!! :)

Our Ward Mission Leader and his family took us bowling today, that's why I'm emailing so late. But it was a ton of fun. It was nice doing something out of the ordinary.

O__, our landlord, is out of town this week and so we're in charge of feeding and giving water to his chickens.

On Friday, we had a stake Christmas party and Hermana Archila and I participated in it. Our ward represented Spain and we sang some Spanish Christmas carols: Peces en el rio and Campana sobre campana! I knew both of them thanks to the Spanish Immersion program! It really brought back good memories. :) Thanks so much, Mom and Dad, for forcing me to take the Spanish Immersion program. I really am so so thankful to know a second language.

Oh, and today, we went to fill up on gas, and there wasn't ANY gasoline to be found! It's like the economy is crashing here or something... We drove all the way to Caguas to get some. And did you guys hear about the teacher riot here!? I feel like the end of the world is coming upon us. So many crazy things happening in the world! Thank heavens we have the gospel!

Well anyway, I'm sorry but this is going to be a lame email! I love you and can't wait to see you all on Christmas! Not sure if I'll cry or not, but I'm excited! I LOVE YOU! HAPPY CHRISTMAS! :)

-Hermana Erickson

I forgot to mention this part in my letter.

A__ L__, a recent convert, really made me so thankful that I came out on a mission this week because of what he said to me. He said that he was so thankful to Heavenly Father for sending us to his doorstep the day that Hermana Sosa and I contacted him because he'd been so depressed. However, since he became a member of the Church and been reading the Book of Mormon, he's felt so much more peace in his life. He has a strong testimony of the Church and of the Book of Mormon. When I decided to come out on a mission, I promised myself I would try my best to find people whose testimonies would be anchored to the Book of Mormon; because that's the only thing in the Church that will never change: the prophet can change, the ward, the people, the missionaries... but the doctrine won't. And I love that about the Church. And when A__ L__ shared that with me, it made me so so happy because even though I haven't had as much success as I envisioned before, I kept my promise to myself. It feels so so so good to know that I've changed someone's life for the better.

True conversion, from anyone, is the best gift anyone can offer to Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I love this gospel more than anything; it's the best gift I've been given and I'm so thankful He chose me to come here and sent me to share it with others at this time in my life. Mom and Dad, thank you for making us read the Book of Mormon as a family and having family prayer almost every day. I am so thankful for that family tradition and I know it's because of that that I have such a testimony of the gospel and know so much about it. Thank you for teaching us from a young age and by example of the importance of the scriptures and prayer.

I'm out of time though, so I'll talk to you Wednesday!

#40 [Cidra - 16] Dec. 16th, 2013

Hello! :) I'm in love.

... With TORTOLA. I don't even know where to begin; this past week was insane and I loved every second of it! I took lots of pictures, too, so hopefully I'll be able to send those off as well.

So I'll just begin by talking about the plane flight there. I was on a "plane" of 8 passengers, it was super tiny, and I got to sit up front with the pilot! It was a little claustrophobic because all the controls were right in my face, but it was interesting to watch him fly the plane. I thought about how motion-sick Mom would be, though, because there was a lot of bumpiness on the flight over. It was so loud though, so I didn’t get to convert anyone. I was with Hermana Burgess all week; she came into the mission a transfer before me, and we've known each other for a long time because we sang in the mission choir way back when. It was really good seeing her and being with her all week! I loved it.

Tortola is so different than Puerto Rico. First, they drive on the WRONG side of the road! It freaked me out at first, but then you get over it. It's SO gorgeous and the water is so blue. The island is TINY; it reminds me of Oceanside, CA. And the only interesting place on the island is called Road Town, where all the shops are. There were two cruise ships there, so lots of tourists. It reminded me of the Disney Cruise! (We should go again!) And Dad, you'll be happy because when my plane landed, a lady gave me a bag of coupons, and inside the bag there was a coupon for a FREE sterling silver necklace from the local jewelry shop. So we went and got that. It's really pretty, and if it's free, it's gotta be good! Right!? :) I also bought myself a ring out there, I got to pick a pearl and open my oyster. It reminded me of when we did it for Rachel in Hawaii! But it's super pretty, the ring I got. :) I also got a gift for my companion, too. Didn't get you guys anything, though. Sorry, don't get your hopes up.

The weirdest thing about it all was teaching in English. I hadn't done that EVER, really, and so it was actually really hard. But I got used to it. Tortola was a completely different mission and I loved it. There's something about preaching in one's native language that really makes the Gospel and what you're saying so much more meaningful. But what amazed me the most was how receptive these people are to the Gospel! They're so humble, and I seriously felt like I was in Rachel's mission; EVERY one of Hermana Burgess' investigators is getting baptized. (THEY GET BAPTIZED IN THE OCEAN!!) It was really a completely different world. We taught a couple of people in Spanish, and they're all Dominican, and the first appointment we went to, M__ told us she was ready to get baptized. That's the very first thing she said to us! THAT NEVER HAPPENS IN PUERTO RICO! Haha. But it was amazing. They said I sounded like a Puerto Rican when I spoke in Spanish. So apparently, I've picked up the accent! It made me excited.

There was a beach near the airport that we stopped by before getting on a plane to go back to Puerto Rico. It's called Long Beach Bay, and the water is SO SO SO blue. I couldn't even believe it. And the sand is white and soft... I haven't wanted to go swimming so badly in so long! But I took pictures! :)

On the flight home, though, I met a lady who is the mother of someone in my graduating class. It was super crazy. She and I took a picture together and then she took a picture of my name badge. Dunno what she was planning to do with that, but whatever.

It's been weird being back, though. I loved serving in the islands and would definitely go back in a heartbeat. But I imagine that that's what everyone else wants, so whatever the Lord allows me to do, I'll do it.

Well anyway, I'll reply to your email now. I feel like my update to you guys about my time in the island was super lame, but at the same time, there really isn't that much to tell. The pictures speak for themselves.

Umm. I'm glad you got the Christmas tree up! Thanks, Isabelle, for helping my Dad do that! You're a gem! I dunno what the family would do without you!

Jake! I'm glad you're okay after the little fire at school! That's scary! Speaking of tragedies at schools, I heard about the Colorado shooting. What's up with the youth nowadays anyway?! It's sad.

Somehow, if you could, tell Clayton Brown that I really really REALLY want to hear from him. Thanks. I'm glad to know he's still alive! I miss him!

Yes, Matthew Jackson emailed me. It's been good to hear from him, too! Thanks for the update, as well, about Ben and Adam McCurdy! I heard they were companions, but I didn't know they were STILL together! How cool!

Well anyway, I'm glad to hear everyone's doing okay and everyone is happy. Me and Hermana Archila are doing great, I love her a lot and am thankful to be her trainer. I realized this week with Hermana Burgess that I don't really like to be a junior companion, so I'm guessing that's why I have had to train for the past nine months. :)

I'm excited for this week, though, we have a lot of fun things planned and I'm very excited to hear your guys' voices, too! Will Shaylee be coming to listen in on the phone calls!? I'd like to meet her but I'm not sure if I want to over a phone call. I'm not sure if we're Skype-ing, either. President Smartt sent us an email today telling us about what we're supposed to do on Christmas, and all I know is, we'll be at E__ and M__’s house because they invited us over, but I doubt we'll be there for over an hour. We're not supposed to be in any place for more than an hour, apparently. So we'll see what we end up doing and how we'll make it all work. Umm. But we have a way that we can SKYPE with you, so I'll let you know next Monday what will be going on. We're still not sure how it'll work out, but hopefully we can do a 3-way with Rae!! :)

Well, take care of yourself and enjoy the snow! Cuz I definitely don't miss it. :) But I miss you! <3 oxoxoxoxox! Enjoy the pictures and don't get too jealous! :)

-Hermana Erickson               

Also, I forgot to mention, we've got a baptism on Sunday. Woot woot! That's all. Bye.           

#39 [Cidra - 15] Dec. 9th, 2013

Holla!

HAPPY 1-YEAR MARK TO RAE! I'm so proud of you!

HAPPY 1-WEEK MARK TO TIFF! I'm so proud of you, too!

HAPPY 1/2WAY MARK TO ME! I'm proud of myself. :)

So it's been a good week, I really can't believe it's already P-day. I feel like the weeks go by so quickly! And I really can't believe it's been a year already since I went though the temple and since Rae left... But I'm happy to be here regardless of how absolutely exhausted I am! :)

We went out contacting a bunch this week, despite the rain. It was POURING ALL WEEK; my clothes NEVER dried... Being out here sure makes me thankful for a clothes dryer.

