WEEK 22- Cleaning at the temple and a wonderful baptisim

 We get onto the email on Mondays in the Family History center. It gets pretty crazy in there!!

We got to clean the temple this week! We drove down to Kona and spent the morning there. We checked all of the shirts, pants, dresses, etc. for loose buttons or rips and then did some mending. We wiped down some walls and then our last job was to clean the chandelier in the Celestial room. It was HUGE and it took 4 or 5 of us about an hour to clean it - crystal by crystal…. and we wiped every single one. They lowered the chandelier down to our height so it wasn't too hard though. It just took a while. And the strands of crystals were so loosely hung on that sometimes as we would clean them they would fall off but We just hung them back up after. When we finished, we were waiting in another room and sister p went to fix her hair (it was in a loose bun) she took her bun out and a small strand of crystal fell to the floor! Luckily she found it while we were still there! Then while everyone else ate, sister p and I got to just sit quietly in the celestial room. It was so beautiful! Then the temple matron came in and turned on all of the lights!!!!! It was amazing!

        Then the temple president took us all into the maintenance room, then up a spiral metal staircase, then up another ladder, then into the attic, down a couple hallways where you have to duck under, and step over pipes and ventilation, then up a few more ladders and then into the top of the temple! It’s all hollow and echo-ey. You can look up and see the very top of the steeple! It was cool!

The next day was the mission tour, where elder Schweitzer of the 70 came to see our mission. Our zone did the musical number: a compilation of Onward Christian Soldiers and Put your Shoulder to the Wheel. Sis p was the pianist and I was the conductor! it was really fun!

       Also, this week, RB was baptized! He is so sweet! When sis p and her old companion met him a few weeks ago, he told them he was an atheist. His mom told the sisters that she wanted him to believe in God. So they started meeting with him, then I came in and met with him also , and he has come to know for himself that he has a loving Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. We had interviews with president earlier in the day before the baptism, so president, his wife and the assistants all stayed for the baptism! It was neat to have them there! Rb was pretty nervous before but afterwards he said that he felt so calm. 

Yesterday, President and his wife came to speak at a fireside in our chapel. Before the fireside, one of our members had president, his wife and us over for dinner. We met president at the church and then he and his wife drove us to the dinner! it was fun to get to spend some time with them!

TO answer the questions:

Right now I am studying in the book of Mormon in 1st Nephi and in the Old Testament in Genesis. I just started the book of Mormon over again and I started reading genesis recently. I am also studying Preach my Gospel and Our search for Happiness. I’m learning a lot about Charity, and about doing the things that Heavenly Father has asked us to do. Obedience can sometimes seem like a sacrifice, but we know that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven" so we end up being so blessed for our obedience that it isn’t really a sacrifice after all.

The most fun thing I have done to let people know that I am out here and love the gospel is.......... I don't know...... probably the craziest thing for me is just tracting. We knock on random people's doors and ask to pray with them. It is kinda crazy because you never know who'll be behind the door! one of the most fun things that we do is talk to people on our p-day. When we are at the park and all playing ultimate Frisbee or something fun, sometimes we will be able to talk to other people at the park. They often ask what group we are and we get to share a little about who we are and what we do.

