Riverhead

To whom it may concern.


Hey all!!! How are ya folks doin? Life is just swell here in Riverhead. Not too much to report this week, but we had a lot of fun and I have been learning an awful lot.


Mom, sounds like you had a marvelous time in Idaho. It must have been such a joy to be able to spend time in Rexburg with Hil. I bet those concerts were sure awesome. And its such a blessing to be able to go to the temple with her! Just think of how cool it will be when we can all go as a family. I've been thinking a lot about home. Not the "I'm homesick and dont wanna do this anymore" thinkin about home, but the "wow in a world like this home was sure helpful" thinkin about home. If the home I grew up in were in Riverhead, there could be about four families in that house. Seems like just about every Hispanic household in this area is occupied by at least a few different families. I never realized how privileged we were to have a house that big to ourselves. I remember complaining about how the three boys had to share the smallest room in the house. Well here, its normal for a family of five to use a size like that as their living quarters. Being on the mission has sure given me a new perspective. I've also been thinking of how extremely blessed I am to be grown in a family that is centered on the Gospel. Growing up, it was just a normal thing to me to have two very loving parents that are stalwart members of Christ's church and to have siblings that were always a good example to me. That truly is one of the greatest blessings that God has given to me. Because being on a mission, I rarely see that. I just dont know how God thought it deserving that I received all these blessings. Its just another testament to me of the unfailing love of our Heavenly Father.


This week was good. We had a stellar Restoration lesson with one of our investigators. Her name is Aura. She is from Guatemala and is about 27 years old. Every time we go over, she has food for us. Gotta love that haha. Most other times we had gone over before, we didn't have much time to sit down with her and talk because there are always a ton of people running through that household (typical for Hispanics. There's a joke in the mission that if you just sit and wait in a Hispanic home, you'll encounter at least fifty different people within the hour haha). But this week we were able to actually sit down and teach her about how the Book of Mormon came to be. The spirit was really strong. I know he testified to Aura that all we were saying is truth. We committed her to read and pray. Elder Lunt called her a couple days ago to see how it all went and she said she felt really good as she read and prayed. We are pretty excited for her. The only thing is that she lives 45 minutes up the North Fork (Nofo) in Greenport. Sooooooo it takes quite a bit of time to get out there. But we have an other appointment with her tomorrow so we are really looking forward to it. I think she can really progress.


I'm really excited for this upcoming week. I know that the Lord has prepared so many awesome opportunities for us. We just gotta get out there, work hard, and take advantage of whats there. It can be so tough sometimes but I know that the more work we put into this area, the more blessings we can access for other people. Please please please pray that the people here in Riverhead will be ready and willing to accept the message of the Restoration. This Gospel brings more happiness than any other thing in existence. Once someone realizes that, all desire turns toward what they can do to draw closer to Christ and His Atonement. Thank you so much for all your love that I feel. It is such a strength to me here. Without the support from back home, the mission would be so tough. This Gospel is REAL!!


Love, Elder Hogge