So my District Leader asked me to teach in District meeting this past week and we just so happen to have the Zone Leader in our District as well, and Elder Kraft (the DL) said that Elder Mena (the ZL) wanted to "learn something good" this week, so Elder Kraft said I could pick the topic. So I decided, based on Elder Mena's tall order, to choose the topic: How the mission prepares us for MARRIAGE!! You should've seen their faces when I stood up and started talking! Hahahaha I died. But it actually turned out to be an awesome lesson and everyone was saying how much they learned and all that. I like teaching a lot.

Yesterday for Church, President Smartt came to our ward because our Bishop invited him and his wife to speak. This ward needed help BAD in their ward council meetings; all they ever talk about during the meetings is ARGUE about which ward activities they'll do next, we don't even get to say a word about our investigators or our recent converts' needs. But President Smartt helped a lot yesterday and I'm excited to see how the ward will progress in the next few months I'm here.

So the Puerto Ricans celebrate a TON, and every pueblo has it's own plaza with a big Catholic cathedral in the center. For Christmas, they decorated the plaza; it reminded me of the temple grounds in Salt Lake (but obviously not as pretty), and they had a lighting party this weekend. Hermana Archila and I went to contact and we found some awesome people that way. We also got to see chicken fights, and I bought a cool souvenir that I'll probably send back home.

So President Smartt just informed me that he's sending me to the island of Tortola on Wednesday. I'll be there till Saturday and will be working with Hermana Burgess. I'm super excited to be preaching the Gospel in English for the first time! This trip couldn't have come at a better time since I've been getting bored of the normal routine. But I'll be celebrating my 9-month mark on the island! Woo hoo! :) And Dad, it's not a vacation. I'll still be contacting and teaching, just in a different place and in a different language! I'm STOKED! :)

We found a coqui in our shower today. Well, really, I found it, since I was the one showering. Not sure where it came from or how it got in, but it was cool.

I'm happy to hear the ward Christmas activity went well! That's great news! Congrats to you, Mom and Dad, for working so hard! The ward is very lucky to have such devoted members like yourselves! I'm so proud to call you my parents! :)

I'm glad to hear Head's singing performance went well. Can't wait to hear how she sings! Head! We can sing a duet in Sacrament meeting when I get home! Deal? And you definitely should've taken Isabelle's offer. She's SO HILARIOUS!

Sorry to hear about Bamboo Hut closing. It's okay though since I don't want them to cater my wedding anymore. I want arroz and habichuela! (rice and beans) Jokes :) But be sure to eat a lot for me! And maybe save some in the freezer! (Would it still be good by the time I got home!?!)

Jeff! How's the shoulder doing? How's the dating life? Dad! UPDATES! 

Love you all lots and lots and I hope you all have a good, safe week. Miss you and think of you often, but I'm not jealous of the cold weather. Be safe driving around, too! Until next week,

-Hermana Erickson #2

#38 [Cidra - 14] Dec. 2nd, 2013

This past week really stunk to be completely honest. I HATE being sick away from home! Let's just put it that way. And I felt guilty if we stayed in at all, and it was raining all week, so we went out and contacted, and didn't have any success. I'm all good now, no more sickness really, but wow. It was really dumb. I hope I never get sick again on the mission! I'm VERY thankful for good health.

Happy Sanksgibing this past week! I'm so happy everyone is alive and well. I was thinking of you all on Thanksgiving, missing Grandma Farley's turkey, and Mom's homemade rolls. But we got to celebrate it, too. I'll write about it later, though. But let's just say we don't need to buy groceries for two weeks. :)

I've been reading The Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Callister and it's honestly changed my life. I definitely recommend it. I got the book from one of the members who used to be a Baptist preacher 18 years ago. He has a TON of Church books, so I plan to read all of them while I'm here for the next 12 weeks. I am learning SO much and can't believe I never read any of his books before! But from now on, and for Christmas, if you could give me books, I'd really appreciate it. That's all I want for Christmas. (Don't send them, just have them ready for me to devour upon my return home). Thanks! But I recommend the one I'm reading right now. I started it on Tuesday, and I'll finish it by tomorrow I think. My mind has been BLOWN away. Read, read, read. That's ALL I want to do for forever. THANK YOU FOR TEACHING ME HOW TO READ!

But man! It was good to hear from you guys! Thanks so much for keeping me updated about life. I'm glad you all had a good, Happy Sanksgibing, I missed you guys! I was thinking about how I opened my mission call, too! Just ONE year ago. How crazy is that!? I loved going to Disneyland with you, Dad and Jeff (and Rach, duh). Can't wait to go again! And I hope you are all having fun, too!

HEAD, sorry you lost your soccer games! It's okay though because life goes on. Glad you liked the bracelet! I thought you'd like it. Sorry your birthday was lonely, too. That's sad. I was thinking of you, though! If it makes you feel better, I ate ice cream for you! :)

JAKE! Congrats on bearing your testimony in front of strangers! That's awesome! I'm proud of you, bud!

JOSHY! Keep rollin' in the dough! Be safe! Love you! What are your thoughts on a mission? Are you going to school first? Or will you just leave and not see me for 3 years? Remember the consequences...

JEFF! I'm glad to hear you're doing okay after the shoulder incident last night. Glad you could get to the emergency room safely. How'd that happen!?

MOM and DAD: Don't have Joshy or Head or anyone read the letter to you. It's for YOU TWO only. Thanks. Tissues not included. Love you so much.

And sorry to hear about your poopy hotel bathroom situation. That reminds me, though. Yesterday in Church, an inactive guy named R__ came for the first time in... I don't know how long. We've been visiting him and his wife ever since we got here, and he just showed up yesterday even though we didn't see him at all during the week. He said, "I almost died this past week..." When we asked him why, he told us a story that made me think of you guys: he said, "Pardon my language, but I had a diarrhea so awful that I couldn't even move for four days. No one came by the house... and I was just praying and praying, 'Lord, please send someone to help us! Anyone! Please send the sister missionaries...' But no one came. Until finally, M__'s [his wife's] son called to ask if we were doing okay. When I told him my... condition... he came with some Pepto pills to the rescue..." It took everything in my power not to laugh. He was completely serious! It reminded me of that line on "The Home Teachers," when he says: "Poor guy, I've been there..." But it was an interesting story. Luckily, he didn't share that story from the pulpit when he got up to bear his testimony. He said he'd be coming to Church from now on. And I just thought, Wow. The Lord definitely works in mysterious ways.

So Sanksgibing here is different in Puerto Rico because instead of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, we have rice and beans and turkey and flan for dessert. (Flan is disgusting, by the way). But anyway, we had a zone conference in Caguas with President Smartt and Elder Cornish. It was really, really great and I loved it. We ate turkey and rice and beans and pumpkin flan for lunch.And afterwards, the O__ family invited us over for dinner. So we went there and that was more of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, stuffing, Pillsbury rolls, cranberry sauce, and sweet potatoes. I ate it all and even had some pecan pie and it was delicious. They also gave us flan. Woo hoo. But I ate it all anyway. We sang Spanish traditional Christmas songs and I knew all of them thanks to the Spanish Immersion program! :) It brought back good memories. We promised we'd stop by E__ and M__'s house, too, so we went at 8:30 and they offered us more turkey and rice... We were so full and had to say no, but I tried a bit of the turkey and it was the best I'd had all day.

We did service on Friday for A__. Due to the fact that he's been taking care of his sister for the past two years, his house has suffered a lot and it was disgusting. Poor guy. We cleaned his room from top to bottom and we're going back again this Friday to help him paint. We're excited and he's really happy to be a member of the Church. He received the Holy Ghost on Sunday (yesterday) and he's really happy.

Something I realized this week, too, was why Heavenly Father sent me here to Puerto Rico. It's because they don't roll their "r"'s here! He knows I can't do it to save my life, and the people here don't do it, either! It was a good personal revelation.

Thanks for getting Tiff's mission email address! I appreciate it! Could you get me her MTC and in-field address as well? Sorry, I know I'm SO needy. :)

Well anyway, that's really all I have to say about what's going on and how I'm doing. I'm really happy and really thankful to be out here. I feel like I'm learning so so much and progressing. The Gospel is absolutely true. I have no doubt about it. I feel so lucky to be a member of Christ's Church upon the earth. What an amazing privilege we have!

