Bodily Reactions To 20 - Letter 5-2-16

Hello world. 

I´m now 20 so I am officially wiser and more mature... Jokes. We all know that I´ll never mature past the Disney princess and Winnie the Pooh stage of my life.

Thanks to all the birthday love! So sweet to think of me, you rascals. The week was lovely... well, until Thursday... but we´ll get to that in a second.

Tuesday my zone made me a beautiful chocolate nutello cake, which they promptly destroyed with my face (no complaints because it was delicious) and they sung me ¨Las Mañanitas¨ that is the happy birthday song here.

On my actually birthday (Wednesday) Hna Balboa made me pancakes for breakfast! Then members gave us pizza for lunch and we finished the day off with a mini chocolate cake also provided by my companion. 

It was a lovely day of celebrating and LOTS of eating so I didn´t feel too weird that my stomach was pretty bloated and I felt sort of sick by the evening. Now, to paint you all a lovely image of your favorite Hermana, I woke up at about 2 am vomiting violently, which did not stop until about 11 in the morning. Bye bye to all that yummy birthday food. I was in bed the entire day totally knocked out. This sort of disastrous sickness surely was a side affect of turning 20! My body is rejecting it! Buuuttt it also could have been a stomach infection caused by a mango from a street vender I´d eaten two days earlier, which ever´s likelier of the two.

Bodily reactions to my age or dirty mango, my stomach has been out of commission for the week. I´m still in the soup and saltines genre. I guess the cool thing is I´ve lost like 5 pounds of Sonoran food that I´ve gained.

Things have been pretty good with the work here. We´re working really hard and getting some investigators. It´s pretty hard getting them to church but we´re working on it. 

One thing I really love about our area is that the members here are really willing to help visit us. Some wards don´t have many members like that. I love working with members because we can establish more ties to the church with these investigators than just missionaries. And the extra testimony in the lesson really helps!

Hehee.. Just realized I spent way more time telling you about my stomach infection than the missionary work that I did this week. But I´m out of time so until next time.

Wait, no! UNTIL SUNDAY!!!! Yay for Mothers Day!!

Con amor,

Hermana Hauck

Rocky & Adrian Letter 4-25-16

Rocky and Adrian,

Hi world. So this is a happy week and a weird one, because I´m turning 20 on Wednesday… like, what!? I´m pretty sure I stopped maturing after 6 so that can´t be right but according to all legal and official documents I will no longer be in my teens. I´m actually half devastated by it but I´ll probably be over it in a week or so.

Aaaand a huuuuge SHOUT OUT to my favorite Papa in the world!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!! I love you so much. We´ll have an extra big party next year to celebrate. :)

Also this week I turned 10 months old in the mission... WHAAAT!?  I´m not sure which is weirder turning 20 years old or 10 months on my mission. They´re both equally weird, I guess. I will celebrate here with my Latinas eating loootttts of tacos :D

Anywho, this week has been pretty loco with training and opening area. Hna Balboa and I have gotten lost quite a few time but we´re starting to get it down. And we´re starting from scratch with investigators. It´s all very adventurous really. 

Our area is called Villa De Seris (thats ¨bee-ya deh seh-rees to you Americans) and it is really big. Actually it is supposed to be a biking area, but hermanas can´t ride bikes in Hermosillo so we´re on foot. And Hermosillo is hot, maybe around 90´s right now at noon, but we have much more heat awaiting us. GETTING PUMPED!!! I´m actually really happy to be back here in Hermosillo, with the sizzling sun, the mosquitos and all.

Hna Balboa is so cute by the way. We get along really well and we´re already great friends. Pretty much we were made for each other (ie Rocky and Adrian reference). We have a good time teaching together and joking around in our spare time. And it’s amazing because she speaks English and Spanish fluently! (I was slightly scared to train an American thinking I´d have to teach her Spanish).

That´s about it for this week. Thanks for the birthday email, I can´t wait to read them!

