March 12

Visit from Elder Tenorio and his wife.

We had another great week this week. and really busy with leadership meetings, divisions, baptismal interviews, and trying to work in our area. I really am liking it here, I miss Tantoyuca a little bit, but this is a really good area and ward and the church and its functions are almost like back home.
On the 21 of April Elder Anderson from the 12 is coming to visit our mission, its going to be awesome. As well everyone from my generation is getting flight plans lined up for the 28th of June that we are going to be coming home cuz in this same week the new mision president is coming in and Pres. Call is leaving so he wants to get us all ready to go before he leaves on the 30th that seems like its coming way fast and it gives me the urgent desire to work harder and finish out with a bang in this area and with my zone.
Our ward missionary leader just got put in a little while ago, he's a big guy probably pushing 300"sh and is cool and made me a cake for my birthday.
love you all bye
Elder Hobbs

March 4th-Happy Birthday Sam!!

My new area and comp is pretty awesome. I'm in a ward that is actually almost twice as big as the others I've been in, my comp says there s about 160 in sacrament meeting and supposedly there are quite a bit of members that work and pass references so thats cool. My comp is my first Gringo comp in the mission. Elder Snow from Washington state, I have one more change in the mission than him, and we get along really well.

Last week Elder Tenorio came and talked about how to pray with more faith and the story of Abrahams servant in Genisis 24 and We actually have tried the conditional praying like Elder Tenorio talked about and have had quite a few experiences this week with it. example, I prayed one morning saying the escogido is going to live in a house that has roof over the front patio with a dark colored portón and its going to be a lady and shes going to be nice but the first time we ask her if we can teach her shes going to give us a lame excuse why she can't but on the second time we ask her, she´ll let us in and we´ll teach her under her patio roof on the otherside of the porton. and frideay morning we went contacting and found a couple in the morning , and thought, "well maybe that wasnt the right description or condition I gave, cuz these two didn't meet the requirement" and as the first part of the day went on, we were looking for someone else in a different colonia and I seen a house that could fit the requirement and contacted it and out came a lady, Veronica, and the rest fell through as I had prayed, she said she was busy and rejected, but the second time I insisted after testifying and saying we would only use 15min of her time now and we´ll come back another day with more time to talk more and she accepted and we only used 15 min to share an idea of lesson one and put a return date with her.

i honestly have loved all my mission and the people, investigators and everything, but I feel like so far this is the most postive well balanced ward that actually works and functions appropriately so im excited!
Elder Hobbs

February 27

Good afternoonn buenas tardes familia Hobbs y bienvenidos a todos que nos acompañan a conocer la potestad de la Mision Mexico Tampico en su gran Gloria.
Changes were anounced to us Sunday night at like 10pm, I got the phone call from President Call at 8:30 that he was changing me to a city close by Tampico to be Zone Leader again, so thats the new assignment, in la zona bosque. It took a long time to pack my bags, with the articles and books I've acquired in the mission and one of my suitcases probably weighed 100 lbs at least. I got 3 hours of rest in my bed with my missionary clothes on from packing and then having to get up at 4:30 to go buy a ticket for the bus so they wouldn't run out.

We werent able to get baptisms in, but I had some very special opportunities this week. I did divisions with my eldees and on Thursday we went into Tampico to listen to a training meeting with Elder Tenorio, the 2nd counselour of the Area Presidency and it was awesome, he shared some interesting stories about the power of prayer, thats what Pres. Call has tried to install in us lately is to have lots of faith and invoke the powers of the Heavens in the work. I loved the capacitation. and on the bus ride home, President Call called me to tell me my little grandma Sara from Victoria was going through the Temple on Saturday to recieve her endownment and that she had invfited and wanted me to attend. I had to pay for the bus rides and all that but it was way worth it. I cannot describe how I felt to see her and the whole thing was extremely special, I dont have time to write it all. The whole experience going to the temple and with her there to see her again and to kjnow that she being an old lady is enduring and doing what is necessary to achieve such a grand goal. It makes me cry to know about it.

