HELLO THERE FAMILY!
It sounds like the weeks of, "well not much to report here in Rocklin" have passed you guys by. It has been a crazy month for all of us I think. I love you guys so much. I have truly seen how the Lord stretches each of us during times of trial. In fact that is the entire purpose of this crazy thing called life here on earth. Give the Treseder's my love. Wow, what a crazy time it has been for our ward. Give Sheldon a big hug for me. That is real tough about Aaron. I am glad the missionaries have talked to him, I wondered if they were. I know that you all have done everything you could to help him with your testimony's and light. The Lord needs us to do that for others, but he also gives us this pesky thing called agency. I will be praying for Aaron. Sometimes that is all we can do.
I saw Elder Clark this week and gave him your message!! He said hi for the Elder in your ward to me as well. Small world.
I love all the pictures you sent!!! I PROMISE that I am sending some this week for you guys. I love getting pictures from you guys. Your photography pictures look amazing as always mom. It seems like yesterday that you were just getting started, and the pics look AWESOME. I brag about you all the time here. I like your birthday presents. Not too long we will all be sitting around your new patio furniture together, BUT as for now the Lord has a work for Tanner and I to do, and man has it been awesome this week.
We had a great week here in Nogales. When I feel like my mission is crazy, I read Tanner's emails and realize it's not haha. The Lord has been blessing us and leading us here in Nogales.
On Monday we all went and played sports as a zone which was a blast. We have a great zone. On Tue we went to the temple. It was awesome. There is no better place on earth. Sometimes we need that time to be in somewhere quiet where the Spirit is so strong, to reflect on what matters most. I thought of all of you when I was there. It won't truly be heaven without my family. I am always amazed how the spirit can whisper to us. It is in a voice that is so tender and quiet. There is no way we could do what we do as missionaries without it.
I saw Elder Z at the pizza place we went to after the temple. That was cool. He is doing great.
Also on Tue. something that you guys would get a kick out of. I had my first big time bike wreck. We were crossing a wash (which is these big sandy trail things) that I have crossed on my bike tons of times. Well this time I went too fast and demolished myself. I went flying over the handle bars and my foot got caught on the pedal. My thigh slammed into the handlbars really hard. Needless to say I have a HUGE bruise/welt on my thigh haha. With my mouthful of sand, I limped the rest of the way back to the house. I couldn't stop laughing later :) I have pictures of that for you, but they don't do it justice at all haha
I is doing great. We had one of the best lessons I have ever had on my mission with him this week. We taught the Plan of Salvation, I LOVE teaching about it. It was so good. He and his sister loved it. The Plan of Happiness is real. I know it. They said things like "I feel like I have known this all along, but no one has ever explained it to me." Those are the best words to hear as a missionary. The spirit was there strong. Because I has been so busy we haven't had enough time to teach him all the lessons yet. So we moved his baptism back a week, but I really felt like that was going to be the best for him. He has been super busy, he ran a triathalon with the priest's quorum here.
We found three new investigators this week. One lady named M was a mini miracle. We were out looking for a family in the ward, we saw M talking to someone. We both felt prompted to talk to her, and we ended up teaching her the first lesson at her door. The Spirit truly leads us as missionaries.
I went on splits with Elder D one day his week. It was awesome. We are great friends, and we had a blast working together. I learned so much from him.
One of the most wonderful experiences of my mission so far happened this week with the M family. I had never met them. The Husband is an inactive member, and the wife is a catholic. They are wonderful people. We all got to know each other, missionaries had been there many times before. We started sharing a message. I testified of Christ and shared 2 nephi 25:26. The spirit filled the room like almost no other time on my mission so far. Sis M then blew me away. She told us that she had never felt this way before in her life. She told me that she sees a light in me that she has never seen before. I was speechless. She told me that God had sent me to her. It was awesome. I really was only doing the things that we always do as missionaries, testifying of Christ. The Lord truly leads this work. Of that I have no doubt. I know that I needed to come here to Arizona to help certain people. Sometimes I doubt if I am really an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Experiences like this remind me that as long as we are all diligently serving the Savior in our own way, he will lead us where we need to go. He knows where we need to be.
We are teaching many people. I love it. The Lord has blessed us with many new people to teach. Now the challenge is to help them all to progress. THAT is the challenge we face every day. I have learned that it all comes down to faith. Faith in action. Sometimes we all have to do things without knowing what is ahead.
I love you guys so much. Thank you for your support and love. I look forward every week to hearing from you. Keep the Faith. Take it one day at a time. That is what I have learned to do here. I cannot describe the love I feel for our Savior. He knows the way, we need to trust him.
I read this quote today and I loved it
"I have personally verified that concepts like faith, prayer, love, and humility hold no great significance and produce no miracles until they become a living part of us through our own experience, aided by the sweet prompting of the Holy Spirit. In early life I found that I could learn gospel teachings intellectually and, through the power of reason and analysis, recognize that they were of significant value. But their enormous power and ability to stretch me beyond the limits of my imagination and capacity did not become reality until patient, consistent practice allowed the Holy Spirit to distill and expand their meaning in my heart. I found that while I was sincerely serving others, God forged my personal character. He engendered a growing capacity to recognize the direction of the Spirit. The genius of the gospel plan is that by doing those things the Lord counsels us to do, we are given every understanding and every capacity necessary to provide peace and rich fulfillment in this life. Likewise, we gain the preparation necessary for eternal happiness in the presence of the Lord." Richard G. Scott
I love this gospel, and I love all of you. Thank you for your love and prayers. Until next week!
LOVE
Elder Hughes
PS I AM SO EXCITED FOR MOTHER'S DAY AS WELL!
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