Mahal ko kayo!!

Dear Family,

So this week has been good!!  Nothing to exciting really happened so sorry I don't have to much to say!! But wow, it seems like everything is going crazy back home in America!!!  Oh wow... you guys never even told me that chessa was getting married!!!!  (Chessa is his cousin and she is engaged!  Oh, I did a few weeks ago, but he must have forgotten.)   Thanks for that!!!!  Wow!! I didn't even know!!  WOW!  I'm so happy that Brigham is getting out on a mission.  It's the greatest thing in the world for sure!  I still haven't gotten the package, but it might just be waiting to get picked up from our office.  So that's okay.  Don't worry, it'll all be okay(: 

So the work is going pretty good still here!!  We are just struggling to find some new people to teach so we are really focusing on finding recently lately.  So that's always such a fun thing to do because I get to lead it being the senior companion.  So I will start doing a lot of finding and I'm hoping that we can start getting some referrals from the branch that we are serving in!!  The Branch that we are in is alright.  They are really nice but the church is just basically mostly new to most of them.  So they don't really know what they need to be doing and they have a hard time getting the members to fulfill their calling.  So the branch president at most times just really seems stressed..  So we are also trying to find small ways that we can help and that we can serve him so that way his job will be a lot easier.  And they can help us with the missionary work going on in the branch!  So that's basically whats going on here in the branch!!

As for the area, it's alright.  Our investigator, Emil, it was just kinda sad.  He just left to go work for his family so he went to a different place so we just kinda lost that right away.  But that's okay just don't get down right??  Haha  But on the bright side, we have an investigator and she's a part member family.  Her name is May.  She's just a younger girl but she is really smart and comes to church every week!!  So we have her on date for August 8th.  And after that we did have one scheduled for august 29th, but that's looking a little unsure now.  So we will work on seeing what we can do to help him continue to prepare!  So the work is great and I still love being a missionary.  I can't believe how fast time is going by!!  I heard we got our itinerary (to come home in 2 months!!),  but I haven't seen it yet.  But I got kinda a run down of whats it's going to be like from the office elders because one is our batch so he called us and let us know!  hahah  Me and my kabahay (roommate), Elder Callister were kinda stoked.  I'm like ready to come home but at the same time I know I'm gonna miss this place a ton.  I'm loving being out here and just getting to know the people more!!  Remember that the church is true!!  Don't forget to pray as a family and have family home evening even if its simple!!  Just small simple things as a family it will help and you will love each other any more and the lord will bless us even more!! 

The church is so true don't you ever forget it!!

Mahal ko kayo!!

Ingat kayo lagi!!

Elder Hedman

2 Baptisms

Dear Family and Friends!!!

Woah..... that sounds like the busiest week in the longest time!!  I can't believe that Austin got home and that Easton got home!!  Holy cow... it's just like it was yesterday.  The time has flown by sooo fast!!  Wow!!  Tell them I said congrats to them!!  I can't believe Brigham got his call also!!!  I'm sad that I won't see him!!!!! That sucks so bad!!  But I know he will do great there in LA.  That's so cool he's serving in Los Angeles, California!!  Tell Jesslyn I said good luck on her mission.  I'd like to have her email so I could email her if that would be okay!!!

So this week, first I'll answer your question about the package.  I haven't gotten it yet.  But I'll give the office a call and see if it got there so I can get it soon because I'm low on money.  hahaha  So I'll do that later today!! 

So the work here was really good this week!!  We met a new investigator and his name is Emil.  And he is really awesome.  I didn't really think too much of it at first just cause hes a youth.  I don't like teaching a lot of youth cause I just don't feel like they take things to seriously here.  But then I was shocked when I walked into church and then like 3 minutes later he came walking in with 2 of our recent converts!!  They brought him to church with them and that was so awesome!!  We got him to accept a baptism goal date for August 22.  So that's pretty exciting!!!  That was a great highlight of the week but of course one of the best highlights of the week was the 2 baptisms that we had!!  Tatay Virgilio and brother Mark Anthony got baptized this last Saturday and it was so awesome!! 

 

It was funny because Mark Anthony loved it and asked if he could do it again.  And it was just kinda silly but he's such a smart guy!!!  And then probably one of my favorite things was hearing tatay's testimony after his baptism!  He was so excited to become a member of the church and he just bore a straight incredible testimony of how his whole life he has been just looking for the gospel.  And then when he first met the missionaries he said that just it felt so different and he felt like he needed to follow everything that they were going to teach him.  So he did that, and now he is a member of the church and he says that he couldn't be any happier!!  All his family as in brothers and sisters are members also so they are really excited for him because he has now also become a member of the church and so that was just a great thing to see.  The branch actually did show some support for him when he showed up for his confirmation.  So that was really great.  I think he felt he was really welcomed into the church!!!

