Elder Hodson

Spencer is doing great on his mission...I had a busy summer and stopped posting his letters, sorry.  I will post highlights from his letters to catch up to date.  He was transferred and is now in his 3rd area.

Well, this week was really great, other than the sickness. We are working a lot to strengthen the recent converts. It´s cool because there´s two young single adults that have been baptized recently, Eder and Galileu. The first is Colombian and the other is African. Sometimes we walk down the street together and everyone just stares. It´s not often that you see a Colombian, an African and 2 Americans walking down the street conversing in Portuguese. Sometimes I just stop and think about my life and how cool it is.

We are making so many street contacts. I love it. We just talk to random people and I´ve met the widest variety of people and seen how they think and why they do what they do. Many times it´s sad though, because of the many things the world has to offer, everybody has usually attached themselves to something and aren´t willing to sacrifice it or look beyond it. They don´t seek God or His Glory. They don´t understand the true purpose of life. I´m so grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation that gives us purpose and drive in our lives. It directs our actions because we understand the consequences. I´m so grateful that God called a Prophet in our days, to lead us and guide us on the safe paths and the high roads that lead to salvation and eternal life. Our purpose and potential in this life is so great, but there are so many things to stop and impede that great potential.

 I´ve felt such an increase in my love for the Children of our Heavenly Father lately. I just want to pick them up, carry them on my back, take all their difficulties upon me and help them do what´s right. I was on the bus doing a division with my zone leader and I just felt a huge overwhelming love for everyone I saw on that bus and on the streets. I saw a glimpse of the hope that God has for everyone of them. Of their real potential. Life is the perfect test. We have so many chances to change our old ways and start fresh and new. I love my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ and My Loving Heavenly Father. They are so good. I just want to be like them and help everyone do the same. SO do it. Set aside the sins that so easily creep into lives and personal characters and put them behind you. Then the sanctifying and uplifting, empowering qualities of the Atonement work in you. Everything is possible to them who believe. I know it´s true.

 This week was fun. We had a good week of work and a baptism this Saturday. His name is Eduardo and he is a miracle. His family is returning to church and we´re going to try to teach his non-member mom now. He was so happy and excited. Sunday he was confirmed and afterwards he received the Aaronic Priesthood. That afternoon he went out proselyting with us. He is a really excited little fellow. IT´s funny because he talks SOOOO fast and he would show the Book of Mormon to people holding it upside down and backwards. But he did not have any fear. He was talking before we did. I like this kid a lot.

 The common link that all these people have is Jesus Christ. They are searching for the peace and strength that He can bring into their lives. I love these people and helping them see the Lord´s hand in their lives. I love to see the hope in their face. When we enter the house and they´ve been fighting and thinking of separation and divorce and by the time we leave, they´re laughing and planning to be together for eternity.

As President Monson has said, ´´There are tired hands to be lifted and broken hearts to mend. Their are souls to comfort and console and lives to inspire!´´ We have such a great opportunity to be a part of the Lord´s work in bringing to pass the salvation of the Children of God. Despite all of our weaknesses He will qualify us and give us strength to fulfill our callings. And there is nothing that will bring us greater joy! For if we labor all our days and save but one soul in the Kingdom of God how great shall be our joy! And if we bring many souls unto our Savior that joy will only grow.

 

 I´m loving the mission! It´s SO hard you wouldn´t believe it, but that´s what makes it so great. Now, I KNOW it´s not my work. IT´s God´s work and His Glory and NOTHING can stop it from reaching every clime and sounding in every ear! The Church is True! It was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. Jesus Christ lives! He´s our Savior! God wants us to be happy and has a plan for us!

Father's Day!

What up fam!

How´s it going?! I love you guys! I was thinking about you a lot this week. Sometimes when I´m here in this area I ALMOST feel like I´m in the States. IT´s definitely different here.

