41st Letter 12-30-13

Photos: 1- I love the storms! 2- Me at the Churrasco! Very hot day!

Dear Family,

What a crazy past week I have had. Christmas was great here! We had many parties and people were a lot more welcoming! Of course the best part was Skyping the Family on Christmas day! You all looked beautiful! This week was awesome, but super difficult as well.. I think I know what it feels like to be home sick now... I don't like it at all. I feel very alone here and I am not used to that. I know it will get better over time, though! Just need to keep pushing forward.

Wednesday (25th), after Skyping and emailing the family we went into the park nearby and sang Christmas Hinos (hymns).  A lot of people enjoyed them and we got a decent sized crowed listening for awhile -haha. I have never been much of a performer so it was kinda cool! Really missed you guys after seeing you on Skype.  Also, was very dehydrated so I need to start drinking more water.

Thursday, was a pretty good day but was slow. We walked to a bunch of different members' homes and investigators' homes. Didn't have too much luck. While we were walking a man yelled at us and said he wanted to hear our message. So we went to his casa and taught him the Restoration. I tried teaching parts or saying little things, but I was having a hard time. Plus I don't think some of these people like it when they have to wait for me, cause I talk slow…ha. The lesson went okay though and the man and his mother said we could come back.

Friday, today went a lot better. Had studies and weekly planning. Then we taught a lot of people. Jennifer, the lady we had on date, doesn't really care to much about the church. We need to help her get a testimony, if she wants one. We met a super cool less-active member! She had me bare my testimony in English so she could just feel the spirit. Super nice lady, but has some doubts in the church we need to resolve. After seeing a few other less-actives and members we went to the New Year activity at the church, which was very cool. They always give us a ton of food when we leave the parties!

Saturday, Super hot day today.  We saw a few people today and the visits went well. Elder Silva and I kinda got irritated with one another. He is selfish sometimes…ha. That night we had a class where members and nonmembers could learn English. Radrog and his sister came and I think they really enjoyed it!

Sunday, church went great, but we didn't have any investigators come. After lunch we went to Rodrigos and taught him lesson #1. It went very well and I taught a lot better then usual. Words flew out of my mouth smoothly and I think they could understand! : ) We then went to a class where we learned sign language. I guess some members and non-members are deaf here and it helps to know it. After we went and taught a less-active lady who was super nice!

Overall I have learned a lot this week. My Portuguese is coming surely but slowly. It is really teaching me patients. I am so grateful for all of you and the prayers you offer for me. I really do feel them at this time where I am very lonely.  I love all of you so much and hope you have a great end of the year!

Mom, I was so glad to see you! The family looks so happy! I will send you a list of some things I need for my birthday. I hope your birthday went well! Sorry I forgot to say it! Dad, my companion and I are doing well. We sometimes get frustrated with one another, but that is just because of the misunderstandings -haha. There are a lot of culture differences, but I am starting to get used to them and see that these people are very similar to Americans, they just speak a different language. I think that is what has been hard to adjust to. Thanks for the awesome photos.

Love you so much!
Elder Hauck

40th Letter 12-16-13

 Elder Soares da Silva and I walking

Fatima´s home for Almoço

Querido Família,

Wow!! haha, I finally get a second to sit down and relax! The past week has been insane! I will briefly go through what happened in this email. 

Brazil is amazing! The city I am in is Sâo Borja in the Passo Ramo (branch) we have like 60 members in our Ramo. The Brazilina people are so nice here. They aren't scared of us and they actually will talk to us and stuff -haha.  It is so hot and humid here. I sweat like a gallon of sweat a day! The food is AMAZING, the drinks are good, and the fruit is great; best mangos e bananas!  The language is really stressful and I try to not overwhelm myself. My companion, Elder Soares da Silva and I live with 4 other missionaries in a house, which is a nicer house compared to the others. Elder Johansen, from the MTC, is with us and sometimes the other elders really push us to learn the language, which is good, but gets stressful at times. The whole experience is very humbling.  Mom, I am sorry I didn´t get to call. I will explain why in the rest of this email.

Alright, so Monday President Toombs picked me up and drove me to DIA. I flew out of Denver at about 1:30 PM, by myself, which was very different. I should have called home while I was waiting for the plane, but I thought I would have time in Atlanta, so I talked to some people waiting at the terminal. The plane left late and I got to Atlanta and had to figure out where to go, which was kinda fun to do by myself. At the terminal I found 2 elders from the same MTC district as I and a few other missionaries. On the plane I ran into Elder Melendez. The plane was suppose to leave at 6:58, but it ended up leaving at like 8:00 PM. The flight was so long! Elder Hinkel and I sat by one another and talked about our missions and what not. 

