Wunder Woche

Elder Hoggan is great and loving the work in Waiblingen! Things get better day by day and week for week. Halloween is not that far away. Pictures were sent with he and Elder Jensen with their jack-o-lanterns.

Sadly, Frau Dias cancelled last week. There is still a lot of hope for her.

A ton of spaghetti was eaten Tuesday. Elder Hoggan is trying to cut back for his six months to slim plan, but "Who will eat all of this food? Why did I cook so much spaghetti if no one will eat it?" To not make things more uncomfortable for this sister, Steve went to the rescue and ate more.

A lot of schnitzel was consumed on Thursday. A member cooked a HUGE plate and Brother Zelder asked, "Elder, you can eat another piece of schnitzel. I know you can." This member was exercising his faith and it was up to Elder Hoggan to be the miracle! Elder Jensen helped and they gulped down the rest. "But of course you still have room for dessert, right?" No problem :) 

Those are the eating adventures of the week!

Elders Hoggan and Jensen are trying to get in contact with more LA's and finish up on a project started with former investigators. They are planning and wanting to be better at more exact obedience. They are buckling down to reach their goal for a baptism in the ward before Christmas. These missionaries are really doing well as far as obedience goes.

Contact was made with Dieudonne Asong. He is the friend of the member from Cameroon. His questions about the Book of Mormon were answered and baptism was discussed. A date has been set for the 29th of November! It's a super great goal for him. Dieudonne made it to church and he loved it. It is an awesome miracle after hard work through the week. 

Elders Hoggan and Jensen pray every day to meet their goal of a baptism before Christmas. They can do it :)

It was a miracle week. Missionary work is the best work and brings the most happiness and satisfaction! 

Week in Review

Elder Hoggan had an interesting week and the last couple have taught him humility. He has been praying for his attitude (attribute) and look what happens! Ask and ye shall receive ;) The Lord sticks to His word! Things are going well and there are always beams of sunshine through the clouds of trial and tribulation :)

It wasn't a bad week, this companionship just took a hit. They were under the weather and kind of sick throughout the week. Elder Jensen had a bad headache and was down for a bit. On an exchange, Elder Jensen got faced with something pretty crazy for his first time in the area with a different companion. A member made some mistakes and now Elders Hoggan and Jensen will be working with her to overcome them. She is going through a season of doubts and is not relying on what she knows to be true. At least she is willing to push through even though her boyfriend is moving in with her. The good news here is that Katrin wants the missionaries to teach him.

The Elders got to know a few members a lot better! There are some pretty cool members in the ward and relationships are improving while support is gaining :) The Waiblingen ward is great!

Elders Hoggan and Jensen helped a member move last Saturday. Elder Jensen is a beast! he was lifting things like no other. He may be short, but that guy packs a punch! It was great to help out and get some good service in. Moving is always one of the more popular modes of service for missionaries ;)

Sammy is the coolest investigator and lives on the same street as the missionaries. He's been reading in the Book of Mormon and made it to church on Sunday! He seemed to enjoy the meetings so hopefully he'll be back next week. 

Frau Dias appointment is Tuesday, October 21. She is super nice and is interested in the gospel message. Prayers need to be in her behalf. She has a lot of potential :)

Contact was made with the Familie Boden. They are super cool. Herr Boden isn't a member, but his wife is. She's from Brazil and has recently returned from vacationing there. The Elders hope to meet with Herr Boden and help him progress in the gospel. They haven't met him yet, but have heard awesome things about him :)

Horse burgers were eaten which was an interesting experience. Elder Hoggan doesn't have too much of a desire to do that again, that's for sure. It wasn't that bad, haha.

This next week is going to be amazing :) Steve just knows it!

My Week

Elder Hoggan had another interesting week in Germany! It was full of a few super awesome things and some that are starting to become normal, but the work is moving forward and the missionaries are staying positive!

A cool opportunity arose last Tuesday when the Elders ate lunch with a member family. The father is LA, the mother and her sons are active in the church. The mom had the idea that the boys, both teenagers, should get blessings for the upcoming school year. After eating, Elder Hoggan had the chance to give Max a blessing and Elder Jensen gave Tobias one. This was Elder Jensen's first comfort blessing and was a good experience for him :) A better relationship is being built with this family. Tobias plays ping pong and basketball, so Elder Hoggan is going to take him on sometime soon :) Germany vs. USA! Steve will try his best to represent his country.

