Slow down and smell the cornfields‏

The corn is growing! It's almost as tall as me! What an exciting time
to be in Illinois. ;)

Feliz cuarto de Julio! I hope everyone has a fun Holliday and eats
lots of burgers for me! I'll be over here, eating Carne Asada! Our
ward is having a picnic in the park, and since it is our Preparation
Day, we can go party! We actually have an investigator family and a
part member family coming, so we still have work to do. We don't mind
though! All our time is the Lord's, so we don't feel bad at all giving
some of "our time" back to him. Plus, we get Carne Asada. So win/win!
Something strange and surreal happened: No rain on Wednesday! This is
the first time this has happened since I got here. I guess it's the
true sign of summer!

We had a noche de hogar with Ana and Andres in the home of la familia
Monrreal. The Estrada familia came too. It was great! They are
progressing pretty well. It has been a bit of a rocky week for them
church wise, but we know God has His own timing and he is working with
them. We love them so much, and can't wait to see how they progress!
We kind of got Stopped by the police, technically speaking. Well, we
were already stopped, parked in a parking lot of a strip mall, making
phone calls to investigators and putting info into our iPads. They
came up to us on their bikes and asked us what we were doing there. We
explained our innocence, and ended up talking to them for a while.
They just got back from a meeting in Salt Lake City, and said they
loved the temple! One of them knew a lot about the restoration too,
which was awesome! We offered to have the English elders visit them,
but they declined. The whole thing was a bit awkward, us sitting in
our car and them on their bikes, but in the end we planted a little
seed of interest and hopefully they will learn more one day. They also
told us to stop parking in that parking lot because it was "not the
highest quality". We will be finding a new parking lot! :)

We were leaving the home of an investigator that canceled our lesson
with him when we got to his house, when I felt Inspired to talk to
some older guys sitting in their driveway. I really didn't want to-
they were far away and didn't look super nice. But we did, and they
ended up giving us 4 referrals of people to visit!! We have been
struggling lately getting referrals from people, so this was a huge
blessing. The Lord blesses us when we do His will!

I suggest you read the talk Our Precious Families by pres. Loren C
Dunn (October 1974). It is amazing! I came across it one day during my
studies. It applies to all ages and situations.

I love you all. This church is so true. And if you don't know it, find out!
Loves!
Hermana Hokanson

We got some matching shorts to support the local hockey team‏