Now I'm in Tampico, I said goodbye to some people and left my mark on the members and converts in Tantoyuca and this possibly is my last area and chance to do it.
I love the work and know that its the only true joy we can find in this life, to serve our Father
Elder Hobbs

February 21st

Yes we were able to baptize Roberto this week, he was super excited as well and wants to be a good servant of our Lord. Life is great, it seems like the bigger the trial, the bigger the blessing that is around the corner. Roberto said good bye to his Christian church were he was active for 15 years and told them he was leaving and not coming back. The power of the holy ghost worked alot with him, he completely understands now the truth and wants to follow it and guide his childeren to it.

These are some pictures, the banana was a two in one bargain, I seen it and had to buy and eat it, maybe its going to make me a mutant missionary like its a mutant banana , The stamp on our arms is the stamp that they give us when we go to the jail to visit our ward missionary leader that has been there for a month now. We have to hold our weekly missioanary correlation meeting with him in jail. jk , we just go to visit him to encourage him. They put him in cuz he was caught drivng a stolen car that one of his "friends" lended him and the justice system here is your guilty until proven inocent, and they have no evidence against him, but not enough for him. but he´s doing fine, its a big tragedy, cuz he is one of the best bretheren in the ward that wants to work in the Lords vineyard, so he is preaching the gospel to all the inmates.
And the other picture is robertos baptism and two of his 5 kids that were there.

Who knows if this is my last week, we´ll find out on Saturday, have a great week, love you all
Elder Hobbs

New Pics!

February 13

Good Afternoon family. Im fine, my letter will be short, this last week rained everyday and has been quite cold, definitly not close to freezing 32 degrees, but cold for everyone and for me now that ive been used to being in an oven, with even a little cold gets to me as well.
We had an alright week, Roberto is coming along progressing, he wants to be baptized by the priesthood and is looking forward to it on Saturday, and with this other family were preparing them for the 25th.
On the 17th were going to have a zone class with President Call, and the 23rd a zone conference with Elder Tenorio from the 70s, I'm going to ask him to say hi to my cousin Elder Hancock in Cuernavaca the next time he heads out that way.
Hey I want dad to send me pictures of his wood shop and the work I welded for him in the Treehouse and maybe some creations that he has made at the Treehouse or his shop, people here don't believe me when I tell them I am from the farm and I welded and worked wood as well, but I need them by Monday because next week might be my last week here.
We keep seeing constant opposition to the work but as well constant progress and miracles that are happening in this change with us and investigators.

Love you all and have a great week
Elder Hobbs reporting from Tantoyuka Mexico

February 6

We had a great week this week, quite a few miracles in our area with investigators. We have 3 baptisms planned for the 18th Roberto, Jose Isaac and Ana Karen. and we may be placing other fechas with Joses wife Areceli and the two sons of Roberto for the following week.
Roberto is a christian brother that is deciding to become a latter day saint, Im extremely excited for him. He´s about 38 and has 5 children from 19 to his two twin sons who are 14 and his wife died about 13 yrs ago, he´s single and is great. We found him the 11th or 12th of December in the nightime going home. I remember that that day we set a goal to do like 20 street contacts or something and all 9 that I had done were not looking promising at all, and that was if they accepted us. It was late, Sunday night, we needed to get home to pass the weekly numbers but I didnt want to go in the house until we got our goal, and with the suprising results, I contacted Roberto about 20 yds from arriving home and accepted to hear us even though he is/was a different religion and so we started working with him. He´s gone to church now 4 times, is reading in 1 Nephi 17 and has told us he believes the church is true and wants to be baptized by the priesthood because he understands that its necesary even though he was baptized yrs ago in his christian church. Last night we watched Joseph Smith: profet of the restorationg and he bore his testimony to us that he knows he was a profet of God and that the church is the only true church of God and it has been manifested unto him by the power of the Holy Ghost, it was awesome to hear him.

In these days, I've been changing the way I pray, being positive even through the strange trials that have happened here and recieving good impressions from our Father to help out these investigators and getting things going here in the rama, and our district. I love the work and dont want to leave this rama or the people here.
The mission is like a dream, my eyes have been opened to a world of power and miracles that I never knew existed before, even being born in the church. When we seek we find and if we apply and act when we find, God can make miracles and its more than astronaumical, its Godly. He is great.
I love you all I hope you all are doing well and repenting and reading the BOM and PMG so you know how to be instruments in our Makers hands and help Him help others out and you all can feel His love through His service.
My love and deepest desire of your well being be with you all
Elder Hobbs