14 July 2008

Beloved Hogge Family:

What’s up? Is everyone genki? That means, “is everyone happy?”

I’m doing okay. I just happened to pick up a rather bad headache in the last hour, so it is quite a bad time that I chose this hour to write you all a letter. Please bear with me as I type with my eyes closed. ☺ Oh, down went the ibuprofen.

Well, we had transfers, and so that means that I didn’t do much outside missionary work this week. However, I am still in the Mission Office, and I am still Mission Recorder. Yay. We have been doing a lot with the new mission president in changing things up around here. He is a really awesome man. His faith is so strong that it makes my faith strong too. He has a vision, and we are all working to accomplish it.

One of the things we have been working on is adding new articles for the mission newsletter. President Isa wants pictures and letters from missionaries every time they have a baptism. And so, we got our first one last week. It is a really cool story because Elder Moon and I were the first ones who contacted the man who got baptized. He is a 79 year old man, and both of his daughters are members, but he had never been asked to hear the lessons. So we invited him to hear. We had a couple lessons, and then we were both transferred. However, the missionaries that came in for us kept it going, and eventually brought him to the waters of baptism. It is unexplainable the joy that you feel when being a part of a baptism. So far here on my mission, I have been the one at the baptisms seeing the fruits of other missionaries’ labors before me. Now that I have been a part of the beginning of the story, I still feel that same joy. That comes straight out of D&C 18:15 -- “How great would be your joy if you bring just one soul unto the kingdom of God.” Just goes to show how the gospel is true!

Anyways, one of the elders who did the baptism wrote an article explaining Brother Isoda’s baptism and sent it to the Mission Office. I revised and edited it for length, and I’m not going to lie, it was kinda fun! Uh oh, I’ve got that blood in me. No matter how much I say I disliked English class in high school, I can’t escape genetics . . . . so: President Isa has got me writing some more form letters for “congratulations on baptism” and that kind of thing.

At transfers, Elder Jensen came into the mission office. He crashed his bike 3 weeks ago and had surgery on his collar bone, but now he’s out of the hospital, and looking to take my spot as recorder by the end of next transfer. He is a really young missionary who just started his 3rd transfer, so he really really wants to get out and work, but with his arm in a sling, the only way for him to stay in Japan on his mission is to take my spot. So, I’m going to be training him this transfer, and then I might head out into the field. (Who knows, if there are any problems in the mission, the AP’s told me I could go out earlier . . . . I like being a problem solver! ☺)

Random fact: I saw a wild boar the other day while we were visiting a potential investigator! It ran around us and hopped into the forest right behind the potential investigator’s house.

Random fact #2: At this past transfer, my trainer and 2nd companion (half trainer) both finished their missions and went home to America! They are my first to go.

Random fact #3: I made that Oreo pie that you sent me, Mom. It was a great hit in the office! It was way fun and really easy to make. Anything like that is way nifty out here!

Random fact #4: I am in my 2nd 3 person companionship . . . and that just basically means FUN!

My headache is still here, but it feels like it will go away soon. I SO wish I could have been there for Grandpa’s setting apart as a sealer. That must have been so COOL! Imagine: Hogge family temple trip! Once everyone gets back off their missions, that would be so fun. Also, I’m glad that China went well. Everything was safe and all that. I’ve heard stories about how crazy China can be, so I’m glad it all went well.

So yeah, that’s about it. I hope everyone is doing well!

Mega (Japanese symbol meaning Love)

Hogge Churro