Tamales, tostadas, tacos- loving the Spanish program!‏

Cleaning Selfie!

Paulina and I

Hola hola! Feliz Dia de Labor!.... Or something like that. :) hope
you're all having a great Holliday!

 We just got back from cleaning the church with the ward, with a picnic
and volleyball afterwards! So fun! *see selfie* what a fun week! We've
done a lot with members this week, and Hmna Sorensen and I are seeing
miracles!

 Andres: Andres has a baptismal date for September 24! We prayed, we
talked with him, we prayed some more, and we asked him to pray. We
called him the next day, and he decided the 24th! We have been so
excited as we've seen the light grow in his eyes as he understands
more and more. The only concern we have is making sure he has a real,
solid testimony in his heart, not just his head. We had a Noche de
hogar about Joseph Smith, and watched the Restoration video. We
thought him about the 10 commandments and keeping the sabbath day
holy. We taught him a lesson with our ward mission leader, Hmno Rios,
who said that he thinks Andres is ready! He loves church, and comes
every week now. Funny side note: the person that drives him to church
is a less active member named Hmno Zelaya. This is a great set up- get
the investigator AND the less active member to church, and help them
become friends- except for one detail. Hmno Zelaya has told us that he
no longer wants to come to church. So he picks Andres up, drives him
to church, drives home, and comes back for Andres! He has done this
two weeks in a row! We're hoping next week he'll go inside the
building. :P
Andres' nephew Isaac calls me Miss Hokanson. It makes me happy. :) 

 Cecilia: she is doing great! We had an awesome lesson with her about
the plan of salvation, which she really liked. We helped her out again
with a yard sale, and she somehow manages to give us tamales every
time we come, even if we try to sneak away before they're done!
Hispanics have a way of never letting you leave without food or a
bottle of water. I love it, as much as my waistline doesn't. :) 

 Eleazar: we had a real lesson with him! ... Kind of. He doesn't let us
talk much, so we may have to stop teaching him soon. 

 Ester: we were looking in our records and found Ester, who had been
taught a few years ago. We knocked on her door, she said we could come
back the next day. That morning before we visited her, we were looking
in our records again and found out she is the niece of one of the
members of our ward! The lesson went really well (we taught the
Restoration) and we would have a return appointment, but she was
getting surgery two days later and would be on bed rest. So pray for
Ester, that she will recover soon and we can visit her again! She has
a lot of potential! 

 Aline: remember Aline from about 1 month ago? We got in with her
again! She is doing great, and wants us to come by regularly. We are
super excited! 

 Fransisco: an inactive older man in our ward that we have been
visiting the entire time I've been here. We had a sad lesson with him
this week. After the first prayer, he informed us that he can no
longer be part of our church because he wants to return to the Jehovah
Witnesses. We weren't surprised- we have been helping him answer many
questions that are directly connected to the beliefs of the JWs. We
know he is very sincere, and we usually get along great with the JWs.
The sad part is how confused and conflicted he is! We hope he can find
peace, and we will of course respect his decision. 

 Rodriguez fam: the noche de hogar was great! We played games, shared a
lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and ate tostadas. I love this
family! They are so sweet, and a bit crazy. :) they kept asking when
we can come by again, and when they can feed us. Both Berta and Lupe
came to church Sunday!!!! They both loved it as well. Step by step,
this family is coming back to activity! What a huge blessing. 

 Paulina: one of the ladies in our ward (who is leaving on her mission
in Dec. to the Dominican Republic!) is exactly 1 day older than me!
*see picture* don't we look like twins?? 

 Some fun things this week: drinking my new favorite drink: Agua de Sandia!
Effectively using our exercise time by running in the rain!  English
class: we had 4 students at our class this week! It was super busy and
super fun! We had a Zone training , which was amazing of course! Our
main topic was the Book of Mormon. We also went to the library to use
the wifi for Area Book, and saw an Art Gallery! The security guard Joe
(our friend) invited us to see it, but we were "on the clock" (meaning
not on a break or during a meal) so we went through super quickly to
not be rude. But I could have stayed for hours!! It felt great to be
surrounded by art again. 

 Trust God, work hard, and never say no to tamales! 

Have a wonderful week!!

Hermana Hokanson  

 1319 Butterfield rd ste 522
Downers Grove IL 60515-5515