Hello family!

Mom, thank you for the encouragement! it is true, sooner or later it
will be a count down, not up. but i think the thing that makes me feel
the most like its going by is this idea: after one year, i will never
serve more than i have already served. it scares me! but also is
something crazy to think about. its funny you said that about the
pictures, with some of them i would open my mouth and they would open
theirs, haha. thats cool that jase has been here! i never went to
cedar point before, but one day, yes. i still remember the aldi runs,
and it just goes to simply show that jase is a hoskin! i liked what
the missionaries said about how you can bear your testimony in one
sentance. someone once asked President Hinkley why our temples dont
have crosses or other things like that on the outside, and he
responded that the symbols of our church are the living examples of
our members. just a neat thought to think. thank you for the pictures
as well, i liked them alot! also, i liked dad´s soccer jersey

Dad, as you can tell i am indeed able to write you guys this week, so
that is fine. this may not be the longest email ive sent, but at least
its something! thank you for the soccer update, go spain! people here
are going nuts about the liberators cup, which is the best club team
in south america, and the team that everyones crazy for in my mission
is now in the final against an argentine team, so like i said,
everyones going nuts. that is sweet that your class went well! that
class with all of them, as well as the age group sounds like its going
to be good. the temperature here is indeed real good, especially toay
for the falls!

michelle, hello! i got another one of your letters this week :) so
thank you! i have one quick question, are you still looking after my
facebook? im sure theres nothing to do on it, but there are many
brazilians from here who are wanting to be accepted by me, and so if
you have the time could you go on there and accept all the brazilians?


onto everything else!

so first of all, as you can see in the pictures i sent, the wedding
went through this week! everything went really really well. and there
were lots of members there at the wedding, as well as the baptism, so
it was a huge success. our ward here is incredible, ive never worked
in a ward before like this. i have seen now on the misson how much of
a different the ward makes in the work of a misisonary!

but anyways, they are really happy. the baptismal service was
incredibly spiritual, everyone was crying, and i cant even barely
explain it! but they had been waiting for an oppertunity to get
married for 7 years, and we were talking with them last night and they
said that it was the best desicion theyve ever made, and we had sort
of a testimony meeting at their house last night. i cannot believe how
strong they are in the gospel! it is incredible, and it is making my
mission, like the other baptisms weve had. it is unbelieveable.

so, we went to the ´point´this week, which is the bridge that crosses
the river that divides brazil from paraguay. it was sweet! i put one
foot in paraguay, to not break rules of leaving the mission, but it
was very cool! as you can see in the pictures i took.

so i had a division with who this week? Elder Borges! my old companion
from Marília, before Elder Glover. he was the only senior i ever had
beyond my trainers, and now i am his district leader, which is no big
deal, but apparently other missionaries were giving him half of a hard
time about it. but beyond all of this, it was a good time! we got to
reconnect again, and work together which was nice, and i wanted to see
him before he left as well, so i am glad to have had that.

i dont know why i am saying this, but i thought you guys would
appreciate the fact that i bought something in a regular supermarket
the other day, and they gave me change not in money, but in candy. i
thought of how in the old days, it was all trade without money. haha

so this week i saw the biggest spider of my entire life. it was
literally crossing the street. it was big enough to say that it was
crossing the street! it was HUGE. and we spotted it from way far away,
i didnt get a picture because i didnt have my camera on me, but
believe me, that thing was big.

also, as you can see in the pictures, i went to the 3 borders this
week! its a point where one river converges into another to make the 3
borders of brazil, paraguay, and argentina, (like unto pittsburgh) and
its a really beautiful spot. its also in my geographical area where i
work, so you guys will definitely see it when you come out here! i
have now seen 4 countries.

so thats all i can write for this week, i gotta go to the falls, but i
hope the amount of photos makes up for it! i love you guys, and i hope
that you have a great week! next week will be more low key to write
more and all, but until next week!

Elder Hoskin

Hello everybody!

