January 24, 2011 Cartas, Cartas, Cartas

Oi família!

 

Questions

 

Tell us a little bit about you new area.  Is it a ward or branch?  Was your companion there and you were transferred in and his old companion went to Leme?  How are things going?  Who is the senior companion?  

    My area is Parque Ribeirão. It's on the edge of the city of Ribeirão Preto. It is a ward but a smaller ward. This last sunday there were only 75 people. Normally it's closer to 100. The meetings here start at 3 pm. It's really weird and i think it's the only area like this in the mission. My companion arrived with me and so we had to start from scratch again. My companion is the senior companion and things are going much better than i was thinking. Pres gave him a new chance and made him senior. He knows and remembers this and had a great desire to work hard. This last week was good. We found a lot of people to teach. My companion is good. He is kind of a slob haha but i'm learning a lot of patience haha. We are being obedient and working on a couple of little things to improve. He has a hard time getting up in the morning, but i'm being patient and trying to help. This emergency transfer involved a lot of companionships. My comps old comp went to a differenct area too. Part of it has to do with 3 new missionaries arriving 2 weeks late.

 

Yesterday, Sunday, we had Executive committee meeting at 8 and missionary correlação at 9. The bishopric is really young here. All return missionaries in the last 6 or so years. I like it a lot because they know how the mission is and are ready to work and help. Then we visited some investigators, went to lunch, and took our investigators to church. A part of me liked the sunday like that.

 

In the ward, no one knows how to play piano. I played the opening hymn, how firm a foundation, but i didnt know the rest and so i didn't play. It was kind of humiliating but oh well. I'm going to let the bishopric know which hymns i can play and i will have to learn a sacrament hymn pretty quick. Should have practiced more hah (laugh it up mom haha).

 

Do you think you will stay in this area for a while?

I don't know. I have at least 3 more weeks here. This next transfer close to 20 missionaries are finishing and so there will be a lot of changes coming. We´ll see there. Whatever happens will be good. The area is about a fourth the size of Leme and so it's a lot smaller. It's easier for the most part to bring people to church. We still walk a lot, but it's all good.

 

The city of Ribeirão Preto sits in a valley and so it's super hot. I've only felt a part of it so far. Our area gets a little wind which helps a ton.

 

Thanks for the ensigns and the letters from everyone this week. Your letters many times keep me going. Thank you for your prayers, love, and thoughts. I always take your advice. I trust in the love and words of everyone in the family. I learned a lot about judging this week. We must be careful not to judge wrongly and remember that we too have faults. Hope you guys are safe and happy. Love you all. Pray and then go to work and everything will work out. Be Happy

 

Elder Hawkley

January 17, 2010

Hey family,

Well i'm here in Ribeirão Preto. Yup I was transfered today. I found out saturday morning. I was able to say goodbye to most everybody. This morning we got on the bus to Ribeirão Preto and right now i'm with my new comp in my new area. It is an emergency transfer. Some other elders had to be transfered because of some things they did. 


My new area is Parque Ribeirão. It's on the edge of Ribeirão Preto. My area is smaller and a more humble people. My companion is Elder Mendonça. He´s from the Northeast part of Brazil. It was hard to leave Leme. I was there for 5 months. I really grew to love the people there. I felt very comfortable with the members and the area. Elder Fidelis is super cool. We were getting along great, working hard, and laughing alot. It was disappointing to not be able to finish the transfer with him. 


We had two baptisms this last week. We baptized Débora (12) and Mariana (9). They and their mom Ana were a member referral. Ana will be baptized soon, she just has to get married. Elder Fidelis will help her do that and then baptize her. They are just great! 
This last week was good. I was able to learn a lot from Elder Fidelis in the 2 weeks that i was with him. I learned about patience and perseverance. He is working hard in this his last transfer!  I arrived with my new companion. Our house needs to be cleaned badly haha! 

Thanks for the pictures. Haha, tyson looks like one of the who´s from whoville in the Grinch!!!! Beck looks great!!! Glad you guys were able to see him. 

So glad that you received all the packages!  Does Elder Fidelis like Twizzlers?  ha ha  Are you taller than him?  I know that is a really random question, but we were just wondering.
      The twizzlers got to Elder D. Souza and he really liked them. Elder Fidelis got the stockings and said thank you. Elder Fidelis is super tall haha.

Would you like us to send you the Ensign?
  YES. Send it now. Anything you send to me will get to me quick because i'm in the city of Ribeirão Preto. At least thats what I've heard. 

I sent some pictures. There is one with Elder Fidelis and I hanging on a tree near the lake in Leme. The others are of the 3 baptisms that Elder Fidelis and I had together. 

