2-28-11 Some disappointments

HELLO FAMILY. 

SO I'M DOING MAIS OU MENOS HERE. THE COMPANIONSHIP IS GOING WELL WITH ELDER HALVORSEN. I'M KINDA BUMMED WITH THE MY MISSION IN GENERAL RIGHT NOW JUST BECAUSE I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M VERY SUCCESSFUL. AND YES I KNOW THAT SUCCESS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH NUMBERS (I AM AWARE OF PMG´S DESCRIPTION OF SUCCESS). BUT LIFE CONTINUES...

THE LAST WEEK WAS DECENT. WE HAVE SOME GOOD PEOPLE TO TEACH, AND SOME PEOPLE THAT REALLY DISAPPOINT US. EVERY WEEK IS SUCH A LET DOWN AT CHURCH, I DON'T KNOW WHY I AM STILL FOOLED BY SO MANY PEOPLE EVERY WEEK. BUT YEAH WE HAD A FEW INVESTIGATORS GO, DEBORA DIDN'T BUT WE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HER BAPTISM THIS WEEK. SHE IS VERY SINCERE AND READY TO BE BAPTIZED... WE STARTED TEACHING A FAMILY TOO, FAM OF MARLI. SHE WENT TO CHURCH WITH HER NIECE, AND THEY LOVED IT. THEY ARE A REALLY GOOD FAMILY FROM A DIFFERENT CHURCH BUT THEY ARE DISAPPOINTED AT THEIR CHURCH. SHE IS ALSO THE SISTER OF AN ACTIVE MEMBER IN THE WARD, SO THAT HELPS.

LOVE YOU GUYS TOO. HAVE A GOOD WEEK AND REMEMBER THAT I LIKE YOU GUYS, ALRIGHT?

2-21-11 Éllen's baptism {PHOTO}/ Elder Halvorsen's a great guy!

[Lori wrote: So how are you doing??    I hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits, and with the Spirit.]

Hello family, yes I am in good health and somewhat good spirit with the Spirit, I hope. This week was another load of disappointments and good stuff mixed.

 We were able to have the baptism of Éllen, a funny little 9 year old girl. She has been going to church for a long time with her neighbor, and we talked with her, arranged the baptism, reviewed all the things she needs to know before baptism throughout the week, and had a really good baptism on Saturday night (although it started about an hour late! that's the way of things here) But it was really cool-- the Spirit was there and many of Éllen's nonmember family members were there (mom, aunts,and gramma). We have taught her mom too (she only lives with her mom) but she has no desire now. At least she let Éllen choose for herself and Éllen has another woman to bring her to church every week. But anyways it was cool after the baptism we ate brownies I had made and a chocolate brigadeiro cake that Claudia (Éllen's neighbor) made. Everyone liked the brownies and wants the recipe. It was a recipe from Elder Wells, super easy. Anyways she got confirmed at church on Sunday, and besides that, church was just like last week. just One man went, Claudio, but he doesn't understand our message. We have explained it as clearly as can be but he still believes our message, and every other religion, is true. And everyone else didn't go. It's really disappointing, but like you will say later in this email getting angry about it doesn't do any good. But we are allowed to be disappointed/devastated, Jeffrey R Holland said so.

But anyways I am happier now because I really like my comp. Elder Halvorsen is a really cool guy and he is a very good person. He has only 2 months left on the mission, and but still wants to help people a lot. He has a girlfriend waiting for him, but I think it helps his mission because he always stays happy no matter what happens on the mission, thinking "oh well in 2 months I'll be home with Marie and my family so whatever". But we get along well and we are always laughing so it is good. We are co-seniors, and so it is like it should be, we work as equals, and it works because usually he likes to leave the house and teach a lot and stuff.

So yeah many things during the week were disappointing, but we had  lot of comic relief! like that picture I sent of Éllen, for example haha. [we weren't able to open the picture, unfortunately]

 YEAH I LOVE SOME PEOPLE HERE, BUT I'LL ADMIT IT IS HARD TO LOVE SOME ASPECTS OF THE CULTURE HERE. WELL SOME ASPECTS SHOULDN'T BE LOVED I SUPPOSE.

WELL AT LEAST I CAN ALWAYS KNOW THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS, I'M DOING WHAT I FEEL IS RIGHT IN THE WAY THAT I FEEL IS RIGHT, AND IT IS THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE HERE MISUSING THEIR AGENCY THAT IS THE LIMITING FACTOR. BUT YEAH THERE ARE MANY GREAT PEOPLE HERE IN THIS CITY AND I HAVE FAITH THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO FIND SOME OF THEM. SO KEEP UP THE PRAYERS AND STUFF, HAVE A GOOD WEEK AND KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU GUYS!

ELDER HOOKE

2-14-11 Happy Valentine's Day! Still in Ponte--New Comp Elder Halvorsen

2-14-11

 

YES TODAY WAS TRANSFERS. ELDER NAGASE WAS TRANSFERRED TO GARANHUNS (A DIFFERENT WARD THERE [than Jon served in before]) AND I STAYED IN PONTE. I WAS EXPECTING TO LEAVE, I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT NOW I'M HERE AND I GOT A NEW COMP, ELDER HALVORSEN. HE'S FROM MURRAY UTAH. WE ARE STILL IN RECIFE FROM THE TRANSFER MEETING BUT WHEN WE FINISH HERE WE'LL RETURN TO PONTE. THE AREA
 <- Recife
IS DOING ALRIGHT. IT IS FRUSTRATING, YESTERDAY ELDER NAGASE AND I WERE REALLY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT EVERY SUNDAY SO MANY PEOPLE TELL US THEY WILL GO TO CHURCH AND WHEN SUNDAY COMES AROUND, WE CAN EVEN GO TO THEIR HOUSES AND THERE IS STILL AN EXCUSE.

