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

Week Ninety Five

Sent: Monday, May 28, 2012 8:47 AM

Hi Mom!

This month for us was pretty rough in terms of baptisms, but things are starting to look up: All of the areas in the zone had investigators at sacrament meeting, and it was really good because a majority of them were people that the missionaries invited! We were really blessed, too; this week was a trial of our patience for sure. A lot of people we were teaching decided to stop investigating the gospel, including a couple that was really progressing. I got really sad and was wondering why I had stayed here for a fourth transfer when Elder Lima did a contact on the street with a lady. She started crying, said that her husband had died three months earlier and that she had crossed the street to come and talk to US! She wanted us to come to her house, so we invited her to church (this was saturday morning) and she came! She loved it, too! She was participating, making comments, asking questions and even read a part of the manual in Relief Society! She´s super great, and she has 5 kids too, two of which above the baptismal age! The Lord truly is preparing his people to receive us. Just when I thought that this would be a transfer with little to nothing for results, He shows us His hand again and helps us to see how He appreciates our work. She´s already a missionary, too; she´s inviting everyone on her street to stake conference this weekend! It´s so awesome to see how the plan of our Father in Heaven is perfect.

This week is also going to be great because Marlus and Silvia are going to be sealed on Saturday! President gave me permission to go and watch it, and I´m so excited. I called them to ask about the time and they remembered me! The bishop there even said I should ask president if I could go back and finish my mission there. It´s so great to know that they´re doing well and to see them at the temple will be incredible.

Other than that, things are good. We´re working more with less-active members and the bishop gave us a few references to go visit, and I think it´s going to go really well. Stake conference is a good event to invite people to, so we´ll see what happens, but I´m just so excited because I know that the Lord is seeing our sacrifice and accepting it. I want to keep working even harder, because I know that´s what he expects of me, and because I know it´s only after all that we can do that He can really work. This week was a definite testimony of that. I´ll be sure to send pictures next week of the sealing, and I´m glad that things are going well and you´re having fun. Have a great week Mom! Let me know if there´s anything I can do! Love you!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Happy Birthday Dad!

I couldn´t remember exactly which day it was, so I wished you happy birthday twice this week. But I´m glad you had fun and that´s cool that Miguel´s going to open a restaurant. Seems like mexican food does well in Goldendale. Here people love it, and it´s SUPER expensive. Most of the restaurants that are a la carte are expensive, though; the normal restaurants are buffets. It was hard to get used to at first, but I think now it´ll be tough to get used to restaurants in the States. I´ll have to get used to it fast! 

Today´s Memorial Day? Weird. I´m glad you guys get to rest though, that must be nice. P-days are great for us; they really help to keep everything in perspective. Sometimes you get so caught up in everything that you just need some time to relax, and today we´re going to take advantage of that (I hope). But things are starting to look up here, the missionaries figured out that not having success sucks so they´re working a lot harder. There are a couple of things that still are impeding some of the missionaries, but we can work on those. For now, at least, they all seem committed to make next month better.

We had a miracle on Saturday: we were talking to people on the street when a lady started walking toward us. I knew that Elder Lima was going to talk to her, so I started to walk past her to let him start the conversation when she stopped in front of me. I stopped, Elder Lima started talking to her and she started telling us about how she felt lost after her husband died three months ago and how she needed direction. She said that she was going to stop us and tell us to go to her house, but that we came to her! Then we invited her to church the next morning, and she said she´d go! We passed by a little before nine, and she woke up in a hurry because she thought we meant nine o´clock at night, but even still she went with us and loved it! She was only going to stay for sacrament meeting, but ended up staying all three hours too! She´s great, and we´re really excited because we were starting to get discouraged with the people in our area. But the Lord always shows us that he´s in control. I need to trust him more, especially now because I realize time after time that we´re not on my schedule, but His. And He put her in our path! It was so cool.

This weekend´s stake conference, and I get to go to a sealing on Saturday! I´m so excited. I´ve waited ever since I left Ala 2 to see Marlus and Silvia get sealed, so I´m super stoked to finally see it happen. We´re going to have a crazy week, but I know it´s going to be one of the best of my whole mission.

I´m still fine, but if I do need anything I´ll let you know. Love you dad, and enjoy your holiday! Have a great week, and I´ll talk to you tomorrow! Love you!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety Four

Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 10:15 AM

Hi Mom!

