week 6- fast and furious

First off THANK FOR FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY package!!( mustache pictures to follow)

Answering questions;

We live with a member of the stake presidency. We have a room right off the kitchen  and it is bright and cheery! The house is big and beautiful and they have a little creek thing in the backyard and a pretty deck- Very peaceful and nice- Montana really is beautiful!

 

 

PDAY( preparation day)-  We always wash and clean the car, do laundry, go grocery shopping and email! Then  our zone meets at the church and we play pod ball or volleyball. It's fun! Then At 6:00 back to work!! 

Today we went to sister W (sweet  lady who was just baptized) and she taught us how to cross stitch! 

 

Well it's been one of those weeks where you know Heavenly Father is

trying to teach you something but you just can't figure out what it

is. Haha

S  called us the day before our return appointment and said she doesn’twant anything to do with Mormons.

The other one L, wasn't there and we can't get ahold of her.

C (who was on date from the previous sisters) dropped off,  He was high when he accepted baptism and sadly is battling that demon. 

N, was excited for her baptism in  July and is such an

amazing girl!! has missed her last 3 appointments and stops

responding to texts and calls .She lives with her brother who is extremely anti Mormon and we think he has convinced her we are evil.

 And sweet N, This last week we've really

been getting strong feelings that we need to  push it back for him. He wants so bad to quit his old habits and

move on from his old life but he wants it to happen over night and

things like that rarely happen that fast. Repenting, changing our ways

and turning toward Christ is a process. And in order to do that we

need Christ's help. N is such a strong guy but no matter how

strong we are, we all still need help. We need reminders, we need the

sacrament and we need the atonement. Nathan has a hard time getting

around what others think. He thinks he is being judged by his friends

for becoming Mormon. It's so hard cause we know he knows it's true!

But he just has to find out how much he is willing to fight for it. We

know it's hard and so we're glad we were able to talk to him

God never said it would be easy, He only said it would

be worth it. N just has to make sure he knows for himself how

worth it it really is.

We were pretty down about the whole week and had a tough time.

 Lots of prayers were said. And we really made an effort to focus

on things one step at a time. We did focus on being exactly

obedient, and intensified personal and companionship study time. We

let go of our unrealistic expectations of ourselves and others and

just took things one day at a time, the Lords way. Things started

looking up.

On Friday we got to go meet our new mission president and his wife,

President and sister Wadsworth. They're both so sweet! You could tell they were nervous but they both just jumped in! They seem AMAZING and I can't wait to get to know them better. People keep saying that after how amazing president Mecham is that president Wadsworth has some big shoes to fill. But we know he's bringing his own shoes!! He's so awesome! He reminds me a little of daddy and Wade Buxton! Quiet, a little cautious but HEART OF GOLD. Such strong testimony and desire to do good. He's gonna be amazing. 

I was asked to play the piano for the meeting , which always makes me a little nervous but I guess it went OK. ( I am actually playing the piano a lot  -in primary, Relief society, missionary meetings….it should keep up my piano and I am sure I will get less nervous J )

Fourth of July was a big party and a big miracle. They have a Great

Falls parade every year so we got to take a float of the Salt lake

Temple and be in the parade. The whole zone and a few members all got

together and we passed our pass along cards, candy and The Family: a

Proclamation to the World. It was so fun and we met some awesome

people!

 

Then later in the day we got to meet with C and his wife C.

C is a recent convert in Fort Benton branch who brought her

husband to church last fast and testimony meeting. He got up and bore

his testimony and now he wants to meet with the missionaries! So we

had our first lesson with C on 4th of July. He is amazing.

We were running late to our dinner appointment so we had to call brother Bailey. Half the converts in the ward were introduced to the church by him. He is so willing and ready to give all he has.

We got there and he had a neighbor over for dinner…we talked a lot and he came to

church the next day for Fast and testimony meeting ( fast and furious brother Bailey calls it)

The testimonies that were born were beautiful and

Uplifting. It's so incredible to hear others testify of the gospel in

their lives and hear how they get through crazy times. It's really

Strengthening to know that even though we all go through tough times,

God is ALWAYS there for every one of His children…. Always.

I know that Heavenly Father loves us. God doesn't

do accidents. We are never alone. He is always there, cheering us on,

watching us and praying that we take these times to become better

missionaries, better people and more like Christ. Keep pushing on.

Look for the blessings that you see in your life from Gods hand. I

promise you they're there. I love you all!!

W/<3

Sister Hodgson

Week 5- EEk time goes fast here!!

 

Hello hello:) crazy busy week!

We were all over the place this week. We had an awesome district

meeting and talked about involving members in the work. Overlook ward is SO awesome and willingly come work and serve with us!  We brought a member with us to almost all of our lessons this week! It really is such a blessing for the missionaries to have another member there to testify. And it's an even bigger blessing for those who are learning about the gospel because they get to see and hear from a REAL point of view the blessings of the church in ever day life. So if you haven't had a chance to go out with the missionaries in your area DO IT! Cause it's awesome.

This week Sister Adair and I went to help P ( an new member of our church) paint her house. We talked about  the "Mormon rules" as she calls them so we've been focusing a lot on the blessings (physically, mentally, spiritually, etc) that come from being obedient. God doesn't just give us "rules" to abide by just to make life harder for us to be obedient. He gives us guidelines that we use to us to help us stay on the right path and keep us safe. It is  completely out of love and we are SO beyond blessed to have His guidance.

We also got the chance to go help at the 5 stake youth conference.

They did a whole thing on missionary work and had Moroni (one of the YM leaders) ride out on a horse and raise the title of liberty. The

they all divided into stakes and each kid had a shield that they made with things they're fighting for (family, friends, religion, the

gospel, etc) and a sword. They had a huge battle till everyone died.

