Hello Family!  This is Elder Hoskin talking on January 28 on 2013.

Not to get anybody trunky or anything, but yesterday was my one year, six month anniversary of being in Brazil on a mission, so Holy Crap!  I made this parable today, and I am getting worried about ending my mission.  As of right now, the first year and a half, I don’t have any regrets, I have done what I needed to do, I feel that satisfaction.  But, I  was telling someone today, I imagine this is what a terminal disease would feel like.  If you were told you had one year to live.  And so, you live it up, you try to live as much as possible, then, it kind of gets into your head - - Crap!  I only have one more year, or I only have 8 more months .  That’s how I am feeling.  I’m starting to get sad the closer it gets to the end.  So, that just, like, its gonna be really sad whenever it ends.  So, I’m just gonna make the most of it right now. 

I hope everyones doing okay.  The highlight of this week was that I had the best fast of my entire life.  So, I’m gonna tell you how that fast went down right now.  So, President,  we have a president’s letter every week.  Whenever we go on the email on Monday, we can go to the mission website, and we have a different letter every week.  So, last week’s letter was a story of a missionary that was having a lot of problems baptizing, what he dis was, he prayed and fasted for a day, So, through that fast, it was defined of things that he needed to stop doing and  ways that he needed to sanctify himself more.  So, he made a list, and for 40 days he would strictly follow that list, and not do the things he decided he was going to stop doing.  Every night he would look at  his list, and with prayer, he would make goals to see if he could be better.   So, after 40 days, he literally had become a better person by sanctifying himself.   And, president challenged the whole mission to do that.  So I did the fast on Saturday to Sunday.  Saturday lunch to Sunday lunch.  And, it ended up being one of the best fasts I have ever done my entire life.  First what happened is Saturday we went to Atapongas, its another city in my zone.  Apucarana has about 12 missionaries.  Atapongas has four.  So, its just another city about half an hour away. 

So, we went there to do a baptismal interview, for a woman.  She had been really excited all week to get baptized, then, on Saturday morning,  she had a big fight with one of her kids.  She was like, I am not getting baptized, I’m not feeling like it.  I’m not even going to talk to that missionary with the interview and stuff.   That’s what she told them, so it seemed like it had all fallen through or whatever.  I was thinking that it was Lucifer, like there is opposition in all things.   So, they ended up getting her to go to the interview, and I went into the interview with her.  She is a really really spiritual person.  And, it was the best interview I’ve ever done, one of the best.  I’m not going to lie to you, we were both crying- - which shouldn’t be one of the indicators, but you know it kind of is.   We didn’t go over the interview questions until, lie, 20 minutes into it.  In the beginning I shared with her the scriptures about opposition in all things,  and stuff like that.  It ended up being a really really good interview, and I felt the spirit really well.  And, so that was like, Woa!  My fast has been going really well because of that.  So, she ended up passing the interview, she got baptized yesterday.  That was the highlight of the day.  Then, we went home, and kept working.  And, we got into our house about 9:30, and I broke out my scriptures.  And, I looked for all the scriptures that talked about fasting.  In the Bible Dictionary is says the Book of Mormon helps a lot more to explain the benefits of fasting, and it had a bunch of references.  So, I studied fasting, and that helped bring the spirit.  One thing that I thought that was interesting, that I never had to do before cause I have never had anyone close to me die,  is that you can fast to mourn – to get comfort with the loss of a loved one, like the did in the book of mormon.  I thought that was really interesting.  Then, I went to bed.

Then, on Sunday, it was a crazy day.  So, we get into church, and our Branch President’s like, ‘hey!  Elder Hoskin!  Our first speaker for five min, is not able to do it, can you give a talk? ‘  And, so I gave a really cool talk, like, I really felt like I needed to give this message, so I gave it.  So, I gave a talk on Mosiah Chapter 26 or is it 27… Its 27.  About how like Alma the younger had an angel come to him, and the angel said I am here as a response to your fathers’ prayers, and because of his faith.  So, I gave this message that was short, but really awesome.  I just felt like I was inspired  to give that message to any parents or kids even that were falling away from the church.  Those parents need to keep fasting and keep praying for their kids, because the Lord responds to that, we learn it through Alma’s experience.  And, so afterwards there was a woman who came up to me, that I have never really talked to before.  She told me about her daughter that has fallen away from the church, and thanked me for my message.  So, I know that message was for her.  A really neat experience, just a really cool experience.  I saw the spirit working in my life more.

 So, theres a woman who goes to the other branch that shares our chapel, she has been an investigator for two months, and she never got baptized, just because she felt like she wasn’t ready.  I am in a trio right now, it me and my companion, and a district leader in our same branch, because his companion went to Londrina,  so me and the district leader, as soon as I got done giving a talk, we just left the chapel,  we went downstairs and got this woman, her name is Sirlainea, and we just sat down with her.  And, we gave one of the most spiritual lessons that I have ever been a part of.  Every time something spiritual happens, I think , ‘ that’s the most spiritual its ever been!’   I am pretty sure that’s true, because every time we have another spiritual experience,  we feel the spirit a little more, we expand a little more.  But, it was crazy, and we talked about Mosiah 26,  and then used Alma 7.  And, she didn’t want to get baptized for a lot of weeks,  and we invited her after the lesson, we said, ‘will you get baptized, today?’  Like, today today.  And she accepted!  So, this was a huge miracle, and she got baptized at 7:30, and she was crying the entire time with like, JOY!  As soon as she got out of the water, she started sobbing, it was crazy.   Because she was really repentant of stuff she had done in the past. 

So that ended up being one of the best fasts I have ever done.  There was so many spiritual experiences in that, it was crazy.  And, so, that basically made my week.  It’s the last week of the transfer next week.  This is a seven week transfer.  I am pretty sure I am going to stay .  My companion could stay or could go.  I want to tell you guys that I love you, and that I am really enjoying the mission.  Everytime I get sad about the mission ending, I work harder.  But, I know its going to be sad whenever it ends.  I am really grateful for everything you guys have helped me with.  I hope you have a great week and hope that everything is going well.  I will talk to you next week, I am doing well, no health problems. I am doing great.  I will talk to you next week. Okay, bye.