Friday, February 27, 2015

Fri, Feb 27, 2015 My New Motto: "TODAY WAS A GREAT WEEK!"



Hey ya'll!


Roommates at the MTC Wilson, Atendido, Otte, Hoth 

It's been an amazing week at the MTC! I have already learned so much and have had so many opportunities to come closer to Lord! Ha...my Spanish is...um coming along I guess! Hermana Wilson and I were practicing how to begin talking to people and getting to know them before we start teaching them. We were practicing with some of the Elders in our zone, and we could understand all of what they were saying. So that's good. Also, I think I can understand like 70% of what our teachers are saying...and the Elders that we were talking to last night said they could only understand like 40% of what the teachers were saying their first week. So maybe Hermana Wilson and I were meant to speak Spanish!;) I've been able to teach like 6 lessons all in Spanish now...so that's pretty cool. The Lord definitely has his hand in the work here. There is absolutely no way I could learn Spanish without Him. When I was really stressed and down on myself with learning Spanish, I felt the Spirit immediately leave. If I want the Lord's help, I need to be hopeful and faithful!! I hope to have faith like the story in Matthew 8! Read it...it's amazing.

My teachers here are Hermana Estrada and Hermano Crofts and Hermano Ralphs (who used to be Enrique our investigator but we found out yesterday that he is now our teacher). That punk lied to us!;) Haha...it's okay though!! Yeah...I don't remember where all of them served their missions, but they are great teachers. I  can tell how much they love each of us!

So Hermana Wilson and I have gotten to know each other a lot better this week! She really is such an amazing person and has a great conversion story! She was baptized when she was 9 and has had so many neat experiences that have brought her closer to the Lord. I'm so lucky to have her as my companion. Our teachers and our district probably think we are ridiculous though..we can never stop laughing!! But don't get me wrong...we work awfully hard too! We have memorized our purpose, how to ask someone to be baptized, and now I'm working on the 1st vision!! We've started studying Spanish during gym time when we're running or working out so that's helped a lot!!

FUNNY STORY. Every time I think about it, I crack up laughing! Oh man so the other Hermanas in our room/district are Hermana Atendido and Hermana Otte. After they knocked on the door for our investigator, Enrique, Enrique asked how they were doing. Como esta usted?? Hermana Otte said bien (which means good), and then Hermana Atendido was so excited to see Enrique and she wanted to tell him how excited she was so she yelled "Estupido" instead of "Estupendo". Hahahahahahahaha, I'm dying right now just writing about it. There are many ways to introduce yourself to an investigator, but I would not suggest saying, "I'm stupid" right off the bat. HAHAHAHAHA. :D

During one of our lessons with Enrique, Hermana Wilson and I asked Enrique if he would pray to know what we taught him is true. He said no because he doesn't know how to pray. So we tried to show him. Let me just say...we do not have the vocabulary to teach someone how to pray. Just picture Hermana Wilson and me on our knees folding our arms saying "practicar" over and over again. He just stared at us....and wouldn't say anything. So after like 5 minutes of kneeling we slide back into our chairs and just die laughing. Wow...so embarrassing. He was probably dying inside. 

This week, I've definitely noticed how many weaknesses I really  do have. Ugh...it's frustrating. But my companion and I talked to a teacher after TRC, where we taught another investigator, and he told us about Ether 12:27. I'm sure most, if not all, have heard this before, but he gave a new insight to it! We often overlook the very first sentence of that scripture. It says something like "come unto me and I will show you your weaknesses". This is why I am so aware of all of my weaknesses all of the sudden! I am coming unto the Lord by serving Him, He is showing me my weaknesses so He can change them to strengths. Wow...that is amazing!!!

I'm so sad that the older district in our zone is leaving on Monday and Tuesday next week! They have been so fun to get to know! And I'm not ready to be the old district yet! We have a new district in our zone this week. They got here on Wednesday. They have 4 elders and 4 hermanas. I had institute class with one of the hermanas down at Snow, so that's pretty cool to see a familiar face!! My district is already pretty close, I love getting to know all of them better! They are like my family!! Elder Barry is mine and Hermana Wilson's favorite elder in our district. He is so sincere. He is a convert of a year and a half and you can just tell how much he loves the Lord. I'll send a pic of all of us doing Elder Barry's signature expression sometime soon....it's hilarious!

