Week 60- always get a day pass and I need new shoes

Rachel is so “immersed “ in Hawaii and trying hard to keep the “time on the computer” rules….so I have begun to ask a few questions…

                                           

A few mommy questions: ( skip if you want)

 Describe  your  Area-

our area is one 2 parts military, two parts very low income housing, one part nice appartments (thats where we live) and one part local kine Hawaiian roots people. mostly small houses in the low income area....like really small. it's definitely been eye opening. lots of Filipino and chukeese and Pompeian live in the low income housing. there are not too many members in the area so we did a lot of tracting. we've pretty much tracted the whole area that we can tract.  Most people are very nice to us.

More companion info besides awesome and really sweet??/

she came out a year ago, and shes due to go back to the vc in two weeks but who knows. some vc sisters say we're nice, some say scary. depends on your experiences. some full field sisters say the vc sisters dont have to work as hard. but i love both kinds of sisters. language is great! she learns quickly. and she is teaching me some korean:)

what are you studying in your scriptures?

just about to start the doctrine and covenants.....gulp....you know what that means….. but im reading nt and bom right now. love the wars in alma, just started helaman. and im in john in the nt

what do your Pdays look like?

email as fast as i can, shop clean house, write letters. our activity week this transfer is next week!! woo hoo!

when you drive in the car do you sing?

all the time!! mo tab ye elders of isreal:) we changed the second verse from "the harvest is great and the laborers are few" to "the elders are great and the sisters are few" haha

 Aloha!

 tuesday night was exciting! we went to go and get our day pass and get on base, but i missed the turn so we pulled in at the next gate (a gate that cant give day passes) and we asked if we could just make a u turn. the guy was like "wait I know you. you're fine, just go in" .....no day pass....no ids....nothing........and he just let us on base! crazy! so we kind of felt like vips but we kinda felt bad. so afterwards we drove over to the other gate to head so so we could get our passes on the way out and come in and out all day…. so we were about to leave base and there was a huge line of cars to get off base. we were like "what's going on?" then we saw guards checking cars and I was like "oh no!!! we don't have a day pass and they are inspecting everyone's cars!!! they never do this.....but the one day we didn't get a day pass ............" anyway, it turns out they just wanted to check in our trunk. i was like "we have scriptures and water?" he looked in and said "no thats not what we're looking for" we were like "hmmm...what are they looking for?" in the course of getting our day pass we found out that there was a missing child on base. a 6 year old girl. While we waited in line to exit the base again we prayed for her and her family. then a few minutes later, all the cars in the line started going off base with no one checking trunks. we asked the guard "did they find her?" they did!!!!!!!! woohoo so that was an exciting adventure….and we are so glad that the little girl is safe!

this week we had another really local hawaiian dinner- the rice, raw fish etc and I just ate it. I was like "woah! what's happened to me? old me could never do this!" but i guess we just get used to it. I still dont like it, but it's easier to eat now. haha

we had another car fast on friday..........I think we spent like 7 hours just walking. our area is so long!!!!!!!!! we were so sore that night we could barely walk around the apartment....and I broke my shoes....nice feet huh?  so we started crawling....then just dragging ourselves across the floor...like little caterpillars:) then we just felt ridiculous so we laid on the floor and laughed till we had enough strength to walk again. It was a great exercise day though!

also, on sunday a kind of very very strange guy came to the chapel. he was acting kinda crazy and weird. anyway, everyone was trying welcome him and help him but he didnt want it. Sister Oh and I went outside to make a phone call and while I was leaving a message this guy walked outside, right past us and swore........ I was super surprised and thinking "he just swore in my voice mail!" so I stuttered through the rest of the message and hung up.

we had a little miracle this week. we were looking through the ward list to see who we could visit and one lady stood out to us....but we thought "no we've visited her before, she wasn't very receptive" so we picked another lady and planned to visit her. when we got to her house we were like "this is the same house as that other lady who wasn't very receptive!" it was a mother and daughter but they both had different last names! we were like "well I guess we’re supposed to see them today!" as we talked with the two ladies, we found out that they had been baptized only a few months ago. they haven't been coming to church, probably in part because they don't know too much about it. they are so new! and when people get baptized, the missionaries usually come over afterwards and teach them more and help them to feel welcome. but no one knew that they had just been baptized because they were baptized on the mainland and then came back here to Hawaii. But Heavenly Father knew that they had recently been baptized. He knew that they needed to be visited, and He brought us there. It is always amazing to see that He can help us to accomplish so much more good than we ever could on our own. This is His work. These are His children, and we are His servants.

I love this work! I love being a missionary!

love, Sister Hodgson

                                                   

Week 59- independence day and someone proposed to my comp!!

