Monday, August 11, 2014

New area-Makindye

 Dear Braden,
 Glad to hear that you didn't starve and that people feed you lots of good food.
 Zach got his license. Yup he is now legal. He is taking over your car. it is nice that he can drive himself to his friends and school now.
Hope woke up early one morning and decide to cut her own hair. :( I had to take her to great clips and have them fix it so it looks alright. She is quit the handful. Today at church she got mad at me and left during
sacrament. I told dad he better see where she was going-she actually made it half way home on her own before dad caught up to her. She thinks she is bigger than she really is.
 So Tanner Todd had his farewell today. he did a good job with his talk. He
 spoke on service. He leaves in just over 1 week.
 I took the kids to the sir for back to school shopping. I think we got
everything they need. We will find out this week at back to school night, I
 guess.
 How is your new area? Who is your new companion? Do you have any
 investigators?
 Love ya lots,Mom


===========================

Zach is driving my car!! That cant be good at all! sounds like i might
not have a car when i get home. Hope is a handful though thats the
thing haha she might slow down in a year or 2 we will see. tanner is
going where again for his mission? there might be someone from one of
my areas that is going to the same mission.

My new area is Makindye its a good place i like it a lot but the
apartment is terrible its super dirty and wont ever get clean because
it is stained, the pluming gets clogged all the time and the church
has to pay a guy to come unclog it every 2 to 3 weeks and that costs a
ton. we had the stove catch on fire and almost melt one of the handles
to it as well. So needless to say we have been looking for a new house
to go live in and hopefully we will be going with in the next week or
2. besides that i love the new area, it reminds me of Ntinda but with
a lot more hills to it :( i hate hills oh well. the area i am in is
actually not a branch but a ward!! its kinda strange i have only been
in branches. My new companion is awesome!!! he from Dallas Texas and
turns out we played lots of the same video games like LOL, WOW, and
Starcraft. he is also a very funny guy he likes to make jokes a lot as
well. i think i will have no problem with this transfer haha. dont
worry when we work we are focused on the work. we have a small
teaching pull because he had tetnis when i first came so we need to do
find like normal haha.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Mutungo

On 8/4/14, Traci Erickson
Hey Braden, How was your week? Hope it was good and that you got enough to eat. Are you being transferred?
 I think (maybe you already did) you should report your money being stolen to the mission President. If it has happened before, maybe they can figure out who is doing it and put a stop to it.
 So, we have been keeping an eye on the news of the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
They are having all missionaries moved to different missions in the Sierra Leone and Liberia missions. This is a precaution, to make sure No missionaries get sick. Thankfully, there aren't any reports of it hitting
 Uganda, yet.
 This week was actually pretty quiet and low key. Which was nice for a
 change. We do need to go have some fun before school starts. I was
planning on going to 7 peaks one last time but it is supposed to be rainy all week.Weary face Maybe we will have to hit the dollar movies instead. Ethan
thinks we should make spud nuts one day. We will see, if I have the energy.
Pres. Spencer and his family took their youngest-CECE- to the temple to be sealed on Saturday. They gave her a name and a blessing today in church.
 They had a big family turn out. Russ Lasson and his family were there. It was fun seeing them again. All 3 of their girls had their white temple dresses on. It choked me up-remembering seeing all of you dressed in white in the temple when we blessed Hope. What a great experience. One that most member's don't get to do.
 In RS meeting today, we talked about not being to hard on yourself or
 comparing yourself to others. That God know that we aren't perfect and he also knows our talents. it was a great reminder.
 Both Zach and Ethan got their school fees in the mail. They both got
classes that they are excited for. And both of them are in choir classes.
Yeah, Ethan-finally something musical. Ethan made sure Dad went on line and
paid the fees because he can't wait to get his real schedule and find out if
he has classes with his friends. I think he is the only one excited about
school starting so soon.
We all pray for you, daily. Keep up the hard work and remember to smile and
 be yourself. 'Cause no one else can do it.-be you-that is.
 Love ya lots, Mom
HUGS

--------------
So a lot has happend these past few days! We were invited to the
branch presidents house for dinner on saturday then invited to the 1
councilor house on sunday for dinner and today we had a big feast
with the ZL's in the area, and received transfer news! turns out i am
leaving Lira already!! kinda strange its the first time i will be
staying in a area for only 1 transfer! i am going to a place called
Mutungo sounds like a good place we will see soon i guess. I kinda
wanted to stay in the north a little longer than that but oh well
atleast i got to come back :) Ethan is taking choir class!!! NO WAY
thats awesome.