Well, I hope all of you are keeping it real! It's been so fun to get letters from ya'll!! I hope that all of you can come to know just how much God loves each and every one of you! I have felt the love He has for each of the investigators I have taught, it truly is so amazing! I know that this life is hard...and sheesh...my mission is flippin' hard. But the Lord did not send me here on earth to fail...He did not send me on this mission to fail. That was never part of His plan! Hermana Wilson and I figured out what makes the gospel so amazing! Everyone is so different, and different things make different people happy. Isn't it incredible how the gospel is the ONE thing that can make anyone and everyone happy. I know that this gospel is true and that the Lord truly guides His work! I love all of you and hope you're doing great!!

Love, 
Hermana Hoth   
#missionswag  #astupido  #letsgettowork




Friday, February 20, 2015

Fri, Feb 20, 2015 LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN

Hola everybody,

This has been a crazy few days, but at the same time it has been so fantastic!:) As soon as I was dropped off they rushed me a way through some lines and then to my classroom where I met my district and my companion! Mi companera es la Hermana Wilson! Haha, guess what...she's a cheerleader from USU! Haha. Sweet! But really, she is the sweetest Hermana out here! I'm so blessed to have such an amazing companion! Before I came out here, I was praying that I would love my companion. And guess what...it worked! We are so similar and have lots of fun together! It's so great that we are going to the same mission too. Hopefully we will be companions later!



Hermana Wilson & Hermana Hoth

So while I have been here, I have seen Elder Ethan Hansen, Elder Tyler Stevenson, Sister Megan Weston, and a few other people I know from high school and college! It's so great to see familiar faces around here! Haha, so Elder Hansen gave me a little book that my mom dropped left with him right as I got dropped off. I tried telling him thank you, but it came out like this. "Thank you Ethan....I mean Sister....uh....Brother...oh....Elder!!!" Haha, by the time I finally got his name right, he was gone. Aw well, I get used to these new titles. It's weird not being called Emstar anymore! Nobody even knows my first name! That's okay...I'm proud to be Hermana Hoth!:)

This is for you, mom, there are 4 sisters in my district and 4 elders. My companion, Hermana Wilson is from Southern California, also lived in Boise. The other sisters that are in our district and that we share our room with are Hermana Otte and Hermana Atendido. The first one is from Texas and going to California. The second is from Philippines and going to Minnesota. The elders are Elder Tolton, Barry, Hirschi, and Armstrong. All of them are going to state side missions.In order their missions are Ogden UT, Oklahoma, somewhere, and Virginia. So me and my companion are the only ones going foreign!

Lessons are kind of rough right now and long since they only speak in Spanish, but I enjoy learning, and I think I'll pick up on it pretty soon! Right now I only really know how to introduce me and my companion, the church, and say a simple prayer! But hey, it's only day 3...so that's pretty good I guess!! Yesterday, during one of our classes, our zone leaders were supposed to show up and tell us what we were supposed to be doing. But they didn't. Sooooo....after me trying to convince them into doing the thing we were actually supposed to be doing, we had a 3 hour long language study. Haha..it was actually really helpful. We have 3 red books that are our language studying books. One is big, one is medium, and one is small. So apparently, the teacher and the rest of the district decided to name them after Pokeman characters corresponding to their size. I thought that the Pokeman names that each of the books were given were the actual Spanish words for "big", "medium", and "small"....my district had a pretty good laugh about that. I guess I'm out of the loop!;)

Last night, we got to meet the mission President and his wife. President Price and Sister Price are amazing! Everyone here is so nice! Some elders are a little too nice...I've already been warned by some of the Hermanas in my zone of which elders to keep away from. That's sketchy! During President Price's talk, he told us that companions can do some weird things. He told us that his companion put his toothpaste in his mouth instead of on the toothbrush. It was a super funny story and Hermana Wilson got the giggles during it because apparently one of the elders in my district made a scrunched face that looked like a rat while he was laughing. She couldn't get that image out of her head, so I couldn't stop laughing either. So the President probably thinks we are just a bunch of giggling girls. OH well!;)

