Happy 4th of July!! (Preston Temple)

July 2, 2008

Hey guys!

I have some big news, at least for me : ) M & N the couple we've been working with since we've been here are getting married!! Our first time meeting them we talked about that because in order for them to get baptised they needed to get married, but M wasn't too sure about the whole marriage thing. So, we have been praying like crazy for him to have an awakening and deeper appreciation and respect for N. Well... he did this last weekend. So, we commited them to setting a marriage date by Sunday and they want to do it in the next month and then get baptised shortly after. They are so excited and I'm so excited for them!

We had district meeting yesterday and it was so inspiring! We were trained on becoming a missionary like Alma the Younger, being excited about the work and having faith in Jesus Christ. We've set a goal as a district to have 3 baptisms per companionship by the end of this month. It's crazy I know because other than M and N we don't really have anyone else. But we all feel good about that number so we are praying and working hard and just really trusting in the Lord because if we have enough faith we can move mountains! So, keep us in your prayers because we will find those people!

Last of all, for P-day today Sister McCoy and I are making 4th of July shirts and we're going to have a bbq with the elders. We've been craving a real hamburger for soooo long! We're going to wear our 4th of July shirts on Friday when we go to the zoo. By the way thanks for the earrings and the decorations. We put them up right away! And the stickers and my pants and shoes and the extra sweets : ) They were ace! I really appreciate it, but don't send me anymore packages because it costs so much!

Okay, Rebecca Ro... another scrape huh? Will you stop falling down all the time! What do you think you are, a monkey?! : ) Be careful around the pool from now on okay babe? I love you like a monkey loves a banana!

Christian... how was/is scout camp? My goodness I can't believe you can go to scout camp! When do you start 7th grade? Are you so excited?! Thanks for you encouraging words! It definitely makes a difference : ) I love you like a fat boy loves chocolate cake!

Katherine Elizabeth... So pam misses me more than you guys huh? That's great and yet sad that you don't miss me more than her... Sad day! No, I'm kidding. Sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun at Girl's Camp, especially with Pam. You'll have to send some quotes to me if you have extras. You know how I love quotes! Thanks for your sweet words. I'm glad I can be a good example to you. I'm making up for all the years I wasn't! I love you like Mom loves Pride and Prejudice! (Which is a lot because she does love it!)

Adam... yeah you really can't complain about me not writing you when you haven't written me! Dude, what's up that? And I only wrote Steve twice. I can't believe you got a scooter?! You have to take a picture with you on it because honestly I'm cracking up picturing you on one! Sorry... : )They have scooters all over the place here and they sound like motorcycles, but when you look over theres either this huge guy or an old woman on this little scooter. It makes me smile! Well, that's awesome that you are working so hard. Continuing saving up for the mission and try and write me at least once : ) I love you like Brian Regan loves snow cones! hahaha... i just made that one up!

Nicole... Dude, that's awesome that you have England time and CA time on your phone. Everyone should! : ) Okay, so here are the movies that I'm dying to see: Indiana Jones, The Chronicles of Narnia and the Kung Fu Panda! If you've seen either of them tell me and if not, you really need to see them! Man, I miss all the fun times going out to eat and seeing a movie with you guys! Have fun with Adam though! I love you like Dad loves Whose Line Is It Anyways? (haha... stupid I know, but it's all I got)

Mom... I love the pictures you sent! Thanks for the sweet package. But you might want to send packages to the mission home just in case. Luckily our neighbor had my package, but I would have hated it if it got lost. It sounds like as usual you guys are working really hard. I'm proud of you guys! I'm excited to hear about how girls camp was! And thanks for the little note about how I am as a missionary. It makes me want to continue working hard and having a positive attitude. I will read from Ether 3 and report next P-day : ) I love you!

Dad... I saved the best for last : ) I just got a letter from Sis. Lyon and she was telling me about Zach. That's crazy, but I'm sure she's excited to have him home. Thanks for the uplifting words and I will continue working hard while having fun! Tell the ward I love them and said hi! I hear Adam can ride your motorcycle pretty soon. How do you feel about that? : ) I love you tons!