 On 8/4/14, Loren J Erickson 
So apparently I don't pay enough attention to know which terrible disease
 is ravaging parts of Africa.  I think I told you it was the bubonic plague
last week  Wrong!  It's the e-bola virus.  It sounds like it is getting
quite serious.  They are transferring missionaries from the affected
regions to other missions.  It still appears to be some distance from you,
but please, PLEASE take good care of yourself.  Watch your hygiene habits very closely.  Don't take any chances with food or drink.  This is serious stuff.  Listen closely to everything your mission president says about it  and follow his counsel exactly.  Hopefully, it will never reach your area, but you need to be prepared.

This week was the first choir practice I attended where I wasn't leading.  It was kind of weird.  I think I can get used to singing in the choir again, even if I'm not much of a tenor any more.  It's hard letting go of that desire to be leading though.  The new ward music chair and choir director is Sister Perkins (again, probably someone you don't know), and she will do a good job.

How are things with your companion?  I think you said there were transfers this week.  Did that affect either of you?  I know it's tough being with a companion that you don't get along with very well, but it doesn't sound like this elder is as bad as some companions you've had (one in particularcomes to mind).  He's just quiet, right?  Do you feel like there is any
 hostility or disrespect behind the silence?  I had a companion like that once and it was a long couple of months.

 We are losing one of our Gospel doctrine teachers, so there is a remote
 chance that I may be asked to fill in while we find a new teacher.  That
 should be fun.  Very intimidating.
 I hope you are healthy and as happy as your present circumstances permit.
 How are your investigators coming along?  What do they have to say about
 what you are teaching them?  I hope you are remembering that the most important thing is to love them and sincerely care about them as sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven.  You know the old saying, "people don't  care how much you know, until they know how much you care."

The last thing I want to do is distract you from the important work you are doing, but I thought you should know that Malynn Erbe is coming home in about three weeks.  I can't believe how fast time has flown.  Your time
will come soon enough. Just keep your head in the work and it will be here
before you know it.

 Know that we love you dearly and pray for you every day.  We worry about
 the current health situation in Africa, so please be careful.  I am so
 proud of everything you are doing to bring the happiness of the Gospel to
 the people of Africa.  Know that you are changing lives eternally.
 Love,
Dad

-----------
I know what you meant when you spoke of the plague haha, i think i
heard about it 3 or 4 weeks ago, even the UG government has a close
eye on it as well so if it does get to UG we will know.  So i will be
getting transfered already!!! its my first time to come to a area and
only stay for 1 transfer haha. its kinda strange!! The thing is I dont
want to pack my suitcase again... oh well guess i dont have a choice
do i. we have one investigator that will be baptised on satuday to bad
i wont be around. they just enjoy talking to us and having a good
time, that area is very friendly to missionaries and most of the
people like us a lot.  we did get to help in Mormon Helping Hands this
week as well that was really fun we got to pick up trash on the roads.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Summer


Previous messageNext messageFull view

Re: another week‏



7/28/14


On 7/28/14, Traci Erickson <tracirerickson@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Braden,Wow, I can't believe I actually went to bed and then remembered that
> i hadn't emailed you yet. Lucky that I love you enough to get out of bed and
> send you a line or two.Smiling face with smiling eyesGrandma and Grandpa E Left our house Sunday night
> to go to the family reunion. Friday, Nathan and his family came to visit
> for a few days before they went home from the family reunion. We didn't do
> fireworks on the 24th just so their kid could do it with us. Everyone had a
> good time. I will send pictures later. I can't believe how grown up their
> kids are getting.Saturday, Dad and I went to Grandpa R's 55 high school
> reunion. Grandpa asked Dad to take a group picture and some during the
> reunion. That's why we went. Their was a pretty good turn out and they all
> seemed to enjoy themselves.Today ad's Aunt Sharon and Uncle Mike invited us
> over for dinner to get together with their family and Nathan's since we











On 7/28/14, 
Braden,Wow, I can't believe I actually went to bed and then remembered that i hadn't emailed you yet. Lucky that I love you enough to get out of bed and send you a line or two.Smiling face with smiling eyesGrandma and Grandpa E Left our house Sunday night to go to the family reunion. Friday, Nathan and his family came to visit for a few days before they went home from the family reunion. We didn't do fireworks on the 24th just so their kid could do it with us. Everyone had a good time. I will send pictures later. I can't believe how grown up their kids are getting.Saturday, Dad and I went to Grandpa R's 55 high school reunion. Grandpa asked Dad to take a group picture and some during the reunion. That's why we went. Their was a pretty good turn out and they all seemed to enjoy themselves.Today ad's Aunt Sharon and Uncle Mike invited us over for dinner to get together with their family and Nathan's since we don't see each other much. You remember them right? We always have a BBQ in their backyard.
 So tell me all about what is happening there. Anything fun or exciting? Transfers are soon right? I hope you get a comp that will actually talk to you so your days go by faster. Keep up the amazing work. You will be greatly blessed for it-now and later on in life.
 Love ya much, Mom

