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

Coney Island

Everyone!!!

This has been a pretty fun, entertaining, packed week in Dyker Heights.

P-days are good here. There is plenty do to here in Dyker. It doesnt hurt that there is a mall that contains a target, buffalo wild wings, best buy, and GUITAR CENTER just a few stops away on the metro. Not that I'm excited or anything.... But today we have zone activity so we will be meeting at the dyker chapel with the rest of the zone and eat pizza and play some minute to win it games. Woooooh! Also, our ward contains the famous Coney Island. I might.... MIGHT get a hot dog from there. But they are so expensive... I dont know we will see. Coney got hit hard by the hurricane so they are still in the rebuilding process. It used to have a really legit aquarium buuuuuut Sandy kinda released all those fishies back into the ocean hehe. Not to mention the once-aquarium'd sharks that were terrorizing the coast of Coney. Maybe thats why they dont want missionaries in the water... Hopefully over the summer I can visit.

Mom, as for the package, beef jerky is always nice, as are quarters. (If any of you were wondering what music is playing in the background of the chinese internet cafe I'm in, and Im sure you were all absolutely dying to know, I'm listening to some chinese rap accompanied by harmonica. Yup.) As for anything else, fill it to your hearts content :D My head will be my head and my stomach is feeling better. I've noticed that taking a daily supplement of fiber helps tackle that heavy hispanic food. Good stuff.

As for the work, we were able to have 3 investigators at church this week and 2 of them were new! We are really seeing the blessings of the Lord.

The first investigator is the son of a less active member. Evelyn. We called her up last week because we wanted to meet her. Her name is Evelyn and she is super cool. Seems like she was just waiting for someone to give her a kick in the pants and help her remember why we go to church. So she went and she brought her ten year old son, Kenneth. Kenneth is a champ. He is super smart and a really funny kid. The only problem is that he feels really shy around the other kids at church so he went to the classes with his mom all three hours, which does indeed include relief society. I was banking on only one experience of him at relief society to help him realize he does want to be in primary, but he ended up liking it!!! We plan to go over on friday to eat and teach, so hopefully all goes well.

The next investigator at church was... Roxana!!! Unfortunately Willy couldnt make it cuz of work, but when we went over last night, he expressed his regret in not going. Roxana really liked church, especially relief society. She says it felt like a big family, which is exactly what it is!! Last night we had a really good lesson with them. We talked about the restoration. They do indeed have a testimony that Joseph Smith is a prophet. Elder Goates was very, very bold with them. He said that if God and Jesus Christ had to appear to Joseph Smith to restore the gospel, then what does that mean about there catholic baptisms. That got them thinking alot. I believe this week we will have helped them receive a firm answer from God.

The last one that has been consistently coming for about 3 months is Anthony. He is the younger brother of a recent convert, Alex. Alex is super super solid in the gospel and is planning on going on a mission soon. The major problem with them is that their parents dont like the church very much. So its a tough situation. Anthony is a 16 year old junior in high school (sound familiar?) and really loves to learn and discover. He is still working on receiving an answer from God. I have high hopes for him.

The area is going great. I love it!! Its like a small cavity has been filled in the metaphor of my life haha. I love you all so very much! Ciao!

Love, Elder Hulk.

Transfer

Surprise!!!

Its a holiday and I can still email! Turns out here in my new area we use an internet cafe. Its pretty cool. It has a nice ambiance about it (must be the Chinese rock playing in the background haha)

Hello Family and friends!!

I have been officially transferred! My 42 weeks of Bushwick is finally over. But who knows, I may go back haha. So my new area. Its pretty sweet. The Lord has transferred me tooooooo.... Dyker Heights! Yep, I am still in Brooklyn. (Yay!) But now, i am in southern Brooklyn. My area is Dyker Heights- Sunset Park. It has the Greenwood Cemetery in it, where the Battle for Brooklyn was fought. My companion and I strolled through it to get to the other side of the area. It is soooo beautiful. (Wow my companion just burst into incessant giggling.... hope he's ok.) This area is suh-weet! I am finally in a ward!!! Oh what a blessing from the Lord. I love my branches that I have served in, but there is just something special about being in a ward. We now have plenty of priesthood to accompany us to any visit. There are plenty of families here that come to church every week. It was weird to see the pews full of people by the time church started. I am still marveling at all the people we have on our side here in Dyker. Also, this is the first time in my mission that I have had sisters in my district. They are pretty cool, but It still weirds me out because I have been in the Man Zone for so long. But it is definitely a blessing having them with us.

So my companion. His name is Elder Goates. He is on his 3rd transfer, but because of Sandy two transfers ago we are finishing up the 12 week program together. His dad is active in the church, and his mom is active in the Catholic church. Elder Goates jokes that if the pope could be a woman, it would be his mom. So he has an interesting dynamic about his family. I've talked to him a lot about it. He said that he grew up active in both churches and really received an answer in college at BYU that this was the church God wanted him in. Oh yeah, he is from Orem and both of his parents are chemistry teachers at BYU. So he isn't your typical Utah Mormon. But both of his parents are happy that he is out on the mission because it makes him happy. Elder Goates likes to sing, dance, act, and quote chick flicks haha. Sometimes I give him odd looks, but we get along just fine. He is definitely the companion most unlike me that I have had thus far. We will learn a lot from each other.

