Weakness And Doubt

Mom, I just got your letter and it was amazing! It seriously came at the perfect time. Sometimes life beats us down or sometimes we beat ourselves down; either way that came in the moment that I needed a little pick me up. Life is good right now. In fact we have amazing investigators right now. Somehow I still feel like I'm not working hard enough though. I feel like I worked a lot harder in Enid and saw less success while here it is simply given to us. For some reason I felt better working harder even if it was for less. I want these last months to be the best ones.

So I shared some thoughts with my friend Haley that I wanted to sent to you. It's not super focused, but I like it...
If we were born complete we would never feel a need for God, so instead we are born with weaknesses that will teach us to depend on Him. Why?.. Why would God want us to depend on Him? Simple... We were not like our Father in Heaven and for us to become like Him, we would need the help of the only One who knew how to get us there. Heavenly Father sees your heart - desires, passions, frustrations, etc. - but more importantly he sees the end goal. He sees your potential and also sees the path to get there. Thus the words of Elder Holland, "God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go". 

Then comes the weakness and the doubt. Why did I do that? Why am I not better? Why can't I be more like them? Why does this happen to me? In our time focused on "me" we miss the awe of what Heavenly Father has done for us. The fear of the journey blocks the beauty of the end goal and the remedy of Jesus Christ. But overtime our experience teaches our perspective to keep pushing forwards. One by one the challenges come and with the help of God we beat them. We learn something new and we feeling the exciting reminder that this truly works. Our Savior's atonement is real. Then we see the next challenge and the process repeats itself. The problem comes when we get so wrapped up in the immediate challenges of life that we forget how far our Savior has already taken us and that His help will never end. "We learn on the one hand that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)"

I loved your thoughts on the "are you striving" questions. We are simply asked to give our best. Have a good week mom!

Now In Yukon Oklahoma....There Are Going To Be Miracles Here!

This has been a fantastic week in Yukon. I'm still getting used to everything and have no idea where we are most of the time, but I love it. Elder Whithead has been a great friend since the beginning of my mission, so it has been easy to play off of each other as we teach.

One of the greatest parts of being here was PEC yesterday. I was taking note of so many things because these men have a great understanding of gospel leadership and their example taught me more in an hour than anything I have ever read. I absolutely loved the way the bishop lead, followed up, counseled, and did many other things. My experience could have easily been drowned out in a room with great men, but they treated my comments like gold. I am so grateful to be here, and I feel like this is a ward that does great things.

D&C 10:46-47 And, behold, all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of my gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people. And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers.

I love that our Heavenly Father didn't force the prophets to say everything. The scriptures contain words from men that cared about us and wanted us to have the knowledge they cherished most. It adds perspective and helps me to ask the question why the doctrine and stories written were so important to the people in the Book of Mormon.

Last week a girl named Bailey walked into church and told the missionaries she wanted to be baptized. I walked straight into a gold mine! She is super excited to get baptized and is learning really quickly. I have prayed for progressing investigators every day for weeks, so it's amazing to see answers like that come. She is quite the amazing person

I'm in the OKC 5th ward and it has been wonderful. I love the people here and I'm having a great time. There are going to be miracles here this transfer.

Oh ya I also am running low on contacts. My prescription was for 2 years, so they should let you get more.

I love you Momma! Have a wonderful week.

Transfer To Yukon After A Great Experience In Enid

This week was another amazing one as we begin the new year. I got the call that I am getting transferred to Yukon with Elder Whitehead. He was my district leader over a year ago and is about to be on his last transfer. We will have the Oklahoma City Temple in our ward boundaries which is going to be a huge blessing. Hopefully we'll be able to sneak over every once in a while

One of my favorite experiences was as we visited with Cindy, a new investigator, for the first time. Prior to finding us, she had been sincerely praying that she would be able to have the the Holy Spirit with her all the time. The member with us looked like a kid on Christmas morning when he heard her say that. He is a recent convert and was so excited for her. She talked about the way she felt the Spirit and how excited she was. Cindy is very intelligent and inquisitive. We had been praying night and day for progress and investigators, so Cindy Sutton truly is an answer and a miracle.

D&C 5:16 And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the Spirit-

This verse stuck out to me this week as I read it. There is not doubt in the Savior's words as he says this simple phrase. I truly believe these great people we meet can, will, and do receive confirmation about our message. The gospel is simple and I am grateful for it in my life.

Leaving Enid is really sad. I have made so many amazing friends that I don't want say goodbye to. Last night we said goodbye to a couple people and it was so sad to think I may not see them again in this life. I truly can't imagine my life without the experience of coming on a mission. It is all worth it because of the relationships and conversion I have gained.

Thank you for all the support. I love each of you and am so grateful for the role you play in my life. Have a great week and year!

