Soooooo this weeek everyone, I am writing from a different lugar!! Guesss where… keep guessing…
aha I am serving in a part of Tampico that is named Tancol!!!!!!!! It is a colonia or a little part of Tampico. It is close to the ocean so it is more humid here. I am loving it; I need to remember at all times though, the things I have learned in the hard times so I can be humble in the good times. So I am working on that this time!
This week was super cool! Three of my best friends and also they are investigators, just got baptized on Saturday! Their names are Hna Isabel Hernandez Rojas, Perdla Hernandez Rojas y Juan Hernandez Rojas. They are my really good friends and I am super excited for them and their progression!!!!!!!!! Like in Huejutla, it was something super cool and a lot of blessings that have changed who I am for the better!
When we had these last baptisms, I was feeling that maybe I would stay in Panuco for another change, but then after the baptisms I felt the spirit saying that I would be leaving. I am super glad that the spirit was talking to me and helping me out, by telling me that I would be going, so I was prepared. I really do love the people of Panuco with all my heart! They are a special people and are really awesome! So afterwards the other Elders were making jokes about how I knew I was going to leave. They thought I wouldn't go because I only had three months there in Panuco. I didn't say much to them about their jokes, but when we got changes, I was the only one who left. The spirit told me and that is why I had faith and knew that I would be leaving. I feel like I felt that so that I could also know that this new comp will help me to grow more.
For other news, this change of three weeks, me and my comp are opening an area. It is cool to see that President has faith that we can do this and that we will do it good. We will work hard to do that. My companion, Elder Villegas has been out 16 months and I am the junior comp, I see that as a blessing because I can concentrate on learning the area and learning more and more! I hope to learn something great from him. I will be searching and I will love him with my whole heart. Since we are opening everything, including an apartment, we have to go and get all the new stuff tomorrow from the offices in the mission. It's going to be an adventure! :D
Like I said, we have to remember the things we went through in the hard times when all hope seemed like it was lost, so that in the good times, we are able to truly change our lives in the ways that God wants!
Mom, thank you for those quotes! You are my hero!
I love you all with my whole soul! I have been humbled a lot this last change. I have seen the things that I needed to change and how to help others. I am glad that Heavenly Father has helped me to see that! PLEASE do all the things that Heavenly Father wants us to do!!!!!! I love you all and I know that this church is true!!!! I say this in the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I am leaving now. I will write you next week. Have a great week and go to the temple!
Love, Elder Hancock
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
News from our Missionary: A picture day!
This week, Dakotah was busy and this was what we got. A picture of his Baptisms this week.
This is Mitzy and Jafet.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
A Trip to the Hospital and Thoughts to Ponder
hola hola hola!!!!
Hello to all this week!!!!!! I hope that you all had an amazing week!! This week was eventful! First of all I got super sick and had to go to the hospital! It was hard to have to go to the hospital but it was a fun experience also! I felt like the fever was returning so I got a blessing, and that night I didn't sleep at all, but the fever went away. Then a horrible cough settled in, so needless to say, I went to the doctor the next morning. I got like four meds and I just finished taking them on Sunday. I still have a little bit of a cough so I am not going full throttle yet, but I am feeling better. :D
Then I was in Tampico on splits with a really awesome Elder! The Zone Leader was on splits with my companion and I went out with his companion.
The people here are amazing! They are growing and now the barrio(actually it is a rama) is so much stronger than it was when I first got here. I am so happy to see the growth that has happened in the people! We have two getting baptized this week; Mitzy and Jafet. I am so happy for them.
I am sorry that I am writing late. I gave part of the District Meeting class yesterday and I needed to prepare for it before. The District Leader called yesterday morning and asked if I could help. I prayed, still felt inadequate, and then got on my knees and prayed some more. It turned out a great lesson and I guarantee that Heavenly Father was there helping me!!!! I was scared out of my shoes, but the Lord spoke for me, He gave me the words and things to say when I had nothing else. It is hard stuff preparing those lessons for other missionaries who are from the country and speak the language naturally, and also have almost two years in the miss, not just seven months. Truly the Lord is helping me to be humbled everyday and I am super grateful for that gift He has given me. As I was praying to have Heavenly Father help my nerves, the thought came to me that all of my greatest moments or greatest things I have done or experienced in the church, like talks, lessons and things like that, have all been when I am so scared that I almost can't move. I was comforted, that I had the nerves to force me to listen to the spirit and follow the promptings and thoughts. I now have seen that that is why all those moments were really spiritual and awesome, because I was forced to listen to the spirit and follow the promptings. I am glad that, in a way, I have been able to see a little bit of what Heavenly Father wants me to know.