The difficulties and challenges are continuing to rise. I can´t say it´s fun but it´s almost enjoyable. I know I´ve got to be careful saying this but it´s kinda cool being tested and tried. It´s just makes me want to work that much harder. I´m really wanting to baptize right now. IT´s been a few weeks since my last baptism and I´m fetting (I can´t remember a good word in English for this feeling) anseioso. This week it rained and so a lot of people desisted going to church because they have to walk. Those days are always a little disappointing.

But, a miracle happened! There´s a family in our ward were the mom and younger sister ,of 18 years, are baptized and the older brother has served a mission, but the middle sister isn´t a member. We´ve passed by there a few weeks now and have lunch there once in a while. We´ve talked to her but she´s usually pretty busy with college (philosophy major.) Actually the mutual love of philosophy was what softened her at first. I don´t think she´s ever met a MORMON missionary who knows about the Catholic bishop philosophers of the early middle ages. 

Yesterday, she went to church!!!! It was SOOOOO cool to see her there! Apparently, last week during the temple dedication she went to a conference for single adults and last night she went to some other activity!!! I´m so pumped to see what happens! Her family has been trying for years to get her to look into the church. Now is such a propitious moment for her. Please pray because we´re looking for a miracle. 

Also, lately I´ve been studying the Old Testament manual on P-days and guys, let me tell you, the Church is true. I´m telling you, it´s perfect. It´s amazing how eternal and unchanging the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. The requirements are the same for any man who desires to enter into God´s presence. It does not change with the passing of years or the movement and disturbance of cultures and nations. It cannot be altered, even by a shadow of change. And it all starts with baptism. Study the scriptures and trust in them. Apply the things that you learn. Study them with the intent to find something to change in your life. As you do, your eyes will be opened so that you may see and understand.

Love you all!

Elder Hodson

Happy Birthday Elder Hodson!

Today is Spencer's birthday and also P-day, so we were able to wish him a Happy Birthday via e-mail.  He sounded happy in his e-mail back to us and even though we miss him we know that he is having a great time serving the Lord.  May was a little crazy...can't believe it's been a month since I've posted a letter.  Here are the highlights:

Hey Family!

What up?! Happy June 11th to everyone. I really like this day. This morniong Sister Souza called me and wished me a happy birthday. I made those pancakes (this experience reminded me that I don´t know how to cook the simplest things) and we blew up all the balloons. Thank you for the package. I got  the first one. My Birthday has been fantastic thanks to you. You never fail with the decorations either. Way to go.

This week was cool. We got to watch the Temple dedication of the Manaus Temple. President Utchdorf was there and I was very surprised at how good his English was and how terrible his Portugues was. I guess if you don´t need the gift of tongues it doesn´t come. The dedication was very cool. The church and the Gospel are just so cool. I cant think of anything else that I´m more passionate about (frisbee gets pretty close.) 

Adriana is a woman we found looking for a less active member. She´s been going to church for a month but is waiting to get baptized until she visits interior and then returns. She wants to forgive some people first. I don´t know if I´ll be here or nor but I´m happy to see the change she has made as well.

Aline, who lives with Márcia (a recent convert, who went to the temple dedication with us) is now getting ready to be baptized as well. The work is moving and changing this area and us. I can feel and see the effects that Gospel service is having on my own life. Sometimes I sit and think, ``Why am I so happy?´´ Based on all exterior evidence it really doesn´t make a whole lot of sense. I´m always tired and we walk all day in the hot sun, and no one wants to talk to us and it goes on and on; and for some reason I´m still always happy. It´s what Jesus can do. It´s a miracle. There isn´t anything better in life. 

Love you all and can´t wait to see you again,

Elder Hodson

 

June 4th:

Hey Family!

This week was fun! This area is sooooooo much more fun, due to the level of difficulty and the fruits. It´s weird because in my old area a lot of people wanted to, or at least accepted talking to us. here people are rich and don´t want to talk to us. It´s so weird for me because usually we can find SOMEONE new each day to teach. Now, we´re working our tails off and finding less people. But I sure appreciate those we do have to teach now. I feel like we´re preparing these people to be disciples of Christ and not just numbers in baptism statistics. It´s a lot of fun. 

