Email: October 29, 2012

Dear Family,

This week was money!  We didn't teach a ton of lessons, it seemed like they all fell through but we have this old couple that we are teaching that are so awesome!  I think I might have mentioned them last week but they are so sweet, Ike and Delores Adamson.  Delores told us last week that she hadn't been baptized only because she couldn't quit smoking so we talked about that on Friday and invited them to be baptized.  They both excepted and are going to join the church on the 22nd of December!  I am so stoked for them.  We didn't think Ike was going to want to do it but he was right there with her and they are all in.  Their daughter who is a member is going to come down this Sunday and go to church with them for the first time.  It's going to be so tight.  

So we got transfer calls on Saturday and............................................................ Elder Sheen is getting transferred down to Klamath falls and I am here for one more and hopefully more after that.  I love this place.  It's definitely not Roseburg but its pretty good.  I just want to only have one more area after this and it is looking like that might be the case.  So we spent the day yesterday saying goodbye to people and taught one family the restoration so it was good.  My new companion is Elder Clements.  I have tried to ask around and see what he is like but no one seems to know him.  Worsencroft said that he came out at the same time but he doesn't know him much.  So he has been out like 9 months which is going to be sweet.  President Young did say that he was super obedient and a hard worker so I am counting on that.  We are going to hopefully have 5 with a date by the end of this week!  I have definitely seen the difference that the lord blesses us when we are being exactly obedient and when we are not.  Elder Sheen and I sat down and evaluated what we could be doing to be more obedient the other day and since then we have just seen so many miracles occur.  The lord is there and willing to bless us when we do what he asks.  That's why is is one of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel.  

We had a cool conference call last night with the whole mission.  President wanted to talk about the new announcement of the age being changed for missionaries and what that means for us.  He had a few people from the missionary department here this week and they gave him some stats about what has happened so far.  He said the within a 2 to 3 week period the usually get around 800 applications for service and since General conference they have received 10,000, and half of them are sisters.  So he was guessing that within the next 4 months or so that we will have at least 50 new missionaries in the mission and that he will have to open lots of new areas and may even have more than one set in a ward.  So he was challenging us to all rise to a new level of commitment and be the best we have ever been because he will need lots of trainers for these new missionaries.  I have taken that to heart and really been thinking about that since then and I am so excited to use this time to totally consecrate myself to the lord.  

It's Halloween on Wednesday, just FYI, in case you didn't hear.  I think I'm going to dress up as captain jack sparrow... ha ha.  We have to be in our houses by 7:30 but they did tell us that we could hand out candy if we wanted so we might do that, depends on how my new companion feels about it.  What is everyone else being? I would like some pictures if that's okay.  Well I love you all very much.  Hope you have a safe and fun Halloween!

Love,

Elder Erickson