Hello from Bom Retiro!!

Hello friends and fammmmmmmmmmm!!!

This week has been really good! The weeks seem to be flying by! I am loving it here in Brasil! It is starting to turn really cold! Our house is FREEZING!!!!!! I sleep with about 50 layers at night. We also found out this week we are moving houses AGAIN! We have to pack everything up and move everything today. We are getting 2 more sister missionaries. The elders in my area got transferred! It is sad but I know this next transfer will be awesome! 

Our recent convert, Wilkens received the priesthood yesterday and he will distribute the sacrament next week! I am so excited for him and I am so grateful for the priesthood. The priesthood is amazing and has the power to do so many things--the power to heal, to baptize, to bless, etc. I have been thinking a lot about the priesthood. I am so grateful that my dad has the priesthood. I know that the priesthood has blessed my family in so many ways. I hope when I have a family my husband will have the priesthood and have the opportunity to bless my future family and those around us. 

I am staying with my companion Sister Cordeiro!! I am so happy because she is amazing!! I think I will cry when we get transferred. I am staying in my area--4 transfers in my same area. I think this will be my last transfer here in this area or I will stay here forever hahah just kidding. At times I think, “man, my call should have said:  You are assigned to labor in the Brasil, Cuiritba Bom Retiro Mission" hahhahhaah! 

I hope you all have a great 4th of July!! I am so beyond grateful to be serving a mission and for the chance I have to bring others closer to Christ every day. I know that this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the father and his son Jesus Christ. I know Thomas S Monson is a true prophet! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that this book was truly prepared for our days. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and he died for us so that we could return to live with our Father in Heaven again some day. 

Thank you all for your support and for the love and prayers!

Until next week!!

Love,

Sister Erickson 

Hello Family and Friends!!

This week has been a very special week! We had a Baptism this past Saturday! Wilkens was baptized and let me tell you it was really special. I think I have already talked about Wilkens but he is a man of really strong faith. He doesn’t speak Portuguese very well but he has so much faith. Sister Cordeiro and I made chocolate cake for everyone at the baptism! We couldn’t eat it because we were fasting! Bummer!! Funny thing the baptismal font was really, really cold! I felt a little bad but it was still a great experience! Also another funny thing is I came to Brazil and baptized a Haitian hahhahaha! I think it is really funny! 

This week we have been working with a lot of our investigators! Some are progressing and others are really hard! We are teaching a man named Ruy right now who was a reference from a member! He is really prepared to receive the gospel. The only thing really hard is he works on Sunday. We are hoping to visit him every day this week to set a baptismal date!

I am really excited about the work my companion and I are doing right now! I know the Lord is helping us every step of the way. I hope you all have a great week.

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FATHER TODAY!!! Love you Dad. I hope you have the best day ever!!

Also another HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week to my grandma Constance! I hope you have a great day, grandma. I send my love to you! 

Love you all!

Thank you for all the support.

Sister Erickson

Sister Erickson

Cake Service

Hello Everyone!! This Week has been MARAVILHOSA!!! Sister Cordeiro and I have been working really hard this past week with our investigators and finding new investigators. This week we have a baptism with one of our investigators whose name is Wilkens and he is from Haiti!! He has come to church with us for 4 weeks straight and he is awesome! Fun fact: he doesn’t speak much Portuguese so it is kinda hard to teach him. We have to teach the lessons really slow! It is funny because I am American and he is Haitian and we speak in Portuguese! LoL! We have been praying and fasting for him that everything will work out for his baptism on Saturday.

This week we also encountered a new family! They are awesome! They are from the north part of Brasil and have way different accents but I love it! They are so nice and every time we pass by their house they invite us in! (Not all people invite us in--they think we are strange!) The people from the north part of Brasil are way more open. The people here in Curitiba are very closed. Anyways I have so much faith in this family and I am so excited to start working with them! 

I just want to wish my dad, Steve a happy Fathers Day this past Sunday!! I am so grateful for your wonderful example to me Dad! I love and miss you everyday and thank you for everything you do for our family! You are such a hard worker with so much love in your heart for everyone! 

I am so grateful for you all and thank you for your emails and letters! I am sorry if I don’t respond to all of your emails. I am trying! Just know that I read them all and I love you all! I know my Savior lives and loves every single one of us! This gospel is TRUE!! 

Have a great week!! 

Sis Erickson <3

Can You Believe It's June?

Hi Everyone!!

This week has been really good--a lot of hard work but really good! We marked 3 baptisms!!!--One with the man from Haiti and one with girl who is 11 years old and another with a boy who is 9 years old. I hope it all works out.

My companion and I are working hard and laughing a lot. One of our investigators we are teaching doesn’t speak much Portuguese but he comes to church with us. His name is Wilkens. He is 22 years old and moved here from Haiti not long ago. We marked his baptism for the 17th which I think is in 2 weeks. I am so excited. We have been encountering new people everyday and I am learning and loving the people. 