Anyway, God is good. He blesses us in small ways everyday. I love to see it and live it. Don´t ever get down. There´s no point to it. 

Keep up the good missionary work back home.

Love you all,

Elder Hodson

 

May 28th:

 Family!

How is everyone? We just ended our transfer and are starting a new one. I´ll be staying here in Aguanambi with Elder Receveur. Elder Smith is going to Juazeiro (so far away) and Elder Conceção to Beira Mar (all Favela). We´ll be getting two new missionaries here. one from my group and a greenie who´s arriving today or tomorrow. It should be fun. 

This week was a blast. Elder Godoy of the Seventy was here and spoke with us. He is a man of God. It´s so cool to see the General Authorities. Their so full of the Spirit and you just know they know the church and the gospel are true. They´re so full of faith, hope, and optimism. He was defiantly inspired in what he taught because it helped me a lot.

As for this week, it was good. We found some new people to teach and are preparing them for baptism. 

Hey check out this cool videos that the Church is doing of Jesus. They´re very inspired.

https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/jesus-declares-he-is-the-messiah?lang=eng 

Love you all,

Elder Hodson

 

May 21st:

 family,

what up! this week was fun. I got to travel a bunch to other areas, we had a zone conference, and M醨cia was baptized! it was cool because it was in a swimming pool in our house chapel. She's super excited about the baptism too. she has so much faith in Jesus Christ and is doing everything she can to rely on His all powerful arm. The example of new members really impresses me. To change your life and face the difficulties that accompany that change.  I loved to search for, find, and work with God's children who are looking for more in this world than what is generally offered by the people in it.

My testimony grows everyday of God's love, mercy and goodness to His children. I no longer believe in coincidences. God guides some of our smallest steps when we allow Him. Many times we don't see it until after the miracle has happened and I believe there are many circumstances where we don't see the miracle at all, but it was there.

燗 few examples from this week: Thursday night, around 6 30, After a long days work, I was really needing to use the bathroom, and God did a miracle. I was trying to think of members who lived close by where I could go, and I remembered a mom and son who are members with a non-member husband-father. We went asked to use the restroom and then after she told us she had been praying all day for us to stop by. She was sick and needing a Priesthood blessing. We had no idea. God didn't tell us she needed a blessing, but He lead us there in a strange and mysterious way. It could've been called coincidence or accident, but it wasn't, it was God. In that experience we saw the miracle right away.

Last Friday, we had lunch with an older woman in the ward. her son and daughter-in-law had lunch with us. At the end they asked us to leave a message and we did. It was a simple scripture in Alma 37:17 (I think) about the Lord fulfilling His promises to us. This week we had lunch with the son and daughter-in law. They told us the scripture had been a source of comfort to them throughout the entire week. They have been having financial problems and to remember the promises of the Lord helped them feel peace and comfort throughout the week. The Lord provided them with what they needed. In this experience we had no idea that what we had done had any effect at all, but one week later, we saw what God had done.

God lives and loves us. He does work in our lives. We just have to open our eyes so that we may see.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of salvation for God's children. When we live it, we feel it's power. If you have any doubts, follow Christ's teaching in John 7:17 and just do it. Them the answer will be given after you show your sincere desire ti know and DO (Ether 12:6.) It's the beginning of the Gospel of Christ.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith was Jesus Christ's servant and prophet to restore the work. In Elder Morrey's e-mail he posted a link to one of the most powerful testimonies of one of the most powerful men in the Gospel of Christ. What it. https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng&query=testimony book mormon&cid=email-shared#testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon

Love you,

Elder Hodson

 

May 14th:

 Hey FAM!

It was fun talking to you all yesterday. It was fun to hear all of your voices and hear all about your lives and whatnot. Keep up the good work and being successful. Don´t waste time on stupid things like video games and TV. Instead, focus on developing your talents. ALL of them, mental, physical and spiritual. There´s a lot to learn and get done and time is limited and precious. Make good use of it. 