We are teaching a few different people, but there is one couple in particular that I want to talk about today. Their names are Wilfrido and Roxana. Elder Goates old companion fearlessed them in the street a few months ago. The couple told the missionaries to come back with them to their apartment and there they began teaching them. This is a younger couple in their later twenties and they are super super cool. They are really eager to learn and to experience what we have to offer. There are just a couple of walls in the way. First, they arent married. And second, they feel really rooted to their catholic background and like they are disrespecting their parents and God by switching around religions. But they are both committed to coming to church next week AND Elder Goates has a very deep catholic background so I think there are a lot of things going for us.

So that in a nutshell is my new area. Huzzah! I am in love with it. Oh also, as a sad note, there are no usb ports in this internet cafe :(

Anyways, I love you all! Thank you so much for being there for me!

Love, Elder Hogge

Life is Great in NYC

Dear family and friends,

Life is great here in NYC.

The weather has been pretty odd. I guess odd in a good way. It feels more like autumn than winter here. I was told that winters in New York was killer, but for me this has been a walk in the park (obviously not Central Park cuz thats out of mission boundaries). There have only been a few days this winter so far when we needed more than just our suitcoats. Pretty strange. But hey, I ain't complaining.

Mom, though AriZonas come in a variety of tea flavors, they have other great non-tea beverages such as mucho mango, watermelon, and my personal favorite cherry lime ricky soda. Its good stuff and only a buck for a big can so super nice when we are always on the go. Also, I got the package. That was awesome! I think jerky is quickly becoming my favortie snack. (too bad it costs so darn much haha) The ipod and speakers work great. (Nice music selection! We were groovin to Gladys Knight and the Pi.... I mean..... Gladys Knight and the Saints last night. Good stuff.)

To answer your question Mom, the interesting experiences usually come well after reciting the First Vision. I've noticed that Hispanics in general are more accustomed to hearing stories of modern day heavenly visitations (for example, the Virgin of Guadalupe) so it is tough to help them understand the magnitude of the First Vision. I think the thing that helps investigators most is seeing the example of other people that have been changed through the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Once these people starting living how God wants them to, through the gospel, the First Vision takes on a whole new meaning. I think the "Ah ha" moment can come during the recitation of the First Vision, but from what I've seen, the true "Ah ha" moments come from putting faith in the fact that Christ did indeed restore His church and seeing the promised blessings come into fruition, as experienced by our current investigator.

Bruno is doing really well. He wasn't able to be at church yesterday because he wasnt feeling well but we were able to teach him a few times last week. One cool experience happened during a lesson. When we first met him, we noticed that he always played around with a lighter. Thats a big hint to missionaries that there is some sort of Word of Wisdom problem involved. We decided we better get on that quick so on Saturday we had the Word of Wisdom lesson with him. As we went through the things that the Lord commmands us not to partake of, he was in complete agreement with everything we were teaching (which felt kind of odd to the judgemental me that I was being). So we asked him if he would forsee any problems and he began relating to us his feelings on the subject. He tells us that he has never liked tea or coffee; he recognizes the damage of alcohol and stopped a while ago; he never has cared for illegal drugs; aaaaaand since taking the lessons from us and coming to church, he felt the need to quit smoking so he stopped three days before we gave that lesson. Wow. That was awesome, and a great humbling experience to the judgemental me. Being a part of the conversion of Bruno has been an amazing blessing in my life.

As for transfer gossip, I am finally getting transfered out of Bushwick! Its tough to believe. On tuesday at transfer meetings I will find out where my next area will be. President talked to me on Friday and he told me that I will be only the second companion of my next companion, so I will be continuing the 12 week program with him. I'm so excited for this opportunity.

I love you all! Thank yous so much for the support and love I recieve.

Love, Elder Hogge

January in New York City

Family and Friends,

Life is going well here in New York City. The Lord is truly blessing us for our efforts.

New Years eve was nice. Seeing as it was Pday, we hung out with the rest of the district, played games and whatnot. It was very relaxing. We had to stay in even past six because president didn't want us to be in harms way in any manner. So we celebrated the new year by drinking some arizonas at ten and then we hit the sack. Pretty eventful huh ;) I was nice and asleep and then at twelve I was rudely awakened by fireworks shaking the entire house!! The firemen across the street went crazy haha. I think I'll forgive them. Not an extremely new year but it will suffice :)

This week has brought some great blessings. The sunday before last, we noticed a new fellow at church. We went over to talk to him and come to find that he is the uncle of a super strong family in our branch. He had just moved here from Reno the day before. His name is Bruno, or as we like to call him, Tio. He decided to come to church with the family because he wanted a change of pace in life. As we led him around the church from class to class, he expressed the joy and peace he felt. Good signs, right? ;) Even though it was his first Sunday at church, he felt really comfortable. Last week, we were able to teach him and then yesterday, we went over to their house after church (which he attended again). There we talked about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. As I told him the first vision, I could see that he felt at peace with what we were teaching him. Elder Jensen went on to commit him to baptism. If all goes according to plan, he will be baptized on the 27th of this month. It was such a heart warming, happy experience. Bruno is really in tune with the spirit and I know that his own personal testimony is growing within. I'm so excited for him!!! Please pray that Bruno will be able to overcome any and all doubts, problems, or concerns that may confront him.

Wonderful experiences like those remind me why I am a missionary. There is absolutely nothing like participating in the conversion and salvation of others. As I do this, I feel a strengthening effect in my personal conversion. Last Wednesday was my year mark in New York City. I recognize that I have changed a lot, but I know I've still got a lot to go too. I am so grateful for this Gospel. I know that the atonement makes bad men good, and good men better. I see that especially here in New York. Thanks for all your support!! (and thanks for those wicked awesome .5 energel pentel pens. those got here fast!!))

Love, Elder Hogge