Transfers Delayed

Family!

This week has been exciting. For starters we had baptism and we also got transfers delayed another week. So I have 1 more week I will be here which means I will be here for the baptisms coming up.  This week I went on exchanges with the AP so that was fun. I also went on exchanges for a few hours with my previous companion, Elder Shuman. Man its crazy how much missions change people..... he is like 20 pounds bigger than I remember lol. But in all seriousness it was all a good time and we were able to get to work. This week we have 5 baptisms coming up which is pretty eventful and today we are going to Chowmahalla Palace which should provide some nice pictures next week. That's about it. things are still the same here Love you all

Baptisms Scheduled

You guys went to disneyland? I'm not gonna lie it looked really fun I am definitely missing that, I guess while you guys are on the tower of terror I'm eating biscuits and just doing plain old missionary things.... 

Well anyways this week was a nice treat. We met with a family that lives about 2 hour journey from Church. They have been coming every week so we decided to make the journey out there. After a few times meeting with this family they have accepted to be baptized which is pretty cool. They are scheduled for January 22, unfortunately transfers are January 15, I think there is a big chance I am going to miss it.... 6 baptisms I am going to miss.... ):

We also had fun this week too! We all got together for zone training, the training was a little dry but after I was able to lead to whole zone to the beef biriyani restaurant. It's a great place as I have said multiple times but instead of seeing just a few stray cats running in between the legs of the Diners, I saw kittens too (: Its very common to see animals on the roads but also in restaurants too, even at the gym there is lizards running up and down the walls! 

This week I am preparing a young 15 year old boy for baptism this sunday his name is Bush. Today for p day we are playing table tennis and hopefully going to Birla Mandir, a famous temple here. 

God bless

Elder Erasmus

MEDAK

Happy Christmas nobody says "merry" here!

Things have been great here this christmas but I am missing the snow like crazy  It's super hot here and there isn't a lot of festivities... ie: ice skating, hot chocolate, lights, Santa Clause, is all non-existent. We did have one fun Christmas adventure this December!

We went to Medak Cathedral, the oldest church in India! It was pretty cool but the place is infested with monkeys. So many Monkeys. After we took a relaxing ride to a big DAM. While walking across the dam I spotted something large and unusual on the bank of the out flowing river. Me and some Elders made the trek down and as we approached the mysterious object one of the worst smells I had ever witnessed was gagging me. This thing was a huge dead ANACONDA! Freak that snake was so big and looked super swollen. In fact it was so swollen it looked like it was about to pop, so we threw some stones at it to see if it burst. Unfortunately, it never did blow up it just made the smell worse...

We have had so much fun this week spending good time with the other Elders in our district because somebody actually stole our phone. Yeah somebody stole the missionaries phone in church during Christmas program. So we have all had to stay together so that we can stay in contact with people!

Teaching has been good, one day our investigator took us to one of the few places you can get beef here! (Beef is rare because it used to be if you prepared beef and were caught you could get your hands cut off) We were able to Jam out in a brothers car to some american hymns and He is preparing for baptism early 2017!

 Well Merry Christmas everyone!!

Elder Erasmus

Quick Note

Hey I have no time to write today. its 7:30 in the morning and we are leaving to medic church at 8. 
It's one of the oldest churches here.  Also next week I will skype you on December 26th at 8am which will be the 25th around 8pm. That's what time I am going to try to give you the call.  Please send the number/username and I will get to you. Also on Christmas day just be sure to be checking your email frequently so if any of the plan changes I can let you know.  This week was awesome I finally got the money. Thanks I love you all!

