Transfers! (Week 54)

 We had transfers this week!! On Thursday I said goodbye to hermana Kimball  and welcomed my new comp to Rialto  My new comp is 

Hermana Pier! 

For those of you thinking "hmm that name sounds familiar " 

That would be because we were already companions! And this is actually her last transfer, so I get to send her home!

Other than that, this week has been pretty normal. Really busy, but not a ton of exciting things going on this week. 

So on to my spiritual thought...

I have been studying the New Testament a lot recently and it's been really good. I've learned so much. Here's a scripture that I've really liked recently :

1 Timothy 4:14 : 

"Neglect not the gift that is in thee" 

I think a lot of times we tend to doubt ourselves. We tend to look for our faults instead of our gifts and we neglect the gifts that we have. This is not good. It is essential to remember that we each have divine gifts. We are each children of divine Heavenly Parents and these gifts are a part of our nature. There is not a single person on earth that is born without divine attributes. But just like "nothing worth having is easy to get"(or something like that). Nothing worth having is easy to maintain. We each have to work and put forth effort to grow the gifts we have. If we don't, we lose them. So the first step is to "neglect not" the gifts that God has given us. The second step is to be proactive. Study, pray, learn, serve, and other good things to grow these divine gifts that you have. DON'T BE COMPLACENT 

That has been something that I've been struggling with recently. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and keep growing those gifts!!

Love you all 

Hermana Erickson 

What a Wonderful Week! (Week 53)

 Hello everyone! Welcome back to your weekly rundown of my life. It was a good week and a busy week, but I don't know how much of it I remember - but we shall see!

We got to do service this week and help a couple in the english ward pack their house into a moving truck! It was pretty fun and they were super nice!

Last pday, we went to a thrift store and Hermana Kimball and I got matching t shirts for like 50 cents! And then we went to olive garden as a district which was pretty fun.

On Thursday we had deep cleaning! It's crazy that this transfer is over in a couple days. Usually they're 6 weeks, but this one was only 5 weeks. So it went really fast. 

Also on Thursday, we had an emergency exchange with the other hermanas because one of them got sick. It was pretty fun! I've missed exchanges so much 

On Sunday our friend Fausto was able to come to church in Spanish!! It was a miracle because he used to work on Sunday mornings, but they changed his schedule! He loved it!

 

BUT for the highlight of the week 

We went to the temple this Week!! And while we were at the temple I saw Sister Dawson (a member in Fontana). I was such a tender mercy from God. This week has been good, but it's also been so hard and I really needed the peace that the temple brings. It gave me the refresh I needed to get through the rest of the week and to start this week of strong. So I'd love to invite each and every one of you to make time in the next week or 2 to go to the temple. It doesn't matter if you are a member of this church or not, even being on the temple grounds will bring you much need peace. I can promise you that whoever you are and where ever you are, it will bless you so much.

I love you 

But God loves you more  

- Hna. Erickson 

ONE YEAR (Week 52)

 Hello everyone!! Starting off with big news: one year ago today I was set apart as a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  

It's probably been the hardest year of my life. Learning a new language, learning to live and get along with different types of people, facing rejection every single day, being exhausted, and the list goes on (and on... and on...)

BUT

It's also been the most rewarding year of my life.

I have met SO many amazing people, who have inspired me so much.

I have had so many unique experiences that I could not have had in any other place.

I have grown and changed as a person. I know spanish now, I'm more confident, and most importantly, my testimony of Jesus Christ has grown in so many ways 

But, just like this graph emoji, there was a point or two when instead of growing it felt like I was on a decline testimony wise. Where I questioned what I was doing, if it was right, if it was worth it, and if this is a course I should maintain. 

The short answer is yes. It is right. It is worth it. And I will see it through to the end.

Here's the long answer: 

There was a time on my mission where I felt so far from God. It seemed like nothing I was doing to bring me closer to Him worked. I was praying, I was reading my scriptures, and overall just trying my best and it wasn't working. I questioned if it was right to preach this gospel of joy because I wasn't feeling joy. Thanks to the support of other missionaries, my amazing companion, my friends, some medication for depression and my family I got through it. I started seeing miracles again ️ As I came through that trial, I saw a stark difference between feeling the presence of God in my life and having that absence. Feeling like God wasn't there was absolutely miserable and I don't want anyone to feel that way ever. So, like, I guess I'll stay here 

I want to testify that I know God loves you. YOU individually and perfectly. The Book of Mormon is the word of God along with the Bible. Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration. And you can know all of these things, for yourself, through prayer. 

This is a scripture that I love that I read this morning:

"We walk by faith, not by sight" - 2 Corinthians 5:7

Short, but powerful. Sometimes we just need to keep going forward, even when we don't know the way. Keep the faith. Trust in God. "If you're going through hell, keep on going" 

No matter what you're going through, you'll get through it. Just keep going forward and upward! Love you all  

- Hna Erickson 

Bike Missionaries?! (Week 51)

 Welcome back to another weekly update! I really don't know how to start these anymore, so lets just get into it!

Monday:

We had a really awesome lesson with Diana and Wilma!

Tuesday:

We did service at Santa Clause Inc and helped them clean up and get ready for an open house! It mainly involved dusting the many shelves, but we got to learn about what they do and it's really really cool

We also had a lesson with our friend Fausto who is amazing! He reffered himself and he loves learning about the gospel!

Wednesday:

We had some amazing lessons and got to meet a lot of really cool people. One was with our friend Zayda, who also referred herself to us! She has 2 cute little kids and is just so cool. 

Thursday;

We had zone conference!! It was really good, they talked a lot about going back to the basics and finding joy in the work. Then we had a lesson with one of the members from the english ward and went to our first Book of Mormon class! It's something that our ward is starting for the first time which is really cool!

Friday:

MY FIRST DAY ON BIKE

Fun fact, this was the first time I've ridden a bike in over a year  It was actually really fun though and God was good and blessed us with a cloudy, cool day. You'd think, because we knew we'd be biking, we'd plan so we stay in one part of our area. We did not. We started the day in the southernmost part of our area and ended up at the northern end. I don't know how far it was in total, but I do know that I'm still sore lol. We also got to bike in the rain! Friday was the second time in my whole mission that I've seen real rain. It was fun and thankfully it didn't last very long! I don't have any pictures, but I'll put videos on my google photos

Saturday:

We had another lesson with Fausto! It was really good and we taught him about family history work!

Sunday:

We went to church twice today! Once to the english ward to translate for Fausto since he couldn't come to the spanish one. It was their primary program (where all the kids sing and give little talks for the whole service) and it was so cute! Then we went to our ward and that was really good too. We spent the night making visits to members and delivering cards and it was so nice to get to know the members better!

Spiritual thought:

This week we taught about the iron rod A LOT and the things that bring us closer to Jesus Christ. We have so many tools at our disposal; scriptures, prayer, church, the prophet, family, friends, etc. but a lot of the time we let less important things take precendent in our lives. Life is hard enough as it is, but it's so much harder when we leave God out of the picture. So my invitation to you is to pick one thing you can do this week to stregthen your relationship with God and then do it! I know that it will bless you so much in every aspect of your life, because I've seen how it's blessed me. And then next week, write to me and let me know how it went! I'd love to hear from you 

Here is the chapter about the Iron Rod:

1 Nephi 8:4–28

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8?id=p4-p28&lang=eng#p4

And here's the google photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/v8Y8x1KEzUKNLEZC6

Love you all  

Hna Erickson