Merry Christmas from Mexico

For Christmas, Dakotah got to Skype us on Christmas Eve. It was such a nice gift to be able to see his face and hear his voice. We have missed him terribly. He looked great and so happy! He loves doing the work of the Lord and he loves serving among the wonderful people of Mexico. He has already made some life long friends there. 

It was fun to listen to him speak with a bit of an accent and to watch him trying to figure out the English word for things. He has forgotten many English words. He spoke some Spanish for us and it was fun to hear. 

We were able to meet his companion and say hi, as well as say hi to the family who was so kind to allow him to Skype us on their computer. We are so thankful for the wonderful members who have taken care of him for us, while he is there. It means so much. 

We were able to take the ipad outside and show him all the snow we have gotten and it was fun for he and his companion to see. 

While we were talking to him, Lisa Jackson happened to stop by and was able to say hi to him. That was a neat treat. He loves the Jacksons and thinks of Lisa as his second mom. 

He says to tell everyone he loves you, misses you, thanks you for all your love and support and to do good things! Have a Merry Christmas! 

Later, he was able to email a few pictures for us to enjoy. 

My heart is full. Best Christmas present EVER! Got to Skype and see and hear him face to face AND we got pictures. :)

 

Merry Christmas from Mexico

 

Dakotah and his companion were able to attend the Tampico Temple.

 

Seeing some of the sights.

This is Dakotah burning a tie for his 6 month mark.

It's crazy to think that on the 13th of January, it will be 7 months. 

Letter Day! It's ALMOST Christmas!

hola hola hola!!!!!!!!

Hello to all and everyone! Sorry that I didn't write much last week, I was super busy! It is super hard to write a long letter sometimes, especially with all the work we do!

Soo I will fill you in on things I am doing in my life as a missionary, this week was pretty great. We had the opportunity to go to the temple and it was just paradise. I love the temple every time I go! The family that was getting sealed is a family that was baptized by my comp, Elder Bruno! It was super cool to see them making these covenants in their life. During this time, all I could think about was the blessings of it in my life! And the blessings of my family that is sealed in the temple for time and all eternity! Also in the temple I learned a whole heap of things about the atonement and about the plan of salvacion! About the plan of salvacion, I had the thought about the scripture in doctrine and covenants that says that these trials are small, but if we endure them well, meaning if we are faithful, prayerful, humble, and happy, through these trials, great will be our reward in the kingdom of my Father, and when Christ says great will be your reward, I believe it is more amazing than anything we could ever imagine! I related this unto my tests that I have as a missionary, if I can endure these tests well, in that meaning of the word, then I will have an amazing reward later on!

Now for a spiritual thought, if that wasn't spiritual enough ha soo this week I have had amazing opportunities to help give priesthood blessings. The blessings were mostly for people in the ward, but a lot to my comp also. It was amazing to see how I knew exactly what to say and when the blessing was done, I just felt to stop and end the blessing. I really feel like I was guided by the spirit, especially cause I don't quite know everything of spanish quite yet, so it was a little hard to speak in tu instead of usted for the blessings. My testimony is that God guides those who are worthy and ready for his help, He knew exactly what I needed to say in those blessings and I said them. I feel and felt the peace and assurance of the Holy Ghost after ending the blessings, so I know that I said exactly what needed to be said! Also, I want to testify that it is directly because I was and am praying for opportunities to use my priesthood that we are ready and blessed with the opportunity to give blessings and help people out.

I have a new companion this change, his name is Elder Robles. He is from Chihuahua. He is taller than me. Elder Bruno, got super sick last night and this morning we had to go to the medic and get him shots and all sorts of medicine. It was crazy. He is going to Tampico today and will go home tomorrow.

I have six months in the mission now, and burned a tie on the thirteenth for that. ha

I think that that is all! I encourage all of you to have a maravilloso navidad!!!!!!!!! Everyone! go on missions! Enter the temple and make those covenants that will save you in the long run! Help others who can't help themselves because they are dead! You will find the truest love in the whole world when you are doing work for them! And how great will be your joy if you help many souls come into the kingdom of the Father! I love you all and know you all will do what is great! Keep doing all that you need to do and remember that I love you all!!!!
Elder Hancock

I will speak to you face to face on Monday. Check your email. I may send a message first, so you can be ready for the Skype.

News from our Missionary

 December 10, 2012


Hola,

Thanks for the money. I felt horrible for having to ask for help. I pray that I won't have to do it again. I was able to pay for all the travel that my companion and I had to do.

I am trying only to concentrate on the mission and helping people and I am super sorry for all the times in my life, doing the money game with you. I finally feel like you guys when I have to worry about this type of thing. I think I am turning into you, here on my mission, I make sure there is a good reason for every peso I spend. All I bought for food this week was a little milk and bread, then I got your package and so I am eating peanut butter and goober grape for like all my food. I am glad there was alot! But, on the bright side, I have learned more and more to trust in the Lord in everything and I know He will provide, whether it is through loving parents like I have, or through other means. My Christmas package came from you guys, and Barbara Sharpe sent me a package also and it had some money in it and it has helped. On the even brighter side, we have a whole heap of menos actives coming back to church. One is an ex missionary and he along with his family, are attending like every one of the activities at the church again.

I again, thank you for being the best parents in the whole wide world, I am very lucky to have amazing parents that like to care for their son.

I watched the Together Forever video you sent, and I think I am gonna use it to teach the plan of salvation part that we can actually be together forever!