Mom, thank you for the messages from my dear friends in Huejutla. I am thankful for their kindness and love. I hope that I can have that in every area, when I feel in reality, that I didn't share my love with them, as much as that they taught me really what love is, and they showed me love; they gave me reason to love everyone and to lose myself in the mission, loving the people. I have loved serving in Huejutla and Panuco. The people are great!
I have been pondering what we need to be doing as people here in the earth this week, more I have been thinking about who I want to be as a person and a missionary, I was thinking of the attributes that are going to be the most important to being a missionary, I finally decided that the most important attributes I can have as a missionary is that I want to be the missionary that is always, obedient, always humble, and always has love for every single thing! I have seen that if I can have these attributes then I can do what the Lord wants me to do and I will be able to follow the promptings from the spirit! I know that this is different for every person in the world. I have this homework for everyone, this week, I want you all to think about who you want to be as a person, think of some attributes that you want, then don't just sit around and wait for them to happen, go and do, as Nephi of old. If you want a change in your life, you have to make the changes to help Heavenly Father. It is my testimony that as we are doing these things, making the changes in our lives, Heavenly Father will cause a great change in our hearts and in our thoughts and feelings! I have seen this in my life and I know that you all can have this in your lives. I know that this church is true and that it will change your life if you allow it to. I say this in the holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.
For other news in the mission, there is changes in two weeks, so I guess in two weeks we will see if I am leaving Panuco or if I will have more time here, in this amazing area! I have three months here now. If I do get changed, remember that I will be writing later or on a different day.
Mom and Poppy, we have all been praying very hard and fasting for a job opportunity to come up, trust in the Lord. Go to the temple and pray in the celestial room and I know you will receive answers to your prayers, putting God's wisdom over that of the wisdom of man. You will know what to do and when and you will end up where He needs you to be. It may be hard, and it will be a leap of faith, but He will help you in the end! Just follow the spirit and it will all end up okay.
Now, go have some Hot Cocoa for me and have a good afternoon together. :D
Be great and do what the Lord wants you to do! He will always be there to help and to change our lives! Please follow all the promptings of the spirit and obey and do all that God wants you to do! I know that there are so many blessings in that. I love you all and know you will do what is right!
Love, Elder Hancock
Hello to all this week!!!!!! I hope that you all had an amazing week!! This week was eventful! First of all I got super sick and had to go to the hospital! It was hard to have to go to the hospital but it was a fun experience also! I felt like the fever was returning so I got a blessing, and that night I didn't sleep at all, but the fever went away. Then a horrible cough settled in, so needless to say, I went to the doctor the next morning. I got like four meds and I just finished taking them on Sunday. I still have a little bit of a cough so I am not going full throttle yet, but I am feeling better. :D
Then I was in Tampico on splits with a really awesome Elder! The Zone Leader was on splits with my companion and I went out with his companion.
The people here are amazing! They are growing and now the barrio(actually it is a rama) is so much stronger than it was when I first got here. I am so happy to see the growth that has happened in the people! We have two getting baptized this week; Mitzy and Jafet. I am so happy for them.
I am sorry that I am writing late. I gave part of the District Meeting class yesterday and I needed to prepare for it before. The District Leader called yesterday morning and asked if I could help. I prayed, still felt inadequate, and then got on my knees and prayed some more. It turned out a great lesson and I guarantee that Heavenly Father was there helping me!!!! I was scared out of my shoes, but the Lord spoke for me, He gave me the words and things to say when I had nothing else. It is hard stuff preparing those lessons for other missionaries who are from the country and speak the language naturally, and also have almost two years in the miss, not just seven months. Truly the Lord is helping me to be humbled everyday and I am super grateful for that gift He has given me. As I was praying to have Heavenly Father help my nerves, the thought came to me that all of my greatest moments or greatest things I have done or experienced in the church, like talks, lessons and things like that, have all been when I am so scared that I almost can't move. I was comforted, that I had the nerves to force me to listen to the spirit and follow the promptings and thoughts. I now have seen that that is why all those moments were really spiritual and awesome, because I was forced to listen to the spirit and follow the promptings. I am glad that, in a way, I have been able to see a little bit of what Heavenly Father wants me to know.
