Week 11 - The Children and The Soccer

On the road to San Mateo - about 15 minutes east of Aire Libre

Dearest Family and Friends

Happy November! I hope this letter finds you all in good spirits from a successful and relaxing weekend. My past week was pretty good. If I had to describe it, perhaps 2 notches beyond great and 1 behind fantastic. My Spanish is coming along and I am feeling much happier being able to be utilized as a person. I am also making better friends with my companion and with some of the jovenes out here in Aire Libre. In other news, I don’t know if I’ll ever grow fond of them, but I am getting used to bucket baths! That being said…mom, dad, if I come home and starting filling up pitchers of water for my showers please do remind me how the shower handle works. How are you all? How is the U.S. of A.?

What I really wanted to do with this letter was revert back to my system of describing life here in categories and I have 2 good ones picked out for you this week: the children and the soccer.

The Children: For a little bit of context concerning me, I’ve been around children my whole life as the oldest of 5 siblings. Often, with the raising of Nathan, I would lend a hand to my mom and, to be honest, I didn’t mind. I like children and I really, really love being an older brother. One of the things that I struggled with most while leaving for my mission is that I felt like I was leaving behind my role in my family and I was going to be expected to take up some other kind of responsibility in a different, more mature setting when I return 2 years older. But I’m realizing that I don’t have to stop being an older brother just because I’m not in my family’s immediate presence. I’ve found much solace through letters, supportive advice and humble prayers. I’ve also realized that my role as a big brother can continue in different facets down here in Ecuador. I’ve become this for some kids and I love it. Most of the kids go to school until about 11:30 in the day, which is pretty early compared to the States. The effect of this is that they all roam and gather in the streets with poletas and chupetes and nothing really to do. They love to chatter (and sometimes pester) with anyone passing by, especially me, “hermanito”, el gringo. But it’s all fun and really good for Spanish practice. The kids in church are also so kind and friendly to me and it helps me feel more at home. There’s this one little girl that loves to follow me around, tries to hold my hand always, and even comes to knock on doors with us at times. She’s about 7-years old. All the children are great.

The Soccer: Soccer is so much fun! Whenever there’s a big game on TV, everyone stops what they are doing, wheels out huge speakers and congregates in the street to watch. Every single front door is open, and every single person is present. As missionaries we are supposed to forego the things of the world to focus on the nature of our calling, including TV but its physically impossible to not follow the scores of the games here because whenever there is a goal there always follows a great deafening roar, rumble and cheer emanating throughout the city. Even all the passing taxis (the only people still working) honk their horns! The vibe and excitement of it all is so different and delightful, I love it! There’s two main teams here: Emelec and Barcelona (not Spain). The coast swings more Barcelona so, for the moment, so do I. I wish you all the best and hope you all enjoy a great week.

Elder Ericksen

Other tidbits this week:

