Thomson - Week 19

Dear Family,

I have had a pretty good week!  We were able to follow up with one of the inspired investigators we found last week, and we saw her last night.  It was an awesome experience!  We first went to her house, and no one answered.  It is a typical thing here to do in the South if you are not interested.  So we were about to give up and leave, but I felt like we should go knock her neighbor’s door.  And sure enough, we knocked and the lady we were supposed to see answered.  Her name is Betty by the way.  So she had just been visiting her neighbor, but she was still wanting to hear our lesson that we had for her.

When we started teaching, both Elder Godwin and I didn't feel like we needed to teach her the Restoration lesson at that time.  So we asked a few inspired questions and she brought up tithing.  And go ahead and ask any missionary, but tithing is usually something people struggle with.  But Betty was different.  She expressed how a couple months ago she had been praying and she said she received an answer that she needed to pay tithing.  But she didn't know where she could go pay tithing where the money would actually go towards the Lord's work and not a preacher’s pocket.

We taught her about how we do tithing, why we do tithing, and the blessings from tithing.  She expressed that she knew how much tithing could bless her life and she wanted to pay it as soon as possible.  She committed to be a full tithe payer and she isn't even a member.  It was amazing to see how she had been prepared for us, and that specific lesson.  We should be meeting with her again this Tuesday, and I know she will be able to see the blessings of tithing.

I love y'all so much!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Thomson - Week 18

Dear Family,

I get to stay in Thomson another transfer with Elder Godwin!!!!  I am so happy that I get to complete his training because he is an awesome companion!  Last night we were out looking for somewhere to go and he felt like we should go knock somewhere that Elder Cherry and I had already knocked together.  I was a little hesitant at first, but I thought we could give it another shot.  Well, in under 2 hours we taught 5 lessons and got 3 new investigators!  It was so inspiring to see how our teaching is getting more refined and how we can be inspired.

I realized I got bit by the fire ants when I was standing there and felt them bite my ankles.  I just never realized why fire ants were called fire ants.  Boy, do those bites hurt from just a tiny little thing.  I did catch a few Bluegill, but nothing too big.

The only people in our district that are leaving are a sister and an elder and another elder has been called to be a trainer again.  So we are going to have a pretty solid district!  

Thank so much for all y'all do for me!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Thomson - Week 17

Dear Family,

I will admit this week wasn't the best week I have had on my mission.  On Monday I had a super awesome time at Brother Phillips doing all of the fun things at his house.  But while I was fishing, I failed to realize that fire ants like to hangout on blades of grass around fishing ponds.  So probably after an excessive amount of fishing, I got nine fire ant bites around both ankles.  I honestly think I am allergic to fire ants, because after taking the scouts fishing on Tuesday evening, my ankles really started to hurt.  It got so bad that it was extremely painful to even put pressure on them, not to mention I got the chills and it is Georgia there is plenty of heat.  So that put me out of missionary work for three days, since I am in a biking area. 

My ankles are healed now and I am feeling better, so no need to worry.  I have really come to an understanding on why they are called fire ants.  But all is well.  Georgia has lots of bugs.  Most of them are big, annoying, and can inflict pain. Georgia is also the home of the top five most poisonous snakes in North America.  Also, the dogs want to eat us!  Tracting is actually not too safe.

There is the phrase, "missionary work is hard work."  Yes it is hard, but so rewarding, and I realize that, and that is why I am still out here on my mission never giving up.  I mean I am fighting a war over people's eternal salvation, it is pretty cool to think about.  Thank you all so much for the packages this week, we are thoroughly enjoying them!  Thank you all for the love and support!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Thomson - Week 16

Dear Family,

Thank you so much for sending me the cool shirt and glasses!  I am actually wearing them today at Brother Phillips and they are pretty nice!  Brother Phillips is the Ward Mission Leader and Brother Hardwick is the Assistant Ward Mission Leader.  Work in Thomson is going alright but still slow.  But we are still having success here and there. 

On Sunday one of the members named Brother Wells, who is the Young Men's Leader, was talking about fishing.  So I overheard him, and happened to drop in on the conversation.  Turns out he doesn't know how to fish and he was wanting to take the young men fishing this Tuesday.  I happily volunteered to sacrifice my evening on Tuesday to help teach the young men how to fish.  So hopefully that will go through and I get to go fishing for service!  It is my favorite kind of service!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

 Elder Hinrichs & Bro. Phillips' horse

Elder Godwin & Elder Hinrichs