Service!

November 9, 2015

Well hello to all of you this fine day! We had an interesting week full of this and that. Seemed a little all over the place but it was good!

To start off, I saw a Gabe look-alike the week before last! I saw the little dog getting walked by its owner and I stopped and asked if it was a Shih Tzu & Lhasa Apso mix and the lady said yes! I have seen a number of look-alikes but they are always either Shih Tzu or Lhasa Apso. But this one was spot on! I always know that its not a Gabe because they never have the right tail. They look similar in coloring or face but the tail is never a match. But this little guy had the tail! He was such a fun little guy! I played with him for a minute or two as I conversed with the lady about Gabe and her dog. What fun! Gabe is the best!

Btw, I'm gonna be all over the place this week.

So, I've had so much darn candy this past week and I still have so much left. Its disgusting. I can feel it every day. Unfortunately I don't have enough self-control to not sit down and eat a delicious candy bar. Ugh. On the bright side, I am adding on nicely to my Tootsie Roll and Starburst wrapper chains on my wall! But I am ready to just get over this candy phase and get back to the truly good stuff. I need it. However, I think this candy has helped me lose weight. So thats a plus.

I went on two exchanges this week. One with Elder Nebeker (in my district) and then with Elder Moschetti (my zone leader). So I feel like I did no work in my area this week. They were good exchanges, but it feels unproductive because you aren't in your own area so you feel like your work means nothing! And then you throw on 14 hours of service this week and it seems like we didn't do any work! Most of our work came in the evening after dinner but it gets dark so dang early now so our evening work is super unproductive because nobody wants you going to their house after dark and nobody is outside. However I really enjoy doing service so it was a good week! We did our usual service at the Presidential Archives and the Ellen Noel Art Museum and also helped with painting a members house that they needed painted ASAP. So our days were full with service and activities!

I also read two books this week! I read Gordon B. Hinckley's "Way to Be" in like 2 hours sitting at the Art Museum. It was a pretty good read. Nothing special. But definitely motivating and a good message for a young guy like me trying to figure life out! I also read "Mafia to Mormon" while sitting inside with a sick Elder Jewett in 2.5 hours. It was an amazing conversion story! Probably the best conversion story that I've read or heard on my mission! He was a man who was involved in tons of dishonest dealings and making millions of dollars on scams and under-the-table deals. And then, the missionaries showed up and the rest is history. But even the story with the missionaries was crazy. Dang. Good read. That book is like TV for missionaries!

I had one of the best meals I've had in a LONG time the other night! We had dinner with a member who served his mission in Jamaica so he made us Jamaican Jerk chicken which was like, the best dang chicken I've ever had! He smoked some jerk marinated chicken legs over apple wood I believe and it was just insane chicken. My lips were basically raw from the spice but it was nothing that was difficult to power through! He also made these little fried bread thingies called "festival" or something like that and some rice cooked in coconut milk. Both really really good. And then to top it off he made this Jamaican drink that was to die for! I can't remember what it was called, but I couldn't get enough of it! It was definitely something that I haven't had on my mission and its up there with the best!

Another bit of news. Permian High lost to San Angelo High on Friday. So their undefeated season went down the drain. Oh well. Everyone seems to be distraught about that. Darn it, Permian! They will probably still make it pretty deep into state, but they ain't undefeated no more!

We had a killer lesson with Mark on Monday! We were going to teach the Restoration because we haven't retaught that yet, but we only made it to the second point in the lesson before everyone was crying. They were wanting to listen to the Conversion Story of Bill Carpenter because it is super relatable to Mark, but we went with the Resto instead, but then after we got the tears rolling we decided that the conversion story was perfect for what we were talking about so we diverted from the plan and we listened to that. It was pretty sweet. Maybe one of these days we'll get around to getting a full lesson in before we all turn all soft and mushy. Gosh, I need to work on that. We also had an appointment with Dustin and Rose but Rose had to work that night so we weren't able to visit with them this week, and then the majority of our week was service and me being out of the area on exchanges. However Elder Despain talked to a few people in our area on exchanges that said we could come by again. So hopefully something works out with them.

Well, I need to go finish up some stuff before we head out! But I love y'all! I hope and pray that the Lord will guide you to many wonderful things and experiences this week and continue to lead and guide your lives! He loves YOU! And I do too!

Lots of Love,

Elder Reed Ericson