I love you and miss you! Until next week!

-Hermana Erickson

#37 [Cidra - 13] Nov. 25th, 2013 -- "Happy Sanksgibing"

"Sanksgibing" is what the Puerto Ricans say because they can't pronounce the word correctly. It kills me every time! :)

But hello! So this week has been good. I gave birth on Tuesday evening after spending the whole day in Caguas. Her name is Hermana A__, she's 24 and from Guatemala. My new comp "child" and I are getting along well, I feel like she's getting used to mission life and will be a very successful missionary; I'm excited to see where these next 12 weeks will take us. BUT I feel honored to be training again, and the new missionaries always come into the mission with an energy that I feel like all "veterans" need. She's absolutely terrified of mice and bugs and it's really funny because I'm not that scared anymore. Poor thing. So hurray for being a mother! :)

I'm coming up on the 9-month mark and it's just really weird because I feel like time has gone by too quickly. I still feel like I'm brand-new in the mission, and yet at the same time, I feel like I've learned SO much. I've been so thankful this past week for the opportunity I've had to be here. I can't believe I opened my mission call a whole year ago... It's really so unreal. Coming on a mission has been the best decision I've ever made in my life and I feel so blessed to have been able to meet the people I've met and learned the things I've learned.

We had the first baptism in the area yesterday, A_ L__. YAY! I honestly thought there for a bit that he wouldn't be getting baptized, but he did it yesterday along with one of the Elders' investigators, and we were all really happy. He looked so... clean. It was really a cool experience.

We've been contacting a lot of people. This past week, a lady let us in her house to help her decorate her Christmas tree. It'll be the first Christmas I've ever had without snow... so honestly it doesn't feel like Christmas and I'm actually okay with it because if it did, I feel like I'd be getting trunky a little bit. But for that reason, Heavenly Father sent me here to Puerto Rico where snow doesn't exist, and I'm perfectly fine with it. We gave her her first Christmas present, a Book of Mormon, and we were excited because she said she'd read it even though she's Catholic. So I'm excited for our next appointment with her. She's a super nice lady, and she's young, too! She and her husband H__ have been together for 8 years, and I feel like they would totally get married in the temple! So keep your fingers crossed and prayers goin' up to heaven.

But back to talking about Christmas, Puerto Ricans celebrate Christmas starting with Sanksgibing, then they celebrate hard core the holiday of the 3 Kings, then Christmas, then New Years... and just keep celebrating until the first week of February... Woot woot! Party!

R__ is having a hard time giving up coffee and smoking, but he wants to get baptized, so hopefully his desire to follow Jesus Christ will be stronger than his addictions.

I'm sick for the first time out here. I dunno what it is, but I have a headache all the time and am super tired, and my throat hurts. Hopefully it's not dengue... But if I die out here, just know I died doing what I love doing, so it's okay. Instant exaltation, too. hehehehe. :) jokes, that's an awful thing to say.

Man, Rach's emails kinda make me depressed. I feel like she's working in the Celestial kingdom of missionary work. But at least I haven't turned apostate and started to like Coke-a-cola... :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HEAD ON SUNDAY! Head, you're allowed to open the envelope I sent you a month ago. :) Cheers. Hope you enjoy.

Okay, about the money. Honestly, I have NO idea what I do. Sometimes, I have to pay for my companion and don't have enough on my mission card because she doesn't have anything. (I feel like all Latinos have to buy soda and chips and those are super expensive here...) And then I bought a skirt at Rainbow and MeSalve' because I was really just super sick of my clothes and gave some skirts to Hermana Sosa before she left. But I'm sorry! And besides, I figured it would count as the Birthday money I never spent... :)

Tell Tonya and Vik at the Forum I say hi. Do you know anything more about T__? I worry about her. I miss hair school, well, I miss cutting hair in general. Can't wait to get back into that when I get home! :)

I hope Joshy gets into BYU! Where do you think you'll go, Joshy? MOVE AWAY FROM HOME FUR SHURE! It's so fun! :) Get outta Happy Valley and live in the real world! It'll do you well.

Well anywho, I'll try sending the pictures off now since I have nothing else to say. Love you lots and thank you so much for your support! Keep reading the scriptures and having FHE! Ta ta! :)

#36 [Cidra - 12] Nov. 18th, 2013

Hi Family!

So this week was good. On Monday, the Collazo's came and taught E__ and his family with us and it went SO well! We actually have hope that they'll get baptized now! We're happy about it. We celebrated my 8-month mark today by doing nothing. :) Just kidding. We went out and worked like normal. I used my glasses for the past week and got lots of headaches, so I dunno if my prescription is bad now, or what. But I probably won't be using them. I've been wearing my retainer, too. So be proud!

I feel like everyone gave us food this week and I know it's only going to get worse with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up; EVERYONE gives us food. I feel like I'm going to gain weight.... But on the bright side, I learned how to play chess this week! :) We also put up a member's Christmas tree and decorated it. It made me a little homesick. I'll miss that this year. But at the same time, the fact that it feels like summertime weather doesn't make it feel like it's November. It's weird.

So we found out about transfers on Saturday evening. Hermana Sosa and I were both anxious all week to know what would happen since we'd had such a great lesson with E__ and his family on Monday night and since we've got A__ L__s' baptism on Sunday. But turns out, I'll be staying here in Cidra, and Hermana Sosa is leaving the area. She'll be training! I am so excited for her. She's going to Ponce, and I'm staying here and I'll also be training a new sister missionary. How do I feel about it? Well, to be completely honest, I actually don't really want to train. It's an honor, but at the same time, I've been studying the 12-week program for the past 8 months... So I get tired of watching all the District movies. But I'll do what I'm supposed to do. Apparently there's something I'm still supposed to learn from studying the 12-week program, so I'll try to figure that out with a little more diligence this time. :) I don't know what my companion's name is, but I know she's from Guatemala. We'll be picking the new babies up tomorrow. I'm excited! This'll be the 5th time I've trained. ;)

Congratulations to Krispen! A baby! That's great news! I'm glad to hear that no one died this week in car accidents. (close deer encounter.) Congratulations on the new computer, too! That's so cool that Jeff made it. What a babe! And it's great that Dad has enough money to pay for stuff like that! Dad, can I have an iPhone? Hehehe :) 

President Smartt said I'd be going to the islands in a few weeks, so we'll see. I'll be sure to let you know what'll happen.

Sorry this email was super lame, but I don't have a lot of time. The library was closed today so we're writing in a member's home and I feel bad and don't want to take as much time as normal.

Love you guys lots! Have a good week!

-Hermana Erickson

#35-b [Cidra - 11] Nov. 12th, 2013

Hello!

This week was really amazing and I loved every second of it. I can’t believe that I’ve been here in Cidra now for almost 12 weeks. I feel like the weeks are going by so quickly, and it’s not okay with me because transfers are NEXT week. I’d really love to stay here another transfer with Hermana Sosa. I feel like we’re just beginning to see the fruits of our labors and I don’t want to leave that behind quite yet. I wanna see this through.

Like I said in my short email, I had exchanges this week with Hermana Torres. I went to work with her in Hato Rey all day on Friday. I’m just going to be honest about it. I didn’t really like it. All we did was visit less-actives all day and it was really boring. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting less actives, but it’s just not the same as teaching someone who’s never heard of the gospel before. I felt, though, like I was starting all over in my mission again, though, because my very first exchange in Pontezuela was with Hermana Torres, and so it brought back good memories. Hermana Torres is a powerful missionary and I admire her enthusiasm to go out and work. I’m just bummed we didn’t get to contact or anything. Contacting in the city is a LOT more effective than it is in the mountains. I couldn’t believe how many people were out and about. And everyone who lives in Hato Rey is Dominican, so it made me feel like I was serving in the DR with Rach. The Hato Rey ward is the biggest and most active ward on the whole island. I’d LOVE to serve there because Dominicans are obviously super awesome. But I still love the Puerto Ricans, even though they’re on the lazier side. :)

So we have a lot going on in our area, specifically about a family of pure gold we’ve been teaching ever since we got here. I’ve written to you guys about them before, but E__, the father, and M__, the mother have 3 kids, all very involved in extra-curricular activities and never have time to go to any church, but they accept every person who walks through their doors. Hermana Sosa and I have loved going over there every Monday to visit and teach them, but we’ve never been able to get through the whole lesson because once Elias begins talking, he NEVER stops. It’s been difficult for us to figure out how to teach them when all he ever wants to do is teach us. Last night, though, it was really different because we had invited Elder and Hermana Collazo to come along with us to teach. (They’re an elderly couple who have been serving for 17 months; I worked with them in Pontezuela a few times). But anyways, the lesson was INCREDIBLE. For the first time, both Elias and Maria were listening, and it was just so cool to watch the Spirit work within them. The Spirit was so strong, and for the first time since we’ve been teaching them, Hermana Sosa and I feel hopeful that they’ll actually begin progressing. We’d been thinking for the past two weeks that we needed to stop visiting them because the only thing they had changed in their lives since we’d begun teaching them was that they’ve begun to pray as a family. We’ve been going for almost 12 weeks now, so we were feeling pretty hopeless. But last night changed EVERYTHING, and I want to see this though so badly. I know without a doubt that this family will be baptized and change the Church here in Cayey. I love them so much and I am so thankful I came out here on a mission and could find them. I’ve never wanted someone to accept the gospel so badly as I do for them. I’ve never wanted to see someone enter the temple so badly as I feel for them. The lesson we had last night changed my entire perspective, and I feel like it’s possible.

