WEEK 9 - Sunburns and a fair

Every week I feel like there is so much to write! But it never seems to all get in there right…

Monday- we had pday and played frisbee. Also, we were running low on food so we decided that we wouldn't buy water this week so we could spend that money on food. we would just fill our bottles up at the ward mission leaders house.

Tuesday- We went to fill up our water bottles and the ward mission leader was just heading out the door to go shopping with his brother and sister-in-law who are staying with them. They let us fill up our bottles then offered to buy us a case of water bottles. We went to pick up the water bottles after a lesson and they had also bought us groceries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the sweetest thing! they bought us snacks, frozen veggies, fruit, spinach, potatoes, cheese, tons of stuff!! We are so grateful for them! I also heard about sister Julie Jones' grocery miracle. people are really taking care of us. it is just so sweet!

ON tuesday we also taught a lesson to J. The last lesson that we had with her didn't go very well. nothing awful happened but the spirit just wasn't there. This time around, we were scared. we knew that it would be important to help her feel the spirit, and we knew that we couldn't teach this lesson without it. We had to pray hard.  I was more afraid than sister M, so we decided that sister M would invite her . As we were going through the lesson we felt very guided and the spirit was able to be there. as it came time to invite J to be baptized, words came into my head and i felt that those words were the exact way that she needed to be asked. I felt that I had so say it, but sister M was already starting down the road to the invitation. She finished her sentence then looked over at me, then I asked Jamie about her thoughts on baptism. After the lesson, sister M and i were talking. she was like "that was so cool! I just felt like you needed to ask her." and I was like "me too!" It wasn't important to sis m or me who asked  J but it was really neat to feel how the spirit can work to get both sis m and me on the same page so that we can teach in harmony. It was neat to feel guided to do something differently than we had planned, and it was neat that we both felt the same way. Lessons go so much better when we let the spirit lead. When we are trying to do exactly what we want, we are WAY less successful!

Wednesday: some of the elders needed to borrow our car for the transfer meeting so we had a walking day!!!!!!!!!! we were running behind schedule in the morning and we finally got out the door and started walking. I was like "oh no we forgot sunscreen.....never mind were late" .....................bad idea........ALWAYS. WEAR. SUNSCREEN. end of discussion. we got SUPER burnt! our faces and arms got it a little bit but the back of my neck and shoulders got fried! we had a really great time walking though! it was fun to experience what that would be like. and it made us way more grateful for our car!

Thursday: we had week plan, so all morning we lathered aloe and moisturizer on while we planned. That evening we got two more mini missionaries, which turned out to be super great girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they were so much fun to spend the weekend with!  ( Mom loves how they have "Mini Missionaries" that are bigger than the two "real" missionaries  :)

Friday: we had zone conference. We got a new set of elders in our zone because the M1 ward is very busy  and it is hard for the Zone leaders to handle it all! so now, with all these elders in the zone without cars, our zone has been authorized for sisters to drive elders. WEIRD! so right now we are at the library with the salt lake elders.... . Friday we also taught a lesson to the D family. The dad's  kids are staying with the dad and his new wife . The 8 yr old decided that he wanted to be baptized so we have been teaching the lessons to him. On Friday, we found out that his sister (13 yrs old) has read the book of Mormon, prayed and felt the Holy Ghost. She is going to be baptized with her brother! We are super excited for them both! And the oldest brother (14 yrs old), has started reading the book of Mormon and we are so happy for him too

Saturday: our stake had a giant fair all day at the stake center! there were 1200+ people there! there were food booths, game booths, a stage with singing, dancing, etc. a fire truck haha it was crazy!

Sunday: I spoke in church! about missionary work:) and we had a fireside.

Today: my sunburn is peeling like crazy! I feel like a zombie.

Anyway, I am LOVING it here! I know that this is where I need to be!

lots of love,

Sister Hodgson

p.s. I have started referring to myself as sister hodgson when I say things in third person....weird! sometimes I feel like my name doesn't exists anymore.

Week 8- exchanges, fruit and veggies and transfers

You may note that Rachel Hodgson has a brace on her arm.  Her father asked about it in one of the "chat" emails and she said she would share that in the family email....and we got  NOTHING...soooo

This week we went on exchanges! Sister M went to another area with one sister and the “sister training leader”  came to our area. It was neat to see how other sisters do things. We learn a lot from exchanges. Also that night we were asked to sing at the cottage meeting- (a meeting at the president's house where new converts share their conversion stories and we invite our investigators to hear). Sister M the Samoan sisters and myself sang acapella"I need Thee every hour". It was really neat to be able to sing with such amazing sisters! But it was also kinda scary because president's wife used to sing in the Mormon Tabernacle choir! Haha

So I got a few questions to answer this week:

What is a normal day like? I'd say that we NEVER have a normal day haha but a rough outline of the schedule is: wake up at 6:30, exercise, shower, eat, personal study, companion study, 12 weeks training (which is the in field training that we do for the first 12 weeks because the mtc time was shortened) then work for a few hours (usually visiting less actives , service or tracting), lunch break, back out to visits, service opportunities, tracting and lessons, dinner break, back out to visits and lessons, home to update the area book, plan for the next day then go to sleep:)