So this week was lots of work, with a zone conference training to prepare and new people to find. We didn´t have as many people as we wanted at sacrament meeting, but we´ve been talking to a lot of people and hope that we can find those that the Lord is preparing. This month´s been kinda slow for the whole zone, but we´re still working really hard to find people to teach and baptize. It´s just kinda tough when you´re used to having lots of people to teach.

How´s Nick? I haven´t heard from him since he got into the field. I´m sure he´s doing great, I just wanted to know how he´s doing, who his trainer is and all that. Do you know when his P-day is? I´m assuming it´s monday but who knows, and with the time difference he may not have gotten online yet. I´m sure he´ll write soon though.

Things around here are pretty much the same, too. We had to go to the dentist in Curitiba again, but he marked his next appointment for after the transfer, and I´m positive that we won´t be companions after this one, just for the amount of time we´ve already been working together. I´m not too worried about the transfer yet though, because we´re only about halfway through, but it goes so fast that it´s gone before you know it. We´re already into the last week of May, pretty much (I go by Sundays)! But we´re still doing our best and working hard.

 Is everything squared away? I still can´t believe I´ll be studying in New York! I´m really excited, but I really need to focus. Staying here another transfer has really stretched me a lot, because there are a lot of challenges to face being a zone leader here and working in the ward. Add having the same companion for three transfers and it makes things interesting, but I´m doing my best to stay positive and to keep working like I always do. No matter what happens, I´m going to keep spreading the gospel the best way I know how. I hope everything´s going well mom and that you guys are safe and happy. If I can do anything, let me know! Love you and have a great travel-free week!

Love you!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad!

No worries, I´m trying not to think about it either but at times it gets tough. P-days are usually the trunkiest, so I´m already kinda geared up for it. But things are going well, and I´m glad you guys got to talk to Nick before he left! That´s so cool, and so cool that you got to meet one of the missionaries he was with. I hope you guys get to meet some of my companions, too; have any of them tried to get into contact with you? Most of them are either brasilian or still on the mission, but who knows.

Things here are a little slow, but we´re finding some good people to teach and are working hard to get them to sacrament meeting. That´s our big trouble lately, because we have some really good investigators
that just aren´t coming to church! President Cordon talked to us about that and how important it is to go and get them to take them to church, and how important it is to work with the less-active members, so we´re working hard to put those things in practice as quickly as possible. His training at Zone Conference was about that again, so I´m hoping the missionaries will listen to them better than they listen to me. One of the challenges I´m having here in the zone is that there are missionaries that don´t really care what we as leaders have to say, so we´re trying to see how we can get through to them. I´m not going to say it´s easy, but I know that the lord is helping me to grow through this experience.

I´m still doing fine, so don´t worry about me. I think Nick´s the one who should be getting packages anyway, seeing as he just got out. I´m already old so I don´t need mail. Other than email that is :) But we´re doing good, and I´m praying that this week we can soften the hearts of the people here and help the ward to grow. We´re going to work more with the leadership to see if we can help the retention stay high, and to help the stake as a whole grow. We´re still working hard, and I know we´ll be blessed! I love you dad, and I´m thankful for all of the things you guys do for me. Have a great week, and keep me posted on what´s happening!!!! Love you!!!!!!!


Love, Eric

Week Ninety Three

Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 11:07 AM

Hi Mom!

Happy Mother´s Day! I forgot to tell you that yesterday.

The call was great, huh? But so short! I can´t believe that was the last one, but like you said, we´ve still got a lot to do before the end. This week was pretty rough for finding people, and knowing we had the call made it a little hard to focus, but we still found some great people who are progressing really well. One couple is doing great, but they need to get married and I´m not sure how they feel about that. We´re going to keep focusing on that and work to make sure that they get the chance to partake in all of the blessings of the gospel. 

We climbed the hill in Matinhos again today, and I made it up in 17 minutes! I was pretty proud of myself, seeing as the first time I think it took me like a half an hour to make it. Going down was pretty hard because it had rained last night and it was muddy, but I didn´t fall and I didn´t get my white shorts dirty:) Pretty good huh?

Here it´s starting to get cold, but it´s way worse in Curitiba; yesterday it got down to freezing! I´m glad I´ll be leaving winter here to summer there. I think I´m going to suffer too if I go back to Curitiba next transfer, because July´s the worst part of winter. But either way, it´ll be good; I´m curious to see what´ll happen but I´m going to focus on this transfer for now.

