Iain Letter 3

(9/8/15)

Dear Elder Hawkes,

I have been intending to reply to your message from a week ago but because of some pressures here didn't get it written. Now it is a week later and I'm sorry. Thanks for the hour glass message. Your companion sounds like a challenge. You can learn from it- how not to act with future companions !!!! Hopefully he will mature and learn also. I hope he didn't have a New Zealand flag among those! Ha.

I was interested to see you quote Elder Stephen B Allen. I worked alongside him when he first became a Church employee. He has had a stellar career. We didn't always see eye to eye and he gave me a few rough times but the work went forth regardless! You will find it the same with your companion "experiences".  Elder Allen's missionary stages were interesting. Bottom line: You have been called by a Prophet to serve. You have been ordained to the Holy Priesthood. You have the power and authority to act in the name of the Lord. Go to work and let the Lord do the worrying. It is His Church. It will all work out. Try not to get upset or even a little bit angry. That is the adversary trying to  stop the work going forward.    

Well, enough Kiwi "preaching" for this week. I'll try and practise what I preach by not getting "angry "when kids arrive this afternoon unprepared!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha.

Love

Iain B. Mckay

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Dear Elder Hawkes,

I can’t believe that you are in already three weeks in the field, being apart of the great work. I’m so glad that you are enjoying, and fulfilling your mission. College is awesome, and i’m loving the experience I am having. I truly am learning so much about myself, the gospel, and others. As I have read missionary letters, from my dearest friends, I can’t help but look at the people around me and feel this indescribable love for them. I love people I have only known only five minutes of being on the bus with them. I want to share my joy with them, which is the gospel. I think when I'm on a mission the hardest thing for me would be sharing the gospel to those I love, so practically everyone I come in contact with, and having them not accept it. I believe that I would literally become depressed, but I have faith in the knowledge that everyone will accept it on the lords time, and when they are ready. Everything happens when it will benefit the lords children the most.

Today in institute we talked about knowing the difference between god vs. google or the wheat vs. the tares or truth vs. error. I want to share some of my thoughts with you.

Facts about tares:

~If you eat any type of tare they will cause you serious sickness.

~Tares wrap their roots around the roots of other plants, in this case the wheat, and will pull them down that they become so weak they can’t even hold themselves up.

~You can’t tell the difference between them without diligently watching them grow. Usually its the head of the tare that is different from the wheat, but there are other differences such as; color, length, etc., but these signs don’t show right away.  

The wheat and the tares look so similar, but one will grant you happiness and the other will literally pull you down, like I mentioned earlier. It is hard to know the difference between the two. Some people can tell the difference right away. Others may take a while to find the difference, and what they find may not be the same thing someone else found. However, all have found some part of the truth, and must hold on to their new testimony. For the gospel is a treasure, especially if you found it on your own faith.

 Matt 13:44 or Matt 13:45-46. “Sell all that thou has.”

The gospel is amazing. The gospel is simple. It is simple because it is for all people, not just the wise and the learned. It’s for those that just want pure joy, peace, a friend, relief, forgiveness, change, and love. We are here to become like our savior, who came to earth and completed the atonement, so that we can rise when we fall. Everyone has the light of Christ in them, Jord, they just can’t see it yet. The more I learn of Christ the more I want to make sure that I am using the atonement in all aspects of my life, not just when I sin and need forgiveness. When you find the people who don’t think they are worthy for the gospel, the love of Christ, forgiveness, or whatever help them know that when you sin, and feel guilty about it, it is a sign of a healthy spirit. It’s a spirit that wants to progress, change, and become more like Christ. It’s a spirit that knows it’s greater potential. Satan wants us to look at our sins, but God wants us to look at his son, our Savior. Life is good, Jord, and I hope you know how much we all love and miss you. Continue to do good.

