Yup, It's Fall

Hey!

So, How are yall doin? This week has been great. Filled with some wonderful experiences.

So, Mom, thanks for the update on Stake Conference. Sounds like it was fantastic! I think church meetings will be much more meaningful to me back home. (Dad, I'm not saying I thought your talks were boring. Its just I think I will like them more! haha) The doctrine of Christ is CRUCIAL to missionary work. Thats what we do!! Help people access the wonderful gift that the Savior provided for us. I especially like verse 21 of 2 Nephi 31. There is absolutely no way to be eternally happy if we don't apply the atoning sacrifice in our lives. I appreciate what Dad says about having to be nourished on a daily basis as opposed to weekly. I had an EFY counselor that explained that reading the scriptures is like brushing your teeth. Its not something that you do just one day a week and then the last day put on enough toothpaste to cover the entire week. It just doesnt work like that! I can feel the strengthening effect of studying and applying the scriptures daily. Satan is like the dirty plaque on unbrushed teeth. It looks gross, tastes undesirable, and has a corroding effect. Hooray for spiritual tooth brushing!! As mike wazowski says: "Fight that plaque! Fight that plaque! Scary monsters dont have plaque!" Granted, we aren't scary monsters, but you get what I mean.

So, I have something to confess... I went to the temple again!! Oh man that was heaven. Here's what happened. Our padmate had a recent convert that was going through the temple on Saturday. He and his companion were gonna go but then his companion realized his temple recommend had expired so they had to send in a replacement. It was reeeeally cool because the person going through was actually a member of Riverhead so I got to see her and a lot of other members from the branch. That was sweet! Two weeks in a row! I doubt that I'll get a third week. But that was a heavenly reminder of how happy the temple makes me. I'm definitely going weekly when I once again have the opportunity.

So, Jose didnt come to church :( That was sad. Agency can be a bummer sometimes. BUT it can also be amazing as you soon shall see. Ok here's what happened. Elder Wilk and I arrived at church 30 minutes early. As I was sitting down in the chairs I notice a man walk into the chapel. And he looked very, very familiar. As my mind was racing, I finally realized that is was a Mexican that I had fearlessed on the street three weeks earlier!!!! I'd given him a pass along card with the church's address and he decided to show up! That made me soooo excited! He pertains to other Elders' area in the branch, but nevertheless he decided to come on his own agency. Now those are the type of people that get baptized.

So, Everything is going pretty well right now. Elder Wilk and I are really focusing on the families. We have some good potentials and I hope that the plans that we have come into fruition. We are planning to visit some less actives and new investigators this week so we will see how it goes.

So, I love you all! Thanks for all the support. You all are so dear to my heart. I'll talk to you soon!!

Love, Elder Hogge

Fall is Here -- sorta :-)

Family and Friends,

Last week was absolutely fantastic! Full of general conference, birthday, and temple, It really brought me a lot of happiness. For my birthday, it was deep clean day. So we spent most of the day at the pad cleaning everything. Its like a once a transfer spring cleaning.  (And I'm dearly sorry but I forgot to bring my camera to emailing so the pictures will have to wait till next week. Sorry to torture you like that.) We had Little Caesar's Pizza and homemade cupcakes for the party whilst cleaning. It was really fun! And then the rest of the day Elder Wilkinson just got out there and worked. The temple was absolutely marvelous!!! It had been a little over 10 months since the last time I had been able to go into the temple. I have so much more appreciation for the temple now that I have felt what its like to have an absence of it. My goal is to be able to work in the temple when I get home. It was just the most beautiful feeling inside that building. All the hustle and bustle of New York City just dissipates as you walk through the doors of the temple. I really didn't want to leave by the time we were finished. But I recognize that I have been called to work for the salvation of the living at this time so I'm content :)

Mom, my past companions will be thrilled when they get those packages!! Their names are Elder Jason Warhurst and Elder Geoffrey Lunt. And I absolutely LOVE my new beanie. All my padmates went crazy when they saw me open it cuz they already knew the awesomeness of my other homemade one. (Everytime I live with new people they question me where I got my blue and green beanie. When I respond with "My mom made it". I always get the Napolean Dynamite-like reply of "Luckyyyyyy!") To now have a bright yellow beanie at hand is just the best!!

