September 3, 2012

Monday, September 3, 2012

Dear Dad, Mom, Liz, Kirstie, Ashlynn, McKay, Family and Friends,

Spiritually miraculous....that is what this past week was. This past week my companion, Elder Funk, and I set a goal to obey with more exactness and live in a way that we can find and teach  people by listening more to the promptings of the Spirit. I learned that to be the best possible instrument in the hands of the Lord, I need to obey all the mission rules and commandments with exactness and not make exceptions to even the smallest of rules. What I learned this week was that miracles take place when we do all in our power to listen to the Holy Ghost. This past Wednesday night we met with Andrea and Jorge, the non-member parents of 3 young men who are members. One of their sons is serving a mission in João Pessoa in the north and so we talked to them about how they are feeling with their son being on a mission. For the past 3 months that I have been here in Paranaguá, Andrea and Jorge had little interest in keeping commitments and going to church, but as we talked with them, Andrea said that seeing pictures of her son on his mission helping others changre their lives has brought an indecribable joy, when she said that we testified that the joy he is experiencing and the joy she was feeling was because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We then committed them to read the Book of Mormon and pray specifically to know if it was true and if Joseph Smith was the prophet of God, that restored Christ´s church on the earth.They accepted the invitation and as the Spirit was strong, we committed Andrea to be baptized on the 16th of this month, and for the first time in three months she responded, ``I will prepare to be baptized on that day.`` Then the next miracle happened, Friday night as we were walking back toward our house I had the prompting to visit Andrea, even though we hadn´t planned to visit her. I knew that we should follow the prompting,so we went to Andrea´s house. When we arrived and clapped at their gate, she answered and we asked her if she had read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it was true. She then responded, to my amazement, ``I did and I felt a feeling of peace and happiness come over me.`` We then responded that the feeling she felt was the Spirit and that she had received an answer that it was true. She then asked us with a smile on her face, ``Can you pick me up and take me to church on Sunday?`` We happily responded of course and yesterday, Not only Andrea came to church, but her husband Jorge, as well. I know that if we obey the commandments with exactness, miracles will take place. I have seen this happen as I am understanding and speaking a lot more with the locals here and listening to the Spirit.

Thank You For Your Love and Support!

Love,

Elder Jonathan Hokanson