Hello, Fambamily!
So this week has been pretty slow as far as missionary work goes. It wasn't a complete failure, but I'm ashamed to say mine and Hermana Flores' numbers weren't the highest. (It's not like I care about the numbers, but they definitely count for something. Hehe, get it?! I'm so punny!) But anyway, because of my participation in the Choir (we had TWO performances this week), I feel like I wasn't in my area at all this week, and then we drove Hermana VanLeeuwen (one of the sisters I live with) and another sister who stayed with us for two days to the office and back almost every day. We drove over 100 miles in one day alone. It was crazy. Nevertheless, it was good to drive around, since I'm learning how to drive like a Puerto Rican. It's insane, but I'm getting it. If I can drive here, I can drive anywhere I think.
We're all getting new companions TOMORROW! I'm staying here in Pontezuela, And I'm so so excited about the changes coming up. Obviously, I'm a little nervous about it, too, but I have faith in the Lord that everything will work out and be okay. I am also very sad to lose Hermana Flores as a companion, but I know she will help her future companion and the area of Mayaguez SO much. She is an incredible missionary, and it was an honor to serve with her and learn as much as I did from her example.
I found out who my companion will be. My District Leader called and let me know: she's one of the sisters I knew in the MTC. I am really excited because she and I got along so well, and she is an incredible missionary! I'm not getting my hopes up too high, because I know there is still a possible chance for a last-minute change, but still. Whoever comes to Pontezuela to serve with me better be ready to party and work hard at the same time.
Our ward, I'm not sure if I told you about it last week, but it's really really small. And I've been trying to think of things we could do as missionaries to strengthen it. I want to find people who will commit and convert to the Lord. We have SO many inactive members. It's good to visit them, and try to get them to come back to church, but it's difficult. I plan to work with the youth. I feel like because I'm closer to their age, I can relate to them more. D&C 121 says that "the strength of the Lord's höuse" is the youth. So that's what I hope to do here. Obviously, I'm not the one in charge, the Lord is, so we'll see.
Our investigators are doing just fine. Rosa was avoiding us all week, but we finally got to talk to her. She's had a baptismal date for 2 weeks now, and we know she hasn't felt completely ready for it since she's putting off her last requisite - Church attendance. (As a prerequisite for baptism, all investigators must attend Church at least 3 times). But we got to talk to her last night, and Hermana Flores got to talk to her for the last time, and we figured out what her concerns were. It was a really spiritual experience, and I feel like for the first time, the lesson was half and half. It was amazing, and I know the Lord definitely helped me with that.
We also visited the Flores family, a couple who are in their 60's I think. (It's hard to tell because people here have NO wrinkles!) But anyway, they are progressing faster than we thought they would. Last night's lesson with them was absolutely incredible! We talked about SO many things, and we answered so many of their questions. Eternal marriage, families, baptism, priesthood authority, the Restoration, the Holy Ghost, and Prayer. It was indescribable. And after, when we were just about to finish with a closing prayer, and after we taught them how to pray, the telephone rang, and all of us jumped because we were so engrossed in the Spirit. It was really such an amazing experience.
I love this work. I am so thankful to be a part of it. A year and a half ago, I never thought I would have the chance to serve a mission, and now, today, I just realized that I'm HERE. I'm doing this. This is for real! And I love it! I'm so happy to be a part of this and I'm loving every minute. It's hard, and frustrating, but the joy that comes along with it is... Wow. So worth it!
Random thing that happened this week, I made French toast for Hermana Flores; she'd never had it before, poor thing! So I made it for all of us for breakfast, and she LOVED it. Hurray for good food! It reminded me of home. Momma, I miss your cookin'!
Speaking of food, I'm just kind of accepting the fact that I'm going to gain weight while I'm here. We eat SO much rice and beans and fried stuff at members' houses, and they give you SO much . . . I run every morning, but still. And luckily, I ride a bike every day, too. But anyway, don't judge.
Okay! Now I'll reply to your email!
It's good to hear that everyone's teeth are doing just fine. I'm wearing my retainer every week at least once, and I STILL haven't missed a day flossing!) Dad, way to keep those chompers of yours straight, too! That's awesome!
