Week One Hundred Three - Last Email from the Field

Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 6:26 AM

Hi Mom!

So I'm at President's house now and a lot of people are waiting to use email but I just wanted to say that I'm grateful for all of the support you guys have given me all of this time, and I hope I've made you proud serving this mission. There have been so many great experiences that I really can say that it was the best two years for my life. I don't have a whole lot of time but I want to say that I'm still going to work hard and I'm super excited to see you guys again! I've got a few things to buy still but I'll be sure to bring some stuff back for you guys :)

But I love you guys so much and I'm ready to keep working when I get back! Love you and see you on Thursday!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad!

I can't believe that I'm here already?!?!?!?! I'm still trying to process it really; I'm at the President's house and we're doing email really quick because I have an exit interview with him. I don't really know what to say because this WEEK I'm going to be with you guys! It's so crazy that it's already over but I'm really glad that I had the chance to learn and grow as a missionary. The experiences that I had and will still have after will really make it all worth it. We had Fabio's confirmation and I gave a talk and it was really great. A family threw me a going-away party and it was crazy; I never expected that anybody would do that! I'm grateful I had the chance to work in this ward, I've learned so much and it's been great to be with Elder Barros. But I still have to write President so I'll talk to you super soon! Love you guys and have a great week! Love you!!!!!


Love, Eric

Week One Hundred Two

Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 9:43 AM

Hi Mom!

Things are going great! Fabio was baptized yesterday!!!!! I was so happy for him and after all of the work that we put in we were going just about crazy but it all paid off. I forgot my memory card reader but next week I´ll send a bunch of pictures! It was great, and Elder Barros gave his first talk ever as a member of the church in Sacrament meeting too, which was great. Yesterday we worked hard but it all was worth it, because Fabio´s really excited and the rest of his family´s getting more and more interested in the church! I´m grateful I had the chance to meet them and I know that things are going to start picking up here, it´s just a pity that I´ve only got one more week to get things moving! I can´t believe I´m in my last full week on the mission!?!?! Isn´t that crazy??? But I´m going to be focused, for sure. I really don´t even feel like it´s almost over, to be honest. But I´m going to do everything I can to finish strong, for sure.

I had a couple of questions: do you know how much I have in my account? I wanted to get some stuff for you guys and a few things to remember the mission by. I also wanted to know if you´d mind if I gave some of my clothes to the missionaries here that are needing some: Elder Medeiros needs pants and I´m sure I have a few other things that I won´t need. Nothing fits! But if you want me to take it back I can, just let me know. Also: when´s dad going to the mariner´s game? This week or next? I mean I´m sure you planned it all out I was just curious because I get back on next thursday...weird! But I´m sure you´ve got it all planned out already.

I love you mom and I´m excited to see you guys again, but know that I´m giving it all I´ve got this week and I´m remembering my purpose! Love you and have a great week!!!!!! Love you!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad!

Things were great this week; we baptized Fabio!!!! It was really special and his mom and sister and brother-in-law came to watch! It was really cool and they´re all really interested in what he´s learning, which is great. I don´t have my memory card reader with me but next week (which is my last p-day! What the heck!!!) I´ll send the pictures to you guys. It was a really awesome experience and I`m glad I got the chance to baptize with Elder Barros. We´d been working so hard and it finally paid off.

As far as the rest of the stuff is concerned, not a lot going on. I´ve got a training to go to tomorrow and the rest is a normal week. I´m going to treat it that way, too; almost nobody knows I´m going home and I don´t think I´ll tell anyone until this weekend. We´ll see though, maybe I´ll change my mind.

I don´t really know what else to say; that´s pretty much what life´s been like the last few months really, just working harder and harder every day. Yesterday we went to a house that we´d contacted earlier thinking it was an investigator and it turned out to be a less-active member! His family isn´t a part of the church and he´s really worried about his son and daughter and the values that they´re creating, so we´re really excited to start teaching them! We´ve also got a few really good investigators that we´re working with that we´ll start focusing on this week, which is going to be great too. I´m glad I can get things going here so that the missionaries that come after me can have a lot of success and help the ward to grow; that´s my main goal. Things are starting to pick up, so I´m really excited! I´m going to keep hitting it hard until the last minute! I love you dad and I´m really grateful for all of the support you guys give me. Let me know if you need anything! Love you and have a great week!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week One Hundred One

Sent: Monday, July 09, 2012 7:10 AM

Hi Mom!