Okay, now I have some gospel questions and send this to everyone because I could use all the answers I can get. Have them either email you guys back or write me ASAP. Just something that's been on mine and Sister McCoy's mind.

1. How could Adam be created in God's image when he was formed from the dust of the earth? I just can't seem to grasp that concept.

2. What exactly are the Seven churches in Asia? We were reading Revelations 1-2 and we were so lost. If any of you guys could enlighten me on these chapters that would be very helpful.

3. Why didn't God preserve the Bible? He preserved the Book of Mormon and he could have done the same for the Bible, but he didn't.

4. Why was the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Moses 3:9)? In Alma 42:5 it says that if they had partaken of the tree of life they would have lived forever, there would have been to time to repent and the plan of salvation would have been frustrated. God place cherubim and a flaming sword to protect, but why did God even have it there? It talks a little bit more about it in, I believe Alma 12, about how God said if they partake of the fruit they would die, but they wouldn't have if they had partaken of the tree of life, so it would have made God a liar in a sense.

5. Sister McCoy and I are training on Tuesday, the 15th in the Book of Mormon section in Preach My Gospel. Any ideas to make DM fun and inspiring would be greatly appreciated!

6. Last of all... Sister McCoy and I are not very creative and we have been trying to think of fun things to do when we go to ward members home to teach them. For example, for one family we did the Armor of God and they had to find everything they need for the whole Armor. It was pretty fun and got the little boys moving around. That's all we really have though. Any one have any good ideas? For families and just couples? We are also really trying to encourage the members to become involved with missionary work, but nothing is working. Any one have any ideas on what we can do because we are all running a blank?

Well... I love you all very much and you are always in my prayers and thoughts! Have a wonderful 4th of July and I can't wait to hear from you next Wednesday!

Love always,
Kels : )

Two Months!!

June 25, 2008

Hello my wonderful family,

Well, I'm just sending this email to you guys because I figure not everyone wants to hear from every week, so maybe I'll just starting writing a letter to everyone every other week. Unless there are people that are absolutely dying to hear how I'm doing then this is just for the family.
My goodness so many questions for me mom! I probably won't get to all of them. First off, let me reassure you I'm doing a whole lot better than last week. My and Sister McCoy are becoming good friends and I have really been feeling quite positive and upbeat, which is what I'm always trying to do : ) I've really felt all your prayers for me and I really appreciate that. Prayer is definitely more powerful than we realize! So... last Thursday me and Sister McCoy had an appointment with a potential investigator in the town centre, but she canceled on us, so we set a goal that we would not let anyone slip by us on the street. Unless we were both busy talking to someone : ) We were pumped and determined and guess what? We did it! As usual we both got a ton of rejections, but we were able to set up 3 appointments with people. Unfortunately only 1 is continuing with the lessons, but we planted seeds! I've found that there are times I might be a little pushy. They say they aren't interested, but I can't leave it at that. I try and find out if they have some belief in God and Jesus Christ and unfortunately most don't. I'm becoming quite a determined missionary though, which has really helped me out a lot.

We had a great experience on Saturday. A few weeks ago I met this lady on the street and set up a time to see her, but she wasn't home when we came and we set up a couple more, but she was never in, so we kindof gave up on her. Well, Saturday we had an appointment with a potential down the road from this lady (her name is T by the way), but she rescheduled with us. So we finished knocking doors on the street and decided we might as well just pop in and see if T was there. Well, she answered the door and we couldn't have come at a better time. She was really struggling. She's lived an incredibly rough life and still is and was just having a bad day. We taught her a bit of the Plan of Salvation and she was really touched when we talked about the Atonement because she had never really heard any of that before. The Spirit was so strong and we're going to see her again on Friday.

