Week 33 in the Misión Argentina Salta! (I think)

Hola!!!

Hows it going? First of all, I am glad that you're doing alright what with your sprained toe joint and everything, Mom [snorkeling injury--I'm off crutches as of yesterday!!:)]. Secondly, thanks for the pics, looks like you had tons of fun in Hawaii! Thirdly, I love you all!

Well this week was a bit rough. Not very many people wanted to listen to us, Cristina included, church assistance [help from the members] was at an all time low and nobody in familia Rojas or familia Diaz came to church. I was feeling pretty down yesterday because I love these people so much and I have done and am doing everything I can, and it is the hardest thing to see them not doing well. As a representative of Jesus Christ I am coming to understand the Atonement in a very new and very real way. I don't think I loved very much before the mission, but now I am understanding what it is like to hurt when other people don't choose to live the gospel because we love them and know it is the way they can find eternal happiness. 

The Littlest Diaz

 Well that's enough Debbie downer for the week, I am doing well and we are keeping positive, I know that my success as a missionary does not depend on decisions of others. We are going to keep working with these families to strengthen them. All is not lost! Also Veronica is back on track for baptism, if all goes well it should be May 9th. Keep her in your prayers please!

Thanks Jon and Cath and Mom for the letters!!!! :) Hermana Stewart is going to use the talk you sent me Mom in her capacitación [training] tomorrow, it was a very good talk. (about testimony versus conversion) [https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/02/testimony-and-conversion?lang=eng].

What else...I have to go to Salta tomorrow to do tramites ["formal procedures" probably to renew her visa!] so that I'm not an illegal alien here.

We painted the new branch president's house the other day, that was fun, also we played volleyball today with our district and some members. Also fun story, there is an abuelito [little grandpa man] that we run into a couple times a week and every time it's like Christmas, he has a little bag on his wheelchair and pulls out alfajores [her favorite cookies] or something to give to us because we are ¨amigas de su alma.¨  [friends of his soul] haha. I don't know if he has a family or even a house but he is always so happy. Así que (Thus] there is always something to be happy about! Life is good.

Sanding President Valdez' house

Hope you all have a splendid week! Love you! 

PS Jon and Cath if you read this have fun in Costa Rica!!!!

Love,

Hermana Hooke

Congrats, Jon!!!!

Heyyy there!

Well looks like you guys are having no fun at all. JUST KIDDING please send me pictures of Hawaii and Costa Rica! And don't forget to save some fun things to do with poor Hermana Hooke sweating in the Argentine sun when she gets back! That's seriously so fun you got to go to Hawaii for Jon's graduation!!! That's crazy he is no longer a young schoolboy!

Jon's graduation day!

Well I hope you are all doing well! This week was good. There is a funny lady named Cristina who contacted US in the street one day, and she already gave us almuerzo [lunch] and already came to church (she invited herself before we could even invite her) and basically she just makes us laugh a lot because I don't even know why. She has 2 kids and wants them to learn about God and make good decisions and how they can have a strong family even when they live in a bad neighborhood. If all goes well she will get baptized May 9th!  We don't know what happened with Veronica but she basically told us she doesn't want to go to church or for us to visit her....we will see how it goes with her.

Also this week we had zone training and guess who gave the training...Hermana Hammond! She is still in my zone, so that's the good news! She told me that Hermana Platino, my 1st companion is also a lider capacitadora [sister training leader] in Santiago del Estero!

Reunion with past companion, Hermana Hammond!

Hna Stewart and I bought matching shoes. Also I am levitating...

In zone training we made missionaries out of clay to talk about being moldable and teachable and humble.

Well not much interesting has happened...for some reason on P Day we never have time to do everything we have to do but this week we had tons of time and just sat there for like 2 hrs...it was really weird. We couldn't think of anything to do but feed leftover empanadas to neighborhood cats. One of them is pretty cute because it actually has 2 eyes. 

Wellll thanks all for the prayers and thoughts and letters! Love you all! Remember that our spirit, like our body, needs nourishment every day too! When we make not only scripture study but also application a part of our life we really can become better people every day! 3 Nephi 14: 24-27 ["Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it." See also Matthew 7:21-27]

Best,

Hermana Hooke :)

Hola!!

Hola!

First off, YES I got your package! Thanks!

There were sour gummi worms in the package!

Second off, this week was very long for some reason but nothing interesting really happened. Oh I guess it was interesting when we went to the hospital for an allergic reaction Hermana Stewart had when something bit her. Don´t worry, she´s alright. Hermana Stewart arrived in Argentina the same transfer that I did! She has 1 month more than I do in the mission though because she was in the MTC for longer. She is from Utah and is very cheerful and sweet and obedient. (there's your description mom:)

Hermana Stewart & Hermana Hooke

Please keep familia Díaz and familia Rojas in your prayers. None of my converts went to church yesterday. It makes me very sad and worried. But we are going to work very hard as a companionship and as branch council (oh also our branch pres got released but they didn't call a new one. So now we don't have a branch pres...) and I will not leave Belgrano with my converts less active. Baptisms are relatively easy when compared with retention, I am finding out. I don´t know why but that's how it is here. But I love these people and God loves these people and we are going to succeed!

Also please pray for Verónica, she accepted a baptismal date for the 25th but still feels that she isn't  receiving an answer. But she is searching for peace and knows she feels good when we teach her and when she goes to church. 

Well by the looks of the fotos, looks like the Hookes are having lots of fun! Hopefully the go cart doesn't break before I get home... Oh also are you (mom and dad) gonna go to Hawaii for Jon´s graduation? It's not every day that someone graduates from 17th grade! 

Well love you all!!! ¡Que tengan una linda semana!