I heard about the Boston Marathon event. We were at an investigator's house when we heard about it. She was freaking out. But I am thankful to hear that Sister Clayton wasn't harmed; I thought of her immediately when I heard about it, and I'm so glad the Lord protected her. What an awful tragedy, though! We are definitely in the last days.
Okay, I need to repent. I've been AWFUL at taking pictures here. I've got . . . maybe 3 pictures with Hermana Flores. I am really sorry. But I'll bring my USB cord along next week to send them. I'll be sure to take lots this week so I can earn your forgiveness. I'm sure my blog is looking pretty plain without pictures. So sorry!
Jaker, I hope your birthday was perfect! That's great you won your soccer game! Keep up the good work! And way to go on your win with the Espanolandia! That's so so awesome! It's good to know all that stuff. And good luck in your choir! That's an awesome thing to do, dude!
Hurray about Katherine B's mission call, too! The last time I talked to her, she wasn't sure if she was going to serve, so that's great she submitted her papers and got her call! She will rock it!
Congrats on Camille's relationship status, if, of course, Dad's facebook stalking is correct. That's always exciting! And I'm sorry to hear about Nathan. I'm praying for everyone, but I'll pray hard for him.
About Mother's Day . . . I'm not allowed to call. It's a new thing the President is trying out because he feels like we're too distracted. So you'll have to wave at Rachel for me, because I'm not going to be able to. Jokes! I will be calling, but I don't know when. We aren't permitted to Skype, regrettably. But that's okay cuz I think if I saw your guys' faces I'd get too emotional to handle it. I miss you guys a lot. But to answer your initial question, I don't remember my Skype name right off, But luckily, it doesn't matter since I won't be using it at all. Hermana Tuitavake (my companion for the day, since Hermana Flores and Hermana VanLeeuwen left this morning) says we get to call, but our District Leaders are the ones who will call and tell us when we can call. Apparently, we never know until the moment we're told. So I can't guarantee a specific time. But I'll be sure to ask when we get closer.
The PRSJ mission is absolutely insane. I'm not even kidding. You get a call and are expected to be in another area or something in ten minutes. It's so random. It's a little frustrating, but they keep us on our toes.
The milk here is SO expensive. We just bought our groceries for the week, and wanna know how much a gallon cost us? $6.00. SIX DOLLARS! Everything here is expensive. But really? So sad. They sell two types of milk here: the normal kind, and then the kind in boxes that doesn't need to be refrigerated until it's opened. I've tried both, and I don't mind the kind in the box as long as I'm not drinking it plain. If you do, it tastes like cardboard. But whatever. I'll live. And if I have to spend $6 lumping dollars on a gallon of milk, I guess that's what I'll have to do.
Well, I'm just about out of time. Thank you so much for everything. I love you all and hope all is well.
Infinite x's and o's. OXOX :)
-Hermana Erickson #2
Dear family:
Before I forget: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKER! 10 years old! Hurray! I hope your birthday is awesome, bud! I miss you a lot! Every time I see little boys here around your age it makes me think of you! I hope soccer is going well for you and that you're liking school!
Wow, I can't decide if I like p-days or not. Today was supposed to be a normal, relaxed one, but then plans changed last minute and we had to drive all the way here to Bayamon to the office. It takes about an hour to drive here, if the traffic is like it usually is (which is awful...). But we didn't get too lost this time. I'm just struggling keeping up with all these changes. It's crazy.
Yes, the backpack arrived. It's HUGE! But it's okay, I can definitely put it to good use and I'll use it as my emergency bag. We have to get a 96 hour emergency kit ready, since it's hurricane season coming up. WOO HOO! I think it'd be awesome to experience a hurricane. So we'll see. But thank you!
My foot is still a little bit swollen, but I can walk, so it's okay! It's not purple anymore, thank goodness. Everyone here would look at it and FREAK out at me and tell me I needed to go to the hospital, but Sister Visker, our mission nurse, gave me antibacterial pills and I took those faithfully until I ran out of them. Thank goodness for modern medicine :)
Driving here is seriously so so scary. And we get lost ALL the time. I don't enjoy driving, but it is a privilege, that's for sure. Everyone tells me that if I can learn to drive here, I can drive anywhere. And it's true. There are rules, but NO one follows them. It's insane. The lanes are very skinny, and there's always a lot of traffic.