I've been reading in Alma for awhile and I'm on 43 right now. But I've really come to like Alma, especially as a missionary. My favorite chapter as of now is Alma 26. It's about Ammon praising God for all the success they had with the Lamanites and how they were able to bring thousands of souls unto God. I love vs 11-12. I'd love for you to read that chapter for family scripture study one night. Where are you guys at right now anyways? Are you starting the Book of Mormon over again or reading the Doctrine and Covenants? I've never loved reading the Book of Mormon as much as I do now. I just can't get enough of it.

Tell Micah I said congratulations and that I'm really proud of him. Brazil?! That is so awesome! Still don't have dinners with members, hence the reason for us having to spend more money at the grocery store. : ( The weather has been on and off all week. Saturday is was ridiculously windy and rainy! I finally got a real taste of England weather and no lie, it stinks! The raincoat is really nice though, I just need boots, but they don't sell them right now because its supposedly summer! Then Sunday was just really windy. It was so windy, Sister McCoy and I could hardly walk forward, no lie! It was absolutely insane. Then Monday and Tuesday was just nice weather, not too cold, not too hot. Now it's kindof windy and it looks like it might start raining.

No, I have not gotten your package yet, but I'm sure it will be coming soon. Thank you very much by the way!! Let's see... we have district meeting every Tuesday. It's just me, Sister McCoy, Elder Webb, Elder Newson (they both serve in the ward with us; they are up in the north part of Blackpool) and Sister Coffin and Sister Coleman who are in Lancaster. But they are no longer in our district anymore, so it's just us four for district meetings, which actually stinks because now we have to get a fellowshipper to come with us to the meetings. We can't even get them to come to our investigator lessons let alone our meetings. Our zone leader is Elder Turner and we just got a new one. Elder Turner is actually from Folsom! Pretty crazy, but he goes home in August. He's really a nice guy. We have a zone conference once a transfer. Other than than I really do see the other missionaries very often. We've only had one all mission conference and there will probably only be one more before I leave. By the way, Elder Webb is my district leader and he's a really great guy. He's from Utah and might be emailing you sometime because he asked for your email address. I'm not entirely sure why though. Elder Newson is from Las Vegas.

That's great that you are studying charity. I've been really trying to work on patience and faith! I definitely feel like I'm improving. Dad thanks for the sweet note. I don't want you to worry about me because I've really taken it to the Lord and I know that everything is going to be okay as long as I continue going to Him. This is why I love Alma 26.

One last thing... Sister Holtz absolutely loves you guys! Continute writing her! I write her as much as I can because we are planning on getting together after our missions. I would absolutely love to get Mel's emails. I haven't heard from her since she sent me a letter at the MTC. I want to hear how she is doing. Tell everyone in the ward that I said hi and I love and appreciate every single one of them!!!!

I love you guys so much and you are always in my prayers! I thank God for you guys every minute of the day and wonder how you guys are doing. I'm glad to hear things are going well... excect for the fires : ( I'm glad you are safe though. Keep on pushing ahead and remember to read Alma 26. You can in turn give me a chapter to read : )

Cheerio!
Love always,
Sister Kelsey Hogge

Transfers soon....

June 18, 2008

Hiya Family!

I just got the vignettes mom and I almost started bawling. It is truly inspiring hearing those stories and hearing how they never lost their faith in God. It would be so easy to give up hope because of all that they endured but they never did. There are so many times in our lives where we complain about being cold, having to walk so far, etc and then we say well, the pioneers had to walk such such miles and a lot of them were barefoot and freezing. It wasn't until I read those stories that it really hit me. We may not be living in the "pioneer days" but surely if they could endure walking thousands of miles in the freezing cold, pulling handcarts, some walking without toes and enduring so many deaths of family members and still having faith in God, then I can endure all my tough days. It won't ever be easy, but it will be worth it. So, that's what I've been working on. Developing my faith in God and really trusting in him and trying to realize "thy will be done".

It sounds like you guys had an amazing experience on the trek. I hope you wrote every single thing in your journal because that's something you won't ever want to forget. Those feelings you felt while trekking and how your testimonies were strenthened.