We have other investigators that are progressing, too. R__, who is over 80 years old, but is still completely sane, is one of the most amazing people I’ve met out here so far. I don’t know what it is, but his personality kills me! And he’s reading the Book of Mormon and he loves it. And when we first met him, we invited him to Church, but he said he would never come. But last week, he said, “I need to come to Church,” and he’ll be coming on Sunday. I know he’ll be getting baptized, too and I’m so excited because he’s the cutest little old man!

I think I’ve written about A__ L__ before, but he’s got a baptismal date for the 24th of November. He’s come to Church twice now, and has loved it. He’s already got a testimony of the Book of Mormon and we’re so excited about him.

So now I’ll reply to your questions:
        – As for Christmas packages ideas, I don’t need really anything, but I’d LOVE some new garments. And if you could send me some Christmas music, too, that’d be fun. More Mo-tab, too. I want normal hymns.
    – Just so you know, I’m wearing my retainer for a week straight every month and I haven’t missed a single day flossing. :) Thanks for your fatherly advice, Dad! I’ll keep it up!
    – You should be proud of me because I’m learning how to make so much good food! I’m the one that cooks for the two of us always, and Hermana Sosa says she loves my food! Hurray! :)
    – We played soccer yesterday for P-day and it was SO fun! I hadn’t played in over a year I think, and wow. I love that game. I wish more people played it here, but the main sports are baseball and basketball. Lame. 

Well anyway, that’s really all I have to say about this week. I love all the people we’re teaching and am so excited for everything happening here in Cidra. This week was just perfect and I am really so thankful that I came out here, I’m glad I didn’t go home when times were tough, and I’m glad I’ve still got 10 months to go. I love this and I love serving the Lord by serving other people! This gospel is really what everything is all about. I am so thankful for it in my life. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for raising us in a gospel-centered home. Thank you for doing family scripture study every week with us. Thank you for all of the family home evenings we had. Thank you for taking us to Church on Sunday. Thank you so much for everything! I just love you guys!

-Hermana Erickson

#35-a [Cidra - 11] Nov. 11th, 2013

Hi, family!

So I'll be writing super fast because we don't have much time today.

This week was super good. I went to Hato Rey (highly populated downtown area) to work for a day with Hermana Torres, we had exchanges. It was my first exchange in a really long time. But it went really well; I forgot what it's like in the city, I'm so used to being here already. I don't want to leave, but we have transfers next week and I'm thinking I'll be getting transferred. I don't really want to, but I'll accept whatever the Lord wants me to do.

Haha, a funny experience I had this week was that I broke a light bulb with my head! So in Hato Rey, they have bunk beds in the apartment and the ceiling was super low and when I woke up, I obviously forgot I was there, so I was making my bed, half asleep, and all of a sudden, I heard this shattering noise and then glass was in my bed and fell to the ground. I scared Hna Torres really bad. And after I showered, I found glass in my hair. But I think I'm glass-free now. :)

We have 3 awesome investigators with baptismal dates.

I made sure to take pictures, so I'll be sending those. If I can get on tomorrow to write since it's Veteran's Day and the libraries are closed, I will, but don't count on it. :) I love you lots and am loving my mission. I love sharing the gospel and I know it's true. We are so blessed to have it in our lives!

Have a good week, I hope you're all doing well. BYE!

-Hermana Erickson

#34 [Cidra - 10] Nov. 4th, 2013

Hi there!

This week was good, we taught a few new investigators that we're excited about, especially a young man named M__! He's one of the members' boyfriend, and he's been coming to Church for a while now, but we always assumed the Elders were teaching him, but turns out he's from Cidra! So we teach him now on Wednesdays at the Church. He's really awesome because he is super interested during the lessons, he asks questions, and reads the Gospel Principles book in between. And yesterday, he said he wanted to know what we'd be teaching him so he could read in advance and be prepared! I couldn't help but think, "WHO IS THIS GUY!?!" I've never met a young man so interested in spirituality! He's from a super Catholic family, but he's curious about the Church and is finding out the truth for himself. We're excited for him and I'm pretty sure he'll be getting baptized as soon as he's ready. He didn't accept a baptismal date. But hurray for member missionary work!

Another investigator we found about two weeks ago, R__, is super awesome. He's over 80 years old, but still completely sane, and has had so many gospel-related questions for so long and he's finally finding the answers! When we went three days after our first appointment with him, he'd already read from the introduction of the Book of Mormon all the way to 1 Nephi 8. For an 80 year-old, that's awesome! He has the sweetest personality and we're always so excited to teach him! He is so sassy! And he gives us ice cream sandwiches every time we visit him! It reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's house because they used to give those to us. So happy :)

Another investigator, A__, came to Church yesterday for the first time! And he LOVED it! So we're excited because he's progressing and he isn't scared of getting baptized again, so that's good, too. We just have to set a date with him I think. He has developed a testimony of the Book of Mormon and since then, he's been progressing rapidly. We're almost done teaching him everything!

C__ called this past week a day after our appointment with him and said he didn't want to meet with us anymore, so I dunno what happened, but he said he has schizophrenia and is just waiting to die. It's a really sad situation, but he doesn't want help either. So that's the end of that. :(

Anyways, I'll reply to your email now! Thanks for writing to me so faithfully! You guys are great! (Mostly Dad!)

Halloween was SO different here. Apparently, it's super dangerous on Halloween, and people throw eggs or pumpkins at the windshields of the cars that drive by. People are also super drunk and super crazy and do awful things. So we weren't allowed to be out of doors after 6 p.m. Hermana Sosa and I enjoyed the evening by making chocolate chip cookies! They weren't as good as Mom's, but I know O__ (our landlord guy) likes them! :) But I thought of you guys on Halloween and I'm glad you guys had fun and carved pumpkins and what not. Did anyone dress up?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDMA ERICKSON two days ago!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MADELINE MARIE ASHCRAFT VANCE one day ago!

Wish Tiffanie good luck at her farewell this Sunday. I'll be thinking and praying for her and I hope she continues being a light to everyone she comes in contact with! :) I LOVE YOU TIFF!

Congratulations to (cousin) Ashley getting married!
 
Congratulations as well to Annie Woolley! I KNEW SHE'D MARRY JACOB COVEY!!!! I totally called it TWO whole years ago! :) Tell her somehow I say HI! Agh! That just makes me so happy!

Dad, I'll be sure to try to write more interesting things so you have some type of usable material for your next Elders Quorum address. :) They're not making you speak double time because you have TWO missionaries out, right? What's wrong with that!? :)

Thanks for the pictures of the dead mice! Super funny with the Book of Mormon. That is now my phone background. :) The rats here are HUGE! I see them all the time on the street. The other day, I saw a rat head on the ground (I'm guessing a cat ate the rest or something) and I thought about taking a picture of it next to a Book of Mormon, but I didn't have one.

Well anyways, I love you all so much and am so happy I get to live with you guys forever! Miss you so much and am so proud of all of you! Jeff, DON'T GET MARRIED BEFORE I GET HOME!

oxoxox!

-Hermana Erickson

#33 [Cidra - 9] Oct. 28th, 2013

Hi family!

I'll start out by replying to your email! Thanks for writing to me and Rach in so much detail! It's like we're there! I love it. Thank you for your support.

I didn't know Joshy was in the ceramics class! How fun! I loved ceramics! Can't wait to see what cool stuff he makes!