• Emelec and Barcelona are football clubs out of Guayaquil…Barcelona has the higher win percentage.
• Packages seem to be taking a bit longer than expected to arrive. Lisa, grandma and others sent packages weeks before Adam arrived in country and they still haven’t made it. Adam is dying to receive a package.
• The lady who washes Adam’s shirts uses a lot of bleach - the smell it reminds him of Marriott bedsheets and overnight trips with his grandparents.
•  Letters from home are keeping Adam grounded. He expressed concern in a couple of letters this week about losing himself in the work so much that he “loses” his personality. Special thanks to Mitch, Mikayla and all his friends for writing.
•  During a particularly spiritual prayer this week, Adam heard/felt a huge rush of moving air behind him followed by an enormous cockroach that landed on his arm. He “silently flipped out” and swatted it off mid-prayer, trying hard not to detract from the moment. It was super gross, more than 3 inches long. He and his companion had quite the laugh once they got out into the street.
• If you thought the US was bad about early Christmas, the stores in Esmeraldas have had decorations up and sales going on for the past 2 weeks.
• No one can pronounce Ericksen so they call him “Hermanito”
• Today the guys hired a guide (complete with machete) and went to a place called “Tropical Jardin de Libertad (est. 1985)” in San Mateo about 15 minutes drive from our area. The jardin place was supposed to be a zoo but it turns out the zoo part was shut down a little while ago so it was really just jungle. There were lots of empty cages, “it was a little weird, I’m not going to lie. They had like plants in beakers and fish in the containers, lots of snakes in jars and other things I couldn’t tell what they were. I’m happy to be alive haha. PS – did you see machete guide person?”
• Adam has really fallen in love with the coastal cuisine. He gave Nick a homework assignment this week to research and send him details on the following foods so he knows what’s liking so much. The one bad food in the area: cheese. The good:
• Avena polaca - Polish oats – oatmeal, water, cloves, cinnamon, sugar, milk to taste
• Patacones – fried green plantains
• Marisco – shellfish in general, shrimp, crabs, mussels, squid, octopus, etc prepared many different ways but basically seafood stew
• Tomate de arbol – real name is tamarillo, a fruit that grows on trees usually blended with chilis and spices in sauces; bigger and more seeds than regular tomatoes
• Encocado de pescado – fish cooked in a coconut sauce; unique to the Ecuador coast
• Pan de chocolate – chocolate Danish (I’m surprised he doesn’t recognize this from here, he must have had before)
• Leche aguacate – avocado smoothie
• Pan de manjar – bread with caramel; looks to be Nicaragua’s version of dulce de leech
• Jugo de maracuya – passion fruit juice
• This week I ate some soup with half a hoof in it.

Crossing the Rio Esmeraldas

Hacking their way through the zoo/jungle with local guide

Empty zoo enclosure - has a "Walking Dead" kind of vibe, no?

The Jardin de Libertad - San Mateo 

Church dog - cleaner / healthier looking than I expected

Click HERE to see this spot in Google Maps. Hit escape to pull out and see exactly where he's standing

Week 10 - (I've) Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

Adam with the Aire Libre Primary

Dearest friends and family,

This week I learned something quite remarkable. I am no longer an 18 year old kid from California, brushing away ants and wiping sweat off my brow, as I write you all from a dirty table and lawn chair in the middle of Esmeraldas. Now I am a 19-year old kid from California, brushing away ants and wiping sweat off my brow, as I write you all from a dirty table and lawn chair in the middle of Esmeraldas! I had a birthday and it was possibly the best one I’ve ever had. Let me explain why.

To be quite honest, I thought it was going to be like any other day out here, and truthfully, that is how the day started. We woke up and got ready early and quickly went to work gathering up and helping people get to church. This morning there was a drunk fellow that really wanted to come to church and we let him in, because c’mon, it’s church. He sat in the back quietly making odd noises and crying to himself. The second hour of church followed suit with the “normalities” when our church dog decided to sit at my feet. I’ve decided that he’s a real follower of Christ because he doesn’t belong to anyone, yet every Sunday he comes in and sits down for a nap under the fan. He’s more punctual than most of the church goers here! After hour 2 finished I shuffled along and quietly took my seat for priesthood meeting (a meeting where all the men gather). To be honest my mind was on my family, the events of home, and all of them getting ready for church 4,000 miles away. I wondered if they would have cake and ice cream even though I wouldn’t be with them that night.

It was in the middle of this thought when I felt a finger of a small hand tap my left shoulder 3 times. I turned to see a small boy that beckoned in hushed Spanish for my companion and I to “venga, venga” which we did. He led us to the room where the primary meets (classes for the kids aged 3-12). When he opened to door I saw about 20 children, giggling and covering their mouths, who all were excited to see me. They immediately started singing happy birthday after putting a Minnie Mouse party hat on my head. Their song was horribly out of tune and they replaced my name with “hermano” out of difficulty pronouncing Ericksen, but it was beautiful! Even though I’ve only been in this area for about a month and I barely know anyone, they were so incredibly excited for me and my happiness perked up because of theirs. I was so happy I immediately started shaking their hands to thank them each personally. While I was doing this, one of the teachers brought out a huge Tres Leches cake with a single candle. After I blew out the candle (and made a really good wish), I indulged in this delicious symbol of celebration.

