SHE's BACK!

Marissa returned home on Aug. 28th!!!

She speaks in church on Aug. 31st, at 1:00 PM.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for her and corresponded with her.

WE LOVE YOU and thank you!

~ Erickson FamBam

#76 -- [Ponce - 13] Aug. 25th, 2014

3 days! 3 days!

Congrats to Head on her first day of HIGH SCHOOL! Holla! I feel like I was just barely starting there... That's exciting. 

Haha, DAD! You're trunkier than I am! I love you and can't wait to see you! Well, not just him, obviously, I'm excited to see you all. Thanks so much for writing to me throughout my mission and for all your support. I can't wait to tell you all about everything I've learned!! I know this Gospel is true and I know the Church is true! I wouldn't trade my testimony of these things for anything. I love being a member of Christ's Church. I feel so blessed to know the ins and outs of the Plan of Salvation; there are no loopholes. It is real, this Gospel is real, the Restoration is real, and I am so happy to be a part of it.

Also, I got the flight itinerary info. Thanks for sending that to me. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Now I know! I'm stoked to be flying again with Sister Cole! We came together and we're leaving together. Love her. 

We didn't have two baptisms like we'd planned; R__ backed out on the morning of the interview. We're not really sure why, Sister Leonardo plans to go back this week and see if he'll explain himself. But it just makes me sad knowing he won't be receiving the blessings of the Gospel yet. But, the Lord knows what He's doing. Hopefully we'll be able to find out what he needs. 

L__ was baptized, though, and it was SO awesome. I am so thankful I got to see one more baptism before leaving. It felt really amazing, seeing him go down into the water. He looked so.. clean. The only worry I have is that he moved to Florida this morning. I hope he'll be able to find the Church there. I'm sure he will, though. He was an amazing investigator, he reads EVERYTHING. He even read the pamphlets about preparing to enter the temple, even though he's not going, he knows he needs to work toward being worthy. It's been awesome too, to see him develop in his testimony of the Book of Mormon. That's been my main goal as a missionary, to help others see the truthfulness of that sacred record. I love that book with all my heart and hope to distill that within the hearts of those I have taught. I know it's true and I'm glad that he left knowing it, too. But you're right, maybe you'll be able to meet him when we go to Florida! I think that'd be cool!
 

We got soaked a few times this week because it's been raining like crazy! It's been a really nice break from the hot weather. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Friday evening it was scary, there were big thunderings and lightnings and Sister Leonardo is really scared of that, so we had to walk home in the pouring rain, and we sang hymns. We came to a flooded street and she said, "Sister Erickson, this is disgusting, we have NO idea what we're stepping in! There's DOG POO in this and who knows what else!" We smelled really bad when we got home. It was freezing cold, too. 

The bishop in my ward found out I was leaving this week so he was nice enough to let me have a few minutes in Sacrament meeting to say goodbye to the ward members. That's the first time I've ever been able to do that since I've just always been taken out of my areas by surprise. I didn't cry though. I'll miss it here, but I'm excited to come back, too. 

Well anyway, that's all I've got to say. I'll tell you more about life when I come home. SEE YOU SOON!! I love you! I'll probably call you when I'm at the airport in Texas. HOLLA!

-Sister Erickson

#75 [Ponce - 12] Aug. 18th, 2014

2nd to last P-DAY!! :)

Wow, so sorry about not sending the letter last week. The Internet here was super slow and kinda just shut down on me without warning, and I thought I'd sent it. But obviously not. But like I said in the letter I just sent, YES, we got the package. Sister Leonardo loves the sweaters and the ring, she never takes it off, and she wore the white sweater yesterday even though I know she was DYING of heat. She is very very thankful. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for doing that. They don't sell those kinds of things in the DR.

I loved the picture collages. Dad, I'm glad you have the time to make fun stuff for me like that, take pictures, and what not. Thanks so much! I enjoy it.

Thanks for going to Jacob's wedding reception! I appreciate that. I asked if you'd go in my letter, but since that didn't get to you last week, I guess we communicated through the Spirit. How great! :) Thanks so much for supporting him, I'm happy that he's happy.

Okay, last week I had a funny thing happen to me. I got pooped on by a pigeon! We were standing outside of a house and reading a scripture, and then I looked down and there was some type of blue ink on the page. But then, I looked, and there was poo on my bag. The person went inside and gave me a napkin to clean it off, and as soon as I got it clean, I felt something land on my head. YES, the stupid pigeon got me! We were laughing a lot, but at the same time, it was so awkward. But the good thing about it is, apparently, it's a sign of good luck! They say that that means I'll be getting a lot of money soon. :) Seeing as it happened TWICE in the same 10-minute window, that must mean I'll be getting TWICE the amount of money a typically lucky person gets. Or at least that's what I hope.

This week was lame, though, because we were walking around a lot in the hot sun, trying to contact, but there was NO ONE outside. School started here, so everyone is at school or out shopping. Sometimes I get frustrated because it feels like I'm not doing ANYTHING. But PMG says "no effort is wasted," so I guess we've gotta have more faith that there's a reason we're just walking around like this.

This past week, I had exchanges with Sister Boaz in Juana Diaz. That was an absolute BLAST. I had so much fun! We celebrated my 17-month mark getting island-famous frappe's. Mine was an Oreo-Nutella mix. I loved my day in Juana Diaz, it felt like heaven compared to the heat I'm used to in Ponce. And we actually saw human beings! It was great! I was a contacting maniac, it felt good to talk to people and have them actually listen and want to talk to you. I loved it. It made me jealous that I don't get to work there. It reminded me of Cidra. Speaking of that place, there aren't any missionaries there anymore. So who knows what's going on there now.

Our investigators, L__ and R__, are both excited about their baptisms. L__ came back from Florida late Saturday night and didn't make it to church, but HE GOT THE JOB!!! He'll be working in DisneyWorld, so he's really excited. He's moving on Monday, so he'll be getting baptized on Saturday (if all goes as planned), confirmed on Sunday, and moving out Monday. He's got a crazy week ahead of him. But he's excited.

R__ is excited as well, We've still got a few more lessons to teach him, and we're going to his house Wednesday. He gets along fine with the members, and he's not dependent really upon anyone, he finds his own way around the chapel and everything.

The members here are sad to see me go. They've loved taking advantage of my beautician skills. The Relief Society President wanted me to teach a blow-drying class, but I don't know if that'll happen because they haven't really set a date up or anything for it.

An inactive member, T__, invited us over for dinner on Saturday. She said it'd been YEARS since she's had any missionaries over for dinner, so she must like us. That made us happy. She gave both of us dresses, too. She's a professional seamstress, and she has TONS in her little business that she never uses, and so I got a FREE dress! It was really nice of her. She still says she's not ready to come back to Church yet, so that's too bad. But she knows the Church is true. We visited a lot of less-actives and no luck.

Well anyway, I feel like that's all I had to say about this week. I'm excited for Saturday because of the baptisms. They'll be getting in the water at around 10:30 a.m., so hopefully all goes well with the baptismal interviews.

Well, bye. I LOVE YOU! Thanks so much for everything! Have a happy, safe week!

-Sister Erickson

1. The four of us living here in the Ponce house, Sister Oborn, Sister Dye, Sister Leonardo, and me at a Zone Meeting this last week.

#74 [Ponce - 11] Aug. 11th, 2014

(Received on 18th)

I haven't got my travel plans yet, but I'll just take your word for it. That's so weird! I'm so excited to see you guys!

To answer your question, yes, we got the package! The ring fits my companion perfectly and she likes the sweaters! I didn't take a picture yet, but we will next week for sure! Thank you so much for that! She loves it.

Hahah, Dad, you're so funny, about how many people will be in sacrament meeting. :) But I'm sure there will be about 300... Hehehe jokes. :)

This week was funny. We went to a members' house this week for Family Night and when they met Sister Dye's new companion, they called her "Wendy" because she has red hair and had it in pig tails. But anyway, "Wendy" was the very first thing they said to her, and then they made all these jokes about how if we go to Wendy's and what not, we'll get free food cuz she looks "just like her!" It was a really funny joke. I don't think she got offended, but Puerto Ricans just like to speak their mind. :)

We went contacting in a place we'd never gone before, and we found some new people to teach! A__ and M__, it's a husband and wife, and they're 7th Day Adventists, but they're super cool because they listen. We have an appointment with them next week and I'm excited.

