29 May 2017

So we things were really busy on Friday so we forgot to get pictures, but that’s ok. Friday Lexee got baptized and it was a really awesome program, she had a lot of support in the ward and it was just amazing. It was years of preparation and we just happened to catch the harvest, but she's really a special kid and throughout the lessons and baptism we think it’s really softened her mom’s heart. Her mom isn’t a member, so we are hoping that she'll recognize that she was feeling the spirit at the
baptism.

We have been finding that a lot of the recent converts out here never received the new member lessons so we are doing a lot of work with them.

Another awesome thing that happened is we were out knocking some doors, and we saw a family that we have tried to meet with but the mom tends to flake out on us. But we saw them doing some yard work for a rental home that the grandma owns. So we offered to help and they were like we don’t want your nice close all ruined, so we biked home changed and went back, then spent a couple hours helping them. At the end we were having a pretty good time, they are an awesome family and hopefully we will get to see them some more this week.

It’s just been good all-around we calculated one day that we biked about 25 miles. But that was a more than normal day. I was with Elder Lasalosi that day (not elder Turner) and he got tired so he decided to grab my bag as we were riding and I towed him about 6 miles all together so hopefully im not putting on any weight.

22 May 2017

It’s been a crazy week. So since last Friday we have been teaching Lexi every 2-3 days, we made preparations for Landon's baptism, had zone conference, and exchanges.

Teaching Lexi has been awesome she is a stellar kid and has an awesome grasp on the gospel. While I was on exchanges with Elder Boatwright we had a lesson with her on the plan of salvation and I think a bit of what we said went over her head, but I think it was a good one for the parents to hear. Friday we taught the rest of the plan of salvation and then the gospel of Jesus Christ, this time it involved a lot of pictures and drawings and Lexi really enjoyed that. I think kids have a much better understanding of the gospel than we tend to give them credit for. She is preparing for her baptism this Friday and we are pretty excited for her!

On Thursday we had Zone Conference with Elder Sitati. He had a very happy personality; he talked mostly about improvement and the importance of having the spirit in a companionship. When he talked about improvement he had us do a few things from the Christ like attribute activity in preach my gospel. Mostly those focused charity but also around faith, virtue, patients and diligence. Any ways in PMG you give yourself a 1-5 rating five being you always act in that manner, 1 being never. So he talked about the progression of improvement. If you’re at a 2 you don’t just jump to a 5 and become depressed if you can’t, he said you move step by step and celebrate with each improvement. You move from sometimes doing something to doing it often, then celebrate that you are doing better, then often to almost always, and celebrate and then you strive to always have that attribute. It was a good meeting and Elder Sitati is certainly an inspired man.

Saturday was an amazing day. Landon had his baptism and was confirmed the following Sunday. His family has been less active long enough that he's about ten and hasn't been baptized, but with the temple open house coming he had a strong desire to go and to start getting into church. He planned to have his grandfather baptize him but then dad realized it’s something a father should be able to do. So the family has really benefited just from Landon's desire. The service was great, I could see how happy his aunts and uncles were that he made this choice and helped his family through it.

It’s been a great week and the Lord has prepared so much for us, we just have to go and do.

15 May 2017

Things in the mission are going good! A lot is happening and it’s just an exciting time in the area. We have a boy named Landon and he is preparing to be baptized this Saturday. We had a good review with him and it’s been awesome to see his desire to be baptized help the rest of his family. They have not been active recently and his mom and dad are members but have never been to the temple. So it’s been really cool to work with the entire family. 

We had a huge miracle this week.  Wednesday when Elder Turner came in, Bishop Dalley gave us a call so we went over to meet with him. I figured he wanted to talk about Landon, but he brought up a girl named Lexi. She has been attending church with her neighbors since she was about 7 and she is 11 now but her parents never really approved of baptism. With the temple dedication coming up, she was in tears because she couldn’t attend because her parents never permitted her to be baptized. This caused a softening of their hearts and they are now in full support of her choice to be baptized. Over the next couple of weeks we will be teaching her a lot to prepare her for baptism next Friday. It’s awesome to see the miracles that have come about with the temple dedication, and also to see the result of several years of preparation come to pass.

 The Lord’s work is an awesome service to be engaged, and it’s the coolest thing to see the gospel enter or re-enter the lives of these families.

On a different note we have had a good number of service opportunities. We have helped a couple times in building a greenhouse, and we also got to help in a color run that the stake put on. It’s been a pretty great week. Plus the call home was pretty sweet.

Love you guys

Elder Hoffman

Elder Holmes and I also went to the potato museum for his last P-day​

8 May 2017

Sorry I haven't sent anything the last couple weeks; sometimes I just get really bored with e-mailing it’s not like actually talking to people so it gets boring at times.

But things have been good recently we have been finding new investigators, and we have a boy named Landon on date to be baptized. His family got really busy for a couple of weeks, but we were able to catch them and prior to this he already accepted the invitation to be baptized. We talked with them and we were able to get a date set and they were able to make it to church again for the first time in a couple of weeks. So we are excited to see the progress they are still making!

Transfers are upon us once again so Elder Holmes and I will be splitting up and Elder Turner will be joining me in Thomas. I don’t know much about him but I've never been with a companion that I have known prior so this seems to be the usual. All and all things are going well.

I've really enjoyed the challenge that president Monson has given us to read the Book of Mormon each day. It’s pretty easy as a missionary but I love the why behind it. He can see the difficulties in the world especially the opposition against our faith.  Reading the Book of Mormon helps prepare us for the trials of the world but more importantly when truly studied and not just read, it keeps our foundation in Christ solid. There are so many things and people in the world today that oppose Christ for one reason or another and honestly I think that’s why the world is in such disarray, because people either don’t believe in Christ or don’t act upon that belief. I feel Christ is more of just a nice idea to many people in the world today and not a role model or example as should be. The idea of Christ is nice, but just doesn't bring much into our lives unless we act upon all his teachings. It does take a bit of work and sacrifice to really follow the savior’s teachings, but the blessings are far greater, and the person you become is a truly joyful person.

Anyways that’s my little update to everyone

Love you guys

Elder Hoffman