Your friend,

Mariah

Updates on Suzie Singh and Gabriel

(9/7/15)

Brothers and Sisters,

Another week come and gone in Modesto, and another one for you. I'm reminded that life is like an hourglass, and we are all just watching the time go by. I have found, however, that the quality is most affected by what sand you are measuring: the sand you have left or the sand that has passed. You can sit there staring at how much sand you have left and see yourself disappointed at watching the pile get smaller and smaller and smaller, you can boast over how much sand has accumulated in the glass and how it continues to grow and grow and grow, or you can enjoy the sand that is passing through the middle. Focusing only on the sand waiting to fall will diminish your hope and will lead to a lack of accomplishment and self-confidence. Focusing only on the sand that has already fallen will leave you purposeless and lazy, unaware of how much time you have left. In either case, the beauty of life is missed. It is in that small aperture where only a few small grains of sand may quickly pass by that life is truly enjoyed. Taking into account how much time is left and how much time has passed is essential in giving you motivation to work your hardest or reflecting on past experiences to help you make correct decisions, but take care that you do not miss those few grains of sand that ultimately affect both past and future.

Companion Quirks:

-The other day Elder Shepherd gave his mail to the mailman in the middle of an intersection.

-We have 40 cheap American flags strewn around our car (it's an everyday struggle to get him not to display them on the dashboard).

-He regularly falls asleep and my attempts to wake him are usually unsuccessful.

Other Quirks:

-We recently got a new (and young) ward mission leader who both he and his wife are trunky for the mission. Kind of backwards. We went on teamups with them and they basically just wanted to knock doors.

-We found a house that trimmed the Lock Ness monster into their bushes.

-I cannot get a close shave to save my life. Seriously.

One thing we do with random people on the streets is just say a prayer. I didn't know that that was a missionary approach but apparently it is. It's funny, because no good Christian can refuse a prayer and most people here at least believe in Christ, even if they don't do the whole 'church thing'. I absolutely love prayer. Read about prayer in the Bible Dictionary. I recently read it and it really redefined my prayers. I was reminded that a prayer is not an attempt to change Heavenly Father's mind, but rather uniting your will with His. Granted, we can still ask for blessings and for knowledge, but only through the mind of Christ. Okay, not literally the mind of Christ. Apparently I have to specify. But through the same perspective of Christ. If we see things through his perspective, we will know what to ask for and we will receive it. This is why we can't ask "did humans evolve from monkeys?" and expect to get an answer. Would Christ ask that? Probably not. Because Christ knows His Father's will for Him, and more likely than not it does not include monkeys (and yes I know Christ created monkeys so he already knows, the concept is the same). It is when we earnestly and honestly seek the knowledge and blessings our Heavenly Father has in store for us, rather than the knowledge and blessings we desire, that we find it. Check out the JST of Matthew 7:7, "Say unto them, Ask of God; ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened." Pray often. Pray earnestly. Pray secretly. Pray with both ends of the telephone, not just one. I love you all!