FUN FUN FUN

"Hey family so fortunately the bed bugs weren't as big as of problem this week buuut maybe that's because we weren't at our apartment for 4 nights. So remember I said there is a big money crisis going on, well it's gotten so much worse.  This week we ran out of money.  We had about 100 rupees left on Tuesday which is like 1.50 usd. To pull out money my companion has to use another elders card in our district because they have a joint account. Anyways, we met up with those Elders and spent a whole day looking for an atm with cash... we couldn't find anything. We were literally stranded in the area Mehdipatnum, which is like 40 minutes by train from our apt. The next few days consisted of the same thing: us wondering around the city in search of money with no luck. Finally we waited in line for 4 and half hours to pull out 2000 rupees. about 33$. There is no money in India. No cash. Which makes it impossible to travel around to our area and even buy food.  One experience I had while waiting in the 4 and half hour line:  Waiting was boring but while we were standing in the super long line the news crew appeared. They interviewed a few of the irritated people. Then unexpectedly they grabbed me to the side and put a microphone in my face. With absolutely no understanding of the questions or remarks they made I said the only things I knew in Hindi. "my name is Erasmus. I am from America. No money. I did not eat today. Not good day". I'm guessing somewhere out there families was watching the news and saw me make no sense on live television hah!"

Happy December

Recently some great things are happening here! For starters The mission has started to take aim on teaching not just individuals but really focus on families. Just this week we have found two families! one of these families doesn't know how to express in English but understands some so we have been able to teach in HINDI language which has been difficult but rewarding for me too! 

Second I will be staying in Hyderabad for another 6 months which is great for me! I am really happy to be here because life is good, I have a fun companion, the gym is close to our apartment, Great ward, and I found a store with toilet paper. Blessings

The money issue is still a burden on everyone here. this last week I have had to live off of 400 rupees. about 6 USD$. which is no money at all for travel and food. lets just say I ate at some really...really cheap places I will never go again! In fact if you want to pull out like 30$ usd you have to wait in line for 4 hours. super efficient. 

I also got to attend a Hindu wedding this week which was interesting to say the least. Im a fan of weddings and the food (biriyani) was incredible but the Hindu traditions definitely put some questions in my mind. for instance people will dye their skin color yellow especially their hands and feet. When I went to meet with the bride and groom its a sign of respect and support to throw rice on top of their heads. Loud chants, lots of fireworks, intriguing clothing

I am super stoked for Christmas. Hope you all "light the world." love hearing from all of you

Elder Erasmus

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Bed Bugs and Ferris Wheels

Dear Family

This week has been challenging as far as missionary work goes.  We've spent a lot of time dealing with the bugs in our apartment including throwing every clothe material in our apartment into scolding hot water and then washing them. This took wayyy too much time. We also got to go to the Gardens as a district which was very fun. It's like a little amusement park. While we were there we decided to take the other two elders on the Ferris Wheel. Holy Cow these Indians are terrified of heights. Each kart sat four so we all jumped in.  There is a vertical pole right in the middle and one of the elders just hugged it so tightly with his head pressed against it, his eyes closed, and yelling "Slowwwww PLEAASSEE!!" He was so horrified what a crazy experience! We also got to teach a few lessons this week. The main thing in India is helping others overcome word of wisdom problem... everyone chews here its very bad. 

A Hindu Wedding and BEEF!

Yo Family it looks like you all had a pretty good week!

This week I got to attend a new thing, A Hindu Wedding. Wow, just wow. Hindus are crazy and honestly I'm not a fan of the culture at the wedding. It was just a loud guy from the Bramen Caste chanting Telagu things I couldn't understand. Also the wedding served some good Roti and Buttered Chicken so that was a highlight. When you go take a picture with Bride and Groom you have to throw rice on the top of their heads to show respect... super weird. 

I also got to attend the zoo this week which was awesome. I saw a white tiger which is one of the most rare animals in the world it was great. 

This week not much new has happned this week. I got to go on exchanges and I found one place that serves beef. Beef biriyani in fact! They are not allowed to publicly call it beef though so it says this on the menu" Mutton Biriyani (beef)" 

This week we found some new people to teach because many of our previous investigators just are not keeping commitments or coming to church. It's unfortunate and sad to drop people but we need to use the Lords time effectively.  This week we actually had a funny thing happen. So we were waiting on the bus to go to our area when I noticed we had just passed our stop... so I will quickly ran to the open door/hole on the bus and jumped out in time, unfortunately the bus began to speed up rapidly and my companion was unable to jump out. When this happens whoever jumped out is supposed to stay put. So I waited at the bus stop for 15 minutes just passing out our new Christmas " invite to learn" cards. Elder Sundas eventually got back to me and everything worked out. 

Well thats about my week love you all. sorry for no individual emails

Love,

Elder Erasmus