Hello everybody!
Well time is running out fast today. But this week has been really great. We had a snow storm a few days ago after a decent rain storm (so weird that it warms up enough to rain and then cools off enough again to snow, I don't get that). We have been walking/riding bikes for the past week because we are now back to sharing the car and the person that we share the car with now we don't see very often. Only on Thursdays, so that has been good for us. My legs are really burning from biking up the hills and around town, but it has been fun. So much faster and better than walking everywhere, that is for sure. We are finally getting around to taking down the Valentine's decorations and it is kind of sad to see them go. We have a few Saint Patrick's Day ones though so that will be good and we are excited about that. Also for Easter, there are lots of decorations for that. I have come to enjoy sweet potatoes a lot these past few transfers becuase that is what Elder Noll can eat, that plus every other kind of vegetable and fruit. It has been quite interesting to eat the way a vegan would eat and I have to say it isn't too bad. But I do miss meat and bread and something that isn't sherbert or oreos for dessert. I have been making eggs at home though for lunch or breakfast and lots of sandwiches for meals too so I am trying to get the protien that I need. We have also been doing a lot better at working out in the morning. I get in about 100 sit ups, 500 crunchies, 10 minutes of jumping rope (that is hard), some jogging and maybe some basketball shooting. I cannot make a basketball go in the hoop to save my life so I don't play with anyone but sometimes it is fun just to shoot around for a few minutes.
We found a new person to start teaching this week. His name is Thomas John and he comes from Sudan. His wife is not a big fan of us because she doesn't like the church but this guy has been very prepared. We shared the message of the Restoration with him a few days ago and he ate it all up. He said that it "resonated" with him and that he felt everything was true. He was so excited to read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and go to church. Also, when we asked him about baptism, he said "of course!". Now we just have to set a date. We are excited about him and to start working with him fairly frequently. Also, he can only meet with us in the mornings which is just perfect because that is the hardest time to fill and to stay busy. Now we won't have to worry about that for a few weeks at least.
Steve is progressing towards baptism for this Sunday at 7 PM. He is so excited and we are so excited for him. He calls us his family and I think if we didn't teach him every day we would miss him just as much as he would miss us. We went out today and bought him a Dallas Cowboy tie to give him at the baptism. He only has one tie to wear and wanted to get him something special, his whole life revolves around the Dallas Cowboys so we thought that would be perfect. Now that his whole life revolves around the Cowboys and the church, might as well bring the two together. He takes everything that we teach and immediately applies it to his own life and gives up his bad habits without any backward glances at all. It is amazing to watch and a miracle. We have been calling everyone in the ward and trying to get them to come out to his baptism. They really kind of fail at fellowshipping and I don't even think they notice that they don't talk to Steve at church or smile or wave at him. We are working on changing that but it is so hard! How do you change an entire ward's mentality and course of action? There are so many potentials that we have in that ward but without and fellowship they are getting nowhere and it is frustrating! We are hoping and praying that the baptism will soften their hearts a little bit and help them to catch the missionary spirit.
Other than that, I don't think I have much to report. Life is going great and fantastic and all that jazz. We go out and teach and tract and work and we have been blessed with a baptism every week this month as a result. Plus friendships that will last a lifetime. Missionary work is amazing and I truly love and enjoy doing it. I am going to miss doing this everyday and seeing people's lives change so much for the better and their faces lighting up, etc. Good that I still have quite a while left is all I got to say.
I love and pray for you all! Hope everything is going well!
Elder Hughes
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Spring is here (I wish...)
Good morning everybody!
Well, from the weather the past week, it really does feel like Spring
is here. Upper 40's and lower 50's have had us cracking up the car
windows as we drive down the road and letting the cool air come in.
So nice. Valentine's Day was pretty nice this year - I was able to
put up all the decorations that Grandma Hughes gave me from last year
and this year. It was a lot of fun and my landlords loved it. Even
Elder Noll didn't mind it (he kept rearranging all the heart confetti
that we had on the table to make sure all the colors and sized looked
just perfect it was hilarious to watch him be OCD for once). We are
now driving a 2008 dark gray Chevy Malibu and it looks very nice.
Sadly, the steering, brakes, etc. are not that great and I had to
readjust entirely the way I drive to match. Also, we had an exciting
moment last week driving down the road and then seeing dark smoke
start billowing from underneath the hood. Plus the smell of smoke, so
we got to the next house as soon as we could and popped the hood.
