Transferred to Rio Verde

"I spent 5 hours on a bus with my companion from the area Parque Amazonias to Rio Verde! Yay! We´re finally here and I am so excited to get to work!"

"Because we are the first sisters here in over a year, we have to start from scratch when it comes to housing. We moved into the house they rented for us and there were beds and 2 chairs...that´s it. No refrigerator, no oven/stove, no tables, no washing machine, no iron, nothing but the things we packed in our bags with us. So, this week we will slowly but surely be getting our furniture and then we can really settle down. Because there are only 5 areas where sisters can serve right now, it´s not uncommon to spend 4-6 months in the same area. I´m excited because I´ve been living out of a suitcase for the past 3 weeks and now I can finally unpack...once we have a dresser."

"Rio Verde, what little I´ve seen in the past 24 hours is a bustling city, but I´ve heard that our area also covers farmland. There are macaws that just kind of fly around and live in the palm trees that line the medians of the road. Welcome to Brazil! "

"Silvia (an investigator) didn´t know if Joseph Smith was a prophet or not and she didn´t understand why she had to be baptized again when she was already baptized in another church. Sis. Judd had already addressed these concerns when she was teaching her before I came to the field. So we all knelt down and Silvia prayed aloud to know, then and there. Heavenly Father heard her prayer and the spirit was so strong that as soon as she finished the prayer, she said she wanted to be baptized that Sunday. So she was!"

PICTURE TAKEN IN BRAZIL

"People here not only assume I am Brazilian, but they can all pinpoint that I am Japanese. I have no idea how they know this...I don´t think I have very Japanese features. But after we introduce ourselves and they realize that I am American, a lot of people ask if I am Japanese (and then do the asian eyes). "

"I have a new favorite fruit...maracuja (passion fruit). So good! WE made mousse yesterday with it and juice and yummy!"

Erika and her companion, Sister Judd, found 2 investigators. They, Mauricio and Joaquime, have both committed to be baptized!




In the Provo MTC with her travel plans to Brazil.









Erika is on a dirt road in Brazil with her companion, Sister Judd.

GOIANIA BRAZIL!!

Erika's flight to Brazil was quite unusual. She flew from Salt Lake City to Dallas/Fort Worth. After several hours of layover (which included bumping into Amanda Merrill's mom and talking on the phone to Jennae and I) , she got onto another smaller plane with 2 Elders (male missionaries). It was one of those flights where it first lands in Brasilia and then continues onto Goiania. When the plane landed in Goiania, Erika got off the plane and waited for the other missionary to get off, too. He never did. She then realized that the missionary probably didn't understand the Portuguese instruction when the plane landed in Brazilia, to remain on the plane to connect to Goiania. Erika wrote, "I grabbed his suitcases at the baggage claim and went to find help. I saw the mission president (President Tobias) and his two assistants and totally left the lugguage and ran up to them. The first words I said to my mission president: Temos uma problema....we have a problem. He doesn´t speak English, so one of the assistants that is American had to translate that Elder Webber was wandering around Brasilia´s airport. What a trip!"

"My companion is Sis. Judd, she is American and will be finishing her mission in 3 months. I´m going to be her last companion...but exciting news...we are opening a new area! We will be serving in Rio Verde which hasn´t had sister missionaries in over 2 years! Exciting! It´s the highest baptizing area in the mission so we are excited to get there!"

"Before we can move to Rio Verde, the mission office has to find a house to rent and get it furnished for us. Until then, we´ve been in Parque Amizonias and Universitario areas. There are so many people here and they are so diverse I just expect them to speak english...but they don´t. Because I look Brasilian, people have commented on that, they just start jabbering off to me and I have no idea what they are saying. I can understand about every 10th word, but can normally get the gist of what they mean...normally."

"Funny story, I was on splits (where you pair off with someone else other than your usual partner) with a sister missionary that doesn´t speak English and we were doing street contacts. I can understand the sister, she speaks Portuguese slow enough for me to understand, but the lady we were contacting...no idea what she was saying. But apparently she had been asking me questions and when I didn´t respond she asked Sis. Ramero "Ela não oviu?" She thought I was deaf :) I have to laugh at that one."

Erika's mailing address: Pending. . . .TBA

VISA IS HERE!!

Erika's Visa has arrived. She will be flying out of Salt Lake City, Utah tomorrow, February 2nd. She will fly to Dallas and will have a 4 hour layover (no, we will not be able to meet up with her). . . then she flies to Sao Paulo Brazil. . . . then onto another airplane to Goiania. . . . I will post her mailing address as soon as I hear from her.