And yes, I feel like we've been eating out SO much lately. I'm in the mission choir, I don't know if I told you about it. But almost every weekend we have a performance. But honestly I don't know for sure. But we've been eating out a lot lately. I bought myself a donut the other day just cuz I wanted to. It was really good. So far, I'm loving the food here. I feel like I'm going to get fat if I'm not careful. But no worries, I've been doing my exercise! :)
Sorry if this email is super random, I left my little note card that I filled with things I wanted to tell you back at home, so I'm just trying to go by memory.
We currently have 2 investigators with baptismal dates. We're teaching a family right now, and they're having family scripture study with the Book of Mormon. It reminds me of home. Thank you for doing that, Mom and Dad. It really was a wonderful way to strengthen our family relationship. I hope you guys still do it even though Rachel and I aren't there to make it as fun as usual. :)
Oh, and no worries about the CTR ring for my companion. I gave her mine.
I would love my scriptures, if you could send them along. Thank you so much. I miss my scriptures. It's hard here, only having my Spanish ones. My other ones have so many notes and helpful markings in them, and I can never find the scriptures I want to use during the lessons. So I'm hoping that if I have my English ones and copy all my markings from those into my Spanish ones, I'll be more successful. Could you also send some different colors of pens? Or highlighters of some sort? I only brought black. If not, it's fine. I can buy everything here :)
So we had an incredible experience this week with one of our investigators. We decided to stop by her house and visit her even though we hadn't originally planned to do so that afternoon. When we got there, she invited us in, and as soon as we sat down, she started bawling. She then went on to say that she's been planning on committing suicide but then we came along. It was really sad. She has had a really hard life. Her mom just died, and her husband is dead, and she lives with her brother who doesn't treat her very well. I don't know that much about her situation, but every time we go over there, she has another problem. She is planning to be baptized on the 27th of this month. It's crazy, though. I know the Lord sent us over to her house for a reason that afternoon.
We're teaching a young man named M.... He's 24 years old and has a baby daughter. He's addicted to smoking and drinking and is trying to quit. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and came to church yesterday. It was great! It's amazing to see how the Gospel changes people's lives. He's changing so much. He wants to be the best dad for his little girl, and it's so cool that he's making those changes.
Oh! So we spoke in Church yesterday. I dunno if I ever told you, but I live with 3 other sisters. My companion, Hermana Flores, and then two others: Hermana Tuitavake (from Tonga), and Hermana VanLeeuwen (from Utah – she comes home next week. She served a 3-month "mini-mission," and so her time is up. I didn't know "mini-missions" were possible, but apparently they are!!) But yeah, all four of us spoke in Church about the Doctrine of Christ. I spoke on the first principle: Faith. It went really well. I spoke in Spanish. I was really nervous, but everyone was really nice and said they understood it. So hopefully they weren't lying. :)
Our ward is struggling. We have about 25 ACTIVE members, and the rest are all inactive. We have almost 200 hundred "members" of our ward, but everyone here is inactive. Puerto Rico WOULD have a temple if their members would actually go to church, but since they don't, we don't have a temple and I don't expect we'll be getting one too soon. Our goal as Sister missionaries in Pontezuela is to strengthen our ward. It's amazing how much work we have to do. Our mission goal is to have 20 members present each week per companionship at our lessons with investigators. It's really difficult to find sufficient members to accompany us to our lessons because there are 2 companionships here and only 20 members who can actually accompany us. I feel bad because we use the same members over and over again, but we don't really have anyone else. But we're trying. :) I definitely took it for granted back at home, having such an incredible ward family.
Anyway, I'll try to reply to your email now. I'm glad to hear everyone got back home safely. I hope you had a blast in Hawaii! I am jealous! Joshy, I hope you're feeling better by now. The picture of everyone in the ties Rae sent home was fun. Everyone looks like they need haircuts. Hehe! Those ties are fun though. I'll try to find some cool stuff to send home to you guys as soon as I get the time on another p-day.
At the luncheon, Mom, you could talk about Preach My Gospel. It would be amazing if more people and not just missionaries could implement it. It's an incredible teaching tool for EVERYONE, and the members could be more prepared to do their own missionary work by studying it. That's my suggestion. Hope it's helpful.