We had interviews with President Boucher this past week, too. Mine was short, he just said I'll be having another interview in about three weeks, so there was really no need to say much this time. He just told me to focus! (I should've told him that my eye doctor said that "Focus" is my middle name! Hehe). But he's a nice guy. Too bad I won't get to know him better.

Okay! Great news! We have two baptismal dates! August 23rd! L__, who actually picked his own date! And R__! He came to Church again yesterday too, and loves it. L__ left to Florida this morning for a job interview, so if he gets the job, he's going to get baptized here and go back. He was nervous that the Church wasn't in Florida, but it is! And even better, there's a temple! So he's excited for his baptism. He's still struggling to give up smoking, though. That's my only worry. Haha, during our last lesson this week, he had been reading online about Mormons a bit, and he asked us about he "Magic Clothing" we use. It was kinda awkward because he asked, "Do you guys use it!?" But we explained what it is and he was fine with it. He's super cool.

R__, though, is good. He's keeping the Word of Wisdom, and just progressing slowly. So hopefully he'll be able to learn everything well enough for the baptismal interview.

N__ isn't progressing. She says she'll come to Church and we find her rides but then she never answers the door when we go to get her. So we've decided to give her a break. Her twins are starting school this week and so maybe after the whole school excitement dies down, she'll be more prepared.

We participated in a community project thing where we handed out backpacks to "less-fortunate" kids. I say "less-fortunate" because the people who live in government housing aren't less fortunate at all. They don't pay for anything, WE do, and they buy brand-name stuff with the money they do have. All have iPhones and what not. So I feel like the Church wasted the money doing that, and it was poorly planned, because we didn't know about it until Wednesday, AND classes started TODAY, so I'm 110% sure they already had backpacks for school. But whatever, they have a new dust collector. The coolest thing about it was, Minnie and Mickey Mouse showed up! Holla! I took a picture with Sister Leonardo's camera, but I can't send it to you cuz it's broken now. Oh well. I guess we'll have to take one when we go to Disneyland, right?? Hehe.

We had a good lesson with C__, she's been reading and what not, but I'm not sure what her motives are, so we've gotta have a good "Come to Jesus" talk with her to see where she sees this all going. We've explained where we expect this all to lead to, but who knows what she thinks. It was a good lesson though this week because we got there just in time; she was crying because she'd just found out that her sister-in-law is dying. So she was really sad and we were thankful that we could be there for her. She's such a nice lady.

Well anyway, I love you guys and miss you so much! I'm happy you're all doing well and are all happy. Keep being awesome and keep doing the good things we know we're supposed to do! I love you!

Also, if you have time, you can go to Jacob's wedding reception.

Well, bye!

-Sister Erickson

#73 [Ponce - 10] Aug. 4th, 2014

Dear family:
 
Yes, I AM COMING HOME AUGUST 28th. I don't have my travel plans, either, but the office elders told me two days ago that my ticket has been PURCHASED. Cha-ching! :) I'm so glad you all wanted me to come home in August (and that it conveniently works out with the wedding plans) because geeze, I miss you all!

What's up with all the new temple films? Why are they making so many? Is there some type of Church-wide competition to see who can make the best one!? Cant' wait to see all... ten of them!

Rae's costume was SICK! She looked so real! What a good little professor she made! This calls for a trip to Harry Potter World!! Sorry the butterbeer was a disappointment.

SMART PHONES!? Where'd my family go to!?!? Haha, jokes. I'm excited that everyone is happy with their new devices! How cool. I hope, though, that you guys are still using your scriptures like normal. No phones at Church! Not even to read the scriptures! Bring the traditional ones. Deal? Deal.

This week was slow, to be honest. The best thing about it was that L__ and R__ came to Church. N__ was supposed to come with her kids, but when we walked over to their house to wake them up/make sure they were getting ready, no one answered. When we went by later on, she said that her brother had come early to pick them up and take them to breakfast... But I could hear the fan was on in their front room where they all sleep... So I don't know what to believe. BUT the good thing is, R__ came for his first time! We didn't think he'd actually come, but when we went to pick him up with C__ and H__, he was waiting on the corner of the street for us! He's such a cute little old man! He doesn't know a lot about religion; we had to explain how to use the Book of Mormon again. But we know he doesn't have Alzheimer's or anything, and he wants to learn more. We re-taught the Restoration this past week with C__, and he understood it a lot better. We're excited about him.

L__ is doing well, he's about halfway through the Book of Mormon. He came to Church yesterday even though he'd worked the night before until 4 a.m. He's SO awesome! The only thing is, he still hasn't tried to quit smoking and he's going to Florida today for a job interview. He'll be gone till Sunday, so he won't be at Church. If he gets the job, obviously, he'll be moving to Florida... And who knows after that. But he's great. He's finding out for himself if the Book of Mormon is true, and I think he already knows. We just didn't get to see him this week because he's so tired during the day and has a lot of things to do for his kids as they're starting school this next week.

We visited some less-actives. There's a less-active here named L__ who served a mission. From the moment we met her, she's always glared at us and acted like she's to good to listen to what we have to say. We honestly go there to befriend her, not to teach her. We shared our testimonies with her yesterday about why we decided to serve missions. She warmed up a little bit after that. She has six kids and only one of them is active. I'm just thankful that my parents are faithful, active members of the Church and I plan to be the same, if not for my sake, then at least for my kids'. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for always encouraging us to go to Church even when we didn't want to. Thank you, Rach, for encouraging me to go to Church at school even though I didn't want to. I love you guys and wouldn't be here if it weren't for your example.

We went to M__'s yesterday to see her and her son. She's been reading, she's in 1 Nephi 10, but she's not necessarily interested in finding out if the Church is true. She listens to us because she can't go to her Church's bible studies classes on Thursdays and she figures our visits make up for that. So this next Sunday we plan to be very direct with her and if she doesn't understand or accept why we go there, we'll have to drop her. She's awesome and the experiences she shares with us make me feel the Spirit so strong. Her son died when he was 16 of a brain tumor and I KNOW he's accepted the gospel and wants her to do the same. So we'll see how things go next week.

Well anyway, this week should be awesome. We have interviews with President Boucher this week. I really like President Boucher. He's very aware of how we feel and making sure we're okay. I really appreciate that about him and his wife. We haven't been able to get rid of the bed bugs yet, so they're sending some people to the apartment today to basically wipe out whatever we've missed. I like to think we've cleaned the apartment for bedbugs really well, but these things just DON'T DIE!! It's frustrating. I don't have them in my bed, just Sister D__ and her newbie, Sister O__. Poor things.

Well I love you so much and miss you all a lot! I'm glad you're all happy and healthy. Where are you guys at in your family scripture reading of the Book Of Mormon? I wanna read along with you!

Have a happy week!

-Sister Erickson

#72 [Ponce - 9] July 28th, 2014

CONGRATULATIONS TO MADELINE AND TYLER ON THEIR NEW BABY GIRL!! I am so happy for them! I was thinking about them all week long and praying that everything would go well! She looks so much like Tyler! I can't wait to see Elle in person and I'm so happy for everyone! I think the name they picked out is pretty. At least, prettier than most of the names I've heard here. Congratulations! What a wonderful blessing.

The Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo sounded like a lot of fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it even though you missed the best part (bull riding!). I don't want to have sleeves on my dress, I want to wear a sweater. I like that better and I miss wearing sweaters. Is it possible for me to do that? Or would that ruin everything?

I'm actually doing just fine, Sister L__ has been companions with a lot of people who went home and she says I'm not anywhere near as trunky as they were. So don't worry, I"m focused. I'm actually excited because of transfers, I'm staying here in Ponce with Sister Leonardo. I'm stoked to be working with her, she's awesome and is teaching me how to make lots of good food. Sister D__ will also be staying here in Ponce, she'll be TRAINING! I'm super proud of her! Now, all of my daughters have trained at least once! I've got 5 daughters and 8 grand-daughters! Life is great! I'll talk a little more about transfers later.

I'm bummed I'm missing out on the Butterbeer at Rachel's work! Be sure to try some for me!

This past week was good. I can't believe how quickly time is going by! I'll update you guys on last week and then this week, so get ready for a good, juicy email!
 