Turns out the power steering fluid was leaking EVERYWHERE and it had
hit the hot engine which then started to burn through it and started
to smoke. Not good. So we took it into Big O and got a loaner
Corrolla for 2 days while it was in the shop. They finally got it
fixed and now it no longer smokes, but it still has other issues. Fun
times. Oh well.
Brian Viewheger is set to get baptized this Saturday and is so excited
for it. It is amazing to see the change that can take place in
people. Then Steve Wright is ready and excited for the next week.
Gavin Beckstead got baptized this past week and that was great.
Things have been really going well in this area, now we just need to
find more people so we can keep staying busy. Always the challenge.
Everyone we are working with has started to progress and is looking
forward to us coming over. It is such a joy to teach people that
actually want to be taught, haha, funny how that works.
We are working with quite a few less actives now too from tracting
into them. That is always fun. The one that is making the most
progress right now is Bobbie Noorda. She came to dinner one night
asking the people who were feeding us for a ride to the bank. She
then planned on taking the bus out west to visit some friends. But
her friend called and cancelled in the car and so Sister Cunningham
asked her to stay for dinner and to meet the missionaries. She
agreed. She walked in very apprehensive about what we would be like
but she just said she felt so comfortable and that everything just
felt so right. So she accpeted the challenge to start meeting with
us. Then she wanted to attend church, just sacrament meeting, but she
felt so comfortable and so loved that she stayed for the whole block.
Then she comes to every lesson we have with her and physically takes
notes of the things we talk about. She writes in the back all the
scriptures we studied together and what she felt and learned. She is
so excited. She is literally gobbling the gospel up and loving it.
What a miracle. She told us before she started to meet with us, she
kept praying for help and guidance and just had nowhere to go.
Nowhere to turn. She immediately took the dinner as an answer to her
prayers and quote a scripture from the Book of Mormon she had read
about how the Lord will answer us when we cry out in our afflictions,
another miracle to her. She is amazing and we love her so much and so
does the ward. Wards that welcome in and fellowship investigators or
less active people are so awesome!
Love and prayers!
Elder Hughes
Well, from the weather the past week, it really does feel like Spring
is here. Upper 40's and lower 50's have had us cracking up the car
windows as we drive down the road and letting the cool air come in.
So nice. Valentine's Day was pretty nice this year - I was able to
put up all the decorations that Grandma Hughes gave me from last year
and this year. It was a lot of fun and my landlords loved it. Even
Elder Noll didn't mind it (he kept rearranging all the heart confetti
that we had on the table to make sure all the colors and sized looked
just perfect it was hilarious to watch him be OCD for once). We are
now driving a 2008 dark gray Chevy Malibu and it looks very nice.
Sadly, the steering, brakes, etc. are not that great and I had to
readjust entirely the way I drive to match. Also, we had an exciting
moment last week driving down the road and then seeing dark smoke
start billowing from underneath the hood. Plus the smell of smoke, so
we got to the next house as soon as we could and popped the hood.
Turns out the power steering fluid was leaking EVERYWHERE and it had
hit the hot engine which then started to burn through it and started
to smoke. Not good. So we took it into Big O and got a loaner
Corrolla for 2 days while it was in the shop. They finally got it
fixed and now it no longer smokes, but it still has other issues. Fun
times. Oh well.
Brian Viewheger is set to get baptized this Saturday and is so excited
for it. It is amazing to see the change that can take place in
people. Then Steve Wright is ready and excited for the next week.
Gavin Beckstead got baptized this past week and that was great.
Things have been really going well in this area, now we just need to
find more people so we can keep staying busy. Always the challenge.
Everyone we are working with has started to progress and is looking
forward to us coming over. It is such a joy to teach people that
actually want to be taught, haha, funny how that works.
We are working with quite a few less actives now too from tracting
into them. That is always fun. The one that is making the most
progress right now is Bobbie Noorda. She came to dinner one night
asking the people who were feeding us for a ride to the bank. She
then planned on taking the bus out west to visit some friends. But
her friend called and cancelled in the car and so Sister Cunningham
asked her to stay for dinner and to meet the missionaries. She
agreed. She walked in very apprehensive about what we would be like
but she just said she felt so comfortable and that everything just
felt so right. So she accpeted the challenge to start meeting with
us. Then she wanted to attend church, just sacrament meeting, but she
felt so comfortable and so loved that she stayed for the whole block.
