Truly Blessed

Finally have all my tags! Officially an Hermana! 

Goodness I think it's been 3 months since I wrote! I can't believe it was only 7 days ago. There is just so much in between that it doesn't seem possible to have been just a single week! 

It's been a pretty stressful week. I felt like I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Maybe it's just because I'm trying to get the hang of being a Sister Training Leader. Actually it's definitely that!  Just a little bit of pressure. I think I need more inspiration than I can give to these sisters but hey, the Lord's on my side! 

Ok let me hit on a few highlights for this week:

1 Women's conference:

How incredible was that! The General Relief Society president, Sister Burton, came to speak to the women. There were 10 stakes there and it was so awesome! Also, Elder Keith Giddens, an area 70 spoke. It was so full of inspiration and the Spirit. Sister Burton shared some amazing inspirational stories of women throughout the world and then gave some time for the women in the room to share their stories. It was a good reminder to be grateful for what we have! I've been stressing out lately about some things and it was just what I needed to put my head back on and get to work. One thing that Elder Giddens said that really stuck with me was, 

"You're doing better than you think you are."

Ahh. I just felt this wave of relief when I heard that. Too often I don't give myself much time to see how far I've come and I'm 100% positive that I'm not the only one who does that. Take a deep breath with me, ready go! See? Look we're doing better than we think we are. At least we're breathing! 

2. Answered Prayers

Man I guess this week was pretty stressful because I realize this highlight is also about something that gave me comfort this week. One afternoon we stopped back home for lunch and I was feeling super inadequate- as you often do as missionaries. Of course, that's only a tool of the devil. But anyways I was having a rough time. Looking for comfort I opened my scriptures and prayed. I thought of all my favorite comfort scriptures- John 14:18, John 16:33, Proverbs 3:5-7, D&C 6:36... but as I read them, it just wasn't cutting it. I wasn't getting what I felt like I needed. Then quickly I felt something urge me to read my Patriarchal Blessing. For those that don't know what this is, click *here* to find out more. As I read the words on that page for what may have been the 100th time I found a distinct promise that was a direct answer to all of my worries as of late. It was so specific and one of the most profound and unbelievable answers to a prayer I have ever received before. My friends, the church is true! Members of the church go read your blessings this week, I promise you won't regret it! 

3. Church Miracles

One of the hardest things in missionary work is getting investigators to church. It's a little challenging here in Chamblee too because the chapel is so far away. I think I've mentioned before that the boundary for the Chamblee branch here is the largest boundary for any ward or branch in all of Georgia! Crazy right? A lot of people we teach don't have cars and a lot of members don't have cars.. it's a pretty tricky task needless to say. Of course anything is doable in the work of the Lord. And He was so on our side this week as we were incredibly blessed to see 7 of our investigators sitting on those wooden pews, soaking in the good word of God. It was amazing.  And each one of them stayed for all 3 hours. Hallelujah!! I wanted to do a happy dance right there in sacrament meeting but of course maybe that would've been a little inappropriate.

The hand of the Lord was so present this week! I think He's always present in our lives we just need to give Him more credit and glory. It's such an incredible opportunity to see more clearly the hand of the Lord in my life and to watch His hand work for others. He's all around us and He's looking out for us everyday! Something I'm really starting to understand is that even with your eyes wide open you can miss seeing the small miracles done by the Lord. More often than not it takes closing our eyes and getting on our knees to recognize how the Lord has truly blessed us.

Thanks for keeping up on my adventures! Life is well here for me. I feel the support of your prayers and cannot thank you enough! Love you all!

Hermana Hawkins

We had a Dia de Naciones activity with the ward which was AWESOME.

Lots of yummy food and dancing and music and fun! Funny brother/sister moment.

Everything Happens for a Reason

 sister training leaders!

Well Hola familia!! You're all family to me :)

Good news! Our car is back! Hurrah! It was back the beginning of this week and it's so beautiful now. Life and the car.

Other news! No I didn't get my visa... but an elder in my district did and he leaves tomorrow!! Crazy! 2 other visa waiters got their visas in my mission and are leaving tomorrow. I've been out longer than 2 of them but one of them has been out for over a year! SO excited that they're all going! On the case of my visa I have no news. Apparently they are moving faster with the visas, but that's what I heard 3 months ago haha. We'll see! 

