Dearest friends and family,
It’s sad that I had to go to Ecuador to figure this out, but
we kids from California really are the best. I really should have known way
before, as if it wasn’t obvious, but now I’m certain of it. We received a new
missionary in the district this week from California’s Central Valley, Elder
Vega, and he is quickly becoming a great friend. I knew we were going to get
along well from the moment we met last Monday when I saw his Volcom t-shirt and
Nike Janoski shoes, particularly my uniform back home. There was just an air
about him. Upon seeing us greet one another, some sister missionaries from
other parts of the US made fun of us saying: “Look,
it’s so obvious Elders Ericksen and Vega are from Cali.” I quickly made the
joke that was begging to be made that it was obvious they weren’t from California
because no one from California would ever say “Cali” like that. I’m funny. J
Now that I’m thinking about it, I really enjoyed P-day this
last Monday. I got to spend time with other missionaries, we played an epic
game of dodgeball, and we ate something pretty good food. The rhythm of the week
continued at this same, smooth pace and I’m really glad for that. On Tuesday we
had the privilege and blessing of seeing 2 of our favorite investigators get
married at the Registro Civil office. It stuck out to me how it’s very intense
in the moment when the judge says: “Are you here by your own free will and do
you want to get married to this person?” (Rough paraphrasing). What I took away
from that moment is that you’ve really got to have a good morning on the day of
your wedding, eat a good breakfast, and be in a good mood because, wow,
everything could get ruined quickly if one of the pair shows up and says “you
know what, I actually don’t want to get married. This fool didn’t even wash his
cereal bowl this morning.” Luckily nothing like that occurred on Tuesday and
Luis and Soledad's ceremony was great.
On Wednesday, Elder Vega came to my area in Cayambe for an
interchange. We ate a quick lunch with some members that live a little outside
of town, shared a brief message with them, and then went out to work. We
accomplished a lot, feeding off one other’s work ethic and his
fresh-from-the-MTC newbie attitude. We found a woman in our path who shared a
cool story with us about her journey from New York to Ecuador. I doubted at first
the validity of her story because she didn’t remember much English. But all
doubts were resolved when she offered us a drink…with ice! It was interesting
how we all looked at each other in a moment of mutual understanding over
something as small as a couple of cubes of ice.
Truth is, culture is amazing. I’m going to keep my opinions
to myself but I’ve definitely observed lots of things that I like here more than
where I come from and lots of things here that I like a lot less. More than
anything, the impression that arrives to me time after time is that it’s nobody’s
fault the world is so big and so different in its many corners – it’s just how
we are and that’s okay. Let’s just accept our differences and be happy!
The week finished strong with another interchange with Elder
Welch in his area in Otavalo. We talked all day long and produced an epic day
in nearly every aspect of missionary work. I opened saying California kids are
the best but Elder Welch gets included in my self-righteous complement because
he’s simply amazing. Had we met before the mission, we would have been the closest
of friends. After we finish this mission thing, I’m going to have lots of
people to visit all around the world. And that’s awesome.
Lastly, we had the privilege of participating in the baptisms
of some people the last couple of weeks, including Luis and Soledad on Saturday.
And like that the work moves along. I’m without complaints, I’m staying
positive, loving and learning more every day. I’ll be seeing you before we know
it. Have an amazing week.
Elder Ericksen
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