Then she comes to every lesson we have with her and physically takes
notes of the things we talk about. She writes in the back all the
scriptures we studied together and what she felt and learned. She is
so excited. She is literally gobbling the gospel up and loving it.
What a miracle. She told us before she started to meet with us, she
kept praying for help and guidance and just had nowhere to go.
Nowhere to turn. She immediately took the dinner as an answer to her
prayers and quote a scripture from the Book of Mormon she had read
about how the Lord will answer us when we cry out in our afflictions,
another miracle to her. She is amazing and we love her so much and so
does the ward. Wards that welcome in and fellowship investigators or
less active people are so awesome!
Love and prayers!
Elder Hughes
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Another transfer...come and gone
Happy Valentine's Day! (well almost)
This past week has been really great. Another transfer is now over and a new one just started today. I am still with Elder Noll in Taylorsville, which is great because we finally have a lot of good work going and a lot of amazing people we are teaching! I love being a missionary! My district has changed a lot though. We lost the sisters to another district and picked up another set of Spanish elders instead. Elder Hernadez is now back in my district again with his companion Elder Parra. Elder Parra went to Mountain View High School with me and wrestled there. Cool, huh? The only problem is that Elder Hernadez and Elder Jolly do not get along and I am afraid that they might be back at each other's throats again as soon as we have district meeting tomorrow. We will see though, there has to be some reason the Lord made such a big change. Elder Hernadez's area is about 3 miles west of Elder Fordham and Elder Jolly which is about 3 miles south of us. None of us are close to each other or touch each other. I think we are the only district in the mission that does that. Go figure. I am still district leader and I have to say that I am excited to do it again and to keep giving trainings and really learning to love the missionaries in my district.
The Lord has blessed us with many miracles this past week and we are so excited that He has done so! Steve Wright is excited more than ever to be baptized and to start coming to church. We are trying to help him to get clothes lined up so he feels comfortable in going and that is all he needs. We feel the Spirit so strong everytime we visit with him, it is marvelous. I love teaching people that WANT to be taught, haha. Humility is a major requirement for gospel progression is something that I have really learned. Here is a quote that I wrote to President Miller but I wanted to share with you because of the limited time: "Then we have the baptism of a man named Steve Wright and his son Austin (hopefully). That is the one that I am most excited for of all. The gospel has really helped Steve to change and find purpose again in life. When we tracted into him, he was just separated from his wife of 10 years after they had both hit each other. Then he found out that she had cheated on him for the whole duration of thier marriage with various other men. To make matters more interesting, he tore his rotator cuff and his ACL as well that week and lost his job. Talk about a huge wallop. He was heavily contemplating suicide when we knocked on his door and he let us in. After meeting with us a few times, things started to change. He started to smile again, then came true laughter, then he shaved (for the first time in months) and now he is getting nice clothes again so to come to church with us. What a miracle. He has read the entire first half of the Book of Mormon already as well as a lot of the Bible again (he has been Southern Baptist his whole life). He said if all those things hadn't happened to him, he would never have let us in the house but would have just argued with us. Instead he was humbled and open, and the Lord has really changed his heart and brought him true peace and happiness again. This makes everything that we do in the mission field worth it and I love Steve so much and I know the Lord loves him too!"
That is Steve's story and it rocks! The Lord is truly amazing - He put us there (tracting of all things) and we got to his door on exactly the right day at exactly the right time with exactly the right message and words. Only He could orchestrate such an event and I am so grateful we have been living worthy of the Spirit to be able to take part in it.
All the other people we are teaching are doing really well and progressing, we are excited about it. Elder Noll might actually start liking missionary work for the first time in his mission! Sad news: my old camera finally and completely died. No way I can save it anymore, but I still have that other one that Mom sent up a few months ago, so no worries. I am still taking pictures and everything, just not on the camera that I have grown to love and enjoy.
The weather has gotten cold again! Bah! Oh well, we have a half car still, so I can't complain to much. Better to be driving half the time than not to be driving at all. Especially when it doesn't get much above freezing all day long. I am going to live another 6 weeks on a diet of potatoes and salad, wish me luck, haha. At least people try to make it differently and creatively every night so it isn't too bad. Plus we get fresh fruit a lot more often than I ever have on my mission before, that is a huge plus. Especially when they have raspberries, yum!