XOXO Hermana Hooke

Family letters

No official post today: Emily watched the General Conference of the church, and wrote a personal letter to family members. She is well and happy!!

Feliz Conferencia General y Pascua! [Happy General Conference and Easter!]

Hola!

Hope all is well. All is well in Belgrano, although there have been some surprises this week. First of all Marta and Evaristo Díaz couldn´t get baptized  which was a bummer, but we are going to try to work with them and later on they will be able to get baptized. But the important thing is that they want to be baptized, so we will keep working with their whole family! Hernan, Mayra, and Celeste are super strong in the church! Hernan is really excited to be a missionary for his neighborhood to help with the Misión Belgrano. We are going to have a special branch missionary training on Wednesday so that should be fun. The pictures are from Cati Diaz´s 7th birthday, we had lunch with them. I gave her a rubber lobster, so it was a good day overall.

Wellllll we are doing very well, we are laughing probably too much but life is good and we are going to finish the transfer strong!! 

I´m so grateful that for this Easter I can be here serving the Lord and telling everyone the good news - because He suffered and paid for our sins, we can be clean, and because He gave his life and was resurrected, we can live again, too. I love Him with all my heart, I love my companion and area and the people here, and I love you all too! We are also so blessed to be able to listen to our prophet on Easter. It will be very special and I invite everyone to go hear him speak and testify of our Savior Jesus Christ. ¡Que tengan una hermosa semana! [May you all have a beautiful week!]

Hermana Hooke

PS the other foto is of a bridge that we always cross to get to the Diaz house. We came one day and it had collapsed, but we used it anyway. :) 

I think it's finally autumn!!!!!

Hola mis seres queridos [Hello my beloved beings],

 

Hope all is well! All is sure well in Belgrano [the part of the city of San Pedro de Jujuy she is in]. This week was great!! We got caught in a crazy storm without raincoats or umbrellas until a nice man and his daughter gave us a ride, Hermana Hammond helped me overcome my sugar addiction, we are having lots of fun with What Are The Odds, it's actually cooled down a lot (last night I actually got cold so I covered myself up with a skirt...haha the blankets are all in storage), we found some wonderful new investigators and 2 sisters we met on Saturday, Mariel and Cyntia, came to church on Sunday and loved it, the branch leaders are really excited to help out in the new mission plan, and we saw many miracles of being in the right place at the right time in order to meet people. Por ejemplo [for example] ¨That's interesting that the first time we ever come to the plaza as a family, we meet you. I've been asking God for a sign.¨ And ¨I prayed last night and this morning that you would come.¨ And we did. I just love seeing the Lord's fingerprint in little things like that. 

 

Well, it is time for the best part of the week..........

The whole Diaz family came to church yesterday, and Marta and Evaristo, the parents, are getting baptized this Saturday!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for your prayers! Please keep them up so that everything goes smoothly this week. Marta for some time has been saying that yes she wants to get baptized but ¨más adelante¨ or basically at some indefinite point in the future and Evaristo said that when she gets baptized he will too. And in sacrament meeting yesterday Hermana Hammond asked Marta, ¨They are going to announce a baptism this Saturday, do you want them to announce your names?¨ And she said yes!!! I was sitting in another part with some other investigators and when Hermana Hammond told me I almost started crying I was SO HAPPY!!!! I love this family so much and now I know that they can go to the temple one day! I know I've said this like 23987 times but THE GOSPEL BLESSES FAMILIES!!!! Love you all! Oh PS I got the letters from Mom Bails Megan Syd and Lani (and Cath :) the other week! Thanks so much! 

Until next time,

Hermana Hooke

Mas milagros! (More miracles!)

Hellooo!!!!

This week was rapidísimo, can't believe the transfer is half over already! Hope you are all doing well!

This week was so good! Mayra (older sister of Hernan and Celeste) got baptized on Saturday and it was a MIRACLE that everything worked out! Right when we got to their house Saturday night to go together to the chapel a crazy storm hit. It started pouring so hard and there was thunder and lightning so close that for a moment it was as bright as daytime. The little streets turned into rivers and then the electricity went out and we were stuck in their house wondering what was going to happen, so we said a prayer that it would stop raining so we could get to the church for Mayra's baptism. While Hermana Hammond was saying the prayer it started to rain even harder. But when we finished I just felt calm, and I had no idea how. but I knew we were going to get there. We waited for a little while and the storm didn't stop, but Mayra and her family started to get ready anyway. We decided we would walk. It was pretty crazy, with the lightning and everything and carrying the little girls on backs to cross the street-rivers but shortly after leaving their house, it stopped raining. We kept walking and then the electricity came back! We arrived at the church only an hour late, very wet, but Mayra got baptized and that is what's important! 

Mayra's baptism (after the STORM!)

It was such a special experience, and now we are working more with the parents so that they can get baptized too. The dad Evaristo came to church yesterday, and today while we were in the chapel playing volleyball he came to plant some little plants in front of the church. He is a gardener and had brought them from his work. Just about melted my little heart. If you can pray for Evaristo and Marta (parents of the Diaz family) and Viviana and Oscar (parents of the Rojas family) that would be great! The goal is to have the parents baptized by the end of the transfer. Oh almost forgot, when we got to church on Sunday morning the steeple on the chapel had been struck by lightning during the storm and split in half! Pretty crazy huh? Well, I am learning more and more each day that God is a God of miracles and that He really has all the power to answer our prayers but just wants us to exercise faith first. We could have waited for the storm to stop and maybe we never would have left, but we acted with faith and that's when the storm stopped and the electricity came back on. 

Well I love you very much and hope you have a wonderful semana!

Love,

Hermana Hooke