#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

#57 [Tortola - 3] Apr. 14th, 2014

I'm happy to hear everyone is happy and doing well! I loved the pictures of Krispen and Jess' new baby!! She's a cute little one!

I tried my very first Roti and Curry, a typical island dish here. It was DELICIOUS!! There was this mango sauce/jam stuff that you put on it, too, and it made it even better. I hope I can learn how to make it for you because I know you'd all LOVE it. My mission has the BEST food ever.

I forgot to tell you we have District Meeting with the senior couple every week at their house, on Thursdays. It's fun. This past week we studied Chapter 10, about how to improve teaching skills. Then we did practices. It was a lot of fun. I love Preach My Gospel!! It's really is an inspired book. It has made me a more effective teacher, that's for sure.

We're working a lot with less active youth here. The island is so small and so boring that they get into doing bad habits. So we've been taking them with us to visit people these past weeks and it's been effective because they strengthen their testimony, get to have a spiritual experience, and help us teach, and obviously they get to hang out with us, which is a lot of fun because me and Sister Butler know how to have a good time. I just love being her companion!! :)

There are a lot of 7th-Day Adventists here. We taught two guys this week from that denomination. They're all very knowledgeable regarding the Bible, but don't accept anything outside of it (except the books written by their Prophetess.) They gave me 3 pamphlets and I accepted them and said I'd read and pray about them as long as they'd read and pray about the Book of Mormon. So we'll see how that goes. So far, I'm not convinced. I'm so thankful for the Book of Mormon and the understanding it gives upon the doctrines found within the Bible. I know it's true and I couldn't possibly imagine not having it.

I spoke in Church yesterday about Truth and Tolerance. It was fun speaking in English. I like teaching in Spanish, better, though. We had more visitors in Church yesterday, too. She took a picture of us and sent it to my number, so I don't know if you received that, but she sent it.

Saturday was my very first baptism on the beach and it was beautiful!!! We went to Long Bay Beach, on Beef Island (over by the airport here), and that's where we all met up to see the ordinance. It was so much fun and I loved that at least half the branch was there, even though it was early (8 am.) But both W__ and M__ were baptized, and it was super great. I was SO happy for them!! Sister Card made cinnamon rolls for everyone, but they didn't compare with Mom's. I can't wait to eat those again!

 Well anyways, I love you all a lot and hope you have a happy week! I hope Jaker has a good birthday!!! oxoxoxox

-Sister Erickson