Two areas= twice the miracles!‏

Our District

Main points: Andres is getting baptized.... Kind of. We have been
running non stop all week! Literally running- sprinting across
driveways to the car to get to our next appointment on time! Covering
two areas is so crazy! But trios are the best! I love hermanas Webb
and Roberts! I'm going back to Aurora, and my new companion is Hermana
Sorensen! To explain all this better, I should probably give you a
day-by-day update. 

 Tuesday: we taught 2 lessons, and taught family history to some
Spanish members here. It was so cool! We don't have a family history
center in our Aurora church building, so it was a cool experience to
be in one and see how it works. We taught a lesson to an investigator
named Maura. She is older and blind, but very sweet. She was very
worried about some family problems she has, and we weren't sure how to
help her. And then I had that cheesy experience that everyone talks
about: I opened up to a scripture and it was exactly what we needed!
The spirit was strong and she seemed a lot better when we left. We
taught Brian, who is an investigator getting baptized next week! The
lesson was great, and I'm very excited for him. 

 Wednesday: Hmna Roberts and I woke up sick. I knew it was inevitable,
since I haven't gotten really sick my whole mission. Turns out Hmna
Roberts is an Essential oils guru, and mixed up some stuff to help us
feel better. Hmna Webb turns into mama bear every time someone is
sick, and spent the next few days taking good care of us and giving us
"the look" if we say no to naps during meal hours or medicine. We had
district meeting, read the Book of Mormon out loud in Spanish and
translated it into English, taught English class, and taught two more
awesome lessons! We taught Cynthia, a wonderful lady that we taught
the plan of salvation, and helped her agree to a baptismal date in
October! We taught another investigator named Aurora the plan of
salvation as well, because she said her brother died 2 months ago. She
hoped that when she met us, we would be able to help her feel peace
about it. What a cool experience to tell her about this plan! 

Thursday: we had a lesson with some members, and drove as quickly as
legally possible to Aurora for a lesson with Andres. We had prayed a
couple weeks ago about what day needed to be his baptismal date. We
felt very strongly the 28th of August. That felt super soon then, and
even sooner now (since it is next week). We prayed again to make sure,
and it felt right. We asked him that night if he would be baptized the
28th. The spirit wooshed in, and I felt power behind the invitation.
He said yes! We were so excited for him and felt completely confident. 

 Friday: we spent nearly all day figuring out the baptisms for Brian
and Andres. We taught two lessons to investigators in members homes. 

 Saturday: there were 2 baptisms going on at two different churches.
Cynthia attended an English baptism in Naperville, and Brian and
Andres attended a Spanish one in Aurora! It was awesome! People are
80% more likely to be baptized themselves if they attend someone
else's baptism, says some random statistic I heard one time. Also
Brian passed his baptismal interview! We went to an interfaith picnic,
where 4-5 different church congregations get together at a Protestant
church and eat yummy food and play games. It was so cool! 

 Sunday: we drove back and forth from Aurora and Naperville all day! We
attended 2 ward councils and some other meetings, sacrament meeting of
one ward, relief society of another. So fun! Right before the ward
council in Aurora, we got a text from Andres saying he was sick. We
were planning to teach him that morning, so we were a bit bummed. We
called him to see how he was, and he did what we feared- he canceled
his baptism! He basically said it was too fast, so we can say he
postponed it. We were heartbroken- not because we won't get a baptism
this weekend, but because he doesn't feel ready (but he answered
almost everything correct when we told him the questions for the
baptismal interview). We know we felt inspired for the 28th. But
agency is real, and sometimes God has something bigger in mind.

We can actually see the city of Chicago from this area! 

 Funny side stories:
On Monday, We met the elders at Walmart to give them some air
mattresses we had for a new elder. We then went into Walmart to get
some stuff, and when we got out we had 'I'm a Mormon' cards stuck in
every door handle of our car! (This is funny because this is what
missionaries do at grocery stores sometimes, since it is illegal to
put cards on windshields here.) missionary inside jokes are the best. 

On Sunday, we helped Brian get access to the baptismal clothes so he
could try them on. He has two little kids, a boy named Joshua and a
girl named Ariana. Joshua looks just like his dad, and Ariana has
fiery red hair and dark brown eyes, even though Brian is from Mexico.
They are the most adorable kids I've ever seen. Hmna Roberts has
bright red hair too, and she walked into the primary room with Ariana
holding her finger. The lady in the room thought she was her daughter!
It was so funny!! 

 In the end: God is good, and He knows what He is doing! Trust Him!
I love you all!! 

 Hermana Hokanson

1319 Butterfield rd ste 522
Downers Grove IL 60515-5515


Two English students: Rosie and Blanca

How we looked all week. We are so tired....
I took a nap during planning, and Hmna Webb pretended like she killed me.