-Elder Hawkes

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Well, I've got some down time and for some reason our mission doesn't restrict our email time, so I hope everything is going good back home! I'm going to try to write letters today to send back home but it is just so hard to find time to physically write because they have this lame rule that we can only write letters on Preparation Day so I have to sit down and only write letters for a few hours whereas I can just email instead which is much faster. I don't know. Anyways. So Mom? Quick question, could you pay off my credit card? My debit cards weren't working the other day so I was forced to use it to buy a $7 pair of sunglasses and that's it. Super lame. So I believe it won't show up till the end of the month but it's unfortunately there... One of the hardest things I've found on a mission is that I don't know who I have told what. Honestly, it's difficult. I write in my journal every night and email 3 or 4 people every week, so I can never remember what I have 'told' my journal or what I have told other people, or what I have already told all of you. That's why questions help, because then I have something to respond to that I know you don't know. Confusing. More difficult than it should be. Ah. Well hopefully I get flight plans soon, but I haven't heard anything about my visa except from you all. The problem is, they are making assignments for the next transfer and they don't know whether to plan on having me or not, so they will be calling Church Headquarters tomorrow and then hopefully I will find out a little bit more from the other end. Well, Suzie Singh is well on her way to baptism, which is awesome! We just have to wait for First Presidency approval. Lucky duck! The First Presidency quite literally has to approve her baptism. Wow. I mean, the Quorum of the Twelve assigned my mission call and reassignment, but not the First Presidency! We also met again with Gabriel (the young man in the back of the truck) and gave him a book of Mormon and we are teaching him the Plan of Salvation this week! We also got a bunch of referrals which doesn't happen too often. Oh! I have a story. So two weeks ago I was in a care center (on exchanges with Elder Clark) talking to this old smoker lady. We couldn't go into the room because her roommate was sick, so instead we stood in the doorway talking to her in her wheelchair. We are standing there, and then this super old lady walks by on her walker going super slow and I thought I was in the way so I tried to make room, but she kept getting closer to me! So I just sit there and then she grabs my arm and I kind of shy away, but the lady we came to see just said "Let her do it" so I had to comply. I sat there as she lifted my arm to her face and then just held it against her face. After like a minute or two, she finally let go and just crept slowly away down the hallway. The lady we came to see told us that she was kind of crazy and like a raccoon, in that she would just steal things and walk away from them. Apparently she was trying to steal me or something. I have no idea. I guess you could look at it as this 'cute' old lady just being sweet, but in the experience it was so stinking weird. Words just can't describe it. Anyway, hopefully I will get those letters out, but I'll talk to you all again soon! I love you all!

-Elder Hawkes

P.S. Happy Birthday Sarah!!!!!! I hope it's alright if I wait till I get to Taiwan to send you a gift, but I'll try to send a little birthday letter too! Have a great birthday on Thursday!!

Companion Life

with Elder Sheppard

The apartment

Modesto sunrise

Here is Elder Shepherd's armory of Nerf guns (yes, that whole suitcase is full of Nerf guns) and that cake on the blue bin we dropped off to a recent converts house that I will have to tell the story of sometime. (Elder Sheppard baked it...it is "German chocolate cake")

 Elder Shepherd falling asleep during Weekly Planning and me stacking nerf bullets on his head. He falls asleep all the time and I can't wake him up.

Ya, Elder Shepard is a weirdo. He even admits it. That is how he wants to be remembered! Every time the Mahna Mahna song comes on in the car (don't ask me why that song is permissible) he taps the beat with the brakes. WITH THE BRAKES. It is so annoying! I will never be the same when that horrible song comes on. So guess what I figured out? Yosemite National Park is in my mission. Next week for Preparation Day I'm going!!! How cool is that??? I hope school is going well for everyone!! I'll admit, it is really weird seeing all the school kids. Interesting fact of the day: schools in Modesto don't have hallways, all the classrooms open to the outside! All the walkways are just covered. Isn't that weird? And then they just put a fence around the whole school. Crazy. Our third investigator, who I didn't mention in the big email, is named Janice. She is actually a great grandma, and the majority of her family is LDS but her and her son aren't and they smoke a ton. Anyways, Janice also speaks 7.3 million miles an hour. Her son smoked us some fresh bacon! I cooked it today and, despite getting burned all over from the excessive amounts of popping grease, ate a fantastic breakfast. Dad-apparently Modesto had a 2.9 earthquake two days ago, but I couldn't feel it at all. Mom-I sent you a card in the mail, can we pretend it came like 3 weeks ago? Sarah-I can't believe you are a Junior!!! Hey, at least not a Squashmore... Mary-still can't find the quarter collection? I found a quarter I don't have, I can send it if you find it. Christian... Just kidding buddy! How is the big third grade?? (again, just kidding) Hope soccer is going good! I'll send a few pictures of my companion Elder Shepard, my apartment, and a California sky next week. Love you all!!