Mom, I hope your jury duty case is exciting. I'll be looking forward to hearing all about it next week!

So, it was an ugly week and I'm glad we get to start a new one.

This week my testimony was really strengthened about the Priesthood. I feel like I've been learning so much about it ever since I've been out here and I am so thankful to have grown up in a home where half the people living there are worthy priesthood holders! I can't believe I didn't ask for blessings more often. But I will when I get home! Thank you for being worthy, Dad, Jeff, Joshy, and Jaker (someday soon!). I love you guys so much!

Okay. So where to begin!? On Monday night we had a super great lesson with E__ and his family. We pretty much did a FHE thing, and we taught about service. Then they all drew names and their assignment was to do a random act of service for the person they picked WITHOUT revealing who did it for whom. So we're going back tonight to see how it went. They LOVED it. Tonight we'll be teaching about honesty. We played Trouble though that evening and I DOMINATED! They kept saying, "Erickson is really lucky," and all this stuff. I just smiled because I know who I get my luck from. :) (Hope I make you proud, Dad!)

We had interviews with President Smartt on Wednesday and that was super good. It was my very first one with him and it came at the perfect time for me. We were supposed to have interviews last week, but it didn't work out, I'm glad, looking back. President Smartt is seriously so awesome and I am so thankful to have him as our mission president. I feel like things in the mission are improving a lot. We all respect him and look up to him a lot.

SUNDAY was the best day of the week because we had FIVE investigators come to Church! Count 'em! FIVE!!! C__, W__, (he can't pronounce my name, so he calls me Erica, it's funny and I don't have the heart to correct him every time) E__ and her daughter, and a young man named M__. I can't remember exactly, but I think that's the most I've ever had come to Church at one time! And it was the Primary program, too. I had to teach the Gospel Doctrine class even though I didn't prepare anything. (I dunno why, but all the missionaries in my District always pick me to do everything and I wish they'd step up and be men once in a while and actually do something...) But the class went well anyway. And the Primary program made me so happy! It was very well done and I loved every second of it, even though I had a hard time staying awake. :)

We got a new next-door neighbor on Saturday. He's a 7th-Day Adventist and he doesn't eat pork! He was surprised to meet sister missionaries, he thought the Church only sent out young men. But he's a nice guy, going through a really sad divorce, so he came to O__'s to chill a bit. When we met him outside his house, he was reading the Bible. So special. :)

Well anyway, that's pretty much about as exciting as it gets. Love you all and I hope you have a happy, safe, week! Keep being member missionaries and being examples to everyone! I LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson

#32 [Cidra- 8] Oct. 21st, 2013

Holla!

I'll reply to your email this week because it was just that interesting! :)

Dad, I'm glad you got my birthday card! I was hoping that they wouldn't bend it up, but at least the music works. Hope you (and Spencer hehe) had a good birthday! 50 years old! Woot woot! Eat some donuts to make you feel better.

Mom! How was jury duty!? Secretly I think I want to be called to jury duty. I think it'd be so interesting!

I'll make a special shout-out to President McGinn: Hi, President McGinn!

I'm sad I'll be missing out on the Spanish Immersion Program this year. In the package I sent you guys, did you watch that movie I sent? The program we were in reminded me of the Spanish Immersion one. Buenos tiempos. I'll never forget the flashlight dance!

Jake! Congratulations to you on your egg-drop success! Way to be a winner! WINNER WINNER WINNER!

Hermana S. twitches her nose ALL the time when she doesn't understand something or wants me to repeat myself! I think it's a Latino thing. At first I thought she had some sort of nervous habit or something, but now I get it. Something people do here, though, when they're trying to point you in a certain direction, instead of using their finger to point, they use their lips. They look like they're kissing the air or something. It's interesting. I'll have to show you when I get home, but it's funny. And NO ONE knows how to give directions. For example, if you ask where the library is, they'll say: "Okay, look. You have to go down to the next light. Don't turn there, but keep going straight, until you pass a little bridge. Keep going! Then, you'll see a little yellow sign and turn right there. Go straight straight straight straight, until you see a pharmacy. Turn into the pharmacy and the library is behind the pharmacy." It's not quite as funny in English, but you get the picture. It's complicated. Puerto Ricans are so great!

This was a good week! Hermana S. and I are having a lot of fun together here and a lot of things have happened. We've got two people who agreed to be baptized! The first guy, A__, who's been a member of his Church for over 30 years. His own father was a pastor. He LOVES the Book of Mormon and when we taught about the Plan of Salvation, we only used scriptures from the Book of Mormon and he knows it's true. He says he likes the Book of Mormon and he's reading it on his own because he learns so many things he never knew, and a lot of the things that confused him about the doctrines in the Bible are becoming clear because of the Book. Hermana S. and I both agree that he will be baptized. It's exciting! But it's just hard for him to come to Church because he takes care of his bedridden sister. We went in and met her, and it was like I was on a commercial because she had a hole in her neck! (I thought of you, Dad, and how we all used to make fun of the smoker hole lady commercials.) I don't know if it's a smoker hole, or what, but she had a hole in her body! Poor thing, and when she spoke, it sounded like she was drowning. It was really really weird. I got creeped out a little bit. But it made me thankful for my health. I dunno if she got that hole because she was a smoker, or what, but wow. It didn't seem real.

The other guy, C__, is someone we met contacting. We both got eaten alive by mosquitoes, but it was worth it. He's spoken to the missionaries before, and he already has a Book of Mormon, but when we taught the Restoration, he really wants to come to Church because he is also preparing to be baptized! We're excited about him and A__!

We taught a bunch of lessons this week, but a lot of the people just listened to be nice, none of them are necessarily interested. But we're going to keep contacting and teaching everyone. It'll be difficult because Hermana S. sprained her ankle on Saturday morning while we were out running. That's what we get for being obedient... :) So instead of walking around, she hobbles, but it'll be okay.

So Hermana S. says I sleep talk. She's not the only one that's told me, but I forgot to mention it earlier. This past week, she said I did it twice. I know I did it with Hermana G., too, because she said one time I was praying in English and the only thing she understood was "Heavenly Father." Hahaha. I'm a little embarrassed about it, but at least I don't snore. :) Hehe.

I finished Jesus The Christ this past week and am starting the Book of Mormon in Spanish. I love the Book of Mormon! I know it's true and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father to have allowed us in these latter-days to have the fullness of the Gospel. It's amazing!

Well anyway, that's just about all the time I've got, so I'll finish this up now. Love you lots and miss you! Have a good week, everyone!

-Hermana Erickson

#31 [Cidra - 7] Oct. 15th, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! I LOVE YOU!

So I'm sure you guys weren't that worried that I didn't write yesterday, but I'll give you the reason why anyway. Yesterday morning, our district helped a few members out in the community by laying concrete! IT WAS SO COOL! I'd never done it before, but I felt like a MAN! (And I still feel like a man because my back hurts today.) BUT it was a really cool experience. We got four references from it, too, so we'll see how that goes.

This week has been a really good one, Hermana Sosa and I felt like we did a lot. We taught the first lesson about the Restoration probably 20 times I feel. But it was good because we're finding a lot of investigators. We did a lot of contacting too, and for the first time, we had DOGS chase us! Seriously, I've never been so scared in my life. And I don't know what impelled them to stop, but there were like 5 of them and they all stopped and turned around at the same time. It was a Christmas miracle. :) And when we went back to the car and drove past the same spot, they were NOWHERE to be found! Hermana Sosa and I felt like God was protecting us for sure.

I learned how to make Puerto Rican rice last Monday at E__s' house. I need to practice, obviously, but when I get home, get ready for some rice and beans! :) But the rice and beans here are super good. I dunno what it is —  well, NOW I do! — but I like it.

Anyway, I'll tell you a little about our investigators right now. On my birthday, we contacted a guy on the street that makes maracas and he gave us some for free! And we gave him a Book of Mormon. We came back a week later and he said his wife was reading and that we were welcome to stop by their house. So we went on Saturday to visit T__ and his wife, D__. We taught the Restoration to the two of them. D__ is a solid Catholic, she's got Virgin Mary statues and pictures all over her house. She even invited me to sit in front of the huge picture of the Virgin and "look into her eyes at her beautiful gaze." I did it to be nice, but didn't feel anything all that special. But when we shared about Joseph Smith's first vision, the Spirit was so powerful and you could tell D__ and T__ were amazed. She said she'd continue reading and praying to know if it's true. I'm excited to go back. They also said they'd stop by the Church. So we'll see!