We found a new investigator named Radames. He's really cool. We extended a baptismal date, and he accepted. So hopefully he'll be able to understand everything in the five lessons before the 9th of August. That's the date we've got him set for, but the last time we went, he didn't really understand the Plan of Salvation, so we had to explain the Book of Mormon really well: helping him find the page numbers, understand the footnotes, and to use the index/guia del estudio de las escrituras. It was good.

L__ is doing well, he went to Church last week, but couldn't this week because of his work. He works the night shift, the poor guy. But he's progressing a TON! We had a Family Night activity at the Bishop's house last week and he went and was there with the members till 11pm. He really likes the Church. He needs to quit smoking, and we taught him the Word of Wisdom this past week and will start up the Quit Smoking program that we have this next week. Pray for him, please, because this is going to be hard for him.

N__ is also doing well, she was supposed to come to Church yesterday but she didn't, so something must have happened. She talks too much to be able to teach her, so please pray that she'll let us teach her, because I know she longs to hear about the truths of the gospel.

Zone Conference was good, too. President and Sister Boucher are good people. I like them because I feel they're on the same level as us spiritually and temporally, they don't act like they're too good for us. I like that they're young, and that he's a convert. He's very approachable, as well as his wife. I didn't get an interview with him, but they said they'll be coming back for interviews within the next few weeks. I'm excited to get to know them better.

This week was fine. I did lots of people's hair this week. I cut N__'s boys' hair, and I also colored and cut a less-active's hair. She had originally only asked me to do it just for her, but then she told me when she picked me up that her daughter wanted me to do highlights in her hair and give her a haircut. So I did it for them both, a little annoyed because she basically threw it on me, but she threw the bus completely over the bridge when she invited her friend over after I'd finished blow-drying and styling them both and had cleaned everything up and then she told me to do her friend's hair, too. It would have been super awkward to say no, because her friend was just sitting there expecting me to do it, so I did it. 

We're teaching a lady named C__ every Saturday. She's progressing, too, reading the BOM and what not. We taught her L2 the week before, and this past Saturday, we talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, about faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It was cool because she said so herself that her baptism in the Catholic church isn't valid. So hopefully she'll be able to keep reading the Book of Mormon to know for herself the Church is true. Pray so that she'll have the desire and motivation to go to Church and to keep praying about the Book of Mormon.
 
Yesterday morning, when we were getting up, Sister L__ hurt her neck and has been basically paralyzed ever since. Okay, not paralyzed, but she she's in a lot of pain and can't move her head. Yesterday, we had to dress her and do her hair and makeup. It was a really funny and awkward experience for me and Sister D__, Sister L__ was crying and laughing at the same time because of the awkwardness of the whole thing. Hopefully the kink in her neck will go away, because yesterday after Church, we couldn't go out to work, and I don't want to be inside all week cuz I'll lose my tan line. Jokes! :)

Anyway, transfers this week! We totally called what would happen, too. Me and Sister L__ are staying together, like we thought we would, Sister D__ is training for the first time and super nervous about it (but I know she'll be just fine because she's been ready to train since the MTC), and Sister D__ is going to Arecibo to be a Sister Trainer (we TOTALLY saw that one coming!) I'm excited about transfers. They're moving the Elders from our ward into the other ward here in Ponce. So now there are only Sister missionaries in Ponce 4. I'm excited about that, because I felt like 6 missionaries is too much for our little ward.

I'm glad everyone is doing well and is happy. I'm happy too.

If anyone wants to send me mail/stuff, you can send it to this member's house:

829 C/Sauco
Urb. Villa Del Carmen
Ponce, PR 00716-2124

Okay, well, I've gotta go, I'm out of time. My fingers hurt from typing so fast and so much! I love you so much! See you in a month! :)

-Sister Erickson

#71 [Ponce - 8] July 21st, 2014

Sorry, this email is going to be super lame, we don't have time for email this week, so I just read all the emails I got and am just replying to you guys. I hope you feel special! :)
 
This week was good, me and Sister Leonardo had a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll have enough time next week to give you a REAL update, because we were little pranksters to the other sisters this week and it was great. :)
 
Anyway, we have Zone Conference tomorrow all day. That'll be interesting.
 
Also, the Mayor (but she's a female, so I dunno what you call her, Mayoress?) of Ponce came to Church yesterday. I have no comment about that this week.
 
Well anyway, sorry this is short and so lame. I am glad you're doing well and are happy. I love you all so much.

Also, my Mission President called me last Tuesday and said that he accidentally put my name on the list to go home 2 weeks early, but I can decide if I really want to do or not. I've got till tomorrow to decide and I'm still praying about it. It sounds really nice... But we'll see.
 
Bye!

-Sister Erickson

#70 [Ponce - 7] July 14th, 2014

16 months!

I can't even believe that I've been out for 16 months. I feel like the time is speeding up!

This week was kinda rough. We're still struggling to find people who are sincerely interested in the gospel. And due to the temperature it's difficult to find people outside to talk to.

My companion's Mom is really sick, I'm not sure exactly with what, but her aunt had it a year ago and she ended up passing away from the same sickness. So if you could pray for her, that would be really great. I worry about her sometimes because she's not one to let her emotions show, but I know she's really worried.

We found out that Sister D__ has bedbugs. I don't really know what to do to get rid of those things. We suffer enough with the heat of Ponce. I guess it's just another trial of our faith...

Anyway, we played soccer last Monday, like I said we would. All of us were really sore all week. I played really aggressively and ended up pulling a muscle and I got a grass burn on my leg. I call them battle wounds :) But I really enjoyed playing.

I learned how to make mangu! It's a mashed platano dish, it kinda tastes like mashed potatoes, but with onions and vinegar. Who knew I'd ever eat so much weird food!? Hahaha.

We didn't get to teach N__ at all this week because when we went over there, her kids were distracting her. It's difficult with her kids there because she's a single mom. I'm so thankful to have been raised in a home with a mom and a dad. Thank you for giving me that blessing!

I experienced a "tender mercy" this week. For reasons unknown to me at the time, I've been writing down the information of houses in our neighborhood that are "For Rent." Thursday afternoon, we were in a meeting at the Church when some strangers walked into the chapel. They are a couple from Missouri who will be living here for 8 months and need a place to stay in Ponce. Because I'd written all the information in my planner, I gave them everything I had. It's kinda cool how the Lord works, prompting us to do things even though we might now know why, and we always get to see the reasons afterward. I love seeing the Lord's hand in my life like that. He's the coolest.

I got to do a hair relaxer this week for Sister Leonardo. I felt like I was taking my hair school final all over again. It was fun, though. Man, I miss doing hair so much! Can't wait to get my hands on your guys' when I get there! I'll get you all lookin' so nice!

We found a 20 year-old girl this week and her mom. Their names are N__ and M__. N__ has a little baby boy about 1 year old. They're super nice and really interested in the message of the Restoration. I can't wait to go back tomorrow!

OH! Our investigator, L__, came to church yesterday for the first time! It was really cool because we were supposed to be having an activity on Saturday with the Ponce 2 ward, but that ended up getting cancelled and we didn't know until we got there and the church was completely deserted. So we got to teach L__ right there and then he got a priesthood blessing from the Stake Patriarch when he and his daughter came to get us to take us home. It was a really spiritual experience. He said that he'll really have to think about being baptized. We extended a date for him (August 2nd) but he didn't accept or deny it. He's reading the Book of Mormon, though, and it's really awesome to see him progress. We're going to help him try to quit smoking and drinking. He says that for the 3 hours he was in Church, he didn't feel the desire to smoke at all, whereas usually, in a 3 hour period, he would've smoked at least half a pack. He feels the difference and feels the Spirit. It's awesome!

Well anyway, that's just about it for my weekly update. I'm happy that Heather could receive a priesthood blessing. I love receiving priesthood blessings and that's awesome she could gain a testimony through her experience at Girl's Camp.

Congratulations to Jeff on his new job at the MTC!

Way to go, to Josh, for speaking in Church! Can't wait to hear the talk! I'll bet he did great. What was the topic? Were his hands sweaty? Hehehe.

Good luck to Head with Drivers Ed, DON'T KILL ANYONE! :) And enjoy the "Red Asphalt" movie they always show. It's gruesome.

I love you and hope you all have a successful week. I miss you so much and pray for you when I remember to.

Haha jokes! :) I pray for you all the time. I LOVE YOU!

