Snowy Day in New York!

Do you want to hear something terrible! I accidentally deleted the message
from Marisa and I can't get it back!!! I would vent my frustration on the
computer, but that wouldn't do any good, I'd just have to replace the
library's computer and I don't think that would leave a good impression of
the missionaries :). Marisa..... could you please mail the letter to me or
just send it by email if you prefer? I'd love you forever. Course I'd love
you forever anyway, but please do send.

I had an glorious (as lot's of the Elders say around here) experience
yesterday. Sis. Koscinski and I had an appointment with Brittany's (a
less-active) boyfriend, which she set up. To be honest, I didn't think the
appointment was even going to happen, but we picked up Brittany from her
place and drove over to Matt's. He wouldn't even talk to us when we first
came in. Brittany tried to persuade him to listen for only 5 minutes, but he
refused. So we talked and taught Brittany instead. As we talked to her
though, Matt came in and started listening for a bit, so my companion, being
the great missionary she is, started talking to him. Ultimately asked him
his goals in life and he replied, "I want to be sober. I want to quit
smoking." And started asking us all these questions about forgiveness and if
it's ever too late to repent because you are in too deep and have committed
too many sins. Of course we said no! It's never too late and your never too
deep. He sat there on the kitchen floor (there were only two chairs, which
he let us sit in), looking at the ground and listening and thinking. It was
an amazing experience.

We are meeting with him again on Sunday to start on the addiction recovery
program and probably talk about a few other things. I pray for him and
Brittany. Everyday it's reconfirmed to me how great this gospel is and how
much it really does bless our family. Thank you Mom and Dad, for all you did
and all that you continue to do. I really had a great family!

The ward here is interesting. There are a lot of good members with good
hearts, but there are a lot of needs also. I've been asked to give a talk on
March 9. And because I'm a missionary I've been upgraded from the first
speaker to the second speaker. Which means that I could have anywhere from 5
to 30 minutes of speaking time. A little difficult to plan for, but what do
you do? We plan, pray, and let the spirit guide. I'm banking on the promise
that if we open our mouths, they will be filled.

The cool thing is that it happens. When I was talking to Brittany, she asked
at one point, "Why does God expect so much of me?" and I answered "Because
he knows exactly who you can become, and he wants you to get there and he
wants to help you." It was a great revelation for me. Sometimes I say
things and find it's good advice for my life. On a mission, "Wow, so much is
expected of me on a mission." But now I have to look and say, it's because
God knows the exact missionary I can become and he will help me, but I need
to do my part and keep trying.

It's been snowing like crazy here. I have some good pictures. :)! They will
come in time.

Sorry, forgot to write a note with the package. It was transfer day and
things were pretty crazy and busy. The rent out clothes to missionaries for
free here. And since we can only go to the temple every 3 months, I didn't
feel like it was worth carrying around. I figured they would be safer at
home. You might get random packages from me as I try to reduce the weight I
have to carry around. When I transferred I left some things and I sent some
things home. Now that I have a better idea of what I need and what I don't
need.

You are great, thanks for all your love and support. Hope all is well and
your spirits are high. I miss you, but time is going by so quickly. It's
crazy.

Te amo,

Erin

Shout Out From New York

Hello Family,

From the lovely city of Kingston, New York. Yep, I have been transferred and
am no longer a Greenie. Now I know what I'm doing (or so they would like you
to believe). I'm in a Zebra companionship with Sis. Koscinsky, which means
that we do both English and Spanish, but the focus work is in English here.
I'm actually not to worried about my Spanish though, the gift of tongues is
real and the Lord will help me once I get back. I'll continue to study it
and hopefully it won't get too rusty. For future mail, please send to:

66 Downs St #B
Kingston, NY 12401

Which reminds me, that I am running low on face wash and I don't know if
there is anyone here that sells Mary Kay. I'll find out this week and report
to you next week.

Also, I loved my package! It arrived right on Valentine's Day, which was
perfect. I was having the midday blues and it just brightened my day. Not
only that, but the tape must have been inspired because I ran out of mine
the other day. Thanks for that and all the treats. Mail can really be a
life-saver sometimes.

Mamaroneck has been combined with another area, so they sent me farther
north. Sis. Milkanin is actually training a new sister this cycle in
Connecticut. She was really nervous. I told her not to worry because I
turned out fine. Well, I'm still learning, but I continue to do my best. The
best times is when you teach and you teach with the spirit. Every time I
teach, what I'm teaching is reconfirmed to me by the spirit, I love it and I
hope that I have more opportunities to teach here. We didn't have any
investigators in Mamaroneck that wanted to hear past the second lesson. But
I continue to try to increase my faith, that I'll be able to help them.