I love you guys and I´m so grateful for everything you do for me and for Nick. I hope you guys are being blessed as richly as I am! Have a great week Mom and let me know what I can do to help! Love you mom!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad, 

It was great talking to you guys yesterday, it seemed like forever that we´d seen each other, and the next time will be for real! But I´m not thinking about that right now, we´ve got lots of work to do here. We found some great people last week, but they couldn´t come to church because of mother´s day. This week, though, things are going to start picking up again, I can feel it. Some of the areas that were a little slower last transfer are getting better, and we´re working to keep the momentum going with everybody. It´s not easy, but we have to work that way, because we don´t have a lot of areas. With big zones, it´s easier to baptize a lot because you have areas that can pick up the slack, but when there aren´t a lot you´ve got to keep going with all of them at once. We´ve been doing well so far, but we need to work really hard in these next two weeks if we want to have a good month.

Nick goes into the field today! How crazy is that? I´m really proud of him though and I know that you guys helped him a lot. I´m sure he´s going to do great.

Congratulations on your first season as head coach dad! You did incredibly I´m sure, and I know that you´re only going to keep improving with time. Are you going to do camps or anything this summer?

We climbed the hill again in Matinhos, and I got up there pretty fast this time! It was fun, but I´m pretty sure I´m going to be wiped out by the end of today. We´ll be working no matter what happens, though, so I´ve gotta man up and get ready! But I love you dad and I´m really grateful for everything you guys do for me. I can feel the support you give us, and it makes all of the difference in the world. The days when my back hurts, I´m tired and I feel like my legs can´t carry me any farther, I know it´s you guys that are giving me the strength to take the next step. Have a great week dad, I love you!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety Two

Monday, May 07, 2012 9:01 AM

Hi Mom!

It´s so crazy that we´re at call time again! I get to use skype again, and I was thinking about 5pm our time here, which is 1pm there I think. What time is it there now? Here it´s almost 1pm. Either way we´ll make it work. 

So I´m going to stay one more transfer in Paranaguá and one more transfer with Elder Lima. That will make 4 transfers here in total, 3 with Elder Lima. I really wasn´t expecting that outcome, but it seems like most of the mission stayed put this transfer, which means HUGE changes are coming in the next. For now, I´m going to keep working. I know that God knows what´s best and that President Cordon is inspired, so I´m not worried. I know we´ll keep finding people and that they´ll accept our message.

Am I accepted for sure now? How much is the work study? How much are the loans? I guess we can talk about that on Sunday, but I´m hoping to find some work up there too, along with the work study. I knew that it would be pretty expensive, but I never could guess. Are you guys still claiming me on your taxes? I´ll have to take out a few loans then it looks like. But I know that I can do it. My patriarchal blessing says that I´ll gain wisdom from on High to be able to be successful in what I choose to do, so I know that I´ll get the help I need. 

They beat Naches! That´s awesome, it sounds like dad really has been working hard with the guys! I hope they go far, that would be so cool. Either way I won´t get to watch it, but I´m so glad they´re doing well. And it sounds like you might get some time to relax without travel, that must be nice too. I love P-days because they seem to come just at the right time. Today I´m pretty exhausted, so I´m glad to be able to spend some time doing nothing. Until 6pm at least :)

I´d send the stuff to the mission home for Nick, because he won´t be at the MTC for that long and if it gets caught up in the mail you might miss him. Ask him what he thinks, but that´s my opinion. I had some stuff to do for the mission office last week so I couldn´t email him, but I already sent him one today. It sounds like he´s doing great.

I can´t believe this Sunday we´ll be talking again!!!!! I´m so excited. I´ve got a lot of questions, but I think I´ll save them so we have something to talk about on the call. Let me know if I need to do anything else, and thank you so much for all of the help and support! I love you guys so much and am so excited to talk to you soon! Have a great 5 days!!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

So transfers were really uneventful: I´m in the same area with the same companion, and only two missionaries left the zone. We were expecting big changes, but a majority of the mission stayed the same, which means a LOT is going to change next transfer. I´m going to keep doing what I always do, though; so far it´s been working pretty well.

I can´t believe we´re at the last call already! It´s so crazy to think of where we all were the first time around. As far as my flight, Elder Croskrey (who left with me) said they managed to get us seats next to each other the whole flight! I´m excited because our missions have been really similar: we trained at about the same time, became district leaders together and were called to be zone leaders at the same time, as well. I really wanted to be his companion, but either way we´re great friends. It´s so cool the brotherhood that forms on the mission; it´s almost like being in the army I´d imagine. But there´s still a lot of work to be done, so I´m going to keep on focus and pushing until the end. Or at least until Sunday; I think I have the right to get a little trunky then. 

