Fresco

Hello all,

Sorry for the day late email once again. We got flu shots yesterday so Prez decided to move our P-day to today. It was sad to hear of the passing of Brother Shaffer. He was a truly great man. Even though I didn't know him very well, I know he loved me. I'm so happy for the Plan of Salvation. I guess you could say that this plan is the best Christ-mas present any of us could have ever received.

Mom, I did use the boots. It didnt snow nearly that much last winter as it had in the past, but I hear it will be pretty snowy this year. And I dont think I am in need of anything more as far as winter gear goes. What I had was plenty. I DID get that package from hilly and sarah. Wow that first picture sure surprised me (as well as Elder wilkinson). We have been having so much fun with those toys. The noisy putty gave us sooooo many laughs yesterday, we've been doing a lot of Star Wars mad libs, and the ho ho's were a delicious treat. Thank you sisters!!

Our week went very well. I have definitely seen the hand of the Lord in our work here in Ridgewood. Though Damaris wasnt able to make it to church on Sunday, we still had an investigator there! His name is Sergio. Cool story about him. We were walking down a busy street and this guy just walks up to us and introduces himself. He tells us he is from Puerto Rico and that his wife and children are members there. Then he invited us to come over and talk with him. Since then we have been teaching Sergio. He enjoyed church a lot and wants to come back next sunday. We have talked to him about baptism as well. He said that if he receives an answer that he would be baptized. So we are working really hard with him. On Saturday we had an exchange so Elder Wilkinson ran ridgewood with an other elder from the district as his companion. They found a really cool Dominican family that really enjoyed the message. I'm really excited for that.

The weather here has been pretty nice. I'd say its in the low seventies with a nice breeze. I'm lovin it haha. I dunno when it is supposed to be snowing but I hope its soon. I miss the cold haha. I also miss General Conference. And its comin up soooooon! The longer I've been out on the mission, the more I absolutely love the words of the living prophets. I'm so excited for what it will bring to us this session. One or two new temple announcements is also nice as well :)

Well, I know this letter isnt very long but it is filled with tons of love! I hope you all are doing so well. I miss you and love you!!

Elder Hogge

Wow!

Dearest family and friends,

The subject explains it all. This week has been jam packed with new experiences. So, I bet you want to hear about my new companion. As noted last week, he is fresh from the MTC. His name is Elder Wilkinson and I love him!! Just to give you an idea, he is six foot two, two hundred fifteen pounds. He is a giant compared to me haha. He hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico (possibly the first person from new mexico that I've met) and he is supported by a great family. He has five siblings(sound familiar?). Two brothers and three sisters(sound familiar?). His dad is the second counselor in the stake presidency(sound familiar?). He plays college football for university of new mexico (redshirted last year) and we just found out that he is on the new NCAA Football videogame haha. But his physical stature doesn't compare to his spiritual. He is soooooooooo excited about the gospel. He always gets so pumped when we are fearlessing people. He's a fantastic teacher as well. We make an awesome team.

Going to Ridgewood has been amazing. I'm so humbled by the responsibility of a new missionary and a new area.  I'm so happy that the Lord and President Calderwood trust me with this sacred priviledge. Because we are both new, we have a fresh look on the area. We have been fearlessing a lot and knocking a lot of doors. We are just starting to get to know the members in the area, active as well as less active. Because we have both been mega-diligent, the Lord has seen it fit to bless us with someone who has accepted a baptismal commit. The second night we were here, we looked up some potentials. One of them told us to come back that saturday. So on saturday we brought a member to visit Damaris, a 17 year old Dominican girl that seems to be very prepared. As we were getting to know her, she mentioned that she was in the process of figuring out which church would bless her the most. We were glad to offer all that the gospel had in store. After a solid testimony by the member, we committed Damaris to the 14th of October. Now the true test is to see if she will start coming to church consistently. Once she shows the Lord that she is willing to commit to coming each week, He will bless her with a solid answer that this is the true church. I just know it.

The twelve week program has been absolutely amazing. I've been learning so much from it. Getting that extra hour each day to help Elder Wilkinson and our investigators has really helped me understand what more I can be doing as a missionary. We have great gospel discussions during this time. We also do a lot of practice teaching. Its very interesting how the Lord can provide us with revelation on specific needs of investigators when we are only practicing the lessons on each other.

I think last transfer prepared me a ton for what this transfer will bring. Because at times I wasnt able to work as hard as I would have liked to the past transfer, It gives me even more fire for just being able to get out there and do it with a ready and willing companion. Learning more about charity has only magnified my relationship with Elder Wilkinson. I can tell that the Lord has always had specific plans for me, even when It was tough. Reminds me of a certain currant bush at times. But the Lord knows what I can handle. 

Sounds like the family is doing great. That little Jackjack is a kick in the pants haha. Im excited that joe and jules have that new pad. Seems pretty legit. Oh, by the way how is brother Newton doing? please give him my regards.

I love you all! This gospel is the best, literally. There is so much counterfeit religion here in new york. I'm glad the Lord has revealed the truth to His prophet. Makes life so much easier to know the truth. Have a great week!!

