"Movin On"

These weeks just go by so fast!!!!! :) I can’t believe that I am only 3 months 

away from being a year out on mission!!!!!!! That is just plain crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!

by the way do you know when Matt gets home???? I can’t remember when 

he left. I hope he is doing ok. I know he is working wonders down there :) 

 Sounds like your week has been full of broken computers and fun in

the water :)  I hope it has been fun for you. :) I hope that you can get your

comp fixed... question how can you do your work without a computer? 

and plus what are you going to do with 2 computers?? why can’t you just

get dell to fix the old one? But I am glad that the CD's helped out!:)  

Sounds like you are also busy in the MTC :) That’s great! :)I have this

feeling that when I get home that you are going to know more about PMG

than I will!! :)  I can feel that you’re really working hard there :) 

Thank you for setting such a good example for me :) 

The missionaries are lucky to have you in the MTC with them. :) and it sounds

like missionary work there is like here:) you have to be ready for anything :) think

on your feet. I like it :) it is super fun :) know what you mean when you get

asked to speak in the meeting when you just got to church :) ya that’s nice. 

Well, as for me this week has been super fun!!!  We have been working hard :) 

we can see the improvements :) its amazing :) But I do have some news. :) 

 Saturday was transfer news........

 I am being transferred I am going to a place called Kitale. :) I have 

also been asked to be a Zone Leader there… I don’t know how I feel about that,

but whom the Lord calls he qualifies.  So I am going to the other side of the 

country. lol :) People tell me it is still the bush, not as bush as here not even close!!!

but still they say that it is bush. :) I will be in the town. :)  I hear it is nice, they say

that it is cold up there or at least as cold as Kenya can get :) but I will

be leaving this week on Wednesday. I am sad to leave here but I am looking forward

to going to a new place :) I think it is time to move along.

Missionary life is one amazing thing!! :) I am lucky to be here working for the Master!

I truly am blessed :) the work here is amazing. :) We also had another baptism on 

Sunday of a man named Peter, He is a part of the group of people that we are trying

to start a branch :) he works hard to come to church and every thing. He is a good guy! :)

So cool story :) We got to go to this river :) it was a great P-day activity. :) we had a lot lot of fun playing in the river there were suppose to be crocks there:) lol   We didn’t see any crocks even if people do say they were there. :) lol we had some food on this super cool beach area and it was just super fun!!! We also found this great tree house that you need to stay in when you come down this way :) it’s right next to the river! :) It is beautiful! Also we were even in the Park today the river is the boundary line :) we found some tracks of a lot of animals that come to the river and drink. it was super cool!!! 

so that is my bragging story of how cool I am and my mission :) lol

I’m happy for your wonderful days that you have! going to the mtc the temple and all of those wonderful things. I can’t wait for the day that I can once again go to the temple! It will be an amazing day!! I can’t wait to just sit inside, in the peace, quiet, beauty of the temple. Where the soft tender promptings of the Spirit come so easy and with such clear understanding. I look forward to that day and I look forward to going to the temple with you and mom. I know that as you spend more time in the temple your mtc experience will get better and better! maybe if possible you could try to go with some of your missionaries there. I know that they would love it! and I know that the teaching you are trying to get them to learn will be more pressed into their minds. You even said it yourself its like you can do more in your day.  :)  Missionaries in the mtc a lot of them anyways, will have problems that you will not be able to solve, and I know you know that but what I have found here and though life is that all you really need is a desire to be better. If you want to be better then the Lord will put things in your way to help you grow into what is needed. But what I guess I’m saying is that all you really need is to implant an idea that they are climbing to the top and they with the Lord will fix themselves. I hate to say this but I have seen an Elder here in my district that does not have that desire to better himself. He thinks he is the best that there is. And you can see how it has hurt him in his life and even his mission, it is very sad. But I know the Lord is there to help him and I hope it all works out.

To answer your questions. My comp is great!  I am proud to call him my "son" :) he is turning into a great missionary. :) We work well together. I even think he is going to train this next transfer. :)  He knows a lot of things for only being in the church for like 2 years. I am very happy to be his trainer, and yes I do love him and I want the best for him. He is going to be a part of my life forever! He has somehow played a part in helping me return to live with our Farther. :) The new training program ( The 1st 12 weeks) is very very very good for setting a foundation for a missionary! If any missionary follows that then they will know what to do! :) it’s great! As for the district, it is doing well for the most part. remember that missionary that I told you about who doesn’t want to grow well him and his comp are having a very hard time together!!!!!! This missionary is with his trainer still too. I am really worried for him!!! I feel like if he dose not change the way he thinks about other people he will not last his 2 years. But other than that we all love each other VERY much!!!! :)

Well I hope all is going well on your side of the world :) keep me posted on anything cool that is happening. :)

We are working for the Lord, but the Lord is working on us.