Sounds like you had a busy week hehe, and also the house must have
been full thats when i go to my room and hide haha.

nothing really exciting happend here, besides the fact that someone
(most likely a Elder) stole 50000 shillings from me, i dont know who
but oh well i know they wont bring it back. and its only about 20
dollars but thats a weeks worth of food oh well guess i just have to
eat light for 3 more days till i get moroni again haha. We also had 5
investigators come to church which is amazing!!! transfers are next
week so yeah, we will see what happens.




Hey Braden,How are things going in the mission world? Any investigators
 yet? Does your companion talking to you more? I'm sure that can be
 frustrating, having him ply talk to other African's in the house.
 How far do you have to walk these days and did you buy new shoes?This week
 was pretty quiet. We pretty much stayed home and kids played with friends.
 We did make it to Lei pool and to the small lake in Pleasant Grove. The
 Spencer's from next door were there also and they kept us entertained.
 Grandpa and Grandma E. arrived Friday and came to our house to visit on
 Saturday afternoon. They went to church with us on Sunday and Dad talked them into singing in the ward choir. ad got to lead for his last time today.
 Paige lead for her last time in Sacrament meeting. She was released and
 put in  as a Primary worker. (You know all about that). She is teaching the 3 year olds. I'm sure she will do well. The Primary Presidency was released and a new one put in last Sunday, so a few more changes needed to happen in the ward. However, they didn't put a new conductor in so we will have t0  wait to see who gets that calling.

 Granparent's E. showed of pictures of the trip the took to China in May.They saw some pretty cool things. of course, Hope is now asking when we can go to China. We better start saving money for her now, I have a feeling that she will be a world traveler when she grows up.

 Hope all is going well for you.Love you lots, Mom
 I can't believe that school starts again in just a few weeks. They kids
 aren't excited about it, yet. And I have to admit, neither am I. Guess we will just have to go with the flow for now and hopefully we will get excited about it the closer it gets.

 Things are going some how better, we had a few investigators come to church,
 this week which makes me happy, we still dont talk much but the work is
 getting better! i cant wait. Not much has happend here but thats ok we are
 now in week 5 of the transfer! its crazy! how time flies. Sound like you have been busy with stuff.

 By the way its a pain emailing today because the Letter "H" is missing on
 the keyboard, i have to hit the small metal circle to get it to type it
lol.

 
Never be ♯Never be ♭
 Always be ♮
 




On 7/28/14, Loren J Erickson 
>
 Dear Elder,
> We keep hearing about the Eboli plague that is spreading through Africa.
>  Please, please remember to wash your hands often.  I worry, especially in
> rural areas, that they won't react quickly enough to avoid serious
> spreading.  I hope your mission president is communicating with you about
> this.  If you have any hand sanitizer left, now would be a good time to
> start using it liberally.  They haven't mentioned Uganda on the news yet,
> but it'll show up long before it makes the news.  Just be careful and take
> your personal hygiene very seriously for a while.  Same with your food.

> We've had several visitors this week.  Grandma and Grandpa Erickson stopped
> in on their way to the family reunion (which we missed).  It was good to
> see them, but Grandma can sometimes be over-sensitive about being an
> inconvenience.  That get's tired to hear after a while.  While they were
> here Grandma tried out Mom's "zero-gravity chair", which is basically a
> lounge chair that tips backward like a recliner when you lean back.
>  Apparently it was so comfortable that she's been gushing about it to
> everyone they've seen up here.  So we are secretly sending one home with
> Nathan and Amanda (next paragraph), and going to have Uncle Brian set it up
> before G&G E get home.  Should be an interesting surprise.

> Nathan and Amanda came up after the reunion and stayed with us one night
> then spent the rest of the weekend with Ann.  With the six of them it
> turned out to be quite crowded in the house.  Nathan's kids have not ever
> done "real" fireworks, because the restrictions in Arizona only let them do
> sparklers.  So we had several aerials left over from the 4th of July and
> did those for them on Friday.  You should have seen their kids faces.  It
> was priceless.