This birthday didn’t have presents. I didn’t have a big dinner. I didn’t have my friends. I didn’t even have my parents with me. But in that moment, choking back tears, surrounded by those kids, with that cake in front of me, offered by a woman that doesn’t have much, I had every single thing I needed to be truly happy. I don’t know how the primary found out that it was my birthday, I seriously don’t know where they got the party hat, and I don’t know how much it cost to make the cake. But what I do know is that those feelings that quickly overcame me taught me a powerful lesson. In that moment, I felt true philanthropy, I’m going to choose to call it true Christ-like love in this context, and I learned that this is true happiness. Things of the world are lovely and bring much joy, don’t get me wrong. However, now I know without a shadow of a doubt, that what really matters are relationships, kindness, charity, and selfless goodwill in this shaky world. These things radiated through these kids and their leaders and even though they all may never know how much I appreciated and truly needed what they did for me, their acts of Christ-like love made my day unforgettable in every sense of the word. 

(Videos of the song and handshaking - provided by hermano Tello)

Cheesy moral of the story? Make the world tomorrow a little better than it was today. Smile at a stranger. Tell your parents you love them. Hug the people that matter to you and make sure they know it. Give to those that have not, and forgive all their offences. Be a friend to someone that could possibly be lonely. Tell someone happy birthday. But most of all, enjoy the time you have, and indulge in the things that bring true happiness – relationships, kindness, charity, and selfless goodwill. 

Have an amazing week and Happy Halloween.

Elder Ericksen

Other tidbits relevant to this week:

• On Thursday and Friday Adam travelled to Quito for verifications. He was able to reunite with his group from the missionary training center and catch up with them on their first month in the mission field. Adam enjoyed hearing about the other areas of the mission and commiserating about frustration with the language.
• Adam really enjoyed the much cooler weather in Quito. While there, his mission president took all the new missionaries to a place called El Panecillo.
• Hearing about the other areas of the mission makes it tough not to feel a little jealous given the heat, dirt and bugs of Esmeraldas. “But I’m thankful and excited because it can only go up from here.”
• While taking the bus between Quito and Esmeraldas a gentleman was making the rounds collecting money for “los ninos”. Adam and Elder Palmer, carrying only pamphlets and their scriptures, offered a pamphlet about the restoration. The man made a “huge ordeal of this saying that ‘our brothers of God’ wanted to help out” before inviting them to read and share their thoughts – which they did, teaching the entire bus.
• Adam seems to be in very good spirits and (it’s hard to say “finally” but I will) adjusting to life in the field.
• This Sunday was the annual primary sacrament meeting where the kids 3-12 give talks and sing songs. The chapel was decorated with ballons, streamers and drawings the kids made in preparation for the meeting – a bit more festive than the equivalent meetings in the US.
• The primary-sponsored birthday celebration for Adam was the result of me whispering via Facebook to a member in the branch there that Adam’s birthday was on Sunday and to please tell him happy birthday from his family back home when he saw him at church. In conversation I hinted that in the US its customary for the kids to sing to other kids who’ve had a birthday (you know, “you’ve had a birthday shout hooray, HEY!). Well, the members really grabbed hold of the “whisper” and the big production, song and cake (they made a CAKE!) was a complete surprise. Lisa and I both shed a few tears yesterday when Hermano Tello sent pics and video of the song. GRACIAS AL HERMANO TELLO, LA PRIMARIA Y LOS NINOS DE LA RAMA AIRE LIBRE POR HACER QUE EL NINO MIO SE SINTIO RECORDADO EN SU DIA DE CUMPLE! Thanks brother Tello, the primary and the kids of Aire Libre branch for helping my kid to feel remembered on his birthday.

Sunday lunch with the Ruiz family

Adam's "start" group including members of his district from the Mexico City MTC

Quito from the Panecillo

Week 9 - The Wheels On The Bus Go...

