Hey Mom,
Well this week has been a really challenging week with both missionary work and service. Last Monday was super fun as it was a zone p-day so we got together with lots of other missionaries and we had fun playing basketball. I got to see some of my old district there like Elder Walker and my other friend Elder Rassumen along with Sister Tanner and Sister Hatch, so it was a fun day! I love p-days. It’s a nice time to have fun and to wear some sweats or jeans! It's the best!
Well this week we have been busy doing service. I have told you before about the Neighborhood Center; well we went there again this last week to help pass out food. It's sad that it might be my last time because transfers are coming up in two weeks and we would go another time except that the fourth Tuesday of this month is when we get to go to the TEMPLE!!!! :) I did get some pictures this last time though with some of the people there that I have known for a while so that was cool so I will send ya pictures of the Neighborhood Center. We always have so much fun doing that! It's just neat all the people that we see and help out in La Porte. If I leave in two weeks I will miss doing that so much! : (
We went and saw some people in our ward that we haven’t seen in a while and we also went tracting. Boy it's tough to go knocking on doors in this heat down here! I'm just so glad that this summer it's not humid because if it was humid like it's suppose to be then it would be twenty times more miserable! But I keep praying to help me get through the hot days! It's even hotter when we ride our bikes! Yep, that is right, you read it right, I am back on my bike! Yeah, it's fun but it's so nasty when you stop riding and all of a sudden you’re all wet from sweat because you don't have that breeze that was blowing on your face! It's nasty! But hey you got to do what you got to do!
So things have been going good with the elderly gentleman Morris. We got to do a church tour this last week with him and it went well! And guess what? He came to church and he is going to come next week too! The Elders said he participated in Priesthood which is super awesome!!! I was super glad! Morris said that he is going to come next week and on the weekend he has certain places in the plains (not mountains -- the plains) that he is going to read and pray to see if he wants to get baptized! So that will be exciting if he gets an answer to his prayers and if he wants to get baptized! He is a really nice guy but he sure does love to talk! He always calls us to see when we are going to see him next and we never really do the calling, its funny!
Well we also did more service this week for a lady in the ward! She is super cool and I haven't really gotten to know her that well until now. We did yard work, pulled weeds and we planted weird Texas bushes that are really common around here. It was fun and it was nice to work. I just love doing service for everyone! It gives us blessings and we are able to go find those who are searching for the Gospel!
Well we have seen some less actives and we are truly trying our best to help them come back to church and to really see the importance of renewing their baptismal covenant! Because it's so important! But we are making small progress with some people; they haven't come to church yet but hopefully they will soon! And what would be cool would be if they did before I may have to leave in two weeks! But hey let’s hope and pray that I stay in La Porte for another transfer! That would be wicked sweet to stay in an area for half my mission and then at different places the other half. But I guess we will see in two weeks! We get calls on the 30th of July! Luckily the ward is having a Ward Social that night and so I will be taking lots of pictures with families in case I leave so I won't have to make so many trips on Sunday to say good bye to people in La Porte that I have grown to love!
Well Saturday was kind of a relaxing day because Sister Henson was sick. But mom you know I have been telling you that I have been behind in my journal; well that was a blessing to have her sick so I could do some catching up on my journal. I also did a lot of pondering that day about the people we are seeing and teaching and thought about what we can do for them to help them come closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! So Saturday was a pondering day to really help me because missionary life has been tough; being a trainer and trying to lead the area and to teach my companion missionary stuff to better help her be a great teacher, and then all the meetings we have been having this transfer! Man it's been a busy transfer, there is just not a dull moment in missionary work!
I have been reading the Book of Mormon and I am in Alma and I am just loving the Book of Alma. I am so grateful that the Book of Alma is long because there are such great stories in there that you can learn and apply to your own life. Plus the Book of Alma is really based on lots of missionary work so that makes it even more cool to read and see of how I can become a better missionary. It's really neat how every time I read from the Book of Mormon how lots of missionary stuff pops up, and it's a good, and an amazing thing because I am a missionary right now and I need to learn about those things to better myself and to really become more like my Savior Jesus Christ! It's so cool!
So mom, we have a lady who is in charge of the missionary meals calendar and she is less active but is just the sweetest person. I wish she would come to church so she could be fed spiritually and also have that faith and courage she needs to do her calling and make meal appointments. But we know, especially with our calling as a missionary that it can be tough and challenging sometimes making those phone calls! But we have been reading the Book of Mormon with her from the beginning and Holy Texas!!!! It's so cool the things that I am learning with her when we go see her every week! It's the neatest thing. I learned about Lehi and how he sees the Book of Life when he is in a vision. I thought it was scriptures; no it's the book of life where he sees what will happen to Jerusalem! Isn't that cool that he got that vision to see what will happen in the future? And it's so true that God does know what choices or mistakes we make and it was cool for Lehi to have that experience. I learned that because we were reading 1 Nephi 1:11 where it says he gets a book and so Sister Wilmoth wanted to know what book he got so we searched the scriptures and found out the answer … pretty cool uh! I just wanted to share that with ya what I learned. There is a lot more that I learned but my time on the computer is kind of getting short. I know when I get home we will for sure sit down and do some awesome scripture studies and I will tell ya all the cool things that I have learned from the Book of Mormon! It's neat to have Book of Mormon studies with members or missionaries because you learn so many new things that you have never seen before. So I hope telling you that about Lehi makes sense; I just never knew that before and so I just wanted to share that will ya, hopefully I wrote it down right so that it makes sense!
So mom, guess what I got the other day? You know Elder Wilde from Shelley, I forgot to tell ya I got to see him at leadership training last transfer because he was a District Leader and I asked how James Dufur was and he said he was doing well. I asked for his address and so this last week I got his address so I am going to e-mail or write him and hopefully I can hear back from him soon and see how he is doing! But cool uh! I have been thinking about Jason Forbush too and wondering how he is doing on his mission. I am going to try to track him down also. I sure miss my friends from my missionary prep class and I wonder how they are doing on their missions! But I know that we are all busy in the Lord's work helping find our brothers and sisters who are waiting to hear about the Gospel!
Well mom, I better get going. I have to still write to President Crawford and then try to write Dufur and Forbush so I better go! But I am also gonna send you some pictures too that I have taken recently k! I love you mom! :)
Love Sister Hawkins
Need sunglasses in Texas!
A Dalmatian Pez sent to me by the Banks family.
I love it!!!!
Sister Hawkins and Sister Hatch (during exchanges)
Sisters Henson, Tanner, Hatch, and Hawkins ... silly girls!
Zone P-day
Working at the Neighborhood Center
Onions anyone???
Some of the wonderful ladies I have met working
at the Neighborhood Center!
A street named Texas ... in Texas!
Look at the size of this leaf!!! It's called an Elephant Plant!
No wonder the leaves are so big!!!
Sister Gale ... just love this women!
She helps us missionaries soooooo much!
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