Wednesday was an adventure indeed. There were two options. First, visit an old referral who most likely has no interest in the missionaries message and then catch a bus in five minutes. Two, stay and not do the other things planned. The Elders went with the first and booked it up to this man's house only to find that he wasn't interested in the gospel. (He better come around someday! ;) ) Elders Hoggan and Jensen raced back to the bus stop with time to spare. All of this was done with a plate of cookies in Steve's backpack :) Those went to the ward mission leader later. Only he can't eat cookies. His family could though, so it's all good! A lesson was not taught to the old referral, but the ward mission leader relationship is building :)

Thursday was the coolest day of the week. Their zone met in Stuttgart at 8 a.m. and were off for Munich at 10:30 a.m. for zone conference. It was great to see everyone. Elder Hoggan got a picture will all of his sons :)  He has trained three missionaries. It was nice to return to the "homeland" where Elder Hoggan served for a year and a half and had zone meetings. The missionaries learned about the Gathering of Israel and Planning and Setting Goals. This mission has a goal to get one baptism in every ward/branch before the end of the year. Fasting took place on Sunday and now the work begins! Elders Hoggan and Jensen will do their best and hopefully be able to reach it. With God, nothing is impossible, right? :)

Cleaning the church took place on Saturday. It is the biggest building that Elder Hoggan has attended in Germany. It took three hours or more, but it is a really great privilege to do things like that.

For Halloween, homemade sugar cookies will be baked with frosting made from scratch. These will be delivered to special families!

Weekly Report!

Elder Hoggan's week was a rough journey, but got a lot better and now things are looking up :)

Friday was a holiday to celebrate that East Germany and West Germany became one - Tag der Deutschen Einheit. Unlike our Independence Day, they do things quite differently. There are no fireworks, no giant grill parties, or too many patriotic songs. It is considered a day off and everyone hides in their homes. This makes missionary work pretty difficult. A member family hung out with the Elders and that was a ton of fun :) The missionaries are really trying to work on getting better relationships going with the church members there and it is starting to pay off.

Elders Hoggan and Jensen are currently teaching a friend of a newly baptized member. His name is Asong Dieudonne (Ash-shawn Jew-nee). He is from Cameroon and is super cool. They had an awesome lesson and talked about, and watched, the Restoration movie. Asong said the most amazing prayer at the end of the lesson and has sincere desires to follow Christ and to read in the Book of Mormon. 

General Conference was definitely the best part of Elder Hoggan's week :) He really enjoyed the talks from Tad Callister, President Uchtdorf, and Elder Christofferson. Elder Callister suggests that young men should start praying for a wife now.... :) It is a good idea and he is going to start praying for the upcoming things in the future :)

Elder Hoggan sends his love in closing. He will soon be returning to his homeland, not America, but Bayern/Bavaria. The missionaries are headed to Munich for a Zone Conference on Thursday. He will send a picture of all of his sons together :)

  

Schone Woche/ Beautiful Week

Elder Hoggan's email greetings from Waiblingen are Hallo Meine Lieben! Hello, my love!

Cool miracles are happening and a teaching pool involves Frau Vollmer. She is from Peru and was found through the area book. The Elders met with her first last Monday and her situation is interesting. Her record states that she's a member of the church, but her husband didn't know that. She had been taught by the missionaries a few times long ago, but says that her religious background is Catholic. Frau Vollmer is nice and has a ton of potential.

Frau Schief met with Elders Hoggan and Jensen on Wednesday and she was found through the area book, too. She is a nice, older lady who just lost her job. Comforting scriptures were shared from the Book of Mormon and the Bible. Frau Schief still has her own Book of Mormon from a few years back. She enjoyed talking about how Christ can carry our burdens and help us. A return appointment was made for the following Wednesday.

Kim was visited on Wednesday as well. She was contacted on the doorstep, remembered the previous missionaries, was totally open to meeting again, and shared that her family golfs :) Elder Hoggan hopes to pull a few strings there...;) Kim's recorded note next to her name had to "call again in a while or ask to golf." Elder Hoggan did both. She can't meet this week, but maybe the week after.

Bertrand is a newly baptized member from Cameroon. He brought a friend to the lesson with the missionaries and the Restoration was taught. His name is Judane (Jew-d-nee, nee like as a horse, nay). Judane seemed to really enjoy what was taught and is super cool.