Chamblee missionaries (elder saunders in the middle is heading off to brazil!!)

Goodness I just have so much news! More news is that I have a new calling. Sister Vasquez and I just got called to be Sister Training Leaders. For those of you who don't know what that means, basically we're zone leaders for the sisters in my zone. We'll do exchanges with them, give trainings in zone conferences and travel to other areas. I thought that I would be on the down-low for this kind of position since I'm not a permanent Georgia Atlanta missionary but c'est la vie! It's a little, well maybe more than a little bit of pressure so a few extra prayers would be appreciated! :)

So I guess the Lord does have more in store for me here in Atlanta. And apparently He thinks I'm prepared for this calling too so here we go!

Wanna hear a cool little miracle? Eva, our investigator, is really really excited to be baptized soon. She's getting over a few challenges but she should be ready in a few weeks! The other day, Sister Vasquez and I were worried about her and weren't sure how well she was progressing to her baptism. So we went over to have a lesson with her just this past week. As we read from the scriptures and shared the things that we had planned, she stopped us and told us she had something to tell us. Sister Vasquez and I looked at each other and immediately were worried-that's never a promising statement! Eva then pulled out her phone and told us of a friend she had been texting the other day who complimented her on her faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He went on to ask her what church she goes to. Her response was this, "Well I used to go to a Christian church. But now I've found the real church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

Doesn't that just make your heart happy? Testimonies are so strong and hearing them from your investigators is probably the best feeling in the world. The beauty of one born testimony simply adds a link to another.

So we're pretty excited about Eva. She'll be baptized and we have the faith for it to be in this next transfer. She's working so hard and desperately wants to be a part of this Gospel. It's been amazing to see her testimony grow and watch it all click for her. Fun fact, she calls us "mis hermanitas misioneras" (my little sister missionaries) and "mis angelitas" (my little angels). She's the sweetest!

I'm a bit short on time today but I'll leave you with a little thought that I have learned this past week. Lately I've been trying to read all of the Book of Mormon in Spanish. But we had exchanges this past week with our Sister Training Leaders and I forgot mine at my apartment. The sisters ended up having a French Book of Mormon so I figured why not?  Incredibly I could understand it well enough even as I read in the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi. As I studied, referencing back and forth between my English and French copies, I discovered something very interesting! I found much more meaning and a better understanding of the verses. Some words translated to different words like "bind" in English turned into "envelop" in French. I felt as though I was really gaining a new understanding of the Book of Mormon. I'm slowly starting to realize one reason why God put me here to learn these languages. I think He knows I need it and finally I'm beginning to catch on. It's helped me understand that learning a language isn't just the ability to speak different or converse with different people. It's not just adding knowledge but a deeper understanding to what you may already know.

Everything happens for a reason. And I'll tell you that even though we don't often know those reasons, God does. And I trust God more than I trust myself... so I'll just go right ahead and stick to His plan.

Thanks for the support, prayers, loves, emails, letters... everything!! Every little thing has helped me in the toughest of times on my mission and I can't thank you enough for all the help! Love you!!

Hermana Hawkins

 Crazy Georgia and the rain. Half the sky was completely sunny and
blue and the other was imminent storm clouds.

We Walked and Walked and Walked and Walked....

So.. I didn't tell you last week that this past week Sister Vasquez and I have been... wait for it... wait.... WALKING!

Yep. We had to turn in our car for repairs... we were told 3 days we'd be walking! I know I know... it's nothing really. That's basically what most missionaries all over the world do. But listen, here's my theory, ready? This is just a "practice run" for Brazil. That means it's gotta be close right?! Haha, one can dream!

In any case, I was unable to document the first day we had walking... but I documented the other days for proof that we were actually walking everyday...

Day 2
 

Our first full walking day started early Tuesday. We headed out, ready and excited to go. 

I found it a perfect opportunity to test out my walking shoes!! But they weren't as fitting as I thought. 

Who would have thought that in GA we'd run into some strange problems. Like cool hidden trails between apartment complexes that don't quite connect...

