Yep, Dyker Heights

Dearest all,

This week was an interesting week but a very good one at that.

Elder Goates and I stayed together at transfer meetings. But on Thursday, we got an interesting call. I hear the phone ring and I notice that President Calderwood is waiting for me to answer. Its always kinda nerve wracking getting a call from prez. So I picked up the phone and I have a chat with him. Turns out he wanted to make some post-transfer changes in my district. So he informed me that our companionship would switch a missionary with another companionship in Coney Island. So the next day Elder Goates left to Coney and now I am here with Elder Ibarra. He is a native Mexican that speaks Italian and English. Also, this is his last transfer so I'm going to be "killing" him haha. He's a great missionary and I am so excited for this change. I feel like the Lord is really helping me out with a native companion. He knows how to touch the hearts of investigators. This is exactly what our pool needed.

English class has been going very well. We are getting an average of twenty non members a class. We are starting to see the blessings of this service we are providing. After class on Thursday, a student asked us if we could do some extra tutoring with him. His name is Francisco and he arrived in New York from Guatemala only a month ago. Being only 17 years old with just an uncle that he knows here, I believe he is looking for some sort of fellowshipping. So we asked him if he wanted to come to the church on Sunday to do an English lesson. He gladly accepted the invitation. So as we were teaching him english, at the church, on suuuunday, we mentioned that there were sabbath services about an hour after the class. He said he would love to come. So Francisco joined us for church on sunday. I think he really enjoyed it. Especially because he found someone from his same small town in Guatemala that speaks the same native tribal language as him. So that was really cool to see and I think we will see some good progression out of him.

All is going well right now in Dyker. We are having a lot of fun. I have a great district and we all really work hard. Oh, mom I got the mini spanish preach my gospel. Thank you soooo much!! Also, I dont think I have gotten the other package yet.... But all's good here. Sorry its gonna be kinda short because I am on the express computer at the library (too many people) but I love you all a ton!! Keep it oxyclean ;) (brooklyn lingo)

Love, Elder Hogge

Re: Oregon!

Hello Family and Friends,

Mom (and others), I am so glad that you were able to go to Grandma West's funeral. Sounds like it was a lovely service. Being in a neighborhood such as New York, I often miss the small town feel.

This week was a great, snowy, root canal free week.

Tuesday I made a rendezvous with Dr. Lerman for part Dos of the root canal extravaganza. It was definitely less harsh that part 1.0. Dr. Lerman was quick and effective. I think the worst part for me was not being able to have an active conversation with him haha. But all went well and I am without cavity and without pain.

Thursday night we heard about a two storms colliding in the New York area. Though all the missionaries clearly remembered the last big storm that came our way, we were assured that it would not be as bad. Though we were indeed grateful for the opportunity to serve others during the aftermath of Sandy, we were glad to see that Nemo wasn't nearly as bad. We were very safe, and though the snow did pile up we did not see any harsh effects. The next day we had some opportunities to help out people in the snow. One of the more interesting things that happened was on our way to church. As we were walking to the services, we noticed some hasidic jews having a bit of trouble. One was in the car giving it all the power he could, and the other was hopelessly pushing it. As we saw these two men getting nowhere fast, we offered some help. Naturally, they politely declined. So naturally, we just helped anyways haha. we got behind that car with the more unfortunate jew and we began giving it some good heaves. After a couple minutes of slipping and struggling, we finally got that darn car out onto the street. They were both very grateful for our service.

We met with Evelyn, Ileana and Kenneth on Saturday evening. Just as a reminder, Evelyn (30ish) and Ileana (16) are sisters and Kenneth (10) is Evelyn's son. Evelyn and Ileana were baptized when they were 8 but went less active because their mom had a bad experience at church. We are really trying to help them see how the gospel truly changes each and every one of us. So we showed them a few mormon messages. Those were super cool. We showed the one with Elder Brown talking about the Currant bush. That one always gets me. And we also showed the one when the drunk driver killed almost all of the man's family yet he still forgave. That was very powerful to them. I think it really helped them understand why God allows things to happen in our lives and how we can really benefit from the trials that He gives us. Evelyn has school on Sundays for now, but Ileana and Kenneth came to church on their own! They are progressing bit by bit, and we hope to see Kenneth make the decision to get baptized soon.

It was a nice week. I feel like I am growing bit by bit, grace by grace. I can still very clearly see my imperfections, but I know that through the Atonement I am growing. I love the Gospel and I love all of you!!!

Love, Elder Hogge

Root Canal

Dearest Family and Friends,

This week has been quite the week both here and at home.

It is sad to hear that Grandma West has passed, but in the light of the gospel I know that it is only a transitory step in the plan that Heavenly father has for her. 

I was sooooooo excited to hear that Neal got his call!!!! It'll be a few more years till I get to see him again, but wow he is in for a treat. England sounds like a great place. Also I am super excited for Rachel to be heading out to Thailand so soon. I bet her dad must be so proud.

Well, last week I made an appointment to go to the dentist because i felt a little hole in one of my teeth. (You dont know how much willpower I had to use to call the dentist. The regular me would have avoided the dentist at all costs!!!) So last Wednesday I went off to the dentist to get that checked out. Boy was I in for a surprise. 

The dentist is a very nice fellow. His name is Dr. Lerman. We had a great chat and then we got started. After taking an x-ray of my teeth, he comes back into the room and tells me, "well, it looks like you've got yourself a root canal." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! I'm glad I had at least some restraint because I was screaming in my mind haha. He could obviously see the worry in my face because he told me that it would be nice and smooth. So I reluctantly let him recline the seat back as he started working away at the tooth. The numbing was not very pleasant but I got through it easily. It wasn't until he mentioned that he was ready to drill into the nerve that I may have shed a tear of fear. He said "this is gonna hurt a bit" and began counting down from three while drilling. I dont know about you, but when a doctor has to count down from three, I know I am in for some pain. Turns out novicane does very little for drilling into nerves because at "1" I felt one of the sharpest pains I can remember. I literally had a mental image of rocks punching my brain as he got to the nerve. Luckily, that was the worst part because with access to the nerves, he numbed those up real nice and it was smooth sailing from there. So he worked away for a while till he realized what he had gotten himself into. Turns out the roots of my molars are very, very deep. Like we are talking grand canyon of the tooth world deep. He is used to seeing roots about 21ish millimeters deep but he said mine range from 26 1/2 to 28 millimeters down. So last Wednesday was only part one of the thrilling drilling experience. Luckily the worst has already past and next Wednesday will only require the rest of the digging. But I am so very glad that I went into the dentist when I did because it could have turned into an ugly infection. So I have definitely learned my lesson on this one.

So besides that interesting experience, this week in the field was pretty low key. I got to go on a couple exchanges with some of the elders in my district so that was fun. As for investigators, everyone just feels a bit stagnant right now. We are definitely trying our hardest, but we just need to get some more understanding on how to resolve their concerns.

But life is good! I'm munching on some pretzel M&M's right now so I am satisfied (now that I think about it eating these with a half done root canal may not be the best idea...... oh well) I'm loving the work. Its tough, but awesome!!! Love you all!!

Love, Elder Hogge