Thanks for reminding me that I only have 10 months left!

Querido Familia,

Pues.... donde quiero empezar... This week has been a really good week, for our area, and for our Zone. We are seeing a lot of good things happening. Sounds like everyone back at home is doing well, apart from Alex. I hope he gets feeling better, that's a bummer. The house looks crazy, cant believe that. It will be so different when I get back. Thanks for reminding me that I only have 10  months left!!! Time goes by too fast, I still have so much to do before I can go back home.

I was really happy also to hear from Ryan about his decision to return back out to the mission field. That will be really good for him! I am so happy. Do you know if he will be called somewhere else or return to his same mission? Also sorry about the email last week and how short it was... Couldn't do much about that because of the situation and the exchanges we had with Brother Mitchell from the missionary department. So yes a lot of good things happened this week and we ended it last night with Stake Reports once again. I was so tired this morning... 

The exchange with Brother Mitchell went well. We felt bad though because he came out to observe our teaching, but just in  the 24 hours before all of our appointments canceled on us. We had some good backup,s but they didn't work out either. Everything was so solid and then it all fell apart. We met with the Assistants, President and the two brothers from the missionary department. We began at 4:30 and had an overview of the purpose of these exchanges. We began with prayer and things and then headed out. They took us out to dinner which was good. We went to a Thai food Restaurant for dinner and we were able to talk to him. He had all of his prepared questions for us and so we spent a lot of time answering his questions about the mission. It was a good and positive experience and we got to hear about the progress of mission work world-wide which was really inspiring.

After dinner we headed out to go to an appointment with a less-active who was 11 years old. It was a back-up plan but it ended up that he wasn't there and everything else had fallen through so he had us take him back to the Visitors center so he could finish up some work up there. We felt bad but he totally understood. He said that he goes out with missionaries all the time and this is normal when everything falls through. I am used to it, but it was just we wanted him to be able to observe us teach. He did speak Spanish which was good. 

Later that night though we met him up at the ISC (inter-stake center at the temple) and he observed us plan for the next day. We were really tired because we had been up late the night before doing indicators also. 

On Wednesday we had Zone/District Council, which was new but because the mission department was there they wanted to be at our Zone Council.  That was the most amazing Zone Council ever. The brothers from the mission department had previously sent out a survey to all the missionaries about various different questions to help them see what our mission needed. They talked about how our mission can be more successful. They said that when a mission understands the Doctrine of Christ that is when there is success. They talked about how we could improve that and make the doctrine of Christ more written on our hearts. 

They talked about the importance of planning, studying, and teaching to the needs of our investigators. It was all so inspiring and we felt that the mission and our Zone really needed that instruction. After them, President and Sister Meredith gave a training on how we can better plan to the specific needs of our investigators. I was able to practice with the Assistants and I learned so much form them. It was such an uplifting, inspiring Zone Council and we feel that it was revelation that is going to help this mission get back on track. We have been struggling a bit lately. 

After the Council I was able to start exchanges with Elder Hunt. We had some great experiences. We were able to teach a lot of member families to begin to do "Feed My Sheep" with them. We also taught Sister Garcia about the priesthood that night. She was able to see her husband that past Sunday receive the priesthood and so we explained more about what it was. We were laughing a ton because Elder Hunt is from Samoa and looks somewhat from Mexico and speaks Spanish really really well. They didn't believe him that he was from Samoa  They were laughing and made us get out a map and show them. They are the best little family. I was so happy, because she was super ready for her baptism. 

On Thursday Elder Hunt and I were able to do a lot of finding; about 45 min before we had to finish our exchange we found a little family. We knocked the door and the dad answered it and we began to talk to him. We talked a lot about his family and how he wants unity and guidance for his 1 year old boy in the future. We testified about the plan of Salvation and about the restoration and asked them to let us in to teach them. They let us right in and we began to teach them. We got to know them better and I could see that he really wants and has desires to change and to help his family. AS we taught the restoration they were listening very intently and answering all of our questions perfectly. We left them with a Book of Mormon and invited them to pray and they said that they don't read much of the Bible, but they feel something good about the Book of Mormon. 

The Book of Mormon does change lives; I know it! It has the power to change our hearts. As we left that with them, and a DVD of the Restoration, to help them understand better what we had taught they allowed us to return. They are so awesome. The Lord placed them in our path and it was a special experience to find them.

After we ended exchanges Elder Bradford and I taught a less active family. The son in the family wants to be able to receive the priesthood and so the parents being less-actives want us to teach him and prepare him. We were able to teach them and I can see the dad really wants to help and teach his son but he's just very hard against some of the members. Its hard to see but its heart warming to see the already made change and progress. We also that night taught a missionary class to the ward missionaries in the ward about how to share their testimonies. 

