29th Letter 9-23-13

Photos: Eli's Baptism


What a Week!

Remember how I thought the mission couldn't get any better? I was wrong! This week has been the best week so far! Sunday I got to confirm Eli a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and give him the Holy Ghost! Elder Rampton and I worked super hard this whole week and ended up getting 20 lessons, 4 people on date for baptism, a baptism on Saturday, new investigators, found some less actives, and potential Investigators. We have had to ride our bikes faster than ever before between appointments so we could be on time. So this is how the week went.

Monday was pretty much the same as always. Got to email my awesome family and friends. Also, I got to see a cute video of Emme! We talked to some teenaged kids outside of the library that had questions about our beliefs, so we sat with them for awhile. After that we rode our bikes to the church building and played basketball. Had dinner with a super cool family. They kinda reminded me of Jeff and Cambria, just a little older. The lesson with the Kubic's went well. She is still having a hard time, thinking the cancer may come back... I feel bad for her. The evening rides are super nice because of the cool breeze and silence.

Tuesday, we had an early appointment with Braylan, a 20 year old who is very interested in the church. We taught him lesson one and he loved it. He said he feels like it's true already. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted. We prayed with him to decide on the date of Oct. 5th. When we prayed we all felt the spirit so strong. Braylan asked if Oct. 5th was his day to be baptized and after we prayed we asked him how he feels about it. He said it's a yes. He told us he also wants to go on a mission! Such a stud! I studied some Portuguese there in the church and also had lunch. Then we tried a few referrals, but no luck. Dinner with Bishop was awesome. We can tell he really likes us and knows we bring something new to the ward. He is a great bishop. We taught Eli Brackett that night as well as Sister Maximoff. Brother Brady came with us and helped a ton! He is a boss!

Wednesday we got to go to the Temple! It was so awesome! I love the temple. I prayed really hard there, about the people in the area and my visa.  I think it's coming soon! : )  We had Cafe Rio on the way home, which I haven't had it in 7 months. We met with the Hanks and Bishop Haymond. We taught most of The Plan of Salvation and we put them on date for the 12th and 13th of October. To be married and baptized. Sister Hanks prayed for a confirmation on that date. The spirit was so strong as she begun to weep and plead with Heavenly Father for that date to work. This mission is turning me into a wimp -haha. Dinner was with the Conley's and it was good! We then taught Harley The Restoration of this gospel. The spirit was super strong there as well. We know she felt it, but we feel like she is scared to change.

Thursday, we had another earlier lesson, this time with Alex. Taught him Lesson one and he received it very well! He agrees with what we teach and I think he feels the spirit. Invited him to be baptized, but he isn't quite ready yet. District meeting went well and after we went to ARC to do service.  We then met with Dustin. He has had a bad past few weeks. He told us he is sick of being pushed back and he wants to be baptized. We taught him The Gospel of Jesus Christ and also prayed with him to see if the 28th of September would be good. Before the prayer Elder Rampton and I had doubts for some reason. Dustin continued to say the 28th is the day. As we prayed that doubt left both Elder Rampton and I. Prayer is so powerful! We then taught Eli the rest of the commandments. After we taught he told me he wants me to give him the Holy Ghost. I was shocked when he asked me, but felt honored. Dinner with the Agnew's was very good, they remind me of Mom and Dad. They are old, but still super funny ; ).- haha

Friday, we had weekly planning and lunch at the church. Went to ARC for 4 hours after that then had dinner. We tried a few people after dinner, but not much luck. Harley was texting us, having a hard time, and said she didn't want to go through the lessons anymore. We went over and talked to her. We mostly just listened to her the best we could and then answered her questions. She cried a lot. So sad to see someone so scared to change. It's gonna be really hard for her, easier if she trusts in Christ. At one point she opened up and said she wanted to know where God was at her hard times in life. The spirit hit me so hard and love for her filled my heart. We promised her that this gospel would bring happiness and understanding to her. She decided she would finish the lessons with us. That made us super excited!

Saturday, we taught Alex again. This time Lesson 2. We invited him to be baptized again and he said he needed to wait a little longer to not be so busy, so he can really read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. I think he wants to be baptized now! Then we taught Harley The Plan of Salvation. It was a pretty good lesson. Her two sons sat in and had some awesome questions. Then we hustled to the church to teach Braylan the same lesson. His friend Steph came as well. He is getting very excited about his baptism. We then talked with Gin for awhile and she accepted to take the lessons! She is a funny lady! We then hustled to the baptism. It was an awesome baptism. Eli seemed to love it. After the Baptism we had dinner with the Datkos the family we helped move in. They are such a cool family!

Sunday, today was a very spiritual day. We studied until church started and then I got to give Eli the gift of the Holy Ghost during sacrament meeting. When I said the words and blessed him after, the spirit hit me stronger than I have ever felt. During the whole meeting my soul was warm and happy! Never felt something that powerful. I really thought about how amazing of a gift the Holy Ghost really is...and I was able to just give it to someone! The rest of the day went super good! Braylan and Dustin came to church and the ward welcomed them perfectly. We watched a movie on John Tanner during Sunday School. That is an awesome movie! After dinner we met with Ron David he was going through a hard time so we shared a few verses with him. I think it cheered him up. We then went to the Lara's home. They are members and they happened to have a non-member visiting from out of town. His name was Oscar. We talked with him and then did the Prayer Approach with them. After that we went to Isiah's house. He doesn't wanna take the lessons, but he does want to study the Bible with us. We taught him about the Atonement and the importance of it. Then we got to finish the day with a nice quiet bike ride home! : )

Mom, that video of Emme is awesome! Good job Shaye! Mom you are right about Colorado being beautiful. All the rain has made it super green! And yes there are a bunch of hills here. Mom, you could pray for Harley. Thank you! I'm glad you are loving church and the opportunity you have to teach others! You are a Super Mom! : ) Thanks for the prayers on my visa. It will come when my work is done here. The pictures and videos of the family and Emme are awesome! Thank you. Dad, haha, of course Utah won! I'm trying to wipe the grin off my face, but it wont. My bad. Thanks again for the sports update! About the bashing, that's how I see it. It's a waste of time and they aren't receptive at all. Also, glad to hear Dixie High won! That is awesome!

Glad to hear this week was good for the family! Tell Ben congratulations on the wedding. I love all of you so much and pray for you! : ) God has blessed me with so much success!

Love,

Elder Hauck