So I would say those were the good highlights of the week!!  We did have transfer week this week but nothing happened to me and my companionship.  So that was a little shocking but I had a feeling that nothing would happen to us.  So that was good.  Interviews with our president haven't happened yet but I'm sure they are coming up in the following weeks.  So I'll let you know about that when that comes!!  Thanks for your guys support and I love you guys!  Remember that this is the greatest work there is and to put the gospel first in our lives and it will bless us more then you can even know!!!

Mahal ko kayo!!

Ingat kayong lahat!! (;

Basketball and a sweet blessings

*** the pictures in this post are from a Missionary Mom that went to pick up her son in the Angeles mission.  They kept running into Elder Hedman so she sent me some pictures.  How awesome is that?!

Dear Family and friends,

So this week was a basically a normal week!!  Nothing too exciting really happened.  Just the normal missionary work!!  But I can't believe everything going on back home!!  That's so exciting that everyone is getting back from their missions and everyone is leaving!!  I'm glad that Jessie went to church.  That's so awesome!!  So important!! 

So tell Brigham, good luck for his call.  I hope he gets called to the Philippines because that would be legit.  haha...So the mission here is going really good!!  This upcoming week is transfer week.  So my batch is now officially the oldest American batch in the mission.  It's so crazy.  I can't believe how fast the time is going by!!  We just have 2 transfers left!!  I'm kabahay's (room mates) with an elder from my batch, Elder Callister.  We were talking about it and it's so crazy how fast everything is going by and just working in the mission and seeing everything change.  It's still the greatest thing in the world though for sure!!  The mission is the greatest thing!!

So as for the work here, we are getting some great success still!!  We do have 2 baptism this upcoming week on Saturday.  One is a part member family and he's just a little child.  But the other is an older man who just has been looking for the gospel and just never found it.  And then we found him and he has just been so obedient to everything that we have shared with him and helping him come into the fullness of the gospel.  He has dropped every problem that he had and is actually trying to help the other people in his family and his kids follow the teachings of the church even though they don't want to become members.  So that is really cool!!!  It's still probably the greatest feeling ever, seeing people change their whole life style to just put the life in harmony of the teachings of the church! 

Shocking.  He's playing basketball.  He never did that at home (insert sarcasm here!)

In other news, we have interviews coming up with president soon and I'm looking forward to that.  That's always one of my favorite things.  I get to ask some good questions and just get some good insight!!  I really love our mission president.  He is just such a good leader and really inspires you to be better and try to become a better member and live the gospel more fully... so I've really enjoyed that!! 

Remember the church is true and to follow all it's teachings!!  Tell Sydney I said congrats on her first temple trip!!  I can't wait to go to the temple with her when I get back!!! I love you guys!!

Ingat kayo!!

Mahal ko kayo!(:

Happy Belated Birthday America

Dear Family And friends!

So, first off congratulate everyone that got their calls for me!! Tell them I'm excited for them!! And tha'ts so sick that Brigham applied for a mission!!  That's sooo awesome.  I'm so happy for him!!  Hopefully I'll be back before he heads out.  That would be so awesome if i could see him before he leaves!!  Dang!!

So this week was just like a normal week for missionary work!!  Sorry I don't have to much to report about!!  We have 2 baptisms coming up the next week probably on the 18th.  So that's really good news and we are working hard to try and get them ready for their baptism!!  Sorry if I like run out of stuff to say.  I just never know what to say. haha  I'll probably plan better emails next couple weeks!!  But something that was spiritual this week was that we were talking about how the gospel is like a gospel of becoming a better person and just living a life more like the saviors life.  And I was thinking back to how much that I have changed while I have been here out on the mission.  And I was like dang - the mission really does change people!!  I do stuff now and I feel like I have a lot more patience then when I did when I first got out on the mission!!  I can't believe how much that I have learned in the last 2 years.  I feel like it's coming so fast.  I  have like 3 months left and I feel like I'm still new here it's so crazy!! 

I've loved learning more about the gospel for sure while I've been out here on the mission.  I hope to continue that on even when i get home!!  I was thinking about it the other day.  I feel like I know the book of Mormon so well and just the doctrines in it.  Plus I have learned so much about the bible at the same time!!  I can recall so many verses just like off the top of my head and basically feel boss!!  haha  It's so fun.  The gospel is just such a great thing and I've loved seeing myself change and thinking about the things that I used to do and seeing the big change in myself!! 

A goal that I have been setting for myself is just to work hard and push myself to the very end!!  I want to be super diligent and get my goal of 30 baptisms for the whole mission!!  Right now I'm at 26 so I have to work hard and not let it slow down in order so I can achieve all the things that I think do to reach my goals!!  So I'll let you know how that's going!! Remember that I love you guys and its a great time to be a member of the church!!

Ingat kayong lahat!! mahal ko kayo!!

Elder Hedman