Its great hearing from you. So you know that VISA card you sent me its
kinda funny because well...when i get the cable i will show you. I
guess something that would be nice to get for christmas would be USB
drive (With lots of music on it, and talks), food is always nice
(ramen, alfedo, mac and cheese, and candy) stuff like that. i have
been eating a lot of bread, eggs, noodles, and PBJ. you probably dont
know this but i get 100,000 shillings or $40 a week. not much. if i
wanted to i could live off of noodles very easy! i can buy a pack of
them for 50 cents or about 1250 shillings. but who wants to eat
noodles all the time haha. i have been offered food from
investigators and members all the time but most of the time we tell
them to keep it. its culture for them to feed visitors. i have tried 2
different kinds of fish and they are alright the sauce is the only
thing that makes it good haha. Tea here is anything hot so we have to
be careful of what we are drinking we have to ask them if it has tea
leafs in it haha. we have 12 new investigators and if all goes well
the last sunday of this transfer they will be baptised! they are
progressing well. i can give you more about them next time.
hope all goes well. sounds like its not going to be a lot of fun.
On 8/7/13, Loren J Erickson wrote:
Hey Elder, I really enjoyed reading your last letter. It sounds like you are making
quite a name for yourself both in the kitchen and in music. I really like
the song Be Still My Soul. I think I may have mentioned that the ward
choir here sang an arrangement of that song and Where Can I Turn for Peace, with the two songs being sung on top of each other by different parts. It
sounded pretty cool. I recorded it on my phone, and I'd send it but I
don't know if you're allowed to receive attachments like that. Our ward
Christmas program is starting to take shape. If we can pull it off it
should be a spiritual feast. I am trying to focus on four main doctrines
related to the Saviors birth: the prophecies, the birth itself, the
announcement, and the gift. So far I hope that we will be singing the
following songs: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (mens chorus), When Mary Sang Her
Lullaby (womens chorus), He Sent His Son (primary children and ward choir),
and O Come, All Ye Faithful (choir and congregation). I need one more song
to cover "the announcement". I have a couple of ideas, but haven't
selected one yet.
I think it's great that you are using your musical talent as part of your
mission. I hope that you continue to embrace and enhance that talent over time.
By "something special" for Christmas, I simply meant that if you'd like something in particular beyond a VISA card, something that we could send so that it would get there in time for you to have a nice Christmas, we'd need to start planning for that now. I didn't having anything particular in mind. We are working on sending you the things you have requested so far.
I know from experience that that first mission Christmas can be both spiritually moving and lonely at the same time. I hope that when that time comes for you, you remember who it is you are serving right now. What a great way to give something back to the Savior.
Now to the subject of my email. I met with the surgeon today, and they finally agreed that my arm problem is serious enough that it needs surgical attention. Right now, I am scheduled to go into surgery sometime on August 20th. Two weeks from today. The doctor thinks there are several things going on. One of the screws in my neck may be broken and may (or may not) be affecting the stability of the fusion. I also have some kind of growth in that area that projects into the spinal column channel, and the gap where the nerve that goes down my right arm comes out of the spinal column is very narrow, which is ultimately what is causing my numbness and tingling. At a minimum, they are going to widen that nerve passage and widen the spinal column where it is constricted in the area of the fusion. If the loose screw has affected the stability of the fusion, they will do a second fusion on the back side of my spine. I may be out of commission for about six weeks or more.
This kind of thing is never without risk, but I want you to know that regardless of what happens I know that you are exactly where you need to be right now. You and our family will be most blessed by you fulfilling your commitment to serve the Lord.
I love you and am overjoyed when I hear about your adventures in the mission field. I know that you are touching the lives of many individuals, probably more than you realize. Stay true to what the Lord expects of you, follow the inspiration He will send and know that He will send angels to be on your right hand and on your left hand, if necessary, if you are obedient in all things. Know that we pray for you and your companion daily. Write about your feelings in your journal every day, even (especially) on the bad days. You will be surprised at how much of a treasure and comfort your own words will be to you when you are older.
Love always,
Dad
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