I Couldn't Help It!!

Fam + Friends

Sorry mom, I just couldnt help it!! But dont worry, I will be calling on mothers day. And since we have our own cell phones, all I need to do is call you guys. Easy, huh? I hope I still remember your numbers.... Haha ok ok I really need to stop. I'll probably end up calling Dad's phone, Or whatever you guys decide. I might call around six or seven my time... so you do the math.

Thanks for getting the hamper thing figured out for me, I really appreciate it. Sounds like there was a lot of celebrating going on. I wish everyone a happy (belated) birthday who had one this week. And I say that obviously cuz I woulda said it last week, but I didn't have time. Definitely not because I forgot about anyones birthday.... pshh... hmmm. Anyways, I actually did think about Grandpa Joe a lot this week. I talked to my companion about him. What a comfort to have a knowledge of the plan of salvation!!! Next time you talk to grandma west, let her know I love her so very much. She's kinda gettin up there in age isnt she?

So, things are going super well here. We had stake conference yesterday. We had it at the marriot hotel in downtown brooklyn. I'd say probably a thousand people showed up. That was sooooo cool to see. Cuz being in north brooklyn we are pretty far away from the rest of the stake. It was such a comfort to see how many members there really are here.

Elder Warhurst and I were able to teach Rosa and Angelo five times this week. We went through all the commandments and their baptismal date is set for May 6th. I'm sooooooo excited for them. Angelo has become a little brother to us. On saturday, we took him to play some basketball and handball. The really cool thing about here is that we are allowed to play sports with investigators even if it's not p-day. Prez really wants us to develop good relationships with the people we teach. And we have been having members coming to the lessons. They are so ready to get baptized!! Ahh the Lord's work is so much fun!! That has definitely been the highlight of my week, being able to teach them. Of course they've had some concerns and minor doubts about things, but they have been praying together every night as a family. I really think that has helped them reach this point. I have been so blessed to be able to teach them. Please keep them in your prayers that they may have a smooth transition into the church.

And now time for everyone's favorite point of the email, responding to questions from mom!!


How is your health? Is the head behaving? The stomach? Yes mom, everything is going well. I'll get headaches here or there but nothing serious. My stomach is doing great, but I may or may not have pulled the "I had acid reflux" card to save myself from having to intake more rice than is humanly possible. Sometimes Hispanics just keep piling and piling the rice on a plate till its a mini mountain. I felt a little bad for saying it, but I dont even want to think about the consequences of eating that much rice....

How are Rosa and Angelo doing?
good.

What are your plans for P-day?
Well, someone in our zone got their hands on Settlers of Catan. Sooooooo I think this question has already been answered.

Are these e-mails ok? Is there too much info about home? Should they be more gospel oriented? (I think mom is afraid I wont accept her emails for what they are...) Yes mom they are fantastic! Just dont stop writing me haha

What arrangements do we need to make for the Mother's Day call? (this is from Dad) We get home from church at @ 2:30 (5:30 your time). Remember? I cant call home on mothers day! ;)


Something this week that I have focused on is prayer. I really want to get better at making my prayers more meaningful. Sometimes it can be hard when we are praying 20-30 times a day. But something really cool that an amazing missionary showed me is the Bible Dictionary entry for prayer. I dont have it on me, but it says something like the point of prayer is not to change God's will. It is to secure blessings that he already has waiting for us. When I was younger, I always wondered why we ask God for things if He is all powerful and all knowing. Its not like he is going to realize " oh yeah, I guess it would be kinda cool if elder hogge got that blessing. good thing he asked me or else I wouldntve even thought about it." He knows exactly what he wants for us, but sometimes those blessing are made conditional on our asking for them. i personally believe that the reason God doesnt give us some blessings until we ask ( and do everything else in our power to recieve them of course) is because we wont understand the significance of the blessing until we have the desire for it. Heavenly Father has a huge vault of blessings waiting for every single one of us. But we gotta do our part to get that vault open. I wish I could be more eloquent in my writing about this but I'm on a time limit. I just know that prayer is so much more powerful than any of us give it credit for. Just think of how different this world would be if one fourteen year old boy didnt offer a simple prayer. i know that every single one of us can get more out of our prayers to our Heavenly Father. I have a testimony of that. I also have a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel and the happiness it brings us. But we need to do our part. I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so much. I know I am in the right place at the right time. I love you all so much. Talk to ya next week!

Love, Elder Hogge :)