-Sister Erickson

#69 [Ponce - 6] July 7th, 2014

Hi family! I love you!

Happy birthday to Grandma Farley! I love you!

This week was good. I feel like it passed by really quickly. We met our new Mission President and his wife on Tuesday in the meeting. Surprisingly, the meeting was brief and I really appreciated that. I know my companion did too because she was saying how tired she is of having so many meetings in such little time. President and Sister Boucher are nice people. Sister Boucher reminds me of Sister A__, so that was fun. It actually wasn't a real Zone Conference, either, just a quick meeting. I liked it. They basically just told us about themselves. He's a convert from Arizona, he served a mission, and they met at BYU and got married – the typical story. But I like them and am excited to serve with them. I also like how he uses the scriptures.

We found a new investigator who is inquisitive. He asks a TON of questions. He's met with missionaries before, but in a difference place, and apparently, they made him cry because he felt the Spirit so strongly. He came to a baptism this weekend and got to see how we do baptisms. We think he liked it. The problem is, he gets all his questions from anti-Mormon sites, and so we're not sure what his real intentions are: does he want to gain a testimony, or just an intellectual knowledge of what we believe? We've gotta figure that out this next time we meet with him. But he can have a lot of potential.

N__ is doing well. We didn't get to meet with her because when we went by she was working. Apparently the Jehovah's Witnesses came to her house this past week though, and made her cry because they didn't speak very kindly to her because she doesn't have the time to go to their church. When she explained that she has to work 3 jobs to support her family, the lady got mad and said, "God comes first, so give your children to me and I'll take them to church for you." Her sons, amazingly, feel the difference, too. When their grandma asked the twins about us, they called us their friends. They also want to learn "I Am a Child of God." They speak more English than Spanish. Hopefully we'll get to meet with them this week. We haven't even been able to share a whole lesson with her yet because when we've brought members, they always dominate the lesson and talk about worldly things. So we're going to not bring one this time to see if we can actually get some teaching done.

We did some service at a member's house this week. The ward helped a lot, too! His name is R__ and he just got baptized, he and his wife (before she died 5 years ago) were on the brink of getting baptized, when she got sick or something and then died. He went into a major depression and stopped taking care of the house. He's finally getting his life back into order and we went to clean the house out. I've never seen anything like it, but it was full of so much stuff! I took some pictures, but you can't really see because of all the dust in the air. But man, we probably used 3/4 of the 2-gallon bleach bottle we brought. I felt so good helping him, though.
 

We're going to be playing soccer today and I'm super excited about it. Ever since I've come to Ponce I've been feeling like a fatty; people feed us SO much rice and beans. I went on a rice strike this past week. But I'm loving all the Coke they give me! Hahaha. It actually rained twice this week, too, but only at night. I woke up and looked out the window to see a rainbow. It was beautiful. God loves me, obviously. :)

Well anyway, that's just about all I've got time for. I love you and pray for you every day. Thank you for your support and love. Keep the commandments and be happy, or don't and be miserable. That's my advice for the week. :) I LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson

#68 [Ponce - 5] June 30th, 2014

Hi, Family!!

I love you! Thanks for writing to me this week! I loved hearing about everything you're all up to.

This week was great. We had the Ward Rescue activity and had a great turnout. Me and Sister Leonardo went with the R__ family to an inactive's house. (Mom, just fyi, Sister R__ has tried adding you or Dad on Facebook. Her name is S__ R__, or something like that, so if you saw that name pop up on your "friend request" list, that's why. She had tagged some pics of me or something that she wanted you to see). Anyway, the activity was great. We taught him about the priesthood. He'd gone inactive before receiving it, and his kids have never been baptized. So we're going to try working with him. The thing is, though, he works on Sundays, so he can't really come back to Church. We didn't see him again, though. His name is J__. He's living at his parent's house because he and his wife are separated as of right now. So you can pray for him and his kids and his wife, too. Hopefully they'll get back together. He's receptive, though, and just really confused because he's gone to lots of different Churches.
 

M__ and her son L__ have progressed this week. She's been reading the Book of Mormon and is marking it up and using the footnotes and everything! We taught them the Plan of Salvation yesterday and it was great! Her husband, H__, doesn't really like us coming over because they're "Catholic" but she doesn't seem to mind, and they feel the Spirit, too. We gave L__ a Book of Mormon of his own, too. He's a barber, and she's a hairdresser, too. So it's fun to talk with them.

We went to another inactive members' house and ended up teaching her aunt. Apparently, this lady met with the missionaries like 30 years ago, but remembered a lot of the things they'd taught her and had only recently given the Book of Mormon away to someone else. But it was cool because we were there with the Bishop and his wife and they taught with us. We answered a lot of her questions and gave her another Book of Mormon. She thought that the Mormon religion had practiced witchcraft back in the day, or something. So that was kind of funny. Man, some people read so much weird stuff about us online! But hopefully she'll give us a call, because she really is looking for the truth. She lives outside our area and wouldn't let us take down her address.

N__ and her twin boys were planning to come to the Father's Day activity on Friday, but then they couldn't because she works at night. She couldn't come to Church either because she works until 7 a.m., so pray so that she can come, too. She really wants to come and see how it is and she's anxious to learn about the scriptures because she has no idea what the Bible teaches. We took a member with us, the primary president, and they actually already knew each other! So it was cool, too, because the Primary President could explain what goes on in Primary and what they teach the kids. She's excited to come to Church as soon as she has a Sunday off. And we left her a reading assignment in the Book of Mormon, too.

I got fried this week. The sun is so hot here in Ponce! We were contacting in a different part of our area and found some women cleaning out the front part of their house so we decided to help them. The ladies were drunk and asked us for money in the end, but it felt good to help them. We didn't even ask, really, we just kinda took a rake and started. They appreciated it. But man, I got fried in the process. :)

This week we've been going around and taping paper hearts to the members' doors. Giving them a "Heart Attack from the missionaries" They LOVED it. We also had a ward activity on Friday for Father's Day and we played a game with all the members and they liked that, too. I feel like we're gaining their confidence and they're excited about doing missionary work and working with us. We're coming up with an activity to do in the next month, a MINI MTC for members, where we'll teach them what to teach in a lesson with us and what NOT to teach. Sometimes the members who have been a part of the Church for a long time like to delve into deep doctrines with the investigators, like baptisms for the dead, etc., and so it just causes a lot of confusion and arguments. So we're going to do some workshops with them and it'll be great. The four of us came up with the idea last night and can't wait to meet with the Ward Mission Leader to discuss and plan it.

As for me and Sister L__, we're doing great. Getting along just fine. We're trying to teach her English, and we sing Hymn #52, The Day Dawn Is Breaking, almost every day and she's trying to memorize the lyrics. It's really funny, though, because she can't hold a tune to save her life. But she's getting it, the pronunciation of the words, and what not. She goes home the transfer after me and so she invites us to her house when we go. :) She reminds me so much of Madeline, her personality, it's really great. Speaking of Madeline, how's she doing? The baby? *WHO ARE THESE CHILDREN COMING DOWN!?!* Hahaha. I'll bet Sister Ashcraft is excited to be a grandma! What about Maddie? (I dunno her last name). Man, all these new babies! So exciting!

No news about the new Mission President. We have a Zone Conference tomorrow, so if he's there, we'll meet him and his wife. We're excited. Sister L__ says she's tired of having so many meetings. She said she's had one about every week now for the past 7 weeks. Haha and now we're having another one. She's so funny.

Well, I've gotta go now. Bye! I love you and pray for you all! Have a great week!

-Sister Erickson

#67 [Ponce - 4] June 24th, 2014

New comp

Hi family!

Okay, thanks a lot for the pictures of Rae's homecoming... Now I'm SUPER excited to come home! I started CRYING looking at the pics. Feelin like a fool at the university library. Rae, you look BEAUTIFUL!! I can't even wait to be there! I'm so glad that she got home safely and you've all been enjoying the time together. The family picture you took looks so... boring without me... Hahaha. Jokes, jokes! :)

This week has been crazy. I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Leonardo and she's from the DR! So she's been making me a lot of Dominican food and will probably be teaching me how to make it so when I get home, I can satisfy your taste buds with some delicious Puerto Rican and Dominican Republic cuisine! She is a VERY good cook. She's 22, and has been out for 13 months now. She reminds me of Madeline A. (Vance) SO much. :) Their personalities are really similar, too. It's fun.