The next morning we landed in São Paulo at about 9:00 (over an hour late) and missed our flight from there to Porto Alegra. São Paulo is huge!! When we flew in you just see buildings everywhere! I took some cool pictures. Some people from church travel were there and they helped redirect us. We arrived in Porto Alegra at about 5:00 PM and got on a bus to Santa Maria. We arrived in Santa Maria at about 9:30 or so and I got to meet President Parrela. He is super nice and we could all tell he had a strong spirit about him. He is also super funny! The time here is 5 hours ahead of Utah, I think. That night we stayed in a hotel next to a church building.

Wednesday, we had a great Café da Minha and then met in the chapel and found our new companions. Elder Soares da Silva is from São Paulo and has been out 6 months. We then were taken out to eat at a restaurant, which was pretty good! The mission office is right in the middle of the city and is super nice! I guess a member donated it to the church. Santa Maria isn´t a huge city, but it's still pretty big. We then had to do some visa work and get our pictures taken. In the streets there are stray dogs running around and people wearing very little clothes.  Stayed another night in the hotel.

Thursday, breakfast was great again and we then went and did some more visa work and got our finger prints. Presdente Parrela talked to us and gave us these 6 scrolls to success, that is on paper and he told us to read them.  We then finally got on a bus and headed out to São Borja. When we got there we took a taxi to our home. Looking out the window I saw a ton of people that are very poor, dogs that area messed up and the drivers are crazy here! Sorry, my mind is so tired -haha. But ya, I have seen some very humbling things already! The people are so nice here, though! It frustrates me that I can't speak well cause I wanna say things to them. The language is coming, though.. just slow. That night we went and talked to the branch mission leader. I understood like 3% -haha. My companion doesn´t speak any English, so it´s lonely sometimes -haha.

Friday, I woke up and ate some bread. I didn´t get much sleep because of how hot it was in our room! I am getting more sleep now though. The mornings are hard cause my mind is working a lot slower, but at night I can understand and speak Portuguese a lot better! Today we had a zone meeting and I understood like nothing. Elder Lapray is in our zone so I got to chat with him for a bit the meeting lasted about 5 hours and we then walked home. We walk a ton each day because our area is huge. We then talked to a bunch of members that night. One family was super cool! The mother's name is Fatima. I got to share a bit on the Atonement and they said I spoke good and that they could understand me.. That night I slept a lot better.

Saturday, today was super hot! We walked a ton and saw a lot of people. I got to say somethings in the lessons but I talk like I'm 4 so I think it gets old for some people -haha. Almoço with Fatima and her family was very good! The beans and meat here are so good! They also have a potato salad with egg which is great as well. The rest of the day we taught and walked. Bruno and Bruna are a married couple and are super cool! Bruno helped me a lot with the language and was very nice to us. That night I felt like the Portuguese was coming much better. I could understand a lot more and could speak better. Slept great too!

Sunday, Church was great! Walking there and back home I almost died of heat though! -haha. Elders quorum was first and then Sunday School and then sacramental. We had a great lunch with some members and then got to teach some more! That night we went to the Christmas devotional, which relaxed me a lot. I am finally staring to not feel so stressed. 

Overall I love it here! It is definitely going to be hard, but I know I am suppose to be here. Pray for me to learn the language. I feel that once I learn it I will feel a lot better.

Mai, I did receive both packages and I will open the envelope one on Christmas Day! We need to figure out when I am going to Skype you guys!  Hopefully it works out!

I love all of you so much!!

39th Letter 12-2-13

My Visa is in!!!!! I am going to Brazil soon!! I can not even think straight right now! I am kinda shaking with excitement!:) Whooooo BABY!! haha, Okay so this week was a great week! Had a lot of investigators show up to church and had a lot of food during Thanksgiving! So I could be leaving to Brazil the 9th or 16th of December!! This is CRAZY!

Alright, so Monday was P-day and we got to email all of our friends and family! Had lunch and then went and had our Zone P-day at the Stake Center. We played Basketball and Volleyball there and it was fun! The AP's came and it was a blast! Had a great dinner and then taught the Kubics. The lesson went very well and we got to really build the relationship with them. I didn't know this but Ranea calculates the square footage of a home for it's taxing and I told her how it sounded cool what she does and she was kind of shocked -haha. I explained how I love construction work and building things and she is gonna see if we can ever help her out.

