June

June 30

Querida Familia Hobbs,

How exciting another missionary down and another one to go whose going to make you cry the most so prepare yourself now for what's to come. I still remember that day like it was yesterday getting dropped off at the MTC and thinking mom why aren't you crying. Sometimes it's a little depressing being the middle child. haha But just to remind you of the words you gave me that day mom there's nothing to cry about the lord has made your children into men and women  of god. To give them up for two years is to give them the best experiences, lessons, and opportunities you have to offer. Just remember our father and heaven had to send us out as well to learn so the mission is no different! I'd invite you to assume your personal responsibilities as the matriarch of the family this week and to realize your daughter is going to be receiving and giving many blessings for herself and the family. It's not a time to weep it's a time to have joy!

This week we had zone conference and it was my last one so i got to share my dying testimony for sake of time i only got to have 1 minute to share it but i felt so much power from the holy ghost spilling out of my mouth as i bore my testimony. It was very fitting to be here in the harlingen stake center in order to go out with my testimony.... I've spent 10 of my 16 transfers serving in this stake so it'll always be a special place in my heart... Especially when i move down here in about 5 weeks! But it's been fun to reflect on the mission i've decided that there's a great analogy to describe the mission.... It's like drawing water from the ocean there's so much to learn and obtain but we are the ones to choose how much water we want to draw and the bigger the jug the more the work but the more the rewards you get what you put into it... the only catch is you only get to draw water once...... As i approach the end of my mission i know that i won't be a perfect person i will still have much to work on but i do know that i have water to satisfy my thirst and the thirst for my future wife and kids.

Anyways so that's been my little trunkiness thanks as well mom for your july 30th comment. Me and my comp are getting along great like i said he went to Northridge highschool and i've played sports against alot of his good friends and i already have a dinner planned at his mother's home. We have hit it off real well and he's a real humble hard worker i've learned a lot from him and it's my pleasure to have him be my last companion. As for investigators we will be planning on a baptism this week and 2 the following week and we have some people we're working with for the end of the month but they'll need to progress or we'll need to find some new people i really really want to have a baptism my last week of my mission so i'll be working hard for that i just want to find a prepared family that can enter into the temple in a year from now. So i'll need to get them to church in these next two weeks for me to be here and see it but if i'm not here ta wueno. 

But that's basically how life has been going on the mission.... i got to go to stake conference and see a lot of familiar faces members and even some old investigators of mine and others for the time that i've been here in the mission. As of Requests for the upcoming weeks i don't know if i should still be waiting patiently for that birthday package??? haha jk don't worry about sending me anything... I'd like for you to just make sure i'm registered and as well have some potential places for me to live up in USU if i decide that's where i need to be. Not to get too far into the future but i'm gonna want a lot to do when i get home so i was thinking it'd be fun to play demolition on the old roof in our attic.

Anyways i love you all and have a good week and tenga animo y felicidad mom your daughter made a great decision to bless her life!

Elder Hobbs

June 23

Well this week has been great we have had a lot of good stuff going on! I got my new companion his name is Elder Brock Embley he is from Layton and went to Northridge High. I have almost had every companion from Utah up to this point crazy.

Well we are teaching a couple of awesome people right now we have continued to work with a referral we got from some Dallas missionaries. We just found an active member who wants all of his grandkids baptized so we have been working hard on that one will be getting baptized in July and as well we are still pending a couple getting married so they can be baptized.

 I can't believe that my mission has 1 month left it's been a flash. President Maluenda has all the old missionaries begin to make plans with what they will be doing when they get off the mission so just a warning i may be e-mailing you about college things since that applies to future plans. I'd just like to invite you guys to make sure i'm registered for classes and just in case have some good leads with people to live with or apartments in Logan.

Anyways i hope your all doing well and working hard with the sister missionaries Have a good week love you all

Elder Hobbs

June 16

Wow whole world just got flipped upside down back home! I can't believe that my bishop will be released and my stake president what a crazy change. They may be releasing the stake president here in Harlingen as well he has been in for about 9 years and they have an unexpected stake conference here on the 29th in June so i’ve been thinking that's what they're up to this upcoming sunday. 