This morning we were able to do a session at the Provo temple! So that was really neat! I'm so grateful to be here on my mission! It's definitely hard, but I know that with the Lord I can do all things! He will help me through this time! I know that this gospel is the only true gospel..if it wasn't true...there wouldn't be so many 18 and 19 years old giving up 18 months/2 years of their life! I know that God hears and answers prayers! This is truly the work of the Lord, and He will help you if you're struggling. I have already needed so much help to make it through just 2 days! I hope all is going well for everyone!:) Love you all!

Love, 
Hermana Hoth





Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Wed, Feb 18, 2015 THE JOURNEY BEGINS!!

Stopping to say goodbye to Grandma Norma's house
Emily in front of Provo Temple






Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dumb



Aunt Deb, Mom, Dad, Katie, Harrison, Siser Hoth

  
Saying "see you later" to Mom--Have the time of your life Miss Em! (Dad and Em's good friend Ethan Hansen in background! How fun to run into Elder Hansen first thing when we pulled in to drop her off!)





Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Tue, Feb 17, 2015 Setting Apart


Emily Ann Hoth
Missionary Setting Apart
By Stake President Robert Henke


Sister Emily Ann Hoth, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, we lay our hands upon your head and set you apart as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints assigned to serve in the Canada Vancouver Mission. And we bestow upon you all of the rights, the privileges, the responsibilities, and assignments that pertain to serving as a full time missionary and as a representative of the Savior Jesus Christ. And we bless you at this time that as you now go forth as a full time missionary that you will feel the love and the strength of our Heavenly Father and of the Savior Jesus Christ who love you and who know you individually, who want you to be successful and will bless you and be with you during this time of service. You are well prepared. You have a strong testimony, and are worthy and able to serve. We bless you that you’ll find joy in this service, that you will be successful in accomplishing the mission that our Heavenly Father has for you. We bless you that this mission will be an opportunity to teach and to share the gospel message with those within your mission in Canada. And in particular we bless you with success in learning Spanish and being able to share the gospel message and to share testimony in the native tongue of those that you teach. That this will be a great blessing, that you will find joy and happiness in the service, that you will grow to love those that you teach, that you will love the people individually, that you’ll love their culture, their language, and the opportunity that you have to associate with them. We bless you with health and strength during this time of service. That you will be able to accomplish what you have been called to do as a missionary. We bless you that as you are obedient to the mission rules and living the gospel faithfully, and as you study the gospel each day and remain close to our Heavenly Father, that you will have the companionship of the Holy Ghost to guide and direct you as a missionary. This will be a great blessing to you as you follow those promptings in knowing where to go and who to serve, but also in what to say and when to share testimony. You will have opportunities as a missionary to witness the Holy Ghost speaking through you. That you will recognize that those words that you share, that the message that you give and those things that you recall will be because of the Holy Ghost talking through you. This will be a great blessing to you and to those that you teach. We bless you that you’ll be protected and watched over, that your family as well will be watched over and that you’ll serve as a wonderful example to your siblings and to other family members as you share your testimony through your example. We bless you that this opportunity to serve not only will bless the lives of those that you teach but will bless your own life. As you will have opportunities to learn to be with companions and hoe to care for others and for yourself, and the experiences that you have will go with you throughout this lifetime. And the friendships that you develop will be eternal. We bless you as you study Spanish, that you will be able to learn it, and enjoy it, and although challenging it will be a blessing in your life. We bless you that you will enjoy your service with the other missionaries, and that you will learn from them and be able to also teach them, that you’ll enjoy your association with your mission president and his wife and learn from them and their examples as well. We bless you with great faith as you go forth, that as you exercise this faith and rely on our Heavenly Father and rely on the companionship of the Holy Ghost to guide and direct you, and as you exercise this faith, you’ll witness miracles and have the greatest impact as a missionary. And these blessings we bestow upon you at this time in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


Harrison, Mom, Hermana Emily Hoth, Katie, Dad


Grandpa & Grandma Hoth