Tuesday, studies went very well and Elder Ruiz's teaching is doing a lot better! I am gonna have to help him a lot so he can take over this area! We then taught Braylan and studied some stuff out of Preach My Gospel with him. He then came with us to teach Isiah about tithing and fast offerings. It went very well and Isiah is progressing a lot each day! A lady named Ethel, we ran into, called us and needed some help transporting some money to her son. We accepted the offer and delivered the money. The son was a nice man and received us well. Got a good referral for some other missionaries! His son died a few months ago and they are going through a hard time. We then had dinner and we then went and taught Ethel. To our surprise she said she had already been baptized. We got her information to see if the Church still has her records and are now waiting for them to get back to us.

Wednesday, today I hit my 9 month mark. WOW! It was a very good day, though! We went and served at the Food Bank and even got to deliver some Thanksgiving boxes to a Lutheran church nearby. After that we went and taught Nilly the first few points of Lesson 1, with Brother Johnson, and it went very well! She has been so prepared for this! She talked about how she feels something is missing in her life and that this may be it. I had the privilege to testify that this was what she was looking for and that this would bring her peace, happiness and she would feel whole from this! She is amazing! We then taught the Hanks more of the Restoration. Then had dinner and after we went and read with the Terrazas family. They are an awesome family! That night was pretty intense with Rodney. So we talked more about the Godhead and he really was just confused on his stand on the Trinity. He then brought up the Book of Mormon and how he watched a video at his church that shows the BOM has no archaeological proof and that because of that it is false. I couldn't help but laugh a little when he said this. I explained to him that there was archaeological proof, but that none of that truly matters when it comes down to it. We explained to him we don't need any physical  evidence, besides the book its self, to know that it is true! He argued with us a little and to be honest I actually started to get a little mad. I bore my testimony and told him I would die for this book! He looked at me with a puzzled face and things calmed down after that. We told him to do his studies and to actually pray to find the truth. That was a pretty cool experience!

Thursday, Fist time going through the holidays without the family is kinda weird! To be honest I felt a little homesick today, it being Thanksgiving and all. It was still pretty fun though. We had district meeting so we didn't get to play football in the morning. That was kind of a bummer. Thanksgiving dinner was super funny! Imagine the Christmas Vacation dinner they had together and it was close to that. We had it with the Bollocks and Sister Romans, who is blind, and the Hanks came as well..The dogs were running under the table and Sister Romens sounded and acted just like Aunt Bethany, and Brother Hanks is like Uncle Eddie. The conversations went from talking about their dog stories to talking about their kids walking in on them naked and stuff…it ruined my appetite very quickly! haha. It was still super funny!

Friday, went to ARC for awhile and then had weekly planning before going to dinner with the Haymond's. We then tried a few referrals and ended up walking into a young atheist girl who was very nice, but very confused. Talked with Ron about the importance of our message and then got a serious text from Dustin about some concerns he needs help with.

Saturday, Had a great morning and then got to help the Huntleys move a few things. We then went to ARC and helped out. One of the helpers there really appreciates our help. We then had dinner with the Erikson's, which was good. We then went by to see all of our investigators to invite them to church.

Sunday, ward council went great and then to our surprise Ranea showed up as well as Isiah and Amanda! Fast and Testimony meeting went very well and I got to say the closing prayer! Sunday school went great with Amanda and Isiah. We then had studies and then went to dinner at the Rabideau's. It was super good and I even saw a glimpse of the Broncos game!:) haha. We then taught Eli and read with the Terrazas family.

Mom, I did receive that package and we shared the popcorn and M&M's with the Hanks! :)  I am excited to receive the package you sent and you should probably be expecting a package from me as well soon with all the stuff I don't need in Brazil. Great work by being a good member missionary. In the ward I am serving in the members are slowly picking it up and helping out in this great work! Thank you for the pictures as well. They are awesome! :) I sure missed you this Thanksgiving!

Dad, Sounds like the family had a great Thanksgiving week! I bet the house decorations look awesome on the new house! What a great surprise for me to receive my visa! I am so excited to go, but am sad to leave these amazing people here...I have met so many amazing Elders, Sisters, Members, and Non-members! This is seriously the time of my life!

Family, I LOVE you all so much! Thank you so much for all your prayers and fasting for me! I really have been blessed beyond what I deserve. These blessings help me work more diligently everyday! I am so happy and proud to have the Lord for my support as well as my family! Thank you again!  I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and He helps me everyday! I love this gospel and the amazing chance I have to share it!

I love you guys!!

