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September 2 - Edil´s Miraculous Baptism, Being Called to Serve the Next 6 Weeks As a Zone Leader Alone

Querido Família e Amigos,

As I am short on time once again due to my slow typing skills and my various responsibilites as zone leader, I am copying and pasting my letter I sent to the President in portuguese and I hope you can understand when you put into google translator. 

Querido Presidente,
Eu sou muito grato pelo conselho que você deu para nos e sou ainda mais grato pelo Espírito do Senhor nesse trabalho. Como eu comentei para você em minha entrevista, seguimos os sussurros do espírito e encontramos na terça-feira anoite, em Capão da Imbuia, Edil, quem foi na igreja no domingo retrasada com a mai, que é um membro e trabalha no templo. Edil primeiro conheceu os missionários em Ponta Grossa mais que 30 anos atras mas não ficou interessada em ser batizada porque a família dela tinha raízes bem forte na igreja católica. Porem, ela continuou de receber visitas dos missionários de vez em quando, a mai dela batizou-se, a irmã e varias outras parentes batizarem-se nos anos que seguirem, mas ainda Edil não teve interesse. Isso foi até nós fomos guiados pelo Espírito até a casa dela na terça anoite quando ensinamos ela pela primeira vez sobre a restauração e batismo. Perguntamos ela o que estava impedindo ela de ser batizada e ela respondeu que não sabia. Convidamos ela a ser batizada no sábado, ela aceitou e disse, ``Não sei se vou estar pronto, mas eu vou preparar-me.´´ Nós passamos todos os dias na casa dela, ajudamos ela a parar de beber o pouco de café que ela acostumou-se de beber e foi batizada no sábado e confirmada no domingo. Essa obra é uma obra de Deus, de Salvação e de milagres quando vivermos dignos, eu sei disso. Estou muito animado pela confiança o Senhor tem em mim para liderar essa zona sozinha como líder de zona e sei que muitos milagres e batismos acontecerão este mês de Setembro.

Tenha uma semana milagrosa, obrigado por tudo, eu amo você e sua família.

  

If you didn´t understand that letter in Portuguese, to make a long story short. We were led by the Spirit Tuesday night to the house of Edil, who went to church a week ago. As she had already been taught on and off for the past 30 years, without any real desire to be baptized, we invited her to be baptized, she accepted and with a ton of family support was baptized Saturday evening. 

Last night I got the news Elder Valles would be transferred to Capão da Imbuia the old area of the district leader and that the district leader who served there, Elder Joseph R Hawkes of Twin Falls Idaho, who would be my companion, and continue to be the district leader. I was called last night to serve as a lone zone leader of the 22 missionaries in my zone. I accepted the call and I am excited to see the miracles that will happen this month of Setember.

I love you all, thanks for the love and support!!!!!!!!!! :)

Ame,

Elder Jonathan Hokanson

August 26 - Move to Inbox More 69 of about 129 Why this ad? UNC - MBA @ UNC - Top-ranked UNC Kenan-Flagler offers an MBA online to fit your lifestyle. Expand all Print all In new window Elder De Magalhães Last Week in the Mission Field, Teaching Haitians and Having Difficulty Talking in English when a Man from Israel asked me for directions

Dear Family and Friends,

 

What a week it has been. After being in a trio of missionaries for a little over a month with Elder Valles, of Peru, and Elder De Magalhães, of Recife, I am back in a normal missionary companionship as Elder De Magalhães completed an honorable 2 year mission on Friday morning. I am feeling even more burdened down and resposible as now up until September 2nd I will be the zone leader of 21 other missionaries by myself. However, I have faith that all will work out and the Lord and his angels will support me. I have learned that on my feet alone I am super weak and the natural man is strong, but as I am on my knees praying, the natural man is weak and I am strong witht the Spirit on my side.

On Tuseday night we had our third visit with a couple, Judith and Renel, that moved to Brasil from Haiti two years ago after the massive earthquake. In order to help them understand our message completely we watched the Dvd the Restoration in French. Although I didn´t understand the majority of what was said in french I felt the Spirit testify to me that Judith and Renel felt the truthfullness of our message and the restoration becasue they heard it in their native tounge. 

Lastly on Thursday, when we were going to the mission office to pick up Elder De Maghalhães, I aw a man in the bus tube who looked like he was amish. I thought to myself, he must be from that amish town in Pennsylvania. Just after I thought that, he approached me and asked me if I spoke a little english. I told him yes, and he told me that he arrived in Brasil two days earlier from his home in Israel and was lost, as he was trying to go to a Hebrew school. As we continued talking, he asked me how I spoke such good English and I told him I was American. He was like, ``Well that makes sense.´´ I then helped him find the hebrew school her was going to. As I helped him I realized I mixed my English and Portuguese a lot. I guess that´s what happens when you are in a foreign country for over a year. I know kust as Alma 5:38 states, ``I as a representative of Christ, am one of his shepards that has the responsibilty of call to repentence all of the ``sheep´´ or people that I meet. This is the work of the Lord, for the first time in a long time, a increasing number of God´s children are hearing the sheperds voice, repenting and entering the waters of baptism here in the Brasil Curitiba mission. 

