My week has been good!!!

My week has been good! :) We have given some people dates for baptism :) and this one we have been working with for a long time!!! His name is Nickson and he is the life and sole of Chyulu for me! He is my favorite investigator. :) He is also a carver. :) So I asked if he could make something for me. He is carving the restoration of the priesthood out of stone for me. It is super cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to get it. So it has been a good week. We found some things in our branches that we need to try and fix.  We can just say that I would bet that there is no where on earth that the church has problems like this. But it is a good place. I have learned a lot :) mostly about what it means to be truly converted to the gospel. And I feel like I am learning so much that I am scared that I won’t remember all the lessons.

Also I got the packages. :) I can now use my keens and I have to thank you so much! They are so wonderful! I knew that my feet were hot when I went out but I didn’t know how nice the sandals would be, except for when the little pokey things get in them but other than that they are wonderful!!! So thank you so much!!!!!!!! You are the best mom ever!!!!!!! also I really like the water enhancers you sent, the MEO… or how ever it is spelled, really helps with the weird tasting water here :) so those were super good :) same with the CTR rings I know a lot of little kids that will be very happy!!!!!!!!!!!  Your are AMAZING :) But just so you have an idea for the next package….. I would love if you could go to Taco bell and get as many of their sauces packets as you can and send them here :) I know that the Green one the yellow one and the orange one are really good I don’t really like the red one, but if you could send a lot of those that would be wonderful!!!!!!  And or you could get some sort of Mexican sauce that I could add to food. or even better yet, all of the above :)
I love you mom!!!!!! I don’t know any other way I can put it. But I am so happy that because of the temple and the gospel you can be my mom forever! :)

I am glad that you guys are having fun down in Vegas. :) I hope you are getting some names to give to the missionaries there. :) and I am glad that Uncle Sid says hi :) Tell him that I miss listening to his stories and that I better get some good ones when I get home. :) Also, if you think that the policeman’s face was funny tell him you should see peoples faces here when I tell them I have a black Uncle. That gets some laughs.
Just a random thought, I think that when I get back home I would like to get much more involved in Exchange.

You guys are great missionary’s :) great people and the BEST parents ever!!!!!!!
I hope you know how much I love you. :)

SLY
Elder Hodges

Feb. 13th

This week has been somewhat normal compared to last week. Elder Musarurwa is getting better fast, he is on his feet and walking around so we took him to the easy parts of the area so he could walk but this week went well :)

 Ya I have to say that even I would like to see the looks on our faces when we saw the water. I am glad that I am getting some good stories. :)

As for me I'm alive and very very well :) working hard! and the new guy Elder Kiggundu (my comp) and me are really starting to click. :) We are working hard trying to help the branches. We are looking at having some baptisms soon but still most of our work is working with the members to help them become true latter-day saints. We have run into a lot of problems, Satan is really trying hard to stop the work here. We have run into branch presidents stealing church money, using tithing to by the town alcohol, and even bring ladies into the church to brake the laws of God. So Satan knows what this place can become and he is using all he can to stop it from becoming the powerful place it can be, but the work is moving forward.

As for the bike and how far we go. It depends on where we go but I would have to say that we go about 5 to even 15 miles a day, now of course I am counting there and back. so don’t think we are going to far out there but every push is worth it. Even if its up hill and let me tell you on a big heavy bike that only has one gear going up hill SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! but it’s all for the Lord. :)

So the basement is coming along. :) that’s great! I bet it looks good. especially if you are still watching the home improvement network on TV :)

So not much snow? that’s sad but I am glad you are enjoying it! :) and thank you for enjoying it for me too :)  I also hope that the other package gets here soon so I can use the stuff in there :) but thank you for what I have gotten so far. :)

 Thank you so much mom sorry the email is short today but know that I love you!!!! I remember all of the times that I would come home from school and we would watch Opra and Ellen and all of those fun shows, those were good times that I will always remember!