Mom, its great to hear that you guys treated dad well for fathers day!
i always tell people here that my dad likes to barbeque, and they get
surprised because they think everyone in the US eats fast food and hot
dogs, hahah! thank you for the picture of jennys chalk art! it ended
up working out really well, to congrats jenny! that is sweet that you
guys got to go to the columbus temple. about not feeling the spirit
because it was a diffuclt assignment, i know what you mean. when i
started the mission it was hard for me to really feel the spirit in
lessons, because i was worried or focused on other things like
portuguese or using the right scriptures, ect. but it came with time,
so im sure it will come with time! just know that its normal haha.
that is awesome that jase is flying all the way out to hang out with
the family. haha im not the biggest fan of roller coasters, but i have
already been told that that will soon change.

dad, happy fathers day! congrats for being a father, and im grateful
for you being my dad, and for all of the support you give me. i am 20
now, but just know that however i was during different times of my
childhoodness, i am grateful for where i am right now and i am where i
am because of you and mom. so thank you! you did not tell me that they
lost the whole thing, but i am with mixed emotions. i am sad for them
losing, but happy that i didnt miss anything, but thats ok! there is
ALWAYS next year, or the year after.. haha. they are going to europe?
well that is pretty exciting i suppose, but like you said, in one year
almost exactly you will be here in brazil, so all is well :) that is
sweet that you got your call to be a sunday school teacher! your
calling (just in general, i think) is to teach, you always ripped the
lid off of teaching. who all is in your class now in our ward?

Michelle, i love you! and guess what, i got 2 of your letters this
week! so thank you very, very much :) they were the best. honestly, i
think that they dont delay longer to get here than marília, but
whatever works! are you still getting mine the same time? because i
always send them on tuesdays, so let me know when your getting them
just to see if it takes longer. so i read (AND LOVED) your two
letters, thank you for the recipe! i will make it for sure, the next
time i find tortilla chips again (i only found them once in the other
city, here i havent even had time to go grocery shopping more than
once!) so thank you me :) also, you made reference to the package in
your letter. well just to start off, i would still send it to the
mission office, just to be safe, and then you asked if there is
anything that i would want. well first off, the calendar can be any
photos, i was thinking even those that you took and sent to me most
recently, maybe a picture or two of the ABQ temple :) haha just be
creative, and im sure itll be awesome (also, i am lacking in pictures
of snow for the people here, and i know we have some on facebook of
you shoving snow in my face, on two chairs of snow, so if you want to
send those as just normal pictures i can show everyone how we are :)).


ok onto the family stuff!

well first of all, i finally used the blueberry muffin mix you sent
me. but there is not a muffin pan in all of brazil, so i ended up
using the batter to make blueberry pancakes, which turned out
ridiculously well. i made them in a family home evening for some
investigators of our  who are getting married soon, so that was a
success!

also, i go tthe package from grandma and grandpa! thank you SO MUCH! i
loved everything in it. and i have been sharing with my companions,
who almost died with the hot peanuts, ahha. this is one thing here in
brazil that i think is hilarious, its south of the border, but no one
here can handle any sort of spicy. but thank you!

so it got hot again this week, the clouds went away, and it started to
get really really hot. here is the coldest city in the mission during
winter and the hottest during summer, so when it gets hot here it gets
really hot. it felt like  winter was only one week, but yesterday it
rained like nothing else, so now its nice and cool again, and from
what i hear winter is finally here to stay.

so i showed you guys in the pictures i sent, but i found jordan
francis in the liahona magazine this week! i was reading conference
talks, when i was casually looking at photos on the inside cover, and
saw the photo credits, and one said ´courtesy of jordan francis´ and
it caught me off guard, so i went through the whole thing looking for
pictures with him, when i found him! haha but he looks like he is
burnt. he should be finishing his mission soon? but it was just a
funny experience.

next, we had an awesome service project this week. i got to give free
vaccines to kids! as seen in some of the photos. we spent one morning
there with a booth, and there were two types of kids. the ones who i
want to have, who just showed up with their parents, upened their
mouths, and that was it (they were vaccines in drops), or the other
type who freaked out crying and screaming. haha but overall it was a
sweet experience!