As for my toe, it´s doing better. There´s actually a funny story about that too. I was on a division with Elder Smith (who was at the MTC with me) and we were looking for a less active sister to bring back to church. She does nails in her house (a lot of people do, apparently it´s a good way to make money here.) Well, when we got there she was following up on a young man´s old ingrown toenail. I was told her that I had one too that was pretty nasty. The man told me I had luck because she knew how to take the out and she had taken his out. We were joking around about that (because I didn´t really believe it) and then she told me to take off my shoe. I was like, ´´What? I thought you were kidding. Last time I got it taken out at the hospital and they numbed up my foot first and i didn´t feel anything. I didn´t come here for this.´´

She told me again to take off my shoe. She was pretty persistent. Now, at this point I had a decision to make. I could let her take out my nail and by doing so show her that I trusted her, or run and she would probably not go back to church. I´m pretty sure you guys already know what I did. I too the shoe off and sat down on her little bench. She grabbed some scissors and started going at my foot. She told me it would hurt, but just or a little bit and after it would get better. Let me tell you... it HURT. First, she had to find the piece of nail that was dug in under my skin and then she had to rip it out by the roots. It was not enjoyably at all. But, the whole time I was smiling and talking to her and at least one of us was happy. Anyway, in the end it all worked out. She got the piece of nail out (it was pretty big too!) and she´s coming back to church with her sister who lives in my ward. But that was probably the most pain I´ve ever felt in my entire life. Do not ever rip your toenail out by the roots.

Well, like I said before, this week was great (except for the toenail). We had the baptism of Maria  (almost everyone here is named Maria) and are working on helping others prepare for baptism and confirmation as well. It´s the best work there is.

But really what hit me since we last talked, is the importance of the Priesthood. Yesterday after we talked, my comp and I were passing by a house of a less active member who had said they would be at church, but then they didn´t show up. We saw the brother playing soccer with his son in the garage and hung out with them a bit. We got around to asking him about church and he said he was sick. We asked him if he wanted a blessing and he said yes. He had never received a blessing before. I was able to explain it to him and then we offered the blessing. The Spirit was strong and I know it was exactly where God wanted us to be. To be a holder of the Priesthood is such a blessing because we literally have God´s power that we can use to bless His children. I always took it for granted because we always had Dad there but now I realize just how special it is. I´m grateful for the opportunity yo bless others through Priesthood service. The Priesthood is centered in service and the greatest joy in bearing it comes from serving others. Ben, Josh, be worthy of the Priesthood. Study hard and serve harder so that you can be powerful holders of the Priesthood. 

Anyway, got to go. Love you all. Thanks for the love and support.

 

May 7th:

 Hello Family,

This week was fun. We  taught a lot and ate a lot. My ingrown toenail has returned with a fury like never before. It bleeds a lot. The thing is I don´t want to go to the hospital and waste time when I could be working. I think I might go this week if the medicine I´m about to buy doesn´t work. It looks so gnarly. Maybe I´ll take a picture.

Well, I have a lot less time to work in the field now. We have training meetings and I do interviews. They eat up a lot of time. I don´t know how I can continue to find people to teach, baptize, and confirm without help from the Lord. He´ll have to guide me pretty closely now because there´s not a whole lot of time to waste. My district is pretty big too. That means a lot of interviews. But I gotta say that´s probably my favorite part of the mission so far. there really isn´t a whole lot better. The Spirit is very strong and lets you know exactly what you need to know. . 

I can´t wait to talk to everybody, especially Mom, on Sunday. I´ll probably call from 4 to 6 o clock here which should be 12 to 2 there. I´ll plan it out this week and let you know on Saturday... maybe. President hasn´t said anything about the Saturday pre-call yet.

Love you all. Talk to you soon.

Elder Hodson

New Area

Hello querido Family!