I bet these trainings are amazing to go to!!! The PMG is amazing to me! I wish that I

knew what was inside before I came it is something that I will study my whole life and I will always learn from it! It really is amazing! You ask how you can fit in with these people!!!?? You might call them spiritual giants but there is something I want you to know dad,  that is you stand as tall as they do. I know you do fit in. I know that I have always looked up to you and how strong you are! God has placed you among the Giants because you are also a Giant.

 DAD I can look back a little bit of my life and you have always been there for me :) you have always helped me and there are no words that can thank you enough. I remember the days that we would go out to lunch together. :) those are special to me and I will always treasure those times.  

So to answer your questions, I am doing GREAT! There are some good days and some bad with my comp and all but we can always keep going, so I am doing great! :)

I do love the people!! :) It is impossible to not fall in love with people you teach like this.  I never thought it would be this easy to love them. When you see them as a child of God and you want for them what God wants, all you can feel is love for them :) it’s amazing!!!!

There are many people that do understand me but then at the same time there are many that don’t understand. They say my English is "deep" but I know that if they know English they can understand if they try but that is a problem sometimes.  A scriptorian? what I can tell you is this… that I have found a deep and very strong love for the scriptures. I know that they talk to me and that they are the words that God wants me to know and have. I study them every day I always wish that study time would be longer. but I don’t know if I can call myself a scriptorian. I don’t know enough.  I have only taken one cup out of the ocean of learning that is found in the scriptures, but all I can do is keep drinking. 

I really love you all!!

Elder T. Hodges

One Crazy Week!!! Feb. 6, 2012

Well for one I have to say sorry for emailing a day late. We had some problems with the power and a lot of things just didn’t work. But I am emailing today. :)  I am so glad to hear that your week was so amazing!! :) that is great! and I wish I could have heard the powerful talks by the members of the 12. :) I am glad you got to be there. :)

As for my week................ my week has been the most crazy week on mission! it has been kinda funny to look at…. see it all started normal. :) all nice and good but then on Tuesday our power went out. But that is no big deal everything went on just fine but one thing is that our water uses a pump, so it needs power and someone forgot that and they tried to get a drink when the power was off and didn’t turn the handle back to off…. so when the power came back on the next day. (Wednesday) the pump started to pump water into our sink, and that sink happened to be plugged.  So we left in the morning to go to DDM.  and when we left the power was off… then after that everyone went to work. My comp and I had to come back to the flat to get some things so we get back to the flat and the first thing I saw was that all of the rocks outside were wet and I didn’t know why because they are covered by the roof…. then I see the big waterfall coming out of our front door. lol :) ya so looks like the power came back when we were gone. and the whole house was flooded. :) ya we spent the rest of the day cleaning the flat. but we were blessed and nothing was damaged and there was a lot of water!!!! like it was over my feet… it was crazy but at the same time it was really funny :)   So that was Wednesday then the next day went well nothing really happened but then we come to Friday it looked like the day was going to be fine and dandy too. We went to our area and we came back and started to teach a good powerful lesson to these men under a tree by our flat. We see Elder and Sister Schwab leave in their truck. (They are the couple missionaries here.) but that’s not a problem we just keep teaching then we see them come back like 30 mins later and they stop at the tree yelling at us to get the bikes off the front they have an emergency that someone got hurt. and I look in the back of the truck and there are the other elders.  One of them was VERY bloody with his eyes closed not talking just totally out of it and they were taking him to the hospital about 1 hour away. Turns out that he fell off his bike and took a very hard fall he is going to be down and out for a little bit but we are glad to say that he is doing ok and that he will be fine :) he is on his feet and walking around. :) so this week has been very interesting :) lol

But the Lord was in all parts of this week, you can really see how the Lord cares for His missionaries and it is wonderful my testimony has grown in many different ways this week. :) it has been great :)

It is great to hear that Jordan’s papers are so close to getting put in. :) I can’t wait to hear where he is going!!!! so you need to tell him that as soon as he gets the call he needs to tell me where he is going!!!!!! :) He can even email me. I found that out from President B. that we can email family and even friends. So if its ok with mission president then I’m ok with it :) so if he would like he could send me a Email. but I just need to know where he is going as soon as he gets the call!!! :)

Love  

Elder H.