Well, here is a challenge that our mission president has asked us to give at every dinner appointment we have from now on and I figured I should probably give it to all of you as well. "The 21 day challenge: take the next 21 days to find someone for the missionaries to teach! At every individual and family prayer pray to be led to someone who needs the gospel right now in their life or pray for them to be led to you. Pray to be able to recognize them and to be given the words you need to say. Write down everyone your family can think of that might be interested in meeting with missionaries, then pray over the list by name and pick one to invite. Then invite them to meet with the missionaries in your home on the 21st day of the challenge. To truly show the Lord your faith, set an appointment with the missionaries far in advance and do all you can to have someone to be there to meet with them. The Lord will bless and guide you to those who are prepared for the truth. Your family will come closer together and there will be a spirit of love and closeness in your home that you have not felt before." There it is. I highly encourage everyone to do it, because it will work. I know the Lord answers our prayers and it really does bring the Spirit into homes and lives and families to do missionary work than anything else I have ever experienced. Please write me back if anyone decides to do this and what the results were. Also, ask Sister Moilon in the 18th ward about her experiences or Bishop Louden - they have enough stories to share about this principle and how it has blessed their lives.
I love you all and pray for you all constantly!
Elder Hughes
This past week has been really great. Another transfer is now over and a new one just started today. I am still with Elder Noll in Taylorsville, which is great because we finally have a lot of good work going and a lot of amazing people we are teaching! I love being a missionary! My district has changed a lot though. We lost the sisters to another district and picked up another set of Spanish elders instead. Elder Hernadez is now back in my district again with his companion Elder Parra. Elder Parra went to Mountain View High School with me and wrestled there. Cool, huh? The only problem is that Elder Hernadez and Elder Jolly do not get along and I am afraid that they might be back at each other's throats again as soon as we have district meeting tomorrow. We will see though, there has to be some reason the Lord made such a big change. Elder Hernadez's area is about 3 miles west of Elder Fordham and Elder Jolly which is about 3 miles south of us. None of us are close to each other or touch each other. I think we are the only district in the mission that does that. Go figure. I am still district leader and I have to say that I am excited to do it again and to keep giving trainings and really learning to love the missionaries in my district.
The Lord has blessed us with many miracles this past week and we are so excited that He has done so! Steve Wright is excited more than ever to be baptized and to start coming to church. We are trying to help him to get clothes lined up so he feels comfortable in going and that is all he needs. We feel the Spirit so strong everytime we visit with him, it is marvelous. I love teaching people that WANT to be taught, haha. Humility is a major requirement for gospel progression is something that I have really learned. Here is a quote that I wrote to President Miller but I wanted to share with you because of the limited time: "Then we have the baptism of a man named Steve Wright and his son Austin (hopefully). That is the one that I am most excited for of all. The gospel has really helped Steve to change and find purpose again in life. When we tracted into him, he was just separated from his wife of 10 years after they had both hit each other. Then he found out that she had cheated on him for the whole duration of thier marriage with various other men. To make matters more interesting, he tore his rotator cuff and his ACL as well that week and lost his job. Talk about a huge wallop. He was heavily contemplating suicide when we knocked on his door and he let us in. After meeting with us a few times, things started to change. He started to smile again, then came true laughter, then he shaved (for the first time in months) and now he is getting nice clothes again so to come to church with us. What a miracle. He has read the entire first half of the Book of Mormon already as well as a lot of the Bible again (he has been Southern Baptist his whole life). He said if all those things hadn't happened to him, he would never have let us in the house but would have just argued with us. Instead he was humbled and open, and the Lord has really changed his heart and brought him true peace and happiness again. This makes everything that we do in the mission field worth it and I love Steve so much and I know the Lord loves him too!"
That is Steve's story and it rocks! The Lord is truly amazing - He put us there (tracting of all things) and we got to his door on exactly the right day at exactly the right time with exactly the right message and words. Only He could orchestrate such an event and I am so grateful we have been living worthy of the Spirit to be able to take part in it.
All the other people we are teaching are doing really well and progressing, we are excited about it. Elder Noll might actually start liking missionary work for the first time in his mission! Sad news: my old camera finally and completely died. No way I can save it anymore, but I still have that other one that Mom sent up a few months ago, so no worries. I am still taking pictures and everything, just not on the camera that I have grown to love and enjoy.