LOVE

Elder Tyler Treasure Hodges

Chuylu Missionaries

March 12th

This week has gone by super fast!! But I have just found that is part

of mission life. It is just going by so fast. Transfers are coming up

soon and I feel like I am going to be moving to a new place. I am

almost done training Elder Kiggundu. He is becoming a great

missionary!! He knows a lot! I am really proud of him. :)

As for me this week, has gone well. :) we have been trying to work

more with members because that is a problem here. We need strong

branches to take investigators too, so first we need to make the

branches strong. So that is really what we have been working on. We

saw a lot of members this week. That took a lot of peddling on my good

old iron horse. But it was worth it. We have found that over half of

the members in this area are inactive. So we are working hard to fix

what we can. And it is going well! I now have a stronger testimony of

the organization of the Church and how every calling is really a VERY

important thing. If one person does not do their job then a lot of

people can go down a wrong path. But you can see when people really

love each other and try to help them by doing their calling,

everything works out the way the Lord plans it.

I am doing great as always!! I am still fighting the fungus but I
think I am winning :) and the sandals really help!!! I wear
them everyday!! So my feet don’t burn up in the crazy hot sun here!! :)
And your right missionary work is hard, or it should be!!! I was
talking to one of the bogus missionaries who said that the work is so
easy that it is not hard for him anymore (this guy had been out like 3
months) and I told him that if its not hard then your doing it wrong!!
He didn’t listen, but he is working still but I'm sad because if he
thinks like that he won’t get as much out of his mission. But, oh well.
By the way he is the same kid that crashed on his bike.
I need to say THANK YOU
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are so amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really am looking forward to the iPod and the sauces :) I really
just kind of asking for a lot of the sauce. You can also tuck in anything
that will make food better! AKA: more sauce's or things like that into it. :)

You are going to have a great time at the temple open house! And I too am looking forward to conference. But I will get it a lot later than you guys… lol…. it takes time here.
Logan good job working on the eagle! But also remember the lesson is
not in the prize. The reward is in the road that you walked down to
get it! And ya we could make some teaching aids. What we do is we just
draw things in the dirt. It works well here :) but they do help :)
Parker. Not going to lie man, I hated getting home work over the
brakes too. But I know that you are smarter than I was, so you will do a better job in doing your home work :) then you can have as much fun as you can :)
 Libby: I am looking forward to hearing you play the violin :) I bet
your really good :) and you need to stop growing until I get home! Then you can grow all you want!! :) lol  KC: I’m going to have to see your super cool tricks when I get home! I
can’t wait to see you out on the floor winning the gold meddle at the Olympics :)
 keep strong :)

SLY

Elder Hodges

missionary life in paradise!!!!!!!

March 5^th

Ok so first off I have to say that I am dead tired today so I don’t think this email is going to be that great but know that I love you very much even if the letter is small. So the reason why I am so tired is because we went to the national park. We hiked like 7 miles into the park up hill. We went into the Chyulu hills national park :) it was cool :) saw some monkeys :) that was cool but they were too far to get any photos. saw some dear like things they were cool. But the animals are amazing :) I got to see some baboons today and some monkeys :) they look kinda funny in real life!! I can I say that baboons are nothing like they make them out to be in the Lion King those things are mean!! and really loud! but oh well. But this hike just about killed me!  It was soooooooooooo HOT all of us were out of water by the time we did the 4 hour climb to get up to the top but some of us had a hard time, with it. I was sweating so bad!!!!!!! I don’t remember sweating like that for a long time. I think only foot ball and wrestling top it. But we did have some fun it will make for a good tell to people :) we walked through the BUSH of Africa!!!!!!!!!!! and when I say BUSH I mean BUSH BUSH BUSH!!!!! like grass over my head and everything that people think about when they think of the African savanna. :) it was super cool!!! but there were some bad parts like not seeing a lot of animals and not seeing Kilimanjaro and I now have a rash the size of Kenya on my leg and that hurts but it was good :)