This area is great! I´m loving it! It is soooo different from the other area I passed in. The people here are... rich. The members are some of the oldest in the city and we get to eat some of the best food in the mission. From a temporal standpoint this has got to be the best area here in the mission. 

Really the food is one of the shining points of this area, There´s a sister here who owns an all you can eat restaurant. We eat there twice a month. If lunch falls, the members give us a very good amount of money to go out and eat. I´ve already eaten at McDonald´s (which is expensive here) and some other places. There are so many people here that know how to cook and this week we´re going to go teach a chef at a nearby restaurant! Oh man I´m loving it!

On top of all those great things, man companion is great. He´s funny and speaks Portuguese!  We´re meeting some good people who are accepting us and our message. We´ll see if we can´t help them go to church and make covenants with God. 

It´s kinda cool because we have a lot of Africans here studying at the local colleges. One is a member and knows so may people to teach! He´s also helping me learn Criolo(?) not sure if that´show it´s spelled. It´s an African language very similar to Portuguese. Also very cool.

The more I work out here in the field, the more I know that God is a part of this work. Just yesterday we had two experiences. First, we went with the African member! to talk to his cousin who used to go to church but stopped a few weeks ago. She wasn´t there but a friend of her husbands was. He said the last time he had been there the missionaries had stopped by too. But we haven´t been there in 2 months and neither has he. The first time the Elders met him, he hadn´t been by their house in 3 months. God is trying to talk to that man, and after a few hours of talking to him (he had quite a bit of doubts and problems) he´s going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. 

We´re also working with an English teacher, single-mother here. She is awesome. She went out of her way to contact the missionaries in the area where she works. She´s been going to church and church activities. She didn´t show up at church this Sunday though and we were worried to see what had happened to her. We already had stuff set up for the day  and couldn´t get there until the night. When we got there we were able to help her clean up her house. She said that she hadn´t gotten any sleep because of here s year old who was up all night (I thought of Mom.) She told us about what´s going on in her life and said that she was needing the visit that night. By the time we left she was feeling much better.

I know from these simple experiences, any SOOO many other like them, that God will lead us where we need to go when we go about His work. Many times we won´t even realize we´re being lead, but when we´re worthy and willing, and put in our effort, God makes miracles happen in the lives of His children. 

I also know that there are many people searching for the gospel and would accept it if they only knew where to find it. I love just talking to people on the street. it´s become a new hobby of mine and Elder Receveur thinks I´m crazy but it rocks! We find such good people to teach that way who would never know about the church if it weren´t for us. Most of the time the people won´t accept our visits or will but won´t do anything after. But through all the working, sweating, teaching, and searching, we always find someone who was praying to God for something more in their life. Something to ´´fill the gap´´ as one investigator put it. The heart filler is the Gopel of Jesus Christ. It works miracles and changes lives when we let it. And not only this short mortal life but our entire eternal existence. 

So thank you all for sharing the gospel and blessing others with your testimonies. Help the missionaries and feed them good food. We love good food. 

I love you all and know that the Restoration of the Gospel occurred through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The Holy Ghost testifies of it.

Bom trabalho!

Elder Hodson 

Last week in 1st Area/Transferred to New Area

Whoo! What up família!?

THis week was fun. I´m SO tired. I´m pretty sure this area is killing me. Haha we have such a big area and so many people to teach that live on the exteriors of the map. I know I´ve said this before, but I walk SO SO SO SO SO SO much. But it´s a blessing. I´m not SUPER fat right now, and my shoulders are getting nice and strong from carrying around my scriptures.

Finally Maria went to church! I was so happy! She didn´t show when Sacrament meeting first started and I was thinking we would have to wait another week, but right as the sacrament ended, she came in! I haven´t been able to talk to her yet, but I think she loved it... We´ll find out tonight. She could get baptized before I leave here
THis city is just so screwed up. Religion is a big part of life here. I see dozens of pastors everyday. Some try to fight but others are cool. The whole city is stuck in the Jospeh Smith, Spiritual Revival Period.