The weather has gotten cold again! Bah! Oh well, we have a half car still, so I can't complain to much. Better to be driving half the time than not to be driving at all. Especially when it doesn't get much above freezing all day long. I am going to live another 6 weeks on a diet of potatoes and salad, wish me luck, haha. At least people try to make it differently and creatively every night so it isn't too bad. Plus we get fresh fruit a lot more often than I ever have on my mission before, that is a huge plus. Especially when they have raspberries, yum!
Well, here is a challenge that our mission president has asked us to give at every dinner appointment we have from now on and I figured I should probably give it to all of you as well. "The 21 day challenge: take the next 21 days to find someone for the missionaries to teach! At every individual and family prayer pray to be led to someone who needs the gospel right now in their life or pray for them to be led to you. Pray to be able to recognize them and to be given the words you need to say. Write down everyone your family can think of that might be interested in meeting with missionaries, then pray over the list by name and pick one to invite. Then invite them to meet with the missionaries in your home on the 21st day of the challenge. To truly show the Lord your faith, set an appointment with the missionaries far in advance and do all you can to have someone to be there to meet with them. The Lord will bless and guide you to those who are prepared for the truth. Your family will come closer together and there will be a spirit of love and closeness in your home that you have not felt before." There it is. I highly encourage everyone to do it, because it will work. I know the Lord answers our prayers and it really does bring the Spirit into homes and lives and families to do missionary work than anything else I have ever experienced. Please write me back if anyone decides to do this and what the results were. Also, ask Sister Moilon in the 18th ward about her experiences or Bishop Louden - they have enough stories to share about this principle and how it has blessed their lives.
I love you all and pray for you all constantly!
Elder Hughes
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Happy Groundhog Day!!
Good morning everyone!
Well, the weather up here in Utah is dead cold! Yesterday we were walking and I don't think I have ever been so cold my whole life - even with thermals, wool socks, jackets, sweaters, you name it. My face was definitely the coldest part of me and I think my nose would have fallen off eventually, haha. But we survived and were able to get rides for most of the night so that we were not out during the coldest part of the day. The weird part is that it was so bright and sunny yesterday, it looked like it could have been in the 80's because there was no snow or any real sign of winter. But go outside and it was like getting smacked by an ice wall. Utah can be so deceiving. I hope that if it stays this cold, it will snow! Cold without the snow is so pointless to me. Defeats the whole point of winter, lol.
Another transfer is almost over, that also blows my mind. It feels like I just got to this area yesterday and now I have been here for almost 3 months. We are finally having a baptism this Saturday! It is for a 9 year old kid named Chance and we are hoping to get a baptism for every weekend after that throughout February. We have people on date for baptism and they are sincere in their desires to work towards baptism so we are praying everything works out and that nothing monumental gets in the way. Something always does though, without fail Satan always has to rear his ugly head at some point in the battle. No baptism has ever been easy yet and I don't expect it ever will be in the future. Too much is at stake that we constantly fight against everyday.
Last week I had a baptism in my old area! It was the Reese family - Tina (45), Bailee (14), Dylan (11), and Cassidy (9) and it was probably the most powerful baptism I have ever been to. The family has been taught since July of last year and has been on date and off date for baptism since then. They have always attended church though and have always had a testimony of the gospel, they were just all waiting for each other to get there. It finally happened and it was amazing! Most of the Draper Mountain Point 4th ward showed up and the talks and the prayers and everything was perfect for the family. Everyone there had a great love for this family and had been praying for them to succeed on their various problems and it was a miracle for finally see it happen! It was nice to see them again and Tina tried to give me a hug afterward, which I had to refuse. Sometimes being a missionary is really hard that way. I had to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and I could barely make it through the Spirit was so strong. I an not normally ever a crier, trust me, but I was crying at this baptism. The whole family was just radiant and smiling and everything was perfect. It blew me away.
We got to give talks at church in Sunday too and I forgot how much I love speaking about missionary work. We are going to have to talk more often! I didn't get very much time either - they had a youth speaker, our visa waiter, then a rest hymn, then Elder Noll, then I was last. Turned out I had about 5 minutes and I took about 7 and only got through about 1 1/2 of the5 points I wanted to make. Everyone was laughing though and I was quoted in the closing prayer that the whole ward would become those "crazy smiley" people that bring others into the gospel. That was fun!
