Well, here's your long overdue update, if anyone is still following this blog!  Erika continues to work insanely hard day in and day out and sees very little reward for her labors.  People in general just don't seem to want to hear her message.  They don't want to change.  They don't want to put forth the effort to be better people or draw closer to God.  They don't want committment.  Not everyone, of course! 
Here's an example plus a reminder that Erika is still....Erika!  She makes us smile!!!


"Our tracting has been somewhat fruitless, except on this occasion. The other day while we were tracting a lady rolled down her window and pulled out a pineapple and said, "fruit of the spirit?" In other words, "do you want a pineapple?" Of course we wanted a pineapple! So we went tracting and I was holding the pineapple while knocking on people's doors 'til I figured out that I could put it in my backpack so that people weren't wondering what the heck I was doing randomly holding a pineapple."


Even so, her letters are FULL of ENTHUSIASM and often include multiple highlighted and enlarged words!

She loves everyone and she loves serving!!!!!!!!!

She just finished training her companion.  They will stay together in Tallahassee for the next few weeks.  Although, with companion 'trade-offs" she gets to see quite a few other communities.  Here's a couple highlights from some recent trade-offs:

"This week for tradeoffs I went to 2nd ward. We went to Monticello, which is way out in the country. Monticello county stretches from the Gulf all the way to the Georgia border and there is not a single stoplight in the entire county. We drove past the hanging tree, where they used to hang people. It definitely fit its name. Monticello is also the most haunted town in the US. Sister Strate showed me a bunch of haunted houses. They were easy to point out because pretty much every other house was haunted. How do they decide if it's haunted I wonder? I don't know if I want to know....Haha. Some stores there still traditionally close on Thursday afternoons "for the hangin's" even though they don't hang people any more."

 

"So last week for tradeoffs I went to 2nd ward which is a lot of country. Come to find out, the next day the sisters went back to the neighborhood Sister Strate and I were walking around in IN THE DARK and found a bunch of police cars and a fire truck and an ambulance and a man lying on the ground. He'd been shot. The moral of the story is, we weren't shot. Yay!"

 

We found this next story rather entertaining!

"Super funny story- So last week when we were still in the computer room, a couple Spanish elders were in with us emailing their families and they started talking Spanish to each other. They talked in Spanish to each other for quite a while when finally one of them said, "I'm sorry..... I know this is really rude......" I was halfway smirking the whole time 'cuz they thought they were being so sneaky. I said, "It's ok. I speak Spanish." They both just got deathly quiet and they looked at each other in horror. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PRICELESS! I just started busting up laughing and they were speechless. They just started stuttering in unbelief. They were like, "no way.......... I thought you spoke German?"

"That too."

"You're joking. Say something in Spanish."

Hahahahahahaha."

 

 

We're looking forward to our Monday morning letter tomorrow.  Perhaps I'll be a little quicker on the new post!  My apologies on the late posting this time around.

 

Here's a final quote from Erika:

 

"To end, I just wanted to express my DEEP GRATITUDE for God and for His mercy. "I cannot say the smallest part of which I feel." I love Him so much. The power of the Atonement covers EVERYTHING."

Being a Mormon missionary is often difficult.  Persecution has always been part of the deal!  Erika is getting her share, that's for sure! Here's a recent example: one day while she was out tracting, a man with a long, jeweled beard opened the door.  She told him who she was and he asked if she believed the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  Erika said "YES, I do!"  Then he told her he had studied Mormonism and that it was a cult.  He pointed at her and said with hatred "The Book of Mormon is FALSE!"  Erika calmly replied "Well, I can testify to you that it is true."  The man continued screaming at her and her companion even as they walked away. Such occurances are common for Erika!  Here's what she has to say about such experiences:

"All that does is make my conviction stronger and make me want to stand a little taller and stand out a little more. It helps me to realize that my testimony is immovable. No matter what anyone says, I will never budge from my conviction that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it will bring you nearer to God than any other book can."

Erika has grown to love the people in Florida, even those who persecute her.  There are many wonderful people there as well, who look out for her. She is trying hard to leave hope in the lives of all the people she meets!

Tropical Storm Isaac is headed for Tallahassee and may be a Category 2 hurricane when it hits there.  We're keeping an eye on it and so is her Mission President.  If necessary, she and her companion will go to the church, which has been reinforced to make it through hurricanes.  If anything, maybe she'll get a little bit of a break.  She works so hard!

