April 21

Dear Family, 

Well what a great week! We had an interviews with president and it was a great one! False alarm on the "talk". I learned a ton from President he's such a great guy he'll be the first Chilean apostle. haha I've truely been blessed to have two great great mission presidents. I've loved pres. Trayner and I’ve loved pres. Maluenda and I've learned so much from the both of them from what they've said and what they haven't said. I'm glad that the lord has blessed me with 2 great spiritual leaders for my mission.

It's been a fun week dodging cascarones and having a few close encounters with some neighborhood dogs I was chased for the first time on my mission by a team of yellow labs.... We knocked this door out in the country that we were referred to and no one answers and we walk into the driveway and there waiting was about 4 grown labs and 10 good sized young labs that just went after us. haha I was def. caught off guard but we escaped with no bites.

We've had the blessing of sharing a lot of Easter messages with others... I remember a letter that Sam wrote me early on in the mission about using holidays to our advantage and that was basically the door approach for the week. WE"RE SHaring AN EASTER MESSAge can we come in? And we saw a lot of success in doors being opened and the spirit being felt. My go too scripture for Easter is Msh 16:7-8 and compared sting of death to how one feels when a loved one passes on.... And then we'd ask the gente if we could share more with them and then go to the restoration and it worked well. A family told us they were catholic and weren't interested and we offered an easter scripture and luego 15 minutes later they all have a baptismal date after the message of the restoration. I really like offering a scripture in contacts it helps you discern real quick if come by another time is really intended or if they're nicely saying get lost.

Anyways Easter went well and we've been doing good. We had quite a full house this last Sunday with all kinds of people so that was great too see the ward is definitly growing and I received some good revelation on how to work areas that haven't been worked too much so i'm real excited to go out and make some things happen in some of these smaller towns i'd like to invite you too look up these following cities Petronilla, Driscol, Banquete. These are some towns we've been trying to hit up a lot more lately.

Anyways love you all and have a great week!

Love Elder Hobbs

p.s consider it an iron chef challenge Heston vs. Elder hobbs

April 14

Dear Family, 

This week has been quite the adventure. We had a special fast for the zone to bring investigators to church that could get baptized this month and we had a great turn out I have a strong testimony of fasting! This week we found 16 new investigators in the surrounding cities of Robstown and found people who didn't even know who the mormons are..... it was pretty exciting. Like dad always says it's easier to teach a pitcher who has no bad habits likewise it is to help someone who isn't blinded by false doctrine. So the lord has blessed us with some really cool families scattered throughout the area so our mile budgeting will have to be a lot more careful.... We were recently just given the responsibility of making sure our zones stay under there mileage allotment. 

This upcoming week we'll be having interviews with president and also an exchange with the assistants so i'll be excited for that. President is notorias for his famous marriage talks in some of the final interviews so i'm hoping i don't get the talk yet. haha If there's one thing i've learned from president is that you have to have a solid plan in the things that your doing recently we've learned alot about setting goals.

The weather is hot some days and then it's also been really rainy down here which is good for the farmers because they don't really irrigate too much so the crops have been looking good under neath these Robstown skies. I've recently felt like I've lost some weight i've def. lost a lot of muscle for not being able to work out and having to shower first in the order (4 missionaries shower from the hours of 645 to 730 in our house in the same bathroom). But I do feel like I've been slimming down I've been eating healthy and trying not to overdue it at some of our members homes.

I've learned some good cooking methods of how to survive at least I can't say i've perfected any real good meals but it's been going pretty well. We have a crock pot and I've been making alot of BBQ chicken or salsa and chicken and then cooking ricearoni mixed with bell peppers and onions in bulk and then steaming vegetables for my meals so I've been tearing up the kitchen I would however like you to send me the recipe for the chicken and rice casserole so I can try it out on a Sunday perhaps that'd be much appreciated.

I really love the ward here they're doing really great we have a member in the high council that just told us the number of convert baptisms for the stake and was bragging that the Robstown ward was number 1 in the stake by a long shot so we're pretty excited about that. Our ward mission leader has recently magnified his calling and we've noticed a real emphasis on working with missionaries so it's real exciting to be here right now I love it. The members have also picked up a lot in feeding us and this last week we scheduled some appointments and it's looking like we are overbooked almost every single day. haha so that's real fun. And members have continued to shower us with random food pantry stuff so missionaries have life made in the Robstown ward.

But that's about all I got. Love you all and have a good week!

Elder Hobbs

April 7

Dear Family, 

Well what a week and what a great conference.... We had the opportunity to watch all of conference we watched it at members homes and also at the church on Sunday. There were some very very good talks. I really liked the talk on the priesthood by Dallin H. Oaks in the Priesthood session. We also had been blessed with an investigator that came. His name is Chase he played college football and is now in a semi pro league he's super huge and plays tight end and is african american with super sweet dreads he's already given me a few bro hugs and he just loves us to death he's baptist but before he knows it he's going to be a member of the lords church we've had a few lessons with him and were about to the point of helping him get  over some big obstacles in his life so he can get baptized. We also have had a miracle HQ referral from Oakland, California Temple of a very very prepared family the only problem is she wants to wait till her husband comes back from work he's in Minnesota so I may be transferred by time her husband gets back and it's a family of all boys about 7 in all.