-Elder Hawkes

Letter to Iain Mckay

(8/31/15)

Thanks so much for your letters! They are awesome. In the last letter you mentioned something that I have really come to realize here on my mission, and that is that families are vital to God's plan. When we look through past records of inactives, recent converts, and strong members, almost every single family is strong in the church. There are a few part-member families, but the majority make up some of the strongest members in the ward. Interestingly enough, most of our less actives in the wards we are serving in are single Brothers and single Sisters. While this statement isn't 100% absolute, families are the strongest unit in the church, and I have come to realize and understand that. Only in a family of members can you find strong support and encouragement in the Gospel. Anyways, thanks again for you letters and for the awesome teacher you have been for so many years--both in piano and in life. Your example and stories have always encouraged me to become a better person and in consequence a better missionary. Best of luck in teaching other students as well as all of your other endeavors! You're the best Iain!

Elder Shepherd's Last Straw

8/31/15

Dear Family,

Bad news, no Yosemite today. We weren't able to set everything up, but that's alright. I'll get there before I leave. Unfortunately, not too many funny things in my big letter today, but I'll get some in next week. Along with pictures. I keep forgetting my cord... They tell us to tell you to keep sending mail to the mission office, because missionaries move apartments a lot and such, so just keep sending it there. It doesn't slow it down too much. I'll try to get some hand-written letters in here pretty soon to. I will probably get to call in three weeks at the airport so I can update you all on a lot there if they will let me. Thanks for all the awesome support! I'll talk to you next week!

-Elder Hawkes

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Brothers and Sisters,

Hard to believe it has been an entire three weeks since I've been in the mission field! In the MTC, Brother Stephen B Allen gave a devotional in which he described the four phases to adjusting to a big change: the Honeymoon Phase, where you are just happy-go-lucky and have all the energy and motivation in the world because you are excited for the new experience; the Hostile Phase, where you just get down on yourself and get irritable because you feel you aren't adjusting to the change very well; the Grin-and-Bear-It Phase, where you smile because you know you have to even though you don't fell it, and you just keep moving forward even though you don't like it; and finally the Successful Adjustment Phase, where you gain the peace and comfort from a set routine and become effective and efficient. Yep, I'll be honest, I think I would consider myself around the Hostile Phase. I'm not exactly a roller-coaster kind of Elder though so my 'hostility' is very mild. 

We all share that roller-coaster kind of adjustment in our lives, my hope is that we can all understand a greater perspective. In my Gospel Essentials class yesterday, we discussed the Atonement. One of the most comforting things about the Atonement is that Christ suffered our sins and can see the end result. We each go through the refiners fire--big changes and trials--in order to become better individuals. The challenge is gaining that perspective that Christ and Heavenly Father have in seeing that end purpose: that person He wants us to become. As Elder Joseph B Wirthlin says, "We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever."

Two days ago, Elder Shepherd and I drove to an appointment that cancelled out on us because they 'forgot'. Classic right? Anyways, we were driving away when Elder Shepherd says, "I can't do it anymore!" and flips the car around and starts driving back. He parks the car a good ways away from the house we just left and I'm thinking to myself "what on earth is he doing?" We got out and I practically have to chase him as he Olympic-speed-walks towards a young man, his sister, and his dog in the back of a pickup truck listening to some music. Elder Shepherd loves dogs so he went straight to the dog, but we started asking him about his interests and he said he had anger issues so he got into MMA. Uh oh. So I ask him if he as any other interests, and he says, "right now actually I am really into religion. It has helped me cope with my anger." It turns out that he goes to the House, a non-denominational Christian church that even they occasionally unknowingly refer to as the 'great and spacious building', and is training to become a pastor. But he said he would love to meet with us!! So we are stopping by sometime this week to tell him a little about our church! Galatians 5:25, sent to me by my mom, says: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Let us all strive to have the influence of the Spirit in our lives and to find the purpose in each of our refiner's fires.

--Elder Jordan Hawkes