ALOHA!

 At the MLC ( mission leadership council)  meeting last Monday one of the elders said "being on a mission is hard......and that might be an understatement"…. and I was thinking "that is true at times...but right now I am really having fun" then came the most unproductive  week of my whole entire mission. haha. good timing life. So Monday was the meeting, then Tuesday was our preparation day, then Wednesday and Thursday pretty much everyone that we visited wasn't home and it was "just one of those days".....twice in a row. Friday, we had a long district meeting...then we had to stop proselyting at 5 because it was the 4th of july! we worked normally on Saturday and Sunday but boy it just seemed like one of those unsuccessful weeks. but hey, how bad can it be when you're in Hawaii:)

So Wednesday, we went to a YSA game night with some of our less active members and they both came!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was great to see them there…great peeps.   Also, during the socializing, I was talking to one of the members, and this guys started talking to my companion. Afterwards we talked about that guy, and apparently he was an almost 50 year old, father of 5 kids and, get this, he told her that he will propose to her after her mission!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha he asked for her address back home, but she told him that when she returns home, she'll go back to school.............to which he informed her that he can wait four years:) haha gotta love it.

Independence day was AWESOME! We got together as a zone  and the elders prepared a giant barbecue! We had pizza hot dogs and played ukelele and some of the elders had wrestling matches. Then we played a bunch of games and just had a blast. We saw a few fireworks from where we were and we would all cheer and shout. then the elders started bobbing for soda cans in a large pot of ice water......boys...........then they dumped the ice water on an elder. the best part was that he asked for them to do it but it was funny.....silly boys!

Sister Oh and I have been discussing what we can do better in our missionary work, and one thing that we decided was that we need to have more faith! look at the 2,000 stripling warriors! "Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them." "And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power. Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually." (alma 57)

They saw MIRACLES because of their faith. I know that all of us can and will see miracle in our lives as we have more faith in Christ.

love, Sister Hodgson

Week 58- service and the secret pizza meeting

Well, last week we helped a sweet lady move all of her sister's stuff into a storage unit. that was really fun. 6 elders came to help too and they were awesome! We loaded all of the stuff into the moving van then drove to the storage facility then unloaded all the stuff onto carts then rolled it to her storage place then we made a line to pass the boxes from the cart, into her storage room, then up to an elder on a ladder who stacked the boxes super high! It must have been at least 11 ft high!

We were teaching a young man this week who wants to strengthen his relationship with God, and wants to do good things but just said that he has a hard time getting the motivation to do it. We had planned to talk about the scriptures but while we were meeting with him, we had this feeling, "talk about the temple". I was like "but we're talking about the scriptures and that doesn't even make sense!" Then again "ask him if he's been to the temple". So we asked and began a discussion about the temple and the blessings of the temple. He shared that he really wants to go to the temple but it seems like such a big goal. So we helped him set a "baby step" goal, that would get him back on track to prepare to go there. He seemed really happy about that and it was neat to see and feel again that we don't know what these people need, but the Lord does!

On Saturday, we had interviews with President Warner which is always fantastic! The Sister training leaders check everyone's area book and planner for organization and to see how well they are planning, etc. so that took a long time. Then we had interviews with president. IN my interview he asked me "Sister Hodgson, how long have you been out?" "13 months" "what have you learned on your mission?" I told him that I was learning so much, but one thing in particular was that "the best I can do is the best I can do" The Lord doesn't expect more than that- but He does expect the best that we can do. I am so grateful that, weaknesses and all, Heavenly Father allows me to participate in this work. I am so grateful that He isn't looking for perfect missionaries! And I am also grateful that Christ can take imperfect people like us and help us to accomplish great things as we rely on Him.

On Monday we got to go to MLC (Missionary Leadership Council).....which sister Oh and I had always referred to as the "Secret pizza meeting" haha...just because they always have pizza for lunch and not everyone gets to go. so it was "secret" and it's a meeting and there is pizza..... ya you get it. So this was our first time to actually get to go to MLC. We woke up at 4:45, got ready, then drove to honolulu to pick some other sisters up from the airport. Then we drove to the meeting. It was so neat! Because we got to represent our zone of missionaries as we discussed changes to be made in the mission, and things that we needed to learn to be better missionaries.( it was also really cool to see old buddies that I miss) 

It was really amazing to see as we discussed changes we didn't come to an agreement on specifics for a very long time, but finally someone made a suggestion and it was right! We all felt that it was right! This is not our missionary work, but it is the Lord's missionary work, and we can feel when something is pleasing to Him. So the changes were made! the meeting was super long though! and we got stuck in traffic on the way home. so we didn't make it back till almost 7:00pm! And Yes, the pizza was delicious!