Mom, thank you for the messages from my dear friends in Huejutla. I am thankful for their kindness and love. I hope that I can have that in every area, when I feel in reality, that I didn't share my love with them, as much as that they taught me really what love is, and they showed me love; they gave me reason to love everyone and to lose myself in the mission, loving the people. I have loved serving in Huejutla and Panuco. The people are great!
I have been pondering what we need to be doing as people here in the earth this week, more I have been thinking about who I want to be as a person and a missionary, I was thinking of the attributes that are going to be the most important to being a missionary, I finally decided that the most important attributes I can have as a missionary is that I want to be the missionary that is always, obedient, always humble, and always has love for every single thing! I have seen that if I can have these attributes then I can do what the Lord wants me to do and I will be able to follow the promptings from the spirit! I know that this is different for every person in the world. I have this homework for everyone, this week, I want you all to think about who you want to be as a person, think of some attributes that you want, then don't just sit around and wait for them to happen, go and do, as Nephi of old. If you want a change in your life, you have to make the changes to help Heavenly Father. It is my testimony that as we are doing these things, making the changes in our lives, Heavenly Father will cause a great change in our hearts and in our thoughts and feelings! I have seen this in my life and I know that you all can have this in your lives. I know that this church is true and that it will change your life if you allow it to. I say this in the holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.
For other news in the mission, there is changes in two weeks, so I guess in two weeks we will see if I am leaving Panuco or if I will have more time here, in this amazing area! I have three months here now. If I do get changed, remember that I will be writing later or on a different day.
Mom and Poppy, we have all been praying very hard and fasting for a job opportunity to come up, trust in the Lord. Go to the temple and pray in the celestial room and I know you will receive answers to your prayers, putting God's wisdom over that of the wisdom of man. You will know what to do and when and you will end up where He needs you to be. It may be hard, and it will be a leap of faith, but He will help you in the end! Just follow the spirit and it will all end up okay.
Now, go have some Hot Cocoa for me and have a good afternoon together. :D
Be great and do what the Lord wants you to do! He will always be there to help and to change our lives! Please follow all the promptings of the spirit and obey and do all that God wants you to do! I know that there are so many blessings in that. I love you all and know you will do what is right!
Love, Elder Hancock
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Holes in my Shoes and Changes on the Horizon
*Sorry that this is late, yet again. Our life has been CRAZY this past few weeks and it seems I don't have time to sit down and read and get this sent out in a timely manner. I will read it on the fly and not be home where all my information and emails are, so then I have to wait to get home and get it done and before I know it, it's Friday and I still haven't gotten it out. UGH… please forgive me!
Mimi
hola hola hola!!!
I am glad to hear about all the good news of missions and weddings and what not! It is super great to see that people are doing what the Lord wants of them. It's horrible to see someone wasting what the Lord has blessed them with. The more and more I learn about the atonement, I find that it's necessary to serve Heavenly Father and his Son in their work, to show my gratitude for what they have done for me!!
This week, my first pair of shoes finally got a hole in the bottom. It's a lot of money to fix them, so I guess I will only wear that pair on days I am not walking a lot. ha ha
Thank you for the pics. They are good. I love them all. Please tell everyone, I am sorry that I don't have much time to write each person separately, but I am thankful for their letters. Please keep writing!
We will have changes on the 27th of this month and then the next change is only three weeks because they are trying to keep up with the differences in the age change and the time spent in the MTC changes, and then it will go back to the normal 6 weeks. Because of that, I might get 2 or 3 weeks cut off my mission because I have to leave on a transfer and with this change in transfers, it might make the transfer I go home, be on the 28th or 29th of May rather than the 18th of June. I don't know for sure, but we don't have to worry about that right now. It's just so great that they are receiving so many people that they are having to make these changes! I love to see so many wanting to serve missions! The mission is the best decision you will ever make, I encourage everyone to go!
I don't know if I will go or stay this change or not, but I had the thought come to me yesterday, when everyone was sharing their testimonies, that I have been able to help strengthen these members in this ward while I've been here. I love to hear of their beautiful testimonies. If I do go this change, I am happy at what the Lord has helped me to do with my time here.