What's my companion like: A lot like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just where I am a bit more of a guilty conscience she is a little more care free. She had a VERY hard childhood and teenagehood, so that has shaped her into a bit of a tougher shell than me. We share EVERYTHING with each other! food, clothing (we're even the same jean size and shoe size), thoughts. It is nice to be able to be so open. We could probably read our journal entries and emails out loud to each other and not learn anything new haha:) she is a songwriter. like, going to be famous, wrote her first song at age 3 type songwriter. we take care of each other and understand each other. She is so wonderful! She actually got a blessing this week and in the blessing they said that she and I have similar strengths. even in a blessing we are compared as similar:)

What do we eat? Spinach eggs, spinach smoothies, spinach quesadillas, beans and rice, apples, carrots, we went through a small cereal phase because I just wanted milk.....weird right?...... um sometimes ramen with cheese and vegetables......... we start out the week pretty healthy, but by Saturday (especially with feeding 2 mini missionaries as well) we get down to like a few carrots and cheese puffs. we don’t even like cheese puffs. I’m not even sure that they are actually a food...... but some members gave them to us and we saved them because we knew that we'd run out of food by the end of the week. Monday is like Christmas because we get to buy more food. I have never appreciated fruit and vegetables so much in my life. I don’t think I ve ever appreciated the value of a dollar either.....or just food in general

Details of my apt: cockroaches, one bedroom, new appliances and counter tops, good storage space, the closet doors are GIANT mirrors, laundry costs like 70,000 quarters a load, and the stairs to our apt give us a good workout!

what ever happened to the investigator who was open to the gospel but living with her boy friend? she moved....and she wasnt ready to make those changes in her life yet.....super sad but hopefully the new missionaries will know how to help her.

okay, transfers happen this week! we got "the voice mail" last night. The zone leaders leave a voice mail Sunday night announcing who needs to pack their bags- Its like the Hunger games reaping! Listening as they call names one by one: "the missionaries who need to pack their bags are : elder Deane, elder Armstrong, elder Ukenio, elder Martino, Sister.......... Totally suspenseful moment .....Fisi' ahi. We are staying in Hon- West!!!!!!!!!!!! Sister M  and I were so excited! SO another 6 weeks together here:)

well Im out of time. The church is true! Heavenly Father knows us each personally and He is there to help us. ALl we need to do is ask.

Much love, and Aloha from Sister Hodgson

WEEK 7- NEW MISSION PRESIDENT AND LOST SHOES

This week was one of the funnest (most fun) weeks ever! Monday was p-day, Tuesday we met our new mission president and his wife, Wednesday we had zone meeting, Thursday was the 4th of July, Friday and Saturday we had 2 mini missionaries and Sunday we had cake waffles at our bishop’s house. (cake waffles are amazing....just cake batter cooked like a waffle, but I’m pretty sure it tastes better that way:)

Okay so President Warner and his wife are super nice! I think that I'm going to like them a lot. They are funny and organized and super ready to do whatever they need to do. Oh, and did you hear that there are some new missionary rules? no backbacks. period. all the elders need to get satchels:) also, they can wear light colored suits (like grey and tan------not like that will matter for hawaii because no one here wears suits anyway).

Our mini missionaries were super sweet and hardworking! We loved having them!

oh, also, at church this week, some lady bore her testimony then had a seizure and passed out. She's all good now, but it sure made for an eventful Sacrament meeting.

O WOW!!!!!!! We just now got a phone call from a recent convert in our ward. Her husband's kids are living with them for the summer. She said "Hi I was just calling because the 8 year old who is staying with us wants to be baptized before he goes".......okay we can probably work with that!

We have a lot new investigators.....and a lot of investigators with unique names. A few of the names are: MandiAnne, Krisha, Augustine, Jerrell, Corbin, Jeanine, Aurthor, Beatrice, Trinity, Rudy, Buddy, Byron, Lalo, and Princess! Haha, we feel like when we talk about our investigators, people will think that we're just making things up!

The fourth of July was awesome!!! We stopped proselyting at 6:00 and just got to hang out with our zone! We did some fireworks then went on a hike. It was super steep up the side of a heavily forested mountain, and it was dark out! But the view from the top was amazing!! one of our poor zone leaders got stung by a bee though. But he's okay now!

While we were on the hike, one of the zone leaders lost his shoe and it rolled down the mountain a bit into the dark. We all started looking but weren't having much luck. After a prayer, it was found almost instantly. A few minutes later, I lost my shoe. But again, a prayer was said and we found it right away. I was thinking about how dumb that was to lose 2 shoes in like 2 minutes and ask for help to find them, but Heavenly Father really cares about us individually, and He cares about our specific problems. He knew exactly where we were and exactly where the shoes were. He also knew how important it was to us to find them. I am so grateful that He loves us so much and answers all of our prayers. There is no request too small or too silly for Him. He is watching over us and wants to help us. All we have to do is ask!