And no, President Alvarado and I never got a photo together, and I doubt you'll be getting an email about my arrival on the island anytime soon. But just so you know, I am here in Puerto Rico, and I arrived safely. There :) As far as a picture goes, I don't have one with the President to send to you. So sorry about that. I really want to send pictures, but I left my USB cord at home. I didn't know we'd be doing emails here today; I have my camera, but there isn't a slot to put my memory card in. But in case you're wondering if I still look the same, I do. I'm sunburnt, but what's new? Can't say I'm black heritage status yet, but I'm working on it. I'm using sunscreen, too, but since it's so gosh darn hot here, I sweat it all off. Gross, I know, but true. :)
So like I said, I'm in the missionary choir. I LOVE IT! It is so much fun! This last week, we had a performance in Mayaguez ("Maya-wes" is how you pronounce it), and it was our very first one. The mission choir travels all over the island and apparently we go to some of the other islands around Christmastime to perform. It's going to be busy, but a lot of fun. But I had a really embarrassing moment. It was our first number, and I stand on the edge, and after our first number, we were supposed to wait until the curtains closed before going offstage, but I didn't know that. So the people applauded, and then I just walked offstage... And no one followed. I felt SO dumb! We all had a good laugh about it after, though. Everyone gives me a hard time since I'm the youngest missionary here right now. But not for long!
The new missionaries are coming next week! I still don't know if I'll be training for sure, but I'm just planning on it, since there will be so many new sister missionaries. I am very excited, but nervous, too. I don't know if I'm ready to train another sister about being a missionary when I feel like I still don't know how to be a proper one myself. But I know the Lord will help me to do what I'm asked to do here while on my mission. And every time I'm having a hard time, I think of all of you who have been on missions before and think to myself, "if they can do it, so can I."
Thank you for your examples. I am so lucky to have you as my family. I love you all so much. Thank you for all your support and love. Miss you!
Peace out.
-Hermana Erickson #2
Hi mom! I have literally 2 minutes to write to you real quick. Today has
been a crazy p-day and I haven't been home AT all. I'm in the mission
choir, so we had practice all the way in Ponce, and so I have been gone
for practice. We have performances on Friday and Saturday, and we hardly
know our songs... It'll be interesting. But, it's crazy how little time
we have here.
How is Hawaii!? You're so lucky to be there! I hope you're
all having a blast. And it's too bad Heather couldn't come along this
time, either... hehehe jokes!
Grocery shopping here is INSANE. Everything is super expensive.
We have 3 investigators with baptismal dates. I'm super excited about it.
We
got a car on Tuesday. I'm the designated driver, and driving here is SO
scary. I hate it, and I'm literally praying that our lives will be
spared with every turn we take. They have driving laws here, but no one
follows them. I'll have to take a video sometime.
It's getting hotter every day, and apparently it'll only get hotter.
I'm
training in less than 2 weeks. I'm super scared, but I know that the
Lord will help me. If he trusts me enough with the souls of Puerto Rico,
he trusts me enough to train one of his chosen vessels.
So, I had an exciting event happen this week, I was bitten by something. I
don't know what, I don't know when, but my foot has been swollen and
purple for 3 days. Don't worry, I'm not going to die, but it's a little
painful, and we haven't been able to do much since the nurse says I need
to keep my feet up. I feel bad keeping my comp inside all day when we
have things to do, but whatever. I have to be obedient. I WANT to be
obedient. I don't want to lose any limbs here. :)
Thank you for putting the bike money on my card, I'll probably withdraw
that next Monday if I can, so I can just get that taken care of.
We
got to watch conference on Saturday for half of the morning session, and
both sessions on Sunday. I loved it. I heard about the temple in Cedar!
I am SO excited about that! I am excited for all the students there who
will get to serve there. I hope to be able to do that too!
Okay, I've gotta write to President Alvarado now. I love you all so
much. Thank you for being the best family ever. Have fun in Hawaii, and
don't forget to pray! hahaha. I LOVE YOU!
-Hermana Erickson
HI FAMILY!
I didn't think I'd get to email you at all this week, we
were gone since 6pm Sunday night until about 5 pm today, so we rode our
bikes super fast to the University, where I'll be emailing you from now
on.