This week was pretty good, but I had to do a lot of running around. Lots of interviews and stuff, including an interview with President Cordon! It was really good; he pretty much just told me to keep going strong until the end. That´s a lot easier now because this Sunday Fábio´s going to be baptized! His mom is all for it and wants to invite the whole family to watch, so it´s going to be really special. He already wants to go out teaching and stuff with us, which is awesome too, and I want him to keep that habit up so that he can go on a mission when he turns 18! He´s really special and I really want to help him, because he wants his whole family to become members too. Our hard work is really paying off now!

It´s hot there, wow! Elder Barros says that it´s rare for it to get that hot where he lives! Here it was hot for about two weeks, but this weekend it rained and got really cold. Now it´s sunny with frigid wind. But I was actually kinda expecting it, so now I can use my cold weather clothes. I´d taken everything out and it was just taking up space but now I´m using it. I keep thinking it´ll be cold there when I get back but I think I´m in for a surprise!

Things are going really well here, and I´m trying really hard to stay focused, especially now when it seems like I don´t have any time left. But I´ll keep going until the end, you can be sure of that. Elder Barros keeps me really motivated and we´re working hard to find even more people to teach and baptize. Our next goal is to get some of the people we´ve been teaching for a while to come to church, so we´re working hard towards that. This week´s going to be great! I love you Mom and thanks for all you guys do for me. Have a great week and keep me posted!!! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad!

Things are going great now, even though it got REALLY cold this weekend. It rained all day Saturday and Sunday it was windy and cold. I saw a chevy pickup coming down the road with that cold and all the pine trees that grow here and it reminded me a little of Goldendale. I´m trying really hard not to think about it, but I think I´m even starting to dream about stuff from home. Last night I dreamed that I was with Gram and Nick, which was really weird. I´m still working really hard, but now I´ve gotta put a lot of effort in to stay focused.

This week should be easy: Fábio´s getting baptized Sunday! I can´t wait. He asked Elder Barros to baptize him (after I suggested he should) and on the 22nd I´ll confirm him. It´s going to be so cool, even better because he wants his whole family to join the church and his mom´s going to invite a bunch of her friends to watch his baptism! It´s going to be really great, and I´m glad I get the chance to baptize with Elder Barros. We´ve been working so hard and when we have a baptism it makes all of the sacrifice worth it. This week we´re going to have to do a lot of running around, but I´m excited because that´ll make Sunday come even faster.

That´s great that there were so many people at the 4th of July Breakfast! Our activities here are still a little slow; the members are still trying to get excited because they worked really hard to have a chapel and it didn´t work out. They redid the division of the wards and about 40 active members left, so it was a big blow. Plus, the missionaries were taken out at about the same time, so everybody got really discouraged. Now they´re reorganizing the ward with new presidencies and a bunch of other stuff, so things are going to be really good. The only rough part is that most of the changes are going to happen after I leave! Either way though, I´m going to keep working so that the next missionary that comes in can have a great system in place. We´re working on a lot of projects, and things are working out so far. Just have to keep going!

I hope everything´s going well in the ward dad and that you´re getting the help you need. Let´s pray that the ward gets missionaries again soon, because it really does make a difference! Love you dad and hope you have a great week! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week One Hundred

Sent: Monday, July 02, 2012 7:27 AM

Hi Mom!

Things are going great here; this week was really tiring but in the end it all worked out great! The young man we wanted to come to church had to cancel on us thursday, but when we showed up at church he was already there! It was so cool and he even ate lunch with us! He´s really excited, but we´ll find out tonight if his mom will authorize his baptism. I´m going to be praying a lot.