Love you all!

-Sister Hodgson

week 6- The word of Wisdom and Mangos!

We had some really neat lessons this week! Our investigator R. has been trying to keep the word of wisdom. We found out at our last lesson that he has given up alcohol and coffee! He said that he has so much more energy and isn't tired at all! Heavenly Father is really blessing him for his sacrifice and efforts. We also had a lesson with our new investigator B. She is looking for a church that feels like "home" to her. We talked about the restoration and the book of Mormon. She asked if we could read some together. She read through the first chapter right then and really liked it! She had a great understanding of the scriptures and we are so excited for her to keep learning more.

We get like 10 zillion mangos every week here...... Our whole apt. smells like mangos. Everyone gives the sisters mangos.......... and chicken. The great part is that my companion is intolerant to meat and It makes her throw up. Poor thing can hardly have a local dinner and keep it down. She does great at eating while we are there but it just makes her very sick when we get home. It has actually been pretty surprising that we both eat whatever is given to us mostly. I was afraid before I came here that I wouldn't be able to eat any of the local food. I really feel that we are being blessed to be able to eat whatever we need to to be polite. It's nothing awful like my dad had ( monkey brains) or my mom ( chuno= molded potatoes)  but just some strangely spiced things or undercooked things that are different to me or large quantities.

We went on a hike last p-day down this steep mud slope. You had to hold on to ropes all the way down. On the way back up, it started raining pretty hard. By the end we were all muddy and really wet, but it was so much fun!

Sister Mottl and I listen to one song on our CD over and over again. It is an old efy song and it talks about the pioneers in the martin handcart company. The first few verses are from the perspective of those pioneers as they traveled. It talks about how hard it was and the joy that they felt when the relief party came from Salt Lake. The last verse talks about how people are still lost in our world and that we need to "heed a prophet's call once more: Go bring them in from the plains" We Love this song because it reminds us that there are people out there who need the gospel, who want the gospel  in their lives. Maybe they just don't know it yet. We need to be the ones to go out and find them. I always think to myself that if I didn't have the gospel, I would want someone to find me.

Even when the work is hard, it is so important to keep searching because They need to know that they have a loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ made it possible for us to return to live with Heavenly Father forever. I love this gospel so much, and I love being a missionary. I am so glad to be here! I miss you all a bunch!

Lots of Love

-Sister Hodgson

Week 5- Crazy days

This week has been CRAZY!! But such an adventure! 

So, Monday the big news was my trainer's boyfriend eloped... so that wasn't super fun for her to find out. Poor girl. but she's been handling it well. Then Tuesday I played piano at our district meeting..... I just don't understand! haha:) Then Wednesday is where the week starts to get going. We went to Pearl Harbor and got to strip the paint off of some tables and repaint them battleship grey. It was super fun to get some sunshine, some service and get to see Pearl Harbor! I still have paint on my fingers....It doesn't come off easily:) Then we got a tour of the USS Missouri ( I think). It was amazing! Then Thursday, my trainer woke up super dizzy. I had to call the mission office and get permission to drive because it wasn't safe for her to do it anymore. I was super scared! I haven't driven in a while- I've never driven in Hawaii and I hadn't driven this car before. But so far we've been okay (knock on wood!) That night we also got a mini missionary! So Friday we had our mini missionary, a very sick trainer and myself. My trainer had to stay in bed most of the day, so I had to take over with the mini missionary. When it came time to go tracting, we dropped my trainer off at a ward member's house to rest, then the mini and I went out by ourselves! Then I got a call from the mission office. The secretary asked for sister Hodgson. I told her that was me. She said that the mission president wanted to speak with me and I needed to come to the mission office as soon as possible. At first I was confused. I didn't know why president would need to speak with me so urgently. And not me and my companion- just me. I was going through the possibilities in my head: It couldn't be a calling, I've only been here for a few weeks. It wouldn't be something trivial, or else he could just call me. Of course I assumed the worst. The President has to inform missionaries about tragedies back home. I started crying (our poor mini missionary didn't know what to do) Then we drove to the office- It was just a check in interview with all of the new missionaries!!!!!! I was so relieved!!! Anyway, It was just scary. So my trainer got so sick that night and threw up so the zone leaders came and gave her a blessing (Once again, our poor mini missionary. What an exciting week for her:). We did, eventually, take her tracting. We dropped my trainer off at a ward member's house, then the mini and I went out tracting. It was kinda scary for me to be "training" her because I feel SO inexperienced
myself! but she was a very fast learner and did great!

Well, Sister M (My trainer) is still sick, but we're hoping that she will feel better soon. Maybe we'll have a more "normal" week next week....but probablly not;) But that is what keeps it interesting! Everyday is such an adventure! I love it here! This week helped me to remember that if we stay close to the Lord, any crazy things that happen are easier to manage. The Lord has invited us to come unto Him because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He can, and will, help us through the crazy days of our lives.

Love,

Sister Hodgson