We planned our day accordingly and to our benefit, there are about 5 complexes nearby all in walking distance. All we had to do was 

climb over sticks...

...walk across a ton of grass...

...and a few streets...

...and a highway! 

Just kidding... we went under the highway. There was a really nice breeze the whole day and we were super happy to be out teaching. We found lots of people to talk to and then when it came time we returned home back across the grass, highway and complex trails and into our beds where we slept oh so well. 

Day 3:

Happy and ready, off we went, out for round 2 My test trial shoes went poorly the day before with a few blisters and sore ankles. And after learning of the trail problems, I came prepared this time...

Again the same thing as the day before but this time we had a few appointments. We went traveling from person to person until the end of the day when we could barely take a selfie. 

Day 4

With smiles and the knowledge that we'd get our car back that night, we set out again.

Ready to roll. It turned out to be as hot as Africa (haha oh trev) and I got a little bit sunburned :(. But we took break in the shade often for recovery and also to attend to my bandaids... which I've been using tape since I sweat bandaids off too fast and they're expensive.. gross I know. 

But also we stop in the shade to figure out where to go...

...and to take a few ridiculous selfies of course...

And we went on our merry way. Though the heat slowed us down incredibly. As the day went on, in what seemed like a matter of seconds, the clouds turned dark, and BOOM. POURING rain. We had to wait for it to settle before walking but nothing stopped us!

...except for maybe my shoes... 

But to our dismay the storm was only a foreshadow of events to come. When we went to pick up the car, they told us it wasn't ready. We were pretty bummed. Lots of hopeful appointments and plans were cancelled. And we really didn't know if we had enough food to feed ourselves for 3 more days...BUT we hiked up our pants (uhh, skirts?), rolled up our sleeves and went to work- trusting that God would make it work.

Day 5

And we were back, walking again. 

Maybe a little less excited than the first day but happy to be on the Lord's errand. We sort of dropped off this picture craze because believe me, you wouldn't have appreciated those. It was so hot and we were just a mess. Honestly I'm not sure why anyone let us in.. But the work is all about DOING, so onward we went.

Day 6 SUNDAY!

Oh thank goodness we found a ride to church! Church is only a half hour in the car but on foot?? Oh man. But sadly after church Sister Vasquez wasn't feeling well. So I made lots of calls and appointments while she tried to rest. Could have been the rain/weather... who knows.

Day 7 Labor for the Lord day!

This day our mission made it a goal to go out and bless as many people as we can. Which means that we were to offer kneeling prayers with as many people in their homes as possible so we could bless their family, friends and pray for any of their needs. At times it was difficult to get to houses we were inspired to go to..

But we travelled on and though it seemed even hotter than the days before we pushed through. Until the floods came...again. And by the end of the day, we looked something like this (pic of our feet up on the table).

You know it has been a pretty interesting experience to say the least. I really felt like I got to see Georgia! You miss so much when you're in the car... especially when you're the driver. There's just so much around! We found fun things every day... an elephant to go with my elephant shirt...

A big bottle of disgusting soda (gross soda... actually a member came and dropped it off),

 ...a cool road mirror...  

...and an empty,scary apartment. Lastly, of course, what's a journey without cokes to share with your BFF.

So we still don't have a car... but I think so far I'm passing the "Brazil Test."  We'll see what God thinks when I get the car back?

From the last few days though, I think my favorite part was just standing out a little bit more. Have you ever seen missionaries walking around in the streets before? I don't know about you but I LOVE seeing that. Back home I once saw missionaries walking in Lambertville, NJ and it was the coolest thing. It's just so neat to know that even when we don't feel like we're being noticed, we are. I think there's an old saying something like it takes 7 touches to really be influenced by someone. And maybe just seeing us in the streets is a touch! One of the first things I love asking people is if they've seen missionaries like us before and to all those that saw us this week they can say they have!

You never know the kind of effect you have on people... especially missionaries. We just feel like we're dumb 19 or 20 year old kids. But it's us the Lord has trusted to do this calling... to fulfill His purpose to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39) And well, since that's the case, we will go and do it!

Thanks for keeping up with my adventures! Many more to come! Love you all!

