"Get the gospel from your head to your heart"

SPRINGTIME!

We saw some old friends at stake conference!

I heard this quote in stake conference yesterday and thought it was super profound. You know about the gospel, you do what you're supposed to do. But do you love it? Is it part of who you are? Do you really believe all these things are true? If you do, live like it! I love being a missionary because not only do I get to help others come unto Christ, I get to test my own testimony and see how much I really believe. I want to return home completely converted to Christ and His true church. I don't want the gospel just in my head, but in my heart!

Wedding!

Wedding again!

  THIS WEEK WAS SO GOOD. I didn't breath for a minute and probably had 3 heart attacks, but here we are at another Monday with so much good news! Maria got married on Wednesday to her husband Marino, which was pretty fun to attend. It was just us and a couple members, and bishop was wearing jeans because we told him it was a casual thing.... until 20 family members of Maria showed up ready for a wedding! So we set up some chairs really fast and ended up having barely enough refreshments, but it all worked out! She's married and so excited for her baptism! And to top it off, Irving and Maria both had their baptismal interviews this weekend, and they both passed! Next time I email there should be at least two new members of the church here in Illinois.

Us waiting for Maria to finish her baptismal interview. Featuring
Leti from Aurora.

Other then that, we went on exchanges with the Elgin sisters and got a lot done in their area. We trained at new missionary training about using Preach my Gospel and all of the other awesome tools we have to share the gospel. I am so blessed to be serving in the states and have such easy access to everything I need. My mission has not been easy just because of the conveniences of serving here, but it has helped us further the work in a way that is unique to this area and these people.

We taught a lot this week, including Ricardo. We were planning on dropping him but then we had a really good Plan of Salvation lesson with him where we smacked down the truth and from what we saw, he genuinely understands what he needs to do. We'll see if he does it! He has so much potential and knows the truth, but has some fears and addictions holding him back. But when we taught that lesson I could see him as a missionary (he is still young enough to serve if he wants to!) or even a young men's leader. He just needs a little push!

Cool story of the week:
Maria said she had been praying all week to know how she would be able to pay her tithing. Being the only source of money in her home, she didn't know how she would cover all the bills and still pay tithing. But let me tell you, she is one of the most faithful people I have ever met. She prayed (without us knowing) and we found out a week or so later she received a new job offer! Not only would it give her enough money to pay tithing, but it's also her dream job working at a bridal shop! Someday I hope to have as much faith as Maria. She has the gospel 100% in her heart. ❤️

Ok that's all, have a good week!

Hermana Hokanson

Elgin Sisters

Look at this cool apple.