Con amor,

Hermana Hauck

Mi Hijita :) Letter 4-19-16

My Guaymas Hermanas

My Apartment

Kisses Goodbye

Mi Hijita :)

Apologies for being so late. I have just experienced one of the craziest weekends of my mission.

So it all started Friday. One of the converts of Hna Mendoza was going to do baptisms in the temple for the first time and invited us. We got permission from President to go with her the following day. After watching her convert do baptisms for her grandparents, we got to enter a session. Then afterwards we left and we found some of the Elders that work in the mission offices and persuaded them to spill the beans on our transfers. The news came that Hna Mendoza would stay in Guaymas and I would be coming to Hermosillo again to open area and.... TO TRAIN!!! 

I was immediately excited because we haven´t had hardly any new hermanas coming to the mission so I was thinking I might never train. I found out that there were only two new coming hermanas and the other missionary that would be training was going to be my MTC comp, Hna Ylst! It was crazy packing because our neighborhood didn´t have water the whole weekend so I couldn´t wash my clothes but with the help from some members I managed to get everything done in time.

It was pretty sad to say goodbye to the people of Guaymas, especially Miriam, Alicia and Mario. But I´ve been super excited to come back to Hermosillo and to welcome a new missionary!!

I got to the mission offices Monday morning and Hna Ylst and one of the greenies were there (Hna Ruiz from Ecuador). We had a small training meeting then President assigned Hns Ylst to the hermana that was already there and told me that my companion, Hna Balboa, was coming from the Provo MTC and we would pick her up later that day. 

We went to welcome her at the airport, but she didn´t arrive after waiting for an hour. President then found out that the offices had received an email telling us that her flight ticket was cancelled and she was still in LA. So I ended up staying with another companionship here in Hermosillo for the night and this morning. I basically had to live off of what I had because my suitcase and ALL OF MY BELONGINGS were in the offices. President took me to the airport again today where we welcomed one of his daughters and her family (who have come to visit) and my new companion. We´re in our new area now and we´re going to have to work really hard to get things going here quickly. But I´m really excited for this transfer!

My companion is DARLING!! Her name is Hna Balboa (but sadly her first name´s not Rocky) and she´s from Hawaii. Well, her Dad is in the military so they´ve lived all over really but right now they live in Hawaii. Her dad is from Mexico and her mom from Venezuela so she already speaks Spanish:) AND GUESS WHAT?!?!? Her sister is a missionary in St. George! You HAVE to find her. She´s in the temple right now and her name is Sister Balboa too. Say hi from us and that I´m going to do my best to take care of her little sister. I am really excited to have this time with her and I just hope that it will be a good experience for the both of us. 

One thing that was really cool is that Hna Robinson told me while they were assigning the companions yesterday; they were about to put me with the other sister. But then they said a prayer and read the description of Hna Balboa and the Spirit was ¨ strong and very clear¨ in telling them that she and I should be companions. And so that´s what they chose.

Did I already tell you that I´m excited for this transfer?!

Okay that´s about all I´ve got time for. I love you all so much!

Con amor,

Hermana Hauck

Ready to Harvest-Letter 4-11-16

Sonora Senorita

Guaymas Ocean

Hi, Hello!

I´m so glad to see that Dresden is well and in good old St. George! Looks like his homecoming was really exciting, yet peaceful and happy. 

A HUGE SHOUTOUT to Mandi for successfully defending her dissertation and becoming a doctor and a babe. Ha-ha! She already was a babe. 