Things are going okay for me. We've had a lot of dropped appointments, so teaching wise, there isn't much happening. C won't be able to get baptized for another 4-5 months because we have to wait for his and J's divorces to be finalized and then they are planning on getting married right away. But he's still standing firm in his testimony and J's 100% supporting him. They are truly a great example to me. We're meeting with M and N and we're going to talk about eternal marriage. We talked with them about eternal families yesterday and I don't think they truly understand the significance and importance of that ordinance. Hopefully, they'll have that desire to get married about our lesson and we can plan for a date for them to get married. Keep them in your prayers though, because they are struggling as a couple. Things with C and going so so. She was supposed to come to church, but work called her in. She's supposedly getting baptized in 2 weeks, but she has yet to come to church. So, there's a possibility we might have to delay the baptism and see how committed she truly is. We told her we don't want her to be baptized and then never come to church. If we have to be teaching her everyday, so be it. We don't have any new investigators yet, but we are praying like crazy that we can get one. We are forever finding!!!!

Some funny/interesting stories:We were knocking doors the other day and we met a Viking! Yes, there are still Vikings on the earth. From what we could understand of him because he was missing all of his bottom teeth, he's like the Vikings back in the days. Pretty scary!As you know, we ride the buses everywhere and it just so happened that one of the buses we were riding, a drag queen was driving the bus. It was absolutely hilarious! She/he was very nice and we actually rode with she/he last night when we were coming home. Just never thought I'd see that.
Oh, transfers are next Wednesday. I'm 99.9% sure me and Sister McCoy will both be staying. So, it's the next transfer that I'll have bigger news. And the new mission president comes in June 30 (?) and will offically be our president July 2nd. He has a 16 year old daughter who will be joining them a couple weeks later.

So... me and Sister McCoy decided that we are going to make Fourth of July shirts because we'll be going to the zoo that day. Here's what we would like... if you find any cheap 4th of july earrings for both of us it would be much appreciated. Not cute, tiny ones though. If you do find some, send them in a letter to our flat (cuz if you send it in a package to the mission office we won't get it for another 3-4 weeks!) That's everyone's goal for the week! We want to be all decked out!

I'm going to do my best to get a picture cd sent to you this week and a couple of other things. I just can't find a place that will except our swipe cards. They all either take their chip/pin cards or cash and I can't exactly get cash right now. I'll keep trying though.

Love you all so much!

I'll try and be better about sending letters!

Love walsy (?)

The Lake Districts

June 11, 2008 - Still no new pictures :o(

Hey everyone!

I'll be short because I am limited on time today, but for P-day a member couple took me and Sister McCoy to the Lake Districts today from 10:00-14:00. It was beautiful! We just explored the little town of Grasmere where the poet William Wadsworth lived and wrote. You'll have to see if you can check it out on Google Earth. They want to take us again another P-day! They are a very nice couple.

Things are really picking up here in Blackpool from all of our street contacting and door knocking! We've picked up at least 10 investigators off the streets this last week and made appointments with 7 of them, but either they give us the "wrong" address and # or they decide at the last minute they are not interested, so we're trying to make it clear that if they are not interested to let us know because basically our time is precious and we have to walk everyone because the buses are unreliable. But we do have 4 appointments set up this week with potential investigators. I pray everything we'll work out and we'll be able to continue teaching them. We found 4 all on one street within 20 minutes! The Lord's has definitely had a hand in our work and I'm so grateful for that.

The investigators we have now are doing really good. C is still dated for baptism June 28, but we have to work out some Law of Chastity issues, so he may have to wait longer to get baptized. We just dated C for baptism July 5 and within a week she was done smoking and drinking! She's absolutely amazing and really has that desire to get baptized. She's coming with us to church for the first time on Sunday. Then we have a couple, M and N, who have such strong testimonies. They would get baptized this week if they could, but we're trying to work on them getting married and they still have some Word of Wisdom issues. Hopefully we can set a baptism date within the month. I'm praying like crazy for them!