Our investigators are moving right along, reading the Book of Mormon everyday and are very excited about the gospel. I am so glad for them. :D
Mom, I know what you mean by seeing a change in people's eyes. I have seen it in many people here, when they turn their lives over to the Lord. I hope that I have had that change in my eyes too, because I feel like I have.
For this week, to start off, my comp has had super bad problems with migraines in his life, like hospitalized bad. So Thursday night he got one and we had to go to the doctor! We were there until like two in the morning in the freezing cold! Soo after that we went home and he tried to sleep it off, we have been trying to do that for like a week almost now! I think that later this week we are going to Tampico to see his doctor there. Other than that, I have been on splits with other missionaries and what not so we can keep the work going in our area. I am still sick and have been for like three weeks now, I have a really bad cough, and I feel like my fever might come back but I am still pushing along! I will go to the doctor if it gets worse, but first I am going to buy some super meds and get a blessing. I am glad you reminded me to get a blessing, mom. I think I want to be strong and always want to do things for others that I forgot about me and so I will be humble and get one now.
This week I was on splits with another missionary named Elder Tsosie (pronounced like sosi) he is from Arizona so he speaks English. Anyway, we were teaching in his area and we showed up to the house of his investigator and we wanted to teach the law of chastity, he doesn't like teaching that lesson ha ha but we started to teach this hermana and the spirit told us something different, so we just taught about how God is and always will be there for her, He will never leave her alone. I was preaching with my testimony and said, imagine the love you have for your kids, now multiply that by how many kids Heavenly Father has. That is only the beginning of how much love He has for all of us. I was starting to cry when I was bearing my testimony, she was also, and the other member we had with us was, also. For just a brief moment I was able to see or feel just how much love God has for us. I felt the love of Heavenly Father so much that I was crying and I was burning from the spirit! I am thankful for that moment in my mission! My testimony really is; you are all children of God, He loves you more than you can ever even begin to imagine! Another thing I want to share is that when we have trials and hard times, we learn a whole heap of things! The real test is that when we have these tests and learn these things, that when we have the great easier times after, to keep using the things that we have learned in the hard times and not to be lazy just because we don't have hard times anymore. I have seen this. I do it all the time, when it is easy, I forget the things I learned, when it is hard I learn them again. It is my goal to remember the things I have learned at all times whether they are hard or easy! That is my challenge for all of you this week, please keep in your mind and in your hearts always, the things that you have learned, the spiritual growth you have seen and all that you have learned. It is a promise to you all that if you do this, you will see the growth and you will be happier overall. I know this is true because I am testing it out everyday and the Lord is helping me to see this promise!
Keep trying to do all that you can do and preparing for what the Lord has in His plan for you all! I know this church is true because of the assurance of the spirit that I feel when I teach, when I say that statement, and when I am living the gospel! Please grow! I love you all and hope all is going well with the family. Keep up in that temple! Do great things!
Love, Elder Hancock
P.S. Please let all those in the family who are going through trials or hard times, that they are in my prayers and I love them.
Mimi
hola hola hola!!!
I am glad to hear about all the good news of missions and weddings and what not! It is super great to see that people are doing what the Lord wants of them. It's horrible to see someone wasting what the Lord has blessed them with. The more and more I learn about the atonement, I find that it's necessary to serve Heavenly Father and his Son in their work, to show my gratitude for what they have done for me!!
This week, my first pair of shoes finally got a hole in the bottom. It's a lot of money to fix them, so I guess I will only wear that pair on days I am not walking a lot. ha ha
Thank you for the pics. They are good. I love them all. Please tell everyone, I am sorry that I don't have much time to write each person separately, but I am thankful for their letters. Please keep writing!
We will have changes on the 27th of this month and then the next change is only three weeks because they are trying to keep up with the differences in the age change and the time spent in the MTC changes, and then it will go back to the normal 6 weeks. Because of that, I might get 2 or 3 weeks cut off my mission because I have to leave on a transfer and with this change in transfers, it might make the transfer I go home, be on the 28th or 29th of May rather than the 18th of June. I don't know for sure, but we don't have to worry about that right now. It's just so great that they are receiving so many people that they are having to make these changes! I love to see so many wanting to serve missions! The mission is the best decision you will ever make, I encourage everyone to go!
I don't know if I will go or stay this change or not, but I had the thought come to me yesterday, when everyone was sharing their testimonies, that I have been able to help strengthen these members in this ward while I've been here. I love to hear of their beautiful testimonies. If I do go this change, I am happy at what the Lord has helped me to do with my time here.