ANyway, I love you all. Next time I write you I could be anywhere in Ceará! I´m unexplicably excited to get some cool new area that I haven´t seen before.

Talk to you soon.

Love,

Elder Hodson









                                                            

Next Letter...Transfer #1!

Hey Family!!!

What up! I´m so happy! Especially after reading all your e-mails and
hearing about all the good news from home. And I don´t know why but I
just seem especially happy this week! I´m so happy to hear about
London! I think that´s so cool that she is getting baptized! When I
heard I just couldn´t stop smiling! I wish I had been a better
missionary before the mission. To see that my friends are makes me
very happy. Let me know how it all goes.

And.................................. I was transferred!!! Finally! New
area! I´m so happy! I loved the old one and was pretty sad saying good
bye to so many people that I love, but it was time.

Haha but I´m living with Elder Smith now (who was in my room with me
at the MTC) and we´re going to start running like we used to. I love
Elder Smith. He´s one of my favorite people in the world. He´s with
Elder Conseção and I´m with Elder Receveur (yes another American.)
He´s fantastic! He´s got 2 months less time on the mission than I do
and we´re gonna kick some Brazilian trash out here.

Oh! Also, I´m District Leader now. I get to do interviews for the
elders in my district and do trainings at District Meeting, as well as
pass numbers and whatnot. I´m pretty excited.

In all, the mission is just absolutely fantastic. I think this next
transfer will be terrific and I´m just excited to meet new people. I´m
very close to the mission center as well so I might be seeing a lot of
President. We don´t have a chapel here though. It´s a house-chapel.
But from what I hear it´s got a swimming pool. I´m thinking baptism in
the swimming pool... does that sound cool or what?

Anyway, thank you for the love and support and care and all that good
stuff. I´m happy and healthy and highly blessed of the Lord in all
things that have any importance. Thank you for getting the package
off. They make my week. Thank you for all the letters from everyone
who´s writing. I´d love to hear from anyone else out there as well!

I know that the church is Jesus Christ´s and that His Eternal Gospel
has been restored in it´s fullness again on the Earth. The battle that
was waged before mortality continues today. As we know it is not a
battle of swords and steel but of testimony. The battles are growing
each time more violent and intense. The enemy knows his short season
of power and dominion is coming to an end. But we are the soldiers. it
is us who have to act. To put on God´s armor and take the final steps
to complete the victory. We must share our testimonies with everyone
we know and shine light through the dark clouds of deceit and
ignorance. When the Spirit is our weapon there does not exist any
power on earth or hell that can withstand our testimony of truth and
righteousness. I know that you always read my e-mails, but are you
actually acting on the words that I share? I know that we must share
what we know with those in the world around us, through example and
testimony. So talk to your friends. Share your light and testimony.
There are many that are searching for the blessing of God but know not
where to find them. You do. Help them learn about the restored Gospel
of the Eternal and Endless Jesus Christ. I promise that as you do, you
will feel the Spirit more fully in your life and reach a higher level
of joy and happiness that can only be enjoyed by the ´´truly penitent
seeker of happiness´´ (Alma 26, 27, or 28 verse 17, 18, or 19.)

I love you all and can´t wait to hear about all of the people you know
who are being taught by the missionaries through your references! Let
me know how it goes. Talk to you next week.

com muito amor,

Elder Hodson

Easter

Hello Family!

Thank you as always for writing me. One of my favorite parts of every week is remembering you guys and everything that´s going on at home. I can´t believe that Josh made Jazz Choir. Like, I literally don´t believe it. I don´t think it happened. He´ll have to prove it to me with his voice this Mother´s Day (which is getting close.) I´m excited to talk to you guys again. I´ll probably be in my new area.

 We had one investigator at church and she lives in a different city were the church doesn´t exist yet. We gave her a Book of Mormon though and I´m hoping that some miracle happens out in that far away city.