Well, it's great to be here. I love it! but I miss you all too!

love, Sister Hodgson

Week 57- Luggage taxi and my future husband's shirt

so they say that for every drop of rain that falls on your missionary name tag, your future spouse gets more attractive----hence my gratitude for serving in Waimea and Mililani- some of the wettest places in the mission haha. But in all seriousness, I would much rather work in the rain than in the sun. it can get HOT here! I feel like a little raisin....i'm tanning into a crisp! #awkwardmissionarytanlines (do people even use hashtags anymore? haha)

Well, this week on Wednesday morning, we woke up at 4:00, and picked up the other sisters. We dropped one off at the airport, then drove to Honolulu where the other sister met up with her new companion. Then all the elders in our zone filled up our car with luggage...................It was LOADED with luggage! like STUFFED!!!! okay not that full, but close! it had a lot. (all the other cars had 4 or 5 elders in them so we were the luggage taxi). We followed our zone leaders around to a few different pads and dropped off everyone's luggage. then we got back home and officially started the transfer. 

Here on the islands you can ride in the back of trucks legally...I love this

 

 

On Thursday we set goals for the transfer ,that is always fun! We taught a lot of people today. Teaching is one of my favorite parts of missionary work. We don't just recite a script- we really do our best to share what we know to be true and understand their concerns and feelings. And we cannot teach, unless we have the spirit! We, as 20 year old girls, don't have the ability to help people to change their lives in this big of a way. But Heavenly Father loves the people that we teach SO much and He will help us to show them His love and His plan. Only then can people make these lasting changes in their lives.

My favorite part of Saturday, was when we saw this old guy with a cut-off- sleeve shirt. Not just your average cut off, but like he cut off the sleeves and a part of the shirt haha. Sister Oh was like "did his shirt come like that?" I explained that people buy t-shirts and cut off the sleeves, and that's how you get that kind of shirt. She told me "if my husband wear that kind of shirt I will be like 'no' and when he is sleeping I will throw it away." she is so cute!!!!!!!!!

 We were excited to get our "Sister Training papers"......I guess we will figure out what that means...hahah

love you guys,

Sister Hodgson

WEEK 56- The last sisters.... and the PCC

 

 

 

Monday, we went to the Polynesian cultural center!! That was awesome!  It's like the Disneyland of Hawaii!  We saw the first mission home in Hawaii, and we saw lots of dancing: Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan, Maori, Fijian-  It was awesome!

 

Tuesday, we had our last district 12 district meeting.  we went to the "wilderness" (the botanical gardens) like Lehi and his family.  It was super fun!  

Wednesday, we had service at Pearl Harbor.  We got to sanitize EVERYTHING!!!  we just wiped down any and all surfaces on the whole battleship. it took forever but it was fun!  We also got to go to a meeting at President and SIster Warner's home this night.   It was good to see them again and to see some old mission buddies:)

Thursday, We went to go visit a member, but she wasn't home, so we were walking back to our car thinking that it was kind of a waste of time to come over, but then we saw a car parked by a red curb.....which is illegal.....and on a military base if you do something illegal- they'll find you!!!  so we were like hey it looks like that car is at our OTHER members' house, so we thought maybe we should go knock on their door and let them know the curbs were crazy confusing here.  We we're like "naw that's dumb" then we were like "no we should go tell them".  so we knocked on the door, they let us in, a friend was just leaving so he took the car and that was fine BUT we stayed and talked for a bit with this sister.  It turns out that she is moving soon, and the military mover guys were coming the next morning to check the house and see how much they would have to move.  SO she was really stressed!  we offered to come help her to clean and she was so grateful for that!  It was really neat to see that we had no idea that she needed help, but Heavenly Father did, and He brought us to that street, and prompted us to go stop by.  He'll put us right where He needs us to be!  He loves all of His children, and He will send help when someone needs it, and He will give us opportunities to be the help when someone needs it.

Friday, we went over to help that Sister clean her house.  it was so much fun!  she is so sweet. 

Saturday, we went to stake conference adult session....I still think it's weird that I'm an adult...haha

Sunday, we went to the Sunday Session of Stake Conference.  It was so good.  It was all about missionary work and the book of Mormon.

ALSO, we got transfer news this week!  There are so many people leaving our zone.  There are 7 elders leaving and the other two sisters are both leaving!  WHAT?  that's right, BOTH of them....so that means Sister Oh and I will be the only sisters in the zone........... talk about lonely......  there goes our carpool buddies.  No exchanges for us! haha  So that was a shocker.  this is like pre-age-change status...  But Sister Oh and I are staying together so we're really happy for that:)

love you all!

-Sister Hodgson