April Fools!!!

This week has been pretty good. Elder Van Halder and I have had some rough patches and things aren't going as well as they used to. We've kind of been talking about coming home because we're not sure that we're doing much good out here. I'd be able to make it home for Clarissa's wedding too. We're planning on calling the mission president tonight and we'll let you know how it goes. It seems like no one really wants to join the church anymore because most people don't look for truth and the members don't really want to share the gospel because all of their friends get offended when they talk about it. The more I ponder and pray the best use of my time would probably be back at college.

      Family! I'm sad that I'm missing out on a great april fools days with you tomorrow and that short paragraph was all I was able to give you. I was trying to scheme up something good for you, but that was all I got. Sorry about that. Anyways, this week has been such a blast. There's so much to talk about, but I'll try and stick to some of the highlights. First and least important but totally awesome, we felt 2 earthquakes on Saturday. We were pumped because you don't get to feel those every day and there were two of them.

      Second and the best part of the week, the Waldens are totally back in the game. They texted us a few weeks ago that they wanted to stay with the church of christ, but with a lot of member support they are investigating again and plan to be baptized. They brought a couple of their kids to cub scouts this week and they came to church yesterday! They are gaining a lot of support from the members here and they're ready to find the truth for themselves. A member that she works with gave her Tad R. Callister's CES devotional about the blueprints of Christ's Church. I really wish every Christian in the world would read that because it shows that the Church of Jesus Christ in the meridian of time is the same as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. They were pretty excited and we'll probably set a date for baptism pretty soon.

      We got to teach the combined fifth sunday lesson on missionary work yesterday. The members really took over during it and we got to watch the spirit touch each of their hearts. We watched a video from the hastening the work of salvation broadcast which really set the tone for the meeting. Then we began talking about our purpose as missionaries and focused on extending invitations. In our fireside with the youth a few weeks ago we really focused on invitations, so we had some of them come up and share their experiences as they've invited their friends to do things. This was definitely the best part because the feeling was so amazing in the room as the youth got up there, shared their experiences, and bore their testimony. It is so crazy how much power the youth of the church hold, and how much good they can truly do. They have been a driving force for the missionary work here, and hopefully they'll get their parents to join them. Our bishop ended the meeting with a powerful testimony and asked the ward to fast for missionary opportunities the week after conference. With the effort that everyone is putting in, we are about to see miracles in even greater abundance. If people will make the effort to have their friends taught in their homes, I know that many of their friends will be baptized.

      Thanks for all the support. There is no better work than the Lord's work and He wants each of us to have success as we build His kingdom. I love you all!

 -Elder Hoddy