Week 75: Hidalgo

Happy New Year!!!!

This was a super awesome week!! On Tuesday we had a mission wide zone confrence(Christmas Party). It was super awesome to see all my mission friends and hear what's going on in old areas!! 

We had some really good lessons this week! 

Last night I learned a lesson about being diligent! It was 8:30 and we hit a wall, with just nothing to do, we had already finished our plans. I said lets just go home and plan for the next day. We were driving through the very last neighborhood and I couldn't go back early so I pulled over and we went and knocked a door that had the lights on. They looked through the peep hole and then didn't open the door. A couple of houses down I could see a lady out in her yard. We went and talked to her. We told her who we were and what we do and she was like yeah I know! I'm a member, I got baptized in Mexico and I'm inactive. Three of her kids also were baptized but her husband is not too big of a fan of the church. I told her God put us in her path and it was time for her to start coming back to church. She agreed and we are going back on Tuesday! And she has an 11 year old daughter that isn't a member. If we would have gone home early we probably never would have found her. It was a miracle. I will never go home early again!!!  This is the Lords work! I love being a missionary!!!!

Love, Elder Hurst

Week 74: Hidalgo

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Well what an awesome week!! We found lots of families this week!! They are all super cool. One guy was asking us what we wanted to do for our job when we go back and Elder Bailey told him about animation and the guy was like I was in a movie! He was in The Mask of Zoro!!!!! It was super cool to meet him! He is super awesome and we are going to teach him and his family!!! Things here are going awesome!

I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a missionary and teach the gospel of Christ to all those that will listen. This is the Lord's work. 

Have an awesome week!

Love, Elder Hurst

Christmas in Hidalgo

Seeing friends at transfers and saying goodbye to returning missionaries.

Week 73: Hidalgo

Well another transfer has come to an end. This morning I finished El Libro de Mormon again! I'm pretty sure it was my third time finsihing it in Spanish. As I finished the spirit testified to me that it is true. I already have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon but the more that I read it the stronger my testimony grows. 

One thing that I've noticed is that I suck at getting into peoples homes to teach them. All the people we teach is outside and we never sit down. I think that is a major factor to why they never progress! So I made some plans and I'm going to start getting into peoples houses to teach them!! 

This week we found some reallly cool people! We found a lady that just barely got out of prison and wants to change! I feel like wherever I go on the mission I always talk to people that have been in jail. It's pretty crazy. Maybe a sign from God! But we lost contact with her but we are going to find her again and teach her and baptize her! 

In the city of Hidalgo they have a huge lights festival every year for the month of December. It just happens that the church gets used for parking. So we set up tables and started to contact people going to the lights. We have gotten referals for pretty much the whole mission!! It's pretty fun!!! It's funny how many people will try to avoid us! 

This transfer has been really good. I feel like i've learned alot it really helped me to grow. Ihope that you guys have an awesome week!! I love you!!!! Have an awesome week!!!! Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Love, Elder Hurst

Week 72: Hidalgo

I've been reading a ton of confrence talks during my studies! I read What Lack I Yet, and it really helped me this week. I realized that I wasn't being charitable enough. SO I have some plans to change it. My patriarchal blessing really talks a lot about charity and love so I think it is somehting God wants me to work on. 

Pretty much all of our investigators have dropped off. We haven't been able to have much contact with them. It's pretty hard, I feel like we are doing everything we need to but it's just not coming how it has in other areas. But I know that God will bless us!! We found 12 investigators this week. We found a family of four that is super cool, they are just super Catholic so we are really going to have to rely on the spirit with them. Then we found a family with 12 in total but a lot are little kids, but they are being super difficult so we are probably going to have to drop them. 

We also found a really cool less active named Juan. He is like 21. He lives with his mom and sister as well as his nephews. His mom and sister are both super active he just isn't. We went and got to know him and he should be ready to come back. We talked about the covenant that he made at baptism. He is super cool. None of his family came to church this week so I think that is why he didn't make it but I know that he will make it next week!!

Something that I have learned on my mission is the importance of the sacrament. Before the mission I didn't really understand what it meant or why we did it. On the mission I've learned that we are literally renewing the covenant that we made or in other words remaking the promise that we made. I love teaching the true meaning of the sacrament to everyone. That is a lot of what we focus on. Especially with the huge list of less active members that we have.

There is an active family that we eat with twice a month that asked us to share with them the importance of doing the little things. They really had been lacking. So I used your lesson mom!!! I didn't have little rocks and a ball so I used rice and apples. I put the rice first and then the apples and it didn't fit in the bowl and then later I put the apples then the rice. We have to put the things of God first. Then we shared 3 Nephi 13:33. Seek ye first the kingdom of god. The mom of the family really felt like she was the only one that was trying to do the family scriptures and prayers, so we told them that it's everyone's responsibility!!! Thank you for the inspiration with the lesson. Also thank you for always making sure that we did the little things. Also thank you for always having us eat together. That is something that no one does here. They are all mission out... I love you so much!!!!! 

Love,
Elder Hurst

Well this pretty much sums up the week! I taught the other elders how to play cover your assestws and we've played almost every day. One day we played scum and cover your assests at the same time. That was intersting!! This week was super good. We found alot of people. Now we just ahve to help them all progress!!!!‏