It sounds like you guys are pretty worn out, but I´m glad you had some fun! I´ve been doing some baking too, actually, and I´m getting a lot of approval from the sisters in the ward, so I think I´m getting the hang of it. This week I made brigadeiro for the Primary and ended up with a bunch of thank you notes. It was really cool. Did I tell you that a family in one of the wards I worked in in Ala 2 is in this ward now? The wife´s primary president, and they´re really awesome. Pity that they´re already moving again, but I think this time´s going to be more fixed. But they help us a lot which I appreciate.

Tomorrow we´ve got interviews with President, the last time before the end, and then I´ve got some interviews to do in the other areas in the district but other than that it should be pretty normal. I think that Fábio´s really going to progress well this week, which should be good. Elder Barros is really helping me a lot and I´m grateful that he´s my companion. We´ve got some really cool ideas going and I think it´ll help the work in the future. We´re doing really well and I´ve got the feeling that this week´s going to be another really good one. I´m sending a few pictures from the baptism in Paranaguá and a few from here, too. Love you Mom and have a great week!!! Love you!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad!

How´s everything? I´m sure the game was great, even if you had to travel a little bit. I´m sure Nick would´ve liked to have been there a lot, too, but that´s the way things go.

This week was great, Fábio came to church which was what we were really looking for, so that made me happy and now we can work even more with him this week. He´s almost on winter break too, which will make things even easier and we can bring more members with us during the lessons. We fasted on Saturday so that everything would work out with him this week, because we hadn´t talked to him since Monday, and Sunday he was at church! It was so great and the meetings were really special, too. It just goes to show how hard work and faith really do make a difference.

I was actually thinking about my clothes, because they´re all HUGE on me. They´re also pretty stained, so I´m thinkin about leaving a majority of it here, even one of my suits because they´re just so big. Most of the stuff could be able to be reused, but the shirts probably not. I´ll see what everything looks like and then evaluate it. But would you guys have a problem if I left stuff? I don´t intend on gaining all that weight back, so I won´t use it. What do you guys think?

I´m going to send a few pictures but this computer´s being dumb so I´ll have to send it from Elder Barros´s computer. But let me know what else is new! Have a great week and a great 4th of July! We´ll be working down here, for sure! Love you dad!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety Nine

Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:51 AM

Hi mom!

Don´t even talk about how fast the time is moving, I have so much to do! It´s so crazy to think about everything that´s been happening, but we´re doing really well and we´re working hard to get people to make and keep committments. We went to the temple today so our pday got switched, and I had no way to tell you. Sorry about that.

Things are going well, though; we still didn´t get anyone we wanted to at church, but this week´s already starting better: we put a young man on date for baptism and he´s super excited! He´s already gone to some activities and he´s really getting integrated well. This week for sure he´s coming to church, and a few other people too which will be great. I knew that our hard work would pay off! 

Elder Barros really motivates me; we had a goal of 160 people contacted this week (the standard for the mission is 140) and we were pretty far behind on sunday, plus I was really tired. But Elder Barros wouldn´t give up until we finished, so we went after it and got it done. I was a little irritated because I had to do some things as a district leader and wanted to go home, but afterwards I saw that he really was doing what he felt would bless the work here, and seeing his satisfaction made me glad we did it. And our goal this week is 160 again! It´s going to be great.

This week I´m sure stuff´s going to go well, and next week I´ll be sure to send pictures. I just want you guys to know that I´m working with all that I´ve got still and that the next few weeks are for sure going to be the best of my mission. I´m going at it with everything I´ve got left, leaving it on the floor like we always said in basketball! Love you Mom and hope you have a great week and get to rest a little! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad!

Not too much rain down here, but it was enough to make things kind of annoying. Now we´re back to the wonderful cold of Curitiba! I was actually kind of missing it, to be honest. I´m not sure which is tougher though, the cold or the heat. I think I prefer the heat, though because the cold makes everybody a lot more closed. It´s kind of a shock, but we´re working with it. This week we have a goal to set a baptismal date every day of the week, so we´re going after it. We set one with a really great kid who already received his answer about the book of mormon! It was awesome, and he´s going to mutual tonight and church this sunday, which will be great.

