Monday June/28/2010 12:36 PM

This is an older post sorry... out of sync :)


From: Michael Scott Hancock
To: Laurie Hancock

Subject: Re: from Mom

Date: Mon 06/28/10 12:36 PM


Few! What a week! It´s been pretty intense!
Ya I hope she can get baptised, she´s just working Sundays, she actually gave us coffee the last visit, so we got to teach the Word of Wisdom! She said that the coffee was the only problem she had with it, but she doesn´t drink it that much anyway! We´ll see what happens with her.
The US is OUT!!! Lost to Ghana! Now the Guay gets to play against them, and I´m pretty sure they can beat Ghana! Then after that I´m pretty sure they´re gonna end up playing against Germany who is rocking the show right now... it will be pretty intense! I think it is a good thing though that the States went out... at least for all the gringos here... if they did play agianst Uruguay we´d either get teased to death if we lost... or we would get muredered... to death if the States won! It´s crazy down here! It´s their life, soccer! The streets are dead and we can´t get into any houses when they play! and when they win they party like crazy afterwards! I´ll actually be happy when it´s all over... even though it is pretty exciting!
Elder Lockheart is an awesome guy! He´s a surfer dude from Long Beach, California! He even had the long mullet hair to go with it! He´s a lot shorter than me, and even though he´s the senior comp, everyone says he looks like he´s 15! It´s pretty funny! And being new to the area... I´m actually the one who´s been leading the way, talking more than I ever have, and doing the bulk of the planning! It was pretty nerve-racking going from my Dad in the mission, Elder Roney, who did pretty much all of it to having to have the bulk of the responsibility.... I was pretty worried the first day and actually was saying a lot of prayers to myself throughout the day... I´m usually always saying prayers to myself cause I need the help :) but this was more than usual... basically my worries lasted the first day.. after that it was just fine! Definitely believe I had some of the Spiritual help the last few days! But it´s been pretty fun, and it´s not as hard as I thought. I feel my Spanish is coming along better, still got aways to go, but it´s getting better :) It actually was kind of a sad finish to the week sunday.. We have an amazing family of 6, 4 of which could get baptised who love everything and told us this last week that they could come to church no problem! then there was another girl who´s been putting it off that promised us she was going to come, and another lady, whom we´ve been visiting since before I got to the area who gave us a maybe! which is more than she´s ever given us before... so ya! I was pumped and so excited! Those missionaries you hear about that just are smiling and have that skip in there step! That was me literally!! I was so happy!...then sunday came... and it rained and rained... and it was cold!.... and no one came..... :( I´m hoping it was just the rain that stopped them and that they´ll get coming next week... we´re visting them all this week so we´ll find out... I love going to church! love it! But when none of your investigators show... it´s just kind of a let down... It seems like a lot of elders are going through a slow period right now with baptisms and people coming to church... but we´re still working... I guess we all just need to learn patience!.... but I still feel the Lord´s hand pushing me along day by day... it´s amazing! and we get to meet great people everyday...and a few others who are just kind of wierd :)
It is genereally colder... but we´ve had quite a few nice days...not warm... but nice! and about one crazy rain storm a week... it´s wacky! but nothing too horrible yet. Tomorrow is district meeting so we´ll get letters tomorrow, I have gotten a couple letters so... we´ll see :) Got one from April and replied to it last week and got one from Mom this week and I´ll send one home tomorrow. Ya, I love letters :) I don´t really desperately need anything right now... just yummy stuff... and maybe if you can find that men´s shampoo and body wash in one thing... I´m just now getting to the bottom of the one I brought, It´s amazing stuff! Maybe even wool socks would come in handy.. just some ideas! sweets I never turn down! But I don´t really desperately need anything... regular socks in the future... mine are already getting hard!
Anyhow, to finish off, Scripture reading! Keep with it! I´m in Mosiah now in both my English reading and my Spanish reading! And I love it! I sent two pictures of a bunch of scriptures all testimonies of people from the scriptures and some others about God and the Savior! I thought it would be fun if you went through and read them for a FHE, you can start with some Bible ones then move on to the Book of Mormon, and it would be need if some of the family all bore their testimonies inbetween them all... and you can add mine which basically is just that I love the scriptures! Finding all of these testimonies has strengthened my own so much! I´m coming to understand and love the Gospel in a way I never have before! I know without a doubt that we have a Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ, who is our Savior! I´ve felt their Spirit and love everyday for the last 5 months, some days stronger than others! And even though I´m having a hard time getting baptisms... I love sharing this amazing message with people everyday! It´s incredible! I may have to walk a lot all day, get doors slammed in my face or just fingers, or get spit on, have dogs yelling at me constantly.... but it´s just a little tiny taste of what my Savior has already gone through... and the Scriptures help me understand that more and more and help me feel closer to him more and more... and I still have more than a year and a half to learn as much as I can!..... Anyways... I hope you guys do get a chance to read through the scriptures and share your testimonies! It´s been great for me!
Anyhow.. that´s a pretty long email and some pretty good pictures to give you an idea of what fun we missionaries have been having! I´ve got more pics and I´ll send the card home when I get the one you sent me! Anyways, just want you all to know I love ya! and I love hearing from you and I´m grateful for the support! Keep writing and praying and reading!
Love ya, talk to ya later!

