Our First Week in Atlanta

Transfer Day

Tuesday was transfer day for the mission.  All of the missionaries affected by the transfer came to the chapel by the mission office.

Elder and Sister Erickson outside the mission office.  Fortunately we got to stay together.

The chapel was completely full of missionaries.  There were 24 missionaries going home, 14 new missionaries arriving and a large number of missionaries being transferred to different areas.

Each of the departing missionaries was able to bear their testimony to the entire group.

Most of the missionaries have cars and they all have bicycles.

After the meeting each missionary is paired with their new companion and depart for their different areas.

Our Family

Prior to leaving on our mission we were concerned about leaving Sister Erickson's mother, Bernice Potter Wilson.  She is 93 years young.  When Sister Erickson asked her if she felt okay with us leaving, her response was immediate, "Don't wait for me to die, I want to live your mission with you".  In Cape Verde when we did our first FaceTime session with her, she broke down and cried and said that she hadn't thought she would ever see her daughter again in this life.  She is truly one of the valiant.

Four Generations;  Bernice Potter Wilson, Sister Erickson, Sarah Rubalcava and Victoria Rubalcava.  I think that you can figure out who is who.

Wild flowers in our backyard.

Sister Erickson planted the wild flowers for our honeybees.  Bees aren't the only ones attracted to them.  Our daughter, Lisa, enjoys them as well.

The Couple of the Week

One of the special treats of our short stay at home was visiting with other couples who have served missions.

Jim and Marlene Lindsay served as our supervisory couple in the Europe Area.  They were stationed in Frankfurt, Germany and came to Cape Verde to train us for a week.  They have served a total of four missions literally around the world.

Until next week, um grande abraço por todos.