Welcome Home Elder Hoffman!!!

Our Elder Hoffman got home this Tuesday.

Here's a couple pictures from the airport.

Hugging his mom

Mauled by excited kids

Hope to see you all at the homecoming this Sunday!

Some Fun Pictures from Recent Adventures In the Land of the Long White Cloud

Well, here's just some recent pictures that we have gotten from Our Elder Hoffman,

Hope you enjoy!

This is him petting a pony

This is his Gisborne district

This is his current companion, Elder Utai

And some photos from an adventure on P-day

And here's a photo from one of his baptisms.

It's Been a While, Huh?

Alright, so it has been quite some time since there have been any updates on Elder Hoffman's mission blog,

I hope to rectify this mistake, and hope you will forgive me.

Elder Hoffman has been having quite the time serving the Lord out in New Zealand.

He is currently in Gisborne, and he is the zone leader there. 

He has been there for a couple months, had a few companions,

 and learned to really love the people in Gisborne.

Here is one of the recent pictures of our Elder Hoffman.

He looks pretty dang happy, huh?

And here are just a couple pictures of his current area

Gisborne is a beach town, 

and is the furthest south area in the Auckland, New Zealand mission

In other news, with the addition of new missions, 

New Zealand was lucky enough to gain a third mission.

There used to be only Auckland and Wellington, 

and now there is a Hamilton, New Zealand Mission.

The work is going forth!

Thanks for checking up, and remember to send Elder Hoffman some letters.

He really does love them.

Thanks so much!!!

"There is Much Wisdom in This One"

So a couple weeks ago, we had another transfer.

Elder Hoffman is still in Rotorua,

He just has another companion. 

His name is Elder Middleton.

Here's a litte excerpt from one of Elder Hoffman's recent emails,

Telling us a little about Elder Middleton.

"I have a new Companion!! His name is Elder Middleton! Now, let me share a bit about Elder Middleton; he is a convert of a little less than 3 years. His family is Born Again Christians and he is the only member in his family... He is a fantastic Elder with a strong testimony. His conversion story is just that, a conversion of his own free will and choice, I will have to share with you about it another time. But I am so, so grateful to be with him, I have learned so much from him in these short few days I've been with him, there is much wisdom in this one! I am excited to be with him! 

We will baptize this whole place!"

Also, here are some pictures that I recently received.

Thought you guys would enjoy some of his goofy photos.

Rotorua and Elder Beecher

Well, a couple weeks back, Elder Hoffman had another Transfer.

He's now in Rotorua. 

And his new companion is Elder Beecher. 

We just got this picture from him today.

That's Elder Hoffman on the right,

And Elder Beecher on the left.

They've already had a baptism, which was yesterday, 

And had a lot of success with new investigators.

Here's a little map to show you where Rotorua is, 

cause to be honest, I had absolutely no idea.

Thank you google maps.

Rotorua is next to a large lake (despite what the map says)

and it is named after the lake.

Rotorua is most well known for it's geothermal activity though. 

So lots of stinky geysers.

Elder Hoffman noted that it is kind of smelly there,

but the work is abounding.

Always a positive attitude.

Well, until next time, 

And remember to keep Elder Hoffman in your prayers.

Thank You!

Zone Leader!!!!

Alright, so I'm sorry I have not updated in a while, but we have very good news!!! A couple weeks ago, Elder Hoffman got transferred again. In his new area, he has been called to be a zone leader! His new area is the Hamilton area, which includes the temple, and is the second largest area in the mission. Also, Elder Hoffman and his new companion have already been companions before, only for a few days though. When he first got into the MTC, he was put into a companionship of three, but one of the Elders in his group, went home, so Elder Smith (his old, and now new, companion) got put with the Elder who had been left. This is a picture of the two in their new area.

Now, not only did we have some great new accomplishments, new companions, and new areas, but we also had his year mark. Elder Hoffman had his hump day, and now it's all down hill. But we all know that day can be bitter sweet out in the mission field. Hopefully it's just another motivator to work hard and do all the Lord asks. I hope we can do the same. 

Remember to keep Elder Hoffman in your prayers, and to send him a letter or two every now and again. Thanks for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed this update.

A New Companion, baptisms, and lots of Miracles: Just the Life of a Missionary

Alright, so first off, this is Elder Hoffman's New companion,

Elder Peni ( like penny)

Elder Hoffman is still in Whangarei though.

They have already had a couple baptisms together

This is Jacob Kirby

He is the man, as Elder Hoffman says. 

He first got interested in the gospel when the missionaries came to visit his step mom, who is a less active member. After a few trials and challenges he was finally able to get baptized, and he really loves this gospel. He was even ordained a priest the day after his baptism. Just another miracle.

Then, this last Saturday, they had another baptism,

Wata

At Wata's baptism, Satan was really trying to keep this guy from coming.

They just had a really hard time getting this guy a ride to the chapel.

In the end, the bishop went and got him.

The same thing happened on Sunday though, so the Elders had to go pick him up for church. 

But, a miracle all the same.

Just a wonderful couple of weeks for our Elder Hoffman,

And what an amazing missionary he has become.