Dear Family and Friends,
This week was a long week, that had such a sweet and at the same time heavy ending.....We spent a lot of time working with one of our investigators, and Satan was really trying to mess with him, but he was baptized yesterday, and I must say it was one of the most touching baptisms that I have ever seen. I got to assist in the baptism, which was really cool, and it was a good thing I was there because I'm not sure the man baptizing him could have picked him back up out of the water. But, the Spirit was just so powerful, and everyone there was crying, and it was just amazing. The thing that made it really cool, was that the missionary that found him originally over a year ago got to be there, so it was so cool. Later that same night, we had transfer calls, and thankfully I'm not packing (yet), but it was an ironic night. My companion, and the rest of our district for that matter, has been telling me I was going to be a District Leader soon, so when the AP's called, my companion was laughing his head off, then something crazy happened.....President King called, and all of the sudden my companion quit laughing, because it was for him, and he's going to be a Zone Leader, so he's a little overwhelmed. So, needless to say it was a crazy day....The rest of the week was really fun, we got to see some investigators that we haven't seen in a while, we were super busy all the time, and we had another unique experience.... Saturday we had the opportunity to go to a Messianic Jewish service, and it was really interesting and different, but I much prefer being LDS if I do say so myself. The funny thing was that the Rabbi was talking about not being hypocrites, as he was taking stabs at our church and what we do as missionaries, but he acted like nothing was different afterwards, so I thought it was funny. Then after this service this lady comes up to me and starts telling me that I don't need to be going around witnessing to people, and I was on the verge of saying something really loudly, but I didn't, so I was proud of myself for making some progress on controlling my temper. I'm really excited to see who my new companion is going to be, and what's going to happen this week, it should be really fun. I hope you all are doing well....
Love,
Elder Hughes
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Message for the Week
Dear Family and friends,
This week was a lot of knocking doors, a lot of bike riding, and a lot of annoyance. We spent a good portion of most of ours days tracting very unsuccessfully, hopefully though we should have a couple baptisms coming up soon, but we'll have to see. One day in particular stands out in my mind, it was Wednesday. The first house we came to was abandoned, so we went to the next, and the guy came out the door and cussed us out while threating us, and told to get off his property (first time this has ever happened), thankfully I've gotten my temper under control a bit better, or things may have gone south really quickly, because this man was just plain rude.... So that was the first door we knocked that day, and the rest of the day was just terrible, until we got to the last door. We had a referral in the area, so we decided to go contact him, and thank goodness he was home. So we sat down on his porch and began to talk with him, and fairly quickly he told us of a dream he'd had the night before we first contacted him, and in this dream he saw the second coming, and the final judgement, and he was told that "the Latter Day Saints would lead the way." After he told us this, I didn't know what to say, but the Spirit bore witness to me that this man had received a witness that our church is Christ's church, and all I could think was how quick can we get this man baptized, unfortunately we soon found out that his family is not so receptive, but that didn't even matter to me. To think that the Lord had prepared such a miracle was so astonishing to me that I was speechless, and it humbled me to tears. I've been looking for something cool like this to happen my whole mission, and it seems all that's ever happened has been the crazy stuff, but I guess I was finally ready for it. It was really cool to see that the Lord really does have his hand in this work, and to get to know that he is preparing people for us. That's something I've struggled with ever since I came our, but I know now how much he loves us. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, but I'm sure things will pick up. I love you all, and I hope you're doing well, know that I pray for you, and I am deeply grateful for your prayers in my behalf. I know that this Gospel is true. Take time to study it and learn, and I know that you can learn how to be happy and successful in life.