As for this week it's been really good. It was Elder Bawden's last week here in Texas and he has been excited and sad to go so we had a lot of members give us some special treatment through buying us dinner or cooking special meals for us so we’ve been getting the hook up. It's kinda thrown my stomach off a bit so i've had a real upset stomach all week in fact a couple days ago i woke up in the middle of the night and had to hurl my companion sang me some hymns while i was having my moment he couldn't quite  sleep during the night. haha

We as well had quite a few miracles this week. Through gettting to know all of the members we've found out  we have a lot of part member families to work with we have found an active member who has 3 grandkids that he wants to have baptized that lives with him. We as well have found out a couple other sweet part members and as well we received a super cool referencia from some dallas elders that were teaching a man that is just fascinated with the book of mormon and wants his children to be involved in church activities and we have invited them to be baptized and they're very excited about getting that opportunity so we're seeing lots and lots of miracles. I found out my new companion will be Elder Embley i've never really met him but i'me real excited the mission has been the best thing in the world i'm so excited for maisie to go and reap the blessings for those she serves and for herself and for her future family!

Love you all have a great week!

Elder Hobbs

June 9

Dear FAmily,

This week was great! We have continued to work hard with our auxilary leaders and have continued to try to get more involved with the units. we have recently created a map of all of harlingen for the ward units to see who there missionaries are and as well we will be fixing with one of the bishops to get a sign up sheet to feed the missionaries. I have continued to not have problems eating with members we get lots of food and we almost never have to cook for ourselves so all of my cooking skills i've acquired are being put on hold thanks to the generosity of the members in Harlingen. We have continued to find member after member in our area that hasn't been visited we cover basically half of the English ward and i'd say a third of the spanish ward i'm trying to suggest to the Assistants to split our area due to the overwhelming amount of members we have. haha but it's nice to have them all it's just hard to get those solid relations with limited time..... I've decided i don't want to talk to any members about when i go home in order to keep the conversation on missionary work... And yes Elder Bawden will be finishing up his mission not this wednesday but the following wednesday and he has been going on strong he's a great example of enduring to the end.

Right now our family we;re teaching is in need of some understood principles/commandments..... they are not wanting to get married and we haven't been able to help them get over that but they still love us a ton and feed us and even invited us to this big fiesta at his brother's house but right now we're trying to get the bishop involved and some other members who have been married/have a bit more experience being married.

I got the e-mail from all the friends it was good to see that everyone is working real hard on there missions and seeing great miracles and experiencing the gospel in there lives.... One thing i've learned recently comes from a talk from Elder Nelson.....

 Is that obedience to commandments = blessings every time    

 Lack of obedience to commandments= loss of blessings every time

So many people need so much help but they are digging themselves there own hole by not receiving divine help from the lord. Pride is the biggest thing that brings people down and putting themselves and there abilities before the lord. Or it's the lack of understanding those simple things so that's where missionary work comes in is calling people to repentance so they do those little things to change there life in order to put themselves on track!

I love you family thanks for sending me the pictures and keep working hard as member missionaries!

Elder Hobbs

June 2

Dear Family,

this week has been great we had the Torrez family show up to church they're are little miracle family that we had made the plans to find and we ended up finding brother torrez siting down on a bench at his house and there is 8 in the family! Pretty sweet right? The family loves us to death and all the kids have loved playing around with us and they;ve been reading in the scriptures and praying together up to this point and as well bro. torrez works at a restaurant and he invited us over to eat and he cooked for us so now we have a hook up to a super nice mexican restarurant and more importantly a super awesome prepared family. We made them some cheesecake for little anthony's fifth birthday they didn't have money so couldn't really throw a celebration but he loved it and we sang to him and had a good time he kept fighting with me to sit on my lap.... haha and i kept pushing him off and finally i gave in and said it's your birthday and my companion laughed his head off. So i already repented of that but it was a great night we've already had like 4 lessons with them and we are starting to make some marriage plans..... we as well have another couple that will be getting baptized in july that have been taught everything they are just waiting on there big wedding plans they came up with. As well Maria Ramos the mother of a member in our area got baptized this sunday by her son so we've been seeing lots of success and the lord continues to bless us.

We've continued to work hard with leadership in the wards we cover to get everyone op to par we've helped the elders quorum pres get families and assignments assigned for hometeaching and have been making some plans so that there are at least 2 to 3 companionships to each missionary area so that we can pick a night out of the week and just go blitz there areas with them to help home teaching get done and as well help us in fellowshipping inv and finding them friends. i can't tell you how much a friend helps an investigator in the church i'd take a solid couple of friends over a real solid spiritual confirmation almost every single time....

love you all have a great week!

Elder Hobbs