-Elder Hoddy

Thought From Jake's Mission President

President Walkenhorst said this in his email this week... As we begin another new year I hope that you will evaluate where you are and want you want to become. Set goals for the coming year. Take time to counsel with the Lord as to what He wants you to become. Read and ponder your patriarchal blessing. Are their expectations that God has for that you are not putting forth enough effort to obtain? Remember that He has a "perfect vision" of you and for you. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 2:9, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." What has God prepared for you in this coming year? What will He bless you with? What are you willing to do to obtain those blessing? How hard are you willing to work? What aspects of the "natural man" will you overcome next? Take some time to ponder and set goals for yourself

I hope you have an amazing week momma! I love you :)

Every Time We Ask We Are Given Guidance From The Spirit

Family!

Hey this has been a fantastic week! I'll share a couple thoughts with you first.

     D&C 6:14 - for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it has not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.

     Absolutely every time we ask we are given guidance from the Spirit. That's important for us because we are constantly seeking direction on where to go and what to do. What are some of the biggest things you seek direction on and what can you do to receive more instruction from the Spirit?

     We having been praying day and night that we can find investigators who will progress towards the waters of baptism and it is amazing how the Lord provides with people for us to teach...

     One cool opportunity was as we were going to an appointment and there was a guy working on his car outside his house, so we went up and talked to him. He is such a cool kid named Francisco and seemed so excited to talk to us. He loves working on cars and is a senior in high school. We talked to him about the gospel and he explained how much of a testimony it has been in his life. When we walked away I turned around and saw the biggest smile on his face. That pretty much made the whole day worth it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is so special.

     We also had a good time this week as we were headed up to visit some elders and got some interesting directions. We ended up on some different detours through mud covered streets and were doing our best not to slide too much. 

I love being on a mission and I love all of you.

Have a merry Christmas!

-Elder Hoddy

Christmas Conference Time!

Momma!

We had another great week here. Elder Holman and I will be here together until the beginning of January at the earliest!     Christmas conference was really amazing. Our mission president talked a lot about member missionary work and ways to be more effective with it. Then his assistants talked about getting back to the basics and finding people. It was so much fun to be surrounded by all the other missionaries and talk to good friends. Elder Rodriguez wasn't there which was kind a bummer though. I also got to talk to Sister Neilson (Alisha) for a while. It's always fun to talk to her because she has updates on all of our high school friends. She goes home this week though.     Other than that life is going really well. We started teaching a part member family this week. Every time we walk through the door his face lights up like Christmas morning. Her face isn't usually quite as bright, but we'll work with that. He always tries to convince her to move to Utah, but she's not really going for it.

Here's a sweet Christmas story that someone sent me...

A college friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as an early Christmas present. On Christmas eve when Paul came out of his house, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car?" he asked. Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded.
"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" "Oh yes, I'd love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Uncle, would you mind driving in front of my house?" Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
"There it is, little brother, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a penny. And some day I'm gonna give you one just like it...then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Shop windows that I've been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable ride.

Hey so I decided that I was going to restart the Doctrine and covenants and finish it before my mission. I was planning on starting next Sunday (December 28), and I'll write you my thoughts each week and send them to you. Would you like to read along with me?     Ha in other news, we had a pretty cool Christmas party this week. Some of our investigators came and they were fellowshipping the members. One of our favorites, Stanley, was having the greatest time in the world meeting everyone, and he's going to help one of our investigators get baptized right after he does. We also got a picture with Santa, so that was pretty exciting :) Life is good.     Quick thought... and when he falls he shall rise again, for his sacrifice shall be more sacred unto me than his increase, saith the Lord (D&C 117:13). Often times we look for results, but the Lord look on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). Every sacrifice we make is sacred and no effort is wasted. We serve a perfect God.I love you Momma! Have a great week :)

Thanksgiving Highlights!

Hey Momma!

Hey did you get Elder Holman's email? He is wondering why you didn't email him back :) Anyways this was a pretty solid week. Church yesterday was an amazing experience. Brother Pieper got released from the bishopric because he is moving to Tulsa. His wife told the story of the Lord bringing them to Oklahoma and now it was time to move to another place. Brother Taylor replaced him in the bishopric and he told how his family was led to come here. It is amazing to see how Heavenly Father directs our lives to bring certain people together for certain reasons. I loved the peace that was felt and our investigators seemed pretty happy to be there.

     So a highlight of the week was definitely playing football on Thursday morning. We played for a full two hours, and at the end the score was tied 98 to 98. It was kind of a bummer, but Elder Holman was on the other team. Well we ended up losing in like the 5th overtime, but it was a total blast. It was nice to run around for a while. Then we went to a few houses and ate Thanksgiving dinner. A lot of the ward here serves in the military, so that made it tough to get members out teaching with us, but we still had some great visits and life was real happy.     It has been amazing to see investigators come and join the community. We truly are a special people and it is so much fun to see people joining us and helping out in the church.     I don't know if you've seen the He is the Gift video, but if you haven't you should look it up on christmas.mormon.org. It is a great reminder about the importance of the season. We taught a combined 3rd hour yesterday about the gift of Christ and our bishop shared the video on facebook along with his testimony at the end of the meeting.

Well I didn't have a ton to report on this week, but life is good. I love you momma! HFF

-Elder Hoddy