> This afternoon we went to my Aunt Sharon's house out in West Jordan.  I
> don't know if you remember her and Uncle Mike.  Most of their kids (my
> cousins) were there, and it was really nice seeing them all again.  From
> our side of the family, Nathan and Amanda were there and Ann.  Ann seemed
> very distracted and troubled.  She took a phone call during the
> get-together and then just disappeared.  I hope everything is all right
> with her.
> How are you and your companion getting along?  Are you starting to talk
> more?  I noticed that when I was in Japan that the native elders sometimes
> had a little attitude towards "gaijin" (foreign) elders.  My first native
> companion was certainly that way.  I hope things are better between you and
> your companion.  From your last letter it sounded like you had several new
> investigators.  That's awesome!  How is that going?  How are these people
> receiving the gospel message?  We'd like to hear more about your day-to-day
> experiences.

> Know that we love you and pray for you every day.  A lot of people have
> asked about how you are doing and we love telling them about your
> experiences.  Take care of yourself and stay healthy!
>
> Love,
> Dad

We, havent heard much about the plauge going around but mission
president has his eye's on it and he said he would give us a massive
text if it reaches Uganda. he will basically just put us on lock down
until it calms down again.

Sounds like you have had a very busy week huh, thats good. also sounds
like the house was packed...not good...haha

so the most exciting thing that happend to day was, that some one
stole 50000 shillings from me, i dont know who it was by the way thats
only about 20 dollars but that goes a long way its enough for food for
a hole week. i guess we will see if it just comes back most likely not
though. we had 5 investigators at church! that was also very very
nice! we will be trying to see them often now for the next few days
see how things go. besides that me and my comp, we still dont talk
much. but transfers are next week so he has a high chance of leaving
seeing how he as been in the area the longest. there are also 23 new
elders coming to the mission which will make a lot of changes as well.
i might be training i kinda hope not though.

Friday, July 11, 2014

New area LIRA

                                                           July

Braden,How was your week? Hope it was good. How many investigator's are you
teaching? Uncle Chris say's 'hi'. And thinks it would be great to take a
 vacation to Africa and just sit back and watch the wild life. Did you ever
 get your birthday box?
 This week was uhmm, different. My old friend Pam was kicked out of her
 mother's house by her brother. So, she and her kids came and spent the week
 with us. She made lots of phone calls and got on food stamps and is trying
 to get into low income housing. They went back to Manti Sunday to talk to
 their bishop but he doesn't seem to think he can help. So, Pam and her kids
 decided to stay at a camp ground this week and enjoy nature for this week.
 This experience has made me realize just how blessed our family really is.
 Zach has been working with Jacob's Dad. They are laying a tile floor in a
 relatives house. He was gone more than 9 hours on Friday. They have asked
 him to work 3 days this week. It will be good for him. I don't know why but
 he decided to work instead of going to Beaver with the scouts.
 Ethan leaves on Monday(today) to go to Tifie scout camp. He is real excited.
 He has been counting down the hours.
 We spent the 4th of July at the R's. We had a BBQ with lots of good food
 and then set off fireworks when it got dark enough. Hope got mad because
 dad wouldn't let her take her newly lit sparkler and pout it in the bucket
 of water. She said, he was mean and that they make a cool sound when you do
 it.
 Hope things are going well for you.Love ya lots, Mom
 *Imperfect people are all God has every had to work with.That must be
 terribly frustrating to him, but he deals with it. - Jeffery R. Holland


------------------





The week has been good, my alergies have been acting up a lot this
week though Oh and my toncils where hurting like crazy so i had to
take some of the Tylenol. that you sent me with 400mg of it so 2
tablets haha.

Zach is working thats cool!

I didnt get my package yet, but i dont know if i will get it until the
end of the month! because i am once again far from the office and the
only time the ZL's go down to the office is for MLC with the mission
pres.

Tell Chris that i say hi back.

Well i hope this weeks is a little more calm than last weeks.

