Hello and Goodbye!

Our Georgia time is coming to a "Dead End" and we're sad to go! 

Alooooooha.  haha just needed to switch it up for a second. 

Well well, what a crazy week! It's been super busy and because of that I don't have much time on the computer. We're trying to get Sister Vasquez squared away before she heads off to the Dominican Republic. Home! I can't believe she's leaving me... but then again I guess I'm leaving too. 

Here's us trying to take a selfie with the dead end sign.. we failed. But hey we gave it a good effort.

So we just got a call and for the next week I'll be in a trio of Sisters. One is a sister I've done many exchanges with whom I love (Sister Echols from Utah) and the other is a brand new sister straight from the MTC. That means I'll be helping Sister Echols train for 1 week. How fun is that? Anyways, just trying to finish things out here now in Chamblee. It's super sad because they're closing this area :(

Before I forget I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Sister Meise and Renata for their sweet packages. And for mom who sent me a dress (thank you :)) I LOVED them and I am sooo grateful for how thoughtful you are to send me such wonderful packages! You're all the best!

I don't have much else for ya other than some pictures of the Branch and friends from saying goodbyes this week. I'll be sure to try and write more next week. Goodness maybe I'll just wait till I'm in Brazil... it'll be a lot more fascinating than whatever I could say now.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Hawkins

The girl in the front is the one who likes frozen (from last weeks story).

Here's us with some of the kids we teach in primary. They're all hysterical.  LOVE THESE KIDS.

Note from the Mom: If anyone is planning on sending anything this week (last chance before Brazil!!!) please email me, or message me on facebook, she has a new address for this week only!

Make Every Week Count

a selfie,of course !

Goodness what a week! I feel so so so so tired today. I think that means I'm doing something right. All I want to do is sleep. We did lots of exchanges with the sisters this week and taught so many lessons!

One thing I've really gained an appreciation for are companions. I know that's a pretty general thing to say as a missionary but here's my reasoning for this new appreciation. As we've been on lots of exchanges, I've had to stay here in Chamblee with sisters that don't speak Spanish. It gets pretty tiring because I'm the one doing all the talking, all the teaching. Sure my sister will say something- but only if I translate what everyone is saying and what she wants to say back. Really, it kind of feels like I don't have a companion. I swear it's a different mindset to teach that way. Normally if one companion gets stuck, the other will just pick it right up. But if I get stuck on these exchanges, I awkwardly try and get out of it.. By the end of the day I end up losing my voice! Now I feel much more sympathy for Sister Vasquez and my future companion in Brazil. Training someone in a language would not be fun or easy. Major kudos to them!

It's definitely been helpful for my Spanish though. I only pray that it's helpful for the sisters. They all say they love coming to Chamblee because the people we work with and talk to are just so nice and giving. Really they are. They're the best! 

I've also gained an appreciation for this cute little cupcake place in Chamblee. They were delicious!

I can't believe I only have one week left in Chamblee. It makes me sad! I love it here. One of the things I think I'll really truly miss so much are the kids. Sister Vasquez and I teach primary almost every week and normally it's the 5 year olds. Before sacrament meeting they all run up to us and give us hugs and kisses. They just absolutely love us and we love them! When we visit them and knock on their door, the kids stand behind the doors and say "Quien es?" (who is it?) We reply, "Las misioneras!" Then you hear them say to each other "it's the missionaries, the missionaries!!!!!" They run around and go crazy until their mom comes and opens the door. It's like letting the bull out of the bullpen when that door opens.


How I'll miss their little faces. And their hilarious conversations. Yesterday in class, one little boy said to another, "Guys guys guys, I watched a movie and guess what? God died for us." Another said, "Wait didn't Jesus die?" Then a little girl jumps out of her seat and says, "I like Frozen!!!!" with her hands waving way above her head. Frustrated, one of the boys turns sharply toward this girl and says, "We're not talking about that. Why do you always stand up.. just sit down... geez!" Oh los ninos. I love their conversations. Some of them are incredibly intelligent! 

Sister V took this picture of me impersonating a primary girl we teach. She's crazy.

Goodness do I really have to say goodbye to this place? I don't think there is a way to do it. My goal for this week though is to work harder than I did last week. Well honestly that's my goal every week but some weeks are better than others. I don't want to stop working just because I'm leaving.. that's no excuse! Honestly, it's those last few moments of anything that you remember the most. I want this last week to be a good last moment here in Georgia. That's the game plan. I guess I'll be filling you in next week!

Sorry for the shorty email! Got lots to do today! I'll be getting back to you all next week! Love ya!

Hermana Hawkins

Us and Cristian. He's a member and I call him my "hermanito". Little brother. He's the best!

Note from the Mom: Soooo, just after she sent her weekly email, she sent another one saying she'd just heard from her Mission President letting her know that she won't be leaving until Oct. 28th now instead of the 21st.  Which means she now has TWO more weeks to finish everything up in Chamblee! I know she'll make the most of it as usual. 

