Sounds like all of you had a fantastic Easter week. It was soooooo cool seeing the pictures of all my family together. Kinda weird not being in them but that's ok :) Its funny, I saw one picture of all you guys sitting at the table making easter eggs and I thought, who in the world is that random fellow!!! Then I realized, "oh yeah! thats my future brother in law!" The wedding isn't too far off now is it. I was excited to hear that you guys still keep in contact with Kam Logan. Be sure to tell him I say hi!!
This weekend has been full of crazy emotions. Saturday night we got transfer calls. Elder Ibarra is out (of course) but they told me that I am out of this area too! The mission lingo for that is being "blinded out". So two new missionaries are going to be "blinded in" to the area on Tuesday. I am so sad to be leaving this area. It seems like whenever I really can get the ball rolling somewhere the Lord just sends me off somewhere else haha. But luckily I have faith that He knows better than I do and that all will be well. I really have no idea where I will be going, but I'm pretty sure I'll be with a great missionary. When I had to tell the members yesterday that I was leaving they were pretty mad haha. Some told me to call President Calderwood to see if I could stay longer. I wouldn't dare trying that but its nice that they all wanted me to stay longer. We had a great dinner last night at the familia Espana's house. They made Pupusas (the traditional dish of El Salvador). They were delicious!!!!! It was tough having to say goodbye to everyone but I'm sure I'll get to see them again.
The area is going great right now. We have been working with some really cool people. There was an experience yesterday that just blew my mind. So Elder Ibarra and I went early to practice with our district for a couple of songs we were going to sing for sacrament meeting. While waiting, a member tells us that there is a fellow waiting in the foyer for some missionaries. We head over to the other side of the church and we meet this guy named Sergio. He tells us that he is very interested in the church and he wants to sit down with us for a bit to explain his story and ask questions. So we get talking with Sergio (Elder Ibarra and I at this point are kind of bewildered because this stuff only happens in movies) and he tells us whats been going on in his life. Turns out he had put himself in a sort of seclusion for a few months so that he could really try to come to know God. Through this process he came into contact with the Book of Mormon so he started reading it online. Later, he made a really good friend from Miami who happened to be Mormon so she sent him a hard copy. He was just amazed with this because he felt that all the religious books he had read in the past weren't very complete and wouldn't bring him as close to God as he needed to be. I could have literally had my jaw gaping this entire time because I was just shocked with how Sergio felt about all of this. So we kept talking with him and explained how the church services work and all that jazz. He absolutely loved church. He said that this was the best atmosphere at a church that he ever felt. In gospel principles we were learning about priesthood. He understood priesthood keys right off the bat. He is coming to all the church activities and General Conference this week. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know Sergio, be it just one Sunday. The new missionaries that are coming in have no idea what they have in store for them haha.
Well, as you can see this has been a pretty special week. I know that the hand of the Lord has been guiding the work here. I don't know where I am headed, but I do know that I am a servant of God and he will be able to accomplish his purposes through me. I love you all so very much! Have a great week!!
Love, Elder Hogge
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