The area is great and we have already had 2 Baptisms and planing on
another 4 by the end of the transfer.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Here in Lira

Dear Braden,
    How has your week been? How is your new area? Are you in the jungle or a town?
You said that you companion is one of your brother's from the MTC-what is his name?
This week was very interesting.  Ethan received his purple belt in class. He is loving Tae kwon do and catches on quickly.
I took the kids to the small lake over my Mount Timp. Temple. The had a good time playing in the water and sand.  We took a fishing pole because Hope said she needed to fish.
We didn't take bait on purses because I new she wouldn't stay with it very long. Zach took her to a spot that they could fish from an found out the rill on the pole was broken. It was okay though, as long as Hope could hold the hook in the water she was happy.
Friday, Paige and I went to BYU Idaho with her friend Kaylee and her mother.  We spent the night in a hotel and then hit campus and student housing on Saturday.  The housing all looks pretty much the same on the inside, except some are larger than others.  The girls decided on the one closest to the campus because they will be there in the COLD winter. On our trip home, we stopped at a Wendy's to eat.  This old lady started choking and her daughter yelled for help. A worker came to help but couldn't get it out. They told the other worker's to call 911. I was scared but knew I had to at least try and help. I went over and told them to let me help.  First time doing the hymlic maneuver (on an adult) and it worked.  The poor lady was so shaky. I sat her down and rubbed her back and asked if she was alright.  She was coughing, but nodded her head, yes. So, I went back to my lunch. They ambulance still came and checked her out and talked to her.  The old lady and her daughter thanked me before they left. It was a scary experience. Poor Paige told Dad, that she almost saw a lady die today but Mom saved her life. I guess I did. I was to nervous to even think of it that way.
It was scary to me but what was I gong to do-watch her die-NO.  I am glad that I have been certified in first aid and CPR. Kaylee's mom said-wow, right place, right time-Traci.  Yes, it was but I don't wish to have to do it again.
Today in church we talked about hastening the work (missionary work) and I thought about my experience at Wendy's and doing what I could to help the lady live, even though I was scared.  Am I willing to step in and help people  people in their spiritual live's? I know I am, but even after serving a full time mission, it can be a little scary. I need to work on the FAITH thing a little more.
So proud of the work you are doing-keep it up.
If you ask God for help-be prepared to put your Work Boots on!
Love, MOM





Sorry Your are going to to have to tell everyone that I wont be able
to reply to there emails today because the internet is being very
slow, it takes over 40 minutes to just load a page to email you. i
guess its a bad day of internet here in Lira! oh well. Yeah, so anyway
i am serving with my brother from the MTC his name is Elder Manuwere
he is from zimbabway he is a cool guy and he teaches very different
from the way i am use to teaching so i guess i will get to learn how
to blend him with me too. Not much has happend besides the fact that
i have been at home most of the time because my companion has malaria
hope i never get it it looks like a bad thing!!! sounds like your
having a crazy week. and also sounds like paige is wanting to move out
of the house haha.anyway hope all is going well.

sorry to make this short but i dont have a lot of time it took almost
all my time to just open the page to email you.

-- 
Never be ♯
Never be ♭
Always be ♮

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Another transfer to Lyra

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,Happy Birthday dear Braden, Happy birthday to you!
I hope you did something fun for your Birthday! Wow a big 20-your getting old-JK.
Pretty funny someone would ask you if you spoke English-I still laugh just thinking about it.
So, did you get transferred? Do you want to? Where would you like to serve before you come home?

So, Sister Todd and I were talking about things that we had to buy for our son's missions. It is interesting how different the lists are, even though you both will be serving in Africa.

For me, this was a crazy week.  First, we went to Pat and Tina's on Monday to celebrate Korbins Birthday. We played card games and then went outside to play lawn darts that dad got for Father's Day! It was fun.  On the way home-on the freeway of course- the low tire pressure light came on- by the time we got home the tire was completely flat! Dad had to figure out where the spare tire was and how to get it down from the bottom of the van. He did get it on. The next day I took it to the tire store and the said that it was shredded on the inside and we need a new tire. However, the tire isn't a very common size so they had to have it shipped in. So I took a trip back the next day.  Also, we noticed that the front tire had a nail in it when we bought it. That tire was still fine but the tire shop was nice and took the nail out and double patched it for free!

We had winter weather this week-yes it snowed in the mountains and was cold and windy here. I refused to turn the furnace on, so everyone put jackets on. Or walked around in a blanket.  By Saturday it was in the high 80* again!

I had a doctor's appointment and Dad tagged along.  I had blood work done earlier and we got the results. Some were not so great. The doctor I went to isn't covered by insurance, so I am now in the process of finding another doctor.

President Keck called earlier in the week to see if I could sit at a registration desk for a Young Adult Conference being held in Orem on Friday.  I really wasn't looking forward to it but it turned out to be very low stress and fun.  The had 5 people at the table I was at ( 2 others from our ward) and One person could have done the job just fine. So we mostly just sat and chatted for 3 hours.

