Getting Well Fed and Losing Myself in the Work

Dear Dad, Mom, Liz, Kirstie, Ashlynn, Family and Friends,

These past seven days, since I last wrote, have been some of the best and yet most challenging times of my life. To start off, as the biggest meal here in Brazil is Lunch, Elder Evans and I have the great priveledge to eat luch at the members´ homes six out of the seven days a week. I never thought I would be fed so much food in my life, down here in Brazil, but the members either love the missionaries a lot, or it´s just a part of the Brazilian culture. After I´ve eaten a entire plate of food, the members see my plate is empty and insist that I eat more and stuff myself with food. If you know me, I don´t like saying no to people, so most of this week I left lunch feeling more than satisfied, and at times I felt like puking because I had eaten to much.

Aside from the locals here feeding us well, this past week flew by, it seemed like a couple days, rather than seven, but I guess that what happens when you´re busy serving and bringing souls unto Christ. Yesterday, Elder Evans and I had the great opportunity to teach a 21 year old Catholic named Angelo. It was a great lesson because he is confused what church is Christ´s church and what church is the one and true church. So yesterday, we compared Angelo to Jospeh Smith, let him know that by reading the Book of Mormon, pondering and praying about it to know the truth, God will manifest the truth of it unto him by the power of the Holy Ghost. As the spirit was amazingly strong as we taught him the restoration, we committed him to be baptized on the 15th , and he accepted. I am extremely excited and happy that there are people out in the world looking for the truth and looking to change. I know this work is hard and it will only get harder, but bringing souls into Christ´s true church on the earth today is extremely worth it. Always remember that the questions that man can´t answer, God can as we seek him in faithful and heartfelt prayer.

I love you all and thank you for your love and encouragement.

Love the one and only,

First Area and Completely Immersed in a language that I can barely understand

Dear Dad, Mom, Liz, Kirstie, Ashlynn, McKay, Family and Friends,

 

The past two weeks have been nothing short of being crazily busy and humble. I arrived in Curitiba Tuesday morning and by 4 pm I was paired with my new companion and trainer, Elder  Taylor Evans from Wilsonville Oregon. Elder Evans is an amazing missionary and I´m learning to be humble and patient while going out every day. My first area that I have been assingned to labor in is on the coast in the city Paranaguá. I am officially assigned to the ward Guarani, which is just outside the center of the city. After moving into our house on Wednesday morning, Wednesday night I committed a lady to follow the examaple of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood of God. She is scheduled to be baptized this Sunday but we have yet to meet with her again, so we will see what happens. The community here is very great, it is a lot different than America, the people speak a langauge that I feel like I was not taught in the training center, but I am learning a great lesson to trust in the Lord and be humble, so he can perform miracles in my life and the people I teach. On Saturday night, I had the amazing and humbling experince to meet with a man named Raimundo, he is a 50 year old dark Brazilian that has been taught a couple times by other missionaries. As we met with him in his home, which consisted of a small room with a bed and a small bathroom connected to it, Elder Evans, our ward´s bishop and I talked to him about how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth once more and that baptism by proper autority is necessary to return to live with God in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. Although I didn´t say much during the lesson because I was listening closely to try to understand what was being said, I committed him to be baptized this Sunday and he accepted. Being in the field is a truly humbling experience and I think I have spoken the least this past week than I have in my entire life because the language is so different here than it was in the CTM and I´m forced to speak Portuguese and the only English I speak are a few phrases with my comapnion to understand the meaning of phrases and words that people used. I can already feel the Lord tearing me down, to get rid of my weaknesses, so that he can make a man of God out of me that will obey with exactness and fully rely on God in all that I do.

 

I love you all and thank you for your support, this work I am involved in is great!

 

Love,

 

Elder Hokanson

 

My mailing address is the mission home in Curitiba, because they don´t want any mail to get lost being sent to our residence. Here is the address:

 

Elder Jonathan Hokanson

Praça Joseph Smith, 15 Portão

Curitiba PR 80613-991

Brasil

June 5

Dear Dad, Mom, Liz, Kirstie, Ashlynn, McKay, Family and Friends,

 

This week is officially my last week in the CTM here in São Paulo!  This time next week I´ll be in Curitiba where I will put all my language training and gospel knowledge to use. This past week was filled with a lot of the same experiences and events that I´ve experienced the past eight weeks here in the MTC and CTM. However, since we are the veterans in the CTM now, we have the opportunity to set the example to all the new missionaries that come in every week. I´m extremely grateful for this opportunity because I like having responsibility, and I like to be able to show those who are less experienced how to get the most out of the CTM. 

Last Tuesday night, we had a devotional where we as a CTM choir sang ``Firm in the Faith by Jenny Phillips`` and it was such an amazing experience. The spirit was so strong and all of us missionaries are just so happy to have this experience to serve our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ every day for the next two years that we have no reason not to smile. Following this devotional President and Sister Degn had a meeting with all of us district leaders, and they made the point very clear that we are to be a golden example of obedience to our district, and that there should be no way that people on the streets won´t recognize us as representatives of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, Elder Meadows and I, along with the rest of our district had the amazing opportunity of going ouside the CTM walls for over 3 hours to proselyte and give people Books of Mormon. It truly was the best experience I´ve had so far on my mission because after we had placed three of our Books of Mormon I felt such an overwhelming feeling of joy and happiness because we truly are doing the Lord´s work and bringing the world his truth. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he did restore Jesus Christ´s church on the earth again. I also know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and with the Bible and Book of Mormon we have the complete true gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

I love all you and thank you for your love and support. Have a great week and the next email I send I´ll be in Curitiba!!! :)

 

Love,

 

Elder Jonathan Hokanson

Photos from the CTM

Missionaries from Brazil

Jonathan and his companion?

District 15 D

May 29

Dear Dad, Mom, Liz, Kirstie, Ashlynn, McKay, Family and Friends,

 

Another week here at the CTM has come and gone, and in officially two weeks I will officially be in the mission field in Curitiba. Time here at the CTM seems to go by so slow at times, but as I look back time has flown by and all the days and weeks seem to just blur together, I guess that´s what happens when you are being productive and have every hour of the day planned out. I feel that every day I´m growing in the gospel and I´m learning how to be a better man and a more faithful, obedient servant of our loving Heavenly Father. 

During our Tuesday night devotional last week, we heard from one of the Brazil area presidents and he gave a great inspiring talks on how we as missionaries are to be neither skeptical or fanatical about the things we are teaching, but rather a mixture of both. From the devotional I learned that in order to be the most successful, powerful missionary I need to have my testimony of the gospel and the church built  upon both the thoughts of my mind and the feelings of my heart.

Throughout the whole week, as Elder Meadows and I taught more lessons to our teachers that acted as investigators, I was reminded once again that I will not convert or bring anyone into the church. The true converter will be the Spirit that I carry with myself as I obey the commandements and mission rules with exactness. On Thursday a group of us missionaries had a workshop, where we practiced proselyting on other missionaries. The auditorium where we did our role plays was set up like a Brazilian subway to prepare us for when we go proselyting in just under two weeks in downtown Sao Paulo. As we did these role plays I gained a burning desire to just want to talk to everyone I came in contact with about this amazing gospel of Jesus Christ.

I know that as I stay humble and rely on the Lord and the Spirit while I am serving this mission I will be able to be used as the instrument that the Lord would have me be. To all of you who may feel that you have no hope, remember this quote, ´´No objects are insurmountable, when God commands and we obey!

 

I love you all and thank you for your support.

 

Love,

 

Elder Jonathan Jared Hokanson