May 27th

Dear Family!,

   Sorry about not having the chance to e-mail this past Monday and also we had to put it off a couple more days due to some meetings in McAllen. But what a week it was!!!!!! And the theme I got from the e-mail you left me this week was a very important song I don't want to spell it out and be trunky but I'll have Heston look up You and Me and play it to Maisie for me. haha But what a summer you are about to embark on eh? I'm glad I have one soul purpose to preach the gospel and invite and help others come unto christ there cannot be a better purpose in the world!!!!

   So I got quite the story to recount..... So We had been working with m and her 2 grandkids this last week she told us she'd be in Mexico and wouldn't be able to meet with us so obviously we were a bit bummed but our district  all prayed for the miracle to work out the situation so one day my companion Elder Livingston had suggested we go visit the member that she previously worked for so we headed up there and as we were approaching I said to him that what would you do if she was here???? Come to find out she was!!!! And she had lied to us that she didn't want to meet with us for the week... As we approached her she started to cry and told us she didn't believe in god, christ, baptism or going to church she was throwing all kinds of doubts at us (btw missionaries reading... That's what happens when you don't keep daily contact ((Satan does)) and we couldn't get one good reason out of her why so much changed we just discerned that she was mad about the situation with her and her boyfriend that was about to be moving to Florida so now she'd be out of her work she had and wouldn't be able to provide for her family nor have support of A. So we tried opening the scrip's she wouldn't listen. Tried praying she refused. And I just promised her that she wouldn't be happy and that god spoke to her during her prayer when she asked if she needed to be baptized and when she asked about the restoration. And we told her straight up that she wouldn't be happy and as the member insisted to pray she left us while we prayed we said bye told her we loved her and hoped all to go well.................................. As we walked away i didn't say a word to my companion for a good half an hour. The feeling was worst then losing both state champ games, last baseball game ever, and basically anything bad to happen in my life. I was straight mad,frustrated, and let down! And after about an hour of thinking that I decided that we needed to just move on and not let her decisions decide how our day was to go......

   The next morning we get a call from our zoneleaders and they ask if it would be beneficial for them to come give us a ride and give her another chance so I said sure. We called up the member, found out she was downtown and ZL's picked us up and we went on a mission. As we got there we waited outside for a good 15 min waiting for her to get off the phone with someone and she invites us in and we sit down and asked about 15 questions in a row. I don't even remember them. It was all by the spirit. She then apologized for saying bad things about god and us and asked for forgiveness from us. Then another elder gave her an analogy of her and her son and how she wanted the best for him and related it to god. After that we asked a few more questions and invited her to pray this time she accepted and as we knelt down she said elder Hobbs you say it. and I said well I'll say the first one and then you..... So I prayed and then when I finished we paused for about 1 min. And then she  began and offered up the strongest prayer I've ever heard in my life she apologized to god she told him she'd be baptized and that she'd be the example for her family. It was incredible. Before we could say a thing after the prayer she said elders I'll be there on the 26th and i'll be baptized. The spirit was just radiating like the sun in that little trailor. The next day we brought our district leader he interviewed them and the next day they all got baptized!!!!!!!!!! And as we sang haz me andar en la luz I just felt like bawling the spirit was so strong in the baptism and it was a moment I'll always remember. I'll never trade a mission for anything!!!! My testimony on the power of prayer and the holy ghost has been strengthened bastante and I am so blessed to be with such prepared people in the mission it's incredible to see the changes that everyone can make as they feel the spirit working in there lives.

   And news for the M family is that they missed church this week so we bumped their date back to the 9th of June and need to talk to his wife from England to get her a little bit more acuerdo with them going to church and being baptized. It's crazy to think that two 20 year old kids have to get so many things sorted out for one purpose. But the thing to realize is that two 20 year old kids cannot do it it's impossible!!!! but as the lord blesses them with the spirit miracles are wrought and people enter into covenants with god and our father in heaven brings to pass his purpose. Well I love you all and hope everything goes well in the week to come don't forget to help out those sister missionaries and find them people to teach. After all that is said and done, missionary work is always the number one priority. Help them out!!! 

Les Amo!

Elder Hobbs