so today is going to be a special pday (althought next week will be as
well, next week is when we go to the falls) because one of our couples
whom we are teaching is getting married today at 4 oclock! so we are
going to use some of our pday and go down there with them. they are
way strong in the church already, and their baptismal date is for this
saturday, so they are just great..we showed up at their house last
night, and they had gotten into a huge fight (totally satan working
agains families) and they werent talking and didnt even want to get
married anymore. so we sat there for like an hour and a half and they
talked and cried it out, and then after an hour of that i opened up
D&C and we talked about forgiveness, and it was way spiritual. i
talked about how we are all so imperfect, and how christ suffered for
each of our sins. and many of us continually sin even after knowing
its bad or repenting, yet he is always there waiting for us to come
unto him again. and then i shared the scripture where it says that he
will forgive whom he forives, but for us its to forgive all (i think
its 62:10 or 82:10) and how we need to forgive people like christ
does, and by the end of it they were way happy again! and now they are
totally stoked for today, and its just going to be a great experience.

well thats all i can do today, but im glad to hear form you guys! i
love you all, and i hope you have a great week! talk to you next week!

Elder Hoskin

Hello family!

Mom, i completely agree with your kitchen analogy. here are new
streets, all new people i have never talked to before. its a nice
break, so i am glad for it! thank you for the compliment, what makes
this whole mission experience for everyone great is the Lord, and the
blessings from it. did you guys take a picture of jenny´s chalk art? i
think that would be sweet to see. it sounds like abby is getting into
boy mode. youve got one year! but that cake sounds delicious, and i
miss those sort of things that you guys would always make.  congrats
on signing very well, i am excited to see how well you sign when i get
back!

Dad, well first of all i want to say happy birthday!!! and, i am a
freaking sneak. you said you got the package i sent home right? well
that one maroon jersey i bought for you, and put in there as your
birthday present when you got it. so its yours! its a double XL, and i
hope you like it. it is the team of ours here in brazil, the
corintians. happy birthday! it sounds like the devils are doing well
again, all they need to do is win 2 more games, and they will rob the
LA kings. people here are getting more and more into international
soccer, thank you for the update. brazil lost to argentina this past
week 4 to 3, and people were not happy, to say the least. i remember
you saying that you didnt like the threesome you were in. for me i am
liking it alot as of now, i dont really quite know why, but i am. i
like my 2 companions, and i think its mainly because things are going
well here.



Onto everything else now that happened this week,

well first of (chronilogical order) i would like to tell you that i
had the experience of seeing with my own eyes a 10 year food storage
of a member here in our ward. 10 YEARS! it is literally a small
underground compund. its below the earth in their backyard, and it has
everything that you would ever need storaged correctly for 10 years of
preservation. it was ridiculous.

Next, it is getting cold! it got down to the low 30s here this week,
which i was very grateful for. i am loving the cold, although i wasnt
necessarily unhappy before, i was a much happier person this week
because of the cold. i love wearing sweaters, having a uncommonly
toasty bed, everything about winter! so it has been a nice blessing.
also, i heard that the real winter hasnt even started yet, so that is
even better news.

My companion, Elder Mycon, is from Belem, in the state of Para, which
is northeast. up in the northeast is where its like ghana, its hot 12
months of the year. he said that the coldest he ever had in his live
(other than this transfer, and his fridge) wa the low 70s, and he said
in that people would put on sleeves and all. so he is cooooold here!
haha he is just freezing, but i am helping him out with sweaters and
stuff. he seems to be getting used to it. he never saw his breath
before! so that was a neat experience. the only thing different about
here is that they have no house heating systems or cooling, so its
like camping in winter here. so it gets real cold at night, and the
process of the morning when its way cold (like taking a shower, ect)
is difficult. but what i have begun to do is just do more exercises,
and i get warmed up nicely.

we went to a place called 3 fronteirs this week! it is the point where
paraguay, brazil, and argentina meet. its actually a 3 rivers type
deal, but i saw paraguay and argentina! it is a beautiful spot, and i
will be sure to bring you guys here whenver we come to Foz. as of now,
ive only seen america, brazil, paraguay, and argentina haha.