Saturday, we celebrated your Birthday for you at Lagoon.  We went early to try and beat the heat.  I thought that I would take home over to the children's part and just watch her ride the rides.  That wasn't her plan!  She has decided that she is big enough for the bigger rides.  We round the far-is  wheel and she loved being up so high.  We rode the the ride that is like the hopper but much bigger, but get this. Her favorite ride was the Bombora (blue roller coaster) which is a mid sized coaster a lot like the Jet Star2. She went on it 7 or 8 times.  She convinced Parker to go on it with her before we left. Yes, she convinced her older brother to ride it.  Dad got picture's of her on it with the biggest smile ever.  We all were worn out by the time we got home.
Hope now wants to buy a Blue roller coaster and put it in our back yard.

So, that was our excitement for the week.

Hope yours was just as good.  We love you lots and want the best for you. Keep up the hard work and the Lord will Bless you.

Love Mom


Here in Uganda a lot has happend this last week! we had a Drunk guy come up to us and ask us if we speak English very well!!! I looked at him with a strange face and thought to myself "umm duh i speak good english i am from america" haha it made me laugh. the next day we had someone come up to my companion and ask him if he was from Portugal it was so funny! there is NO WAY my companion is from there! I also had some other stuff happen but i dont know if its safe email it so i will just have to tell you in person if we meet up.
Sounds like a lot has happend lately thats good, and also sound a little bad. I did get Transfer news and i will be going back up to northern uganda to a place called Lyra i cant wait! from what i have heard about it its a wonderful place. I will be serving with one of my mission brothers as well! I could say that i want to leave but the area just started to do well! oh well just have to keep working hard huh. I would like to serve in the north so i guess i am getting my wish huh.
Thanks for the Birthday song, i feel old now more than every!

Sounds like a lot has happend lately thats good, and also sound a little bad. I did get Transfer news and i will be going back up to northern uganda to a place called Lyra i cant wait! from what i have heard about it its a wonderful place. I will be serving with one of my mission brothers as well! I could say that i want to leave but the area just started to do well! oh well just have to keep working hard huh. I would like to serve in the north so i guess i am getting my wish huh.
Thanks for the Birthday song, i feel old now more than every!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Update!!




On Mon, May 26, 2014 at 7:04 AM
Dear Elder-son-Braden,
How was your week?  Anything interesting or exciting happen?  Did you get the box I sent?
Just a few more days and you will have made it One full year-Yeah. Paige graduates on the same day that you have hump day and it is Dad's birthday as well. Guess that means it is going to be a great day!
I had pre-school graduation on Friday.  Of course the weather was nice all week until Friday.  It was cloudy and windy. We had graduation outside again and it went well.  I had a slip and slid and wiggly sprinkler for the kids to play in.  They did but it was cold. Hope is already asking when preschool is going to be again.

Then that afternoon, I went and helped the 4th and 5th graders do their field day outside.  The weather had actually warmed up some and the clouds started to clear up.  I was in charge of a banana game.  It was funny. We had the kids get into 4 teams. They laid on the ground with their feet by the next person's head.  Then the first person had to pick the banana up with their feet put their feet over their head and the next person had to grab it from them with their feet.  It was really fun to watch and the banana's got pretty mushy.
Dad got off early that day and we went van hunting.  We found one that is nice and had the features that I wanted.  Automatic sliding doors and back , adjustable petals, and a dvd player.  Both Zach and Page have already driven it. I know dad is going to send pictures, so I won't.

Parker had his last track meet. He did pretty well.  Out of about 30 kids he came in 10th in the 100 and 2oo meter run.  He was second in the high jump.  He jumped 3'6" up over the bar.  He came in about 5th in the long jump. He jumped 8'1". The furthest was a tall boy that jumped 10 feet.  He also did a relay.  The meet was about 3 hours long and we were all glad to go home when it was over.

Paige is now the new ward chorister-yes, the WARD chorister. Today was her first time leading and she did a great job.  She won't have the calling very long because she has decide to go to the young adult ward in July.  A lot of her friends are going, so she is also.  I'm sure it will be a good experience for her.

Zach had his birthday and got an I phone. His old phone was pretty well worn.  He was ordained to the office of a Priest today by dad.  He is excited to be able to bless the sacrament.  

As you can tell, things are going well here at home.

Hugs and Kisses, 
Love ya, Mom
Good to hear that you have some investigator's. I haven't sent the other package yet, I will make sure to include food.
So, the Todd boy that is going to  Johannesburg. said that in his letter it told him to bring 5 nice watches and when someone truest to mug him to tell him he doesn't have anything but this nice watch and give it to them.  Kinda funny. But if it works, it is a good thing. 