Well i love you all very much. Thank you for your love, support, and example. I have a testimony of this gospel and the things that i am teaching. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power to change. God´s plan for us is a plan of happiness and he wants us to be happy. The commandments give us that opportunity. We just have to obey. Mosiah 2:41

Elder Hawkley

January 10, 2011

Hey family!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I had it written down on a sticky note last week (i promise haha) but forgot to send it haha. 24 right?

 

Questions:

So, tell us about your new companion, Elder Fidelis.  Where in Brazil is he from?  Are you getting along well together?

   He is from Cuiabá, Mato Grosso. If im correct its in the middle of brasil. I guess it's really hot there, sometimes 47 degrees celcius! Elder Fidelis is tall and dark. He is in the last transfer of his mission, but working hard. He is a good missionary. I am going to continue learning with him. We have been laughing a lot which is good. This first week with a new companion was difficult. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I had to do the planning and decide what we would do. I'm still having to do that a little bit. I think i may have to the rest of the transfer haha. Elder Fidelis doesn't talk a ton, so i don't know what it is that he is thinking. I spent a lot of time second guessing myself this last week. I realized that i just need to be confident in myself and try my best. I hope to be able to converse more opnely about the work here in Leme this next week.

 

Glad to hear that you were able to confirm your convert, Adenilson.  How is the teaching going?

    The teaching is going good. I have a lot to improve. There are a lot of aspects involved in teaching. Scriptures, questions, committments, the spirit haha. But I just need to keep practicing.

 

You said your camera card is full, right?  It would probably be best to send it in a package or a padded, thick envelope.  Try and burn a CD with all the pictures on it first, and that way you will have a copy of it just in case the card gets lots in the mail.

   Alright (thanks for responding haha, sometimes i wonder if you guys read my emails haha). Is there anything else that you guys would like me to send. I thought about maybe a present for birthdays (you, tyson, rachel) that are coming up. What do you think?

 

Did you get the other packages yet?

   YES! I got the other package from you guys (thanks for everything!). I also got the package from GMA and GPA and from Tyson and Pehrson. It was great haha.

 

We have heard that you have been getting a lot of rain there?  How are your shoes holding up?  How are your feet doing?

   Yup. It has rained everyday this last week. The members say that it will be like this for the month of January ahah. It doesn't rain all day, it comes and goes. My shoes are doing great! Feet are good too. I talked to the doctor and he told me to buy some cream. It doesn't look like it's doing much but oh well haha.

 

Thank you all for your testimonies! That was really my favorite! It was so great to read them. It lifted me up.

 

We had a baptism this week. We baptized Solange (51). She has been going to church for 4 months now and we were able to start teaching her this week and baptize her on saturday and confirm her in church yesterday. Elder D. Souza and I tryed to teach her but she didn't accept. Last sunday the Branch Pres talked with her and we started to teach her.

 

Could you guys send me the ensign in english. actually wait a week. We have interviews with Pres this week and i will ask him if we are allowed to receive mail in our houses. But i really would appreciate it haha.

 

I liked the quote mom. I read an earlier talk by Pres Monson today and it had that quote (the Lord shapes our backs to bear the burdens). Our Heavenly Father loves us. His plan is for us to become like he is and be happy with him forever. He placed us here on the earth at this time together because now is when we can learn the lessons we need to and do the most good. We taught the gospel principles class about eternal families this last week and it talked about this a little. It was good.

 

Well thanks for the email and love and support. Hope all is well. When times get tough, say a pray and then go to work. Don't stop. I may worry haha but i don't stop. Stay Strong. I love you all.

Have a good week!

 

Elder Hawkley

 

this computers slow. i'll send a picture next week

January 3, 2011 Feliz Ano Novo 2011

Hey family,

I´ll start with the 2 questions haha

So, what was your week like?  How was New Years Eve there?  Was it pretty crazy?

      The week was good. We were able to confirm Adenilson and Isabella. We are working with the rest of Isabella´s family and hope to baptize her mom and sister soon. Her brother Gabriel received the priesthood yesterday! That was sweet. Hopefully he will be able to pass the sacrament this next sunday. New Years was good. We went to Gilberto´s house, one of our investigators that is just waiting to get married to be baptized. We went there for Christmas Eve too. There we just talked and had a dinner. It was good. Elder D. Souza and I put our matresses outside on the front porch and slept outside. We woke up close to midnight and stood up on a wall to try and see the fireworks by the lake in the city. We were able to see some haha. Then we went to bed. New Year´s day we went to lunch and then just visited some members. It wasn't pday and so we did our best, but it is a hard time to teach.

Are you being transferred this next week?  Your companion?  Did you receive our second package, or the one from grandma and grandpa, or Pehrson & Kate?