 

I love you all, thanks for the love and support. Have a great last week of summer break...all you oregonians! :)

 

Ame,

 

Elder Jonathan Hokanson  

August 19 - Jessica and Diego´s Wedding and Jessica´s Baptism

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, it is truly amazing to see how fast time flies. I feel like I was just writing an email to you all yesterday, but it is already a new week. The time truly flew by this week as we helped marry Jessica and Diego in the Cartorio, here in Curitiba. Jessica and Diego were first contacted at the end of March. Diego had been inactive from the church for almost 10 years and had been living with his ``wife´´, Jessica,  for about the same amount of time. The two had a son together, Andre- 7 years old, and they had the custom of smoking drinking coffee. The missionaries that first arrived helped them save their marriage, which was falling a part and they helped them stop smoking and drinking. When I arrived in the beginning og June, Jessica and Diego, finally gained the desire to get married legally with the government. The process to help them get all the paperwork for the marriage was long.

 After two months of waiting on the cartorios, Diego and Jessica were married this past Wednesday and Jessica entered the chilly waters of baptism, as the water heater didn´t work too well because we filled up the baptismal font an hour and a half before the baptism, on Saturday night, and was confirmed a member on Sunday, thus fulfilling a long awaited dream of Jessica. One year from now, there goal is to enter the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity. 

I love this work and I know that the fulfillment of the commandments, brings only happiness and peace to the soul.

I love you all, thanks for the love and support.

Ame,

Elder Jonathan Hokanson

Aug 12 - A Testimony Building Week and A New Found Love for the Savior

Dear Family and Friends,

 

This past week was by far one of the most faith testing and testimony building weeks of my life. I never felt Satan´s influence so powerful in my life and I never felt the Spirit and the Savior´s love so strong as well. After a week of trials, I gained a testimony yesterday evening that I am on my mission, not to be perfect but to become a little (a lot) more perfect than I was before my mission. My mission president shared with me the following scriptures to help me learn this principle, and I challenge you to read them as well and think how it applies in your personal life. Read Luke 5: 27-32 and next week I will explain a little more in detail how President Monteiro interpreted to me. The supermarket is calling to us to do our weekly grocery shopping and our house is asking to be cleaned, so I will leave you with my testimony. I know with certainty that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Reedemer. He suffered for all our pains, sins and sicknesses. I know that the Savior lets us struggle to teach us, humble us and increase our faith. Lastly I know that having faith, leads to trials of our faith, thus leading to even more faith.

 

Thank each and everyone of you for the emails, letters (Which I really love getting ;) ), prayers on my behalf, love and support.

 

Have a faith and testimony building week this week, I love you all. :)

 

Ame,

 

Elder Jonathan Hokanson

Aug 5 - The Baptism of Thiago-The Quickest Baptism Yet on the Mission and Isabelle´s Mom Enter the Waters of Baptism

Dear Family and Friends,

 

This past Monday night we had the experience of enountering and teaching Thiago, a 12 year old young man whose mom is an active member and dad is inactive for more than 10 years, for the first time.  Everyone in the ward thought Thiago was a member as both of his parents were baptized over ten years ago, but as we ate lunch a couple weeks ago at the relief Society´s President´s house we asked for referrals and they referred us to Thiago because they said he was baptized when he was 8 years old, but never was confirmed a member of the church and never received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the baptism of the Spirit explained in John 3:5. As we knew that no one can enter the kingdom of God without the baptism of the water and of the Spirit, we encountered Thiago, for the first time with this new information, and his Mom Monday night at thier home and reviewed the qualifiactions for baptism and he met all the requirements. We then marked his baptismal interview for the following day, Tuesday night, he passed that interview and was baptized and confirmed a member of the church, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost on Thursday night. Two nights later Isabelle, who was baptized two weeks ago, watched her mom enter the waters of baptism, thus capping off a week of miracles. I know that the Holy Ghost that one gains after baptism is the most powerful tool that we have to face the challenges and temptations of life. I learned that for the Holy Ghost to accompany us in this life we need to always live worthily and pray to always have his presence with us.

 

Thank you all for the love and support. 

 

Ame,

 

Elder Hokanson  

July 29 - New Companion, Elder Valles and Getting Freshened Up with my Spanish Speaking Abilities

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Once again I am super short on time as my responsibilities as a missionary zone leader and trainer took up the majority of my email time.

This past week was super busy as we had transfers and we helped the missionaries, that were living with us in our house, move to a new house closer to their area. On Tuesday afternoon, Elder De Magalhães and I received our new missionary companion that we will train, Elder Valles of Tarapoto, Peru. I can tell that we will get along great, as he is from the country I fell in love with 3 years ago when I spent two weeks doing humanitarian service. He is super humble and always is laughing and smiling, partly because he doesn´t understand everything and he told us that he laughs and smiles when he doen´t understand what others are saying...to say the least we've heard him laugh the majority of this past week.

Saturday night I had a very unique and spiritual experience as I interviewed a woman from Haiti, who only spoke creole and french, as I don´t know either we asked a member who was recently baptized to be the translator in the baptismal interview. As this member was from Haiti as well and only spoke creole, French and Spanish I did the interview in a broken spanish mixed with portuguese and I saw the Spirit work in the interview as the translator understood everything I said. I know that the Spirit works miracles and is the common language between everyone in the world.

 

Have a great week...thank you all for the love and support.

 

Ame,

 

Elder Jonathan Hokanson