Week 70 - Merry Christmas

Hello everyone. I'm writing from the office here after a pretty normal day. We are just walking in after eating some 2$ hamburgers from some Venezuelan immigrants. 

So I loved the call home yesterday! Despite having lots of technical stress (thanks to Ecuador internet), it was nice hearing your voices and being reminded that I still have a super cool family that loves me. Topics were good, I liked the questions and hearing from you, and all of it was good. Also it is really fun that we will be talking in May which, without a doubt, will be here before we know it. Life moves fast, I hope you're all really enjoying it!

I also loved Christmas. Elder Castagno and I set up the tree early with lights and snow flakes. We have had Christmas music on since Thanksgiving. We had been eating desserts and stuff every night. We borrowed a crockpot from another mission house and made a cake in it and stuff. Two nights ago we made a pumpkin pie. We even got little gifts for each other. I guess it just felt really meaningful how we celebrated a little here and a little there through the whole month until the actual day came and it was so fufilling. Not to mention I have been studying so much about Christ. It was a really special Christmas.

Also last week I dressed up like Santa for a contacting activity. It was weird but cool. I didn't like how a bunch of kids kept calling me Papa Noel and then they would just look at me like I was going to tell them something magical. Truth is I didnt know what to say hahaha. I guess I didn't think that through. 

I have been impressed with how miracles come through diligence and perfect obedience. I've mentioned that we are in one of the hardest sectors, but we haven't been bored at all! We have filled every hour with something really productive and are seeing huge progress in every facet of the work. The last baptism here was more than a year ago, but we have someone ready who should be baptized in the next two weeks.

In the office I continue being really busy. I am working on a big project organizing the housing guarantees and also there are lots of little things that are keeping me super busy. A couple of missionaries have lost their cards and stuff, I dont know,  I am always busy. 

In the nights I have been thinking a lot about New Years resolutions and stuff. I have lots. Maybe I'll share next week? I don't like when missionaries say "oh when I finish, I'm going to go running every day" or "when I get home I'm going to be so loving towards everyone." I don't like it because I don't think those things ever really happen like that. I think we have to start things now in the mission if we want them to carry over. Habits don't start from nothing like that. In the mission there is a term "the sexy-six" referring to the last 6 months before going home when all the Elders try to eat healthy and get in shape (it rarely happens like its talked about.) Anyway, maybe I won't be so involved in the fitness goals like that, but I am definitely going to use the last 6 months of my mission to set some awesome goals and make some epic habits that I'll be able to carry over for the rest of my life.

I love you, family. Again I loved the call and Im so happy that you all are related to me <3

- Elder Ericksen

Other tidbits:

• The Christmas phone call home was a real blessing for our family despite considerable technical difficulties and it becoming an audio-only call. Adam struggled with English which his siblings throughly enjoyed and talked about a lot today. Come August he may not be able to speak English at all.
• They had arranged for a member to come in the Santa suit but he had a last minute schedule change and Adam had already promised he would wear it if it fit...which it did.