I had a pretty painful lesson this last week. It's funny because in the MTC
Elder Holland gave a talk and as I reviewed it the other day I found a
statement from him, that fit perfectly. It said, "In the mission, you will
learn things that you want to learn. And then you'll learn things that you
won't want to learn." Some lessons are hard, but after the pain you a
grateful for them. And the lesson was that we need to act. In order for the
Atonement to take affect we need to act, and do our part for the access. You
can think all you want about being a good missionary, but you'll never
improve if you just wish it. As you act, the Lord then applies and helps us
little by little. It goes for any weakness you have. The Lord knows it, he
understands it, and he can help it, but it will never go away unless you
work on it, which can be the hardest thing, but the one that is most
worthwhile afterwards.

It was hard saying good-bye to some of the families. I hope to be able to
go back and see them again sometimes. I took pictures with the Galvez
family, so you will be able to see them in the future. As for my camera, I
don't know if you sent out my memory card or not. My address is new, so if
you have, then they will forward it to me, if not, wait until I give the ok,
next week.

Thanks for the letter Rachelle. I couldn't get any out last week because of
the temple trip and I don't know if I will get any out this week because of
transfers, but I will try.

Here was the highlight of last week. An inactive member (4 years) came to
church! Miracles do happen because it couldn't have been by our efforts. We
have been trying to visit Natividad (that's her name) for the past 3 weeks,
but we could never get in to the apartment building, and then she shows up
at church and with a friend that was interested in learning more about the
church. She even let us help her in contacting a doctor since she knows
little English. It's amazing how they can get along her without knowing any
English. I asked Hermana Galvez if it was hard for her and she said no. All
she needed was enough to get by for the schools and then everywhere else she
went (shopping, entertaintment, and such) was run by Spanish speakers.

I think I've been jumping around in my letter. My thoughts aren't straight
today. Once again, I wrote down before what I wanted to write, but then
packed it away with all my other things. Things are good, not always easy,
but I continue to learn and am grateful for them.

Thanks for your letters. I haven't heard much from Kirstin or Marisa :).
What's going on sisters? Anything new? I heard Marisa got a new job....
since when? And now this letter is exceedingly long, so I will end. Come
back next weeks to hear the adventures of the Zebra Sisters in the lovely
town of Kingston.

Love You All, thank you for your prayers.

Love, Erin

P.S. Could you give me the address for Grandma Beck. I think she is living
in Salt Lake now right? Thank You mucho.

Temple Trip Adventure

Hey Family,

Letter comes to you a little late because we had an adventure of a day.
Today was my first temple trip in Manhattan. It's a beautiful temple, really
small, but beautiful. They usually do one session at a time with a max of
chairs of 40 people. But they brought in folding chairs to allow more people
in this time. It was so good to visit the temple again. The trip took the
whole day. First, because the cars were grounded, so we couldn't use them.
We had to walk (in the rain by the way) to the train station, then to the
subway, then to the temple. After the temple (which was wonderful) the
missionaries that went grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. Well, we
waited for the train for over an hour. Now, we are rushing because p-day
ends at 6:00. We only have 15 min, plus we have to walk home which is
another 10 min, in the rain. Got to love life!

It snowed so much yesterday. We don't have any new investigators that are
progressing, so we continue to do tracting. We'll see what happens the rest
of the week. I do have a huge tender mercy. Last Saturday, we had a district
blitz in Mamaroneck again. This time I went out with Sis. Maag (the other
greenie). So two greenies walking down a street trying to speak our spanish.
I was just a bit nervous (there is always something to be nervous about).
Well, we skipped one house because we both did not feel good. The next house
nobody was home, the third house we knocked on. The kids answered the door,
when the got their dad I started giving my spiel and next thing I know, he's
saying "Pasen, Pasen!" Translated, "Come in. Come in.". So Sis. Maag and I
taught the first lesson. And we actually got through it. It was completely
crazy, crazy that we were able to do it. I think he understood.

But I can't say that it was completely my works. We found out the some
Elders had taught him (Geraldo) when he lived in New Rochelle, but lost
contact when he moved to Mamaroneck. Still, I think the Lord knew we need a
huge confidence booster, and gave us one. I'll go by with Sis. Milkanin to
see how he is doing this week. The problem is they work so much, that it is
often hard to do return appointments. We try though.

Tonight we have a baptism. The Sisters in Port Chester have been teaching a
21-year-old Guatemalan man. He had a date to be baptized last Friday, but he
didn't feel ready. Well, he called them up Monday telling them he wanted to
be baptized, but he didn't know when. Tuesday, he called up and said he
wanted to be baptized today. They were so excited and a little stressed
trying to plan a baptism in less than 24 hours. From what I hear he will be
a strong member. He has friends in the church, understands and believes all
that is being taught, and had even talked about serving a mission. I don't
know him that well, but he seems really cool.

Thanks for taking care of my card. Expenses have been up a bit as I continue
to take care of things and get myself situated. Guess what... I'm only a
greenie for one more week. Next week is transfers, how crazy is that. Part
of me doesn't feel ready not to be a greenie, but time moves forward. I get
better each week. I get so impatient with this line upon line thing, but I'm
better than I was, and I continue to improve. I know because now when I make
telephone calls my heart only skips a couple bit instead off pounding of the
hook :). I'll have to let you know what happens. Well, time is up. It's
6:00. Thank you so much for your letters and encouragement. You are
wonderful.

