82nd Epistle from Elder Kaleb Erickson serving in Patchogue, New York

Spring?    Written March 24, 2014

So this was the week of preaching to the English class students. We had a pretty sweet setup. There were roughly 20 people there on Tuesday night and we had four missionaries. So at the end of the class, the four of us taught the first half of the lesson on the Restoration, then handed out pamphlets on it to everyone. We continued the lesson on Wednesday by finishing the teaching, then handing out a copy of the Book of Mormon to everyone in the class. Some people were interested, some were bored. There was one guy who came back after class and asked more questions about the book. He happens to live in the same house as another member.

So on Thursday evening, Elder Mendez and I headed over to their house to try to visit with them. His name is Augustine and his wife's name is Nancy. Turns out they're the parents of that kid Hermán than Elder Mason and I tried to teach once. They were happy to sit down with us and even shared some hot chocolate and pan dulce. Which is a welcome treat on a cold night. We went over a bit about the Book of Mormon, then we watched the Restoration video with them. They both enjoyed it and had a number of things to say about religion feeling the spirit. Both commented that they want to learn more and seem to like our church. We invited them to be baptized and they agreed that once they get an answer about the Book of Mormon, they would consider baptism. 

We wanted to get them to church, but it was Stake Conference this Sunday, and it was a good half an hour drive away.  So they're going to come next week. Still a really cool experience though, all stemming from the English classes. What's cool, is that since Elder Mendez and I have taught them English for a couple of weeks now, they already trust us and treat us like friends. We don't have to try to establish trust while we're teaching, it's already there. So now we just have to teach and help them understand.

The rest of the week was full of other important things that needed to be done, but weren't necessarily missionary related. Wednesday afternoon we had to go into Queens for a doctors appointment. Elder Mendez had cancer when he was 15, so he had to go in for a check up. It all turned out well and we even got to stop by a deli in the area where Elder Mendez knew the owner and we got some free empanadas.

Friday I had my 3/4 mark temple trip. It was a month late due to crowding issues, but it was a good group I got to go with. The senior couple who came with us took us on a detour through Central Park. That was pretty sweet. It was a nice day, albeit a bit windy.

That's it from Patchogue this week.

Love, Elder Erickson