Sister Hawkins

Guess someone didn't like this breakup song!

Note from the Mom: Sister Evans from the Douglasville area sent me some FABULOUS photos of Sister Hawkins and Sister Pribyl. Here's a link to the pics if you want to see more photos of my squiggly-browed girl! Click *HERE* THANK YOU SISTER EVANS!!!

Be Celestial Now

a cool pc of my "Haz lo Justo" ring! Pretty snazzy huh?

What a week it's been! I kinda feel like this week was a month long because we've been so busy! So much to do!!

Another week of teaching, finding, teaching, serving and more teaching. The work is going well. Slowly it's been picking up so we're excited about that. We're teaching lots of new people and the members of our branch are helping more too. You know, this work moves so much faster when it's not just the two of us!

As I'm thinking about all those we're teaching, I realize that so many of these people will be baptized. Whether it's in my time in Atlanta or later--I know not. But I'm ok with that! Being part of the process is exciting and just as rewarding! I love teaching and I love helping others learn and understand what I've come to know. 

We had interviews with our mission president this week- President Harding. Before our interview he gave us a little questionnaire that he call a C-T scan. Like a CAT scan but it's called the "Celestial-Telestial" scan.

Basically it was a check-up scan to see where you think you'd go if you died today. You would think that missionaries would all say celestial since we're following the Lord's will and dedicating all of our time to His work. But it's interesting how inadequate we sometimes feel. Really the root of the problem is that we're just not perfect like the Savior. I've seen this problem more in sisters too since we're usually harder on ourselves when we don't meet our expectations. But when you think about it, imperfect people is all the Lord has ever had to work with. 

If there's one thing that I took away from my interview and President Harding's council, it's to "be celestial now".

Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel is one of my favorite chapters. It's basically a "how-to" guide to being celestial. Developing Christlike Attributes is a lifelong quest that requires patience, repentance, humility, diligence and prayer. But it's the key to moving forward, to relying on the Savior and changing your habits to refine yourself as the person God has designed you to be. And of course all is solely for preparation to stand before God at the last day. As my buddy Neal A Maxwell says, "Each of us will find that what we made from the ore of our experience is character, and that character, unlike so many other earthly things acquired, is portable."

Choosing to be celestial now is living a celestial life. That is a hard task to undertake. But we must live celestial lives to be endowed with celestial power.

Sorry I don't have much more for you this week! I just thought I'd share a few of my random thoughts with you! I wanted to thank all for your prayers and support. I truly can recognize it at the moment I really need it! Thank you!

oh! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! don't you dare edit this out, mom!

*** Don't forget to wish my mom a happy birthday and tell her how amazing she is! :)

Love,

Hermana Hawkins

The Mission Coaster

Guess what!? It's my birthday! Well in 2 days. In missionary time, I'll be 9 years old. It's comparable to dog years-- each month is equivalent to a year. I will have served half my mission by this Wednesday! HALF OF MY MISSION. I swear I only blinked and found myself here... how did this happen??

I went back and read my first journal entry here in GA and also the MTC and I can remember every entry like it was only yesterday! The reason behind that is because still, at this point in my mission, I feel like a new missionary. Even though I'm halfway through, I feel like it was yesterday that I said goodbye to my family at the Philadelphia airport.

I've been thinking about why I still feel like a new missionary and I think I've come to a conclusion. It's not because the time flies but more so that there isn't a way to really get "the hang" of being a missionary. You can't really get into a rote pattern of doing missionary work... and if you do, I don't think you're doing it right!

You can get the hang of some things. For example you can get in the hang of working out every morning or writing in your journal at night. I guess you can even get in the hang of waking up at 6:30 every day....but I don't think God has blessed me with that strength still. I think most would assume that it'd be easier to wake up after 9 months of doing it every.single.day. But no. I swear it's just as hard as it was when I started in the MTC. The reason being not because I don't want to get up and work, but that I don't want to get up and work OUT. Working out that early in the morning will never motivate me to get out of bed. Goodness gracious.

BUT what I call "the meat", (the teaching, finding, humbling, learning, praying, etc) of missionary work is a practice that you can't swing. You constantly change, constantly push yourself until you sometimes feel you're at your breaking point- mentally, spiritually, or physically. It's a roller coaster ride which never stops.