Elder Hauck

38th Letter 11-25-13

Dear Family,

Thank you so much for the packages you have sent me! I even got one from the Rebman's with a whole thanksgiving meal! That was awesome to receive! This week has been a great week! Things are kinda slowing down because of the holidays, but we are still working hard. We found another investigator named Gabby and we put her on date for the 21st of December! She is awesome and really wants to make the change in her life! Also had some miracles through the week as well.

Monday, had a great p-day. Played football and basketball. Had a great dinner with some members and then rode the bikes in the cold weather all the way to the other side of the area to teach Ranea. She is still progressing and seems more happy lately! The ride back took a long time -haha.

Tuesday, had some great studies, learn new stuff everyday! We then picked up the 3rd ward elders and drove to President Jones' house for the Zone lunch! It was super good food as always and we got to talk about our areas with President Jones. Brother Davis, the stake mission leader, is a stud! He really likes our area and the success we are having. He tells us, "train your fellow missionaries so they can have as much success as you!" He is a cool guy! We then went to ARC for about 4 hours. Dinner with the Orvin's was steak and it was very good! We then taught Grace and Rubi more about the Book of Mormon. I don't think they ever  received a clear understanding of what it was. They seem to like Elder Ruiz and I because they actually understand the things we teach them.

Wednesday, TEMPLE DAY! The temple was amazing as always and again I got to feel the strong spirit there! After the temple we went to go get something to eat and ran into two ladies and Elder Tonga and I gave them both a Book of Mormon. This week was Book Of Mormon blast, so we tried to hand out as many as possible! Taught Sister Maximoff and then had dinner with the Bashford's. We then tried contacting a bunch of referrals. As we were walking down this street I saw a man in his garage and i went to talk to him. He got mad at us and said he doesn't believe in forcing religion upon others -haha. I reassured him that we don't force anyone, we only invite. He got more mad and told us to get off his property.. The rest the night went great though! We contacted a lot of referrals and taught them. Many of them were not interested, but still respected us and out beliefs. Did get a new investigator though, her name is Ethle and she is in a wheelchair. She invited us back for this Tuesday (26th). Also, we ran into a lady, Gabby, and asked if she had talked to missionaries before and she ended up being interested!

Thursday, woke up to quite a bit of snow and 18 degree temperature. I got to do a training on Talking to Everyone! It went pretty well. We then tried a bunch of people, but got canceled. We then helped the Datko's move and that took awhile. We then went back to see Gabby and taught her Lesson 1! It went super well and she accepted the invitation to be baptized Dec. 21st!! We then went and taught Isiah a few of the Commandments like, Obedience, Law of Chastity, and Word of Wisdom. It was awkward at parts with his aunt there with him, but it went very well.

Friday, Had Elder Ruiz's training meeting early and it went well! We then had Weekly Planning for a few hours. It went well and we are much more effective.  We then taught Consuelho that night and invited her to be baptized. She didn't say no, but doesn't want to commit to anything. She needs help finding a new job so she can get to work.

Saturday, had studies and then went to Olde Town Arvada and passed out BOM's! We passed out like 6 or so in about 45 min. Talked to some great people as well! We then taught Lindsey and Jesse and it was kinda difficult to keep the lesson under control. Lindsey was very sad because she believes this is the true church and she told us her experience of receiving an answer! Her soon to be husband still hasn't received and answer yet and it kinda frustrates her. She actually got to tears at one point. She is awesome and I think Jesse will receive his answer soon! After dinner we has stake conference, where Presidents Jones and Toombs both spoke! It was very good and Ranea and Brother Kubic even came!

Sunday, had the morning session of stake conference and it was great! We then ate our sack lunches with some other Elders and after we went to the Quail building to prepare for WMC.  We then went and tried a referral that we tried to contact like every day this week. Nellie answered the door and we introduced ourselves. She asked if we could talk right then and we said we had dinner in about 10 minutes. We told her we would come back though! We rushed and ate dinner at the Hanks, which was super good, as fast as we could! Called Elder Pratt and he met us there and we talked with her for awhile. She has an amazing life story that shows the hand of God preparing her for this church! She has had an amazing life growing up as a Muslim and converting to Christianity! Her coworkers have also prepared her for this truth as well! It was so cool to see the help of other churches preparing her for the true church! After that amazing experience we went and taught Isiah with Sister Lara and it went very well! I am pretty sure he has received his answer, but is still looking for the same feeling he got the first time we prayed with him. He is so ready to be Baptized!!