Sister Dye's companion is from Honduras, she's been out 9 months now; Sister DaCosta. I miss being her companion, but it's nice because we still live together. So it's a party. But we are working hard!

We found a new family to teach, the mom's name is N__ and she has two twin boys, six years old. She lives alone and is really hard-working. She has a little more time now though because it's summer vacation. She mostly wants us to teach the boys, but we all know that she'll probably be the one that will learn the most. I think if she takes the kids to Church, they'll be baptized. She knows a lot of the members and has been looking around for a good Church to go to. The Jehovah's Witnesses are coming over sometimes, too, to teach her kids, but she never lets them in the house. But she lets US in, so that's gotta count for something. I'm excited about her. She's super nice.

We've been searching around for less actives on the list. Tonight we have a Rescue activity; planned with the ward where we will go out and visit some of the inactives on the list by surprise! I'm kinda excited but a little nervous. We really hope it will run smoothly.

A few weeks ago, we met a lady named M__, she's Catholic, and her son died when he was 16 of cancer. She's really cool. We left her a BOM and then didn't make it back to see her till Sunday after church. She'd been reading and taking notes and looking at the footnotes, too! It was super cool! I've never met someone so studious before out here! She and her son really like to study, so we're going to hopefully be teaching them more often. Her son doesn't go to Church, but he'd make a super good member, too. The whole family would! I just really hope they'll keep reading and have a desire to visit the Church.

We found a less active named J__ who will most likely be coming back to Church. We'd just met her, but she and I connected instantly because of some of the things I've been going through for the past 2 or 3 transfers and what she's been going through in her life. It was really really cool. The Spirit was so strong! My companion fell asleep, so that was kinda funny, but luckily J__ didn't get offended. I really hope she comes back, she needs the Gospel so badly, and needs to distract herself from thinking so much about everything that has happened to her. I've never felt so close to a stranger before. It was really special.
 

Sisters conference reunion. 

Former comps meet up at Sisters conf.

We had a "Sister's Only" meeting with Sherri Dew yesterday in Guaynabo. We had to stay at the Sisters' apartment in Juana Diaz Sunday night. Their house is infested with cockroaches! I slept awfully due to the fact that there was a dog barking all night and then my mind kept thinking I had baby cockroaches and bedbugs all over me. I woke up about every hour. But to be more positive, the meeting was SUPER great! I think that was the last meeting we'll ever be having with the Zwicks, too, since our new Mission President gets here this week. So it was bittersweet. I'll miss them a lot and I have learned SO much from them. Sherri Dew spoke a lot about grace, and I really liked it. I want to read her books. I was thankful to meet her. But anyway, since we didn't get to write yesterday, we got to write today. I'm thankful for that, too. I was really anxious to hear about everything that happened this past week!

I'm really trying hard to focus, I can't believe how quickly the mission has gone by. Seeing all the new sister missionaries that came in and not seeing all the ones I knew when I first came in really makes the end seem so imminent. I'm an oldie in the mission! So we're just not going to talk about it anymore, k? k. Cool. Except I have a request: for my first dinner home, I want dipping meat. :) Or Shoots. Okay? Thanks.
 
We still need to clean out our luggage. I know Sister Dye's luggage still has some bedbugs in it, apparently on Sunday she found some in her backpack. But so far, no bedbug bites. I don't know when we'll take care of that, but we will. :)

Okay, well, I've gotta go. It's time to work now! We just had a short p-day to buy groceries and write to you guys. Guess who has ZERO clean clothes this week? This girl. Does it matter? Not really, because I smell bad all the time because I'm so sweaty. But it's fine. I'm not bitter. :)

I LOVE YOU! Keep sending pictures! I like that the most. I LOVE YOU and pray for you every lumping day!

-Hermana Erickson... Now THE ONE AND ONLY!

Former house mates

#66 [Ponce - 3] June 16th, 2014

Dear fambamily:

This week was full of craziness. I honestly don't know where to begin. It's like one thing after another was thrown my way! I'm surprised I survived!

 After a week or so of waking up with red bites all over our bodies, we discovered we have BEDBUGS, so it's been real nice being eaten alive every night. We figured they were mosquito bites until we saw the blood spots on our sheets. However, we're taking care of the problem, slowly and surely. But getting new mattresses was nice because at least the beds are bug-free. I'm not so sure about our luggage, though. We've still gotta take care of that. We can't really kill them all because we don't have a clothes dryer, either, so even when we wash our clothes they're still there. Those things are indestructible! It's fine, though.

We had Zone Conference as well. That was sweet. I honestly love the Zwicks. They're the greatest. I'm going to be sad getting a new Mission President. But it'll be exciting, too! 4 Mission Presidents all in a year and a half!

Anyway, we found a few good people this week that we'll be excited to work with. Even 2 families!! But the most exciting thing that happened was that we spoke in Church yesterday, all four of the sisters here in Ponce 4, and the Bishop is super pumped about missionary work! We met with the ward council immediately after church and began discussing what we would all do to rescue our fellow inactive/less-active members. I felt like we were on one of those training videos: "How to hold a Ward Council." It was super productive! Everyone started naming off specific people they wanted to invite themselves to Church, and we even set up some appointments with specific members to go with us to investigators' houses, who also committed to invite them to their homes at the end of the appointment! I'm really excited about the synergy in the ward, so it'll be an exciting time here in Ponce! This makes the ridiculous heat here completely worth it.

We got the call about transfers. Both Sister Dye and I are staying here, but we're both getting new companions. It's like Pontezuela all over again, because we have to divide all the contacts and investigators we have. I'm nervous because the other sisters have been mainly working with less actives, so I honestly don't know where any of them live, but I guess we'll figure that out.

To be honest, I'm excited and kinda sad about transfers. Even though Sister Dye and I have only been together for 6 weeks, I feel like we've been with each other for forever! We've been through so much more than I can say in the past six weeks and I feel like I've grown closer to her than I have to any other companion. This has been the most difficult transfer of my entire mission, but it's a good thing, and I'll miss her being my companion. But at least we're still living in the same house! That'll be fun. I'm excited to have a Dominican companion. Her name is Sister Leonardo. She's been out for about a year I think. Hopefully my Spanish will get even better as I work with her! And I'll be asking her about the DR all day every day, probably!

I'm so sad to hear about M__ B__. I'm in complete shock. But I know without a doubt that she's where she needs to be, serving the Lord the way she had hoped to on earth: as a missionary. She said that she'd planned on serving a mission if the cancer went away, but I guess the Lord has a whole other dimension she's needed in. My best wishes to her family and everyone who knew her.

I can't believe Rae is already coming home! I feel like we just said goodbye to each other in the laundry room! It's been such a quick year and a half. I feel like my mission is automatically over now that she's coming back. SO WEIRD. Rae, can't wait to see you!!!!! I can't wait to hear about the whole family reunion, too. Dad! Don't forget to iPad her talk for me so I can watch her! I'll definitely be missing out! It'll be lonely knowing I'm the only missionary serving from the fam for a little bit.

Well anywho, I'm not really sure what else to write about, so I think I'm just gonna end it there. I love you and miss you and will be thinking about you probably all week and about the whole airport scene. That's probably going to be a Kleenex moment, right Mom!? :) You'd better record the whole thing! I love you!!

-Hermana Erickson

#65 [Ponce - 2] June 9th, 2014

Dear family:

I just want you guys to know I love you and am so thankful to have been born into such an incredible family. I feel so blessed to have been raised by such "goodly parents!" I love you guys so much and miss you so much. There are so many things I need to tell you, too!!

I'm excited about the references we can receive from Carmen; hopefully she'll get back to us soon. Transfers are next week and I don't know if they'll keep us here or not, Sister Burgess is the next one to go home because Sister Castaneda is going home next week (a day after Rach). I can't believe I only have two transfers left now... Time has flown by. But our guess is that we'll be staying here. So either way, send the references, and I'm sure they'll be contacted!

Okay, Krispen's daughter looks so gorgeous! I can't wait to meet her! How are they doing? How's KaLynn doing? What's she up to? Lyndsee?

I got an email from Josh Thill, thanks for giving him my email. It was good to hear from him.

We have a Zone Conference this week on Wednesday.