Then they played army of Hellman and U.S. Missionaries came out from the sides singing. The seniors took their top shirts off and had a "future missionary" shirt underneath. We helped the seniors up and they joined us in the center singing. The Spirit in that room was

incredible. It was such an awesome experience. It really was a

testimony to me of why I'm out here. We are here to lift one another and do the Lords work. I love this gospel so much and have seen how much light it brings into my life. And dang I sure do want share that light with others!

This week, we were going for our weekly appointment with N. We got there just in time to see EMTs going into his place.  We were glad his mini seizure passed quickly and he is doing better.I guess he got super dehydrated.  We met with him when he was feeling better and we talked about the word of Wisdom

Substances have a hold on so many these days.  Quitting addictions can be HARD no doubt. But I believe so much of it comes down to our will. How much do we want it and if we truly are willing to ask Christ for help. The atonement is there for us. Christ is there for us. We just need to make the choice to invite Him in.

This week we finally got to meet with Ni. She is AMAZING. She was in the marine corps with her husband but he was killed in action.  She and her 3 year old daughter E have been trying to find their way the past few years. The elders before us tracted into her but
hadn't gotten to set up a return appointment.  We met with her and E on Thursday and taught the restoration. And holy cow.  The spirit was so strong.  Before we even got the chance to invite her, she asked about baptism. OKAY WHAT.

At the end of the lesson she told us that she had been praying to God for someone help her and her daughter find peace and what to do with her life. Then right after, we texted her. I know that God guides us, His children. If we are ready and willing, He will use us as instruments in His hands to help bring His other children, our brothers and sisters to the light of the gospel.

Wow I love this gospel. I love the people here in Montana and the new friends I am making.  I know that it's true. I pray every day  to have experiences to strengthen me to serve. I pray to be worthy for Christ to use me to help spread the gospel to those who are ready and waiting for it and to serve the people  here.

I love you all! So so much!! Keep reading the Scriptures  and praying. Christ is in the pages of the scriptures. Find him. Love you all!!

W/ <3

 Sister Hodgson

Week 4- Ether knows best and Faith gives us strength

Hello my family!

So business first.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DADDY!!! And BIRTHDAY FROM THE 11th!!

AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOMMY AND DADDY!!!

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY ON THE 25th!!

Did you get my package? I just love you both a whole lot and miss

you!! Just know I've been thinking about you lots on those days. Love

you so much and thank you for your amazing examples.

AHHH CONGRATS TO HER!!! She just got called to the best mission ever.

Haha ill keep an eye our for sister Frederickson!!

I enclosed a few more MTC pictures I will figure out Montana ones next week mom.

So my comp: sister Melissa Adair is from St George Utah .  Yes she does look a lot

My MTC comp you are right.  It's incredible how the Lord

places us with the right people at the right time to prepare us for

whatever we need to do. Such a blessing. Gosh dang He loves us and

wants us to be the best we can be!!

We live with the whitneys, an AMAZING family!! Brother

Whitney is in the stake presidency and they are awesome! They are so

Open and sharing with their beautiful home ( mommy has address if a friend needs

It but not posting on FB)

Yea we FINALLY got iPads!

Preparation day is busy! We wash the car, clean, email, visit people

, then we get free Dairy

Queen once a week so we might go try that...the the zone meets at the

church and plays pod ball! So that's fun! We have great zone leaders

elder Barney and elder Sumners.

Wow this preparation day came soooo fast! There really aren't enough

hours in a week!! I'll just jump right into things! We've been meeting

a lot of members and less actives trying to get to know the area.

AMAZING PEOPLE!! Really ! Wow we feel blessed. We met with

N again. He's doing AMAZING!! He got rid of all his electronics

to help with some of his battles. And he did it!! He moved out of his

awful living situation!! We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ

and the importance of every step.

Oh gosh he's prepared!! And amazing. He's doing so good!! He has a goal for baptism in July and we're working toward that! He really

has felt a change. Now that he's out of the old living situation and

working on some stuff he says he can feel the Spirit so much stronger

in his life. God loves all his children no matter where we are in

life! It's completely our choice as to whether or not we let Him in.

Thursday we had mission leadership training. It was so good to see the

Mechams again. They really are incredible. We talked about the

importance of being representatives of Christ in all that we do. In

our actions, language, living quarters, every area of life. Our theme

for right now is to Be Believing.

We saw another example of faith in 2 little girls K and Ki

this week. On Friday we got a call from our Fort Benton branch

president saying that he was out of town and needed us to go visit a

family in the hospital. The Coles just went to the temple last week

and finally had the opportunity to be sealed as a family. On the way

home 2 of the girls got sick and ended up in the hospital with really

bad pneumonia in both lungs. We got our district leaders and went to

the hospital to meet them and give them a blessing. They were in

isolation so we had to put on the little masks and suit things before

we could go in. The girls were so sick and their poor mom was having

an awful time. The poor girls so so sick but they had such strong

faith that the blessings would help them. It was such a special

experience to be there with the family and see the power of the

priesthood….we were so blessed to bring some comfort to their family

and their faith and love was incredible to witness.

I know God watches over each and every one of His children. He loves

us. He is there, waiting for us to reach out and invite Him to help.

No matter what our trails are, whether we're guilty, sick, frustrated,

discouraged, or just having a hard week, Christ is right there with

us. He has felt every pain, every heart ache, every sickness, every

tear. We need to let Him in. Have faith.

 Remember Ether knows best. In Ether

12:12 we learn that Miracles come!! But only after the trial of our

faith.

I love you all! Until next week :)

W/<3 Sister Hodgson

Fun fact: We named our car Ether cause Ether knows best.

Fun fact: on the way home from mission leadership training the elders

hit a deer and wrecked their car. Our car was totally safe and missed

the deer. Ether knows best.