Mom, Thank you so much for the efforts of getting my visa work done! I am grateful it all worked out! So, I may get my visa in 2-4 weeks!? Crazy! Tell Amy to stay away from the boys. Sounds like you had an amazing week! I am gonna miss you guys during the holidays! This will be the first time I have ever been away from you during these amazing holidays. I love you Mom!! Emme is SO cute!

Dad, I received the envelop to resubmit my criminal record and I sent it back to SLC about 2 weeks ago. Things are looking promising for me to receive my visa. Elder Chipmen and Sister Hansen, missionaries I came out with, both received their visas! I am pretty sure that paper work is what you are talking about and I hope I did everything I was suppose to do. Will you call the Travel Office and see if i completed everything needed? I went to the police station here and got my finger prints and everything for the criminal record so hopefully you and mom getting the letter from St. George Police  helped speed it up! I don't think the water balloon incident was on the first criminal record either..haha. Thank you so much for sending the cleats and popcorn and HUGE bag of M&M's! : ) I feel the same way about my visa coming soon! The weather here is getting very cold and snow is on the ground.

This week has been amazing! Elder Ruiz and I continue to see blessings and we develop a great love for these people! I am so glad I am a Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! I love my mission!:) I am so thankful for the amazing family that I have and the support they give me. All of you have a great Thanksgiving and think of all the things you are grateful for! I miss you all and love you!

Script. of the day: Ether 12:4

Elder Hauck

37th Letter 11-18-13

Dear Family, 

This week has been amazing! Some exciting things happened that were quite a surprise. I also was able to give a talk in sacrament meeting on Tithing. I continue to feel of God's love for me and my companion. We are continuing to progress ourselves and in the work we are doing. So, since I wrote you on Tuesday I will start from there.

Tuesday, I got to email all of you because of Veterans Day the day before. I also got my finger prints done at the police station and mailed the forms back to church headquarters. Maybe the 3rd time is a charm for my visa. We went to ARC for awhile and then had dinner with the Maximoff's, which was interesting. The husband is Russian and seems like he doesn't really like us -haha. Sister Maximoff is always very nice to us and loves to have us over. That night we taught the Pistora's. Byran had some great questions, but had anti concerns. Most of the Anti-Mormon material is on the prophets, like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young's imperfections and the plural marriage thing. We, as well as Brother Pratt, tried to resolve these concerns, but what it comes down to is that knowing the answers to all this anti crap doesn't matter, it's having a testimony of the Gospel! That is all we can do is invite them to come unto the fold of Christ and help them make covenants. None of us are smart enough to know why all of these things happened and again it doesn't matter. What matters is if the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet, which leads to knowing this is the true church of Jesus Christ. This visit with them strengthened my testimony even more. We then had to clean the car really good for zone conference.

Wednesday, we woke up early to go to Zone Conference. We learned so much there! The stake president came as well and taught us some amazing principles. He is really progressing the missionary work here in the Arvada Stake. After the conference we taught the Hanks. We then had dinner with 2 new investigators. After dinner we taught them The Restoration of the Gospel. It went very well and Lindsey is very ready for baptism. She explained in the middle of the lesson that she felt chills all over and that she wasn't cold. We told her that she was feeling the Holy Ghost.

Thursday, had great studies and then went to ARC for awhile. After ARC we went and tried a bunch of referrals and also tract homes that we felt prompted to visit. We didn't have much luck, but one of the last doors of the night was a solid couple. We talked to the husband about Christ and how he wanted his girl friend to be baptized and I think he feels we can help with this progression. That night we had dinner with the Phillips and Elder Ruiz was able to practice his teaching. I told him to take lead in L.3, and he did very well. That night we taught Cousuelho more of the restoration and she received it very well.

Friday, we studied and then went to the Food Bank. Had lunch there and after we did our weekly planning session at the church. Then we taught Andi, a less-active lady, who went through some hard times. The spirit was very strong with her and I know she felt Him comfort her. Had dinner at the church and then we tried a few more referrals. Ran into a very pretty girl around my age and shared our beliefs with her, but she declined in hearing the lessons. We then taught the Kubic's. We have finally narrowed it down to what we need to do for Sister Kubic. First she must find out what makes her happy in life and then we as members and missionaries need to share with her experiences and anything that can help her recognize the spirit. I think we progressed a lot with her.

Saturday, We had studies and then met a few Elders to have breakfast. We went to ARC after for a few hours. Dinner was with the Maxwell's and then we did Operation Round-up. President Jones presented it to us and Zone Conference, so we went to all progressing investigators homes and invited them to church. I think it is a great idea. Later that evening we taught Rubi and Beto. B. Agnew came with us and talked to Beto about passing the sacrament. We shared the Gospel of Christ with them and it went well. We challenged Rubi to be baptized by the end of the year.