I'm in the Ponce 4th Ward. But that could change, so feel free to stalk me for this week! Hahaha!

The front of the house looks great, I'm so excited for Rachel to go home! I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen her! I'm excited to hang out with the kids, too. It's just going to be a good life. But I'm NOT even trunky. I'm LOVING this! It's super hot here in Ponce, and I'm dying every day, but Ponce is the most Puertoriqueno you can get, and everyone gives us food ALL the time. I love Puerto Rican food, guys. And I'm sorry to say, too, that I even like Coca-Cola! Who woulda thunk I'd ever say that in my life!?! I drank it with my breakfast yesterday... I've changed! Hahahaha.
 
Anyway, I guess I'll get on to telling you about everything we've been up to this week. Contacting, contacting, and more contacting. I'm getting darker every day! Holla! I'm excited about it, but I am kinda nervous because I feel like all this sun is going to cause me some skin cancer. So I'll be sure to take your advice and slather on the sunscreen even though I know it just comes off anyway. The funny thing about Puerto Ricans (well, Caribbeaners in general) is that they compliment us on how "pretty" we are when we feel like we're disgusting, sweaty street wanderers. But it's fine, it sure makes us feel confident! Hehehe

We've been contacting and giving out Book of Mormons. So many people call us "Mormons" without even knowing the reason why. So we invite them to read about it and it gives us a reason to follow up, too. I love testifying about the Book of Mormon. Even if I'm completely exhausted and so tired of doing the same old every day, every time we can place a Book of Mormon, I fire up! I LOVE teaching about the Book of Mormon, because it's like a whole other piece of the Gospel puzzle. I hope that the people we invited to read will do so. The Book of Mormon really is the key to a testimony. I know it's true and love it with all my heart.

I feel like we eat rice pretty much every day. A few days ago, a member invited the four of us to lunch and made a lasagna with RICE, instead of lasagna noodles, and it was DELICIOUS! I'm sorry to talk about food so much in this email, but I guess I'm hungry. :)

We had a ward activity, too, all based on Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life. We set up a tree made of cardboard and put Blow pops stapled to a picture of Jesus Christ as the "fruit." The chapel was dark, and the members were blindfolded, and they had to follow the "iron rod" (a piece of string that wove in and out of the rooms, all over the chapel) until they reached the tree. We (the missionaries) were, ironically, the one tempting them and trying to lead them astray. It was kinda fun acting like the bad guy! But they all really enjoyed it and thought it was a lot of fun. The members were impressed. Hopefully all the activities we do in the future will be that well attended and that they'll invite their friends, too. We extended the invitation for them to invite their friends, who are currently wandering around in the dark, to be able to partake of the fruit by inviting them to follow the Gospel, to read the Book of Mormon, etc. It was really spiritual.

Well anyways, I've got to write to my Mission President. I'm excited to meet the new one, but I'll miss the Zwicks a lot!

I LOVE YOU!

-Hermana Erickson

#64 [Ponce - 1] June 2nd, 2014

"Ponce is Ponce and all the rest is parking"

Dear seres queridos: (Dear loved ones)
 
Aqui estoy hablando Espanol de nuevo y estoy tan feliz y tan animada para estar aqui en mi querido Borinquen!! (Here I am speaking Spanish again and I am so happy and so excited to be here in my beloved Puerto Rico)

So we got to Ponce on Thursday night, our new area! We live here with two other sisters, Sister Burgess (who used to be on Tortola before I went) and Sister Castaneda. Both are going home soon. Sister Castaneda started with Rae, so they'll be on the same return flight home on the 18th. Sister Burgess goes home six weeks after her, and then I follow. Being with them makes me kinda trunky because they talk about going home ALL THE TIME. My poor companion, though, just starting out. It's hard for her to get her mind here knowing that they're going back home so soon. And then with this sudden change in language and climate, it's rough. She'll be the only one left here out of the four of us. It's hard for me to share an area with other sisters, though. I forgot what it's like to live with so many people and our fridge is TINY! But I guess it's good school prep, right?

But anyway, this week has been good, just finding our way around Ponce! This is the HOTTEST place in Puerto Rico, so I'll probably be kinda crispy when I get home. Or even black... You probably won't even recognize me! I'm happy to have Sister Dye with me through this whole experience. There's really no one else I'd rather be with opening an area. She gets homesick when we are doing studies, though, because her mind has time to wander. I think that's normal, though, at the beginning. I still can't believe she's only been out 9 weeks. She's an incredible missionary and I look up to her a lot. I just love training. President said that that's what I'll be doing for the rest of my mission, so I wouldn't be surprised if I got another trainee in the next two weeks. I dunno though, I don't want to think about it.

Although it's hot, we're doing well contacting people. We live in a super nice neighborhood, too. I've never seen such beautiful houses in Puerto Rico. We got a ward directory and the Patriarch in our ward helped us out yesterday and gave us the status of each name on the list. He gave us blessings last night, too, and it felt like another patriarchal blessing! SUPER COOL, especially because it was all in Spanish. This ward has amazing potential, so I'm excited to see what we can do to hasten the work here. We plan on getting the members involved a lot more. We've all got to get a baptism each month, so we're excited to alcanzar (I think that means reach?) that goal.

Sorry there's not much else I have to tell you; I feel like there isn't that much excitement in the first few weeks of opening an area, but we're finding a lot of nice people. They have ward activities every week, so that's exciting. There are 6 missionaries here: 2 Elders and 4 Sisters. It's kinda crowded, but hopefully having so many will help the work along.

I thought about Joshy on Friday night when I was drifting off to sleep. I remember my graduation and can't believe it was already two years ago. Time is flying by. Joshy wrote to me, too! So that was great. I felt so loved. <3 OXOXOX Thanks, Joshy!

I didn't know that kids could catch AND COOK their own pot guts at Clear Creek! I never did that. Hopefully Jake will videotape it. (It's a joke.) He's going to have a blast! Good ol' Clear Creek days. I loved my childhood! Mom, Dad, thanks so much for signing me up for so many fun things! I loved it!

Anyway, since I'm back in Puerto Rico, people should be aware that my address is the same:

Urb. Jardines de Caparra
#500 Calle Marginal Norte
Bayamon, PR 00959

I'm really happy to be back in Puerto Rico and speaking Spanish with the Boricuas (Puerto Ricans). I was feeling like my Boricuan Spanish accent was turning a little bit Dominican on me since there are so many Dominican Republicans on Tortola. And the best part about it all is, the FOOD IS SO CHEAP, HERE! I felt overwhelmed going to the store today. I LOVE BEING IN PUERTO RICO! I miss Tortola, though, especially all the people; we had SO many investigators! But hopefully the Cards will be taking care of them...

Well anywho, that's really all I've got to say. Here's a picture of us before we left Tortola! That's the first time I've curled my hair in about a year.

-Hermana Erickson

#63 [Tortola - 9] May 26th, 2014

Happy Memorial Day!

We have a lot of good investigators and are excited for the next few weeks. We feel busy and excited to be working here and as companions. I, for one, really love working with Sister D__ and feel like we get along really well. I feel like I've progressed so much and learned so much in such a short time with her and I can't begin to express the gratitude I feel for her and also for the Lord in sending us to work here together. It has truly been an answer to my prayers. She's just the right companion I need to keep me motivated and working hard and completely focused on the work at this phase in my mission. The crazy thing about it is I feel like we've been companions for so long, but in reality she's only been here on Tortola for two weeks! Time is FLYING by! We are having a party, pretty much. It's her birthday on Saturday, she's turning 20! So I want to buy her something special today and surprise her.

A__, the Dominican woman who came to Church last week, is really excited to be baptized. We taught the Restoration last week and she understood the need for baptism by one having the priesthood authority of God. She is excited to find out for herself the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. We need to start teaching her the commandments! I know she drinks here and there, so hopefully it will go well when we present the Word of Wisdom to her.

R__ didn't come to Church yesterday even though she had a baptismal date for this Saturday so we postponed it. She felt bad for not coming, but she does still want to be baptized. She's super awesome and very committed.

C__ is our rockstar investigator because he KNOWS the Church is true. The only thing holding him back from being baptized is his family situation. I don't know if I filled you in on that, but he's excited to be baptized and wants to do it, too. He just needs to figure things out first with his family. He has committed to coming to Church every week. He didn't come yesterday and when we met with him he expressed how guilty he felt for not coming. He has a very sensitive conscience and it's really refreshing to hear his sincerity and know how seriously he takes this whole thing.