I love you all,

Sister Rachel Hodgson

WEEK 21- On the BIG ISLAND

Aloha from the BIG ISLAND!  So last week, basically started out with a lot of packing and goodbyes. I got 3 hours of sleep Tuesday night, then morning came and I got dropped off at the airport. We were running a bit behind because neither of us heard the alarms go off, so when I got to the airport I was a bit flustered. I went to check in my bags and they were both overweight! I was getting a little stressed. I had to decide to either throw things away or pay the fee for overweight bags. Apparently I looked stressed and confused enough, because one of the airport workers came over and asked if he could help with anything. I explained that my bags were overweight and asked what the fee was for that. He didn't answer. He picked up my bag and placed it on the scale again, but lifted it up just a little bit from the handle while it was weighed. Because he was still holding it, it rang in as not overweight. He looked at me and said "I don't know what you're talking about. This bag is fine." He then proceeded to "weigh" the other bag. "This one seems to be fine too." he said with a smile. I thanked him profusely and he got all of my luggage tagged and ready to check. Then I went through security and got to my gate. I flew with a few other missionaries who are in my new zone. One is my new district leader and one is my new zone leader. When the plane landed the airport workers pushed a little ramp up to the plane and we all filed off. It was an outdoor airport!!!!! It was super cute! And so tiny! Then we got our baggage and waited for our companions to come pick us up. My new companion is sister Pantalakis! She was one of my roommates in the MTC! We get along super well! Our new pad is actually a small house on the church property! it is so cute!!! 

 We just walk across the parking lot to go to church!

We have been keeping pretty busy here! it is a really great area! There is a lot of driving to do on this island. In my old area, you could cross the whole zone in 30 minutes, but here, you can cross about half of the zone in an hour and 30 minutes. It is so much driving!!!! There are horses and goats and chickens everywhere!!!

I am learning to play rugby- because I guess that's our zone sport for this transfer. it is super fun! I also found a centipede in our house and killed it! crazy!!! I cannot pronounce all of these Hawaiian names! coming from a military ward to a local ward has been a big change but I love it. We help teach mission prep here. I just love big island. oh, and it's super cold here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wear my sweater all the time and it rains a bunch too! I LOVE IT!

Okay, Question time: What is something I wish I knew before my mission?

well, missionaries are allowed to be silly! that's one thing. Also, they don't have to get everything right on the first try- they're human:) We should always be improving, but we shouldn't beat ourselves up for not getting it all right. One time, I went to say hi to a young couple at church. We always greet every guy with a handshake, but we can hug girls or greet them in any way. As I came up to them I thought in my head "I'll shake his hand and pat her on the shoulder"....naturally I shook HER hand and patted HIM on the shoulder. haha I just smiled, said Hi and walked away. I just had to laugh at myself.

Also bring scissors! Always bring scissors. We use them for everything out here! that, and crazy glue... don't forget crazy glue.

What is one great lesson that I have learned out here on my mission?

 PRAY. That's it. Just always pray. No matter what you are going through, or how sad you are, or how sick or tired or depressed you become: no matter how inadequate or lonely you feel, no matter how large the challenge that you face- PRAY. Heavenly Father wants to hear from you. He wants to help you. If we turn to Him in prayer, and trust in the Savior, we will be okay. Jesus knows exactly how we feel in any given situation. He knows perfectly how to help us, and He will help us if we let him. Trust Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They are preparing miracles for us everyday.

Love, Sister Hodgson

WEEK 20- transfers

Transfer voicemail- Sunday night, 9:37pm:

"Those lucky people who are leaving this zone- that would be Elder G, Elder K, Sister Hodgson!!!!!!!!!!!! Elder... etc etc etc................"

"Those who are leaving off this island- on a jet plane will be Elder G, Elder K and Sister Hodgson!"

Woooohooo!! I'm going off island! And I don't even know where I'm going! I'll go to the airport early Wednesday morning and get my ticket. That's when I'll know which island I'm heading to. The other islands that sisters are currently serving on are Hawaii, Kauai and Maui. People have been guessing that I'll go to big island, but we'll just have to see!