Love,
Elder Hughes-
This week was a lot of knocking doors, a lot of bike riding, and a lot of annoyance. We spent a good portion of most of ours days tracting very unsuccessfully, hopefully though we should have a couple baptisms coming up soon, but we'll have to see. One day in particular stands out in my mind, it was Wednesday. The first house we came to was abandoned, so we went to the next, and the guy came out the door and cussed us out while threating us, and told to get off his property (first time this has ever happened), thankfully I've gotten my temper under control a bit better, or things may have gone south really quickly, because this man was just plain rude.... So that was the first door we knocked that day, and the rest of the day was just terrible, until we got to the last door. We had a referral in the area, so we decided to go contact him, and thank goodness he was home. So we sat down on his porch and began to talk with him, and fairly quickly he told us of a dream he'd had the night before we first contacted him, and in this dream he saw the second coming, and the final judgement, and he was told that "the Latter Day Saints would lead the way." After he told us this, I didn't know what to say, but the Spirit bore witness to me that this man had received a witness that our church is Christ's church, and all I could think was how quick can we get this man baptized, unfortunately we soon found out that his family is not so receptive, but that didn't even matter to me. To think that the Lord had prepared such a miracle was so astonishing to me that I was speechless, and it humbled me to tears. I've been looking for something cool like this to happen my whole mission, and it seems all that's ever happened has been the crazy stuff, but I guess I was finally ready for it. It was really cool to see that the Lord really does have his hand in this work, and to get to know that he is preparing people for us. That's something I've struggled with ever since I came our, but I know now how much he loves us. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, but I'm sure things will pick up. I love you all, and I hope you're doing well, know that I pray for you, and I am deeply grateful for your prayers in my behalf. I know that this Gospel is true. Take time to study it and learn, and I know that you can learn how to be happy and successful in life.
Love,
Elder Hughes-
Monday, October 11, 2010
Mail's Here
Dear Family,
This week was kind of an interesting one. I went on exchange again, and got meet a very nice Catholic man who took us to lunch. It was cool, because he knew one of the Elders in my districts former Bishop, so he was real nice and loves the church, but he's a devout Catholic. Funny enough, my companion and I tracted into them last transfer, so it was quite hilarious. We had a new investigator come to church, and accept the invitation to be baptized, so hopefully things go well with him. Another of our investigators had surgery again, and we finally found out what exactly is wrong with him, but he has told that he would like to be baptized as soon as he can, but we have to wait since he can't physically get himself wet yet, so it should happen in a couple weeks. Our recent convert is doing very well, she has a calling in the relief society activities commitee, and is just having a blast with the church, but she is still adjusting to the lifestyle, so it's fun to see her growing. I had the longest day of biking thus far on my mission, and my legs have been killing me all week, but it's all good. We were having very bad luck with finding this week, then I made a joke during weekly planning about how we never get any referrals, and like 4 seconds later I get a call from the AP's who are trying to send us some referrals, and we ended up with 3 that same day, so the Lord once again showed me that he has a sense of humor. We are the pilot mission for a new advertising campaign, and as a result have some pretty sweet new pass along cards, and are giving them out like candy, hoping that it works, but thus far not too much is happening, granted it has only been like 2 weeks. Church this week was really interesting, we had members bearing their testimony about the Constitution, and I was really not too happy since it was our investigators first time to church, but there was nothing I could do. I did take the opportunity to bear my testimony, which was very refreshing, and fun. In the 3 months I've been here, it's been cool to see how much my testimony has grown. Before I leave I would like to share some of it with you: I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father that hears and answers our prayers, I know he loved us enough to send his firstborn son Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Redeemer, and I know that they live, and are waiting for us to return to them with open arms. I know that our Father in Heaven prepared the Holy Ghost as a way to commune with us since we cannot be in his physical presence. I know that Joseph Smith was called and annointed as the Prophet of this last dispensation before the foundations of the earth were lain, and that we refoiced when the Savior annointed him. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God that leads and guides us today, and I know that by obeying the laws and principles of the Gospel, and taking part in the ordinances thereof, all mankind may return to live with our Father in Heaven, with our Families, and have Eternal Life, and Exaltation, in the name of Jesus Christ, I bear you this witness, Amen.
