Highlights of the week. Bed bug holocaust. And Andrea left on her mission to Bolivia! :)
Oh, and we got a new car.

Whats up errbody? Why is this font so big? Is it? Hahaaa or is it just the dumb library internet? Welp. Life. It's stupid hard right now. I'm trying not to be trunky. I miss my sisters and my mom and my claire. Ahhhhhhhhh. Claire! So excited for her to be wed.

We have bed bugs. I have bites EVERYWHERE. Ok that's a huge exaggeration. But it's still a pain. A super itchy pain. We've fumigated twice. Again this week.

This week I was asked to spell my name. I did. E as in eternity. R as in razor blades. I as in I hate my life. C as in cutting... and so forth. I was in a bad mood. But hey, I'm getting out of it. I'm trying to see the good in this horrible storm of anxiety that is raining down on me all day everyday.

I had a good talk with President Martin. He gave great words of comfort. He believes in me. And he really does know me. He knows this Lindsay Ann Erickson as well as the Hermana Erickson.

I know that what I'm here doing is the greatest thing I could possibly be doing. I am forever in love with the mission. It has been and continues to be the thing that brings me unsurmountable joy and satisfaction. I have truly thrived here. It's my element. The strictness of the mission, not so much. But all the loving we do and meeting people. It's my thing. I have developed myself and the Lord has developed me as well.

Mediocrity is self inflicted. Genius is self bestowed. And I have had a ridiculously genius mission. I just need to RELAX. Stop trying to control everything. Leave perfection to Jesus. And chill out a bit.

I'm sorry if this sounds too pessimistic for a sister missionary to be saying. I'm just as human as anyone else. Just as prone to depression, loneliness, stress, anxiety, temptation, laziness, etc. We're set apart only if WE set ourselves apart. I've done my best to do that. But being a missionary doesn't magically make you immune to all the woes of life. Think of it this way: Satan hates me more that he hates you because I spend 24/7 doing his enemy's work. The elements are combining against me. But I will overcome. I'm a unicorn. Faith, Healing, Mystery. Ha.. Uhh... I mean... I'm the Lord's servant. I'm his child. I have all the resources I need. Not all the ones I WANT but I get by with a little help from my friends in high places. Really high places.

I'm doing ok. Really. Homemade banana bread from mom helps. Thanks mom.

Love to whoever reads this.

Linds

p.s.s. my mom (left) is so hot. Hahaa.. taken at an 80's party. But I think she should dress like this all the time. Yayaaah. Mmk over n out. Loves bye.

The life of a missionary in the San Fernando Valley... waiting outside gates hoping someone will come in or out. I needa get em roots did.

P.S. Training and whitewashing 2 areas is HARD. It is the hardest thing I've ever done on my mission. And I've done some hard things. We're killing it tho. And by killing it I mean we are bringing the light of the gospel to as many people as will receive it and therefore spreading eternal life por todos lados. This is the dream. Legendary. Genius. Exhausting in every way.. pero vale la pena.

Reseda 4to! Baptisms only 3 weeks in! Thats whats up. Actually, Beatriz and Valerie were found knocking by the Elders. We just did the teaching and committing and loving and comforting and supporting. They are the most wonderful beautiful prepared ladies ever! It is people like them that MAKE my mission what it is. The happiest place on earth.

Engaged. June 23. SLC. Just 10 days after I get home. I'm not trunky..

HNA FISH!

Recent Convert, Lucia!

My favorite family in Sylmar. The Gaytans! Miss you guys!

 

I had a baby! And her name is Hermana Fish. I'm white wash training in Reseda. So far so scary.

How I do lately. My mission president told me I should have gone to San Francisco.

Exchanges on bike w/ Hna Busch in Canoga Park, the most dangerous area in the mission. The hermanas there see dead bodies in the streets. Hear shootings all the time. No fear. Loved it. When do I go back?

Crappy photos I know. This was the annual sisters training. These are all the sisters in the mission. 12 English, 12 Spanish I believe. (Hermanas are cooler, just sayin.) Those are all my companions in the second picture. Except the 2 that have already finished their missions.

Vladmir's baptism yesterday. Actually just found out his name is spelled Wladimir. Yup. It was great. Last pic there is with my mission president President Martin and his wife.

Wladimir was baptized years ago in an evangelical church by immersion and really felt that he had received the Holy Ghost at that time. So I was interested to see how he would feel about his baptism this time around. He got up afterwards and asked to bear his testimony. As he spoke he got all choked up and started to cry. I think that the Spirit was bearing witness to him that what had just happened was the real deal. He has a great conversion story. The man reads the Book of Mormon like I eat tamales. Give me mooore please.