so this ward has a resemblance of 5th ward, for one simple fact. there
are alot of young couples slash families here. there are so many! its
like all the dental students in pittsburgh. but i like it, because
everyone here is down for leaving with the missionaries and all
because theyve all returned from missions recently, and know how it
is. it makes the ward really exciting actually.

so we had a huge spiritual experience this week! i talked last week
about a couple named Celson and Liziane that we are working with, who
will be married and baptized next week. well this week, we were
knocking on some doors (sunday) when we found a woman named sandra. we
talked to her, marked an appointment, and went back on tueday. we
showed up on tuesday, and taught the restoration and all, and it was a
hugely spiritual lesson. it ends up that her and her husband were
going church to church looking for the right one for months, and in
this past month they had stopped going to church alltogether because
they didnt find one. so on saturday night she prayed to God that he
would help her know where she should go to church, and then during
that saturday night she had a dream, and in her dream she dreamed of 3
´personages´ is how she explained it. then the next day, sunday, is
when we showed up at her house, and as soon as she opened the door and
saw us she said she felt different, and knew that we were those three.
so they told us all the things they were passing through and all of
this, and they accepted the invite to be baptized and get married! so
now we have a second couple that we are going to marry and baptize
here. they are so great, they got a response about the book of mormon
the night we gave it to them, and they even went to stake conference
this past week! so it was just another great experience spiritually.
from it, we can learn some things. first, that god knows we are in a
trio. and second, that he prepares people to hear the restored gospel
of jesus christ. it was a wonderful experience!

So yes, we had stake conference this sunday downtown. i actually have
a funny story to go with this now.

So we walk into the chapel and i am super excited, because we have
investigators and President ended up being there and all, and i see a
guy in the hallway talking to another, and he is wearing a tie. one of
the coolest ties ever! (see my picture in the suit to see it). it is
just dark blue with tiny elephants all over it, and i dont know why,
but i wanted that tie. well i shook his hand like i did with everyone
else, and told him i liked his tie. he thought i was joking, and then
i told him i would trade with him that tie (i was wearing that one i
have with angel moroni that we bought in Salt Lake many years ago) and
so he was down to do it, so we went to the bathroom to change, and i
was super excited and all because this tie was sweet! then as we were
changing, i was talking to him getting to know him, and another man
there asked me ´do you know who this is?´ and i told him i didnt,
because i had been here a week and a half. it turns out he was the 1st
conselor in the stake presidency here in Foz de iguaçu! hahaha and i
had no clue until then, so it was sort of hilarious. it was also funny
to see him with my tie up there on the pulpit.

but stake conference was really good, it consisted of both President
Tavares, our mission president, as well as Elder Leal, who was the
mission president here before President Tavares. Now he is called as a
70, and it was interesting to see him because i had heard a bunch
about him, since many missionaries (none now) at the beggining of the
mission talked about how it was with him

but then something else happened that i almost forgot! haha. well
President tavares was giving his talk about the 10 virgins, and
filling our lamp,. and how missionary work and callings fill the oil
in this lamp, all during his talk. so as he was talking about this, he
said now in that moment he was going to make all the missionaries
sweat, saying he was going to call a missionary up to bare a 5 minute
testimony about missionary work, then goes ´Elder Hoskin! Can you
please come up´ haha! so i had to go up there in the middle of stake
conference and bear my testimony to everyone about missionary work.
but it ended up being fine, but i want to share some of what i said
with you guys

well i went in to my testimony of missionary work. and i talked about
how i learned on the mission that we dont get a testimony in a
commandment, or anything, until we live or follow that teaching and
commandment. then i talked about how i didnt have a testimony of
missionary work going into the mission, plainly because i had never
experienced helping others know the church before hand. and i talked
about how i wish now that i would have done more with the missionary
work in my ward, because if i would have i would have had a stronger
testimony going into the mission. then i went on to talk about the
testimony ive gotten on the mission. and i want to share it with you
because its true, and i think we all need to try to help the
missionaries to get a testimony of the gathering of israel, like any
other commandment

but anyways! it was a good experience, and with the switching ties
with the 1st counselor, and being called up to bear my testimony, it
was one of the crazier stake conferences that have happened to me
haha!

ok so thats all i got for this week timewise. i love you guys, and i
miss you, michelle i cant wait to get another letter, and eventually
your package! same goes for my grandparents, i cant wait to hear from
your guys again as well. i love you all, and i hope you have a g reat
week! until next week!

