Mission Zone

Mission Zone

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Week 21

CURSE YOU KFC!!!

Dearest Family and Friends,

This has been a week of trials, but for some strange reason, Im still so happy!!!! I dont understand. The world is backwards when youre on the mission. hahah so I dont want to write you all so that you can worry about me, I want you to see that when we are grateful for trials and depend more on the Lord, we are blessed with inner peace and joy.

Remember Fernando? Well, a drug trafficker randomly showed up to his house unannonced and threatened to kill him... So his mom moved him to guatemala. Im gonna miss that kid. Hes been like a little brother to me. 

A family of gold weve been teaching for a few months almost got a divorce this weekend. But luckily the Bishop had an interview with them and saved their marriage. Phew. I love that family, Ill take pictures with them and send them this week.

Sunday morning, our investigators house got broken into at 6 am.... So they didnt go to church. Gotta love when someone elses agency gets in the way of someones salvation! 

Friday, I got hit with a monster fever. So we stayed in the house. For dinner, our cook couldnt make us dinner, so we called kfc to come deliver. I figured it was a good idea to eat some simple chicken nuggets and mashed potatos and it wouldnt do me any harm. I was wrong. hahah elder Ruelas and I both got some good food poisoning! It has sucked. But weve still tried hard to leave the house this weekend and forget our problems and focus on those of others.

So there has been a few of the trials we have gone through, and theres still more that I just dont feel like writing.... But Im still so happy!!!! I dont understand why!! I shouldnt be! It must be that as representatives of Christ, as we go through trials, we go through them with Christ. And then our burdens are made light! The promises in the scriptures are so true. He makes our burdens light and we are able to walk with him in peace and joy.

Elder Ruelas and I are getting along great. I treat him like a little brother. I wrestled him down and gave him a wet willy and a nuggy the other day. It was pretty funny. Its awesome to be able to help your companion learn and grow. Right now, hes struggling with his desire to stay on the mission, but Im working my hardest to lift up his spirits and keep him here with me! 

But after all that is said and done, this was still a great week. Isamar is progressing towards her baptism this saturday. Shes incredibly prepared for baptism and shes gonna be a great addition to the ward here. We´ll work hard this week to get her baptism set up perfectly. Ill definitely have better pictures to send next week!!! 

Well, I love you all. I know this church is true. When all is said and done, the inner peace and joy I feel is indescribable. I have the same wish as alma had in the book of mormon "Oh I wish I were an angel" so that I could show people the truthfulness of the gospel, but that would take away their agency soooo.... I cant. But to some people here in Honduras, we are angels. And Im so happy to be here. 

Always,
Elder Hodson

Photos: MILO AND REESE!!!! I couldnt believe it when I saw it! Hope you enjoy that chels! Its at kfc haha 

It was Rositas birthday this week, so we had a fun party. Me, Elder Coj, Elder Rodriguez, Elder Ruelas

Monday, July 21, 2014

Week 20

20 weeks. thats super nuts. thats 1/5 of my mission right there..... AHHH!!! Its so weird. Time here makes no sense. its going so fast and is crawling at the same time. Im just trying my hardest to lose myself in the work and cherish everyday we have. 

Things are going great here with Elder Ruelas and I! We are becoming great friends and always have a great time. Im not only training him in the mission, but training him for life! Im always getting on him to pick up his dirty clothes, because our tiny little apartment isnt big enough to keep dirty clothes on the floor haha whenever I get on him he tells me "man, you know I love you, but I hate you so much!" haha hes great. I´m worried sometimes that hes gonna get him by a car because he walks around all spacey but hey. he´ll figure it out! haha

so things are going great here in La Ceiba! We had a great week. I really dont know what to write this week. We had a great experience this week with Margot, an investigator I wrote about a few weeks ago. We hadnt taught her in a while, and I have no idea why not. Elder Perdomo just never wanted to! haha it was weird, but we went to teach her the other day and went over everything we taught in the past and she told us about how confused she is and how she wants to follow the savior but doesnt know the right path. She had been praying for the truth. And miraculously we showed up the very next afternoon. She didn´t attend church this week, she has challenges with outside forces. 2 other churches are competing for her attendance, and she feels bad telling them no when they show up in taxi or bus haha but were gonna try our hardest with her this week and see if we can work that out.

My spanish has really improved these last two weeks. Ive had an ear infection and so my left ear has been clogged so I have really payed the closest attention and relied more on the Lord. And its showing!

I think our next baptism will be a young adult named Isamar. Weve been teaching her and her family for 2 months now and theyre my favorite. We go to their house at the end of really hard days just to lift our spirits! haha Isamar had a baptismal program set and everything but if fell through because her catholic boyfriend had been feeding her lies. But weve been working hard with her and shes progressing super rapidly again, and always talks about how she wants to be the mission nurse when she goes on her mission! haha shes pretty awesome. Shes been catholic her whole life and her whole group of friends are catholic as well, so she has a challenge there in front of her, but I know with the Lords help she will be baptized. 