On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 2:14 AM, wrote:
Hola! Elder Hancock!

Congratulations on the first Guayan wedding! Good job on being the photographer! Hopefully she can get baptized now?

Good for Uruguay!!!!! They are still in the cup! I was hoping USA would win their match against Ghana, because then they would be playing against Uruguay!!!!
We watched the match. It was pretty exciting. USA did really well, but not good enough. Ghana beat them 2 to 1, so Uruguay will get to play Ghana. Maybe it is
just as well. (We wouldn't want USA to play Uruguay and win or Uruguayans would be upset with USA, and that wouldn't work out too well for you!) :)

I do remember the Tippets, kind of. I remember the mom's name was Laurie. You'll have to ask him if he used to live in Cedar Hills when you get a chance!
How is your new companion, Elder Lockheart?

Yes, we are finally into summer here. It actually feels like summer now, so I guess that would mean it is starting to feel more like winter there. Let me know if you
need anything. Let me know if you get the package I sent... I don't think you will have received it quite yet.

We got the letter that you sent to us in spanish! It was fun to decipher. I am so proud that I figured out the "fun, like stretchy pants" all by myself! :)
Are you getting letters from us? Did you get the one's from some of the Young Women yet?

We are doing pretty well with our family scripture reading.... It always was better in the summer. I've slacked a little on my own personal though. Got to kick it in gear!

We are in 2nd Nephi as family (Isaiah chapters), and I'm in 3rd Nephi for myself. Christ visiting the people... always great! We are always thinking of you,
our prayers are always with you and for the people there. Enjoy every moment!

Love,
Mom

Monday, July/05/10 01:45 PM

From: Michael Scott Hancock To: Laurie Hancock

Subject: Re: from Mom (see below) Date: Mon 07/05/10 01:45 PM

YA!!!! 4th of July!!!! Just another day here! sad thing actually, I didn´t even realize it was the 4th of July until I wrote in my journal the other day.... ha! funny.. We visited a recent convert, Maria, crazy old lady, love her! And we brought some glow sticks to "celebrate", a lot of people here know the holliday actually. It actually turned out to be a pretty good day though, I´ll explain why a little later on. It sounds like you guys have had some fun and are having fun! Sweet! I´m done with breakfast showering and studying by 8, not too bad :) I miss swimming! These last couple of days have been wierd, yesterday especially, it got pretty toasty! I thought it was winter, but it keeps changing it´s mind! I´ve seen some fireworks here though, don´t worry! After every Uruguay game, especially the last one, it´s loco! I can´t say I remember Daniel´s baby blessing, and in all honesty... I don´t remember if I made it to Amelia´s blessing.... I think I did. Man... lots of babys! Good stuff, sounds like fun Independence day!

Down here Netherlands is called ´Holanda´ and they´re playing good, they beat Brazil afterall... it will be a crazy game! Especially with how close the last one was with Ghana, they had to win on a fowl... wasn´t as cool.. but the penalty kicks were intense, we managed to get in two lessons during the game still! But afterwards we couldn´t do anything, so we did our weekly planning then and made pasta! But it was crazy! Everyone partied all night, fireworks, cars honking, people yelling and screaming, running up and down the streets! It was intense! We´ll find out Tuesday what happens, only American team left though!