It's been interesting how the Lord has been putting people in our paths. I know there are people who have been prepared to hear and accept the gospel. It's cool to watch them seemingly fall out of the sky into our laps ready to be taught and baptized. I love this work. I loove my life. I love the Lord.

rest easy? no, dont rest at all. run and play and chase and explore all the places i cant reach, so you can show me around in a few. "you think dogs will not be in heaven? i tell you, they will be there long before any of us." 


(from Emma's blog)

WOW. I am so happy to be a missionary it blows my mind. I didn't know what happiness was before. But I realize that the mission isn't la neta del planeta. It really is the best 2 years. Or 18 months. But it's not going to be the best 2 years of my life when I'm all done with this existence. There are bigger and better things to come and I'm stoked on those things. But for now. I'm here. And I couldn't be more pleased.

Before my mission sometimes I got angry. If you think you've seen me angry you haven't. Unless you are Jimmy Barrett or Dave Smith. They know what angry Lindsay looks and, more importantly, sounds like. Yeup. It's been cool to work on biting my tongue as a missionary and not tweeeaking out on people when I desperately want to. The closest I've come has been the occasional, "JUST DON'T TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW."

I always heard people say that the mission prepares you for marriage. But I kind of just thought they were referring to Elders who had never lived on their own before. But as my past 2 boyfriends know, I haven't been the greatest at relationships. Sorry. And companions are a lot like boyfriends, or well... girlfriends. Spouses. It can be rough to get along. And I've been with my current companion now for 6 months. That's longer than some marriages I've known of. So for the record, I've gotten a lot better at relationships. Apply those principles to a relationship with someone I actually want to be in a relationship with..... and I think I'm golden.

My dog died. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Not gonna go into details for fear of crying (not yet sure if that was a joke or not..) But my mom says he's now running free in the woods of eternity. A nice thought.

I recently got an email from BYU telling me they have reached a decision on my application to BYU. Which is interesting considering I've been attending since 2006... Did I get kicked out and not know it?

Also, apparently my 5 year high school reunion was in November but NO ONE TOLD ME. I mean, not that I could have gone anyway... but an invitation would have been nice. I GRADUATED TOO YOU KNOW.

On a spiritual note, I love the gospel more and more every day. It has always been at the very core of who I am but I've definitely malnourished my testimony over some of the past years of my life. The mission has been amazing, rehab for the soul. The ultimate detox. Getting the junk out of my system and focusing only on the things that matter most.

I love being a missionary. I love seeing people light up as they discover that God loves them and has a plan for them. I love spanish. I love mexican food. I love life. I love everyone I meet and I'm stoked on a life of missionary work that I have ahead of me. And eternity really.

Thanks to my friends and family for being supportive. It's hard to do this. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely hanging in there. So your love means everything to me.


Linds

**Me and my favorite old deaf and blind man:
"My nametag is in spanish"
"I don't think so."
"Yes it is! look at it!"
(gets his magnifying glass out and pulls my tag really close to his face) "What's it say?"
"La iglesia de jesucristo..."
"'You ain't standing on my front porch' is what that sounds like to me!"

**Same old blind deaf man perplexed about caller id:
"You know what I don't like? When people call you and it says 'no name.' I ain't never met nobody with no name! So I answer and say "I ain't never met anybody with no name!' and hang up. That's so stupid! Don't you think that's stupid? Their name is no name!"

**Our wonderful recent convert on what he wants to know now:
"I just want to know the stucture of the church, you know? Like the ranks of the priesthood and how you get the Priesthood and how you know it's fast sunday and stuff like that...well...I'll just get to the meat and potatoes of it...I want to know how to go to the temple!"

**Our mission leader and his wife regaling us with their tales of their old jail days:
"I thought she looked really cute in an orange jumpsuit!"
"You didn't even see me!"
"naw...but I saw your eyebrows- they looked so good! Like you got 'em done somewhere!"
"yeah, in my cell there were these mexicans who did my eyebrows with bedsheet strings. It was great. You know what else is great about jail? You  can sleep ALL day and nobody wakes you up! It's great...but the beds are made out of concrete, so I guess it's not THAT great..."


Just some quotable quotes from Hermana Eryn Sinclair. Thank you very much m'dear. 

mizyew

Happy year mark to me.

Hey, so... best news. Sebastian is still the most good looking of dogs. This is my puppy that I impulsively got just a few short months before leaving for my mission. I gave him to Chris Nielsen and I'm stoked that he's a) still alive and b) so happppyyyy. Yay. Mmk. Over and out.

I miss themmm.

Happy P-day