Of course my family knows I LOVE roller coasters but let me tell you a little bit about the Mission Coaster. The Mission coaster is so fun- it's one of the fastest in the world! It has amazing peaks where you feel like you're practically flying to the moon and you can almost see the entire world. At the top you feel like nothing can bring you down. Really, it's these peaks on the mission where you feel like God has just called you to enjoy every second of the ride. 

Then there are parts of the mission coaster that often feel like you're the one pushing the cart up the incline and trying to catch up with it on the way down. Parts of it haven't been updated so it's made of wood and rickety. You know, those roller coasters that are super bumpy and jerk your head side-to-side until you get a headache? Yeah I hate those too. Even at that point of the mission coaster, and in all those rickety old roller coasters, you get to the tippy top of the hill and the cart just sort of coasts for a second. Your head stops spinning,  you enjoy the scenery, you see how far you've come and think, "Wow how did I get up here?" And you realize then that you weren't alone. 

Of course the mission coaster is pretty comparable to Space Mountain at Disney world. It's all in the dark since you never know what's ahead. But even in Space Mountain there are these little lights that look like stars in the sky. Those little lights are just gifts from God along the way-comfort in times of need and guidance to light bits of the track. And even though you can't see, at least you know the stars are always there and they're nothing but beautiful!

Boy do I love the Mission Coaster. Lots of ups, downs and loop-Dee-loops and never have I once wanted to get off. I look at the things I've achieved, the friends I've made and the knowledge and testimony I've gained thus far and wouldn't trade it for the world.

I'm excited and ready for round 2. Thanks for pushing through with me this far! Fasten your seat belts....here we go!

Love you all!

Hermana Hawkins

This is me cutting my massive watermelon with my tiny knife. luckily watermelon is fairly easy to cut!

Sorry it was so humid that my camera couldn't take the picture well.
But this was us at the temple!

Blessed are the Meek

Georgia peach tree! Thought I should get a classic Georgia pic.

HI family and friends!

Well this week was a pretty bumpy week. Lots of little trials that Sister Vasquez and I had to push through with our investigators. The Lord is just testing their faith and the Adversary is working hard...really it's the same old same old!

Language update (for the curious): I can almost understand everything. Certain people are harder to understand- like Dominicans because they talk really really fast and shorten all their words. What I'm lacking is my vocabulary and grammar. That will come with more time and study. Really, the past tense is the bane of my existence. It's so easy on paper but in the moment I stumble a lot. Practice practice practice.

My letter will be a little short today... sorry :/. I have a few things to do on the computer that need to all happen within the hour I have while here at the library. But before I go I'll share a little spiritual message that I've been pondering over recently. It's on the topic of "meekness". I think I have a lot more to learn about it but as I think of the tests that we found this week combined with any tests I've had on my mission, this word always plays on my mind.

For those that may not know, meekness is the ability to "endure injury with patience and without resentment." Well goodness! That's gonna take a lifetime! I think the Lord will forever test me on that one.

I've come to understand more about meekness as I've come across others who've endured their trials much better than I could. Like for example someone going to jail for 10 years in a foreign country because they only looked exactly like a most-wanted murderer. Or coming to the US by yourself at the age of 15 to work and send money to your family back home. Or maybe even having your whole family reject you when you follow your heart and the things you know and love to be true.

I guess the Lord has different ways of giving His gift of meekness. Those people who I look up to are the ones who have courageously endured their trials with patience....with meekness.

I love this quote from Neal A Maxwell which says,

"Human suffering does not automatically produce sweetness or character unless meekness is present. Meekness is the mulch that must go in the soil of adversity in order for empathy to grow and in order for character to grow. Jesus could not have become the most empathetic person had we not been the most meek person."

(right-click on the image to save and print!)

I love the example of the Savior. The list I made earlier should really include the Savior and His suffering which is the most extreme above them all. How important it is to be meek like the Savior in order to grow and help others along the way. My favorite lines in the Battle Hymn of the Republic is in the last verse, "as He died to make men holy let us live to make men free". Let us live with patience our afflictions to free others from burden and bondage just as the Savior did in His meekness. 

