Woodside Update

Dear family and friends,

Hope you all had a fantastic fourth of july week. Over here in woodside we had plenty of fun. The ward put on a nice barbecue with 100 pounds of meat. It was pretty awesome. Those hispanics sure know how to make loads of food. We played a bunch of volleyball, ate a bunch of food, and talked to a bunch of people. I was able to talk to a non member family for a while and hopefully we will be able to do an FHE with them this week. But overall it was a great 4th. It was a bummer that we had to be in before fireworks came out, but I'll live. :)

This week has definitely had its ups and downs. We weren't able to meet with Pedro, Luis, or Edgar and Jelena. It was very sad to have all this great stuff set up and have none of it actually happen. I hate to say this but you kind of get used to it as a missionary. I'm just glad that Heavenly Father is helping me develop the divine attribute of patience. I just want everything to happen now now now. But the Lord knows best, and His timing is the best. I have definitely acquired a sense of urgency. Everyone around me is continually saying that I do not have very much time left. Thats just a great reminder that I must work hard till the very end.

So updates on investigators... Pedro will actually have to move out of his apartment from his family. It's sad to hear. From what it sounds like, he hasn't been in the wrong, but he is doing this to prevent any serious problems. He will be moving just a few blocks away so we will still be able to meet with him. We hope to have a couple lessons with him this week.

Luis has been sick this week so he hasn't been able to do much.

Edgar and Jelena... Well they were supposed to come to church yesterday but never showed up. We have called them a few times but haven't been able to get contact with them. Kind of a bummer but we will keep trying.

Not exactly the smoothest week so far but there have been some bright points. On saturday there was a huge fair in Woodside. It happened just a block away from the church! So taking advantage of the situation, all the missionaries that attend that building got together and we set up a table to give out free cold water at the fair. We must have had three hundred people stop at the table. It was a great finding opportunity. Every companionship was able to get people's info and we were able to give a few church tours as well.  It was a fantastic experience.

Our ward counsel has been stepping up their game. They have a list of twenty names for people that they want us to start working with. Mostly less-actives, but there are some of our investigators on the list as well. Each auxilary has responsibility for a few people on the list. The concept is that the auxilaries will invite them to listen to our lessons, and then we will go and teach them with strong members support. I am very excited to see how this is going to develop.

Seems like everything is slowly but gradually going uphill. I think eventually we will get the ball rolling and there will be nothing that can stop this ward from doing missionary work. I'm very excited to see how all of this turns out.

Thank you all for your support and kindness. Have a great week!

Love, Elder Hogge