We had a few back to back appointments this week. At one, Sister Mck spoke a lot. I didn't say very much, and that was totally okay because the spirit wasn't giving me very much to say. I knew that the lady needed to hear specific things from sis Mck, and that was totally fine with me. It's not about who is speaking, as much as it is about who is hearing. The sweet lady who was hearing the message was most important at that moment, and she needed to hear things in the way that sis Mck can share them: sweet and peaceful. The next appointment that we went to was just the opposite. I spoke more than sis Mck. The spirit was prompting me to share certain stories or say things, and she said afterwords  that she just wasn't feeling like she needed to say that much. The man that we were teaching responded well to the way that I was sharing things: funny and comfortable. It was neat to see how Heavenly Father knows the skills and abilities that we all have and knows how to best use them to bless and help others. I could not have helped the lady in the way that sis Mck did and she feels as though she could not get through to the guy in the 2nd lesson as well. Heavenly Father knows how to take us and make us instruments in His hands. It is also neat to be able to feel who He wants to be speaking, because your mind will just be blank if He doesn't want you to share at that time. But if He wants you to speak He will fill your mind with everything that you need to say.

We are teaching a new lady named Vanessa. She is a really sweet girl. As we spoke in our appointment, we could feel how much Heavenly Father loves her. it was really neat! The whole room was filled with this feeling that we couldn't describe in any other way except "He loves you". It was just love. That is what the gospel is all about.

That is what they spoke all about in general conference. If we love God, we will be obedient to His commandments. If we love God, then we will love all of His children and we will want to share this message of love with them. And that doesn't mean that everybody has to go out and be full time missionaries. That means that the way we live our lives should help others to see and feel of Heavenly Father's love. Whether through service, or kindness, or your example, you are spreading the message of the gospel- the message of Heavenly Father's love.

I can testify that He loves all of us. He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us. And His son loves us so much that He was willing, not only to die for us, but to rise again and live for us. We can show our love as we live for them.

-Love, Sister Hodgson

Week -19 sick days and wonderful blessings

First the answer to mom’s question of the week;  The first sound I hear when I wake up is the alarm, and I jump out of bed to go turn it off! Then I can hear the sound of our fan...its super noisy! But we're used to it now so I hardly even realize. Then, let's be honest, I usually I hear an ambulance or police siren......it's the ghetto.             

Okay so this was one of the toughest weeks of my life! I'm doing so much better now, but it was just a hard week- Emotionally more than anything, but in addition to that, I got sick this week!

I love missionary work! I love working hard! But this week my comp and I spent a few days home. At first when she suggested we stay home and recover a bit I was totally against it. But after a few appointments I realized that she was right and I needed to take a break. I was exhausted! She gave me my medicine then put me back to bed! I slept so much that day!!!!! Then we slowly eased back into the work as I got better and we are back out on regular schedule now.

This goes to mom’s other question; how have I seen the Lord's hand in this week? In the priesthood blessing I got! It is amazing to see the immediate relief when we get a blessing. I know that the Lord works through normal people to bless all of His children, and It is especially neat to see a young elder bless you with the things that Heavenly Father would tell you if He was here. and If you don't feel like you need a blessing, prayer is a great help too!!!!!

My ward mission leader and his lovely wife are fantastic!  Brother and sister Winward! They tell us that we are always welcome in their home and they mean it!!!!!!! They make everything in life fun and they really support us in the work. They check in on us every day and make sure we are doing well!  hes a military medic.  In this picture  hes breaking in his new boots.

We got to go on an amazing hike this week! We hiked through a muddy forest and got to a part where you have to climb up a bunch of rocks, and then it gets to the waterfall!! It was so tall!!! And the best part was that it started raining while we were hiking!! haha yay more mud:) it was really fun!

We were visiting people in a nice apartment complex that we go to a lot, and I remembered one of the girls that we had met there a long time ago. We had started teaching her a while ago but because she was a minor we would need to get parental permission before continuing on, and we hadn't asked her parents yet. So we finally decided to go and visit her. We asked her to introduce us to her family and she did. We got to pray with her family and find out some of the struggles that they are going through right now. They commented on how they really needed us to come that night. It was so neat that Heavenly Father knew that they needed a visit that night, and He let us know. The dad felt the spirit very strongly during our meeting and he wanted us to teach both of his children (the girl we had taught before and her brother).

The spirit will always guide us to those who need us if we are prepared and if we listen!

Love you all!

-Sister Hodgson