It also means...she leaves the exact same day that her brother leaves Africa!

Long Meetings, Short Meetings, Meetings in Between Meetings

Look there's Pribby!

If I could tell you one of the things that made this week different, it would be that I discovered a new article of faith. 

Now there are 14 articles of faith, the newest which says:

"We believe in meetings, namely, long meetings, short meetings, meetings in between meetings and anything that appears as a meeting. We believe in the literal gathering of one or more persons to discuss and fulfill many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God."

I'm kidding. But goodness! Sister Vasquez and I feel like we hardly went out and taught this week! It's ok because every meeting we went to was incredibly inspiring.  Wednesday we had a Mission Council with all the zone leaders and Sister Training Leaders (Sister Pribyl was there!:) Guess what we did??? Watched Meet The Mormons! 

It was fantastic!!! Little fun fact, one of the families in it is in my stake here in Atlanta. At the time of the film he was a bishop, now he's the stake president. He's a great guy! Really funny too. Anyways, you should all see it! Request for it to come to a theater near you by going to meetthemormons.com. It's definitely worth your time!


If you're wondering how we saw it before it was out the First Presidency actually shipped it overnight to Mission Presidents (I'm not sure all the missions but maybe the US at least?). We aren't able to see it in the theater so I guess the big screen in the chapel works just as well. Anyways, we're to promote it here in Atlanta! Pretty cool!


I've actually seen it twice because we had a zone conference, which was another awesome meeting because we went to the temple in the morning! That's always something I look forward to. I'll miss that when I'm in Brazil.

Speaking of which, I'll be leaving for Brazil the 21st of this month. My mission President announced it in Zone Conference this week so now I guess it's official. Two more weeks with a car and Spanish and Amurrica and my lovely comp. I'm really going to miss it here!


Back to meetings now..... CONFERENCE!!!! Evidence to the 14th article of faith. How amazing was that?! You know as we were watching conference I realized that to missionaries conference is like a holiday. The reason being because on real holidays, Christmas, Easter, New Years, Thanksgiving, etc, we go out and work! But conference we get to stay in and watch and all we need to do is be edified by the apostles and prophet. It really is the best holiday! All I have is one more conference holiday on my mission. Can you believe it??

Let's see, what are my favorites from conference? My district leader asked us on Saturday what our favorite was so far. I told him the "Holland Holla." He doesn't quite holler at you (... well maybe sometimes) but normally by the end of his talks I feel the major need of repentance. It's like a holler to your soul. 

In any case, he's just awesome! I also loved Elder Bednar. For those who are not members of the church and are reading this, take 5 minutes to watch this!  Elder Bednar is one of my favorite speakers.

Others-- (click on the names if you'd like to listen to their talks!) Jorg Klebingat and his boldness. I wish I could be that bold sometimes! Eduardo Gavarret's talk was awesome too because of the cute story of his wife and because I could understand it all in Spanish. That's a plus! I did also listen to Elder Godoy in Portuguese and let me just tell you how much of a struggle it was. I felt like he was speaking to me in Spanish underwater. Goodness I think God trusted me with learning these languages because He knew it would be entertaining.


Anyways!  It was an awesome conference as usual. I felt like there really was a huge emphasis on the prophet and how blessed we are to have one! It really is so important to sustain and support President Thomas S. Monson. I really have received my own witness and testimony that he is called of God and is of the same importance as the prophets of old. What an opportunity it is to hear his voice! Maybe he won't have to part seas or engrave his revelations on gold plates, but He does guide millions of people on this Earth. And I know He does it through constant council and divine authority given to him through our Lord and Savior.

We thank thee, O God, for a prophet!!!

Thanks for your emails this week! Until next week!

Love,

Hermana Hawkins 

Live Joyfully

Hello hello family!!

Another week in the saddle. First off, I wanted to ask if anyone has any questions for me? Maybe about Georgia, my area, yada yada... If not then I guess I'm doing a good job with the blog? But please.. if you have any, comment on the FB page and I'll respond! Sometimes I forget things that may be interesting for you to know...

So this week was super fast. Honestly I don't feel like we did much. Yesterday we came home from church early because Sister Vasquez is sick. She's got a bad cold and an on and off fever of 100. Poor thing. So I've been making tons of calls and teaching lessons over the phone. I've made fairly good progress! You wouldn't believe how much just a phone call can do. I think yesterday I made 71 calls! Oh missionary work. It's  pretty boring from inside the apartment. I ended up baking a cake and studying just to take a break. I decided I'd use the ancient phonebook if Sister Vasquez still isn't better by tomorrow.

Hmm what else. Oh! Women's conference. That was pretty neat... except I couldn't concentrate much. It was pretty late to watch it at 8. Yeah I know I sound like an old lady, but we didn't get home until 10:30 and that's super late for missionaries!! (we had permission to be out past curfew for it!) The lateness wasn't as much of a problem as the translator though! We watched it in Spanish which was fine but it was a translator from Spain translating most of it. That was super distracting because the accent is incredibly odd to me. They sound like they're chewing on something while they talk. BUT amidst the distractions I caught the general message- go to the temple and discover what it truly means to be a daughter of God. If you didn't see President Uchtdorf's talk go look it up! It was awesome!! (click *here* for an excerpt of his talk, it's not in written form yet, or watch the entire conference below!)

