Our Best Christmas Gift!

We had been looking forward to this ever since Mother's Day!  Best Christmas present EVER!

Week 67

A White Christmas

Merry Christmas from Poza Rica!!!!  It was only 95 degrees outside yesterday for christmas hahaha!  I love it.

So for Christmas we ended up baptizing!  It was actually a miracle!  We found this hermana the first day i showed up.  Her 3 older kids are members already of the church, and she wasnt able to get baptized before because she was living with someone, and he didnt want to get married, nor leave the house.  But when we found her, her husband thing had just left for good from the house!  So since we started teaching her she has just been golden, and she already knew everything.  But on saturday she ended up telling us that she wanted to wait until the 8th of january to get baptized, but we explained to her that we didnt want satan to win, so she got excited again.  Later that night we got a call from a member in the ward who went to visit her and she told him that she didnt want to get baptized again, so we just decided okay, we wont pressure her.  So we showed up to sacrament meeting and there she was sitting with her backpack full of extra clothes and towels, and she was ready to be baptized, and she just said "were going to beat satan right?" so we had a little mini heart attack fill up the baptismal font, and run to the house for baptismal clothing, and at the end of the day she was able to be baptized by her 16 year old son.  Really fun baptism, and a huge blessing.

Oh and I talked to my family, that was cool.  

 

Besides that one of my best friends in the mission just got sent to my zone ! so thats gonna be fun haha.  

 

Love you all!

 

 

Week 66

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Its kind of hard to remember that sunday is going to be christmas when its always hot outside, but were trying to get into the christmas spirit by serving and working as hard as we can, and of course baptizing!

This week was once again slammed, on monday we had to send some missionaries to xalapa at 4 in the morning, and babysit some other missionaries for a few hours, tuesday we were in the bus station from 5 am until about 3,  wednesday I got a random trip to xalapa and back for my visa, thursday we had to take care of the assistants, friday we had our zone christmas conference, and saturday we finally had a day to work hahahah!  But after so much stuff saturday we were kind of worn out.  But even though we had about 2 days of working hours, we  still ending up having better results than almost the whole zone!  We are trying to learn to get rid of excuses in our zone, excuses are just a lack of faith.

 

This week we were also able to baptize!  Argelia was able to get baptized, as well as a little girl named Allyson, but she counted for the ward because she is only 8 and her mother is member.  But it was a great baptism, and we had tons of support from our ward.  This family was inactive for about 15 years, and the missionaries before me found them, and started to reactivate them, and Argelia´s husband was able to recieve the priesthood and was able to baptize his wife.  The family has changed 100% since they got back to the church, and its a great blessing to be able to be a part of that change.
In this christmas week I just want to invite you all to learn what true christmas spirit is... Serving your fellow being!  For those who have yet to see this years christmas video from the church, go see it on Mormon.org!  Follow the ideas that come from each day in these last days before christmas.  Do everything you can to be able to serve someone else, Make Christmas great again.. 

Love you all and merry christmas!

 

Elder Hodson

 

 

Week 65

Consejo y TRABAJO

Well this week was a weird one.  On Monday we went to xalapa from here (about 6 hours), then had whats called consejo with our president and the assistants and all the other zone leaders, and we got to talk about the goals, achievements, and plans for the mission.  We talked about a talk that Elder Bednar gave in Conferenced called "ye knew me not" and its a great talk.  Talks about if we really know christ, or if we are just coming to know more about Christ.

Then on Wednesday we gave our zone class, and so about half of our working week was taken up in those things.  My companion told me that consejo makes it really hard to work, and I definitely saw that, but either way we just kept on working, and we had one of the worst weeks numbers wise, but For the sacrifice of those few days heavenly father made up for it, and we had a great day in church on sunday.  We have a few familes progressing, and a baptism set for next sunday, and the sunday after, and theres a little miracle in there for the week after.  Exciting stuff.  

 

Ive also learned that being a zone leader sometimes is just being "chief Morale Officer" as my dad would call it.  But its honestly really fun, you learn a ton when you have other missionaries to take care of.  I feel like this is how parents have to feel when their kids wont do the right thing.  Or how God feels when we dont keep his commandments.

 

Besides that all is good.  We played jeopardy as a zone in the morning, and we went to a teleton hospital, where they take care of kids that have physical and mental problems, and we were able to serve there and help them out.  I love service.  For those who havent seen it yet, go to Mormon.org, and watch the video, and check out the ideas to become more like christ.  It´s nice to have a daily plan for these days before christmas!

 

oh also i have the coolest grandma in the world.

 

Love you all!

Elder Hodson

 

The couch pic was a collection of things we found in our house, and an ugly sweater someone gave to me.

We also saw my first converts, and they are officially missionaries in the stake center, and they have nametags and everything.

 

 

Week 64

Poza York

Well this was my first week as zone leader here in poza rica, and dang the learning curve of being a missionary hits hard as a zone leader.  Its honestly been a huge testimony builder for me to see how much of a difference the little things, and obedience in the little things make a huge change and a huge difference in the work. Its just the question of how can we help the rest of our missionaries see that and comprehend that.

But Im loving it here in poza rica.  Its hot as all death again, but im across the street from my first area here, so i feel at home haha.  My companion is awesome as well, his name is Elder Dominguez, hes got a really cool story.  Hes fairly new in the mission as well, he only has 8 months, but he has been a great missionary.  His Family got baptized about a year ago, but he has the light of someone thats been a member his whole life.  Aparrently his mom a few years back met his now step dad on facebook.  His dad lived in utah, but was working in the airforce on a base here in mexico.  Somehow they ended up dating, and after a short while getting married, and his mom and his sister got baptized first.  He was rebellious, and didnt want to join in on the fun, so he didnt get baptized.  His family started to pray and fast for him, and prayed that he might be humbled, and he was humbled, and humbled very well according to him, and took the missionary lessons, and was baptized.  He had a full conversion, and after a year, and lots of preparation hes here in the mission!  Its fun being with him, and we have lots of work, but lots of desires for this zone, and we are going to have the best zone in the mission.

I got here and thanks to the work of other missionaries, we had two baptisms!  They had been in teaching for about 4 months, and are really good people.  But ill include the pictures in the end. 

Besides that all is well, i love the mission, and Im having tons of fun.

 

Love 

Elder Hodson

 

 

Facebook finds!!

I love to find random pics of my boy on the Mexico Xalapa Mission facebook page!  Cute missionary!

Week 63

Zone Leader !

So this week was a combination of crazy stuff!  We finally got this area working on its on, and we have a few families in teaching, and I already fell in love with this area, and i got a call last night from our assistants, and its something i knew was going to happen, but i got called to be zone leader in the zone where i started my mission!  Its the ward thats in the same building where i went to when i was just a little greenie haha.  But im nervous, but excited!  Im humbled to be a zone leader, but happy that the lord trusts me enough to serve in this assignment.  The exciting part is ill be able to see all my converts and my old couple!

Besides that i spent 2 days dying in home, then on thursday i felt 100 times better and we could work!  And we basically made up for all the work we lost in those days, and we worked our butts off! 

 

Im sad to be leaving my son, but he is more than ready to go out on his own haha, hes been amazing, and is a great missionary, so im stoked for him.  

 

Besides that the work goes on i guess haha, every area is awesome, and im excited to be able to keep working.

 

Love you all!

Elder Hodson