Elder Hoskin

ps, i havent talked to joseph in a while either?

Hello Family!

Well the VERY FIRST thing i would like to do in this email is give you
guys the new address for you to send me the mission ties letters. I AM
DYING of not hearing from michelle! haha its absolutely true :) so
michelle, send it off as soon as you get this! Here it is, o ps i love
you

Elder Hoskin
Av. Morenitas, 708 APT 1
Jardim Das Flores
Foz Do Iguaçu - PR - Brazil
85855-190

ok great! WOO

Momma, i am very happy to hear that you basically roasted in tennis.
Im liking the whole staying active thing with sports, that it
something i am going to definitely do with michelle as we continue on
in our life and all, is stay active! But congrats on the win. That new tent sounds like a goody!
did he buy it at aldi? we are going to have to do some family camping
when i get back, i miss camping, although then again i miss the
general ´cleanness´ of america more. But thats just fine. Find out
what mission Cliff Larsen is going to! Because i know all of them now,
and i know many people who are form various missions or are serving in
some, so let us see!

Faja, im sorry to hear about the devils, but they will bounce back.
its always the goalie that gets ridiculous that leads a team to the
finals. but i still have hope. also, yes, i think that the only time
that people really talked about the US brazil soccer match in their
lives this past week was when they bothered to tell me how brazil won
sooo much. haha! thats ok though, because you cant name anoher sport
they would beat us in, with the exception of maybe volleyball. did you
know that : here in brazil they have a professional volleyball league
that is huge! its just like socccer or the NFL but professional, paid,
followed volleyball teams. it is different. simply put, spain wil win
in the Euro cup, and thank you for the congrats! i will explain a
little more about it down below. but yes, here is the coldest place in
the mission, and it gets close to freezing, so i am excited. but what
you said about the winter coat, i will probably need to buy something,
it will not be a fortune, but ill get a nice one of those wool navy
type coats, whats it called, a pea coat? i think. i will see.about
that email with the itinerary, i called the secretaries and they told
me that they will send you the number and email of Chelsea Martin. if
you remember her, she was the woman who helped us with our visa stuff,
and apparently she also helps a ton with the parents going to pick up
their kids thing, so you will just need to get in contact with her and
give her the low down. also, i am very very happy to hear you guys are
skyping michelle tonight! tell her that i miss her, and that she is
the best.


ok now onto what happend this week

well first of all, this week was crazy because of tranfers. first of
all, i will explain how i got here. so on tuesday at 7 AM i left a bus
in marilia for londrina, where i got there at almost noon, and stayed
there helping the rest of the missionaries who were passing though the
entire day. it was very tiring, ahh, then i slept in a house of the
missionaries there in londrina that night, and at 6 the next morning i
took a bus for Foz, and got there at 6 in the evening. it had to have
been one of the most difficult journeys of my life, it felt soo long
and after hours and hours of the bus it smelled sufficiently gross in
there. but at noon we stopped for half an hour, so that was alright,
and then we kept going, and by 6 i was in Foz (Falls). so thats how i
got here!

some details for you guys about my situation here that i honestly did
not know beforehand. i told you that i would be the district leader.
and yes, i am the district leader, but i also have a 2nd companion
now. i am going to be training as well, this third companion, so im
technically  a district leader slash trainer in a trio. so things just
got complicated! hahah, the trainee is named Elder Nogueira, he is
from São Paulo, and is a recent convert, and the other companion who i
talked abgout is elder Maycon, who is also a recent convert, so there
was alot to get in order and figure out when i first got here, but
that is ok. also, i am opening this area, because the last
missionaries who were here werent working, so President dispersed them
like the israelites. SO! ive been trying to get to know the members,
start working here and opening this area, and train him in the trio!
and so far it has all worked out relatively well.

i ran my first district meeting on thursday morning (i got here
wednesday night, so i had to cram it to plan it out haha) and it
actually worked out pretty well. it wasnt that difficult, i just have
to put my thoughts in order. it was about the role of the spirit in
conversion, and worked out quite nicely. Oh, do you remember my first
companion in Marília, the brazilian Elder Borges? Well he is here too,
and i am his district leader now haha, but i dont joke with him about
that because it would be arrogant.