Our investigators are moving right along, reading the Book of Mormon everyday and are very excited about the gospel. I am so glad for them. :D
Mom, I know what you mean by seeing a change in people's eyes. I have seen it in many people here, when they turn their lives over to the Lord. I hope that I have had that change in my eyes too, because I feel like I have.
For this week, to start off, my comp has had super bad problems with migraines in his life, like hospitalized bad. So Thursday night he got one and we had to go to the doctor! We were there until like two in the morning in the freezing cold! Soo after that we went home and he tried to sleep it off, we have been trying to do that for like a week almost now! I think that later this week we are going to Tampico to see his doctor there. Other than that, I have been on splits with other missionaries and what not so we can keep the work going in our area. I am still sick and have been for like three weeks now, I have a really bad cough, and I feel like my fever might come back but I am still pushing along! I will go to the doctor if it gets worse, but first I am going to buy some super meds and get a blessing. I am glad you reminded me to get a blessing, mom. I think I want to be strong and always want to do things for others that I forgot about me and so I will be humble and get one now.
This week I was on splits with another missionary named Elder Tsosie (pronounced like sosi) he is from Arizona so he speaks English. Anyway, we were teaching in his area and we showed up to the house of his investigator and we wanted to teach the law of chastity, he doesn't like teaching that lesson ha ha but we started to teach this hermana and the spirit told us something different, so we just taught about how God is and always will be there for her, He will never leave her alone. I was preaching with my testimony and said, imagine the love you have for your kids, now multiply that by how many kids Heavenly Father has. That is only the beginning of how much love He has for all of us. I was starting to cry when I was bearing my testimony, she was also, and the other member we had with us was, also. For just a brief moment I was able to see or feel just how much love God has for us. I felt the love of Heavenly Father so much that I was crying and I was burning from the spirit! I am thankful for that moment in my mission! My testimony really is; you are all children of God, He loves you more than you can ever even begin to imagine! Another thing I want to share is that when we have trials and hard times, we learn a whole heap of things! The real test is that when we have these tests and learn these things, that when we have the great easier times after, to keep using the things that we have learned in the hard times and not to be lazy just because we don't have hard times anymore. I have seen this. I do it all the time, when it is easy, I forget the things I learned, when it is hard I learn them again. It is my goal to remember the things I have learned at all times whether they are hard or easy! That is my challenge for all of you this week, please keep in your mind and in your hearts always, the things that you have learned, the spiritual growth you have seen and all that you have learned. It is a promise to you all that if you do this, you will see the growth and you will be happier overall. I know this is true because I am testing it out everyday and the Lord is helping me to see this promise!
Keep trying to do all that you can do and preparing for what the Lord has in His plan for you all! I know this church is true because of the assurance of the spirit that I feel when I teach, when I say that statement, and when I am living the gospel! Please grow! I love you all and hope all is going well with the family. Keep up in that temple! Do great things!
Love, Elder Hancock
P.S. Please let all those in the family who are going through trials or hard times, that they are in my prayers and I love them.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Letter Day!!! :D
*I need to preface this letter, by way of a little explanation for the first couple of paragraphs of Dakotah's letter. We have had some set backs happen in our family this past week and a half by way of job and Dakotah is my best friend and listening ear, so I just told him a just little bit of what happened and how I was feeling about it. Those paragraphs were in answer to that email. I am thankful that he is so close to the spirit and also that his heart knows me so well. It was definitely what I needed to hear.
So, here is this week's letter. Sorry it's late, but the above mentioned happenings in our life and the holidays slowed me down on being able to sit down and get this email forwarded. Just a couple of days and it will be Monday again.
Mimi
Hola familia,
First, I want you to know that you are doing the things that are right. We only receive tests and trials if the Lord knows that we can handle them and that we are going to be made better from them. So, in reality, you are one of the ones that the Lord is watching really closely right now. There is a scripture in Nephi (1 Nephi 21:15) where Jesus is talking and he asks; can a mother forget her child from birth? Of course, we all say no, that is impossible, then he says: even if it is possible that she does, I the Lord will never forget thee O house of Israel. Remember that you are part of the house of Israel, so you can put your name in there; I the Lord will never forget thee O Mimi, or Hancock family or whatever; he says that he has us engraved in his hands. Now, just think of that, if the Son of God, our brother, cannot forget us, think of the Father, he will never forget us. There is always a plan, even in the hardest of times. When we have tests and trials, it just means that a better time is coming and we are being made better people!