This week had a bit of a let down. Miriam was going to be baptized this last Saturday, but she didn´t have the permission of her dad so we had a little meeting with him and we explained baptism and why we needed his signature and everything. He agreed and we went forward with all our plans and everything. Then on Thursday Miriam told us that her mom wouldn´t support her baptism and that she (Miriam) had decided she doesn´t want to be baptized because she´ll be moving back with her mom in two months and all of her family is Catholic and most likely won´t support her going to our church. We´ve tried sharing a few different scriptures and messages with her, but without success.  I understand why it would be hard because she´s so young and she´s investigating alone. I just hope that some of the seeds my companions and I have planted here in Guaymas will take root as she grows in years and maturity. I´m also going to do all that I can to learn her address in Michoacan (her home state) to send missionaries there.

In spite of that let down, we started teaching a really special family. I can´t remember their last name, but their names are Jorge, Norma and Manuel and they are super upbeat and happy and friendly. When we taught them they really loved and agreed with the message we brought. They immediately accepted to come to church with us, and even better THEY ACTUALLY CAME!! Now let me take a moment to explain how hard it is to get the people here to come to church. It´s like getting Mom to surrender her Dreyer´s chocolate ice cream or cutting Brad or Jeff´s hair when they were 13 or putting Millie in a doggie bath or trying to get Shaye to play Apples to Apples. The point I´m illustrating is it´s HARD to get the people here to church. But this beautifully joyous family came. It was fast and testimony meeting and they loved it. They told the bishop afterwards how much they liked his testimony. Then later in the evening we passed by their house and they were all working on fixing up their truck so they could drive to church the following Sunday, as they told us. That is what we call wheat white and ready to harvest! And I love teaching families because the Gospel is for families.

Well, that´s about it from this week. Transfers are this next Monday, and I have three transfers here in Guaymas so most likely I´ll be heading out. It makes me really sad because I love it here, but it´ll also be good to meet knew people in a new area. We went to the beach today so I could say goodbye to the ocean for possibly the rest of my mission. 

Until next week when the adventure continues with Hermana Hauck!

Con amor,

Hermana Hauck

OH WE´RE HALF WAY THE-ERE -Letter 4-4-16

OH-HH LIVIN´ ON A PRAYER!!

Sorry, just had the re-realization that I passed my 9 months a week ago and it´s still weird but awesome and scary.

HOW GREAT WAS CONFERENCE???!!! 

I´ll tell you right here right now that it was AWESOME!!! I loved the talks so much and will need to listen to and read them all again. I particularly liked the talks given by President Monson, Pres. Uchtdorf, Dallin H. Oaks and Jeffrey R. Holland. They were all so good!! I can´t wait to download them so I can listen again and again! 

So this week has been pretty great though we´re having some last minute difficulty with Miriam´s dad now. Her baptism should be this Saturday and now he´s starting to tell her he´s not sure he likes the idea of her being baptized. NOW?! Grrrr. I´m really praying that this is just a trial (like the opposition that Elder Oaks talked about) to help Miriam´s and our testimonies be strengthened. But I´ll let you know what the outcome is. Please offer extra prayers for her and her family this week that they can find peace in unity in making the best decision for Miriam. Also please pray for my companion and I that we can be tools in the hands of the Lord to help her be able to make this covenant with Heavenly Father.

I was really glad to be able to watch the news on Dres to see how he´s doing. I can´t help but smile and almost laugh to see how calm and positive he´s been about everything. Like the “fair to awesome comment.” Ha, Dres would say that after being involved in something so scary. But one thing I can tell you, as little as I know about the attack and Dres´s experience, I do know that he was protected. That I know because as a missionary I have witnessed first hand protection that can only come from angels. Missionaries are blessed with angels that are practiced in the arts of Kung Fu, Karate, Feng Shui and all of the above (He-he yes I know what Feng shui is). But all joking aside I have really seen protection from angels provided for my as a missionary and I know that Dresden, his companion and the other missionaries were also protected. 

Well, that´s about all the news, testimony and cleverness I´ve got for ya today. 

Tune in next time with your main girl, Hermana Hauck! 

