Festive Week!

Hey everyone!

Anziano Thomson...my future roommate at BYU

 It was a great week full of lots of hard work and festivities. I want to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday! This birthday was as good as a birthday could get on a mission. It started off with a super solid church meeting with some of my favorite members. When we walked into the church, this amazing member named Lilly came right up to me and said "Anziano Hogan aguri e buon compleanno!!" That made my year. She invited us over for a birthday lunch and we ate sooo much good Peruvian food. At the end, she gave me a piece of banana cake that was literally bigger than my face.

They put balloons on my desk!

The Diaz family who game me a huge lunch and I love them because they have an awesome cat!

 We had an awesome lesson later that day with a super great Filipino family we found doing passbys the other week. They all want to come back to church and the non member husband wants to start taking the lessons!  Later that night, the whole office threw me a little birthday party. Sorella Hoopes made me her special banana cream pie, which made me almost cry it was so good. It was my third cake of the day but it was so worth it.

Sorella Hoopes

As a birthday present, I got a pillow that had cats all over it, thanks to my awesome companion Anziano Simmons and the help of President's wife.

Yay!!

 On Valentine's Day, the Hoopes senior couple made biscuits and gravy and we had an office breakfast with President and his wife!

Anziano Minnoch and me!

Anziano Simmons - my great companion at the Duomo!

 I have been reflecting a ton this week on the talk given by Elder Uchtdorf "It works Wonderfully". The simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ sometimes can be overlooked as we focus too much on the complicated things that don't matter as much. As Elder Uchtdorf said in his talk "This beautiful gospel is so simple a child can grasp it, yet so profound and complex that it will take a lifetime--even an eternity--of study and discovery to fully understand it." We need to focus on what matters most and accept that we won't come to know everything in this life.
I know this is Gospel is true, and it sure does changes lives.

Lodi

I love you all. Have the best week.