I don't have much more time today. Lots that I need to do on the computer for this week. But I will leave you with a thought that's been playing on my mind. I have a paper on my wall that Sister Vasquez hung up for me before I got to Chamblee. It quotes a hymn which says, "and never stand still till the master appear."

I think back to before my mission and wonder what the heck I did all day. It seems like I was so unproductive. Until my mission I didn't know you could do so much in a day. The only time we really stand still as missionaries is when we wait for someone to  open a door.

That is one of the reasons I love the mission so much. I love being so productive in a purpose much greater than my own. Being a part of this work is never standing still. Even for you who may not be on the battle front. All those mom's who put every minute of their day caring for their kids or Dad's who may not see much of their family because they work hard to support them. They care for their families first, and then I see them care for every other family! What amazing examples. We all need each other and there's so much work to be done!

"I have fought my way thru;
I have finished the work thou didst give me to do.
Oh that each from his Lord may receive the glad word,
Well and faithfully done,
enter into my joy and sit down on my throne;"

(come let us anew, Hymn 217)

Love you all! 


Hermana Hawkins



PS. hey that visa thing pulled itself through! One more month and Brazil, HERE WE GO!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Note from the Mom: So I asked her the question I'm sure we all have...WHY does she have to wait another whole month to go to Brazil? Hasn't she waited enough???  Here was her response:

"I have to wait until the end of October, the end of this transfer. They do that to all the visa waiters. It's ok! I had 7 months in english, 5 in spanish and will have 6 in portuguese. It'll be fairly even! I like that! Oh and just so you know, I'll go to the mtc in Sao Paolo for 2 weeks before I go to Juiz De Fora. Crash course portch. :)CAN'T BELIEVE MY VISA IS REALLY HERE!!!!!! AHHH. I'm really happy I have a month to prepare for it because there's a lot I still need to do here." 

That's my girl! Did we expect anything less? 

It is True

The moment has come!!!! Drum roll please!!! EVA WAS BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll start with how we met Eva. Around my first or second week here in Chamblee, Sister Vasquez and I went to go visit with a less active member. We had lesson plans to discuss the temple but we should have known that God had other plans. When we got there, we gathered the family around and met Eva, the mother of this less active member. Sister Vasquez and I sort of looked at each other thinking the same thing. From the moment we met her, we knew it would only be a short matter of time teaching her. As we talked with her, we found she had met briefly with elders before. So we dug out her teaching record and went to work!! Within two months she was more than willing to take that first step!

Now I'd be lying to you if I said it was as easy as that. Unfortunately, Eva hit a few roadblocks along the way. Some non-supportive family and a coffee addiction made the trip to baptism a whirlwind. But let me just tell you how much of a rock Eva is!! I've never seen such a strong woman so willing to submit to the Lord's will. She is one of the greatest examples to me of the way we should all rely and depend on the Savior.

Her baptism was amazing. It was early Sunday morning before church. Sister Vasquez and I put together a beautiful program and hardly any of it went as planned. Of course, the alarm of the member who drove her didn't go off so the baptism started a half hour late!  With determination, we sang an opening hymn, had a prayer, then the Branch president said a few words and off she went, stepping into the font to start more than just a new life, but a full one at that. As we stood beside the font we waited with open arms. It didn't matter how wet her clothes were I gave her a tight squeeze as soon as we stepped into the changing room.

Just a few moments later we ended the service and sacrament meeting began. Eva went up and was confirmed with the gift of the Holy Ghost. I find the confirming part of baptism to be the most powerful. Even just as Eva was walking to the front of the chapel I felt the Spirit fill my chest!

The chapel was incredibly full and I was squished on the pew between families. It wasn't just full of people but of course the Spirit was there. I felt so small, like I really had no part in helping Eva receive two of the greatest gifts we can receive in this life:remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. In fact it felt like the only part I played was that I was just there, witnessing it all. Really, I believe that too! Eva was incredibly prepared. All we did was show up to say, "hey, there's a paved trail right next to the gravel one you're traveling on." 

It was an incredible honor to teach Eva, to watch her change her life and set her eyes completely on the Savior. She's an inspiration to me in her willingness to do what she knows is right and true... no matter what forces are against her. She has a light that is so bright and she's fierce and bold in her commitment to let it shine. Because of her, some family members in Honduras are now taking missionary discussions!

Just to close, I'll repeat again Eva's own words:

"I used to go to a Christian church, but now I've found the true church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints"

If I could tell you, family and friends, with all the conviction and power in the world, I would, but it's maybe just as powerful to say simply that I know this church is true! Without a doubt in my heart, it is the true restored Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today.

John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Love you all!! 


Hermana Hawkins

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.