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.
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!
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.
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
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