Con amor,

Hermana Hauck

Prayers For Elder Empey-Letter 3-28-16

I'm Praying & Fasting for My Cousin Elder Empey

General Women's Conference

My BYU Roommate & her Family Visited Our Ward

Wow! I am lost for words. I had heard something about the bombing in Brussels this week but we didn´t hear much more than that. Much less that Dres was one of the Elders injured. It’s scary and shocking to hear about a loved one being involved and hurt in something like that, but I know that he and the other missionaries were protected. I will be praying and fasting for him and for the Empeys and for the other missionaries. 

I don´t feel like I have very much more to say. This week was really normal for me. 

I really enjoyed the General Women´s Conference on Saturday. And Easter Sunday was wonderful though we didn´t do much to celebrate. Crazy small world because the family of my roommate from BYU was in the sacrament meeting of my ward!! 

Also, I am so excited for conference!!! Can´t believe it´s already time for it. Something I did last conference and will be doing this conference as well is writing down a couple of questions beforehand and praying that the General Authorities can be inspired to answer them. Every single one of my questions were answered last time. I wanted to invite you to do it too!

Well, that´s pretty much all I have to say. I love you all so much and I will be praying for you and will be praying LOTS for Dres! Keep safe.

Con amor,

Hermana Hauck

F Is for FIRE that Burns Down the Whole Town-Letter 3-21-16

I Love Pugs!

Jumping on a Tramp

Yay! A package from home.

 Hello Fellow Humans

Wow so today was crazy! We had a zone activity today where we made carne asada and several elders in our zone decided it a good idea to help the coal grill out with gasoline. Before the zone leaders could get them to put the gasoline away, the entire container of gas they had caught fire. Of course they dropped the container and gasoline and fire went everywhere and the outer wall of our stake center caught fire. It began to spread super fast but luckily another elder ran for the fire extinguisher and other for buckets of water. They put out the fire, but then there was a ton of smoke. All of the church windows were open so Hna Payne and I ran inside to turn on fans. Ha-ha we felt like firefighters running to save the chapel. Thanks to Guaymas´ finest (Payne and I) the interior is free of damage. Sadly I can´t say the same for the outer wall... Nothing that can´t be fixed, but I´m a little worried that P-day activities will be a goner in this mission.

On a brighter note, I jumped on a trampoline yesterday. It wasn´t a very good one but I did a front flip for the first time in 9 months, so that´s pretty great! 

On an even brighter note, Miriam is doing great! She´s getting ready to go on a For the Strength of Youth camp this weekend with the Guaymas stake. We´re really excited for her to meet more youth and be able to learn lots and enjoy the activities. She really is such a doll. We watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of The Restoration this week and she got pretty into it:) Ha, afterwards she kept telling us how sad she was that people would kill a prophet. 

We have a couple of other investigators who are progressing, just a bit more slowly. It´s kind of hard getting people to go to church. There are a couple of churches in our area and many people tell us that it´s easier to go to a church that´s closer. You think they´d maybe prefer going to a church that´s true. 

Also, speaking of the churches in our area. We entered into a house this week to share the Easter initiative video and I think word got around the street that there were Mormon missionaries there because shortly after we arrived a pastor from another church came with his family to listen to our lesson. We tried to share the video, bear testimony and leave, but the bible bashing and ¨you worship Jose Smith¨ing began. We tried ending it peaceably but we ended up having to cut off the pastor with a bit of force to be able to close in prayer. One thing that I thought was interesting was the insistence this pastor used on using scriptures without understanding that scriptures are sacred only because they are revelations from God. Just because it says something someplace in the Bible doesn´t make it law. It´s written because it´s a commandment, it´s not a commandment just because it´s written…whoa that´s deep. Gold star for me! But do you get what I mean? We don´t observe any commandment or principle just because in a book it tells us that we should. We do it because the Lord asks us to. Sorry for spurting out ideas. And sorry if they don´t make too much sense. Just thinking in the email.

Well that´s about it from this week. Kind of crazy but awesome!

Con amor,

Hermana Hauck