Mom would be proud of me; I made a banana tort and pão de queijo (like cheesy bread) for the relief society and elders quorum. I´m actually getting better at baking, so we´ll see how things work out when I get back! Not that I´m thinking about that though. Still a long ways off.

That´s good that you got to see Nikki and Matt and that things are going well at work. I was a little worried about that at the start of my mission, but I know now that things are going to  be fine for at least the next two years. When Nick gets back, we´ll have to see.

But things are going really well, Elder Barros is really keeping me motivated. We´re working really hard, setting good goals and hitting a lot of them. I know that the Lord is going to bless us really soon. As far as things I need, I think I´m set for the rest of the time, so no worries. Elder Barros and I are working hard on english too, so I don´t think I´ll have any problems afterwards (I hope not, anyway)

We went to the temple today, which was great, and it had been a long time since I´d gone through but I still remembered everything in the session, even the stuff to say! The temple president presented me at the veil, so it was really cool to be able to say everything from memory in Portuguese. He was impressed! I love the temple so much and I`m so grateful we could go. I´m excited to go with you guys when I get back (I´m talking to much about that but this is the last thing)- I have a goal to go every week! But things are going fine and I think we´re about to catch fire here in the area, so I´m going to leave it all out here! I love you dad and hope you have a great week! Let me know if you guys need anything that I can help you with! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety Eight - New Companion and Area

Sent: Monday, June 18, 2012 9:10 AM

Hi Mom!

Sorry I couldn´t write last week; I was called as a trainer and I had a meeting in Curitiba all day. In the last 15 days I´ve travelled from Paranaguá to Curitiba 5 times. Ridiculous, but now I can settle down, because I´m in São José dos Pinhais for the last transfer, with Elder Barros who´s been out for one transfer already. I´m finishing his training up, but he´s already awesome so I don´t think I´ll have to do much. He loves the people so much and it makes me really want to work hard. He´s great. He invited me to sit in while he got his Patriarchal Blessing too, which was really special, and I know he had some personal questions answered, which made it even better. We didn´t have anyone at church, but this week I´ll be here the whole time (I got here Wednesday, and their teaching group kinda ran out) and I know we´ll find some great people.

Last week was the Manaus temple dedication, which was really cool, and we had 3 baptisms! The water was FRIGID, and I felt really bad for them, but we did everything we could- the propane had run out and the guy who said he´d be there in an hour to refill it took almost 4 hours to get there. I started boiling water in the pans they had in the chapel but it was just too cold. In the end though, it all worked out fine. Hopefully they were confirmed this week and another investigator we had was baptized! He read the whole book of mormon, prayed and received the answer that he had to be baptized again! It was so cool.

I´m really glad I´m here now, and I know that we´re going to have a lot of success. We´re working hard to serve the members, and you´d be proud of me- I made chocolate cake and it turned out pretty good! The bishopric said they liked it, anyway. This week I´m going to try out uma torta de banana I think, we´ll see how the relief society likes it. I´m still working really hard and I know that we´re going to be really blessed, so just wait a little and you´ll be hearing about it soon! Love you Mom and have a great week and safe travels!!!! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

Yeah so sorry about last week, transfers made everything a little crazy. News: I´m training again! This time I´m finishing the training of a brasilian missionary that was trained by one of the assistants to the president. His name´s Elder Barros and he´s awesome. I´m so glad he´ll be my last companion, because he wants so badly to help the people and he loves everybody, which is great. He really wants to learn English too, so I´ve been helping him out and I wanted to see if you guys could send him a quad like you did for Elder De Jesus. If it´ll be too expensive, don´t worry about it, if anything I can leave mine with him. It´s been about 2 years since I´ve read my quad in English and I can get one when I get back.

We had three baptisms last week! it was really special, even though the water was FREEZING. One little girl started crying when she got in the water and I felt so bad, but I´d spend 3 hours boiling water on the stove to get it hot and it did nothing. The heater in the Paranaguá chapel was out of propane, and we waited as long as we could for it to get there but we couldn´t wait anymore. Either way, it was a good experience and nobody died. So I´m grateful. Now I´m in São José dos Pinhais, a city close to Curitiba in the Colônia Rio Grande ward, which has been open for exactly 7 weeks now. It´s been about a year since there have been missionaries in the area, so we´re working to win the members over. I made chocolate cake for the bishopric this week, and this sunday I´m going to see what I can do for the Elders´ Quorum and Relief Society. I´m going all out until the finish now!

