September 22, 2014

Viva Mexico!

This week was a week of learning!!!! We had 4 people that were going to be baptized in this week and last week. All of them are not going to be able to anymore because they drank coffee...... it was a little frustrating but now we can learn from it and know what to do better next week. We are gonna work so those 4 people can be baptized the 12th of October. Sorry I ran out of time because I had a lot of letters to respond to this week. But, know I love you all, I'm doing great, I love my mission, and EVERYTHING IS GREAT!!!! We made some pancakes today that were super good and ate them with ham and cheese. It was interesting, but good. And the cheese is way different here than back home. But thanks for all the support. 

 Love you ALL!!!

 Elder Hakes

Independence Day in Mexico

Hitting up the Grill

Argentino Bisteces!!! Arentinan Steaks!!

September 15, 2014

This week we had a baptism! 

His name is Uriel and it was a fun baptism haha. We told our ward mission leader the night before and asked if he would help us to fill the baptismal font. He said ya no problem. SO we get to church, finish the first hour and we are about to start the second hour and I asked him about the font.  He forgot to fill it up....... and the font takes 3 hours to fill up. He ran over there and turns on the water to fill it up. Then we find out he left the plug open so all the water that was filling was just going out the drain. SO it didn't fill up at all.....Then finally he put the plug and everything started filling up. But we finished the 3 hours and it wasn't even a fourth of the way full. So we got all the buckets we could and ran with the neighbors. After an hour of going back and forth with the water we finally finished! Well..... not exactly.... but we filled it up enough so that he could be baptized. He had to sit down and then lay down so that the water would cover him completely. hahaha. It was just crazy and very frustrating to be honest. But he was baptized!!!! 

And also this week we found another person to be baptized for this week! Her name is Selena. She has had sooo many problems. Her parents basically abandoned her and left her with her grandparents, and then she changed houses a lot between aunts and uncles etc. Ends up that it was just ridiculously hard for her. But she wants to start over and accepted baptism for this week. So we are gonna get to work and help her out. 

This week my companion and I learned the importance of being simple in your teaching. It has to be simple. It's like it says in the bible and the Book of Mormon....precept upon precept and line upon line. Being simple when teaching allows the spirit to be there and the people that are learning so that they can understand and apply it in their lives. I know that this is true and that if we apply it we will be better teachers. 

The other thing we learned is the importance of the Bok of Mormon. Without it we cannot teach the Restored Gospel nor can we become converted without studying it daily. If you want to have a testimony you must read, ponder, and pray about the message that the Book of Mormon contains. 

DO it and then live it.

Love always,

Elder Hakes

September 8, 2014

This week was fantastic!

We also have had quite a bit of rain like my mom told me you guys had. It's been good though and a little chilly! But the work always goes on!!!! haha. This week we had a good week. We worked super hard and had lot of results. I loved seeing and knowing why it went so well.It only happened because we worked with members. Let me tell you as a missionary or as a member if you want to be worthy and live up to your baptismal covenant you HAVE to share the gospel. When we were baptized we took upon ourselves the name of Christ. We chose to change our lives and live and do what Jesus Christ himself would do if he were here. And lets look at his life. Before sharing the gospel he was baptized and received the gift of the holy ghost. The very first thing and after he was baptized..... any ideas on what he did? Well, what he did was share the gospel from then on. He was a missionary. Not because he was a missionary or a member of God's church but because he chose to follow God's will. The purpose of God how it teaches us in Moses says in CH 1:39 This is my work and my glory to bring about the salvation and eternal life of all men. That's why Jesus Christ shared the gospel. He knew God's purpose and that when he was baptized he chose to fulfill God's purpose too. If you have been baptized you took this very purpose and covenant upon yourself. Are you truly living up to your covenants? Do you introduce your friends to missionaries? DO you have family night and invite nonmembers? DO you invite friends to church? Etc. If not, apply the Atonement in your life and start to do it from now on. Promise the Lord that you will do it and ask revelation in prayer with whom you should share the gospel and then DO IT. If you do these 3 things I promise you will find a happiness that you have never experienced before, and if you have served a mission and have felt this, then I promise that you will feel and remember the very people you taught, and great love you had for them. As you feel and remember these feeling you will be inspired and excited to share the gospel so you can be a part of the Work of Salvation.

Love you all!

Elder Hakes 

September 1, 2014

This week was a roller coaster!!! We had some ups and some downs. But Tuesday we had an amazing experience my companion and I! We both felt kinda crappy haha and honestly I didn't feel like doing anything. My companion and I were both just walking around zombies. And so right before we left I went to the bedroom while my companion was in the bathroom. I knelt down and began to say a prayer. I told the Lord I was sorry for my attitude, and that I wanted to change it but I didn't know how. SO I asked him to put someone or do something before 6:30 PM so that I could feel better. So we left and started the day. It didn't look like the Lord was gonna answer me at all! We went to appointments and nobody was home we contacted people that didn't want anything, etc. It was just a horrible day honestly. We went and we said alright lets go with a Less active here. And as we walked in the street feeling horrible I saw a little girl in the street that was about 6 years old. I don't know why, but when I saw her I immediately went to her and said can your bring your mom to the door. I don't know why I did it, but I did. So the mom came out and we contacted her. We told her that we were missionaries, that we were happy because of the gospel, and our families were also happy. And asked if we could come into her home and teach her. She said yes! We walked in and sat down and we began to talk with her and her 2 daughters. She told us that she wanted to listen because she wanted her family to be happier and that she had had some problems. She had been married and her husband died, then she got married again and was divorced and that she now had a boyfriend that she was living with. We began to talk a little bit more about the family. And we started to talk about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We explained Joseph Smith and the happiness we have in knowing that this is the church of Jesus Christ restored on the earth. She began to cry. We asked her how she felt listening to us, and she said she felt peace and happiness. And so then we asked do you believe that what we have taught you is true? She responded with a simple yes. It was one of the most powerful lessons I have ever been a part of. We left my companion and I with tears in our eyes. Then we got to the corner and sat down for a second. I then pulled out the cell phone to see what time it was and sure enough it was 6:30 PM. I then told my companion about the prayer I had offered. And he began to tell me that when he went to the bathroom he also offered a prayer, and he asked that we could find a family of 3 that truly needed the gospel in their lives. 

God loves you. I know that without a doubt. He knows why we suffer and why we thrive, even though we are clueless sometimes. But I know that he knows what you need and when you need it. He answered me in the exact moment that I asked because that is when I needed it. Life is tough and so is a mission but if the Lord is on your side and you trust in him you will be lifted through your afflictions, doubts, struggles, and whatever problems you will have in your life. 

That was one of the really cool experiences I had this week. The other was seeing the faith of one of the people that I baptized. Her name is Teresa, if you don't remember, She is an older woman. She is 78 years old. She bore her testimony to me and my companion so powerfully the other day. It honestly brought tears to my eyes. I knew in that moment that the Lord had sent me here in Orizaba to find her and help her come unto the Lord and find the truth. It was awesome for those 2 reasons! 

Also, we had 4 people in church this week! It's a family  and one of the sons is getting ready for baptism on the 14th of September. We are going to work with the rest of his family so they can have a baptismal date also. 

All is well in Mexico!!!! Loving my habanero, jalapeño, and whatever other kind of peppers I'm eating here!

Love,

Elder Hakes