Well family and friends, I love you all! Although the mission is full of challenging times like now, we can always confide in our lord and savior Jesus Christ. I know he lives and suffered for me. I know this church is true. I am reading the Book of Mormon in spanish and it contains the same spirit in any language. I know it is true with every fiber of my being. If you have not read it, you must. It will change your life.

Love always,
Elder Hodson

Photo: COLORED CHICKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Super awesome

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Week 19

Dearest Family and Friends,

A good stressful week! haha I dont have a ton of time today, so this will be short. But my next email will be better I promise!

Saying good bye to perdomo wasnt fun. Im gonna miss that goof ball!!! But hes in an area with bicycles and is district leader out there! So hes doing great.

So yep, Im training! Its quite stressful I wont lie! But my "hijo" is really awesome! His name is Elder Ruelas. Hes from texas, and hes mexican, so he speaks basically fluent in both english and spanish, but he speaks really hard to understand spanish, so we speak to each other in english. But hes pretty great. Hes a clean slate, so its fun to teach him and show him the ropes! Hes like a big cuddly loving teddy bear, with a head full of cotton hahahaha just kidding. Hes super cool. I wont lie, training can be stressful. I definitely struggled with anxiety this week, thinking about how I was gonna be able to handle training when I still feel so new... But I have a giant testimony of 1 nephi 3:7, that the Lord never gives us commandments if he doesnt think we can accomplish them. I know I can do this! If I couldnt, the Lord wouldnt have given me this chance. So now Im just focusing on whats directly in front of me and not focusing on anything else but that. I just gotta take it one step at a time! And its good for me to train, because Its like Im retraining myself. Elder Perdomo never really wanted to do the training program, so Im enjoying learning from the program! And its awesome to be able to help your fresh companion as he struggles with that first week of missionary service and wanting to go home, and you have the chance to help someone stay on the mission. Its awesome. Training is awesome because its not only teaching investigators and changing their lives, its changing the life of your companion as well. 

I love the mission. Life is wonderful, stressful, spiritual, tearful, and all worth it!!!

Love,
Elder Hodson

photos

1elder esplin and I have been in this ward together since I got here. Hes the man.
2Elder perdomo and I twinning on our last night playing futbol with all our investigators
3 I FOUND BAJA BLAST AND VOLTAGE!!!! best day of my life haha
4 Elder Ruelas, My son



Monday, July 7, 2014

Week 18

Dearest Family and Friends!

What a wonderful week this was. I had a ton of incredible experiences! Some humbling, and others tear jerking. I Just wanna start with a little bit of news...

Elder Perdomo is leaving me on wednesday, and Im going to San Pedro to pick up my son!!!! Im gonna train! Ill train him here in my area, but I won´t lie. Im incredibly nervous! I JUST GOT HERE!! HOW CAN I ALREADY TRAIN?! but I focused my fast yesterday on the blessings I need to be an effective trainer. And miraculously, I had a dream last night wherein someone explained to me something in spanish that I´ve been struggling with! I know that fasting leads to blessings, and I´m grateful that I can receive help even in my dreams! So yeah, Im still nervous, and I dont know how Im gonna be able to handle a new missionary when Im still a baby, but this just means I´ll have the opportunity to rely more on the Lord and grow more and more. Im sad Perdomo is leaving, we´ll be friends for life.

So last week I wrote you about Nicolle, and her unwaivering faith. Incredibly, out of the blue, she called us this week on Tuesday, with the news that her mom´s mind suddenly changed and signed for her baptism!!!! She called us on Tuesday and was baptised this friday
 (I was reminded of Churro and how many times his parents said yes then no to his baptism, so I was nervous all week!)   And I had the opportunity to baptize her! My very first! The Lord is definitely with us! At times we need to walk in the dark to show our faith, but we will always have our testimony after the trial of our faith. Nicolle will be a great member of this ward and in 2 years, she will be a great soldier in the Lord´s army of missionaries. Her brother was there with us and felt an immensity of guilt and embarrasment because he wants to be baptised but because of his laziness hasnt attended church in a while, but this sunday he was there with us. He´ll be baptised soon! 

I learned the importance of agency this week, and that choosing the truth only leads to happiness. Along with Nicolle, another young woman was, Isamar was supposed to be baptised. At the last moment she decided to listen to her catholic boyfriend and said no. Weve seen her several times since, because we are teaching her family, and the difference between her and nicolle is enourmous. You can see the happiness in Nicolles eyes and the emptiness in the eyes of Isamar. I am so grateful for the gospel that we have, and for the happiness and peace it brings. I know its true without a doubt. Regardless of outcome here in the mission, I know this gospel is true. 

Love you all! Enjoy my pics. Hope you get a laugh.

Elder Hodson

Photo 1: My super red neck hat that Dad sent me, and this wonderful redneck shirt we found at the DI haha

Photo 2: My new favorite shirt! hahahahaha I love it.

Photo 3: My mission pres, President Klein

Photo 4:Nicolles baptism!!! Woohooo