Elder Hughes
This week was kind of an interesting one. I went on exchange again, and got meet a very nice Catholic man who took us to lunch. It was cool, because he knew one of the Elders in my districts former Bishop, so he was real nice and loves the church, but he's a devout Catholic. Funny enough, my companion and I tracted into them last transfer, so it was quite hilarious. We had a new investigator come to church, and accept the invitation to be baptized, so hopefully things go well with him. Another of our investigators had surgery again, and we finally found out what exactly is wrong with him, but he has told that he would like to be baptized as soon as he can, but we have to wait since he can't physically get himself wet yet, so it should happen in a couple weeks. Our recent convert is doing very well, she has a calling in the relief society activities commitee, and is just having a blast with the church, but she is still adjusting to the lifestyle, so it's fun to see her growing. I had the longest day of biking thus far on my mission, and my legs have been killing me all week, but it's all good. We were having very bad luck with finding this week, then I made a joke during weekly planning about how we never get any referrals, and like 4 seconds later I get a call from the AP's who are trying to send us some referrals, and we ended up with 3 that same day, so the Lord once again showed me that he has a sense of humor. We are the pilot mission for a new advertising campaign, and as a result have some pretty sweet new pass along cards, and are giving them out like candy, hoping that it works, but thus far not too much is happening, granted it has only been like 2 weeks. Church this week was really interesting, we had members bearing their testimony about the Constitution, and I was really not too happy since it was our investigators first time to church, but there was nothing I could do. I did take the opportunity to bear my testimony, which was very refreshing, and fun. In the 3 months I've been here, it's been cool to see how much my testimony has grown. Before I leave I would like to share some of it with you: I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father that hears and answers our prayers, I know he loved us enough to send his firstborn son Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Redeemer, and I know that they live, and are waiting for us to return to them with open arms. I know that our Father in Heaven prepared the Holy Ghost as a way to commune with us since we cannot be in his physical presence. I know that Joseph Smith was called and annointed as the Prophet of this last dispensation before the foundations of the earth were lain, and that we refoiced when the Savior annointed him. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God that leads and guides us today, and I know that by obeying the laws and principles of the Gospel, and taking part in the ordinances thereof, all mankind may return to live with our Father in Heaven, with our Families, and have Eternal Life, and Exaltation, in the name of Jesus Christ, I bear you this witness, Amen.
Elder Hughes
Monday, October 4, 2010
Good Tiddings
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been a slow one, and hasn't been as productive as I would've liked, but at the same time it was a week to remember. I loved General Conference, it was so amazing to hear the counsel and guidance we've been given. We don't have any baptisms coming up too soon, but hopefully we'll be able to get things going. I really don't have any funny stories this week, it was pretty boring other than the debate I had while I was on exchange about facebook and how I'll never be on there. The weather has finally started to cool off, thank goodness. My companion is whining about it being cold now, but it feels sooooo good. I would like to express my heart felt thanks for all your love, support, and prayers while I've been out here, I really do appreciate all that you do, and I hope you all know that I pray for you as well. I thank you all for your encouragement and righteous examples, and I truly hope that we may be able to work at becoming more like our Savior. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, I know he lives and loves us, I know that we have a living Heavenly Father who loves and communicates with us through the medium of the Holy Ghost. I hope all of us may be able to ponder the messages shared in General Conference, and apply them in our lives. We truly have a great blessing being members of the true and living church of Christ, and we need to show our gratitude by living as righteously and we can. I know the Lord will strengthen and bless us as we strive to do so. I love you all, and I hope you're doing well!
Elder Hughes
This week has been a slow one, and hasn't been as productive as I would've liked, but at the same time it was a week to remember. I loved General Conference, it was so amazing to hear the counsel and guidance we've been given. We don't have any baptisms coming up too soon, but hopefully we'll be able to get things going. I really don't have any funny stories this week, it was pretty boring other than the debate I had while I was on exchange about facebook and how I'll never be on there. The weather has finally started to cool off, thank goodness. My companion is whining about it being cold now, but it feels sooooo good. I would like to express my heart felt thanks for all your love, support, and prayers while I've been out here, I really do appreciate all that you do, and I hope you all know that I pray for you as well. I thank you all for your encouragement and righteous examples, and I truly hope that we may be able to work at becoming more like our Savior. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, I know he lives and loves us, I know that we have a living Heavenly Father who loves and communicates with us through the medium of the Holy Ghost. I hope all of us may be able to ponder the messages shared in General Conference, and apply them in our lives. We truly have a great blessing being members of the true and living church of Christ, and we need to show our gratitude by living as righteously and we can. I know the Lord will strengthen and bless us as we strive to do so. I love you all, and I hope you're doing well!
Elder Hughes
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