Dear friends and family,

I would like to declare that blessings can come in all shapes, sizes, smells and flavors. This week the biggest blessing that I had graciously bestowed upon me by the esposa of Presidente Tello was broccoli. BROCCOLI! Wow, what an interesting way to start a letter – hah! (What do you think when you read these?) Anyway, the message that I would like to convey, similarly to last week, is that life is improving here day by day. I had my first serving of vegetables since entering the country and they were delicious. A lot of vegetables are hard to clean here because of the poor water quality (tomatoes, letter, broccoli) but yes, I got to eat some and my taste buds were craving it. However, don’t let me waste any more time jumping into my discussion of the categories of life in Ecuador. This week I’d like to start with…the busses.

The Busses: The busses here function kind of like a trolley or railway service. People are always jumping on and off and often you can find people loudly selling things up and down the aisle. The busses are always noisy, always packed, and always drive incredibly fast. If you were to ride in one, you’d think that the driver had buttons instead of pedals – one for “lightspeed ahead” and one for “stop right here, right now.” I get to ride in one of these unique transportation systems every couple of days and I have gone some interesting places. Natolita is one and I travel there whenever I have a reason to meet with my zone (24 other missionaries also assigned to Esmeraldas). I do this once a month or so and it did not take any time at all to learn to appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the river-swept, Amazonian landscape and countryside. I have noticed some earthquake damage where state-sponsored construction crews are digging super deep (9-12 feet) holes in the ground and are replacing piping. This past week I also go to go on a little viaje to a nice-ish beach town called Atacames. Bring raised near the beach all of my life it was really interesting to explore a beach with a more tropical flavor to it. On a different note, it was while traveling to Atacames this week, in a rickety, sloppily-painted bus branded “Las Palmas”, that had a real ability to toss its passengers to and fro that I had a realization that with the passing of October 23^rd, I can officially declare that I have been on my mission for 2 months. This lends quite nicely into the next topic: timing.

Timing: One thing that I have completely reevaluated on my mission is my perception of time. During my life before I left, things were very routine. Everyday I had everything all planned out – me in control of all the things that pertained to me. But here so many events in my schedule revolve around others – my companion, my leaders, my investigators (people who are learning more about the church) that I can’t really control all that much. The end result is that some days pass rather quickly and others go by impossibly slow.

This is coupled with the concept that time itself drives so much of what I do and think about. The time of two years that I have committed to this service, the time I spend studying, the time in between appointments, never having enough time to write home, the fact that my time in high school and youth has expired, it all matters and its always in my head. I could write an essay on this, but I won’t make you read that! The reality of the timing of my mission is that the larger 2-year chunk is divided into 17 smaller, 6-week chunks called Cambios (changes). For now I am going to be in Aire Libre for a minimum of 2 cambios for my 12-week period of training. After that, potentially, I could get moved around elsewhere in the country but I doubt it! Most people that get assigned to the coast put in 6+ months. We’ll have to see!

I hope you all find nothing but memories and happiness in the coming days of Halloween. Please remember that you’re always in my thoughts and prayers. Also, please remember to always enjoy your broccoli!

Until next Monday,

Elder Ericksen

Other anecdotes shared outside of the normal weekly email:

• Today we went to a nicer beach called Las Palmas with the whole zone. It was really fun.
• It’s always soupy at the beach and so hot, gross. We got to play soccer on the sand. It’s a mission rule not to go on the sand but we called President Murphy and he said it was ok. Last time I’ll stand on sand for the next 22 months, I was very happy. A sister from Mexico in my zone made guacamole to share and it was so good and reminded me of home.
•  I tried using my ATM card for the first time I went to the store to buy some stuff like a pillow, deodorant, and toothpaste. When I got to the register the lady asked for my ID which I had left back in the apartment. So I used my last $10 of cash to buy some basic food items. Long story short – I will be slumming it this week.
•  On Friday this week I travel to Quito for something called verifications – I’ll get my visa and meet with President Murphy. I’ll spend the night there and get to reconnect with all my friends from the MTC.
•  Thanks for the letters via email. I print them out and bring them home to read during the week. Each Monday night I can’t wait to see what you’ve all mailed me.

Las Palmas (of course)

Soccer on the beach

Reminds me of Newport (sort of...)

Avena Polaca aka Polish Oatmeal

Week - 8 More Pics