Our house is the best house i have lived in. it is only the three of
us, we have 2 showers, a working washing maching (the one in marilia
wasnt spinning) and its on the second story of a building above a
shop! so its got a balcony to see the avenue, and its completely safe
since its the second level., and its just sot of nice a big loft,which
is awesome to me (i am still a little nerdy when it comes to
buidlings, ect ect). the best news, it has a sofa! so i will be
spending my pdays writing michelle on my nice incredibly worn in sofa,
and it will be very good

So there is one set of investigators who are here that we are already
preparing for baptism! They are a couple that needs to get married,
and so they have already gotten married lawfully, and they have set
their marriage date for the 18th and their baptism for the 20th! that
is going to be really sweeet, being part of a marriage baptism type
deal. those are always very very happy. their names are celson and
liziane. he looks 100% american, and that also is sweet.

so im going to iguaçu falls! on the 24th of june. missionaries arent
allowed to go on their own, so the zone arranged with president, and
we are going to go with him. it is going to be INCREDIBLE. so i am
beyond excited. i actually have alot of luck, because he usually goes
very 6 months, and right as i get here were going, so that will be
good.

so get this, remember how i said that part of my mission borders
paraguay and argentina? well that is MY AREA, not just my zone or
city, but literally where i am assigned to proselyte is the border of
paraguay and argentina. crazy, right? its divided by a river, and
there is a point in my area called 3 fronteirs, and we are going to go
pass by and take some photos, but it just shows how south i am! on the
border of those 2 countries, crazy!

so about that, here everybody takes the 15 minute car trip to paraguay
to buy things incedibly cheap. in fact, there are a TON of paraguayans
here in this city. it feels like a different mission, because its so
diverse. theres a large population of muslims here, and here they
speak alot of spanish as well as an indigenous language from paraguay
called guarany (pronounced guadaknee) so its just nuts. i am going to
be dealing with (and already have ony a little bit) pelple from
paraguay who speak mainly spanish, usually a little portuguese. so it
will be interssting!

i also last night had my first bit of paraguayan food. its like im in
a whole other culture! and here there are tons of cars with paraguay
and argentina license plates, its like im in the niagra of brazil or
something.

the ward here is by far the best ward i have ever served in. the other
wards had an attendance of around 80 (90 in my first one) and here the
attendance yesterday was 120, and they were dissapointed in the low
numbers. apparently it usually is around 140. the organizations here
are totally filled, and there is tons of priesthood, which is one of
the ways that you need to have a ward grow. also, ive never met a ward
so apt to help the missionaries, everyone has told us they will go on
splits with us, and families apparently just bring things like cake,
pizza, or just groceries to the missionaries house now and then to
help them out. it is nuts. yesterday at church i hadnt felt like that
in a long time. the ward is really really strong, and our ward mission
leader is the man.

we are going all technology on missionarywork as well. the ward is so
into being a ward that they have a facebook page, and we are going to
make an email list. i got the idea to start a ward journal, just like
one page each week on recent converts, activities, baptisms, and its
going to work out really well!

i am so excited to work here in this area, it is difficult do
describe. here seems like it is just going to be a great work,
everything here is perfect for just lots and lots of high quality
work.

on a side note, i have been in this new lan house for 57 minutes now,
and they have been playing beyonce for about 20. i thought michelle
would appreciate.

well i have to wrap up now, seeing as how its an hour and all. but i
hope this email was good! and that you are all going very well. i
missi you guys, and love you guys, and i keep you in my prayers. be
sure to change that address and everything for missionties! i am
excited like nothing else to get michelles letters. until next week,
bye!

-Elder Hoskin

(ps, dont know if you noticed, but this keyboard is wayy better than
the sticky one i had in marilia, so i have typed much more seeing as
how its much easier. blessings!)