Sunday, I was a little nervous for my talk, but as I studied and prayed that nervous feeling left. Had Ward Council with the new bishopric. We then did Operation Roster, where we call everyone we invited and see if they are coming. Beto showed up and came to pass the sacrament and he did very well! My talk on Tithing went well and I felt like my main focus was on Obedience. I was able to share stories of when I had the paper route and how I payed tithing at a young age. I think they enjoyed my talk. One member said I sounded like a high priest speaking -haha. Lindsey and Jesse both came to church and they enjoyed it very well. After church we had Ward Missionary correlation with President Jones, which was kinda intimidating. He helped the Ward Missionaries a lot and also helped us a ton. Dinner with the Larson's was great and after we had an amazing lesson with Isiah and Amanda. Sister Jentzch came with us and we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The spirit was so powerful in the room. Isiah and Amanda both felt it very strongly. We answered many of their questions. Towards the end we invited them to be baptized on December 24th. It was very bold of us to invite them and we promised the blessings of making this commitment. At the beginning of the lesson Amanda felt like she had never felt the spirit before in her life, but by the end she said she wanted to be baptized and come closer to God, and she knew this would make her a better mother for her son. She told us that night she had felt something different. She was in tears and the faith she now had was marvelous. Isiah was antsy at first but found much comfort from his sisters faith. It was so cool!!! We could all feel of Heavenly Fathers love for all of us in that room. It was a miracle. I know we couldn't have done it without the spirit and I know I will never forget this experience. WOW! Elder Ruiz improved a lot in his teaching just in the past week.

I don't know why I am being blessed so much. This mission is nothing I anticipated. Going on a mission is one of the best decisions I have made in this life. Heavenly Father continues to bless this ward and I definitely see his hand in this work. This is a miracle!

Mom, it is getting cold here. Specifically in the morning and evening. I like the cold though.Thank you for offering to pray for my investigators. I think the Pistora's, Lindsey and Jesse, Isiah and Amanda, the Terrazas Family, and the Hanh family can use some blessings. Moroni 7 is an awesome chapter! I can't believe I am going to be able to talk to you on Christmas. That's the only present I need. Really Mom I don't need anything. I think 11:00AM will work. We will see what works best. Hopefully I can find an awesome member with computers to let us Skype again! : ) Mom, you are right. There is nothing I would rather being doing right now besides serving the Lord. Mom, I love you so much! 

Dad, Thank you for the great sports update! Too bad about Dixie... That is cool about Amanda and Shaye building a home. Sounds like Saint George is doing great! Our family is so blessed! Sometimes I ask why...

I love all of you so much and think about you a lot! 

Love, 

Elder Hauck

36th Letter 11-12-13

Photos: Top-Elders Ruiz, Me & Rampton, Bottom-Elders Rampton, Kasten & Me

Another good week here in Arvada. I found out I will be staying here in the 2nd ward for awhile longer as a trainer. I am pretty excited for it. I am training Elder Ruiz, which was quite a surprise -haha. The work here in the 2nd ward is awesome and the members are very helpful. Really feel like they trust us with their referrals.

Monday we got to email and play sports. A few elders in the zone and I even got to go to the gym again! After that we played basketball and shopped for awhile before going to dinner with Greg Johnson. He is such a funny guy! His knowledge of the gospel is insane! Had exchanges that night with Elder Potter coming here and Ruiz going there.

Tuesday, we had studies with Elder Potter and Rampton. Then we went and helped an elderly lady rake her leaves. We also got to share a message with her! Elder Potter is a good guy and we get along with him well. We then went to Beto's house and talked with Counsuelo, Beto's daughter. Asked her if she was interested in hearing our message and she said yes. Her interest must of been high for awhile because she had some amazing questions.

Wednesday, we went to the food bank for awhile and then rushed to zone meeting. It was a very good meeting and I learned a lot. Taught Sister Maximoff about the priesthood, and then taught the Hanks Lesson 1. The knowledge they had from when I got here compared to now has like doubled. We then met with Rubi and Beto and then had a meeting with the ward missionary leader, Brother Rankin. After that we talked with Rodney about more of the Bible. Cleared up more of his beliefs like, he actually does believe in the Godhead and not the trinity. He still is very confused though.