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Sounds like you have had a very busy week!!! but i guess that it is about time for that to start now that school is getting out.  WAIT did you say ZACH PASSED!!!!!! thats not good!!! When i get home i think i will have to start walking in the street because i know the sidewalk will not be safe anymore!
So i havnt recieved the package yet, but i might have it tomorrow, Because mission pres. wants to have interviews with us again....oh boy hope it goes well.  He did invite us over for dinner yesterday!! The food was awesome!!! i think i eat 3rds or was it 4ths i dont remember but it was a lot and Sis. Chatfield asked where all the food goes I dont think anyone will find that out. there must be a black hole in me somewhere i just have to find it haha.
Besides all that things are going well here, we are doing a lot of finding and so soon we will have more people to teach and also we are reporting to the ZL's daily now thats not fun! its like being a DL but we are not! We did start to teach one of our recently baptized  person's family.
Have you sent the other package??? if not i think i can go with out a belt i glued the belt back together haha, it was only the outside coming off the rest was fine. For the White shirts i think i will be fine with what i have, i bleached them for a long time and they turned back white but not as what there where when we bought them.  But you can never go wrong with sending food, and candy haha.
Hope all is going well.

the week was good we had interviews with Mission Pres. again!!! it went well I think that he is just worried about the area, because it is not doing well. The only other thing that happend this week was the Baptism that we had on Sunday. It went very well. i will send some pictures next week i dont have my camera with me today.
Sounds like parker did well in track thats good.
Zach got a I-Phone huh what kind??? is it the new one?
Paige is the ward choir ester (ignore spelling there the computer wont let me spell it the right way) haha thats interesting!.
Hmm i never got a email from Dad, you got the van it sounds like! you should send some pictures of it.
Sounds like this last week of may will be very busy.



Braden, 
How goes it?  What if anything new is happening in your area? Did you get the package I sent?  I am in the process of putting your birthday package together and hopefully get it sent out on Monday or Tuesday. I hope it makes it to you on time. I know your grandparents have both sent packages to you, so hopefully you get something on your birthday.
Wow, one year---how does it feel to be on the down side of counting the days.  I never did that. I wasn't even sure when I'd be going home until the AP"s called me and told me that they'd be picking me up the next day. So, I didn't have time to tell to many people good-bye. But it all worked out fine-it always does.
So Paige had her big day on Friday-yeah, she is now a graduate from High School.  It was also the last day of school for the other kids and Dad's birthday. It was pretty busy but fun.  Paige spent a few hours after graduation partying with a group of her friends and then went to the big party at the High School.  It didn't end unit 4 a.m. so she sleep most of Saturday.  She went to the young Adult ward for the first time today.  You will have to ask her about that.

Today after church and lunch, Hope had the great idea of having family time.  We invited each of us to join her in the theatre room in 3 minutes.  We watched Lilo and Stitch #2.  It has been along time since I've watched it.  Hope was so happy that her family could spend time together and watch a movie.  I guess, she doesn't think FHE on Mondays is enough.  She watches shows on U tube on how to make or create things and then wants to do them.  Yesterday she made mud and pored it on the patio because she wanted to make a sculpture. Today, she came to me and asked if I knew how to make cement.  She thinks we should make that next.  I have a feeling that I am going to be very busy this summer doing all kinds of things.
Ethan just found out that he can test for his next belt in Ti kwon do.  He is doing well and loves it.
I can't believe summer is finally here. No more home work. But now coming up with things to keep the kids busy and happy is going to be a challenge. The sleeping in a little longer will be nice though.

Hope all is going well with you.  How is your health? You have been blessed not to have been too ill so far. And I pray that you won't be.  
Today the RF lesson was on fear and not to let fear stop us from doing hard things.  Something that everyone needs to remember sometime in their lives.

Fear: Knocked,
Faith: answered,
No one: was there!
I need to put this saying back by the front door to remind all of us to have faith.
Love ya, keep up the good work, Mom

the week was good we had interviews with Mission Pres. again!!! it went well I think that he is just worried about the area, because it is not doing well. The only other thing that happend this week was the Baptism that we had on Sunday. It went very well. i will send some pictures next week i dont have my camera with me today.
Sounds like parker did well in track thats good.
Zach got a I-Phone huh what kind??? is it the new one?
Paige is the ward choir ester (ignore spelling there the computer wont let me spell it the right way) haha thats interesting!.
Hmm i never got a email from Dad, you got the van it sounds like! you should send some pictures of it.
Sounds like this last week of may will be very busy.