We've recently been having a lot of success in all phases of key indicators/#'s but getting people to church so it was good to see chase come to church and enjoy it so much. We've found a couple of really cool families and i've also had quite a few experiences journal worthy such as a man judo chopping my companion and trying to teach us snake jiu jitsu and then kissing our hands..... He asked if I was wearing cologne and I said no he then said my body smelled beautiful.... haha but we've been teaching his friend and it really helped us break the ice with his buddy and everytime that we come by he stabs at that joke of my body smelling beautiful and so does my comp so elder Hobbs is still the center of jokes... haha

I love the mission so much we were eating at the stake president's house not to long ago and he was talking about missionaries when they come home and how they all ball their eyes out when he takes their tags and I about started crying myself just thinking about it..... So I stopped thinking about it. haha recently in the mission President Maluenda made some changes to rules in the mission... When he came in he made some changes for elders and sisters to be a lot more open to listen to whatever music as long as it was missionary appropriate, etc.... So in last MLC meeting we got together and he defined everything and debujo the lign in the sand for different things and talked about importance of being focused and also cracked on other little missionary traditions so it's been fun talking about it with each companionship about it all and training on obedience so basically the mission is being purified an it's real exciting.

But congrats to Sam for the senator position that's really cool. It appears that Heston may be getting a bit taller huh... And Sam looks super old now. It looks like you took the picture at the old famous Hobbs Family spot at the conference center.

Anyways take care love you all and apply what you heard about missionary work and get Heston and Maisie studying up on PMG so they can discuss it with the missionaries.

Love you all/ y'all

Elder Hobbs

March 31

Dear Family, 

   Well it has been a great week we've had a lot of fun and have been working hard we had an exchange over the weekend and I got to work with some elders and go to church with them and it was a good experience.... We've been flying around and training on this new way of teaching basically to everyone we can in the zone. Everyone knows it but it's still new to everyone and everyones still working on getting kinks out and new things come up from president and the assistants and we've been kept on our toes. I actually got to work with an Elder that was an ambassador from USU and had heard of Maisie but wasn't sure if he met her. I also found out that we finally got some Fremontites into the mission. We've been surrounded by Weber kids and Alta and all other schools but finally I heard that there's some elders in the valley (Mcallen area) that went to Fremont, So it's a small world I may never run into them due to the fact we're up here on the north border and never really go down south other than for an occasional meeting but hey there's still hope.

As for the release date..... Nothings been officially stated they let elders know 90 days in advance but it's looking like the 30th of July as I wrote to sam in a letter ( may not have made it out of Robstown postal service....) and I will have no choice whether to extend or not Pres. Maluenda has stated we need to accept the call from the Lord to go home so whatever your priesthood keys say is the way to follow. 

Now this is some advice to Sam and was actually something that I learned this week in Sunday. One of my favorite sections in D&C is in 121 where it talks about the importance of using our priesthood, ruling in righteousness, and being what thou art and then acting the part (the characteristics of being a priesthood leader are in the section). So the Branch President in Alice was discussing vs. 46 and it hit me pretty hard what the section may be implying there.... but it says along the lines "let the holy ghost be thy sceptor".....and he asked who holds a sceptor?..... answer A king/queen. and then discussed bad leaders who ruled in tyranny and then good leaders. And it's been my experience that if you are all over someone trying to make them do things then they don’t respond as well but if you show them how to do it, guide them, and encourage and support them then they  are very more likely able to do what you ask of them.

And especially under Pres. Maluenda I've learned how much he trusts his leaders in the mission to go and take care of issues i've felt a lot of weight on my shoulders at times but it's been for great experiences. Experience is one of the best teachers and the way i see Pres. Maluenda guide and lead the mission it has a phrase in chapter 4 of PMG pondering in my mind... Joseph Smith said it and I'm paraphrasing of course.... but it says along the lines "the way the kingdom of heaven is run is through personal revelation to your own assigned stewardship." (please look that up and read it I didn't do the quote much justice. hahaha) So I feel the lord has intended for us to understand what the holding the Priesthood on earth is preparing us for and how important it is to seek your own personal revelation and use the talents and gifts in which you possess. So Sam be a righteous Senator and you'll be able to accomplish much more personally and in the fields in which you are assigned to render service to.

But that's my letter for the week..... thank you for your prayers and thank the family also for those that have kept me in there prayers I feel everyones love and support.

Love "y'all"

Elder Hobbs

March 24

Dear Family, 

What news huh, Heston has a giant house all to himself! That's going to be quite exciting who knows if I'll be joining you I might just move down to Southern Texas and work in the oil company there's quite a bit of business to be made and you don't even need to have a degree so who knows haha.....

But this week has been good we've had a great week and we've been teaching a few people here and there we're still struggling on getting people to church but the ward has been doing well. We just had stake conference and we had a 70 named Al Wright come and speak to the stake and it was wonderful! I learned so much from him and the re-occurring theme that I've been focusing on ever since is that the most important thing is who you are and how you treat others so that's going to be the focus of the rest of my mission.  He also talked a lot about charity patience and being an eternal companion so that'll also be the focus of after the mission but that won't need to be worried about for a while. haha

We got transfer news I'll be staying here in Sinton Zone in Robstown with Elder Bassett for another transfer we're both excited to be here still there's still plenty of work to be done and plenty of miracles to make happen.

General Conference will be coming up and i'm super excited for it. I'm almost more excited to be able to study the liahona in spanish and re read the talks there's lots of knowledge to be attained from Apostles, Prophets, and 70's. I have also been studying a lot in the Teachings of the prophet manuals I've almost finished Joseph F. Smith and I’ve also been using a Book of Mormon study guide that I had ordered it has helped me a ton to understand things in the el libro de mormon. But I love the mission, I love my life, and I love the lord!

Elder Hobbs