It looks like you all had a blast at apple hill. I especially enjoyed the story about Mari saving the pumpkin. I cannot believe how old they are getting!!! I haven't even met Trudy yet and she is almost one! Oh and that just made me laugh that Dad got Botox for headaches. I can just see President Williams and Taylor giving him a hard time on that one haha. Maybe Willie should get some Botox as well seeing as it worked so well on Dad ;) I am super excited to hear about Neal preparing to head out! (I hope he gets sent to New York South!!!!) Oh, Missionary Mall sent me a clothes hamper... That was random. I needed one ten months ago and have gotten two replacements since. But now I have this brand new white hamper haha. And mom I loved that snippet that you sent to me from Elder Maxwell's talk. That's really how we have to look at every single person we talk to. We all have such amazing potential and to disregard that aspect of someone is to disregard one of God's greatest gifts for everyone.

We have been working a lot with an investigator named Jose. He is from Puerto Rico and is progressing very well! He loves having us over. We are working with him to go to church. He is separated from his wife and the only day that he has with his two teenage sons is Sunday so its hard for him to sacrifice that time for church. But his testimony is growing in the Book of Mormon and he thinks Joseph Smith is the man haha. Its been really cool to be able to teach him. We have been getting members involved in the process as well. I'm so excited to see how everything turns out with him.

Also, Elder Wilkinson and I have been focusing on talking to families. There are a ton of Ecuadorians here and a lot of them are from an area in Ecuador that eats something called Cuy. Well actually its Guinea Pig. But they absolutely love it haha. So everytime we bring up that we want to eat Cuy they open right up to us because we show that we appreciate a part of their culture. So we have been able to talk to a lot of cool families. We hope to be able to meet with some of them this week. We'll see how it goes.

Well, I love you all so much! I hope this is a great week for you. Fall is in the air! (Its been in about the 70's so I cant complain.) This gospel is so true!

Love, Elder Hogge

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Family and friends,

I almost went CRAZY when I heard the announcement at general conference! Being in a room full of missionaries, there was a thick air of excitement as we realized how much the potential mission force has increased. I realize the biggest change will come at the end of the school year, once people have finished their commitment to school. I am soooooo excited/happy/surprised for the prospect of my dear friends being able to dedicate their lives to the Lord even sooner. To all young folk that bother to read these updates of mine, START PREPARING NOW!! Regarding the opportunity to serve earlier, that also means that you have the opportunity to go through the temple and receive the Melchizedek priesthood sooner as well. Though a mission is a wonderful opportunity, these covenants and ordinances are what will truly prepare you to live with your Heavenly Father. The Lord has seen the dignity and worthiness of our youth, and is blessing us likewise. I am simply astounded that I am able to see and be a part of such a magnificent blessing from the Lord. Its not every day that modern day revelation is this drastic. I hope the young folk of the church have discovered as much enthusiasm as I have for this wonderful blessing on mankind.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. Those pictures were such a delight! Feeling the loving influence of my family gives me the utmost desire to serve with all my heart, might, mind and strength. Maw and Paw, I got the scripture cases!!! Those are pretty shnazzy. I just couldn't help waiting till my birthday to open them. But don't work, that one wrapped present from your package has sat tranquilly underneath my desk. Seeing as tomorrow is deep clean day, we will be spending a lot of time at the pad cleaning. Which leaves time in between to make some delicious treats. My padmates have elected to make crepes tomorrow morning (score!) but I do believe that our plans for the day will be spent on tracting and visiting people. I really wouldn't have it any other way.