Sunday was the baptism for 8 year old, Nick. A few people were invited to come, but one cancelled and the other didn't show. Elders Hoggan and Jensen are being positive! Frau Krieb is one of those who was invited and she is super nice. She will be meeting with the missionaries on Wednesday :)  

After the baptism, Elder Hoggan asked a father (family friend) if he would like to learn more about the gospel, but he said no. Prayers are being offered that the Lord will keep working on him and soften his heart.

Rising

Elders Hoggan and Jensen have decided that the best way to get this new area going is by working with members and going through the area book. A lot of people have been called and the fruits are coming from their labors! One is a new investigator, Frau Cordasco. She's a little skeptical, but open to hearing about other religions. Another entry was Keine Interesse which means no interest. This person lost her job and is going through hard, sad times. Now is the time for the gospel to enter her life and bless it!

Copies, from a previous missionary's planner, had a list of numbers and addresses of people that weren't in the area book. Names were chosen, but a feeling prompted Elder Hoggan to call every number. The last one on the list was Daisy, a German. She's moving and the missionaries offered their help and services. Those she had lined up to help her, hadn't been answering their phones. The Elders mentioned how they were inspired to call her and that there aren't any coincidences. Daisy has really been seeing and feeling God's love in her life and then this miracle occurred!. It blew her mind and was a cool experience :)

Stake Conference talks were on Hastening the Work and the Family. One missionary said, "Our testimonies and faith need to be so strong that we have the desire to share the gospel." When we have strong testimonies, we have a desire to share the gospel and it comes naturally. We want to share what we have. That comment has inspired Elder Hoggan to try and strengthen his testimony even more, to try and talk with more people even though this can be very hard to do.

Another speaker at Stake Conference said, "I can't imagine the Celestial Kingdom without my family." This is exactly how Elder Hoggan feels as well!!!!!!!!! God made His plan for us as families and He knows what brings us the most joy!

One last miracle was as the Elders were walking a different way home. A guy was a bit ahead of them and Elder Hoggan wanted to talk to him, but didn't want to make it too awkward. Excuses are lame. Finally, this man turned around and said, "Hey, are you from the Mormon church? I hear that the Mormon church lets people have five wives." The missionaries explained that that isn't true. "Well, what do you believe?" (Ding ding ding!!!) Michael left Elders Hoggan and Jensen with his telephone number, but is busy this week. Maybe next week they can meet! 

White Wash

Last week was a roller coaster ride for Elder Hoggan. He was sick Monday and Tuesday which wasn't fun at all. The positive thing about that  is being able to sleep on the new couches before being kicked off to his new area. Elder harvey did a good job of taking care of him. Goodbyes were said on Wednesday and visits were made to some member families.

President Kohler called Tuesday night and informed Elder Hoggan that two missionaries serving in Waiblingen were going to Munich for hernia surgeries. Originally, only one was diagnosed, but the companion realized he was experiencing similar pains and has one as well. It's kind of a funny story. So now instead of opening a new area in Ellwangen, Elder Hoggan will be taking over Waiblingen and whitewashing.

Elder Jensen is Steve's newest companion. He is from Wisconsin and is a fan of baseball and football. He loves the Green Bay Packers, his family owns their own business selling tools, and renting out tractors plus other vehicles. Elder Jensen worked there before his mission and will hopefully, take over the family business one day. He is a hard worker :)

Now these two live outside of Stuttgard, a pretty large city. A tender mercy occurred their first day together as the Elders got off the train. They had a map of how to get to their house, but neither one really knew the way. As they were discussing this, a man walked up and asked if they were lost. "Yeah, a little bit." After talking for a while, the gentleman asked them to wait there while he got his car and said that he would take them and their many bags to their new apartment. This older man did a good job of driving. He only drove on the wrong side of the road once, after Elder Hoggan pointed out that three cars were coming their way. It was pretty funny. The missionaries got this kind guy's phone number and were very grateful for his help!

The location of their apartment is pretty good. Only five minutes from the church and eight minutes from the train station. Across the street is a place that sells horse meat. Sometimes a horse is heard off in the distance. The missionaries are curious and can't get over the weirdness of the factory across from where they live.

Sunday brought introductions to the ward, the Bishop, and Ward Mission Leader. The search is on for people to teach as well as other names of those to go by on and work with. Things should pick up in the next couple of weeks.

Elder Hoggan's new address is:

Elder Steven Hoggan
Kirche Jesu Christi HLT
Benzstrasse 10
Waiblingen 71332
Deutschland