Sounds like a busy week, Im sure paige had a fun time! I remember that time if made me feel old!!! its strange thinking that i will be turning 20 though that makes me feel really old! in facted i cant even rap my mind around it.
So not much has happend this week besides dropping almost all our investigators! (Not Fun!!!) we get to start from scratch again oh well not much i can do about that.
I did get a package from Grandma E, and the 1/2 there package!  The jerky was very nice!!! Thanks

On Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 6:44 AM, Traci Erickson <tracirerickson@hotmail.com> wrote:
Hey, what's up Braden?

How was your week, You, your comp?
Any new investigator's, I hope so.

Yell and shout school is out.  It has been a nice week. Sleeping in a little later. Getting chores done and having some down time. Even though Hope is keeping us all busy, making sculptures out of mud, making cakes and cookies.  She planned another family movie night and popped bags of popcorn and I helped her make sugar cookies and a few of us watched a movie with her.  She gets everyone together to play hide-n-seek. I think she will keep us all busy.

Paige went fishing on a date and got sunburned. They didn't catch any fish either.

Zach got to say the prayer on the bread for the first time this week. Guess what…he got it right the first time. He drove us home in the van after church. Poor Ethan was scared the whole time. But we made it just fine.

We have a new 2nd councilor in the Bishopric.  Brother Clark was released. He and his family are moving.  Bro. Wilson was put in. I don't think you know them. They live in the new houses that have been going up in the field.  No houses behind us yet! Emoji We still have a great view out the back windows.

I'm teaching summer preschool this week and summer workshops for older kids.  I had Ethan look up information on volcano's. Who knew that Utah has a super volcano? Okay, had. It blew itself apart when it erupted thousands of years ago. Guess I'll be learning new stuff too.

Love ya lots, MOM

This week is going well we ended up getting a 3rd companion again!!! kinda hard to believe that it has happend twice in a row because normally there is never a companionship of 3 on this mission. Its fun though we have to change things around. We are all doing well though.
Sounds like you are staying busy, thats good.
We were able to find one more progressing investigator. he is a cool guy and so we hope to keep sharing with him
I got the packages from Grandma/Grandpa E and R. The socks are great and also the ties!!
are you still playing WOW?? did you find a different guild?
can you put some money into my bank account like around $120 I think i will be needing to buy more shoes again!!!! the ones i have now are getting close to there limits. atleast they lasted for about 7 months :) we will see how long they really last though.

On Mon, Jun 16
Braden, How's the 3some going? What are your comp's name's and where are they from?  When are transfers? And did you get the BIG box I sent yet?

This week was busy and fun.  I started teaching summer preschool, it is a small class but keeps Hope busy and learning.  Silly girl is now watching science shows and can tell you what scientist do what.
I helped Hope, Ethan and Parker make volcano's out of clay. When they were dry the painted them and the next day we erupted them. Ya know, the classic baking soda and vinegar. They all thought it was awesome.
We ventured to Seven Peaks this week and Hope got brave and went down the small slides.  Poor Zach didn't feel well, so we left him home.  We have a pass to the Lehi outdoor pool and need to go more often.

Today is Father's Day! Dad gifts some fun gifts and of course Meat to make jerky. 

The weather has been crazy this week 80's and sun and then down to the 60's with rain and wind.  Today is another cool, windy day.

How is the weather there? Are you keeping hydrated?  Are you using sun screen or are you too tan to need it now?

The gospel is true-pass it on.

Love ya lots, MOM

The 3'some is going well it has been very interesting! I think that one of my companions are starting to get very bad ADD, because we will see a bug as we are walking stop and point at it for a few seconds then continue to walk on haha. guess i need to start taking the vitamins again that i came with (Vitamin b12 helps people concentrate if you didnt know that) dont ask how i know that i just do! maybe you should get some for Parker haha might help. also i found out that caffine also helps people as well. Oh all the soda here has caffine in it so there is no avoiding it but i am trying to keep off of soda for now.

The most exciting thing that has happend this week was we meet this drunk guy and he asked us (Americans) if we know English very well!!!! i couldnt help but laughing at him haha. that and we meet this one mom that was in the states for 12 years it was really cool. besides that not much has happend.
I didnt get the box yet maybe at the end of the transfer. which is next week monday!!! i think i will be staying again with my luck haha. the wheather is hot as usual haha i need to start using sun screen again because i am getting burned again. i dont know why!!