Thanks for keeping me updated about the fambam and what not. It was fun to see all the pictures of Disneyland!

Dad! Your comments in your Emails are so hilarious! People look at me like I'm so weird when I open my Email because I laugh so much!

Congratulations on your upgrade at the Anaheim hotel! Definitely a tender mercy from the Lord!

Can we go to Oceanside when I get back? I wanna go and eat some popcorn chicken on the dock.

I can't believe you went to D__'s sacrament meeting! How's he doing? I haven't heard from him in a long time!

Well anyway, I don't really have that much to say. I am so happy to be a missionary. It’s amazing to see how much the Lord loves us every single day. I am so thankful to have been born into the gospel and to have had it all my life. I am so happy to know that I get to live with you guys forever. I can't imagine a heaven without you. I love you so much. Dad, I hope you get my birthday card upon your return home. Be safe! LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson #2

#30 [Cidra - 6] Oct. 7th, 2013

Our Zone, Caguas, after Conference on Sunday

This week was really good. General Conference was absolutely incredible and was just what I needed to pump me up spiritually! I love being a member of God's true Church here on the earth. It's such a privilege, as well, to serve Him and be His representative.

Anyway, there's still not much to tell about what's going on here in Cidra; we're doing what our Stake President asked and looking for all the members on the ward list, and that's keeping us pretty busy. The directions here are a joke! No one has a house number, so all we have are the street numbers and kilometer numbers. It's really, really complicated. It just makes me so grateful and more appreciative for the grid system in Utah. And as far as investigators go, we don't really have anyone that interested yet. We're gonna keep praying hard and working as hard as we can, though.

Transfers are this week, but I'm not going anywhere. I am excited for another 6 weeks here in Cidra and with Hermana Sosa. We get along really really great and I have loved working with her. She makes missionary work fun! We had exchanges this past week and it went well. I missed my companion while she was gone! But I got to work with Hermana S__ (from Arizona; she and I came in at the same time) and that was a good experience.

Yesterday, before we left for General Conference in the morning, we were sitting outside reading the scriptures in the hammocks and our neighbor came out to say hello. His name is L__, and we don't ever see him because he's always working and when he is home his door is shut and his lights are turned off; he goes to bed really early because he has to work early, too. So yesterday was really the first time since we've been here that we got to talk to him and get to know him a little better. So after talking for a minute, he went back inside his house and started to clean again. We got ready to go to Conference and then left a few minutes later. When we were about 10 minutes away from home, I got a really strong impression to go back home and invite L__. "That's a stupid thought," I thought to myself, "why would he want to come to a Conference for a Church he's never heard about with people he barely just met? And it's his only day off, why would he want to spend it at Church? No one else comes when we've invited them." But the impression came again. I've NEVER felt the Spirit like that before. So turning to Hermana Sosa, I said, "We've gotta go back and invite Luis." She looked at me like a lunatic, but since she wasn't the one driving, didn't really have the chance to do anything else but comply.

When we got back through the gate, and got out of the car, so many things were racing through my mind, especially this thought; "He's going to say no, and it'll have been a complete waste of time to turn back." But when we called him, he came out and we invited him. To our surprise, he said yes! Hermana Sosa said that the look on my face was priceless. I didn't have words to say, except for, "Okay, chevere!" (That means "Okay, cool!") Within fifteen minutes, he was following us in his car to Caguas to watch General Conference. During Conference, I was super nervous about what he would be thinking and what not, but I think he liked it. We ate lunch after and he stayed and ate with us. He was talking and joking around with the other Elders. (He's about 24, he reminds me of Jeff!). So it was cool. We haven't seen or talked to him since, but we're planning on inviting him to Church on Sunday, too. Hopefully he'll come! If not, at least we planted the seed!

But now I'll get personal. I loved General Conference more than I ever have in my entire life. The Sunday morning session was the most powerful and spiritually uplifting conferences I've ever listened to. I loved it so much and am so thankful I got to watch it in English. And I felt the Spirit so strongly when President Monson was speaking. I've never really had a firm conviction that he is a prophet of God until when he spoke on Sunday. We are so lucky to have a living day prophet! This Church is SO cool!

Anyway, I'll write back to your email now.  
•    Yes, I received your Birthday package, and the cards from Grandma and Grandpa Erickson as well as Grandma Farley. Thank you all so much for thinking of me! It meant a lot! I love you all!

Jeff's self portrait w/ beard

•    JEFF. First of all, when I opened the package on Tuesday, I DIED laughing at your "Touch and Feel!" Beard picture. All the Elders in my District thought it was a genius idea. Everyone else who has seen it thinks you've gotta be a pretty hilarious man. It is true. I'm so glad I'm related to you! Also, as far as this dating thing goes, I don't really know how I feel about it, but as long as you pinky swear not to go off and get married without me, I'm cool with it.
•    Mom! What a cool experience you had about saving the Church carpet! Did Spencer M. get his mission call yet? Or what is he doing nowadays?
•      Joshy! Your school picture is great! You are a babe! Since when did you get to be so attractive!?
•      Head! You're a babe too! (Way to go, Mom and Dad!) Your teeth are looking nice! Can't wait to see you without braces! How's your Spanish class going at the High School?
•      Jake! Love you, dude! 
•      I hope Rachel and Tiffanie had a good birthday on Saturday. I was thinking about them! LOVE YOU!

Anyway, that's about all the time I've got. I love you all so much and hope you all have a great week! Miss you lots, but I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I do love being a missionary and I know I am supposed to be out here. I feel so close to my Savior and I love working alongside Him in this work of salvation. It is real. I love it!

Well, bye!

-Hermana Erickson

#29 [Cidra - 5] Sept. 30th, 2013

District (pre-birthday) celebration

This is going to be a boring email because I'm trying really hard not to be a Negative Nancy right now. Things aren't going very well here in Cidra and it's difficult. White-washing isn't easy, that's all I'm going to say right now.

We had District Meeting on Tuesday and then a member invited us over for a quick lunch. Well turns out, the member and the Elders all surprised me with a Happy Birthday lunch! It was really sweet of them. The member's name is ____ and he used to be a Baptist pastor. He told us his conversion story and it was awesome and then he played us a song he wrote on the guitar about how he's a Mormon. It was awesome. He gave up everything because he knew the Church is true. People like him inspire me. He was baptized 18 years ago and since then has collected a missionary badge from every missionary that's ever stayed in his house. He has over 200. It was amazing to see his collection. I'll probably send him one of mine. :)

On Thursday we had a "Sisters Only" meeting in Arecibo, about 2 hours away from our area. It was a lot of fun. I thought it was going to be a boring old meeting, but it was awesome! President Smartt asked some of the sisters to teach and they all focused on serving with all our hearts, might, minds and strength. (I feel like the way I worded that was completely grammatically incorrect, but it hurts my brain to try to fix it.) I really loved it and learned a lot. I can't believe I only have a little over 11 months left. We were in Arecibo ALL day so we didn't end up doing anything because by the time we got home it was 8 p.m.

Surprise B-day cake -- taking a bite!

 
My Birthday was on Friday... I'm 20 years old now! Haven't found any gray hairs yet but I'm not looking either... :) It was actually a really difficult day on Friday because all our investigators except for ___ and his family told us they didn't want to hear from us anymore. ALL of them! And we contacted all day and didn't find anyone. It was my worst nightmare come true. But when we were leaving to go to dinner our landlord called us up to see him. When we walked in, he had a birthday cake sitting there for me and he sang me Happy Birthday. It was the best part of the day. He's a great man. I hope he gets converted someday. We're working on it. :) But after that we went to dinner at a place called Lucio's.

Birthday dinner at Lucio's

It's apparently one of the yummiest places to eat in Puerto Rico. I got a dish called Churasco. It's like steak, but better. Dad, you'd LOVE it. I also got mofongo. Everything was good. I was happy we went there. But that was my birthday. Pretty lame as far as missionary work goes.
 
We went to the Relief Society broadcast on Saturday night. It started at 8 p.m. and we didn't get home until 10 p.m. because we live about a half hour away. But we got to watch it live AND in English! It made me a little homesick. I am SO excited for General Conference this weekend though. I've been looking forward to it since April. :) We're so lucky to have a living Prophet and Apostles! I LOVE THIS CHURCH!

But guess what? Yesterday, I found out that R___ GOT BAPTIZED! Finally! I was so happy about it! He finally worked things out with the tithing issue, and he got baptized yesterday. :) It made my week.