I feel impressed to say that because you are helping with the missionary money, and most importantly, doing all of your duties for the church, aka temple, and callings, you will have all the money you need to have this season and always have enough to do what you need. Please know that I am trying my hardest out here. Sometimes, God blesses us with trials such as helping out a companion, and sometimes and most preferable, it is another test that doesn't have to deal with money at all. I feel like we are like the people of the Book of Mormon, we were doing good with money and everything, but God wants to know if we will stay true to Him, when there is no money to go around at all, so He gives us tests to see how loyal we are to Him, if we keep doing the things we need to do, then we will be blessed in the end, exactly like Job in the Bible.

I would like to thank you for staying good and going to the temple every week. I will try to do all that I can do for the Lord at all times! I love you and am super thankful for parents who have made the church important in their lives and for parents that have raised me in the ways that the spirit has told them to.

I love you, keep doing good things. Please tell everyone who sent stuff to me in my package, thank you! I LOVED everything! It's all fantastic! Thank you Lisa and Jackson family for the Goober Grape! One of the bottles shattered all over the package, and got on my new garments, but it's all good, there is not even one stain on them now, I washed them and they are sparkling white. ha And we still ate some of it. :)

Well, I have to go and do work now, thank you for the help, the package and everything. Remember that I love you more than you love me. hahaha Have a great day! I will talk to you soon! :D

Elder Hancock

Letter Day, a day late...

Hola familia,

We got home from our Zone Meeting in Tampico and couldn't decide what we wanted to do first so we decided to write. We had pizza today, it was Little Caesars. I was full after two slices but I ate like four, so I felt horrible! haha

This week was just great! I loved the Christmas devotional, which I watched in spanish. I can understand what people are saying to me in person and all, but my next task is to understand completely what they are saying in movies, and talks and stuff like that!  I loved also listening to the music and I felt the spirit super strong when it was playing!

These last weeks of the change we have to go to Tampico four times; today, Wednesday, Thursday of next week and Saturday of next week. It is a bunch of times but today, Wednesday, and Thursday are all days that we are having learning or training. Saturday my comp and I are going to the temple to see his converts from a year ago, go through the temple, then he leaves on the next monday to his house! Wow it is super busy!

I haven't received the package yet, I am going to check on wednesday and see if I am going to receive it! I want it really bad! :)

By the way, Mom, Happy Half of 94! ha ha

I am glad that Ben and his wife get along so great. I loved the pictures. They should stay there and do pageant together! :D Tell them thank you for remembering me. I am excited for them!

I am super glad to hear that you are praying and finding opportunities to serve others. Every night I pray that you guys will be doing the work of the Lord! So not only the missionary can be serving the mission; I'll just be serving in a different country than you guys.

Mom, about grandpa, I have learned a lot about the spirit world, it is here according to all the things that I have been taught and studied, but they are doing work. I have noticed that that is why I can feel the comfort of my ancestors protecting me and helping me along my way sometimes and this is why when we use the priesthood to help have an angel protect the house in the night, it is super easy because they are already here or in a better version of this world, helping us along the way by giving protection. My point is that I am sure that grandpa can see and he knows that you want to make sure he is taken care of. I can feel the spirit when I write this, I know that he knows you and that you have a lot of love for him. He will be thanking you in the next life for the love you have shown for him, but more importantly, the love and loyalty you have shown to Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ.

I also just want you to know that our ancestors are here, they are waiting for us to do the saving work in the temple for them. Dad, we have an ancestor, he is the dad of Thomas or the grandpa of Thomas Hancock, and he doesn't have his work done yet. Go and do it for him!!

This week I have been reading my patriarchal blessing a lot and studying things of the spirit a lot! I love how it advises me and blesses me to take faith and patience into all of my relationships; this is so that the spirit can tell me and help me to know exactly how to discern and have confidence to say the things that I need to say. I have also been studying the light of Christ a lot lately and how it can help my life. I have learned or been re-taught that when we follow spiritual promptings and do what the spirit wants us to, the light of Christ in us gets bigger and burns brighter. When we don't follow those promptings, then, it gets weaker and eventually it can be erased completely. With this knowledge, I have been trying to decide or think to myself, whenever I feel a thought or feeling to do something; I think to myself, is this helping or inviting me to do good, and grow closer to Heavenly Father? And usually it is yes, and then I do it! I have noticed that I am receiving more and more promptings but also that these promptings I am noticing are directly helping someone or I see the result to help me in some way. But, the point that I am getting at today, is that I have been talking a lot with my comp, cause he is going home. He is thinking a lot about his goals spiritually and for work and marriage and that kind of stuff. I have been praying that I will be able to discern the spirit and know exactly what I need to say to help him. I have noticed that at times I say something that is completely crazy, I know that it was from the spirit cause I felt the spirit tell me to say it, I don´t know if it helped him or not, but i know it was from the spirit. My spiritual thought this week is that we all need to completely be searching at all times of the day for the light of Christ in every situation, praying and knowing if this decision will help us grow closer to Heavenly Father or not. If we do this and follow the promptings we are given, we will have more and more, also we need to write these promptings down so we can read them later and be edified with the spirit and remember what we have learned and already gone through so we can have hope for the future, learn from our experiences, and do what the Father wants at all times!

I had an experience this week, me and my companion were walking and we came to this super dark road, I took like five steps down it and my whole body stopped right in my tracks. I know that it was the spirit that stopped me, so I couldn't even walk one step further down that road. My comp wanted to go down it, but I said that I will not go down that road. I felt the spirit as we searched for another way. I know that I was saved from something that night by the power of the spirit! Keep searching for the spirit and the light of Christ in all things!

Please let Brother Scott and President Averett know that I love them. I want to write them but it's hard with the short email time we get. And grandpa and grandma, thank you for the letters! I love to read them and I love to see all the pictures you send. I hope you all know I love you. Kent, you need to write me.

Other than that I am super happy to hear about everyone and their calls to serve! That is all! Have a great week and do the things that you know are right! Know I love you very much!
Elder Hancock