It never ceases to amaze me how much the Lord loves people or how many miracles we see everyday. We were visiting with Steve Wright last night and he is now on date to be baptized on February 26 and he told us the whole story of why we were let in the house. He and his wife had just had a bitter separation from each other after 10 years of marriage because of a domestic violence charge against both of them. Before they ever got into that fight though, he found out that his wife had been cheating on him throughout the entire marriage with various other guys. So he felt down in the dumps and he was contemplating suicide. The only thing that was holding him on was his two sons. Then he tore his rotator cuff and ACL and had to quit his job. So he felt even more worthless. That was when the Lord brought us back to his door and he allowed us in to share the message of the Restoration. Everyday since then about a week and half ago, his smile gets bigger and bigger, he has started laugh again, he has found new purpose for life and he loves the Book of Mormon and is so excited for baptism. Talk about a change! I am so glad that we have this gospel and church that gives us so much hope and optimism and can even light up the darkest lives at the darkest times! He plans on going to church this Sunday for the first time (the only time in his life he will have set foot in another church besides a Baptist one) and he is looking forward to it. He said if we would have come before all the pain started, he never would have opened the door or at least would have slammed it in our faces. But the Lord knew him and he said that the Lord gave him what was needed so that he would join our church. His entire outlook on his life and his trials has changed and it amazes me. I don't think I could do what he is doing and put it all behind me, but he is and he is being so blessed for it. I am so thankful we have a loving Heavenly Father and a loving Savior who atoned not only for our sins but for every heartache and depression and desertion we have to go through in this life. Steve has clearly shown me that the Atonement covers everything and he has allowed it to change his life.
We started to teach the Garcia family as well and I don't think I have ever had a more powerful first lesson. It was short, about 30 minutes. But the Spirit was so strong and spoke to both Br. and Sis. Garcia in such powerful and moving ways. They too have been very prepared because of their circumstances to hear the gospel and were so excited to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Br. Garcia gave one of the most humble, moving closing prayers ever - and the first he has ever offered out loud that wasn't a rote thing from the Catholic church! We are so excited for them, they are also on date for February 26 and are excited for that. They are struggling to get church clothes, we think, but are going to try the best that they can.
Another miracle happened as well, we got Brian Veiwheger on date for February 19 and all the supplies that he needs to quite smoking about a week before then! He originally only wanted to get baptized in May and wasn't williing to move it up. But we were praying really hard that the Lord would soften his heart and help his faith to grow and it did! When we extended the date, he at first denied it. But then he thought about it, prayed about it and accepted it with all of his heart. Then his mother told us that it would be the perfect day because it was her older son's birthday and he had past away many years ago. It would be a fitting tribute to him and the only way to bind the family together forever to have Brian get baptized so she was all for it and then Brian got even more excited about it and everything moved forward! AMAZING!
Well time is short and I actually wrote people letters today so something should be coming in the mail later this week! I love you all and pray for you everyday, I hope for all the greatest happiness for you!
Elder Hughes
Well, the weather up here in Utah is dead cold! Yesterday we were walking and I don't think I have ever been so cold my whole life - even with thermals, wool socks, jackets, sweaters, you name it. My face was definitely the coldest part of me and I think my nose would have fallen off eventually, haha. But we survived and were able to get rides for most of the night so that we were not out during the coldest part of the day. The weird part is that it was so bright and sunny yesterday, it looked like it could have been in the 80's because there was no snow or any real sign of winter. But go outside and it was like getting smacked by an ice wall. Utah can be so deceiving. I hope that if it stays this cold, it will snow! Cold without the snow is so pointless to me. Defeats the whole point of winter, lol.
Another transfer is almost over, that also blows my mind. It feels like I just got to this area yesterday and now I have been here for almost 3 months. We are finally having a baptism this Saturday! It is for a 9 year old kid named Chance and we are hoping to get a baptism for every weekend after that throughout February. We have people on date for baptism and they are sincere in their desires to work towards baptism so we are praying everything works out and that nothing monumental gets in the way. Something always does though, without fail Satan always has to rear his ugly head at some point in the battle. No baptism has ever been easy yet and I don't expect it ever will be in the future. Too much is at stake that we constantly fight against everyday.