So much of the news we've heard since she's gotten to Florida has been how she's narrowly avoided disasters.  After reading most of her letters, we (her family) just shake our heads and thank God she's still alive.  Most recently she's had two very close calls with lightning!  She used to love the thunder and lightning storms.  Not any more!  They're pretty violent, even without a tropical storm or hurricane.

Erika has seen more alligators than she can count now. She likes alligators and doesn't mind getting a little closer to them than I would.  But, I guess if she can outrun pit bulls, she can probably outrun an alligator!

 We were beginning to wonder if there were more to her mission than close calls and dropping into bed every night completely exhausted from hard work!!!  We recently got a letter answering that very question!  She and her companion now have so many lessons to teach they can hardly keep up with them all!  Finally!  Payback time!  She told us story after story (really inspiring ones) of people she and her companion are teaching and who are so excited to learn!  That's why she went on a mission and she's soooooo happy!!! 

Erika has been a trainer now for about a week and a half and is enjoying the new challenge.  She has a companion that is willing to work hard, which is a really good thing for Erika because she's not happy unless she's productively using every second of every day!  She has seen herself grow from a new missionary who doubted herself and her skills and knowledge and decision-making abilities and driving abilities to a trainer who can do all those things!  In fact, she's finding that she really needs to work on "shutting up" now and then so her compaion can talk more!

Here's a quote from a recent letter:
 "I guess I just feel really strongly this week about gratitude. When we remember the things He's done for us, notice the things He's given us, and ponder on His mercy and love, then we are filled with His love, blessed even more, and notice all the little things." 

She closes with: 
"Just doing great and loving life.  It's hard, but you just don't even think about the hard things because it's just way too wonderful and amazing.  (And there's always the Book of Mormon to stop the hard times in their tracks!)"

Erika completes her 12 weeks of training tomorrow, July 31.  On Wednesday, she becomes the trainer!  She is honored to be trusted with that responsibility so soon.  It is a huge responsibility.  She didn't have much time as a "Junior Companion".  But she is excited and ready to go!  She had recently been made the "designated driver" in Tallahassee so she could find her way around without getting lost.  (For those of you who know Erika, this is quite the accomplishment!!!  She is, or I guess I should say was, extremely navigationally challenged!!) 

She loves the people she works with so much!  She is trying hard to incorporate more of their words ( like 'fixin' and 'reckon') into her vocabulary and she is able to understand what they're saying now.  She says she can sound pretty Southern!

Here's an excerpt from the letter we got from her today:

"Last week was a really great week. On Tuesday we went out to Lake Talquin for a Pioneer Day party. And the party was thrown by a Baptist man who loves missionaries. All the missionaries that could come came and so did President and Sister Jensen. Dan (the Baptist) is the nicest man ever! He built a duplex for missionaries and it has bold letters across the top that says "GODS ARMY: LDS" He's awesome. We had a good time at the party and I got to play football and we took pictures out on the deck. The sunset was BEAUTIFUL!!!! Apparantly sometimes alligators come up onto his lawn but we didnt' see any."

 

She loves the South!

 

And here's some great advice she left us with:

 

 

"Be good. Be happy. God is on our side.

Y'all are the best :)"

Erika says in a recent letter "I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!  Seriously, it's the best ever.  I cannot even express how great it is."

Here are some recent highlights from her life as a missionary:

She knows what it's like to get the door slammed in her face, repeatedly.

She knows what it's like to get thrown out because she's the devil  (Mormon).

She finds that in some areas near the swamps it's helpful to use the pamphlets she carries to cut through the mosquitos.

Some days are just NOT good days to be out on the streets!  A week ago last Saturday she and her companion were nearly hit by a car five times. 
She says " We were walking across the crosswalk (with permission from the little walking-guy signal) and I had a feeling to look back and see if anyone was turning left.  No one was.  But I looked again and a car was coming right at us.  I stopped my companion and it missed us by an inch."  Fortunately, they got the idea and went home! They ended up going to see someone who really needed help right at that time. 

Here's a quick story she shared in her last letter:
"One day we were tracting in a torrential downpour.  The pouring down rain made the air gray and dim and the trees hung over the pathway.  We knocked on a door and a lady cracked it open.  We told her who we were and that our message was about Jesus Christ and she opened the door wider, saying, "You are very brave going around saying that in these days...come in, come in."

Here's a final quote from her letter:  "It's so nice to be so worn out every night.  If I get into bed without feeling like I've earned it then I didn't work hard enought that day."

