HOT, hot ,hot

Subject: Re: Hot, Hot, Hot!
From: Braden Erickson <braden.erickson@myldsmail.net>
To: lorenjerickson@gmail.com
CC: 

It gets really hot here to, not sure how hot it gets but its about 40C  not F!  its really hot here and its only the rainy season (cooler season).  i end up drink about 3 to 5 leater of water a day.  It has been raining a lot at night and the thunder is really loud.

Yeah we had 5 baptisms and we have 3 more coming up hopfuly.  i know grandma E said that she wanted me to send more time in than out i tried to email her back but it wouldnt let me.

The people here are very kind and i have only ever had 2 people here tell me no.  they are very open and try to feed us all the time but we were told not to take food from them.  Sometimes they feel like we dont like the food we just tell them we just ate or we are fasting.  Fasting is so hard here!  no water for 24 hours is hard!  The church is very small it has 3 rooms to it and then we have a seperate building for the rest of the classes.  we have about 100 people come to church each sunday.  the area in the city is very deserty but as you start to go to the less developed areas. it turns into a jungle! most of the houses here are very small  only have one room.  the house we are in has 3 rooms a bathroom and kitchen.

Haha Talking about water when my companion and i were giving a lesson we got a call from one of the other elders that live in the house next to us. and they said that we had water coming out of the front door.  my companion said that it has happend befor and told me to to worry.  so we kept on giving the lesson shortly after we got a call from the missionary couples that also live in a 3rd house next to use called us.  they said we need to go back to the house as soon as possible so we told them we would.  about 5 mins. later they called again and said we need to go the house! they said it  was raining inside the house.  so my companion and i and to run back to the house it was so bad the missionary couples drove and picked us up 1/2 way there. and took us the rest of the way.  we got there and it was literaly raining in the house!  and there was about 2 to 3 inches of water on the ground!  thank goodness the floor is all tile!  it took about 3 hours to get  all the water out and get the pick fixed that broke.  nothing was ruined luckly.

I think it takes about 2 or 3 weeks for the stuff to get here. i normaly wont get the letters until 4 to 6 weeks when ever the ZL's or the Missonary couples go to the mission house they bring us the mail back it all depends on when they go to the mission pres. house.

On Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 4:02 AM, <lorenjerickson@gmail.com> wrote:

Hey Elder,

Not sure what the weather is like where you’re at, but here in Lehi it’s very, very hot.  It’s been over 100 for almost a full week.  I know you wanted to go somewhere warm, so I hope you’re enjoying it.  I’d rather be in Alaska right about now. 

I loved reading your last letter.  5 baptisms?!  That’s awesome.  Grandma E says she hopes you spend more time in the baptismal water than out. 

I would love to hear more about the people, the church, and just generally what Uganda is like.  I expect that you are still trying to absorb it all, but let us know what life is like for you and the people over there.  Send pictures when you can. 

Filling up that SD card might not be the best idea because you never know when it might be lost or damaged.  I lost all my mission pictures because I stored them all in one place and they were damaged by a leaky pipe.  I would hate to see something similar happen to you.  Anyway, do what you think is best.  We’d love to see some of what you are seeing though. 

Mom has sent some special treats as you requested.  I hope the make it to you safely.  Have you made spaghetti for the other Elders yet?  How did they like it?  Please let us know when you receive anything that we mailed so we can get a feel for how long it takes, and how reliable it is.  If I remember correctly, we have mailed two packages and seven letters.

Grandma E had one eye surgery a couple of weeks ago or so.  That one wasn’t too bad but she’s scheduled for another one on 17-Jul that is supposed to be a lot harder.  I meet with the surgeon next week to decide when to cut me open again, but it may be a while because I have not earned any vacation yet.  If they had to do it right a way I might have to take some unpaid time off.  Not good. 

The youth went on Trek last week.  Paige did not get to go because she was very sick after Girls Camp.  Zach did go, and I could tell by his behavior when he got home that the experience affected him deeply.  We had the youth and Trek leaders sing Come, Come Ye Saints in sacrament meeting last Sunday.  They were supposed to have memorized that song while on Trek.  It was a very moving experience.  I am leading the ward choir until we can find somebody better. 

Nobody has moved into your room yet.  I’m not sure if they feel it’s too special, or whether they just don’t want to clean it up.   Zach has officially taken over the job of teasing and tormenting Hope.  It’s kind of funny to watch because nobody asked him to do it, but he’ll all of a sudden take Hope up to her bedroom to play dolls or house or something.  I think he feels the responsibility of being the oldest brother at home.

Know that we love you deeply.  When the kids speak of you, it’s obvious to me that they cherish you and are proud of the example you are setting, as are your Mom and I.  Know that we are receiving blessings because of your service.  Also know that whether or not you see the results immediately, you are blessing the lives of everyone with whom you come into contact.  We pray for you every day and hope that you are safe and having success in teaching these special people. 

Love always,

Dad

Things are going alright here, a lot has happend! The first transfer is almost over so, i might get sent to a new area. my companion thinks he is going to be sent somewhere else. I dont think he will.  the area is becoming very familiar to me and  it is now almost impossible to get lost. I have not yet got the Package i need to wait for the Mission couples to go to the mission pres. house and pick it up or when the ZL go to the mission pres. house. We have had 5 Baptisms and will be expecting at least 3 more by the end of this transfer.  Im glad to hear that you had fun on the 4th of july wish i could do stuff like that here. it has been raining a lot down here and sometimes its hard to get sleep it rains so hard other times its the lightning and thunder that walk me up but they say that it is the rainy season.  Oh i thought you should know that our house filled with water on saturday. we got a call from the missionary couples and they said our house was leaking water. my companion and i didnt think much of it until they called again and said there is about 3 inches of water in the house. we had to cut a the lesson we were in short and RUN all the way back to the house.  remember that is not a short distance its a good 2 or 3 miles away from our area.  that was so much fun!!!! not!!!!  about half way the mission couples picked us up and drove us the rest of the way back to the house on the way back we hit a motorcycle not hard though. it was very eventful that day.

On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 5:45 AM, Traci Erickson <tracirerickson@hotmail.com> wrote:

How are things going? Did you have any baptisms?  Did you every get the package with the visa card and memory card? It was mailed to the mission home.

This week was nice-we all stayed home. No camps or anything big. Hope finished swim lessons and she did put her whole face in the water -Once!

We spent the 4th of July at grandparents R's house. It was a small group of us this year but still fun.  We stayed and did fire works. Hope actually did the sparkers on her own. But when we started the big loud ones she sat by me and then said she wanted to go home. When it was over, she told me that it was the scariest day ever. Silly girl. Paige had to work but they closed early, so she came for the fire works. Yes, she actually found her way. Zach rode home with Paige and they got a little lost, but found their way home.

I signed Ethan up for piano lessons. I thought he would be excited-NO he wasn't. So Parker is going to go instead.  Ethan says he wants to take karate lessons. Guess he just isn't into the music stuff. 

Hugs-love ya, Mom