Last week I had a baptism in my old area! It was the Reese family - Tina (45), Bailee (14), Dylan (11), and Cassidy (9) and it was probably the most powerful baptism I have ever been to. The family has been taught since July of last year and has been on date and off date for baptism since then. They have always attended church though and have always had a testimony of the gospel, they were just all waiting for each other to get there. It finally happened and it was amazing! Most of the Draper Mountain Point 4th ward showed up and the talks and the prayers and everything was perfect for the family. Everyone there had a great love for this family and had been praying for them to succeed on their various problems and it was a miracle for finally see it happen! It was nice to see them again and Tina tried to give me a hug afterward, which I had to refuse. Sometimes being a missionary is really hard that way. I had to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and I could barely make it through the Spirit was so strong. I an not normally ever a crier, trust me, but I was crying at this baptism. The whole family was just radiant and smiling and everything was perfect. It blew me away.
We got to give talks at church in Sunday too and I forgot how much I love speaking about missionary work. We are going to have to talk more often! I didn't get very much time either - they had a youth speaker, our visa waiter, then a rest hymn, then Elder Noll, then I was last. Turned out I had about 5 minutes and I took about 7 and only got through about 1 1/2 of the5 points I wanted to make. Everyone was laughing though and I was quoted in the closing prayer that the whole ward would become those "crazy smiley" people that bring others into the gospel. That was fun!
It never ceases to amaze me how much the Lord loves people or how many miracles we see everyday. We were visiting with Steve Wright last night and he is now on date to be baptized on February 26 and he told us the whole story of why we were let in the house. He and his wife had just had a bitter separation from each other after 10 years of marriage because of a domestic violence charge against both of them. Before they ever got into that fight though, he found out that his wife had been cheating on him throughout the entire marriage with various other guys. So he felt down in the dumps and he was contemplating suicide. The only thing that was holding him on was his two sons. Then he tore his rotator cuff and ACL and had to quit his job. So he felt even more worthless. That was when the Lord brought us back to his door and he allowed us in to share the message of the Restoration. Everyday since then about a week and half ago, his smile gets bigger and bigger, he has started laugh again, he has found new purpose for life and he loves the Book of Mormon and is so excited for baptism. Talk about a change! I am so glad that we have this gospel and church that gives us so much hope and optimism and can even light up the darkest lives at the darkest times! He plans on going to church this Sunday for the first time (the only time in his life he will have set foot in another church besides a Baptist one) and he is looking forward to it. He said if we would have come before all the pain started, he never would have opened the door or at least would have slammed it in our faces. But the Lord knew him and he said that the Lord gave him what was needed so that he would join our church. His entire outlook on his life and his trials has changed and it amazes me. I don't think I could do what he is doing and put it all behind me, but he is and he is being so blessed for it. I am so thankful we have a loving Heavenly Father and a loving Savior who atoned not only for our sins but for every heartache and depression and desertion we have to go through in this life. Steve has clearly shown me that the Atonement covers everything and he has allowed it to change his life.
We started to teach the Garcia family as well and I don't think I have ever had a more powerful first lesson. It was short, about 30 minutes. But the Spirit was so strong and spoke to both Br. and Sis. Garcia in such powerful and moving ways. They too have been very prepared because of their circumstances to hear the gospel and were so excited to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Br. Garcia gave one of the most humble, moving closing prayers ever - and the first he has ever offered out loud that wasn't a rote thing from the Catholic church! We are so excited for them, they are also on date for February 26 and are excited for that. They are struggling to get church clothes, we think, but are going to try the best that they can.
Another miracle happened as well, we got Brian Veiwheger on date for February 19 and all the supplies that he needs to quite smoking about a week before then! He originally only wanted to get baptized in May and wasn't williing to move it up. But we were praying really hard that the Lord would soften his heart and help his faith to grow and it did! When we extended the date, he at first denied it. But then he thought about it, prayed about it and accepted it with all of his heart. Then his mother told us that it would be the perfect day because it was her older son's birthday and he had past away many years ago. It would be a fitting tribute to him and the only way to bind the family together forever to have Brian get baptized so she was all for it and then Brian got even more excited about it and everything moved forward! AMAZING!
Well time is short and I actually wrote people letters today so something should be coming in the mail later this week! I love you all and pray for you everyday, I hope for all the greatest happiness for you!
Elder Hughes
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