We Got No Power, No Water - But We Do Have Investigators, January 9, 2017

Hola todos,

First things first, today the entire country of Nicaragua lost power. I am not sure why. but oh well. This means that I am pressed for time today to write, because the power just came on, and we got to get back to work at 6:00 . . . entonces vamos pues! 

This week was filled with work. Elder Brooks and I went crazy with the walking this week. I am down another 7 lbs. But it payed off because we found lots of great investigators! It was so cool to see how the Lord has prepared them to receive His word. We got them to go to church and all is going well! 

I went to Managua this week for a training, and we are also going back for another training tomorrow. The buses here have no concept for personal space. they are meant for like 30 people, but they put like 60 on it. Oh well. 

Time seems just to be flying by, and this week I will complete 6 months as a missionary!!! I am so old. Life is just awesome here and I really do love it. Things are just rolling. It is getting hotter already, but the work is picking up! Things are great! That is about all the time I have this week! Hopefully next week the electricity stays on! But life is good! You can always find joy if you look for it! Thanks for everything!

Elder Erickson

Two White Guys and a Happy New Year, January 2, 2017

Hola todos!

Feliz año nuevo!!! To celebrate here in Nicaragua, they make a dummy (piñata like thing) that looks like an old man, they fill it with explosives, and blow it up. Happy new year Nicaragua. 

Well life keeps flying on by. but here is what happened this week. This week was changes and I got a new companion. His Name is Elder Brooks, and he is from Houston. He has 4 months in the mission (one less transfer than me) and he is a cool guy. We get along really well, and have been working really hard together. I am excited to see what this change brings. 

Well I am running short on time but here we go. This week we have done a lot of finding and we are having some good success. We found four new families to teach this week, so hopefully things will go well with them. We celebrated the new year with lots of members and menos activos, and that was fun. we had lots of food, but strangely nothing too weird. I am starting to really like Nicaraguan food. It is still weird, but all is good. 

This P day we went to the farm of the white family in the branch here, and that was really fun. we took lots of pictures and had a good time. the funny thing is that it looked a lot like Texas back country. 

Okay, funny story for the week: We were at a member’s house and they have a duck. Elder Brooks wanted a picture with it so he picked it up and it freaked out and tried to bite him, so he decided to throw it at me. It hit me in the head scratched me up, and then proceeded to poop on me. It was pretty funny, and if any of you were wondering, no, my luck has not changed. 

Things are going well here and I am excited for this next week. Hope everything is going well wherever you all are! Thanks for everything!

Elder Erickson 

Christmas in Granada - December 26, 2016

Hola todos!

What a week! It was slow and fast, really good, and really hard at some points. But here we go. This week was pretty good because we found a lot of new investigators. Quick story about one of them: I was doing divisions with a member and we were contacting houses and we passed by this guy sitting on his porch and we waved but I felt like we should go back and talk to him. So, we did and long story short it turned out that 5 years ago to the day, he was in a really bad car accident and died (cardiac arrest) but the doctors brought him back to life. And they told him that it was a close call and that God must want him to live for some reason. And on the day we passed by, he was sad because he couldn’t figure out what he needed to do with his life, and why he lived. And then we showed up. It was awesome to testify to him that God has a plan for him and that he can be made clean through the Savior and His atonement. He accepted a date for baptism and we are teaching them (he and his family) this week. 

Again, just goes to show you that this is the Lord's work, and that we are just here when he needs us. Anyways, we found some more new and some of the lost Nicaraguans (less actives, there are a lot) and they have family who are not members, and we will also be teaching them this week. We had a baptism this week, and that was awesome and things are just rolling. 

We also had lunch with President Brown this week and that was pretty cool. Also, this week we had more people come to church, so that was pretty nice. Fun things I ate this week that you didn’t: pigs head (awful), chicken foot (tasted like chicken), and pig skin (I would eat it again). So, Christmas: It was really awesome to talk to my awesome family! That was the highlight and our baptism. We also had a ton of food, and it was actually all really good. But the fireworks. Holy snot. It wasn’t too bad when we went to bed, but at 12:00 at night I awoke to what I thought was a war. The house was literally shaking, because of the fireworks. It sounded like gunfire and bomb blasts. This lasted for 20 min or so, and then I guess everyone went to bed. That is Nicaragua for you. But all is well. Wednesday is changes, and my companion goes home, so I will be getting a new buddy.  We will see how that goes! 

But for now, I hope all of you had a good Christmas and will have a good new year! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! Christ lives and He loves all of us!

Elder Erickson