Well, I have to go, but I want you all to know that I love you and I'm truly grateful for all the support you have given me. Continue reading your scriptures every day and praying and I know you will notice a big change in your day. It's the best!

Love always,
Sister Kelsey Hogge

I Stand All Amazed

June 4, 2008

Hello Family and Friends!

This week has been pretty good. Unfortunately appointments we set up last week, a lot of people canceled or they just weren't there when we came around, which meant we went out street tracting or knocking on doors. I think we spent more time doing those two things this week than we have the previous weeks. It's not easy because we are always getting rejected, even as sisters, and people are constantly saying they are content with their religion or they don't believe there is a God. But we are staying positive and we are definitely fertlilizing all of Blackpool : )

We had an encounter yesterday on the street with this man who knows about us, read part of the Book of Mormon and has studied other religions. Unfortunately it just led into him arguing with us for 45 minutes. He believes that because he accepted Christ he will be saved because Christ atoned for our sins. He doesn't fully understand the fact that we are required to do our part too. It's not just about believing in Christ, it involves acting upon what he as asked to do. We were very bold with him, telling him that he can't be saved just by doing that and he needs to be baptized, that is the only way. But he's a born again Christian and would not hear a word we said. I must admit I was very agitated, but then I realized how grateful I am for the knowledge that I have of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that we do have the full truth.

Things are still the same with our investigators. We're going to be dating two of them this week and beginning of next week, so I just pray they'll have that desire to be baptized and if they do we have some Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom issues to work out then. We're gaining the ward members trust back now. I guess we are really making progress in the ward and the members are seeing just how much we care about them and we really are there to serve them and move the missionary work along. But we have set up appointments to see 8 member families this week. Our goal is to teach every family all of the lessons in Preach My Gospel.
Me and Sister McCoy had the opportunity to teach Sunday School on the Sacrament. My testimony has increased immensely on the sacrament and the importance of partaking it every Sunday! We need to be there every Sunday so that we can partake of the Sacrament. The Sacrament is a time to renew our covenants with our Heavenly Father that we made it baptism. It's also a time to think about the Savior and what he did for us. I find a lot of times I get distracted, due to babies crying or just thinking about what we have to do that day or what's coming up this week. The Savior has asked that we partake of the sacrament to remember him. He bled at every pore and loved us all enough to suffer so intensely that we can not even begin to imagine the depth of that pain. He died on the cross and was resurrected the third day. He overcame sin and death for us. I like to contemplate during the sacrament how much he suffered just for me and it really proves to me each time just how much Christ loves us and is always there for us. I would admonish that everyone take that time during the sacrament to remember our Savior and what he did for us. Read scripture passages, read a hymn, but try and focus your thoughts on him.

I love you all so very much and congratulations to Andrew and Brooke on their calls. That is so awesome and I am so excited for you two. I know without a doubt you will be great and just remember to stay positive and that everyone is praying for you and you truly can do anything.

Love,
Sister Kelsey Hogge

President Uchtdorf's Visit,

May 28, 2008

Hiya to all my friends and family!

This last week has been really good for me! We've had some really good lessons with investigators and met some more ward members who are amazing. Sunday, me and Sister McCoy taught sharing time in Primary and it went well, considering how kids are. We played a game most of the time to get them moving. Wednesday night, we met with C, who has been investigaing the church. He's been taught the first 3 lessons, but we talked about the importance of baptism and confirmation. He accepted it really well and we've dated him for baptism June 28th! We have some things to work out and he knows the commandments are coming up, so that's what we are teaching tonight. I pray we will have the spirit with us and that he'll know the truthfulness and importance of what we teach him. He's an amazing man though.

Here comes the amazing part of the week though. Monday, President and Sister Uchtdorf came to our mission!! They talked to all of the England Manchester Missionaries! It was absolutely amazing! We met at Chorley, where the MTC and Preston Temple are, in the morning and we were going to take a group picture with President and Sister Uchtdorf. Obviously, the couples and sisters were in the front and me and Sister McCoy were joking about how we were going to save room for the Uchtdorf's. Well... the photographer comes up to us and asks us to make room for them!! My jaw dropped. Me and Sister McCoy were lucky enough to be sandwiched between them. He came over and I almost started crying because of the incredible spirit you felt. He truly is an apostle of the Lord.