Now I'll reply to what you all wrote to me about!

Heather looks like Rachel in that dress and she reminds me of the good ol' Volleyball days. How is their team doing? Any better than mine? Heheh I hope so.

Congrats to Krispen and Jess' new bundle of JOY to be!

Is it getting any colder in Utah? It's still really hot here. I thought things would start cooling down here, but not yet. People say though that here in Cidra, it gets REALLY cold at night in November and December. We'll see about that, but I'm excited. It's SO hot.

Congrats to JEFF about his new rafting buddy! :) Can't wait to hear more, Dad! Keep us updated!

I thought about texting you, Mom, at 11:58 a.m. (9:58 a.m. your time) on my birthday, too! We must've had thought syndrome or something and thought the same thing at the exact same time! We must be related! :) BUT, obviously, I'm not going to break the rules. Sorry. I don't think I would've gotten in trouble had you texted me, but I'm glad you didn't push the envelope anyway. It's the thought that counts. :)

I'm in the Cayey, PR ward. Is my ward on the Church website? I don't think we have a ward secretary, so I dunno if we will be.
 
Dad, thanks for working so hard to let us (me and Rae) be out here. You're the best! I love you!

Well anyway, that's really all I have to say. I love you all lots and miss you, but I'm happy to be out here serving the Lord. Tell Tiffanie to write to me! I miss her!

Have a happy week and I can't wait to hear about your spiritual insights from Conference! 

LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson

#28 [Cidra - 4] Sept. 23rd, 2013

Hello!

We found a Library here in Cidra! So we get to talk to you guys for FREE! (It's gotta be good!) I'm so glad, too, because I didn't wanna have to pay that much. You guys aren't worth it. Hehe, jokes :)

This week was super great! I am loving this area so much and am meeting so many fantastic people! And me and Hermana Sosa are just fantastic friends! I love this girl! I'm teaching her lots of funny English words, too. :)

So we're finding lots of new people to teach. Okay, well only about two, really. But it's fine! Last week while contacting, we found a lady named E... who used to be visited by the missionaries all the time but then she moved and they stopped coming. She lives almost right across the street from us. We went over and taught her and it was insane because she's not going to any church in particular, but she's looking for a place to congregate in and is tired of looking for the truth and not finding it. She said she's never come to our Church before, but she wants to. She was asking all the right questions, and when we shared the message of the Restoration, she was so excited. She couldn't come to Church on Sunday (yesterday), but she said she'd come this Sunday for sure. We have another appointment with her on Wednesday and I'm so excited to see where she'll be at in her reading of the Book of Mormon; she's excited to read it. She's such an awesome lady and definitely prepared of the Lord.

We also came across a young man named Y... He was outside his house smoking when we walked past. He's 18 years old. Hermana Sosa and I were both not really wanting to talk to him (I don't know why), but we did anyway. But wow. I'm glad we did, because he's another prepared one! He wants to change his life, he went on to say that he feels awful for all the bad things he's done in his life and he's been thinking a lot about his future and how he doesn't want to be his future kids' excuse and get them into the same problems he had growing up (drugs, gangs, etc.) And he wants to change. We shared the Book of Mormon with him and he was so excited to read it. We shared a little bit about the Atonement and gave him an assignment to read Alma 7. He asked us how to pray, too. When we went to visit him two days later, he'd read the chapter but he didn't understand it because he doesn't have any real religious background. He also said he'd been praying every morning and night, and you could see the difference! It was so awesome! He believes in God and Jesus Christ but he's never gone to church. He was baptized in the Catholic church but stopped going when he was like 7 or 8. (He doesn't even know what the Bible is...) But we read the chapter with him and explained the story about Alma and what not. He understood completely and asked about baptism! He thinks it's amazing that we can be forgiven of our sins and be made completely clean again. We taught the Restoration, and he was so excited to read the Book of Mormon more to know if it was true. He is really really special and Hermana Sosa and I are really excited for him. I've never met a youth so spiritually thirsty. But he's already changed so much and it's incredible to see the Atonement work in his life. AGH! I'm just so excited for him! He couldn't come to Church yesterday either because he went to Bayamon for the weekend to visit his mom; she has cancer. But he'll come next Sunday hopefully!

Our landlord is HILARIOUS. I don't know if I've told you about him yet, but honestly, I could spend the whole day talking to that man. He's like 70 and he is a genius. His name is O... and he's a baptist chorister. We hope to get into a gospel discussion soon, he knows a lot of Mormons and he LOVES the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But anyway, we went over there today and visited with him. I want you guys to meet him when we come back here someday. He has like 30 pet chickens. It's annoying to hear them early in the morning, but you get used to it. They obey him though, and it's so funny.

We're cleaning up/updating the ward list here in our ward; the Stake President gave us the assignment. So we've been visiting the members and updating their information. It's been really difficult because they don't have house numbers here in Cidra. But we found a member's house the other day; they've been dead for almost 5 years, and they were STILL on the list... It was really awkward and almost embarrassing because I don't think anyone in the ward knew. But we ended up getting a new investigator out of it, so it was great!

I've been trying more of the cultural foods here. O... cooks for us sometimes. He's got lots of tropical fruits on his plot of land that we're more than welcome to, and today he made us fried pana. It tasted like platanos, but a lot better. He also made us a guava dessert and it was DELICIOUS. I tried real sugar cane after Church yesterday. Its texture is like an apple, but spiky, and you can't swallow it. One of the members was teaching me how to eat it and he said, "It's like chewing tobacco. You chew it and then spit it out!" It made me laugh. But it's true. You chew and then spew. Hurray for trying new things!

To answer your question, yes, Puerto Rico has its seasons. Jan-March is the cool season, where the weather is perfect. April-September it's super hot. October-December it cools down a lot. Here in Cidra it’s said that it gets to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit at night. So we'll see. If I'm still here I'll let you know. I hope to celebrate Christmas here! I love it!

Thanks for sending me the pictures of Tori's birth mom meeting! That's so awesome that she found her! And it's a funny coincidence that they both love pickle juice! They look alike, too. Ah! Tori's so cute! I can't wait to hear from her!

Okay, I think that's just about all the interesting stuff that happened this week. Love you lots! Thanks for keeping us updated, Dad! I love your emails, they're hilarious. :)

LOVE YOU! Be safe this week!

-Hermana Erickson

#27 [Cidra - 3] Sept. 16th, 2013

So we're living here in Cidra now, and we had no idea where we'd do email this week. We found this internet café on the border of Cidra and Caguas and decided to come here. It's $4.50 every ½ hour, and sorry, but I'm too cheap to pay $9 for an hour's use of internet, so I'll have to do this quick.
   
First of all: We moved into our new house on Tuesday! It's super cute! We're happy about it; lots of mosquitoes! We received a reference from one of the members in another ward on the island; we went to visit them this week and they're great! Totally ready for the Gospel! So pray for Elias and his family! We have an appointment with them tonight!
   
We celebrated my 6-month mark with cake. It was good. It was also Hna Sosa's 1-month mark the next day, so obviously we celebrated with more cake. :) I dunno what it is about the cake here, but it's super good.
   
So I had a really awesome revelation this morning as I did my personal study. I was studying about the Plan of Salvation, and it's a big deal! I was studying, specifically, about the spirit world, because we don't really ever focus on that part of the plan, and it's interesting how few will be able to enter into paradise after our physical death here on earth. It just made me wanna convert more people because I don't want anyone to have to suffer so much after such a difficult life here on earth! I'd go into deeper details but there's not time for that. Sorry!
       
    ●  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ERICA BROOKE EDWARDS ON SEPT. 14th! :)

    ●  CONGRATS TO MANDY FOR GETTING MARRIED!

    ●  CONGRATS TO TIFFANIE FOR GETTING HER MISSION CALL! I had no idea that it'd come or that she'd submitted her papers, but I'm so excited for her and so proud of her. She'll rock it! :)
   
So something bit me again and now my foot is swollen. It's weird cuz this happened exactly six months ago. I'm not sure what it was, but it hurts to walk on, and it's my other foot now.
   
Joshy! Your date is a babe! Didya kiss her!? Heheh jokes.
   
OH MY! I can't believe Kelton came to visit the fam! What a nice guy! He looks the same pretty much.

So BIG NEWS: We're getting an oven! I'm gonna make some of your banana bread, Momma! Cuz our landlord has banana trees all over the place, and we can eat them as much as we want, so I'm so excited!
   
