How many drops of blood were spilled for me?

Dear Mom, Family and Friends:

This gospel is amazing. Yesterday we heard from Russel M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve. If you have been reading my letters, you would know that since coming to the MTC,  I have listened to 4 apostles, starting with Richard G. Scott, Dallin H. Oaks, Neil L. Anderson, and this one just recently. Before coming here, it was two whole months before any of the general authority came to speak at the MTC. I feel truly blessed, and I hope the new elders feel blessed to hear from an apostle in their first week here.

The new elders are really cool people. One of them, Elder Mantell, is from England, and another is from Sweden with a name I can't pronounce. This just shows how worldwide the church is. These elders have such great spirits, and they are going to do great things in Russia and Ukraine. It's weird to see them, and realize I was in their shoes 6 weeks ago. I remember looking at the more experienced elders and notice how old they look. I wonder what the new elders see in me. I hope to be a great example, so I have even greater resolve to do better.

Things between me and my companion are really going well. We are working together, we listen and communicate with each other. It's not perfect, but what companionship is perfect? The best thing to do is to love and serve them. My companion has such a great spirit, which I was reminded of last night. After the Tuesday devotional, we share thoughts, feelings, and testimonies of what was said. Elder Fitzgerald bore a powerful testimony, which everyone in our district commented on. I feel truly blessed.

Our district has gone through some difficult times. We all have gone through difficult things, more than what other missionaries have gone through. But as our Branch President Childs said about our district, we have a powerhouse district. Though we have problems, we are able to support each other and love each other. I love my district. God provides every means necessary to bless His children.

I love President Peterson, and I wish I could have heard his talk. Here at the MTC I am really understanding the Atonement, and what it means to me as a missionary and what it means to others. For the Tuesday devotional, I was in the choir and we sang "This is the Christ". One line goes "I read the words, the words he prayed while bearing sorrow in Gethsemane. I feel His love, the price He paid. How many drops of blood were spilled for me?" Aren't these such powerful words? I love this song. How many drops of blood were spilled for me? Those drops of blood paid the price for my sins, and enable me to become a better person, and become like Father. Of all the gifts given to us, The Atonement is the greatest. Not only can we be forgiven of our sins, but we can be endowed with power to resist the adversary, gain spiritual strength, and perform miracles. All of this and an infinite amount more all because of the Atonement. I love reading about it and teaching it, because I know it's true. Jesus Christ suffered in Gethsemane so that we would not have to suffer.

I DO feel the power of your prayers. I have begun to write down the promptings I receive, and recently, one came to me. The apostles are praying for us. Those who go to the temple are praying for us. Our families are praying for us. Our friends are praying for us. Our Father in Heaven is praying for us. 14 million people are praying for the missionaries. How powerful is that? And I can testify that those prayers are being heard and answered. I feel strength from these prayers.

I realize with this computer I can share things in Russian, so here's my testimony with a translation:

Я знаю что Бог живь.

Бог наш Небесний Отец.

Иисус Христос живь.

Иисус Христос наш Спаситель.

Ивангелие истина.

I know that God lives

God is our Father in Heaven

Jesus Christ lives

Jesus Christ is our Savior

The gospel is true

I wish I could write more, but I am out of time.

Love,

Elder Hoggan

80 new elders coming to MTC bound for Russia!

I am SO sorry for that charge! I am not entirely sure why it was costing that. Really this first month I was figuring out what I needed. I should have used my other debit card, but it never crossed my mind. I am really sorry about that, I didn't mean to spend so much. I shouldn't need any other stuff at the moment, because I have all I need to learn. I am ashamed I didn't notice my purchases. I commit myself to record ALL my purchases, so I will know how much I have purchased.

I don't care about the music you send me. I like any type of choral music. Even if it's SATB, we could still figure out parts. Send me the free stuff, since I don't want you to spend money on me more than you have to, especially after that first bill...It's just hard to not have music, and I don't know what it will be like in Russia. I want to be prepared to share ALL my talents, and music can bring in the spirit in ways that all the words in the world couldn't.

Today, actually, the new elders going to Russia are coming. We will recieve over 40 new elders into our branch, which will more that double our branch's size. There are over 80 elders just for Russia coming in. The work in Russia is growing fast, and it's exciting.