Alma teaches the people on the hill Odinah (Alma 32). They are sad because they can't enter into their synagogues because they are poor. Alma rejoices. He is not a cruel guy, he is rejoicing because their afflictions have humbled them and they are now humble enough to submit to God's will. They are truly blessed. So, don't think bad of the situation. This is a test and God is seeing how we are going to handle it. I know it is hard, I know more every day I am out here in the field. God wants you to stand together, be humble and continue to pray always! Sometimes when it is hard, you just have to wait it out a little bit! It sucks, ha ha but something better is ALWAYS coming ahead! Don't let that faith waver! Please don't let it waver! We are usually tested until there seems like there is no hope at all, then Heavenly Father comes in after we have done all that we can do and He saves us. Keep going to the temple every week! Have faith that the Lord will deliver you, and He will, not in your time or by your will, but in His time and by His will! I know that this is true! It is my testimony to you, my mom, that if you have faith, if you try harder than you ever have before, Heavenly Father will deliver you from your afflictions. I have learned so many things here in the mission, but one of the most important things I have learned, is that if we are humble, if we submit to the Father, we will have hard times, because we need to learn just a little more about how Christ felt that last week of His life, we need to learn just a tiny bit of what He felt. That is why we have some trials and tests, that is how we are going to learn of His life, of His atonement, His love for all of us! I testify this to you as a representative of Jesus Christ. I feel the spirit as I type these words. I know that you guys are being prepared for something better. When it comes, remember the hard times, they help us to stay humble. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Now, for other stuff. I got super sick yesterday. I got food poisoning. I felt like death, it was horrible. I was up like every half hour to hour in the bathroom, until I finally just threw up everything and then I felt way better. I was shocked at this sickness because in my whole mission, I haven't been sick like this, so it was all new to me. I have super faith that God will help me! Like yesterday, I almost couldn't get out of bed and today I am up and walking!
I have lost a lot of weight and everyone here in Panuco says that I look a lot skinnier now than when I got here. I do eat differently than when I was in America and I do a lot of walking. Yes, Alex, I am eating yoghurt(that's how it's spelled here) but is danone flavor fresa or strawberry.
Alex, New Year's isn't exclusive of Mexico, ha ha they have everything we have(except Thanksgiving) and even a few more. And, I will probably handle it like every other holiday, write it in my agenda, wahooo and that's the celebration, so every time I look at my agenda, I am happy. ha ha I will be sleeping when the New Year comes in.
We didn't get to do too many visits this week, with the holidays and everyone doing things with their families. Tomorrow we are going to Tampico for a junta con zone, aka zone meeting and apparently, I am going up there again after that because all of the new americans have a meeting with the president, so that is good. I love president! I think it is my generation and those after me, so I will feel super old there. It was funny; I was actually talking to a guy and he thought that I was from Mexico, until he saw my name and then was shocked I wasn't from Mexico. It's weird looking, but my hair looks brown cause I am always using gel so it looks darker and I cut it before the sun can dye it more blond and I have more of a tan. ha ha
We were able to get some gas today for the shower. It's like a mile walk to get it and we have to carry the tank all that way, when we can get it which is not very often.
To answer your questions, Alex; in every single house, there is usually a crazy fast lizard or geco crawling on the wall, or floor ha ha and I think there are crocodiles in the river Panuco. No, that little boy didn't get the Guess Who game he wanted, but he did get a play station and old school games like we used to play when we were kids. It reminded me of my youth. ha ha
Poppi, how is the reading in the libro de mormon coming along? You're gonna speak spanish by the time I come home?
Well, it's time to go. I love you all and I will write again, next Monday! Have a great week and good luck in all you are doing! Keep praying for me and I will keep praying for you! Have faith! Go and do good things!
Love,
Elder Hancock
So, here is this week's letter. Sorry it's late, but the above mentioned happenings in our life and the holidays slowed me down on being able to sit down and get this email forwarded. Just a couple of days and it will be Monday again.