Love,
Erin Price

Sister Madsen and me on splitz in Mamaroneck. It rained all day in a steady downpour and the majority of the day was spent tracting. Fun!

P-day games. Our zone (Westchester) played dart wars with the Yorktown zone. It was crazy fun, but I always got out first. Left to right: Sister Maag, me, Sister Milkanin, Sister Richards.

Sister Milkanin and me on our first day.

Hermana Pena (my second MTC companion) at the Provo Temple

It's raining cats and dogs today!

I'd like to individually thank all those who wrote letters. Thank you Ammon
(loved it!), Thank you Mom (your the best), thank you Dad (I love the
booklets), and thank you Sharon (love your guts). And now I'd like to thank
all those who thought about writing me.

Thank you! They brighten any day!

Time continues to pass and I continue to work. I'm still trying to conquer
my fear of speaking spanish. I'll talk now to the members, but I still have
a hard time with strangers. Such the perfectionist in me, I'm trying to
break it down. I, being like I am, look to see if there is an easier way,
but nope. I just have to open my mouth and speak. I was thinking about it
the today. At the mtc they always said, Everyone has sacrificed something to
come on a mission. And I thought, what did I sacrifice, school wasn't too
hard (I knew I could come back and needed a break anyway), family was more
difficult (but I've been away from home before), social life (I don't really
miss tv, radio or anything like that). By definition, isn't a sacrifice
supposed to be hard? and then I realized, I'm giving up my comfort bubble (I
hate comfort bubbles, why are they so hard to break!). Everyday, even though
it's hard for me to call someone in spanish, even though it's hard to
contact and knock on doors in Spanish, I go out and do it. And bit by bit I
am being blessed and the Lord is helping me.

For example, this week I went on a splitz. Sis. Milkanin went up to Kingston
and Sis. Madsen came down with me. So I was in charge of the day. I was a
little more than nervous about it. But I did it. I called the people (which
went terribly, I couldn't understand them), and I went to appointments, and
I went tracting. I was grateful that Sis. Madsen spoke Spanish. But I still
took a bit more on, and I saw that my understanding of Spanish increased so
much, in just one day. That is definitely the gift of tongues. It was
amazing (I still don't like phones, though).

At one point we visited a man and his wife. She wasn't going to let us in,
but he did. Even gave us grapefruit juice to drink, and offered us a beer
(don't worry I refused it). We started talking to him and they were sort of
half-listening while watching tv, until we mentioned the Book of Mormon and
Joseph Smith. Maro (the husband) turned off the tv then and the conversation
actually went somewhere. We talked about authority, about revelation, and
lots of good things They didn't want a return visit, but I really think I
was one step closer. They were Roman Catholic and said it didn't matter what
religion you were, only that you believed in Christ. I learned from that
experience too, I learned that you have to be bold and persisitent. I was
ready to leave at the beginning, but Sis. Madsen kept trying and I really
believed it made a difference. We might stop by in a week or so to see how
they are doing.

I sent some pictures home, so hopefully they get to you in a couple of days.
One is of Sis. Madsen and me. I had to take a picture because it was my
first inclement weather while tracting day. We actually had to extend the
splitz a day longer because it was sleeting up in Kingston and the roads
were cold. It was just rain for us, but it was a steady down pour, but we
were still blessed to find 2 new investigators. I'm still waiting to see if
they will progress, they weren't there for our last appointment with them.
We are trying to keep an upbeat attitude, but it's hard when your not having
much success. I'll be so happy when Spanish comes more naturally and I don't
have a panic attack everytime my companion says, "Will you make the phone
call?"

This week I had someone tell me that I had a Mexican looking face.
Interesting, huh. And then another told me I looked kind of like his
daughter. I knew it all along, I'm Mexican. Just Kidding, but I thought it
was interesting. Norway, Swedish, and England is about as white as you can
get.

We met a cool man at Carvel Ice Cream Shop (he was the one who said I looked
like his daughter). I have a hard time understanding him though. He switches
back and forth from English to Spanish and talks really fast. It was crazy,
but he was nice. Wasn't interested in the gospel, said he was Evangelical,
but that they important thing was how you worshipped in your heart. Pretty
set on it, but he was cool. We'll probably keep going back to visit him
every once in a while, just in case he changes his mind :).

Well, love you much and hope you are doing well. I think about you often and
miss you, but I'm making it through. Tomorrow is my 3 month mark. Crazy,
isn't it? That means I'm 1/6 of the way through. It's good though.

Mom, were you able to pay off the credit card yet. I don't want to incur
late fees. I appreciate so much all that you do.

Love you lots and wish you safety in San Diego. Good luck with taxes too.

Love, Erin Price