I'm excited for the tie and the bow tie to come. I'll be sure to get a picture of them wearing them. Thank you so much for sending those! They will appreciate them SO much!

S__'s conversion to the Book of Mormon is going really well. We are watching a Church movie every two weeks with her and yesterday we watched The Mountain of the Lord, the one about the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. She learned SO much about temples and was blown away at the ordinances done for the dead within them. It just made me want to go. I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE AGAIN!

This past week I've been studying about the Plan of Salvation and I feel like the more I learn, the more I just want to know. I am SO thankful for the scriptures and for the light they shed on the plan. I am thankful for a God who loves me enough to let me choose my destiny. He's fair enough to give me my agency at the risk of losing me. I've been thinking a lot about the pre-mortal life and I am so thankful for the decisions I made before coming here, too. I am thankful for you, my family, and for being such great examples to me. I love you all so much and feel so lucky to be able to be with you forever. I am thankful for that part, most especially, of the plan. Families truly can be sealed for time and all eternity, and it's only through the priesthood. THIS CHURCH IS SO COOL! I can't even express "an hundredth part" of the way I feel, so I think I'll just stop there. But I definitely recommend you all study up about it. It's sweet and absolutely perfect. There are no loopholes, no exceptions, no imperfections. It is true.

Congrats to Joshy on graduating this week! Joshy, be sure to smile big in front of the T! I'll be thinking of you on Friday. Way to endure to the end, you little booger. :) I am so proud of you! SO PROUD OF MY GRAD! <3 <3 OXOXOX

Well, I love you! Thanks for being my eternal family! I feel like the luckiest person ever! My Heavenly Father loves me so much and I love Him! I love being a missionary, I think I am having the most fun right now than all the past months combined. Our current mission president, President Zwick, will be coming to Tortola tomorrow and staying till Thursday maybe. We're excited to have interviews with him. He and his wife are very special people and we'll be having a fireside on Wednesday at 7 pm. It'll be like General Conference all over again! :) I'll be sure to fill you in on any of the spiritual trinkets I get from it!

I LOVE YOU!

-Sister Erickson

#62 [Tortola - 8] May 19th, 2014

hELLO!

This week was so incredible, we found SO many new, incredibly prepared people and I am SO happy to be a missionary. I love my companion, I love my area, I love these people. If I get moved before coming home I don't know if I'll be okay with it. But luckily for me, this transfer just started. And I do feel like I'll be here for a while.

We went to the beach this last p-day because Sister Dye had never been or even touched the ocean in her entire life!! So we went to Josiah's Bay and she loved it. We ate Ben & Jerry's ice cream. (So much for the diet I mentioned a few weeks ago, right!? Haha) We'll be going again today if the weather permits.

We have 6 baptisms lined up! So we're really really excited. I don't even know where to begin with telling you about this week. We met two guys, C__ and M__, who actually called us over to them while we were contacting in town the other day. They're both really interested in the gospel. C__ came to Church yesterday, too!! He loved it. We met another guy named K__ who is really awesome, probably one of the most sincere people I've ever met; he shares his opinion so clearly and thinks that religion nowadays is ridiculous. He is looking for a Church that is REAL. So when we told him about the restoration, his mind was blown. He is excited and enthusiastic to find out for himself if the Book of Mormon is true.

A__, a Dominican that we've been teaching for a few weeks, just found out the other night when Sister Dye and I were teaching her, that we believe in the Bible. I was amazed because she said that none of the missionaries before had ever even pulled out the Bible! So she was really happy when she found out that we believe that the Bible is also the word of God. She came to Church for the first time yesterday as well. I lent her one of my skirts.

Sister Dye and I are just feeling a little overwhelmed because there are so many people we found to teach this week, and the members are inviting us over to their homes, and then we also have to visit the less-actives, so there's just so much work to be done, and we are so excited that we get to do it! I feel like the area has just exploded lately. I'm so glad that Sister Dye and I are working together, I feel like we get along really well and she's super awesome.

Congratulations to Joshy for graduating seminary! The pictures made me laugh. He looked nice in his grey suit. Very classy. I'm proud of him. Seminary is truly an inspired program in the Church.

I love being a Mormon because my religion and my faith doesn't have a limit. I love being a Mormon because we accept all truth. That was just something I was thinking about a lot this morning while I studied today. It is the only one on the earth that recognizes there is no end to truth because there is no beginning to it either. We are in the Church of Jesus Christ for sure AND I LOVE IT!

Well anywho, I guess I'm going to finish up now. I'm sorry this is kind of a lame email, but at least you know I'm doing all right and I'm very, very happy. I LOVE YOU!

-Sister Erickson

#61 [Tortola - 7] May 12th, 2014

Happy Mother's Day yesterday!

Okay, first of all, JOSHY'S PROM PICTURES ARE GREAT! I'm glad her dress wasn't too short, and he looks great in pink!! I have a BABE for a little brother! Now I'm nervous he's going to school before his mission, I feel like the ladies won't be able to resist! Way to go, Joshy! Hahahaha.

Since we spoke last night for Mother's Day and all, I don't really know what to say, but since I know you'll be sending this on to the fam, I'll try to make it interesting and update everyone about what happened this week.

It was so nice to see everyone's faces and to talk with you all! I miss you and love you guys! Mom, thanks for being a wonderful mother! I look up to your example and try to emulate you.

We had transfers, but this time it was different because the whole mission went to Caparra, PR (including us!) to meet the new mission president and his wife, President and Sister Zwick. He spoke in this last General Conference, he talked about his wife jumping out of the speeding, smoky pickup truck. But okay, I LOVE THEM! I've never felt so much love from complete strangers in my life. I felt like my mission hit the reset button all over again, too. It's a weird feeling, having a new mission president. But I'm happy because I like them and I feel very hopeful for the next few months. They will only be presiding over the PRSJ Mission until July.

President Zwick and his wife interviewed me before my companion and I went back to Tortola on Friday morning. I really can't even describe how much I love these people. I'm very happy to have met them and to be able to serve with them at this time. They taught me a LOT at the conference/meeting. I can tell they love us and I feel like I can trust them. It's a weird feeling because they're complete strangers. But they're amazing. I hope you get to meet them.

So my new companion is named Sister Dye, she's turning 20 on the 31st of May, and she's from Idaho. She's actually cousins with a girl from my graduating class at Timpanogos (B__ Jones), so that's a crazy connection. I love her already; she's very motivated, excited to be here on Tortola, and we get along really well. I think she might or might not be my favorite companion so far. I just feel like I've lucked out with companions, though, because I love all the companions I've had so far! But I'm excited because I feel like the island is going to explode with the two of us here. She's a powerhouse and I'm just pumped because I love being a missionary. So life is great.

We had a lot of success since we returned from Puerto Rico Friday morning. This weekend was the best. We have two baptisms coming up, both on the 31st. R__ accepted that date, and R__. I've already told you about R__, but I don't think I've mentioned R__. She's an 18 year-old from Maine and she's one of the members' girlfriend. She is really excited to be baptized and I feel like she's really been prepared. I like her a lot.

M__ passed the sacrament this past week for the first time in his life. It was really exciting to see him fulfill his priesthood responsibilities! I just love it when people choose the right! I am excited about the youth of the Church here, I feel like the Church in Tortola has a bright future. Hopefully we'll be able to get M__ on a mission.

S__, an inactive 20 year-old, is progressing a lot right now. She's reading the Book of Mormon to really find out if it's true. She's been inactive for 4 years, and has attended a lot of different churches. She grew up in the Church, but because she's been taught so much conflicting doctrine, she doesn't have much of a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Last night we watched the Testaments with her and she absolutely loved it, it was really awesome to see her connect the dots in the Book of Mormon and the happenstances of the New Testament. I just love the Book of Mormon and am so glad we have the other half of the world's side of the story, too. It's so awesome! The Lord definitely loves all of His children.

Well anyways, I love you so much and I would keep writing, but Sister Dye and I are going to the beach. :)

I LOVE YOU!

-Sister Erickson

#60 [Tortola - 6] May 5th, 2014

Hi there.