Returning to conference, I do not believe I have taken so many notes in such a short amount of time. I think this was the first time I was actually a little disheartened when conference was over. There were so many amazing talks! I think the one that hit me most was Elder Holland speaking about never turning back. Deciding to become a disciple of Jesus Christ is no game. That talk was only supplemented by Elder Bednar's address on testimony versus conversion. I do believe that the Lord has begun to remove the pavilion from my eyes and has given me even more understanding of what I truly have to change and become. That hit me pretty hard. If I am not changing who I truly am, then I am in no way qualified to dwell with my Father in heaven. That's a daunting task, but luckily the Savior has prepared the way. I wish I could comment on all the talks, but that would just take all day haha.

As far as investigators, we are really working hard. Sergio has been really hard to contact. He works a ton. That seems to be the recurring theme in trying to help people. They decide to put their faith in their own abilities besides putting their trust in the Lord. Agency can really frustrate me sometimes haha. We have been working with a couple other people and we really hope to see progress in them. 

Working with Elder Wilkinson has been fantastic! He is really starting to get into the missionary groove. We are having a blast out here in Ridgewood. I know that the Lord will continue to bless us for our efforts here. I see so many bright rays of hope in this saddened world. I know that the Lord is preparing people to come into His fold. I love you all sooo much! Have a fantastic week!

Love, Elder Hogge

P.s.

Sorry, no pics :( but i promise for next week yes :)

Conference is Coming!!!

Hello,

How are you all doing this lovely October? I sure love this time of year! The weather has been fresh and the Work is moving forward.

I've felt so loved, receiving three packages in the past couple weeks! I got grandma's dear elder package (those cookies are a HIT) and I got my birthday package. Score!! Mom sure knows how to put together a good package. See those frisbee golf discs brought me way back. There's a park in brooklyn so I'm gonna try to convince the elders to go out there with me some time. I've yet to open that wrapped gift in mom's package. I'll save that one for the 9th. I usually prefer not to talk about misson time, but as I'm about to complete my 20th birthday I realize my year mark is not to distant. A couple days ago in the mail I got a letter from the mission informing me that my annual temple trip will be on the 10th of October. Talk about belated birthday present!!! I am soooooo ecstatic! 

So I've reached the point in the mission where I feel pretty solid with my spanish. Its really entertaining at times to talk to hispanics because they've begun asking what country I'm from (as if it wasnt obvious that I'm American). I think one of the absolute best things about being a new york missionary is that I get to meet people from almost every hispanic country in the world. Up to this point I've met people from The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Spain. I lack para- and uruguay, beliz and bolivia. Some of my favorite dishes so far are sopes from Mexico, Baleadas from Honduras, Papusas from El Salvador, and of course tostones and morir sonando from The Dominican Republic. I would absolutely LOVE to visit some of the places throughout the duration of my life. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve around these people. I LOVE the culture sooooo much. (even including the seemingly endless supply of beans). 

The work is going well here. At times tough, but well. Sergio is doing well (its been super tough to meet with him) and we've been able to pick up some new investigators along the way. Sad thing happened tho... Damaris texted us on saturday that she wanted to stop her investigation of the church. Thats the only news we've heard about her recently. Mega bummer. I really have no clue why. But I gotta keep my hopes up that one day she will come around.

My life is just so blessed its impossible not to see the work of the Master's hand. Things get tough, but life marches on. In Malachai 3:3 the Lord is spoken of as a refiner and purifier of silver. The way silver becomes refined and purified is if it is held in the hottest part of the flame by the Smith. Though the silver hurts, and it wants so badly to be removed from all trial and pain, the Purifier keeps on going. The only way the Smith knows that the silver has completed the refining process is when the silver is so pure that the The Maker can see his own face reflecting from the surface. That is the Lord's ultimate work and glory. To make us like Him. To give us the necessary heat to allow his own face to shine in our countenance. I know this work is real, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this gospel is a gospel of peace and joy. I know that my Redeemer Lives!

Love, Elder Hogge

P.s. Willie this is a call out. Email me!!