Sunday, October 5, 2014

29 September 2014

Greetings, my kin!

This week was a great one! I'm not really sure why because not a ton happened, guess I’m just feeling the joy of service.  The weather here has been pretty crazy as well. It was 85 degrees one day, then two days later it was raining and today it is what they call “misting." It's so weird, I had never had it “mist” before, at least that I can remember. It feels like you are standing underneath a hose with the "mist" setting on the nozzle. It’s a pretty cool feeling. Recently, it has just been cloudy with a little wind, nothing too bad.

So Damon and Jamilla had their baby, huh? I guess Caitlin will have her own new baby to call "Precious" and will no longer be doting over Baby William?!? Oh well, “Caitlins will be Caitlins.”  =) It seems like Jamilla had been pregnant for way longer than 9 months (perhaps for her too?).  I don't know, but I bet she is glad to get that baby out. 

Good to hear that Kayleigh Shaughnessy got married.  A lot of fun and exciting things seem to be happening there at home. I saw that picture of Marc coming home off of his mission and it was good to see him, wish I could have been there for it…have they told him that they are moving yet?  

Tell Uncle Bob and Aunt Brenda Thanks! I'm so thankful for all that they have done for me and for the humor that they bring into the family. Nothing quite like an "eyebrow salute" to get your day started. I loved Uncle Bob's video that Dad sent me! You can also let him know that there isn't anything other than the farmer wave and nod here…it's all these good folk know how to do! I told my companion about it and said, "Watch this…when I do the farmer wave, he will either nod or put one finger up on the steering wheel as his wave."  As the car passed, I waved the farmer wave…and sure enough there it was in return!  I told my companion all about the farmer wave/nod, and that would happen without fail.  It’s the way of things...the way of the farmer. He got a good kick out of that and now we smile every time someone does it. Nothing like spreading the "farmer wave and nod!"  God bless the farmer.

So the other night, I had a dream that I was playing Banjo-Kazooie but I was fighting a giant Boo (from Mario) and every time I hit it, it got smaller and smaller. I remember thinking to myself in the dream, that I didn't understand why this boss used to be so hard for me to beat? When I beat the boss, I woke up and thought.."What the heck!?!"  Those two characters aren't even from the same game, so who knows why I had a dream about the two of them? 

Speaking of dreams and what not, one night I woke up and sat right up. I stared at the clock trying to process what time it was…it was 5:59 a.m. and you know how you get when you are super tired and you can't really think straight? Well, that happened to me, and I was thinking that my alarm as set for 6:00 (but it was set for 6:30). So I was just waiting for it to go off, and when the clock showed 6:00 a.m., I closed my eyes expecting to hear that annoying tone…but nothing happened. So I thought to myself, “Well, I guess it's a good thing I woke up or we would have slept in!" I walked over to my alarm clock and flipped the alarm "Off and On" buttons a few time to see if it would go off.  I then thought, "I bet Elder Dettenmaier changed my time so we (Elder Johnson and I) wouldn't get up on time." (We had been on exchanges and the Elder I was with was Elder Dettenmaier). So I went to go grab my watch from downstairs to see what the time it showed, and on the way out of our room (keep in mind that it was still dark so I couldn't see anything) I slammed my knee and head into the partially opened door.  I thought, “To heck with it, I'm going to bed." It wasn't until then that I realized we didn't have to get up until 6:30 and was quite angry with myself.  Not only because I got up early, but that my knee and head now hurt. 
When I laid back down, Elder Johnson sat up really fast and said "Is someone breaking in?…I heard a huge thump!" I told him no and that I'd tell him what happened when it was time to get up. 

Okay, one more story about nights as a missionary. I woke up one night around 3:00 a.m. and laid there for a little trying to fall back asleep when all of a sudden, Elder Johnson sat up, looked at me and shouted “Hoorah for Israel! I looked at him and then started laughing as he laid back down, talking to himself and settling back into sleep. When I asked him about it the next morning, he said he didn't remember a thing. Good times!

Answers to Mom’s Questions for the week:
1.Yes I got the package of wool socks. The things you sent were awesome and they all fit really well. I love the socks, I'm wearing a pair right now.  My companion wants to know where you got the "Andrew Marc" coat, he really likes it. That thing is amazing!  It feels like you are wrapped in a marshmallow.
2.  Fishing was really fun, I didn't catch anything because I was learning to fly fish so I was getting used to all that goes along with it. I knew that when the mission office called you about the fishing license you would think something crazy was going on, so when I read what you thought when you saw the call come in, I chuckled to myself.
3.I do share some of my many sound effects as occasion permits, but not as much as I did back home (occasions here don't normally allow for such things). It was funny though, because we saw a motorcycle go by that sounded EXACTLY like Edgar's motorcycle from the Arisocats. I thought,  “Oh man, if my family were here right now I know they would all look at me and expect me to make the noise, and Caitlin would start laughing her cackle laugh.”
4. Transfers are in two weeks. I'm getting a little nervous because I don't want to move to a new area yet, things are really starting to pick up and I would love to see some of these people get baptized. I have built a really strong bond with the people in this ward. So, I’m hoping my time here is not yet done, but I'll go where the Lord wants me to go.

I forgot about all the family birthdays (Cailtin, Bryce, and Mumsy)! I will be sending a little birthday surprise home for all of you, so keep an eye out. I’m still working on getting some of the things I’m planning to send. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I thought I should tell you so you can report when it gets to you. I'll let you know when I mail it.

Love you guys!

Elder Erik

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