Congratulations on the win against Naches! That´s so awesome. I hope you guys keep going far and that the team gives it their all. Are there any ego problems? I hope not. In anything, it seems like pride is the biggest stumbling block. But I know you´re doing great as the coach and it seems to be working out. Good luck this week, and thanks for everything you do! Love you dad! See you in 5 days!!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety One

Monday, April 30, 2012 8:12 AM

Hi Mom!

Crazy huh? The time´s really passing, but I´m doing my best to stay focused. The secretaries called us last week asking which airport we wanted to fly into, and that was really crazy for me! That means that pretty soon you guys should be getting a letter with my itinerary- how nuts is that? I´ve still got plenty of gas though, and I´m going to keep working hard no matter what happens. We hear the transfer call tonight, so we´re not sure exactly what´s up for us, but either way I´m ready to keep working.

Haniel´s baptism was great! There were actually quite a few people there, and he was so excited that when I gave him the clothes to try on, he wanted to get baptized right then! He liked it a lot though, and it was a great feeling to see how our hard work pays off and how much that these people need us. I just talked to him on the street, offered to share our message and he accepted- that simple! It´s amazing how the Gospel can touch peoples hearts.

We´re teaching a few people who aren´t legally married- that´s a tough one here, because it´s expensive and takes a long time. Here in Paranaguá it´s not too bad, really, only 15 days, but in Curitiba it can take a whole transfer, which is tough on us. We´re really hoping that they feel the need to get married though, they´re such great people and the members of the ward like them a lot. We´ll see what happens; there´s one couple who´s part member, and it seems like the husband (who´s already a member) is really committed to coming back to church. That´ll help the whole marriage process go better.

If I do leave this area, I know that I didn´t leave it without a group to teach. It´s been a rough ride at some times here, but overall looking back on what I´ve done I feel good and that I did my best. Some of our recent converts are having troubles, but we´re working with the ward to keep them active. That seems to be the toughest part here in Brasil, keeping them coming to church after baptism. The ward really needs to work with them, and sometimes they just can´t seem to. It´s worrying me a lot, but we´re doing our part.

Mindy´s theme´s not too formidable; I´ve already taught so many youth about modesty that it´ll be a snap. Here in Brasil´s about 50,000 times worse, especially where I´m at. It seems like the guys don´t own shirts and the girls asked their baby sisters if they could borrow their clothes. No worries, I think I can handle it.

I´m glad Nick´s trip worked out and that everything´s going well. Have you heard from him? I´m going to send him an email here pretty quick, but I have to send a bunch of pictures to the mission office first- they´re evaluating the houses and here in the interior it´s a lot more complicated.  Things are going great here, and I´m so excited to be able to talk to you guys again NEXT WEEKEND!!! I hope you´re doing great and aren´t working too hard. Let me know what´s up and how everyone´s doing! Love you Mom and have a great week! Love you!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

Weird that you guys now have to write two emails, huh? But everything´s going well here, our baptism was great and this month every area in the zone baptized again! It was pretty hard work but we managed to pull it off, even if it wasn´t exactly what we were expecting. We had some troubles with following up with investigators in the zone, and that made things a little more difficult, but in the end every companionship had a baptism this transfer, which is something that´s only happened one other time in the mission- in our zone this last february! We worked really really hard this transfer and it paid off again, something that Elder Lima taught me in our time together. We hear the transfer call tonight, and I´m not sure what´s up, but I´ll be sure to let you know as soon as I can.

I´m glad Nick´s trip worked out- his was a little easier than mine though, I think. 17 hours of flight is pretty tiring. Speaking of planes, the secretaries called to see which airport I wanted to fly into, and I told them Spokane, just to go full circle. I think they should be sending you my itinerary here in a month or two. Not too soon, I hope! It´s crazy how the time flies.

I can´t believe the team´s doing so well, and that the season´s almost over! It seems like yesterday you were talking about how practices were starting. But it´s great to see the people you lead grow and progress, huh? That´s been a great privilege of mine. Some of the people I´ve lead are zone leaders now, and that´s such a cool thing to see. I feel like my companion and I have had a direct part of the progress of some of the Elders and Sisters in this mission, and that´s something that´s really special to me.

Mother´s day´s almost here! We´ll have to see if I´ll be in a new area, but either way it´ll be great. I´m ready to keep working really hard while I still have the time, and here in the area we have a lot of people to teach who have a lot of potential. I´m excited to see what´s in store for us here, but I  think the zone´s going to have a lot of changes. I´ll keep you updated. Keep doing great dad, and let me know how I can help! Have a great week!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!

Love, Eric