May 24,2010

Dear Family,
This week was pretty crazy. I was in exchanges the whole week. That means that I was with other missionaries in their sectors on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was kind of tough. I wanted to go back to sleep in my own bed and to teach my investigators. I hope I hleped the missionaries I was with though. We worked really hard this week. We had more lessons this week than any other week that I´ve had on the mission. We helped a lot of people. This sonday the family of 8 that we found only one week ago went to church with us. They really enjoyed it. The only problem is that the Stake President was there and he did something that made them angry. Right after Sacrament meeting we were trying to help everyone get to their right classes and then we realized that the family Villamar (the family of 8) wasn´t there we went outside and they weren´t there and finally we saw them in one of the classrooms with the Stake President and the Bishop. We wondered why they were there but we kind of blew it off and we started the next class. About 10 minutes into the class the family Villamar showed up and the teacher taught about baptism. It was really good. They understood a lot and liked it. We thought everything had gone really well for them. After church when the family had gone home we were talking with the Bishop and he said that the Stake President had challenged them to be baptized. We thought well ok, that could be good. We were wrong. We showed up at the house of the family Villamar after church and they were a little bit angry. They said that all we wanted was to baptize them and that they were pressured and all that. It was tough to see that but we were able to tell them that we don´t want them to be baptized from today to tomorrow. We told them that they aren´t ready right now and that they still need to learn a lot more and that they need to receive an answer from God. By the end they had calmed down a lot and they are still going to listen to us. I want to strangle our Stake President. I know that he was just trying to help but he needs to stay with the members. The investigators aren´t under his stewardship. That´s our responsibility. I´ll probably talk to him about that.
I read a basic scripture and applied it in a funny way. In Alma 1:27 it talks about how they were dressed neat and comly. That means that we have to buy all of our clothes in Wal-Mart ha ha :) Well it was a crazy week and I loved it. I learned a lot. This weekend we have our Stake Conference. We´ll have an area 70, the temple president, and President Sloan there with us. I´m pretty excited for it. Well I love you all. Can´t wait to write you next week.



Love,
Élder Hakes

May 17, 2010

Dear family,
This week was pretty amazing. I´ll start off with our own companionship. This week was the first week where we actually had a lot of time in our own sector. We had a really amazing week with some amazing experiences. Yesterday we were walking in the street and we contacted 3 girls and they didn´t seem to interested but they told us where they lived. The address was very vague and se just started knocking on doors, hoping that we´d find their family. We went off to this little street so we could say a prayer and my companion started talking to this family, before we said the prayer. We found out that this was ther rest of the family that we were looking for. We told them that they had sent us down here and they let us right in to teach them. It was amazing when we walked in and it was a family of 8. I had never taught so many people at once. The spirit was so strong. I pulled the goofy gringo trick so the kids would want us to come back (the goofy gringo trick is when I just act a little weird for the kids so they want us to come back. I figure if the kids want us back the parents will too:) he he). It was amazing because they all want to go to church and read and everything. I can´t wait to go back there.
This week we had another baptism too!!! Rodrigo Morocho got baptized. It was really amazing because before the baptism he was pretty nervous and it didn´t seem like he had a strong testimony, but right after he got baptized he shared a powerful testimony that really brought the spirit. It was amazing. We completed that family when he got baptized. They can now all prepare to go to the temple to be sealed. We´re really excited for all of them. The fountain picture that I put in there is a fountain that they made and that they have in their front yard. I think it´s hilarious because I´ll probably never see a statue like that again.



This week the our district did pretty amazing too!!! We were having some problems with one companionship and we talked with them about it and this week they did so much better. THey finally started to work and to grow in faith. It´s an amazing process to watch. They´re doing as Alma taught in Alma 32:27-30. I´m so excited for them to keep doing that.
Well I love you family. You are all amazing. I love this work and I love being a called representative of Jesus Christ to declare repentance and baptism to this people here in Ecuador. I hope that all of you can be doing the same at home. We should talk with everyone about this gospel because we want every single one of God´s children to be with us when we arrive in the Celestial Kingdom. If we don´t talk and show them they may never make it. Well I love you all.



Love,
Élder Hakes

May 10, 2010

Dear Family,
Wow!!! I´m halfway done with the phonecalls in my mission. It was really good to talk to you guys yesterday. Your voices are changing a lot. You pretty much know everything going on in my life right now. I just wanted to thank you all for the things that you have done for me. I have so many blessings from my family. Thank you for being so awesome. Well I really don´t have anything else to see. Just remember that I love you all and that you are all so awesome.


Love,
Élder Hakes

P.S. I forgot my camera in the house so I´ll send the pictures of my new suit next week :)

May 3, 2010

Dear Family,
This was a pretty crazy week. We had a lot of meetings and a lot of things to do outside of our sector. It was tough for me to do that. I like being in my sector working with my investigators. We did have a really amazing experience this last friday though. We had the opportunity to listen to a general authority, Elder Nash. He the president of the area we´re in. It was way cool. He gave us all hugs and said something to all of us. I got to have a little bit more time with him too because I´m a zone leader. It was really cool. He gave me some really nice compliments. We, the zone leaders, were lined up at the door when he walked in and I was the first one lined up. The first thing he said was to President Sloan. He said something like, "He really shines" or "He´s got a good spirit to him." He was talking about me. I was really grateful for that. It´s not everyday that a general authority gives you a compliment like that. I was very happy. It was an amazing experience to be there with Elder Nash.
I think last week I told you about a really good contact that we had. This week when we visited him for the second time he had read the entire book of 1 Nephi. It was amazing I had never seen anything like it. When we visited him the 3rd time he had read up to Jacob. I was astounded. He read all of that in less than a week. He has some doubts and everything but we have answered all of his questions. We just need him to go to church and he´ll be a perfect contact. It was way cool.
My companion and I were a little sick this week. On saturday we were in the house for about 2-3 hours. We were sick with las bicicletas. You´ll have to ask Nancy or Brother Sowards what that one means. It´s nothing bad at all. It´s just really annoying to have.
Well family I love you all so much. I can´t wait to talk with you this Sunday. I love you all!!!!!


Love,
Élder Hakes