President and Sister Uchtdorf spoke to us afterwards for 2 hours. Sister Uchtdorf spoke to us about how elders have to get rid of their girlfriends!! She said they are a distraction and that you can always get someone better when you return home. All the sisters were cracking up because we could think of at least 15 elders who had girlfriends back home. She's right though! She always talked to us about how we have a 24 hour prayer service for the missionaries at the temple. What a great thing that is too! Knowing that, has really helped me press on and endure. I have such a support system at the temples and back home! Thank you all! President Uchtdorf stressed the importance of having and needing the spirit as we teach and find people. He said you want you feel comfortable with the spirit and the you want the spirit to feel comfortable with you. The spirit is such an important part of a missionaries life, of everyone's life, actually. You need to make sure you are always worthy to have it with you!

I know this Church is true with every fiber of my being! I know that God loves us; he loves us so much he sent his only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ to atone for our sins. God knew what Christ would suffer through and what he would have to endure and I know God's heart was breaking, but he loved us enough to send him anyways. Christ suffered every pain, temptation, sin and sorrow (Alma 7:11-13) for every human soul. I'm so grateful to my Savior for all that he suffered just for me. Just so I can return to my Heavenly Father and live with him once again. We need to be repenting everyday, and striving our best to keep the commandments. Endure to the end!! I love being a missionary. It's the greatest thing ever watching people accept what you are teaching them and watching the spirit just completely take over.

I love you all and I'm grateful for all of your support and love! Continuing pressing on and feasting upon the words of Christ!

"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecution may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth nobly, boldly and independent, til it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, til the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

- Joseph Smith Jr.

Love,

Sister Hogge

Tea anyone?

Hello family and friends!!

It's been awhile since I've written! I moved to my first area last Wednesday, in Blackpool. Blackpool is one of the top tourist places in Europe (so I've heard) and it's definitely a party town. I love it here and it's really pretty, especially right by the ocean, but night time is dangerous and we have to stay away from the town centre because there are so many bad parties going on. My trainer is Sister McCoy; she's from Washington State and has been here a year come June. She's awesome and as the days progress we're becoming better friends and I'm learning a lot from her.

(Sister Hogge with her first companion Sister McCoy)

I absolutely love finally being out in the mission field. You know I find it all comes moderately easy for me. I mean I still have so much to learn and how we go about doing things, but I'm not afraid to do anything. I've really put my trust in the Lord and know that he will help me. So, I've been knocking on a quite a bit of doors, no success. Been bus and train tracting and no success still, but I have made people happy and have definitely planted lots of seeds : ) By the way, I ride buses everywhere and when we have to go to zone conference or somewhere outside of Blackpool we take the train. It's actually kind of fun, but we still have yet to get the bus system down and figure out where the stops are. My trainer and I are whitewashing into the area, so we're new and trying to meet ward members and reach the less-actives. Hopefully in the next week or two we'll have met everyone.

Right now we're teaching four investigators, that were from the previous elders. They've been taught for awhile, so they either need to start making commitments or we may unfortunately have to drop them. It's hard whitewashing because we don't know them and what they've been taught and what they are like because the previous elders didn't keep records of anything. So, basically we're starting from the beginning, but that's okay. I still love it and we are keeping so busy that some days we have to grab lunch and tea on the go. By the way, tea is dinner.

Well, I love you all, and I'll have more to tell you when we start picking up more people. I love this gospel with all my heart and I know without a doubt it's true. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ and it's so important we are repenting daily and striving our best to keep the commandments.


(Sister Hogge with President and Sister Jacobson)














Here's a link to the map of her area:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=blackpool,+england&ie=UTF8&ll=53.795702,-3.043599&spn=0.024031,0.058022&t=h&z=14&iwloc=addr