Mimi
Hola familia,
First, I want you to know that you are doing the things that are right. We only receive tests and trials if the Lord knows that we can handle them and that we are going to be made better from them. So, in reality, you are one of the ones that the Lord is watching really closely right now. There is a scripture in Nephi (1 Nephi 21:15) where Jesus is talking and he asks; can a mother forget her child from birth? Of course, we all say no, that is impossible, then he says: even if it is possible that she does, I the Lord will never forget thee O house of Israel. Remember that you are part of the house of Israel, so you can put your name in there; I the Lord will never forget thee O Mimi, or Hancock family or whatever; he says that he has us engraved in his hands. Now, just think of that, if the Son of God, our brother, cannot forget us, think of the Father, he will never forget us. There is always a plan, even in the hardest of times. When we have tests and trials, it just means that a better time is coming and we are being made better people!
Alma teaches the people on the hill Odinah (Alma 32). They are sad because they can't enter into their synagogues because they are poor. Alma rejoices. He is not a cruel guy, he is rejoicing because their afflictions have humbled them and they are now humble enough to submit to God's will. They are truly blessed. So, don't think bad of the situation. This is a test and God is seeing how we are going to handle it. I know it is hard, I know more every day I am out here in the field. God wants you to stand together, be humble and continue to pray always! Sometimes when it is hard, you just have to wait it out a little bit! It sucks, ha ha but something better is ALWAYS coming ahead! Don't let that faith waver! Please don't let it waver! We are usually tested until there seems like there is no hope at all, then Heavenly Father comes in after we have done all that we can do and He saves us. Keep going to the temple every week! Have faith that the Lord will deliver you, and He will, not in your time or by your will, but in His time and by His will! I know that this is true! It is my testimony to you, my mom, that if you have faith, if you try harder than you ever have before, Heavenly Father will deliver you from your afflictions. I have learned so many things here in the mission, but one of the most important things I have learned, is that if we are humble, if we submit to the Father, we will have hard times, because we need to learn just a little more about how Christ felt that last week of His life, we need to learn just a tiny bit of what He felt. That is why we have some trials and tests, that is how we are going to learn of His life, of His atonement, His love for all of us! I testify this to you as a representative of Jesus Christ. I feel the spirit as I type these words. I know that you guys are being prepared for something better. When it comes, remember the hard times, they help us to stay humble. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Now, for other stuff. I got super sick yesterday. I got food poisoning. I felt like death, it was horrible. I was up like every half hour to hour in the bathroom, until I finally just threw up everything and then I felt way better. I was shocked at this sickness because in my whole mission, I haven't been sick like this, so it was all new to me. I have super faith that God will help me! Like yesterday, I almost couldn't get out of bed and today I am up and walking!
I have lost a lot of weight and everyone here in Panuco says that I look a lot skinnier now than when I got here. I do eat differently than when I was in America and I do a lot of walking. Yes, Alex, I am eating yoghurt(that's how it's spelled here) but is danone flavor fresa or strawberry.
Alex, New Year's isn't exclusive of Mexico, ha ha they have everything we have(except Thanksgiving) and even a few more. And, I will probably handle it like every other holiday, write it in my agenda, wahooo and that's the celebration, so every time I look at my agenda, I am happy. ha ha I will be sleeping when the New Year comes in.
We didn't get to do too many visits this week, with the holidays and everyone doing things with their families. Tomorrow we are going to Tampico for a junta con zone, aka zone meeting and apparently, I am going up there again after that because all of the new americans have a meeting with the president, so that is good. I love president! I think it is my generation and those after me, so I will feel super old there. It was funny; I was actually talking to a guy and he thought that I was from Mexico, until he saw my name and then was shocked I wasn't from Mexico. It's weird looking, but my hair looks brown cause I am always using gel so it looks darker and I cut it before the sun can dye it more blond and I have more of a tan. ha ha
We were able to get some gas today for the shower. It's like a mile walk to get it and we have to carry the tank all that way, when we can get it which is not very often.
To answer your questions, Alex; in every single house, there is usually a crazy fast lizard or geco crawling on the wall, or floor ha ha and I think there are crocodiles in the river Panuco. No, that little boy didn't get the Guess Who game he wanted, but he did get a play station and old school games like we used to play when we were kids. It reminded me of my youth. ha ha
Poppi, how is the reading in the libro de mormon coming along? You're gonna speak spanish by the time I come home?
Well, it's time to go. I love you all and I will write again, next Monday! Have a great week and good luck in all you are doing! Keep praying for me and I will keep praying for you! Have faith! Go and do good things!
Love,
Elder Hancock
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