Life's a garden; dig it!

Life's a garden. If you don't prepare the ground or plant anything,
all you'll have is a pile of dirt. But if you till, level, and prepare
the ground, you have something to work with. Then you plant the seeds,
water them, pull out weeds, protect them from the weather- and you see
results. Basically, if you want something out of life, you need to put
some effort into it. Plant those seeds of hope, pull out those weeds
of negativity and doubt. Water it every day. And eventually, you will
have the fruits of your labors. Life's a garden; dig it! Do you want a
better life? Do something about it!

That's all the wisdom I have for today. Let me tell you about my week!!

Andrés: Hmna Buehner and I met Andres in the parking lot of a Mexican icecream store called Michuacana. Hmna Sorensen and I had the amazing and sacred opportunity to help Andres make one of the most important
decisions he will ever make, and enter into the waters of baptism. No
words can explain it! It really hit me when he was confirmed the next
day. Andres is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints! He even bore a little testimony right after his confirmation,
thanking us for helping him find his way from darkness into the light,
and calling the ward his "new family". It was so sweet and genuine!
Miracles are real, and God prepares people.

Abraham: did I tell you about Abraham from the food pantry? We found a
long lost member from Puerto Rico at the food pantry, and decided to
visit him this week. He is super cool! We plan to see him again soon,
because he is leaving to visit Puerto Rico next month. While we were
looking for his apartment, we accidentally knocked on he wrong door-
and he was a member!! That is like a 1/1000 chance! He goes to the
English ward, so we might see him at conference this weekend!

José: so we still haven't gotten in with Marcelino, but we've taught
Jose! It was good. Not super eventful, but he still wants to come to
church!

Rodriguez fam: we had an awesome noche de hogar! Yummy enchiladas and
we read a story with them from the children's Book of Mormon. They
loved it, and we're getting super involved! They all wanted to read
and participate. They are an amazing family and I'm excited to see
them return.

Fransisco: we taught him about the restoration, and we had Lupe with
us again, which was great. But they like to get off on tangents
sometimes, so we didn't get much lesson in. But! He came to church
again! And he ate dinner with us at bishop's house! Progress!

Bananas: so funny story. We were at the food pantry and somebody had
dropped off over 50 boxes full of green bananas to give to people!
There were so many bananas! We were giving away 4 bunches per person,
and by the end we were giving away boxes at a time. When it closed for
The day, we still had probably 30 boxes left! So we took 1 1/2 boxes,
and gave them to the elders the next day. :) they were overwhelmed
with happiness, and frustration because we kept giving them more. We
still have 5 bunches of unripe bananas sitting in our kitchen.

Women's conference: it was so good!!! I loved all the talk of
developing ourselves personally in the gospel, and having a firm
testimony so we can better serve others. That is something I've
learned a lot about on my mission, is strengthening my own testimony
to be a better missionary. I'm excited to watch more this weekend! I
challenge you all to watch all 4 sessions!

Raquel: We met a really cool lady named Raquel last week. She was in
our records as a less-active member. When we knocked on her door, she
invited us right in! Turns out she has been going off and on to the
English ward, and the English elders visit her every week! Oops. This
happens occasionally. But she talked with us for a good 30 min, and
she has such an amazing story. She moved here from Cuba when she was
12-13yrs old. She was shipped with a bunch of other kids who's parents
wanted them to have a better chance at life than Cuba could offer at
the time ( the government is some radical something, I'd look it up
but I don't have google). I think they called it "Peter Pan". She
hasn't had any contact with her parents since! (And I thought it was
hard leaving for 18 months...) she had a few foster homes and learned
English, and hasn't looked back. She says sometimes the other kids
that she was shipped with reconnect and have reunions. Anyways, she is
awesome!

Love you all! Keep working hard and Loving God!

Hermana Hokanson

Me, Hmna Sorensen, Andres, Homn Monrreal (who baptized him)

Us at women's session of conference!