Now... here we go! This week for us was really special, a week of miracles :) We got to see a cat fight first of all.... ok that´s not the miracle, but it was pretty sweet, actual cats not girls, they were throwing each other against the wall and everything... anyhow, the good stuff. Elder Roney and I found a family of 6, the Gomez family, Herman and Ivana and their 4 children, a younger family, and in short, they are living proof of people prepared before hand by the Lord. We taught them a couple weeks with Elder Roney and Elder Lockheart and I are teaching them now. This last week we had probably the greatest lesson I´ve ever had, there are only few times where I´ve been as happy as I have this week. Last tuesday we had a lesson with them, they study and read and love everything, we pretty much were just answering questions, and then we somehow got into lesson 2 again, the Plan of Salvation and went over it again, with drawings! :) After that we were just talking and spilling out our testimonies basically of the life after this. Then Herman thought for a moment and then said "I have a confession to make." We thought to ourselves, oh no... here we go, something´s wrong, he´s gonna start telling us all his sins or something... But he continued and told us about how he was reading in the Bible, before we came, and he read the promise "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you." He told us that he tried it, he loves his family ALOT, and wants the best for them, so he asked.. then he told us right after he asked we knocked on the door.... After he told us this... we were pretty much just speechless.... We probably looked really goofy just sitting there with our mouths open eyes wide saying nothing... it was a feeling that I can´t describe, on the way home that night we were pretty much just flying and we couldn´t stop smiling or talking about it... we thanked God for that experience.. it was amazing, now, I´ll get back to them in a bit, but the next night, we´d been working hard all day, and we were getting to the end of the day not really finding anything, we were going to head back and decided we´d knock one more street... first door we knocked a woman answered the door, probably 40... skinny and dark, her name was Yolanda, and she actually recognized us and warmly welcomed us, we found out that a few years before she had had the lessons with some other missionaries and she loved them and was going to church.. in the end though, she was going through a divorce or seperation and couldn´t give up smoking quite all the way and the missionaries had to stop visiting... The interesting part is this, her mother figure and best friend had died, she was sick with something strange, and her children were all having problems... just in a really low point.... and that´s when these elders knocked on her door... they helped her through it all..., we found out yesterday, after having another lesson with her, that just recently she´s been having this same sickness and problems with her kids... just really down again... and we knocked on her door..... coincidence? I think NOT! and neither did she! She told us she wants to get back into and try to become a member, it was really cool. And just to finish off the week, we had another lesson with the Gomez family and we read the articles of faith with some other things and then we asked them if they believed in it all... they said yes! and we asked them to prepare and be baptised the 25th of July... they said Yes! :) We got them to church Sunday, testimony meeting, alright! and it was a really good testimony meeting too, testimonies that I think were ment for them, I just felt the Spirit so intensely and don´t think I could stop smiling all of Sacrament meeting, it was amazing! They are going to get baptised the 25th, and then confirmed probably the 1st of August... Herman and Ivana, and 2 of their kids are old enough to get baptised.. the other 2, I hope, will be able to be baptised by their Dad later on down the road. Oh I can´t describe how happy I´ve been, I love this family! And it´s wierd to feel such love for someone who speaks a different language and I´ve only known for such a short period... it´s awesome! I feel we´ve tried to work hard this last week, and we´ve been blessed greatly for it, we just have to continue on :) God does bless us for our efforts and there are people out there ready to listen :)

Well... this email is long enough I think... I might get the package tomorrow, we´ll see. I got the letter from Ariel and I´m gonna reply. I love hearing what´s going on and I look forward to some pics of the celebrating. Thanks for all the love and support! God lives and answers prayers! This week is proof of that! Keep reading and praying! Love you all! Talk to ya later!

Photos: Elder Lockheart and I celebrating the game! Elder Roney and I making tortillas! Some delicious pasta I made! and a group shot at the wedding!

PS: If you see brother Perry! Tell him I really have grown to love his music on the mission, I´ve heard his voice more on the mission than my own mother´s :) funny. I especially love the "Reason to Sing" CD.

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On Mon, Jul 5, 2010 at 6:39 AM, wrote:


Hola! Elder Hancock!
Happy 4th of July! I guess that is one holiday they don't celebrate there in Uruguay! It was kind of nice this year because the 4th is on a Sunday. So it was like a 3 day holiday this year. Saturday, we had our annual 4th of July breakfast bright and early with the Ward. Breakfast burritoes and fruit at 8 am, we did some yard work, then went swimming at the AF pool. We watched fireworks at Pleasant Grove Jr High. Then today, we went to Chad & Sarah Snelson's ward for Catherine Donna Snelson's baby blessing. (Can you believe 17 years ago today was Daniel's baby blessing?) One year ago today was Amelia's baptism. Do you remember that? Or were you at work? We had a nice visit with everybody afterwards at a park for the luncheon. Terry & Laura came with their baby, Christopher. He is getting huge! I will send you pictures. I finally got a battery for my camera, so I can take pictures again. Yes, still my film camera :) We went over to Mick & Ariel's tonight for some hot dogs. Tomorrow we will do the traditional parade, booths, Los Hermanos..... I will take lots of pictures and send them to you. Hopefully you will get your package this week! It will be a Happy 4th of July package.. okay, well they wouldn't let me send you fireworks in the mail, so technically it's not very 4th of Julyish. But know that we are thinking about you and of course it is not the same without you. But what you are doing is much, much better! What do you think about Uruguay and Netherlands? [Netherlands won] Netherlands are going to be tough to beat! I'm rooting for Uruguay... I would love to see them play Germany! Everyone says "hi"! They all love to get the emails that I forward to them from you. Grandpa & Grandma Snelson put more $$ into your mission fund. I am so grateful for the country we live in! What blessings we have. Heavenly Father truly set up a free nation so that the gospel could be restored. We are so blessed to live here! And I am grateful you are able to serve a mission and help share the restored gospel with others!!!!!! Hope this will be a great week for you! Love, Mom