YOMO: you only mission once

Our mission president jokingly told us to write baptisms on our cereal

boxes. Well, we are obedient missionaries! ;)

Hello family and friends! This week was very busy, so buckle up.

Funny story of the week: remember that guy we met a couple weeks ago
that was riding his bike? Well, we got a phone call during studies on
Saturday and he wanted to meet with us- right then! We said no to
meeting at Planet Fitness, and he agreed to meet us at the library. We
hurried and stuffed sandwiches in our mouths and ran out the door.
About 5 minutes into teaching him, we realized he was completely
drunk! He repeated everything he read a few times, asked the same
questions over and over, didn't remember anything we were telling him,
acted things out dramatically, and asked us (after we had taught the
entire restoration) if we believed Jesus came to earth (yes, we just
told you that) and if Joseph Smith was Jesus (no, we just explained
that). In the end, we gave him a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet with
the address to the church. We asked him to say the closing prayer.
While he was praying, he was so sincere and genuine, asking to know
the truth and take the right path. But suddenly- and without ending
the prayer- he starts rambling about something and takes our hands,
and says over and over "Dios exisite! Dios existe!" Which means God
exists. Then he starts talking about how only God can grow a tree and
how we can't grow trees, and it pretty much just went downhill from
there. We tried to leave before the inevitable happened, but he went
for the hug and we couldn't escape. Thank goodness it was a double
hug, with all three of us! We promptly left, holding back tears of
laughter. Hopefully he actually made it home riding his bike.

Here is an update on a few of our investigators:
Gabriella- with Gabriella we had the perfect lesson! It was our first
time meeting with her so we taught the restoration. The spirit was so
strong, and she said she would be baptized when she knew it was true!
We are so excited for her. We have had trouble scheduling another
lesson with her though, so we pray for the best. Sidenote: during the
lesson with her, her young son came in holding a gatito! That's a
kitten. It was so cute! She was so stressed about it, haha. The boy
was so excited though.

Gino- he was unable to come to an appointment we had with him, but we
had an awesome lesson over the phone! That doesn't happen very often
so it was really cool. We helped him see the bigger picture more and
understand why we ask him to do things like read and pray. He had a
lot of questions about temples so it was great to talk to him about
that! Temples really draw people in. They are a beacon of hope.
Jesus- needs prayers. He has so much potential but feels like his life
is too busy.

Soyret- needs prayers as well. She is amazing and loves the gospel. We
are having trouble meeting with her though and getting her to church.
We know she will do amazing things and can't wait to help her realize
it for herself!

We taught a Noche de jogar (family home evening) at the home of the
Monrreals, with the Estradas attending as well. It was so fun! We
taught about keeping the sabbath day holy, and used the object lesson
of the rocks in the jar. When you try to put the small rocks in
(unimportant things) before the big rocks (things you need to do on
the sabbath) all the rocks don't fit. But if you put the big rocks in
first, everything falls into place.

I don't know if any of you have seen The District, the recordings that
they made of missionaries in action. We watch it all the time for part
of my orientation studies, and it gets funnier and funnier as my
mission goes on! It is seriously our favorite thing. It's so realistic
and so cheesy. Anyone who has been in any of the situations they show,
would know how funny it is. :)

We met 2 little boys while walking to the house of an investigator one
day. We started talking to them, and I asked them if they wanted a
picture of Jesus. One boy responded with "who's Jesus? I don't know
Jesus." I almost wanted to cry in that moment! Such a sweet, innocent
boy being thrown into his world, without even knowing the name of our
Savior, the only person who will help him find purpose and happiness
in this life. We started explaining to him, but his mom called him in
and we were never able to share this message of joy with him. Please
teach your children, we have a Savior and He lives! People deserve to
know.

I was studying in Preach My Gospel ch 10, about teaching skills. There
is a section that talks about using the scriptures while teaching.
Something really stood out to me:
"Your ability to teach with power from the scriptures comes in large
measure from the time you personally spend studying them. As you daily
feast upon the word, your ability to teach from the scriptures will
improve. In addition, your invitations to study and ponder the
scriptures will be more powerful because you are doing the same thing
in your life.... When people come to believe the scriptures, you will
be better able to help them understand doctrines correctly... You
cannot convert people beyond your own conversion”
This is so true! We must study for ourselves to be able to help others.

Love you all!
Hermana Hokanson

1319 Butterfield rd ste 522
Downers Grove IL 60515-5515

This is our new favorite treat: fresas con crema! It's strawberries
with a yummy Mexican yogurt drink.