     I was not transferred, but Elder D. Souza was. This will be my fourth transfer here in Leme, but things are going good. We have some great investigators and should have some baptisms soon. My new comp is Elder Fidelis. He hasnt arrived yet. Elder D. Souza and I came here to Pirassununga and he left with the other elders being transferred to Ribeirão Preto. I'm here with one of the zone leaders and another elder. Our companions should get here in a couple hours. Elder Fidelis is Brazilian. I'm glad because i will be able to continue to improve my portuguese. It is his last transfer, so i might have to help him stay animated. From what i've heard he is a good missionary and a cool guy. It will be strange to have a new companion. I prayed and fasted to be able to love him and help him and to be happy. My goal is to just be excited and work hard from the start.

     I´m hoping that he has some of the packages with him. I´ll let you know next week.

 

This week we had a family night with a less active family and some of their friends. I made the brownies there haha. They turned out great. Next i need to make the cookies! Sounds like you had a good trip! Glad that you were able to see Beck and visit Pehrson and Kate. Send some pictures when you can.

  

It was interesting to think about this last year, 2010, and this next year 2011. 2010 was a great year. I did a semester at BYU, received my mission call, went to the temple, and became a missionary. This next year will be one of the best years of my life. I will be serving the Lord 100% for 2011. What do you guys hope for this next year?  As i thought about all of this i thought about how we can start over each year. We can make new goals and change. Really, that is the promise and blessing that the gospel and our Savior Jesus Christ brings to us. The chance to start over. No matter what happened last year, last week, yesterday, Today can be different. Today we can change. The sacrament is the same. Each week we have the chance to start over and try our best again. It is only possible through the sacfrice and love of Jesus Christ. Make this year a good one!

 

I´m doing good here. I´m a little nervous about the new comp and a little stressed because of the greater responsability that i will have (i will have to show my comp everything for the first week or so). But i'm doing good. I just need to live one day at a time and be happy. I have so much to be happy for. I love you guys very much. Thanks for the love, support, and letters haha. Let me know if you have any questions. Stay strong.

 

Elder Hawkley

December 27, 2010 Feliz Ano Novo!

Hey Family,

Well, it was awesome to talk to everyone. Sounds like Christmas went well and everybody is doing great. Thanks for your love, support, and encouragement. I love you all so much!

Well we had a baptism. Isabella (8) was baptized. She is awesome and very smart. We taught her older brother gabriel first and as he was about to be baptized, she wanted to be too haha. We arrived one day to teach Gabriel and Isabella said that she had read all the lesson pamphlets and started to explain the word of wisdom to us haha. She reads very well and always reads the parts of the Book of Mormon that we mark. She was very excited to be baptized and asked that I baptize her. It was an awesome service.

 

We also confirmed Gabriel. We tried to confirm Adenilson, but he travelled this weekend. We´ll get him next week haha.

 

I forgot to tell you guys when I talked, but Pres said that we could use skype to talk to our families. But no one that we know of has skype haha. Maybe for mothers day!

 

Also I have filled up a memory card on the camera. Do you want me to send it home? How should I send it?

 

Rachel - I forgot to congratulate you on your braces! Thats awesome. Your smile looks great. You look super different. In that picture mom sent me i barely recognze you. Haha you´re growing up quick. And you are lucky that i didnt have time to ask you about driving! But how´s it going?

 

What are your plans for new years?

 

The mission christmas conference was awesome. It was all the missionaries together. It started with a christmas program. Our zone sang a song that i recognize, but i dont know the name in english haha. We had churrasco for lunch, which is like an assada for tyson, or a big barbacue with lots of meat. It was really good. The afternoon we watched the mission video, which is made up of our pictures. We had to send 3 funny and 3 baptismal fotos. It was sweet. Then we watched the grinch haha. That was cool. It was in portuguese and kind of hard to understand, but had english subtitles. Then we sang God be With You for those that are leaving and they bore their testimonies. It is always super powerful and spiritual. I can´t imagine myself up there yet haha.

 

Happy new year and have fun in California. Say hi to the LeSueurs and give everyone a big hug. Stay Safe. I love you!

 

Elder Hawkley

1. This was the family that we ate lunch with on the 25th. They are super awesome.

2. This is Isabella and her family. Her older brother Gabriel was baptized last week and confirmed this week. We are going to start teaching her older sister and mom and maybe dad (parents are separated). But it was awesome to have her family there supporting her. That was a first for us, to have the parents there supporting. Its not too common here. Thanks for all the support you gives have always given me. Whether it be showing up to a school event or teaching me what is right, my family has always been there. (The 2 goofballs in the picture with us are our recent converts haha, they are doing awesome)

3. Haha this was a motor bike we saw in the rode. The owner was cleaning it and I asked if i could take a picture haha. One of the coolest pics ever haha.