So, I guess I should just start with a run down overview
of my life for all of you that are interested...I was born and raised in
Rocklin California by my two awesome parents Greg and Sheri Petersen with my three
younger sisters Brianna (19), Malia (16), and Linnea (10). I LOVED Rocklin,
population around 56,109. This place was fully equipped with malls, fast food,
great friends, and awesome fun activities! But of course all good things must
come to an end and so one day when I was about 13-14 years old my parents told
me we would be moving to a little town called Fall River Mills in Northern
California....yeah let's just say that the population of this small town is
about 600....AHHHH!!!! wow...yeah I know. So after completing 7th grade home
schooled and 8th grade in a new middle school I was pretty tired of the
changes. During 8th grade my dad spent almost everyday of the week in FR (Fall
River) building what was to be our "Dream Home". Now FR is
about 4 hours from my home in Rocklin so he spent A LOT of time there...yeah
sad day, but in the summer of 2006 the rest of my family made our way to FR to
join my dad. Although our home wasn't finished we were able to rent an RV to
live in on our property of 14 acres. Doesn't sound so bad does it?? Wrong....
Summer soon made way for winter, and let me tell you in
FR winters suck let alone, but living in an RV during winter...pardon my french
but "living Hell" comes to my mind first. Our electricity came from a
small little generator located outside of our trailer which required a pull
start....now at 4:30 in the morning for seminary this was my daily routine! I
want to cry just thinking about it!! After that was over I had to take
literally 3 second shower with freezing cold water and then hurry and dry my
hair because it would freeze on end...no joke. This went on for about a
year when an angel was sent to us thru our church. We were asked to house sit
for and elderly couple while they visited with some family members. A double
wide with electricity! HEAVEN ON EARTH!
So about after 6 months of that my dad finally told us
that our "Dream Home" was complete enough to live in so we ditched
the double wide and moved into our semi-finished home. "This is
where the story has a happy ending, right Ericka!!??"
No.
Sadly things didn't take a turn for the better. After a
few months of living in our unfinished home my dad was diagnosed with cancer.
The doctors gave him 6 months to live....and the party killer line...anyways
that month is kind of a blur to me, I tried to forget about the whole
situation. So, treatment after treatment. surgery after surgery my dad pulled
through :) my dad out lived his death sentence by 4 years! Graduation day came
and went. I got into BYU-Idaho and was rooming with my best friend...life was
good :) two weeks into my first semester of college and I get a phone call from
my mom on 9/22/2010. My dad was not doing so hot. I was flown in to San
Francisco to say good-bye to my dad for the last time. He looked so small and
helpless in his hospital bed. It was so hard for me to handle the only man in
my life, the strongest person I knew, the one man who I could count on, dying
there in a stupid hospital bed. His hands were bloody and scared, his skin was
pale-ish yellow, his breathing very labored and his eyes so lifeless. When I
got there he was too far gone to understand me or talk back but he knew that I
was there. My whole family was by his side the entire time. After some time the
nurse took him off of life support so we could say good-bye. Oh but my dad was
NEVER a quitter. All on his own my dad lived till the next day around 1:30 in
the afternoon. Watching the numbers on the monitor all register 0 was the
hardest thing for me to watch...
But what is so wonderful about life is that Heavenly
Father has a plan! A plan for ME :) Now I'm preparing to serve a mission in the
Philippines! I leave August 30th and I can't wait! I know that my Dad is
watching over me and is so excited and proud of my Sister and I for making the
choice to serve missions <3
I love the gospel with all of my heart and can’t wait to
share it with the world!