I don’t remember if I told you but my companion and I moved houses 2 weeks ago into a smaller house. It is really small but it is sufficient for our needs. One night this week our power went out and we had no idea why. My companion and I were a little scared so we called one of the elders and he told us " You guys need to dedicate your house." We asked him to say a prayer through the phone. He said the prayer and as soon as he ended the prayer the power switched on. How cool is that? It is really cold here and inside our house is really cold. It rains a lot and at random times during the day. One second it is hot and one second it is really cold. Usually in the morning and at night it is freezing and I mean freezing and then during the day it is really, really hot. Doesn’t make much sense.

It is June already. I can’t believe it. I will almost reach my 5-month mark. Crazy!! Feels like I just got here yesterday and at the same time feels like I have been here for an eternity!!! I love you all.

Pictures:

 me and sister hart

 beautiful sunday morning

 one of my investigatos grandson 

 family home evening in a members home

Ola Ola Ola!!!! BOM DIA!!

Ola Ola Ola!!!! BOM DIA!!

First off i just want to say i hope you are all doing well! I hear it is now summer in utah and school has ended! Wow does time fly! Here in brasil winter is just beginning! The days begin to get colder and colder but it isnt anything like winter in utah thats for sure! Anyways these past couple of weeks have been a week of changes for me. First we had transfers this past week. Sister Silva got transfered and is in Ponta Grossa ( Ponta Gross: Area where every single missionary in curitiba wants to serve) It was sad to see her go but i know i will have much success with my new companion!! Her name is Sister Cordeiro (lamb in english ahha) She is so funny and probably one of the sweetest people i have ever met. 2nd change this week is we moved houses. We had to pack everything up in our old house and move out because the elders are moving in. Our new house is very small but sufficent for our needs. 

This week we have been working with a family of less actives. They have a daughter named camila who is 11 years old. We have been teaching her almost everyday and she has been progressing alot. she is now reading the book of mormon and praying with us. We are hoping to mark a baptismal date with her this week!! I am so excited! Please everyone pray she will have a desire to be baptized. Also this week we encountered a family from Haiti. They are really nice but they speak very broken portuguese (like me:)) We visited them and taught them the importance of prayer. We have to get them a book of mormon in french or in creol because they cant really read in portuguese. They came to church with us on sunday!!!! I am so excited to teach them and get to know them better!!

I am learning and growing and meeting so many different people every single day preaching the gospel!! The Church is true!! Everyone needs to be a missionary! You dont need a missioanry badge to preach the gospel! The gospel can bring so much happiness in our lives everysingle day. I love you all and thank you for your support!!

Tchau!! 

Sister Erickson 

#1 photo our haitian investigators and the elders in our area

#2 photo of my new companion

#3 photo lunch in a members house

#4 photo cool wall

#5 a happy missioanry 

#6 the church where we have district meetings

FAMILIA E AMIGOS

I am so sorry I haven’t written in a while! I struggle with this whole group email thing! These past couple of weeks have been really good and at the same time stressful (missionary life). We are having a hard time finding people to teach but I know that with faith we will find the right people. We just have to keep working hard. We have been visiting with one of our investigators for over two months now and we are still trying to get him to stop smoking. He understands and knows the gospel is true but he really struggles with keeping the word of wisdom. We have tried everything with him. We have even made him tea with the ashes of the cigarette mixed in it (gross I know).

This Sunday we had a little miracle happen. A woman showed up to church who wasn’t a member. We had no idea who she was. She sat down and we introduced ourselves to her and she said she came to find out more about the church. She showed up on her OWN!!!!!!!!!! This never happens people!! She is really great! She seems really interested in the church and we are going to stop by her house later this week to talk more about the gospel! 

We have been working a lot with the less actives as well and I really enjoy it! We visit this man named Kendi every week and he talks soooooo much when we visit. Right now he has a 20 year-old girlfriend and he is 49--a little bit of an age difference. He lived in Japan for a while and always tells us Japan is way better than Brasil! haha! One day he invited us to go to Subway with him. So we went. Little did we know that his girlfriend was going to be there. Now to understand better he and his girlfriend at this time were going through a rough patch. They have broken up 3 or 4 times. We show up at Subway and start ordering our food. When all of a sudden his girlfriend starts yelling at Kendi! I don’t know what about because I don’t understand mad Portuguese yet! It was pretty uncomfortable for my companion and I, but all is well with them now! 

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOM and a happy late birthday as well!! I love you and I am so grateful for you mom! Make sure you all hug and kiss your moms! Let them know how much you love them!! 

This week I have been thinking a lot about the story of the 10 lepers in Lucas chapter 17. The story talks about how the Lord cleanses the 10 lepers and only one of the 9 comes back to thank the Lord for making him clean. I have thought a lot about how I need to express more thanks to my Heavenly Father and the Savior for everything I have been given! I think about all of the wonderful blessings in my life! I invite you all this week to express a little bit more thanks to our Father in Heaven and try to recognize his hand in your life everyday! 

Next weekkkk is transfers!!!! 2 transfers down everyone! I don’t know if I will get to email next week because our transfers are on Mondays now during our pday!!! I will try and email!!! I love you all and I am so grateful for all your emails!!!!! 

Until next time!!

Tchau!!

Tahlia Grace Erickson (Sister Erickson)