I decided to go on a mission a year ago...

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I'm e-mailing late! I like Corey have NO time! It's 5:23 and we have a dinner appt at 6. So this for real has got to be short. The reason we have no time is because we went bowling this morning and then went to the north of the city and played soccer with a BUNCH of other missionaries. It was fun, but we have no time for anything now.

Really quickly, it rained like 3 days in a row starting on Friday through Sunday. That was pretty fun! Now the sun is coming back. I think it's supposed to be in the 80s soon.

Zone Conference was last Friday with our area seventy Elder Flukeger. It was AWESOME! He called on me and asked my name. When I said, "Hogewoning," he was just like, "And I thought my name was hard." It was pretty funny! Anyway, I wish I had more time to tell you more.

Tracting has become something COMPLETELY different for us here in the OKC South Zone thanks to the wisdom of our awesome Zone Leaders, Elder Chun and Elder Ellsworth. We are trying to teach. Elder Ellsworth quoted something I said at Zone Conf that to often as missionaries we think of tracting as tracting, knocking doors, and we forgot about the people behind those doors. We should think of tracting as teaching. Anyway, we stopped asking if they have time and just started teaching, and we taught 5 other lessons yesterday just from "tracting." They are right, this is a MUCH better invitation to Christ even if they still reject us.

So, as of April 17, 2010, exactly a year ago from that date, I called Bishop Smith to tell him I had decided I wanted to go on a mission and called him back 5 minutes to ask if he could open my mission papers. And exactly a year later.... well a lot has happened, obviously, and all for the better! Honestly, I really feel like I'm becoming a better person. It's weird because I just realized this on Saturday, April 17, that things are changing, and I'm learning and growing. And I really am happy! Not like there won't ever be hard times, but things are changing.

Well, I love you all! Sorry this was so short!

Love,

Hermana Christina Hogewoning