Okay, well I'm really sorry, but that's really all I have to say about this week. We were contacting a bunch again and so nothing all that special happened.
   
Hna Sosa and I are getting along great and I am thankful to have her as my companion.
   
Okay, that's all. Love you so much! Bye bye! We'll try finding somewhere where we can do email for free. (If it's free, it's gotta be good, RIGHT DAD!?)

I LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson

#26 [Cidra - 2] Sept. 9th, 2013

Hello there!

This week was full of contacting and getting lost. I feel really bad driving around all the time, but Hna. Sosa doesn’t have a bike yet, and the streets in Cidra are all really narrow and really steep so it'd make bike riding impossible anyway especially because Puertoriquenos LOVE speeding. I don't wanna be roadkill, so we're driving around until we know the area well enough. But we also went house hunting. That was a lot of fun, and we ended up finding a little house! The guy we'll be renting from is named Obdulio, and he's SUPER cool! He's got banana trees, mangoes, and guava trees all over his property, hammocks, and chickens. He loves chickens, so he's got like 20 that run around everywhere. But we'll be living there, and I'm really excited. We'll be moving in on Tuesday after the District Meeting. I'll be sure to take pictures once we get all situated. I feel so grown up!

We're starting to find investigators. We found and taught a couple who've been married for 30 some-odd years that are really into religion right now because their son is doing bad things and they want to set the example for him. When we sang "Teach Me To Walk in the Light," A (the lady) started bawling. We shared the story about Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah with her and they were really excited to read the Book of Mormon. It just made me realize though how much our decisions must affect Heavenly Father and how hard it must be for Him to see us turn away from the right path. Especially those who have been blessed enough to have been born in the Church. But I feel like A and D (the husband) will progress a lot and we're excited about them.

We spoke in Church yesterday. The Bishop called us on Saturday night to tell us. He asked us to get the members excited about sharing the gospel. We've got Stake Conference next week, and that's what will be discussed, too. I'm just excited for General Conference because I can't believe it's already been a whole year since they made the age change announcement! A WHOLE YEAR and look what has happened since then! It's crazy! I love it though. Time passes quickly. And this week, I hit my 6-month mark! And Hna. Sosa hits her 1-month mark! We're gonna be eating cake, obviously. :)

Speaking of cake, people feed us ALL the time here, members, nonmembers... I feel like I'm gonna get fat. But the food is good... so I can't really complain. It'd be a different story if the food was gross and I got fat, but since it's good.. I won't feel quite as guilty. Hehehe. Oh, and our new house is located just down the street from one of the best restaurants in Puerto Rico, so we'll probably be going there one of these days. Hurray for food!

That's honestly all I have to say about this week, things should be more exciting in my next email home. But now I shall answer your questions and comment about Dad's wit!

I love your guys' emails! Thanks so much for emailing me (and Rae) every week! It's so nice to hear from you all and know what's going on in your lives. It sounds like you're all involved in so much!

I'm glad the dinner with the Beesly's went well. Can you guys send me Rach's emails? I wanna know what's going on with her, too. How many baptisms has she had now? (Not that I'm counting...)

In the Cayey ward, there are just four missionaries, 2 Elders and us. The Elders work in Cayey and we work in Cidra. The chapel is so far away from Cidra though that I hope that the ward will progress enough that they'll decide to build a new chapel for Cidra. I think that's why there are so many less actives. But then if they really wanted to go to church they'd get up and just go... I dunno. Puerto Ricans are really awesome, but they'll use any little excuse to get out of things too. A very indifferent culture.

But anyway, it kinda bugs me having Elders in the same ward, they are always trying to join us in our citas (that means appointment). For example, we set up an appointment with a member, they're planning on inviting a non-member to their home for dinner so that we can teach them, and then I come to find out later on that the Elders had just invited themselves to our cita! Those little moochers! And guess what else?! They have a person that does their laundry AND cooks for them every day! It shouldn't bug me, but it does. They're just coming for the food. Ugh.

New topic. David Low's SISTER is Head's volleyball coach!? What the weird! Which sister? What a small world! Dave said that his sister works for Timpanogos, but I didn't know she still did. How awesome! Tell her I say hello! And when you go to Dave's ward, tell him I say hi, too!
 
You guys kinda got to experience what happens here! It starts pouring rain just outta the blue all the time here! And the streets are always flooded! It's so crazy!

Well anywho, I love you all and miss you lots. Thanks so much for your love and support and thank you for raising us kids the way you did, Mom and Dad. I can't believe how blessed I am in my life because of this Gospel. Thank you so much for being true  to your covenants and teaching us the ways of righteousness. You guys are the best parents EVER! I LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson

#25 [Cidra - 1] Sept. 2nd, 2013

Hello, everyone!

Happy Labor Day! Gosh it’s been a crazy past few days! Okay, wow, where to begin? We don’t have a car in our area yet, so we’re living in Caguas and have to drive to our area every day. It’s about a good 45 minutes away. But anywho... We got to Caguas after all the craziness of transfers on Wednesday, and we got the car later that evening. Unfortunately, it’s not one of the new Chevy’s though. I got demoted to a 2012 Toyota. But I’m not complaining, at least we have a car and air conditioning. After buying some food for the week, we went to our area, even though we had NO idea how to get there or where we were going. We didn’t have an area book yet, and didn’t know any members, so we just went, “not knowing beforehand what [we] were to do,” like, Nephi. :) We ended up getting lost, and I feel like that’ll be the story for a good two weeks or so until we familiarize ourselves with the area.

Hermana S is my new companion, my new child. Hehe. And she’s really great. It’s nice to have a new companion, and that’s all I’m going to say. She and I are getting along just fine. It’s a humbling experience, being a trainer. I am excited about this area, it’s GORGEOUS, and the climate is great. I’ll actually get to use the cardigans I brought! Hurray!

New companion -- New city

We went to Church yesterday (obviously) and met all the ward members. I’m really excited about this ward and feel like it’s going to progress a lot. There were about 56 people there, about the same number in attendance as in Pontezuela. All of the members were excited to be having sister missionaries there again, though. I think having a set of both Elders and Sisters will do a lot for this ward.

We got our Area Book and it was completely worthless. So due to the fact that our Area Book hasn’t been touched in about 3 years, we’ve done lots of contacting in the past few days, so sorry I don’t have any crazy stories for you yet, but I’m sure they’ll be in abundance soon. Oh wait. I’ve got one. So we got a phone call from one of the contacts we made, it was super awkward because we think he was drunk when he made the call, but he asked us if we could get married while out on the missions. When we said no, he was really disappointed. I’m not going to translate everything that he said, but honestly, I feel bad for people that drink like that. I’m thankful for the Word of Wisdom that prevents us from living sad, nasty lives! BUT the majority of the people that live in Cidra are very, very blessed. We have met a lot of good people, too.

Anyway, Hermana S is doing well, she’s a powerful missionary and she’s happy to be here. She is really easy-going and I really appreciate that about her. I just hope I can be the best example for her!
 

Cidra "The Town of the Eternal Spring"

Hermana G keeps me informed on everything happening in Pontezuela. R got baptized yesterday. J baptized him, and I’m sad to have missed such a cool experience. I’m happy though about the work I did in Pontezuela and will miss that area and the ward a lot. R will be getting baptized next Sunday. After seeing R get baptized, he said, “I’m ready! I want to be baptized on Sunday!” So it’ll be awesome. Wish I could be there, but I’m needed here now. I don’t know who will baptize him, but I am just so happy and feel so blessed to have been part of their lives. Hna. G said she’ll send me the picture from the baptism yesterday, but I still haven’t received it, so I can’t send it on.

Everyone in the family looks nice. The Farley Fam Reunion looks like it was a lot of fun. Everyone’s growing up! How’s Lyndsee doing? Does she like school? And how is John’s baby? Hope everyone’s doing well!

Happy Grandparent’s day on Sunday! (You aren’t grandparents yet, but it’s still a holiday). Give Grandma Farley and Grandma and Grandpa Erickson hugs for me!

 Well anyways, I’m gonna try to connect my camera now to send some pictures of Cidra! It’s SO pretty. People ride horses all the time here. They like to dress up really nice and strut around on their horses. Man, if I weren’t on a mission, that’s what I’d do here, too FOR SURE. Hahaha, it’s so silly!

Okay, well, bye! Infinite x’s and o’s. :) (Mom: oxoxoxox)

-Hermana Erickson