Here's the latest on Sister Hirst:

• She absolutely loves being a missionary!  Pretty much every letter starts out with telling us how being a missionary is THE BEST!  It's really very challenging, but she loves it anyway.
• They don't teach "Southernese" in the MTC so she's had to learn it on her own!  There have been many times when she had no idea what people were saying until she said a prayer.  Then she could understand what they're saying!
• She really wants to share the gospel and wishes people would show up for their appointments.
• It's very hot and humid, but she doesn't mind.
• There are lots of awful bugs that inflict awful bites.
• Recently she knocked on the door of an elder that she knew from when he was a missionary in Elko!  She had worked with him a lot and knew him fairly well.  To have him open the door one day while out tracting was quite the coincidence and a shock to both of them!  It made her day, to be sure!
• She's SO full of love! She loves God.  She loves everyone!  I didn't know she could be more loving than she already was but she keeps getting more and more full of love! 

Erika and the elders she flew to Tallahassee with at the mission home with their mission president and his wife. 


Erika got to call home and talk to the family today since it's Mother's Day and that is one of the days she gets to do that.  We had a lot to catch up on!  She sounded a little sick but assured us she felt good and was able to keep up with the schedule just fine. 

She lives pretty close to Florida State University but is not actually working directly with the students as she had previously thought.  She loves tracting because of the random reactions.  She just never knows what she's going to get!

One lady with a deep southern drawl told Erika "I can't understand you".  Erika asked if it was because she had a "western accent."  The lady said  "No, it's not the accent.  You say everything real precise and articulated". 

P-days are now on Mondays and that is the only day she gets to write.  So--I'll keep you updated after I hear more!

                               Here's Sister Hirst with part of her district  at the MTC!

Erika arrived in Tallahassee last night! She had been warned of the huge spiders there and sure enough, she hadn't been at the mission home for more than a few minues before one of the elders had a huge spider on his pant leg!  Erika kind of laughed about that, but then, she wasn't the one with the spider on her!!!   (She got to call home from the mission home to let us know she got there okay.)  She also said there was a big beautiful tree and someone told "don't touch it.  It'll give you parasites"!

  Her first assignment is right in Tallahasse working with Florida State students.  She's excited and ready to go!

 She said it's amazing how much you can learn in just 3 weeks at the MTC.  She got to be known as "Miss Scriptorian" there, though she'd probably not be too happy with me (her mom) for telling you that because she's so humble! 

The common theme in every letter is LOVE!  She loves everyone!  Even if they're mean to her!  Her goal is to make everyone she talks to smile :)  

Here's a message from Erika:

Hello all! I am almost done at the MTC. I leave Provo/ SLC on Tuesday, the 8th and head to Florida :) I am so excited to get out and begin teaching in the field. I've loved the MTC and learned so much. It's amazing how much you can learn and grow in just two and a half weeks! I love my companion and roommates and will miss them when they all go their seperate ways. Love you all!

Erika is having an extraordinary MTC experience.  She LOVES the elders and sisters in her district and already thinks of them as family.  She is learning a LOT and enjoys being spiritually fed on a continual basis.  She has had the opportunity on multiple occasions to pray and speak in front of large assemblies of missionaries.  She loves receiving letters from friends and family.  Her daily schedule is quite rigorous.  Her hours are consumed by classes, devotionals, personal study, exercise, and journal/letter-writing.  She feels that her decision to serve a mission was one of the best decisions of her life.  She departs for Tallahassee on May 8th in company with three elders.  She is excited to get into the mission field and begin applying everything she has learned!  Stay tuned for further updates.  : ) 

We got our first letter from Erika today!  Other than some pretty bad blisters she's doing really well and is extremely happy!  She asked to have this video link shared--with this message from her:

"Because of the Atonement anyone and everyone can have the miracle of forgiveness and healing in their lives and become a new person!"

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages?lang=eng&id=2009-10-38-lifting-burdens#2009-10-38-lifting-burdens

On Wednesday, April 18th the Hirst family pulled up to the curb at the Missionary Training Center where there were plenty of young missionary men waiting to assist the new arrivals.  Erika got out of the van, her luggage was taken by some the the men and off she went.  (After one last hug for her Dad.)  Then she disappeared into a sea of Sisters and Elders.  And that was that.  It's hard to share someone so delightful and full of love!!!

Erika is now officially a full time missionary!

Here's the area my mission covers! I could be in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, or of course, Florida