Hola!
Well this is it, the long awaited email .
. . I hope I will be able to get everything in. oh and excuse the grammar and
spelling, because typing on Spanish keyboard is very different. And the computer
is telling me that every English word is spelled wrong, but here we go!
WOW! I am loving it here! It is very hot
and humid all the time, but I love it! I guess I will start telling the story
of how I got to be in this wonderful place. So Monday we left at the crack o
dawn and headed for the airport. It was weird not being at the MTC. It was
strange seeing normal people. Our travel group to Nicaragua was really big, 17
Elders and 3 Hermanas, the plane to Atlanta was good and it was cool to be on a
wide body aircraft. Atlanta Airport was huge and it was good to have a few
hours to rest ad say good bye to the USA. We ate at Five Guys as our last
American Meal. it was way good! Then while waiting for the plane we met our
first Nicaraguans! They were super nice ad so willing to talk! they told us all
about Nicaragua and the people and we got to share the gospel with them! it was
so cool they both were interested and they were so nice! The plane ride to Nicaragua
felt like it was forever! I slept off and on. I couldn’t see anything outside
because it gets dark really early here. When we finally saw light on the ground
it was cool! It was fun to see Managua from above.
When we got off the plane it
wasn’t that weird except the language changed. And it was all of a sudden very
hot. We got to customs and realized we had no idea what we were doing or where
we were going. The customs people were speaking Spanish to us and we had no
idea really what was going on. Eventually we realized that they needed an address
for us in Nicaragua. None of us knew where we were going, so we were in
trouble. But here comes the tender mercy . . . Some lady on our plane it turns
out, is the mission president's next door neighbor and she speaks English. She
gave the people our address and we were on our way! The Lord looks out for His missionaries.
This has been very clear!
President Brown and his wife were waiting for us with
the AP's outside. My first impression of him was that he is in tune with the
spirit and he has something to teach me! He and Sister Brown are so kind and
helped us so much! I love them! After we left and we went to the office house
where we were going to stay until Wednesday. After leaving the airport it was
very evident that we were not in the US anymore. It was third world but already
I loved it! We stayed at the AP's house and it was the nicest house in the
mission. The next day we went to President Brown's house and then we had breakfast
and stuff. He taught us a lot and then we got the health presentation from the
mission nurse. We always need to use our filters and be careful. We got a list
of things that we can’t eat which includes fish and pork so that was good!
After that we had a presentation more about the specifics of Nicaragua and how
to teach and contact. Basically we stand outside of their house and yell buenas
and they come out and we teach :) Pretty much everyone will listen to us, but whether
they keep commitments or not is another story ... But they are wonderful. They are so humble and
happy. they put up with my Spanish and me being a weird gringo. They are so
great.
Anyway, the next day was when we got our companions and areas. My
companion's name is Elder Martinez from Guatemala! He has 20 months in the
mission and he doesn’t speak English. He is an awesome missionary and a great teacher and help to me. Oh and the funny thing is that he is tiny . . . like
5ft at most. Everyone thinks it is hilarious. It is kind of funny. They call
trainers here Papas and greenies, Hijos. So I am the grande Hijo to all the
other elders. I am a giant here.
My area is in Masaya called Las Flores. It is the city center. We also have some outskirts in the area as well! We walk
a lot and at least in my area we only get one meal a day. My other meals
consist of coke or milk with some chips maybe, it actually isn’t that bad. I don’t
feel very hungry which is a huge blessing. I think it’s because of the Mentos.
I am literally living off Mentos and tic tacs! It is funny! But I love
it! The food has a really unique taste but it is good. We get at least rice and
beans every day and some meat. Occasionally potatoes. It's good stuff! My belt
seems to be getting bigger for some reason... I really do love it here! I wouldn’t
want to be anywhere else!
I don’t really understand anyone and I don’t think
they understand me. I have no idea where I am most of the time, so I just
follow Elder Martinez around and when we contact he talks for a while, I try to
follow along and when he looks at me to bear my testimony about what I think
they are talking about! It is awesome! I am learning every day and having a
blast. It is definitely third world. Most people live in sheds built from scrap
wood and sheet metal. Others have concrete houses. Our house is very nice compared
to other houses. It even has plumbing! I love it! Well that’s about it! I’m running
low on time!
I know that this gospel is true and that Jesus is the Christ and
that He lives! I love him and I am so excited to be here and to serve him and
the wonderful people of Nicaragua!
Love Elder Erickson
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