So it's been a pretty dramatic week. Transfer news: I'm staying in Tortola and Sister B__ is leaving after all. I’ll miss working with her. But I’ll be training again and so I am okay with it. She’s already been in the field for 6 weeks, I’m just finishing her 12 week training. Hopefully she’s cool because it’s hard being stranded on an island and it would be even harder being stuck with someone I don’t get along with. But I’m sure we will be fine. Greenies are super flexible and that’s why I think I like them the most.
 
We found out about President Smartt too. (Released due to health issues with his wife.) I feel like you guys know more about what's going on in my mission than I do! So thanks for the updates, especially about the missionaries being reprimanded, that's definitely a juicy piece of gossip I didn’t hear about! Hahaha. No worries, I’m not planning on falling in love with anyone out here. Hahahahaha.

On a positive note, we have an investigator named R__ that’s preparing for baptism in 2 weeks. She is married and has 2 little boys who will make 2 adorable missionaries someday. Hopefully her husband will follow suit soon after. It’d be fun to baptize a family. She’s super great though.

We met with S__ this week too and he’s been reading the Book of Mormon and loves it. He said he accepts the invitation to be baptized, he just needs to come to Church.

We went to a few beaches on p-day last week and they were beautiful. I buried myself in the sand for the first time, it made me feel claustrophobic, but it was fun. I am so excited for you guys to come and see this place, it’s so beautiful and the people are so great. I’m loving it!

About mothers day, I will probably be video chatting. I can do it anytime after 2 pm my time, we will be at a members house. My phone number on Tortola has changed, but I’ll probably be doing it via Google hangouts again because it seems to run better.

The package you sent did arrive, but I haven't picked it up yet. But thank you so much for sending it so soon.

Well, I think I’m just going to end this now. I am so excited to talk to you! Love you!!

#59 [Tortola - 5] Apr. 28th, 2014

Hello!

Well this week was fine. We went to the digitization ceremony on Tuesday and that was a fun activity. Apparently an anonymous member of the Church donated like $2500 to the library here in Tortola to install this technology, so on Tuesday was the day the library accepted the donation in public and everything. There was free food, too, so that was nice. It made me excited to do my family history. Hopefully more people will find interest in the Church through this new technology. With it, they'll be able to preserve special public documents and other ancient records that are falling apart and the public will be able to access them for free. The people here are very blessed to have such a commodity.

This week was a difficult one because it seemed as though everyone dumped us and/or canceled. And then all the new investigators we'd found these past two weeks or so either all said they don't want to meet with us or forgot about our appointments. But there's no need for me to be a Negative Nancy, I just figured I'd let you know. We need to find new people, that's for sure.

The biggest accomplishment I think we had this week was with the S__ young men, M__ and M__. They've come an incredibly long way in the past 5 weeks, but it was great because M__ got to bless the Sacrament yesterday in Church!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even get over how proud of him I was. M__ came to Church too for the first time in 3 weeks and he wore the white shirt and tie we got him. Man, there's nothing more rewarding than this, seeing people change and become free from the chains of sin. He was really happy too because he hadn't smoked in like a week and a half. He's only smoking once a day, if at all. So he's almost kicked his habit, and I feel like a proud mother. I love helping the priesthood, especially helping them see their potential. For their whole lives these young men have been told they're basically good for nothing and not going anywhere, but it's been a real special privilege to be someone that can tell them otherwise. I think that's one of my spiritual gifts, being able to see the good in others regardless of the things they've done in the past.

So our interviews never worked out because on Saturday, the day President Smartt was supposed to come, an Elder got shot twice in Puerto Rico, so he had to cancel. Hopefully he'll be able to come soon, but if not, that's okay. Sister Butler was actually going to be getting transferred but because of the incident, he put it on hold. I'm glad because I'm not exactly ready to take the reins here by myself. But to put a rest to your worries, the Elder is perfectly fine. The intended target is dead, these two Elders just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily, the Lord spared his life. Still waiting for details, though. I'm sure President will let you all know in an email, too. If not, just ask me for the juicy details next week.

Well, it looks like I'm outta time and thanks so much for all the pictures. Everyone looks nice. I feel like I'm super lame for never writing to anyone, so maybe I'll get better and start writing to people. But probably not. :) I love you all and miss you.

-Sister Erickson

#58 [Tortola - 4] Apr. 21st, 2014

I am so blessed and happy to be a missionary!

This week was a good one, I feel like the biggest triumph we had was with the S__ young men. They're very special. M__, especially, is turning his life around. He came to Church yesterday wearing a white shirt and tie and EVERYONE in the Branch was freaking out about how different he looked. He spoke with President Lyerly after the meeting and from what M__ said, he is cleared to start blessing the Sacrament again! We're really, really excited and happy about it because he also says he wants to serve a mission, and so all these baby steps he's taking along the way are making him excited, too. He said after Church that he felt so good and so happy to be doing the right things now. M__, his brother, has a little more to go, but I know that if we get M__ doing the right things, he'll eventually follow even though he's the older of the two.

We had a hilarious thing happen to us this week, too. Sister Butler and I thought we were out of propane because the stove wasn't firing up, so we called the people to come change it for us. When they called for us to direct them to our house, we didn't know how to tell them to get there, and so the guys thought we were weirdos (or stupid American girls) by the time they finally go there anyway. But the best part is, when they got there, they walked down the stairs to our tank, with the new one in hand, too, and when they went to pick it up, they say, "This tank is FULL of gas..." So we explained how the stove wasn't lighting, and he went in to check it out. I can't even describe the stupidity I felt when he lit the stove and had each burner firing. So they went to leave, right? (Luckily, we didn't have to pay the original $85 they would've charged us for the tank) And so we decided to invite them to Church, and Sister Butler says, "Yeah, it's upstairs Virgin Gorda..." -VIRGIN GORDA IS AN ISLAND... And they just looked at us, and said, "Yeah, maybe we'll show up, but we aren't sure how to get upstairs Virgin Gorda." (Because the Church is actually located above Virgin Queen, a restaurant, not the island of Virgin Gorda...) And we all DIED laughing. Long story short, though, we weren't funny enough because they didn't come to Church. It was a really funny experience, though.

We visited a bed-ridden inactive girl named S__ this week and convinced her to read the Book of Mormon and she said that we were the only missionaries that have come and actually given her the desire to read the Book to find out for herself if it's true. So that was cool. It's so sad because she's been sick with the parasite she's had since she was 16. She's my age. It made me grateful for my health.

We have a new investigator named S__. He's one of the people that work at the gas station nearby and it was really cool because he invited us to his house, and he said that for months he'd been meaning to invite the other missionaries before us over, but hadn't been able to since he was moving and what not. He's really been prepared and is anxious to learn because he used to be going to a church actively, but he had some family problems and got divorced and lost everything, but he feels ready to join a Church again and he said that he felt that we, specifically, had a message he needs to hear. He also says that if he finds out the things we teach are true, he'd be baptized again. I'm excited to see where this goes.

Sister Butler and I are doing well together. I feel like we work together well and I'm happy to be working with her. She's great and I like being with her because I feel like we're on the same spiritual level. :)

Dad, it's funny that during Jake's Hope of America Concert, you were thinking about D__ B__, because I was thinking about that, too this week!! What a funny coincidence!! :)

Good Friday was kinda lame here because EVERYONE on the island left for a big three-day party on Virgin Gorda (so maybe the propane guys went after all!! hehehe!) so the island was deserted.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JEFF AND SHAYLEE FOR THEIR ENGAGEMENT!!! Whoopeeee! I'm so excited for them!! :)

Congrats to Josh, who will be going to Prom. I hope it's good and a lot of fun! Don't forget to be a gentleman and open all the doors for her!! :)

Jake, congrats on your birthday and on Españolandia, and your Boy Scouts award!! I'm proud of you, bud!

Head! Congrats on your learner's permit! Can't wait to go drive with you when I get home!!

President Smartt will be coming to Tortola this weekend for our interviews. I'm excited for my interview because I have a lot of doctrinal questions to ask him and he's gonna have me cut his hair, too. He says he's been waiting since the last time I cut it because my cuts are the best.

Well anyway, hope you have a nice, safe, week and had a good Easter yesterday. I was missing all the candy. They don't have ANY candy here... :( Well, bye!

Enjoy the beauty that radiates from these pictures. Wish you could see what I get to see every day. It's SO gorgeous here, I can't even get over it.

-Sister Erickson