No NO NOOO!!!!

This week has been a week full of "No NO NO! I don’t want to hear your message, and No one is home!!" This week has been a hard week to visit people. Days seem way long when no one is home or no one wants to hear your message! It’s only a message of your Salvation, no problem! We have had a lot of noooos this week, but a few really cool yesses!:)

We had a really cool experience this week with our Investigator Ruy. Ruy right now is really concerned about his work and about being able to support himself right now. For the past few weeks he hasn’t been able to come to church with us because he works on Sunday. We had an impression this past week that we needed to teach him about Keeping The Sabbath Day Holy. The lesson went really well and the spirit was so strong. We made it very clear to him the importance of dedicating the Sabbath to the Lord and not working. I shared a scripture, Mosiah 2:41 where King Benjamin is talking to the people about keeping the commandments. This verse talks about if we keep the commandments we will be blessed both in spiritual matters and in material matters. I felt prompted that I needed to share this scripture for him to understand that if we keep the commandments God will help us. We left him with the invitation to keep the Sabbath day holy. The next day we returned to visit him and he told us he canceled his work on Sunday to go to church! S. Cordeiro and I were beyond happy. He truly understands the doctrine and principle of keeping the Sabbath day holy. 

Another great experience this week! Wilkens passed the sacrament for the first time!!!!! Let me tell you S. Cordeiro and I were almost in tears. It looked like he had been passing the sacrament for years. Wilkens looks so happy and he smiles every time he sees us. What a blessing the gospel is in our lives. 

Last night S. Cordeiro and I were walking home at about 9:30 laughing really loud in the streets. When all of a sudden we saw a drunken man sleeping on the sidewalk. I almost screamed it scared me so bad. After we saw him we tried to walk super quiet and really fast to not wake him up. We were afraid he was going to wake up and maybe rob us. Don’t worry he didn’t wake up!! haahahha Just a little funny story! 

Thanks for all of your letters and for all your support I hope you all have a really great week!! 

All my love,

Sister Erickson 

 

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