Thursday, Emme's Birthday!! Helped the Hamblin's rake up their leaves and shared a message with them. They are a good family. After that we went to Yogurt Land with Elder Tonga and his comp. to celebrate Emme's birthday! : ) Ran into Brother Winder and his coworkers and Lindsey, a referral he gave us was with them. We talked to her for a bit and she seems very interested! She told Brother Winder that she thinks the Elders showed up for a reason. She is reading the Book of Mormon already and watching General Conference talks online! We hope we get to teach her soon! Met with Jennifer and she gave me a CD with Portuguese songs on it. It is pretty cool! We then went to ARC and had some exciting things happen -haha. Dinner with the Melonies' family was awesome. Only one of them is a member, so I think it might of helped. This night went crazy for a bit... So we met with Laurden and asked her about her preparation for baptism and if she talked to her uncle yet. That's when her mother lost it.  She made me feel worthless...she made me feel like I failed as a missionary. She told us we didn't listen well and that Laurden isn't getting baptized.  Brother Carrol was there as well and totally backed us up. The mother made a whole lot of drama out of it and we ended the lesson and walked out.  I really felt something evil inside Laurden's mom...it was scary. The night ended on a good note, though. We went and taught Amanda and Isiah, answered their questions and then watched the Restoration movie with them. They are progressing rapidly! It's cool!

Friday, I got a new criminal record sheet to fill out so for my visa, so I had to work on that for awhile. This is my 3rd time doing it...Sister Pratt called Mom to get my SS# and I got to tell Sister Pratt to tell my Mom that I love her. : )  We then helped the Datko's move out of the storage unit and they got us food.  We went to the Fayards and talked to them for a bit. They ended up dropping us... I guess they just weren't ready for it.  I feel like they will accept it someday though. Talked with Eli this night and also taught Cousuelo the first lesson! It went very well!  Then President Toombs called us and let Elder Rampton and I know we were both gonna be trainers.

Saturday, we went to the trainers meeting in the morning and then had lunch at Fuzzy's. For dinner we pranked Elder Ruiz into thinking it was a ex-FLDS family and he was pretty nervous the whole time. It was funny! We then went and talked with the Pistora's and shared something with them. Then that night we found out where we were going for transfers. I was pretty shocked when I found out I was staying here and Rampton was leaving.  I am excited to stay in this ward, though. It is a great area.

Sunday, Church was awesome. We had a nice surprise when former Elder Kasten showed up with his parents.  He is a great guy. Mom you probably got some pictures from him. We then met with a high council member who gave us some great ides to improve the work even more. He also told us to try and help these surrounding wards improve their work as well.  Elder Ruiz and Rampton had to pack before going to dinner with the Carrols. The Kasten's also went there and ate with all of us. It was a fun night! We then talked with Rubi and Beto again and Beto committed to come to church every Sunday!

Monday, was a strange P-day. No libraries were open because of Veterans Day so we did our studies and then went and played basketball. At like 2:00pm we left to the orientation to pick up our new companions and I was surprised with Elder Ruiz being my companion. This whole week with all the surprises gave me a headache. ha.. We loaded all of his stuff back in the car and headed home. Had dinner with Sister Maupin and the Johnsons, which was a blast, and then taught the Hanks.

Mom, it sounds like an exciting week for you! : ) A lot is going on back at home. Awesome to hear Amy is doing so well. I will let the Pratt's know how much you appreciate them. Thank you for the video of Emme's party! :) Emme is so cute! Also, thank you for the referral, mom! You are awesome. I will try and find them. If you have any more information about them, like the address, let me know!

Dad, that is awesome you got to talk to Sister (Jeanette) Allen the day after I talked to her. It is a small world! Sounds like you are busy. I am so glad that missionary work is staying a major focus in the church. It is so awesome!! Sometimes I wanna be the 4th Nephite and stay doing this forever! -haha Thanks again for the sports update. Dixie sounds like they are doing work!

Family, thank you so much for all the support you all give me. I feel of your love and prayers daily. I miss all of you so much and hope everything is going well. Continue to help the missionaries in your area and pray for missionary opportunities. I love you!!

Love, 

Elder Hauck 

35th Letter 11-4-13

Pictures: The Huntley's and  Sister Mooring and her famous banana pudding. 

First, I want to thank all of you that have fasted for me to receive my visa this past Sunday. I truly am blessed with an amazing and loving family! You are all so awesome! I bet the visa will be here in no time! This week was a little slow because of Halloween, but it was still a pretty good week.