BUT ANYWAYS WE HAVE AN 8 YEAR OLD GIRL HÉLEN TO BAPTIZE THIS WEEK. SHE ALWAYS GOES TO CHURCH WITH HER AUNT, AND I WAS TALKING TO HER AT CHURCH AND FOUND OUT THAT SHE IS NOT BAPTIZED AND WANTS TO BE. HER PARENTS ARE NOT MEMBERS, BUT THEY SUPPORT HER BEING BAPTIZED, WE'LL TRY TEACHING THEM. BUT YEAH SHE WILL BE BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY. SHE IS MARINALDO'S NIECE. MARINALDO WENT TO CHURCH TOO (LIKE ALWAYS) BUT STILL NOT REALLY ANY PROGRESS. 

WE ARE TEACHING AN 18 YEAR OLD GUY, VALDESIO, WHO IS VERY HUMBLE AND VERY RECEPTIVE TO THE MESSAGE, AND ALREADY WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED. BUT WE WENT BY HIS HOUSE SUNDAY MORNING  AND HE WAS NOT HOME. AND WE ARE STILL TRYING TO TEACH DEBORA, WE FOUND OUT THAT SHE TOLD HER FRIEND, A LESS ACTIVE GIRL THAT WE ARE HELPING REACTIVATE, THAT SHE REALLY WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED, BUT THAT HER BOYFRIEND DOESN'T WANT HER TO...

IF YOU PRAY FOR ONE THING IN THIS AREA, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO ASK GOD TO HELP OUR INVESTIGATORS OVERCOME SIMPLE LITTLE OBSTACLES THAT ARE KEEPING THEM FROM MAKING THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION YET IN THEIR LIVES.

[Jon used to play the French horn, and I mentioned it in my letter] NOBODY HERE KNOWS THE NAME OF THE FRENCH HORN. IVE ASKED A LOT OF PEOPLE AND DESCRIBED IT AND ITS ALWAYS "OH YEAH IVE SEEN THAT BUT DON'T KNOW WHAT ITS CALLED." YEAH IT IS NICE TO HAVE A GUITAR, AND APPARENTLY MY NEW COMP HAS ONE TOO, SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE A JAM SESSION TODAY.

NEXT WEEK I WILL GO [to the Recife temple]

LOVE YOU GUYS TOO AND THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS, LETTERS, AND STUFF. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO THE FAM AS WELL!HAVE A GREAT WEEK

LOVE

ELDER HOOKE

2-7-11 Testimonies, FHE's, & Talks... (Ponte)

2-7-11

 

This week went well. We are having trouble getting our investigators to church. Just on Saturday we talked to 3 different people who told us that after praying about our message they felt strongly that it is true. All 3 of them said that they would prepare to be baptized and go to church yesterday... but none of those 3 even went! It is frustrating at times. Débora had to work yesterday, so she also was not at church (but another investigator named Débora was), and she also was not baptized yet. I am almost 100% sure she will be baptized, its just a question of when.

We had a good testimony meeting here, and Edna bore her testimony too. She talked about how thankful she is for Elder Nagase and I for helping her out and it really made me feel the joy of being a missionary and helping others. It is a different kind of joy than you can get from helping yourself, and it is more pure. It was nice.

We had a lesson last night with this man, Marinaldo, that reminded me of being in Alabama. He is very familiar with the church (his wife is a strong convert of 7 years and he goes almost every week), and he wants everything to make sense logically. We talked for quite awhile about faith and testimony, and I told him how until today there are many things in the church that I don't understand, and that without a testimony from the Holy Ghost, it would be easy for me too to use some facts as "proofs" that the church is flawed. But, I told him that without understanding everything, I do have a testimony that it is true because of the way I feel. And that I cannot deny. It was a really good lesson and he sincerely said that if he receives an answer to prayer that he can recognize he won't worry about the things that he doesn't understand. He wants to believe, wants to be baptized, but only when he is convinced by more than just missionaries that it is true. So pray for him that he can receive an answer. He will be a bishop one day if he gains a testimony, for sure.

The companionship is going well, I wrote to Lib about our many prayers and stuff. (See Jon's letter to Libby at the end of this blog.) Elder Nagase  is willing to work.

I gave a talk in front of half the mission at our zone conference on Thursday. I talked about the importance of not just looking for easy baptisms, but also working with people to overcome problems to become prepared for baptism. It was all about the Holy Ghost in the work and being worthy to have his company.

Well I hope all is well in Ventura, 

Love

Elder Hooke   {Letter to Libby follows}

Brasil is good. yeah me and my comp pray together twice in every lesson, every morning sometimes twice, every other time we leave the house, and twice every night. And it still feels like we need to pray more. We usually don’t straight up read scriptures together, but we talk about them and how we can help our investigators, and stuff for comp study. And yeah almost every single Monday we get to go to family night with some members. I think every Monday in this area we have had one. Until today. We have 2 lessons instead marked for tonight. But yeah they are good because there are always investigators there for the message, and after, we play some sort of game (just like American Mormons) and eat cake with soda (just like American Mormons). Just that the soda is always Guarana or Fanta.

[Libby told him she was speaking in church next week on education and asked him to share any advice she could use in her talk...] Education. Tell people that over there in them United States that they are very blessed to have education very easily accessible. there are lots of kids here that would like a better, or more challenging education that don’t have a way to get it. But yeah being educated is important. There’s that one scripture in D&C [130:20-21] about whatever manner of intelligence we get in this life we take with us to the next.

wellp, love

Elder Hooke