Live meekly and let free! Also, march on in truth.

Ok, sorry for the lame-o post. I promise I'll do better next time haha. Thanks for keeping up with me on my mission! I hope all is well!

Love,

Hermana Hawkins

Me and elder williams from my MTC district outside the library!
Such a happy reunion! 

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

Susan Taylor!

Wow what a week! If I could sum up this week in one word it would be: change.

It started off on Wednesday with transfers. Two of the missionaries in my district finished their mission and went home! Our district leader was also called as a Zone Leader in my last area so to replace all of them we got 3 new missionaries AND another set of Spanish elders. So now, there are 6 missionaries (including myself) serving in our Branch. That's what it's supposed to be actually since it's such a huge area. Once there were 4 sets of missionaries but it's back to 3. AND GUESS WHAT???? Elder Williams who was in my MTC district is serving in my branch!!! Everything about the MTC makes me happy so it's awesome to see him again! Maybe eventually we'll go to Brazil together. We did, in fact, sit next to each other on the way to Atlanta so we're really just trying to keep tradition.

Me and elder williams and his new comp. Can't believe we're serving together!!!

So out of the 6 missionaries in my branch, 1 is a brand new missionary from the Mexico MTC (I told him he was lucky and not to worry because he probably knew more Spanish than I did). And 3 others are visa waiters for Brazil. Oh Brazil. 

I think there's a written rule somewhere that change always brings surprises. At least it seems like that to me. Here are a few surprises that happened this week

Surprise #1

I lost my planner. So sad. A missionary's planner is about as important as getting dressed in the morning. I've been so lost for a while but luckily a new transfer has started and I'll start a whole new planner, phew!

Surprise #2

Our zone leaders called us the other day asking us to train the youth at a "mini MTC" youth conference for the stake. Just a few other missionaries went but they called us the night before and asked us to prepare lesson plans for 120 minutes. We spent all night and morning preparing and when we got there they told us just to listen in and make comments when we feel inspired. haha. It happens to missionaries all the time for some reason. We just have to constantly be prepared for anything.

Hug from my mom via Susan! Thanks mom!

Surprise #3

Susan and Fred Taylor came to say hi!! It was the best surprise ever and so fun to catch up with my homies... you know since they're from home haha :) We went for a little breakfast as we were traveling on the way to this mini mtc. I didn't want to leave them! Don't worry mom, she gave me many hugs and a kiss from you! I also got a huge hand delivered package from the family so thank you thank you thank you!

Mama Hawk cookies!!! We are savoring them...

Surprise #4

Our car got hit. Don't worry, Sister Vasquez and I weren't even there. We were in a lesson with a member from church and our car was nicely parked outside the parking lot. We finished and drove to our next appointment where I noticed the mirror was turned in. I told Sister Vasquez that it was really odd but we really thought nothing of it. Then later as we were walking out to another appointment we noticed dents and scratched on the side of the car. Ridiculous! A total hit and run. It was the worst surprise. All I can do is report it to the church and they'll take care of it. Still, we wish there was something we could've done.

Really people?

Surprise #5

Luckily the same day our car was hit we had 4 of our friends we've been teaching come to church. It's always the best to see them come and enjoy the Spirit in the house of the Lord! That made our day all the better.

All of these surprises made for change. Whether big or small they still affected me or something in my life. According to Merriam-Webster change means to make or become different and maybe that should also be under the definition for "mission". Specifically "LDS mission"... which needs to be added too. Someone please submit that.

Missions are all about change. Anything that looks like change, acts like change, feels like change. Big changes, small changes. Whatever change-we got it! But with every change I've had on my mission I've been the thing that has become different. Anything from my heart, to talents, skills, abilities, qualities, actions or influence-- these changes have all affected one or two at a time for the better. Though I'll never be perfect, I'll always be grateful for the opportunity I have to define myself through the eyes of the Lord.

I best be off now! Stay safe, have a good week and remember not to hit and run into your neighbors cars...they'll appreciate it greatly I can assure you! hah love you!

Hermana Hawkins (or as Elder Hawkins calls me, "Hermione Hawkins")

That's me making chile relleno. so cool.