So some fun things that have been going on lately. This week was Semana Santa so we saw a lot of interesting things. They eat a lot of fish and burn Judas. That´s probably the funniest part. People stuff clothes and make life-sized dolls of Judas. Then they burn him. It´s not very Christ-like but I guess it´s more the spirit Peter had when he cut the soldiers ear off. Whatever it is... it happens. Also, we saw donkey races. A bunch of kids got on donkey´s and raced them right down the middle of the street. Oh! and I´m on Google Maps! The guy drove right by us twice. Check it out because I haven´t seen it yet. It´s in the neighborhood of João 23 or maybe Bonsucesso. Street Aristóteles Gondim
next to Theogenes Gondim and also on Bias Mendes next to the same first street. It´d be cool if you say me there.

We got ovos de Pascoa (Easter eggs) too. They´re super expensive but some people we know shared with us. I know SOOO many people in this area.

And congrats to Alex! That is honestly one of the coolest things I´ve heard in such a long time. It´s lifted my spirits and I´m honestly feeling a lot better now. That is the Gopsel of Jesus Christ in action. I can´t wait to come home and see him bless the sacrament with my own eyes. The Gospel literally changes lives.

My time is up and I have to go. I know that the church is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father for restoring the fullness of His Gospel and Plan of Salvation in these days. I´m especially grateful for the role that Jesus Christ played in that plan and for fulfilling the role that no one else could. Through Him we may be resurrected to Eternal Life but only through obedience. Love you all.

Elder Hodson

General Conference

Hey family!

 

How´s everyone doing? Did you like conference? I thought it was fantastic! I was able to watch all 5 sessoins. And in English! It´s so much better in English. We had investigators that came and watched too and they loved it! There is nothing like prophets and apostles to help in the conversion process.

 

This week was super fun. We taught a whole lot and had interviews with president. We have many people preparing for baptism. I always want to find more though. It´s so much fun bringing people to church.

 

This week we found a new family. Well, really only two people live there in the house. An aunt and nephew. The rest of the family lives off in interior. The people from interior had never heard about the church but really enoyed our message. I love it when people ask, ´´Does your church like the Catholic church?´´, because there are many churches which attack the beliefs of others. I always answer, ´´I love the Catolic church!´´ and people love us so fast!

 

Anyway, with conference this week I feel very renewed and remotivated. I loved many of the talks and hope everyone was able to watch. The priesthood session was fantastic too. It seemed like they talked a lot about families. I remember one in particular, I think Elder Ballard, that talked about how famillies are sealed together; and so even if they are on the other side of the veil or the other side of the WORLD we are still a family and we can always have the hope of a glorious reuniuon. I´´m glad that our reunion right now is in the near future and that I don´t have to wait decades to see you all again. But, even if it was a little farther, we will always be a family throughout the eternities. Dad will always be OUR dad and Mom OUR mom. And I ALWAYS get to be the bigger, smarter, faster, more attractive, older brother. How good it is to know that! Haha but for real, that really is the goal that we all need to have. It´s not a right to any child of God. It is a gift and a reward for those that keep their estates. For those of us that honor our second estate, we will recieve and even more glorious family unit. But that really is what joy and existence are all about. That is what God Himself lives for.

 

I kow that it is through living the Gospel of God´s Son, Jesus Christ, that it is possible to attain this exaltation together. How perfect is the plan! We have the path, but more than that we have other etertnal inteligences here that are walking that path with us. Other eternal beings that love us and will do anything to help us make it down the path. No one will be left behind. Because no one in this family will allow it. So let us continue along the path, steadfast and immovable in charity and good works. Ands let´s bring others along the way with us so that we can have joy with them FOREVER. No sacrifice is to great to bring even a single soul before our God and Father blameless and sanctified, ready to recieve glory and progression from one eternity to the next.

 

I love you all so much. Read the scriptures and know our Father´s words of Eternal Life. Pray to Him to know His will. have the courage to do the portion of the truth that He shares with you through the Holy Ghost. Love others and share with them what God has given you. And in ALL things, remember Jesus Christ and do that works which you have seen Him do.

 

Love,

 

Elder Hodson