Elder Hogge

Transfer to Ridgewood

Hey family and friends,

Mom, sounds like you had a blast with your children this week! You and Joey looked so happy in that picture. Man he's 24 now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROSEPH!! Its sad having to miss all the family celebrations on the mission, but I'll get over it haha. I guess my birthday is next. So there :p As for birffday requests, some scripture cases or covers for my spanish scriptures would be great (In spanish theres the triple and the bible separate so it would be two separate covers. And spanish scriptures are bigger than english scriptures so its a different size for the covers.)  Fir the discs, I dont need the bag thingy. Thanks tho :)

Well, Saturday night I got the call from the District Leader. I'm out of Bushwick. After only one transfer!! Well, thats a partial truth. I'm out of the Bushwick area but I've moved only one area over to Ridgewood. Just so happens I'll be staying in the same branch. Wooh! Turns out that I'm actually going to be training too. Surprise!!! The funny thing is that I was only kind of surprised. For some reason I had a feeling that I'd be training so when President Calderwood called me on wednesday morning it was cool to recieve that confirmation. So the awesome thing is that I'll be showing a new missionary the ropes. The hard thing is that we are getting blinded in. (When both missionaries in the companionship are new to the area) Sooooooo this is going to be a fantastic learning experience. I'm really looking forward to it. This transfer was super tough for me, so I'm very excited to be able to work with someone who is just as ready to work as I am. Its almost a sure thing that we will be together for two transfers. While training, we follow something called the twelve week program. Its a super cool program designed by the church to get new missionaries up to speed with missionary work as quick as possible. There have been great results in the mission so far. One of the objectives of this program is to allow new missionaries to gain enough experience as to be able to train after their own first twelve weeks. And thats actually happened in the mission already. The thing is that companionship study becomes two hours tho. So that means with personal study, comp study, language study, and lunch we sometimes wont get out of the house until 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Its pretty intense but I'm really looking forward to it.

The work has been reaaaaaaaally slow here. I feel really bad cuz I've been trying so hard but I can only do so much. This transfer the comp unity wasn't all there. I really did my best to make things work out but its super tough when people aren't willing to compromise and work things out. This has probably been the toughest six weeks of my life. Most of the time I just had a really uncomfortable anxious feeling in my chest. I really learned a lot about Charity this transfer. And its so funny cuz mindy mentioned my very thoughts in her email to me. It is sooooooo important to make your charity unconditional on the actions of others. Because of this transfer, I now understand how truly important it is that both missionaries are both diligently trying their very hardest to love each other and work hard. Thats when the purposes of God are truly accomplished. Which is why I'm so excited for this new missionary. I just know that after being stuck in the MTC he is just pumped to get out there and fearless and teach and just be awesome! Its going to be the bomb. I just really hope that the area I'm leaving can see success. Its been really hard contacting Naylynn. Lots of family problems. But we actually found a super cool investigator on saturday in brownsville. She was from Panama! The first person from panama I've met on the mission. I really hope that she accepts the gospel.

Transfer meeting is tomorrow. I find out who I will be training. I'm kinda nervous because the Lord has entrusted me with this great responsibility. But I'm beginning to recognize how good responsibility is for me. I love this work. Its so hard, but awesome! I just know that this next transfer we will begin seeing a lot of success. I love you all!!!

Elder Hogge

One Week to Transfers

Hi everyone.

Transfers are quickly approaching. I've already been back in Bushwick for almost 6 weeks. Crazy huh? Transfer meeting is next Tuesday. We'll find out on Saturday if either of us are leaving. I wouldn't be surprised if we both stayed because this is both our first transfer here. But I guess we will see what the Lord has in store for us.

Mom and Mindy, thank you for those awesome pictures. My little nieces and nephew are becoming not so little as of late. Even If I cant be there, its great to be able to see their growth.

This week was a quite normal week. Nothing really extreme or out of the ordinary to report. We were able to teach Naylynn the Plan of Salvation last week. It surprised her that instead of heaven and hell, there's actually the different kingdoms. But she was ready and willing to accept it. She's doing well. The only problem is that we haven't been able to contact her for a while. She wasn't able to make it to church. That was a real bummer. Its looking like her baptismal date will have to be pushed back a little while so that we can make sure she is fully committed to all of this. We weren't able to meet with the lady and her son this week. She was busy I guess.

So mom to answer your question, here at this library they rent out laptops for a couple hours. On these laptops they have a little place to put your SD card so thats how I do it. But there's also another way to do it with just a USB port. There's this nifty little thing that you can put your SD card into that then plugs into a USB port. I bought one at best buy for ten dollars I think.  You can put up pictures on any computer with that thing.

Mom thats so cool that you got to talk to Sister Petersen. I'll be sure to talk to Elder Petersen at transfer meeting. I can understand why she may be overwhelmed that she has a son serving here. Sometimes I take a step back and realize that I am serving here too. Really, most people here respect what we do. Just a couple days ago, I walked up to three black guys (obviously from the hood) and just started bearing my testimony on Jesus Christ. After a quick little chat, they wished me a great rest of the night. It is absolutely amazing how many people here believe in Jesus. The only problem is that they dont act on their belief. Most people understand what we do. Countless people tell us "God Bless" as we walk by them. More and more I feel like we are being recognized as servants of the Lord.

The work has been tough lately. Salvation was never easy. But I know that I am out here for a purpose. Thank you all for the support you provide for me. I love you all so very much.

love, Elder Hogge