Monday, I was able to read some sweet emails and we were able to go to the gym to work out. Wow, I am weak! -haha. I was so sore the 3 days after. We also got to Bowl for a bit and play basketball for awhile before going to dinner. We then got to give the Sister who was having a hard time last week a blessing. We think she is doing a lot better now. We then saw the Hanks and worked on their Baptismal records. After that we taught the Kubic's with Sister Long, a previous Agnostic, it went very well. I really hope she soon figures out and believes in what we are saying. Especially a belief in God.

Tuesday, we helped Sister Wagner move the remainder of her stuff and then went to ARC for a while. Monday night we had a Zone Fast for all the investigators, and so we ended the fast before going to dinner. After dinner we taught Laurden a few more of the commandments. Hopefully she talks with her uncle soon to see when he can baptize her. After that we taught Ryan and Melonie, new investigators, a little bit about the Book of Mormon, but mostly did "How to Begin Teaching". They had some great questions! They seem very promising, they even invited us to one of their Bible studies with their friends sometime to share our message to all them. That would be cool! I have noticed, since being on my mission I love studying the scriptures! They are amazing and I fell like I finally understand a lot of things. It's a huge blessing!

Wednesday, we got a call from the Pistora's telling us they want a break from us, so they can think about things... That was kinda sad to hear. Hopefully they didn't run over any anti material.  After studies we went to the Food Bank and helped out there. They are very nice people! Tried a few people out, but had no luck. We taught Sister Maximoff and then the Hanks. They are both doing great! Had Dinner with the Moorings and had some amazing food and her famous banana pudding! I will add a picture of Sister Mooring, the banana pudding, and I. :)  After dinner we had very little luck. Ran into a guy that started talking bad on Joseph Smith, and that irritated me. I absolutely hate when people talk bad on Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith. Part of me wants to slap them in the face and the other part feels super sorry for them.

Thursday, the first Halloween of my mission. We had district meeting, which went well. Brother Morgon, from the 3rd ward, came and trained us on PMA (Positive Mental Attitude). I think I have pretty good PMA. If any of you have a trial with this, look in the mirror and ask yourself, "Where is your PMA?" I think it works -haha. After that we went to ARC for awhile. Then had dinner with the Bollocks and the Hanks. After that we went to the Stake Center to hang out with the other elders, because we couldn't be out after 6:00pm.

Friday, we went to the Food Bank for awhile and then had weekly planning. It was a interesting weekly planning.  Had dinner with a guy that just got divorced recently. He is a super cool guy! Felt bad for him having to go through that.  He had 2 beautiful daughters with him as we ate. That night we saw Rubi and her family and taught her L.2. Beto was gone on tour, so I haven't been able to give Amanda's signed album to him yet.

Saturday, this was a pretty cool day. The weather was amazing so we helped the Pratt's rake up all the leaves and then we walked around the neighborhood with rakes and garbage bags and offered to rake up their leaves. Only one lady let us, but I think it might of sparked something in a few others. That night we got to go to the Country Buffet and eat lots of food with the Allreds, Sister Mopin and their friend.  Then we tried finding a few former investigators, but little luck.

Sunday, we had ward counsel and sacrament meeting went great! They changed the bishopric, which was exciting for the ward. President Jones talked to us a lot about the work and how we are doing a good job. A lot of the members told us how impressed they are with us. They are such an amazing ward. A few of the families even fasted for me to receive my visa. After church we taught Ron David and invited him to take the lessons. I think he is going to! Dinner with the Huntley's was great! They fasted for my visa to come.  After dinner we saw Isiah and Amanda. Taught them the Plan of Salvation and they loved it. They are going to come to church next Sunday! I think the work is picking back up again!! :)

Missionary Mom, you are awesome!! You are doing some great work there in Saint George! I'm sure the Sisters love you so much! Continue to help them with their teachings. A member's testimony can play a huge impact in someone's conversion. That is awesome about Chris Abraham! He is going to do awesome! Sounds like the family Halloween party went great!! Cool to hear of all the weddings going on. Tell them all congratulations. I haven't received Mark Abraham's letter yet and I'm excited to receive another package from home! You are spoiling me, Mom! All the costumes are super cool! Amanda and Emme's costumes are awesome! Tell Emme I love her and Happy Birthday on Thursday!

Dad, the Si costume fits you perfectly! What a BOSS! You even have the cup! Here in Colorado it is getting pretty cold. The colors are amazing though! My companions are getting along pretty well.  We were all trying to get along well for this last week. I think I may be transferred. That is awesome about Greg being hired by Delta Airlines! Thank you for the Portuguese message. I can still read it! :)

I love all of you so much. You are the best family anyone could ever ask for. Continue to serve the Lord by being great and loving everyone!