We can watch movies from LDS.org, and one particular one I like is the Kyiv Cultural Celebration. Before the dedication of the temple, they put on a show for the prophet showing their rich history. It's amazing to say that I can understand a lot of what the people say. I can't wait for when the prophet will announce for a temple in Russia. I took part in sealings at the temple last week for the first time. The ceremony is so simple, but it couldn't be more powerful. I knew that these people I was being a proxy for are rejoicing because they are an eternal family. I want this same blessing for the people of Russia.

I know about Victory day. It's May 9, when the Germans surrendered. The Soviet were rejoicing because this terror in their life was over. Both Russians and Ukrainians have parties (which explains why missionaries have to be careful) they sing songs and dance, and remember what happened. It's like our 4th of July, but I feel sometimes our Independence day is more about fireworks that for remembering our freedom. These people had been subject to so much suffering, that this moment when they could finally see hope was overwhelming for them. One particular song, called Katushka (Kah-too-sh-kah), we learned in class. It is about a young woman waiting for her lover while he is away at war. We sang it just for fun once, and Sister Kuznitsova was so happy and she recorded us singing it. It is a beautiful song.

I have to say that prayer is very powerful, and listening to the spirit is very important. On a zero-second notice, Elder Fitzgerald and I were called to teach a professional investigator. We didn't have our scriptures, and we had no plans whatsoever, which is sort of what it will be like in Russia. When we knocked on the door, the investigator asked, "What sort of message do you have?" I prayed for what I should say, and I said "We have a message about happiness". The man let us in and told about his life, and how he lost his car company because of the recession, and how his wife was having an affair with another man. (We knew that this wasn't a real investigator, but it was pretty convincing when he brought out a phone with a voicemail of a message from someone saying they saw his wife with another man and pictures) We were speaking in English, which I was grateful for, because we both could testify how this message we had to share and turning to Christ could bring happiness, and that He knew our pains. God answered my prayer about what to say. It says in my patriarchal blessing that I would be given what to say at the very moment I would need it.

This is true.

That moment was very important to me, as I had been struggling to get along with my companion. No one is perfect, we have our differences, and you have to just go through life with a smile on your face, even if you are sad. But Elder Fiztgerald has such a strong spirit, and I love him. He is going to be an awesome elder.

This gospel IS happines.

Jesus Christ is our Savior.

God lives, and He loves us.

We are His children.

I love you all. (tell people to write me!)

Elder Hoggan

Fun in the MTC

Elder Neil L. Anderson

Dear Family:

I am grateful that you loved my letter, but I wanted to send you a Mother's day card, as well as a Birthday card for Dad. There weren't any Mother's day cards in the book store, so I got something I think you will like, so wait and it should come soon. I really love receiving letters, so tell the family to send me more! I loved receiving the card from Claire, and I posted it on my wall. Tell her I really like the kitties she put in my note. I love these pictures! It's funny, but they really brighten my day when I look at them. So if you could please ask the family to send me pictures, that would be awesome!

Just to tell you our progress in the language, we are giving the lesson of the Restoration 100% Russian. Yep, just a little over a month and we are teaching in Russian. It's amazing. I could never learn this language on my own so quickly. That apostolic blessing of the gift of tongues given to us by Elder Scott really works! And just to blow your mind even further, The speaker at the devotional yesterday was Elder Neil L. Anderson. We have been at the MTC for about 5 weeks, and we have listened to THREE apostles. This never happens. I feel that the Lord is preparing us for something big. Something amazing is going to be happening.

It's exciting.reading about Porter's experience with fighting Darth Vader (I am so jealous of the young padawan) reminded me about my own Jedi experiences. One of the missionaries from an older district showed us how to use the colored pencil leads and if you position it right, you can take a picture and it will look exactly like you are holding a lightsaber. It's really cool, and I will have to send you some pictures.

Mother's day was the last Sunday for the older districts. For a special musical number for sacrament meeting, a district sang the EFY medley in Russian, but they switched the words "we will be" to "we are now". It caught me by suprise, because I am now the Lord's missionary. This week, the older districts left for the mission field. I woke up at 4:30 those two days to see the missionaries off. It makes me so excited that in another 6 weeks it will be MY turn.

During gym time, I usually like to play volleyball. We share gym time with missionaries going to Italy, and they are really good. In the evenings and mornings some of us like to get together and work out. It's hard, but it really starts the day right.

Elder Fitzgerald and I are starting to work better together now. The most important thing I am learning is compromise. We both can't get everything we want. As a missionary, you are going to work with companions that just aren't that compatible with you. You need to remember that both of you are there for the same reason, and that is to teach the people. That is all you need in common to be successful. So Elder Fitzgerald and I are very different, but we are learning to put aside our differences and just get to work.