My new companion is named Hermana Flores, she's from Mexico, and speaks
very little English. So I'm trying to teach her as we go about our daily
things. She is very sweet and I am thankful to have her as a companion.
Puerto Rico is GORGEOUS. I absolutely love it. The people here are very
nice, most people here are Christian, so they have the same background
beliefs as we do. There are a lot of little iguanas/lizards crawling
around all the time, I've seen one cockroach (ew), and it's rained here a
few times. But other than that, it's great. Everything here is SO
colorful! All the houses and the streets. It's so much fun!
So as you know, since Mom is so great at blog stalking nowadays, we ride
bikes everywhere. The Sisters do get cars, but the girls I live with
(there are 4 of us in our little apartment) didn't get a car because
none of them had a US license. But now that I'm here, it's looking like
I'll be driving if we do get one. I'm afraid to drive here, it's scary
enough riding a bicycle. It's not as scary as driving in the DR was, but
it's still pretty scary. People drift lanes a lot.
Speaking of bicycles, Mom, I need a backpack. They don't sell them here
right now since it's not "Back to School" season, so could you find me
one? One that would be good for the rain and protect my books and what
not. Also, could you send my 4-combination scriptures? They're up in my
room somewhere. I can read the scriptures I have here in Spanish just
fine, but for marking up scripture mastery ones and what not, I'd like
to have my other ones. You said you just sent off a package, so I'm
sorry, but that's something I need. The instructions originally said NO
BACKPACKS allowed for Sisters, but everyone has one, because they're WAY
more conventional than side bags. Feel free to send along Oreos and as
much chocolate as you can stuff in there. I'm having withdrawals. :)
HAHA.
And I also need a pillow. So many things I need and I had no idea.
So I'll buy the pillow here when I get the chance. Luckily, I've got my
baby blanket to sleep on.
Anyway, I'm
in an area called Pontezuela, on the Northern part of the island, just
south of the airport. I think. I'm not sure exactly. But planes fly
over all the time, and it makes it difficult to hear people when we go
contacting on the streets.
This week was Holy week. From Friday-Sunday, almost all the stores here
were closed out of reverence for Christ''s death and Resurrection. It's
cool how religious people here are. Another tradition is that on those
days, they only eat FISH. (And rice and beans, of course). It's crazy!
We had fish twice that day, because some of the people we visited gave
us some. It was super good, surprisingly. AND! Be proud - I ate my first
avocado! Hurray for being brave and trying new things!
We found a family this week, and the Mom was totally prepared to hear
the Gospel. It was awesome! She was asking so many questions, and it was
so much fun talking with her. She spoke English, too, so I got to
testify in English. I felt the Spirit so strongly. I'll keep you
updated. She and her "husband"(boyfriend, they haven't married yet) have
3 kids, and their grandmother lives with them and she's 100 years old!
They are an amazing family.
I also invited a guy to be baptized too! He said YES, and he's preparing for April 28th or something.
I'm
happy to hear the people I met at church this week called you! They
were such nice people! It was a blessing for me to have them there, they
reminded me of all of you, and it was cool to have some "family" for
Easter. Our ward is tiny. Either that, or just a lot of people were gone
for the holiday.
So apparently I'm going to be training the incoming missionaries from
the CCM in the DR in four weeks. I am so nervous, I feel like I hardly
know how to do any of this, and the president expects me to be able to
step up and lead. I am very scared, and feel very unqualified, but I
know the Lord will help me through it. He has been helping me so much. I
am so thankful for this Gospel and the knowledge that a Heavenly Father
loves me as much as He does, and that He is mindful of me, too.
Well anyway, that's pretty much all I've got time to tell you about. I'm
keeping a journal every day, so hopefully I can keep it up throughout
the mission. And just in case you care to know, I haven't missed a
single day flossing. :) Yay for clean teeth!
I can't send pictures from here, so sorry. Hopefully next
week. But I love you all so much. Thank you for all your support and
love. I pray for you every chance I get. I hope everything is going well
at home. Mom, sorry to hear you were sick, and hopefully Jaker is
better too. And I'm glad to hear nobody died this week.
I LOVE YOU! Keep being awesome!
-Hermana Erickson
*P.S. Happy Birthday, Dave! (April 6th).
Hello, Fambamily!