It's been another one of those exciting weeks out here in Oklahoma. One
thing that I forgot to tell about last week was that we had dinner with the
Helsleys and a member family and afterwards we were going to teach the Plan of
Salvation. Dinner was a lot of fun conversing with one another and making fun of
the hilarious Elder Hoddy. Afterwards we started talking about the Plan of
Salvation and pulled out cards that make it easier to explain, but then someone
made a joke about something and sister Helsley left the room. I guess Brother
Helsley found out that he has a growing tumor in his ear and that was a putting
a lot of stress on Sister Helsley. We put away the cards and started talking
about the priesthood blessings and what they can do. It turned out to be an
amazing lesson even though we didn't teach what we were planning. We got to give
them both a priesthood blessing and it was a pretty awesome opportunity.
On Monday we played soccer for Pday which was so fun because we never play
soccer for Pday. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a whole lot worse, but it is still
fun to kick the ol ball around. We also met with Jake that night and the lesson
was kinda rough because he had been so busy over the weekend that he hadn't been
reading the Book of Mormon or come to church. He felt like he was losing his
desire to know if it was true. However we quickly turned the frown upside down
and got him back into it. It seems like satan is trying so hard to keep him away
from the Book of Mormon and praying and everything. Too bad Satan is not going
to win this time because the spirit has been helping him a lot. We met with him
and Saturday and he is doing pretty amazing. He's reading everyday and he really
wants to know if the Book of Mormon is true. I don't know when he'll be
baptized, but it'll be soon.
We also met with this super high energy reverand guy and his wife. I was
kind of skeptical going over because last week some guy met with us and pretty
much just wanted to bash the whole time. That wasn't the case here though
because it was an awesome lesson. We went through the restoration and both him
and his wife listened intently and were reading the little pamphlet we gave
them. We had an awesome conversation about the Holy Ghost and he loved Moroni
10:5. They're definitely going to be baptized someday. It was also super fun
because he said that he had received revelation that he should never shake
another man's hand again so he gives hugs to everyone and it's always
entertaining to watch.
Wednesday was a real fun day. We went to visit a former investigator and
see if we could get them to come to church, but the daughter ended up asking me
to prom which, on a scale from 1 to awkward, was pretty awkward. We told them
the sisters would stop by and hopefully they'll have some success with that. We
also sang at an alzheimers retirements home which is always a blast, but one my
favorite people there is starting to have a lot more problems. In two weeks she
went from almost normal to barely being able to speak and move. It is so fun to
sing primary songs and do stuff with them, but so sad to watch them get
older.
On Saturday we went to a baptism in Elder Evans old area which was a total
blast because I got to see all my missionary friends that are down there. It
seems like I'm making so many friends here and they're always leaving me and
going to other places. I guess I'll see them all again someday though.
Yesterday was a pretty crazy experience. We got invited to go to catholic
mass with one of the sisters' investigators. We had never been to that building,
but it was super cool so we were excited. The father priest guy came up and
talked to us before and was just letting us know some of the basics about mass.
Then during his little sermon part he gets up in front of everybody (probably
around 800 people) and starts bashing on mormons. He told them that we believed
in multiple gods and all this other stuff. It was super annoying because he knew
we were there, so we didn't know why he was saying all that stuff. I have
thought highly of other catholic priests before because it seemed to me that
they were honestly trying to do the best that they could for the people around
him, so it was a total shock to be bashed on by them.
Anyways this week has been amazing. I haven't told a lot of what happened,
but we are teaching a lot of people. I think we have 18 investigators right now,
so our days are pretty busy with visiting different people. The ward has become
a lot more excited about doing missionary work as well, so we are excited. The
bad experiences have been completely drowned out by all the amazing things that
are happening around here.
Mom reminded me that we are all in such different parts of our lives right
now. Gradeschool, Jr. High, High School, Mission, or College it doesn't matter
because we're a family and we're still close to each other. I love you all tons
and wish I spending more time with ya, but I guess I can't complain because
eternity sounds like enough time for us to do lots of things. Keep emailing me
and telling me about life. HFF
Love,Elder Hoddy
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