Las Vegas or Bust!

Leaving Mexico City

I arrived in Las Vegas around 4 pm on Tuesday. My mission president and his wife were in Texas that day for a conference, so we were met by his counselors, ​APs, and the Sister Trainer Leaders. We went to the Mission Home (which was beautiful!), and were interviewed. They asked me to say the prayer, and it was so hard in English. I was tripping over the words, and it felt so foreign to not be saying it in Spanish! One of the counselors asked me what my goal was for my mission. I realized that my goal is to do whatever Heavenly Father needs of my for the next 16 months. He said that if I do that, I will find so much joy and that all my experiences will be for my good.

My new companion and trainer

Afterwards we met our companions! My new companion is from Wyoming. She has been out 7 months, and she is amazing!  She is exactly what I needed. She is ready to work and is so excited for our time together. She is an absolute sweetheart, and I love her already! That same day, we had a dinner appt and lesson to teach. The dinner appt was nothing like I had ever experienced. It was so quiet....! I did not know what to say because I was so nervous, and they probably assumed that I did not know any Spanish (which at that moment I felt like I didn't). Ha ha! They were very sweet, so I am excited to become more acquainted with our ward.

We taught a man who has a date for baptism, but has a lot of questions that make it hard for us to teach a full lesson. He is very nice, and he attended Church with us on Sunday. We have 4 investigators at the moment. All are Spanish-speaking, and we are not allowed to have English investigators. At the end of the day sometimes, my head hurts from trying to constantly translate in my head.

The Las Vegas Strip (from a distance)

For most of this week, we have been contacting. No one was answering their doors. When they did, they either weren't the right person, or weren't interested. We did a lot of street contacting (I had some people basically run away from me. Yay!), but most weren't interested. I thought I would be really depressed about it, but it just made me and my trainer work harder. Because of our hard work and faith, God blessed us with an amazing miracle! We recieved a referral from a recent convert who wanted her mom to be taught. We almost did not have time to go to the lady's house, but we decided to stop by really quick. When we knocked on the door, she answered and said "I've been waiting for you! Come in please!!!". My companion and I could not believe it. She is an inactive member of 21 years, but wants to reactivate. Her goal is to go through the temple with her daughter. She was so happy, she started to cry, asked us for a Book of Mormon, and took a picture with us. A true miracle!

Bikes!

If that is how my mission is going to go, hard times but a miracle, then I cannot wait to get to work. This gospel is absolutely amazing, and it brings me so much joy in my life. That is all I want to do--share the joy that I have each and every day. Thank you for all of your support and love. I feel it each and every day.

--

Love,

Hermana Erickson

Hoy, El CCM. Manaña, ¡Las Vegas!

Our Despidida Foto

It is not possible! How has six weeks passed by already? I cannot believe that tomorrow I will be getting on a plane to fly to my mission. I don´t think it will feel real until I see my mission president. I really hope the rest of my mission does not go this fast! I don´t want it to end that soon!! 

My ankle is doing so much better! I have been walking since Friday, and I barely feel any pain anymore. I would have liked to have used the wheelchair a little bit longer, but a few people in my district had too much fun with it, and it got broken! Thank you for all of your prayers on my behalf. The power of prayer is real, and I have felt it especially this week. I am so grateful that our Heavenly Father has given us a way to communicate with Him, and that He wants us to pray to Him daily. It really testifies to me the amount of love that God has for each and every one of us. 

With the only teacher who could hug us!

I had the awesome opportunity to teach a family during TRC this week. There were three little kids and the mom. They were all so sweet, and I could feel the spirit so strong while I was with them. Each of the kids were absolutely amazing--they said their favorite part about church was the Sacrament! It made me miss my siblings so much, but it made me even more excited to go out into the field. Our church is centered on families, because we know they can be eternal. I cannot wait to teach that knowledge and to give that joy I have to others!

Yesterday was our last day with our Elders and our teachers. It was very bittersweet. My teachers have helped me so much. I have become a better teacher, missionary, and person because of their love and help. My testimony has grown leaps and bounds from the time I arrived here. Our Elders have become my brothers, and it was very hard to say goodbye to them. Each of us hermanas had the privilege of receiving a blessing from our Elders. I love priesthood blessings--it is a unique opportunity to receive counsel and guidance from my Heavenly Father . 

Our Zone

Last tidbit of the day. In Relief Society, we listened to a song called "Through Heaven´s Eyes" from the Prince of Egypt. A line really stuck out to me: "How can you measure the worth of man from what he builds or buys....you can never see through the eyes of man, you must look at your life through heaven´s eyes". I never planned to go on a mission, but God knew I needed to. When we look through God´s eyes, we can see our true worth and our potential. I have been able to see that for myself, and for others as a misionera. I know that God loves and knows me personally. He wants the best for me and for every person. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to help others see themselves through heaven´s eyes. 

!Hasta Luego, CCM!

This next week will not be easy or perfect, but it will be worth it. I am finally going out to do the Lord´s work, and nothing could bring me more happiness or excitement!  

--

Love,

Hermana Erickson

¡Ultima Semana!

The Easter Bunny came to the CCM!

That is right--in eight days, I will be in the mission field. I am so excited but so nervous at the same time. Am I ready? I sure hope so! I know that my first few days in Las Vegas are going to hard and trying. I am so glad I have the knowledge of a Heavenly Father, who will support me through anything that I encounter! 

This week went so much better than the last!  I have felt your prayers for me. I would not have survived without them! I was able to listen to General Conference this weekend, which was definitely a highlight for me. I had questions beforehand. and every single one of them was answered in General Conference. There was not one single talk that did not contain something specifically for me. I think it is amazing that an all-powerful being wants me to pray to Him, and that He listens and answers every single one of my prayers. I know He prompted our apostles and prophet to say certain things, specially for me and for other people. My favorite talk was by Jeffery R Holland, of the quorum of the twelve. He spoke about Christ and how we need to use His atonement. Christ has already paid the price, we just have to decide to accept Him. 

My district on Easter

Easter was definitely great but different! My amazing family sent me an Easter basket, and the elders in our district made an Easter egg hunt for us Sunday morning! I didn´t have any ham or bunny cake (I think I actually had a PB and J for Easter dinner haha!), but I was still able to feel of the Spirit of Christ, his sacrifice, and his resurrection. If you haven´t yet, please watch He Lives video that the Church put out a little bit ago.

 I love that it says that the tomb is empty, and that Christ lives for each of us. I love my Salvador con todo mi corazon. Yo se que Jesucristo morió para cada persona, y Cristo nos ama muchísimo.

An interesting development this week......I sprained my ankle yesterday! Yay!

Because the campus is so far spread out, my district gets to push me around in a wheel chair until I feel like I can walk again! I was playing volleyball, and I jumped and came down on my left ankle wrong. I heard a pop, but the doctor said it was just a sprain, and I should be totally fine by the end of this week. I think the Lord is trying to teach me to not be stubborn or prideful--that I need to accept the help of others sometimes. I was able to receive a priesthood blessing (the priesthood is the best!!) and I have no doubt that I will be fine by the weekend. (I now call myself Hermana Gimpy since I can basically do nothing. )

Hermanas de luz

I love you all so much, but I am thoroughly enjoying my time as a missionary. The Lord has already blessed me in so many ways, and it has only been 5 weeks! I cannot wait for what the next 17 months bring me. I know that this is where I need to be now, and I know without a doubt that our Heavenly Father loves and knows me, and He loves and knows every person.  

I love this gospel, I cannot wait to preach it to the people of Las Vegas!! 

Love,

Hermana Erickson