Friday was a really good day. We had our weekly planning which took us longer than what we hoped for. All of our appointments that night fell through also. 

We also started Exchanges with the Assistants and I stayed in my area with Elder Reyes. So on Saturday I was on exchanges. We had some great experiences. We were able to do a lot of street contacting. I learned a lot from Elder Reyes on how to talk to people. We were able to teach the Reyes family that morning and to do my "Feed My Sheep" lesson with them which was good. Later that afternoon we taught a member that is sort of less-active. He is from Cuba and is really hard to understand. We taught him about the plan of Salvation and about how he can do his temple/ family history work for his family members that have passed away. He was really excited to do that and it was a good lesson to be able to teach that we can be together again as a family. 

We then had a great district meeting where we learned more about how we can effectively plan. That night we found another family. We were able to teach them the restoration but it was a little hard because they had a question about the difference between their pastor and our prophet. They allowed us to come back and to teach them the rest of the restoration to help answer their question. After the lesson we were down on International Street at 7 o'clock at night which is not a good hour. It was funny though because we were making a phone call and we were standing on the corner. After we were done, I looked at Elder Reyes and said, "Hmm.... two missionaries standing on the corner of International Street at 7 at night.... not a good combination." You have to drive down International at night to understand what I mean, but yea its Oakland... 

We ended the night seeing Sister Garcia one last time before her baptism the next day. We brought a sister member with us that really helped. She explained to sister Garcia what she needed to bring and everything. We were so excited, and so was she. 

Sunday was the big day!! We spent the morning getting the baptismal program done and everything figured out for that. Church went really well. In Elders Quorum they practiced with Brother Garcia on how to baptize so that he was prepared to be able to  baptize his wife.

Because it was fast Sunday during sacrament we had Testimonies. A guy from Mexico gets up to bear his testimony and I notice he has one of the caps on his head like the Jews wear. When he gets up there he starts to explain that he was from Mexico but moved to Israel and became Jewish and how he speaks English,  Spanish,  and Hebrew  It was really interesting. He then said that he found and read the Book of Mormon over there and that led him to America to find the church and was later baptized. It was funny because he said that he still attends to Jewish church on Saturdays and then Sundays with his Mormon brothers. He talked a lot about the last days and things which was very interesting. He talked in Vosotros which is like thee and thou in English which is really weird in Spanish  So yes I met a Jewish/ Mormon Mexican that speaks English, Spanish and Hebrew. ...

After church we had the baptism! It was the most spiritual baptism I have ever had. 

Brother and Sister Garcia got dressed in their white clothes and then we took pictures with the whole family. Rosita and Veledia the two daughters we so cute and they were so excited for their mom to be baptized. We started the baptism and Brother Garcia gave one of the talks on Baptism. It was so uplifting and emotional, because he talked directly to his wife. It was so amazing... Sister Garcia was very emotional also. The spirit just filled the entire room. 

After another sister that fellow shipped sister Garcia spoke on the Holy Ghost. It was amazing also. She spoke that the spirit had led her to a talk that her now less-active daughter had written a while ago. She shared that talk with us. After she gave sister Garcia a picture in a picture frame about the Savior. It was so special. They hugged and then we proceeded to the actual Ordinance.

They opened up the curtains in front of the font and Brother and Sister Garcia enter the water from the two sides and met each other in the middle. He was so nervous but it was so powerful to see. He was breathing hard but was able to do the prayer and everything went perfect. It was so amazing. 

During the intermediate, Elder Bradford and I tried something different to be able to teach the Restoration. We used the first verse of different songs like, "I am a child of God" "Families can be together Forever" and "Joseph Smiths first prayer". We taught a little and then we all sand the first verse of that song. The spirit was so strong as we sang all together. To end, Elder Bradford and I sang just together, "Joseph Smiths First Prayer" and it went really well. 

The bishop gave the welcome to the ward and it was personal. He had invested a lot into this family and we could see that. Afterward, the Garcia family was so happy. They thanked us and we set up another appointment to come visit them this next week. They have set a goal to enter the temple in one year to be sealed as a family. It just makes me so happy to think of them as an eternal family. I will be excited to return back her after my mission to be there when they are sealed. 

Then we ended the week last night with indicators and also the stake report. We were working on that from 7 pm to 12:30 am. I was dead when we finally finished. It was really good though because we found a ton of new investigators this week as a Zone. We see that we are finally seeing a turn around in the Oakland Zone! 

Love your son, 

Elder Hill