You guys are so lucky that you get to hear from all of these GA's I am kind of bummed out because I don’t get to hear from them :) but you guys really are blessed. Next time you see Elder Holland tell him you have a son in the Kenya Nairobi Mission that would love to shake his hand and to talk with him!!!!! if that’s ok :) I would love to have the notes that you took all of them, like don’t leave out a thing!!! :) but you can just email them to me I can print them off. :) but I am looking forward to getting them. :) there are going to be some great readings :)  

I am glad that things are moving well with Aimee and Jeremy. I hope it all ends well.  I just hope that Jeremy comes back.

your questions.............. who do you think I am???????? President Monson???????????? I’m not saying that I wouldn’t like to have all of PMG and the Book of Mormon memorized that would be great, but I’m going to have to say no I don’t.        Do YOU have them memorized??? :) ha-ha I didn’t think so :) lol    now for the other questions, the studying :) I love every bit of it the scriptures are so amazing I wish that I knew how cool they were before I left but they really are amazing.  And the handbook???? that is not even a question!!! all missionaries need to read at least 3 pages a day in comp study!!!! :) then you should be all the way done with it in 6 weeks or 1 transfer. :)  I am glad that all of you are doing good and I hope that you keep doing all of that. :)  and I’m sorry I’m going to need you to tell me what an African color is?? sorry I don’t really know what you mean... I hope you learn a lot at your MTC :) Logan :) learn all you can!!!!!!! and KC that is a really really really really hard question what do I like most about missionary work? I think I would have to say I love seeing the light in people’s eyes when they learn the truth for themselves! Seeing people change their lives’ for what they know to be true. it really is a wonderful thing to be a part of.  Keep looking forward

to the Temple :) All it can do is bless you.... but you are the ones that have to walk in the doors to get the blessings :)

There are blessings all around me too :) life does not get much better than this :) this place is amazing….. these people are wonderful……. but this calling...... there is none greater!!! :)

Love,

Elder Hodges!!!!

Feb. 27th 

Ya time really goes by fast.

Sounds like you are working hard in all parts of life. :) That’s always

Good :) I look forward to seeing the new basement :) it sounds nice :)

It is cool that you saw Spencer I hope he is doing well. 

So you got to speak in Church again. :) wait in the home ward or in

the MTC? but I bet it was great in both. :) do you still talk with the

home ward. Does the bishop come to say hi to you? If not tell him that

I say he should! :)

You ask about the new branch, it is still in the very early steps but

it is coming, people are dragging their feet. We have some

things set up so that it should work out but it needs to be done the

Lords way. Just because we have people there does not mean that we get

to start a branch there are a lot more things that go into it that I

have found, but we are going there and working with them and I hope it

all works out.

You got some pics from Woolards mom? that is supper cool!!!!!!!!!

Woolard is a great missionary! and we are great friends and we will be

after mission too :) it’s kinda like me and elder Patten. :) I am

making some great friends here, and you are right it was in Mombasa.

we went there for mission tour. It was super cool and the other Elder

is Elder Hays from Oregon. He is home now but he was one of my

favorite missionaries.

Your work in the MTC sound like it is AMAZING :) I am so glad that

your there. :)

It sounds like the Elders and sisters in your district's there are

really cool. :) They can learn a lot from you :) I know that I learned

a lot! And that I will still learn much much more. :) And the PMG is amazing too!!!

 I know you have come to know that. :) It really really helps :) I treat it almost like another 

set of the stranded works.

So Jordan sent in his papers?!!!?!!?!! :) :) :) that’s great!!!!!! you

should get him to email where he is going to me! I can’t wait to here

where he is going!!! I bet he is going crazy right now :)!!!!!!!!!!!

keep me posted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

The work is going well. The work is kinda different here in

Chyulu, we are working more with members to help them become real

saints so that we have good branches to take investigators to, so we

are trying to do that and it is going forth. :)

I have had one Zone conference :) and one mission tour when Elder Cook

came and they were AMAZING!!!!!!! you walk out feeling like you’re a new person,

 your renewed with a new Zeal to send the truth to all the world! it really is AMAZING!!!!

 do you do Zone conferences in the MTC??? do you even have Zones?? and do you have AP's?? 

 how does the MTC work with that many missionaries? I think it would just be crazy. but I

 bet it works out well.

Love You ALL

Elder Hodges