Work is Slow but Going...

Sounds like you guys had a fun week! Ours was alright. The work is going a little slow but it’s still going. We’re teaching the investigators that the hermanas were working with.  Yesterday we went and visited one of them. He is doing good. We are going to go see him again on Tuesday and set a baptism date for him. He is teaching guitar lessons to the members there and I was able to go and help him in the class.

Ummm… as far as stuff goes for you to send, more pictures of the family would be nice and anything else you want to throw in there. Here’s some pictures of your handsome sonJ.  I’ve adopted the Latino trend of slim fit everything J

I love you soooooo much momma. You’re the best mom any one could ever have asked for. Thank you for all of the wonderful things you taught me. I’m sorry if I ever did anything to disappoint you or make you mad. I loveeeee  youuuuuu!!!!

Elder Hoy

Your Handsome Son "Latino Style"

Stressful but Learning a Lot!

Hey Momma I’m doing good. This week was kind of rough. They couldn’t find a house for the sister missionaries so they had to send them away to other zones. So now I’m in charge of taking care of their area and their progressing investigators as well. I’ve been on interchanges with one of the assistants to the president for the last two days which is stressful but it’s also fun and I’m learning a lot. 

ASHLEY IS PREGNANT??? Finally!!! I’m going to be an uncle again! That’s so exciting! It’s good to hear that Travis is finally getting married as well! When he dropped me off at the airport when I left buffalo, he told me good luck on my mission. Then…I told him to get married. I’m glad he is following the wise counsel I gave himJ

Bummer to hear that the west is in a drought, but I guess that’s nothing new. I haven’t used my camera much at all much lately. I did send a picture of a cool cathedral here in Santa Ana and a pic of me my companion and one of the assistants.

Hey… guess what?  I realized I already have 10 months now... and in like 2 and a half months, I’ll get to talk to you guys again on Mothers Day!  I loved the valentines box. Do you think you’ll be able to send me those books that I asked for? OK thanks mamasita.  I love you a ton.

Elder Hoy

Cool Cathedral in Santa Ana

My Companion, AP and Me!

Happy Valentines Day!

February 14th, 2014
Ok ... I was going to ask you to send me some things but I wasn’t expecting that package. Thank you for the surprise Valentines Box. I loved it!

This week was really stressful. Being district leader is fun but a lot more work. And it didn’t help that four of the sisters in my district got their house robbed. They lost a lot of stuff. I felt really bad. They have to find a new house to live in or they will have to close their area. And they have 2 baptism dates. So today we are going house hunting for them.

But I’m enjoying having Elder Elias as a companion. Yeah, he is pretty small, but he is really funny. He is from Peru and his Spanish is kind of hard to understand, but I’m getting used to it. He’s a crazy little dude but he knows a ton about the bible. He is very good at what we call ''macheteing'' which is basically like bible debating, something that I’m not very good at. But we are getting along great.

I always show off the picture you sent me of the Gilbert temple at sunset. Everyone thinks it’s so beautiful. I’m sad I’m going to miss the dedication. The work is going alright. We are having a hard time finding new people to teach, but the search goes on. But I love you lots momma. Say hi to everyone!

“I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my mommy you’ll be”! Happy Valentine’s Day! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Elder Hoy

Lots of Awesome Changes!

This week has been super crazy! A bunch of awesome things happened! So yes we had lots of changes! Elder Salmons went to the area right next to my previous area and is now the district leader for that area! My new companion is Elder Elias. He is from Peru. He’s really cool. His grandfather is Chinese. He is really funny and we are getting along great.

Also, our district leader was transferred as well so they had to pick a new district leader for this area. And guess who it is… ME! I’m super excited and happy, but it’s a lot of work and a lot less sleep. But it’s going to be a lot of fun. My district consists of me and my companion, and 3 more companionships. The other 3 are all sister missionaries. Ha-ha! It’s going to be kind of weird, but they are working really hard and we are going to have a lot of success this month! 

Yesterday I went and had a lesson with the sister missionaries and one of their investigator couples. They accepted to get married and to be baptized! It was really cool and I had to interview the man. He passed perfectly and is super ready to get baptized. 

This week has been really cool. I am really happy and excited to be district leader. I will be able to help a lot more people! The pictures are of me and the ''Trebol'' which means clover, us going up a mountain on a big water tanker truck, me in a cave we found, and a really cool tree that looked like something out of lion king.

I love you guys and hope you have a good week!

My New Companion Elder Elias

Me and the Trebol

Going Up the Hill in a Tanker Truck

The Lion King Tree

Cool Cave

Amazing Week!

This week several amazing things happened. My mission president spoke in our ward. It was really great and I think his words helped our investigator, William. He’s a man who isn’t ready to commit to a specific date. We had a lesson with him on exchanges yesterday, and he is beginning to change. The Elder that I was with on exchanges was Elder Gordon. He shared something with our investigator that our mission president had once said. He said that when people cut off the tails or ears of dogs, they do not do it gradually, but instead they do it all at once. (Everybody has dogs so they can relate to this). I like that thought a lot and I think I will share it with some of our investigators who want to change gradually.

On Monday we had an amazing experience…something that has never happened to me. An active sister told us that she felt that we should visit a less active family that we had never visited. So we decided to go right then because we didn’t have any other appointments at that time. We arrived at their home at about 8:40 PM and talked to the wife and children. Her husband then came home early from work. Usually, he comes home at one or two o'clock in the morning, but that evening he came home early for some reason. We briefly spoke with him, and after a few minutes, he told us that he’d had a dream two days earlier in which two missionaries came to visit him. Then he told us that WE were the missionaries in his dream!

I was so thankful that the spirit guided that sister to tell us to visit that family. We will continue visiting with the family to help fully reactivate them. It was an experience I will never forget. It helped me understand that the less active people are very important in our work, and we want to  begin to revive and help this neighborhood.

I also had the opportunity to help with the baptism of Brother Roberto. He is the investigator of the sisters. We baptized him last Sunday. Since he is unable to walk, it took 4 people to baptize him. It was a really wonderful experience.

Well, we had some amazing experiences that were so unforgettable! I'm out of time. I love you guys sooo much! Elder Hoy       

Missionary Fun!

Missionary Power!

Missionaries "on the rocks" 

Brother Roberto's Baptism