Since all the older districts are gone, we needed new zone leaders. They are from our district, Elder Garret and Kodra. It's really cool, because the music coordinator, sacrament meeting coordinator, and zone leaders are all from our district. No one else from any other disctrict has a calling. We all have senior companionships, but the calling is shared. (I am the senior companion for the rest of the MTC) Our branch president President Childs told us that we have a special district. I believe it. We have had lots of struggles, but we are able to come together and support each other. After every devotional, we have a district review, where we share our testimonies and things we learned from the devotional. Every time, I am astonished at how strong we are. It's exciting.

Thank you for the packages. If it would be possible, please send me one or two short-sleeved fitted shirts. It gets really hot sometimes here, and also it will get to over 100 degrees in Russia in the summer. I don't want to die. :) I would also like vocal music. Mainly choral (group music) but solos are okay.

I am almost out of time, so I will send more via letter. I love the family, and tell the grandchildren that I feel their prayers for me. Tell them also to send me lots of drawings!

Love, Elder Hoggan

P.S. The Church is true!

Miracles do happen!

Dear Family,

 I just have to say that miracles do happen! I don't know what it is, but my companion and I are really starting to work so well together! Today we have TRC, which is when we start off with a situation where we must communicate in Russian with an "investigator" (it is a BYU student that knows Russian, last week we had Sister Kuznitsova's friend who helped convert her and prepare her for a mission!)...I can actually have a somewhat decent conversation in Russain right now! You never really realize how much the spirit helps you learn, but I could never learn Russian this fast on my own. I can repeat the Purpose as a Missionary and 1st vision all in Russian as well. It's amazing... Well, after the situation, we give a lesson in our native language, until next week where everything is in Russian...??!! How does that happen? Someone should somehow market the MTC language program, and bury Rosetta Stone in the dust! It's funny, but after every TRC, I come out with the biggest smile on my face. This gospel IS true. This IS a plan of happiness.

Well, to explain the average day at the MTC, I wake up about 6:00 and exercise right outside our "home" door. Then about 6:30 is when everyone wakes up. Then at 7:00 we have a daily planning session with our companions, where we plan what we study for the day. Then we have breakfast at 7:50. After that we usually have personal study time, where we have an hour to study anything. I like to start by reading the scriptures. I bought a journal where I write down my thoughts about scriptures that I read. The scriptures become so much more meaningful when you actually ponder them and think rather than just reading. Then we usually have class for about three hours. This is where we learn more about the Russian language and gospel principles. Then we have lunch at about 12:30. Then we have class again until about 5:30 when it is time for dinner. Then after dinner it's more class time until about 9:00. Then a group of us exercise until about 10:15 when it is quiet time and we have to be in our rooms, then it's lights off at 10:30. Sometime in the day we will have gym for about 50 minutes, companionship study for about an hour, and language study for an hour. Not a single minute is wasted. Then we have devotionals every Tuesday, and firesides and church movies every Sunday.

Testimony meeting was amazing. Everyone was able to speak in English, so that the spirit wouldn't be limited by struggling words. Our branch has such faith, and eveyone spoke about their personal conversions. I didn't bear my testimony, since I wanted the older missionaries to have a chance, because they will be gone this Monday. That day was probably one of the best for me since I have been here.

The only thing I know about Sister Kuznitsova's conversion story is that her whole family thinks she is crazy, and that she hasn't talked to them for a long time. She is an amazing person, with such a strong testimony. We have interviews with the teachers every week, and whenever I have a problem, she is so helpful!

I have actually been pranked this week. On Sunday, I entered the room for the night, and I see a note with a flower on the floor. I read it and it's a note to me, from a "secret admirer" wanting to meet me at the statues of the bicycling missionaries. I give a little smirk, then immediately crumble it up and throw it away. All the other elders were trying to make me go see who it is, but I was adamant about following the rules, which forbids any meetings with the opposite gender. Later, while I was studying, my companion whispers to me, "I'm your secret admirer." I turn around and gave him a death glare. It was pretty funny.

I can't really use my jump drive, since I can't use programs like that on this computer. Please send me an SD card so I can send you the pictures. Also, tell people to write me! I love receiving letters, and I want to know what's going on out there in "Babylon". (That's what we call the outside world) I'm sorry but my 30 minutes are up, tell the fam to send me drawings from the grandchildren. Those are my favorite, and I want to adon my dorm wall with them!

This gospel it true...It is SO true!

Elder Hoggan