Now that I´m a district leader, I have a little less time, so I´ve gotta write mom really fast, but I love you dad and have a great week! Love you!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety Six

Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 9:17 AM


Hi Mom!

This week was super stressful, but all in all one of the best weeks of my entire mission. We went to Curitiba twice this week, once for a leadership training and then on Saturday for Marlus and Silvia´s sealing! It was incredible, and it strengthened my testimony that families really can be together forever. I saw a few people from Ala 2 and Elder Lima saw some members from a ward he passed through too! It was a really great experience for both of us, even though we had to run back to Paranaguá for a zone conference and couldn´t catch the next bus out. We sat there for an hour waiting, which sucked because we were supposed to help Sister Cordon look at the houses that the missionaries are living in, but in the end it all worked out fine. 

The lady we´re teaching couldn´t come to stake conference because her son was sick, but her two daughters came and they liked it a lot. We´re going to have them all interviewed and see if they can be baptized and confirmed on saturday, because this Sunday we don´t have sacrament meeting. All of Brasil will be watching the dedication of the temple in Manaus, which will be really cool, but I hope that We can still get to baptize them this week. We´ll see what happens. This is also the last week of the transfer, meaning that the missionaries that were in the CTM when I got there are going home next week! Crazy. We´re still working really hard, even though the weather isn´t helping. It´s been raining since 5am this morning and I don´t think it´ll stop anytime soon. Let´s hope for a change, because we´ve got a lot to do this week!

I´m fine on stuff, and I´m sure Elder Lima will appreciate the package. It´s crazy to think that I´m into the last full month of my mission now! But I´m still focused, and this week we´re going to have three baptisms! It sounds like Nick´s doing well, so that´s good, and I hope he´s enjoying every second of his mission. I know I am! Thanks for everything you guys do for me and for all of the support. Let me know what I can do to help, and I´ll be sure to keep you posted! I´m attaching a few pictures of the sealing and the family that we´re preparing for baptism. Have a great week mom, and thanks again! Love you!!!!!!!! 

Love, Eric



Hey Dad!

This week was pretty nuts, but in the end it ended up being amazing. We got to go to the sealing of Marlus and Silvia, and it was so great to see them again. I got to see the bishop and a few other people from the ward too, and they even asked me to be a witness for them. I signed their sealing certificate, so I´ll be on their wall forever! It was so great to see them making it to the temple, especially considering where they were a year ago. I feel like, in part, I came to the mission when I did just so that I could help them. That sealing made my entire mission worth it.

We´re teaching a really great family too, and the mom and her two oldest daughters are progressing really well. They´ll have an interview this week, and I hope they can be baptized this weekend because next week is transfers and who knows what´ll happen! We´re running like crazy to keep the zone excited, and I´m hoping that everything turns out well. It´s hard because when I got to Paranaguá we had 4 really great months in a row and this last one was pretty weak. I want to make sure that if I do leave I leave the zone better than when I found it, so I was getting pretty stressed out these last weeks. I think it´ll be good though; we´re setting the example and that´s the best of it.

It´s so weird to think that it won´t be President Knowlton that´s going to release me! I hope I at least know him, even though I know that all stake presidents are called of God. We had stake conference yesterday and the stake president here gave a really great talk, along with two seventies that really did well. I was a little stressed because some people we thought would come didn´t, but that didn´t stop me from having a really great experience. President and Sister Cordon spoke too, and they both gave amazing talks. I´m so proud to have them as my leaders.

Things are really going great here, and we´re working hard to finish this transfer strong. Keep me posted on everything and let me know what I can do to help. Congrats on everything with baseball, and I can´t wait to see how much you guys have changed! Even though it´s still really far away. Have a great week Dad! Love you!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric