When we lose the ones we love.

Dear Mom and Dad,

      This week went by so fast, and we did a whole lot. I don't think I interviewed 36 people in one day, but we still did a lot and God was watching all of it. But before I tell you about about all the crazy things we did...Last week Sister Marin from my MTC district returned home. Lucky she went when she did because the doctor told her a few more weeks of what she had and she would have come home from the mission recuperating in a wheelchair. This next week we are losing another valente querida [faithful, valiant dear one], the beautiful Sister Leite. That's right, both the sister I trained, the sister she trained, and the sister who trained me have all gone home. Sister Leite is going home on 5a feira [Thursday] because of the fibromyalgia pain. She been having a lot less, but decided that it would be better to stop. I talked to her mom on the phone today for a brief moment, and then after LOTS of hugs had to let Sister Leite go. She´s changed a lot here on the mission field. We made big plans for her for when she gets back. 

    We have my last conferência de zonas where I got to bear my farewell testimony. What? I still have awhile to go, but this was the last opportunity. All the missionaries going home in the next 3 months bore their testimonies. We´re losing quite a big number the transfer I go home. I talked about Sister Dalton´s talk when the general YW´s presidency chose gold to represent the value of Virtue. They chose gold because it is of greatest value when it is pure, just like us. How do you purify gold? You burn it...well, almost. You put it in fire, melt it down, and let everything fall out. After being almost destroyed, it is quite lovely. Just like us. After passing through trials that often almost destroy us, we come out super pretty, and ready to enter into God´s kingdom (well, that's the goal). There´s also a phrase at the end of our mission hymn that we shout like crazies... "E Proclamar Bem Alto, Èis A Restauração" [Shout out loud, "Behold, the Restored Gospel!"] I talked a bit about the phrase and how we can shout it really loud for the people here where we serve.

     This week my trio went on a trip to the city of São José do Rio Preto, it´s 4 hours by bus from here. We spent 1 day on divisions with our sisters, one day dividing with Sister Beck and her sisters, and then came home just in time for interviews with president, and weekly planning, and conference the next day. We also had Festa Junina with our ward on Saturday, it was fun, and there was lots of food. Its the annual Brazilian cowboy party. Its great. Mostly its about the food, but there is dancing too. We watched the members dance a bit and then had to leave. 

     After all the adventures we worked about 2 days in out area. One of those days we spent waiting for our investigator to show up to his baptismal interview. He called us and said he would be a couple hours late, so so we got improvise with our plans. Then other a member asked us to visit her brother and his wife. We found them alright....and his married children and their grand-kids. Its like they had gathered together and were waiting for us. We were given 8 new investigators in one week! What?!

    Its hard to think about the fact that I'm coming home in a few weeks. I'm going to miss the people here so much. For as much as I want to see my family again, its going to be really hard to leave the people here. 

I love you, 

I hope you are helping the missionaries, 

Sister Hoggan

The World Cup....is that basketball or baseball?

It´s a bit dark in this LAN House and hard to see the keyboard.

Dear Wonderful Family of Mine, 

          Did my letter to dad seriously just make it there? I think that means if I send letters home right about now I will make it home before they do. Eeek! 

         This week was AWESOME. We had a sad moment when my dear Sister Ana Maria Marin (she lived with me in NY) had to go home because of back pain. She´s been on best rest for awhile now. But, in exchange, the beautiful Sister Britta Beck has now joined our trio. She joined us at the end of this week. I forgot to charge the phone Saturday night, so the battery died Sunday while we were in the street....President tried to call us, along with the office elders, and others trying to let us know Sister Beck was coming our way. With a dead phone we found out when we went to our weekly meeting with the Ward Mission Leader and she jumped out and scared us. When we powered up our phone later we had about 25 missed calls. Of all the days not to charge your phone!

         We have this new thing of receiving references we give to the office. Literally, my companion and I pass them on, and they come back for us to contact. Its happened twice already. One of the last contacts we made in Campos Eliseos we gave to the office as a reference, and we now live in the area of that contact. They sent him to us as a reference and we contacted him last night, Lucas. He´s so cool! Its a great experience to teach someone who is really, really smart where you can explain about the Reformation versus the Restoration. Honestly, being able to explain about the Reformation is so much fun. Its even better when we find people like Carlos who understand it. We had used all of our copies of the Book of Mormon we had carried that day, so we are taking one back tonight. 

        The other find of the week: we started teaching a woman and her 2 daughters and managed later to teach her husband the Restoration. She´s Brazilian, but her husband was born in Lebannon. He was born Muslim, but now practices no religion. He didn't understand the purpose of prophets or Christ and wanted to know why there are so many versions of the Bible.  We happily answered all of his questions... it turned out we taught him all of the Restoration. It started out though as him asking about how we pay for our missions or if the church pays for it.  He gave us his Portuguese translation of the Koran as we were leaving. He´s not going to read it any time soon and thought we would be interested. Has anyone else received the Koran in another language lately?

       I think its really cool that you shared "Missionários Sem Plaquetas" at the mission preparation fireside. It was a blast to make. Tiago filmed most of it while were stuck not working because of the cup. 

       I have not yet received my birthday package, but that's okay. It will arrive before I leave the mission field. Dad still needs his birthday card too, so....

 

I hope you know I love you bunches.

Don't get too trunky. 

Sister Hoggan

I believe in Hugs!

July 14, 2014

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...so I guess I talk a lot. I don't trust people to put pictures on Facebook after our missions because I always slacked on putting up photos, so I took all the photos off my companion's memory card.

Dear Mom and Dad, 

   I don't have a lot to say today because I spend half an hour uploading all these photos. I hope they are all new to your eyes. I had a wonderful week and I love you a tons. We have this man, Carlos, who is progressing awesomely towards baptism. I am stoked for him. I'm still going strong down here, don't worry. 

    I'm going to write a journal entry in my personal journal, on this nifty topic "This I Believe." If you remind me Ill share it with you when I get home. I hope everyone isn't to excited for me to get there, I still have a ways to go. 

Te amo....Muito!

Sister Hoggan

 

"Saudade" means "Missing You"

Birthday Celebration

 

Missionários sem Plaquetas

July 7, 2014

Dear Mom and Dad,

     First off, Dad...HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I neglected to tell you in my last letter, so I thought I would make a point of it today. I have no idea when you will get to read  this because I think you are all partying at Family Reunion. Say hello to everyone for me? Is David´s fiance there? Weird, he´s getting married. But hey, the family has to keep getting bigger. 

     My new ward has no overflow to the chapel...it´s one of those cute chapels with wooden benches that looks like it was made for a branch. Sunday there were 190 people at church. What!? They put wooden chairs on the ends of the benches to help squeeze more people in. Its great. If only every ward was like this. 

     This week was nuts. We had Conselho da Lideraça [Leadership Council] on my birthday...yay! It was great.  On Friday we got up and caught an early onibus to the other side of the mission for divisions. The phones here don't call out of area so we can't call our sisters directly, we have to go through the office. We got to the other side of the mission and tried to call the office, president, the sisters that live in our house, but couldn't talk to anyone. Apparently `long-distance´ calls are not determined by the area code of your phone like in the states, but rather where  you are calling from. Everyone that was previously long distance became available and everyone we should be able to call became out of range. 

    I met a reporter in the street this week. I didn't know she was a reporter until we made contact. We talked about how we can't watch the world cup because we are...Missionaries! We talked about the mission and how great it is and how we want to bless her life. She called us later in the week wanting to write a newspaper article about us. Unfortunately we were on the bus heading for divisions so we couldn't meet with her. I hope it works out for the next game, it would be cool to make it in the paper in a foreign country. 

  So our onibus for divisions going there took 3 hours and we assumed the same amount of time to come back...nope. It was a 4 hour return. We had planned it just right to get home at the end of the day. It would have been perfect, but instead we got home at 10 at night and got to wait in the bus terminal for the bus to our house. We were out until 10:30. It was strange to be out at night. We got home safely though, so don't worry. 

     For my birthday... my companion (who is AMAZING) made me an omelet, with cheese, because all is better with cheese. She is so sweet. We had conselho da liderança. They sang to me at the end, I felt really special. Sister Beck and Sister Marin (from my MTC group) had spent the night at our house because of the meeting and brought me cookies and a handmade card. The cookies apparently were supposed to be in barter for a cake from the office elders, but they didn't survive. They were good cookies. One sister in our ward bought me a flan cake (also known as pudding cake) and invited her friends over. We taught them how to pray and then ate cake. The sisters that live in our house bought me a cake too and salgadinhos. They spelled out "Feliz Aniversario" [Happy Birthday] on the floor and surprised me when we came home at night. Basically I was really spoiled. People here are really nice and I felt really special. 

   Here´s another Happy Birthday Dad, the card will be a bit late...sorry. But its true, I do love you love. I hope Family Reunion is wonderful! I hope Aunt Abby makes lots of yummy treats. She had one recipe that I really want, I think its called Addiction. 

Love you a brasilian, 

Sister Hoggan

P.S. (Note from Rebekah's dad): The title of this post refers to a video made by the ward mission leader in the prior ward. Rebekah is in the video. Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=651706798247133

I'm 22! Or will be on Thursday.

Hi Mom and Dad! And wonderful family of mine!

    Its true, I'm turning 22 this week. What!? Its the same age I will be when I come home from my mission. Strange. One of the sisters in our new ward offered to bake me a cake when my companion told her it was my birthday. 

    The week before I left the greatest area in our mission, Campos Eliseos, we started making a video with our Ward Mission Leader and the other missionaries in our ward because we had 8 in total. We got transferred one week before the fireside where they watched the finished product. The office Elders let us know it was a hit and that our recent convert (whose refuses to speak in public) bore her testimony at the fireside and it was great. The fireside was called `missionarios sem plaquetas` [Missionaries without name badges]. We were promised a copy of the video before we left; I can't wait to see how it turned out.    

     White-washing-ish is very strange. [FYI: "White-washing" is when both missionaries are transferred out of an area and two new missionaries are transferred in, so there is no transition or hand-off. The new missionaries start with a clean slate as they serve in the area.] The sisters who were here before us left us one investigator who they had taught once. We marked with her twice, once she flaked and the other we were super late. So we´ve been trying to talk to everyone and trying to teach wherever possible. The office elders make contacts in our area too, which means we get extra references. They really are the best. We have two areas that we work in. The other sisters have the area that divides our area in two, I don't understand the logic behind it but that's OK. We have to take the bus to arrive in either one of our areas, and also to come home. We don't live in our area. I think I mentioned that our area includes downtown Riberão. As you imagine downtown would be, there is a large amount of apartment complexes. It doesn't bother me too much except it takes away a lot of face to face conversations. The door man always asks you who you came to visit, why, and the ages that family. Then he asks them if they want to let you in. If they  don't respond, don't recognize you, or don't know who you area, he won't let you in. So...they are pretty hard to enter. We also have the really nice houses out in the middle of nowhere. The other sisters that work here have a similar area. There are at least 2 malls in our area. We passed by one on the way home the other day to try and grab a bite to eat... Anyone who thinks Brazil is a 3rd world country (including the Brazilians who say that) has not been through this city. Maybe its just because this city is special, but there is a fair amount of rich people here. 

     I was thinking about how to convert the rich and intelligent, because we have been asked to focus a bit on them...But they are fairly hard to come in contact with, they live pretty cut off from street life, and are in areas you can't enter. Once we find them, they  need time to listen to us, and then to believe that this can truly improve their lives. Somehow, we´ll make it work.

    The mission field is amazing, in our house it seems to be like living with 3 Americans. The ward here is incredible. All the organizations have complete leadership, the Bishop served a mission in Provo, Utah (so did his brother), and is pretty excited and so is our Ward Mission Leader. All is well, all is well. I´ll fill you in on more miracles next week. God is great, and so is the gospel.

Love you tons, 

Sister  Hoggan

White hair White jumper

Dear Mom and Dad...and wonderful family of mine,

    After 4 wonderful transfers with Sister Marchant, and her being in the same area for 6 transfers....who can guess what would happen? I was transferred. What!? And my new companion is...Sister Marchant!!! That's right, nobody saw that one coming. We moved together to the area next to ours. Our new area starts where our old area ended, literally across the street. The sisters that were in this area moved to our area and we are taking over theirs. I cried when we left Campos Eliseos, not my house, but the people that we left there. It was hard. I´ve never stayed in one place for 4 transfers. Luckily lots of the members in our old ward work in our new area. Our area is downtown Riberão Preto, so everybody works here. 

     This week was AWESOME. So we were teaching, up until we were transferred, this cute 80-year-old woman. She really is cute--I´ll send you a picture later, or just bring it home with me in a couple months. We were looking for one of the less-active young women and found her instead. She lives with her adult son who is also a member of the church, but isn't very active. He apparently has been wanting his mom to be baptized for awhile. She is a bit hard of hearing and doesn't understand everything we say, but she knows we love her A LOT. She has the memory of an 80 year old with the beginnings of Alzheimer´s disease. There was a moment where the doctors almost made her move to an elderly care home, but we fasted for her and she got to stay in her own home! Then we fasted again so that could remember everything in order to pass her baptismal interview...and she did!

    Sunday morning we went to by her home to walk her to church. We asked if she was ready to be baptized and she started laughing. Pronto nada, hahaha, não vou me batizar não. [Ready nothing, hahaha, I'm not going to get baptized.] But she went to church. When we came by in the evening to walk to her baptism she was leaving her house. `Irmã, where are you going?`...I'm going to church, I just can't remember how to get there so I'm going to ask the neighbor. Look at her, beautiful, really old, full of forgetfulness, and full of faith. She gets big points. Her whole family is active in the church and probably never imagined she would get baptized. We had no idea how to get a hold of them, but one of the sisters in the ward helped with that. We arrived at the chapel and her grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren were there, all ready to watch the generation head enter the waters of baptism. Honestly, she was adorable in her white jumper.  

    The elders baptized a father and his son. I felt the water; it was pretty cold for an 80 year old woman. She went right on in. Sister Marchant asked after if the water was cold, she hadn't even noticed. I had not imagined when we began teaching her that so many wonderful people were connected to and waiting for her. 

     Ben, Monica, Alena, and hooligans, congratulations on making it to Indiana. You really are troopers. Remember that one time Mom flew from Hawaii to Gilroy and Ben and Nic got the Chicken Pox and barfed all over Mom...? At least that didn't happen this time, right? Monica, I hope it was an easy flight. 

     Anyway, in my new zone there are 7 companionships. The zone leaders and us are the only people not training new missionaries. We have the zone of new missionaries, how cool is that? It makes sense:  the training program for new missionaries is called the 12 Week Program, and I have 12 weeks left. 

    I love you lots!

Sister Hoggan

HAPPY FATHERS DAY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUDREY!

I'm sorry I don't know when major holidays are. I don't have a calendar and Father's Day in Brazil is not on the same day. Can somebody hug Audrey and Dad for me? Much appreciated. 

Dear Mom and Dad, 

    This week was great. Before I share wonderful stories I would like to announce that I am alive, and safe. 

    Having said that, someone threw a bomb at us this week. Yes, a bomb...those things that explode with lots of noise that you only see in movies. It wasn't the highly destructive type so I'm still intact. We were walking down the street and out of nowhere we see it fall, sizzle, we look at each other with expressions of `how should we react`, and it exploded. A nice flash of light and ALOT of noise. Apparently one of the men on the street likes to throws bombs and write threatening notes to his neighbors, you know, the usual. Our hearts were pounding for like an hour afterwards.

    I think out-of´the-ordinary things are required to happen to missionaries, that's just how it is. 

   The zone leaders had a baptism this week! The mother of one of our young men! I love to see people get baptized, but there has to be an extra specialness to it when its your mom. Mom, just so you know I talk about you all the time here. People want to know if my parents are members of the church...I tell them all about you were baptized at 17 and then found dad. Or dad found you. 

    Brazil played the first round of the world cup this week! And won! It was like Christmas in June. We came home early for a few sweet extra hours of studying. Everytime a goal was made we could hear the cheers of everyone watching. Fireworks, firecrackers, shouts of joy, and  maybe a few loud barbaric yalps (name that movie?). I feel for the Brazilian missionaries because it really is like Christmas for them and they can't be part of it...They won though and that counts for a lot. Brazil plays again on Tuesday. We should be studying again but we´re asking for special permission to make a movie with our Ward Mission Leader. Its going to be sweet. 

   My trainer went home today...she did not want to leave, but she´s been here for more than 18 months. I'm going to miss her.

    Basically, I'm safe and happy and I love you a lot.

Filha preferida, [favorite child]

Sister Hoggan

 

"Tutu" is Grandma in Hawaiian.

New shoes arrived! (Old shoe on right.)