Busy Days!!

Hey everybody!

Season's greetings from Provo, UT once again! Things are going pretty quickly now. It's pretty weird actually, because we have about 29 new missionaries coming into our French zone tomorrow. Now we're kind of like the "seasoned vets" and the role models for the new people. Doesn't feel like we've been here that long but I guess that means our time is getting closer and closer to getting out to Benin! As for as I know, there are supposed to be two Elders coming in tomorrow going to Benin, but there might be 1-2 more.

Speaking of Benin, I've been hearing some pretty crazy things lately. Frère Stiretta served in our mission back when it was part of the Ivory Coast mission (he said he served most of his mission in Benin & Togo though). He's the only teacher here who knows what we're going to experience and he's been so excited for us to go. Although, he has told us about some of the bad things... like having to wash your laundry by hand (so much so your hands start to bleed and you develop blisters! Sweet!) and also no warm showers (not that I was expecting them). He also said that recieving letters and packages in Benin was not a problem, but sending is much more iffy. I guess we'll have to see once I get out there. Anyway, he's super cool and he's been substituting for Frère Portwood since he's on vacation for Christmas... he has some amazing stories and everyone loves them. We're also going to a seminar at 4 PM today about Malaria prevention! We asked Frère Stiretta about it and he's like, yeah... basically everything they tell you doesn't work & is pretty useless. Sooooooo... looking forward to that!

Our P-Day was really cool so far! Usually we go to the Temple in the mornings, but the Temple is closed for the holidays. BUUUUT, we got the chance to clean the Temple this morning! So cool! Our supervisor guy was telling Elder Seidl, Evans, Ihalmo, and I some really cool facts about the Temple and what not. I'll have to share them later, but it was definitely cool to be in the Temple and have a chance to see how it functions. We were there for 3.5 hours, but it definitely didn't feel like it. Anyway... pretty cool stuff.

The French is going great though! My conversational ability is getting better as every day goes by. It's getting to the point where I can naturally start saying things in French without having to translate it first. Definitely in the rudimentary stages of that, but I can tell it's coming! PVLs have been going good. We're doing 3 days this week (one yesterday, tomorrow, and Friday). And I believe that next week we are doing a full week (yikes!). Should be fun! I would use more French in my letters, but with all the capable French speakers, not sure if I would just be embarassing myself! In the letter I got from Fro yesterday, she asked if I was starting to speak like a Frenchman and I can't say that I've gotten quite there yet but people compliment my accent and my ability to read it! Although, my end goal is not to speak like a Frenchman... but an African! Duh!!

But, I just wanted to say how cool it is to be learning French. I see all these Elders learning weird languages that are only spoken by like 3 people on an island in the South Pacific. Then I see the Elders learning Finnish (Elder Ihalmo likes to check up on them every once in a while) and their teacher, who served two full years in Finland, can't even have a full conversation with Elder Ihalmo (apparently Finnish is one of the hardest languages to learn and master). And I think it's a great blessing to be able to be learning French. And as much as (Uncle) John will say otherwise, I really do love French! Ever since I started taking it in high school, I've always wanted to learn it and speak a language that's pretty near and dear to my heart, since I not only lived there as a kid, but also since so much of our family can speak French (not to mention all our Francophone ancestory!). I just feel really blessed to be learning a language as special as French.

So, Christmas is one week away! Coming up quick, huh? Won't lie though... Chirstmas is on P-day... which is a...errrrr...ummmm... blessing? Not really sure because I don't know what our schedule will be looking like on Christmas. Hopefully they don't short us of a P-day next week, but I don't know. I guess if you'll get a letter next week, you'll know! I think, at the very least, they'll let me send a letter home either Monday night or sometime during Wednesday though so don't worry!

Just to answer a few things from Fro's letter... I think I can watch videos and recieve pictures here on my email. Videos might be a little iffy, but pics definitely. I was wondering if you could send me some more music though, we can't listen to any while we're in the MTC, but I really would love to have the Lord's Prayer (Dad showed me it a few years ago, it was with a famous Italian singer... I cannot for the life remember it though). Also, I'm gonna need a bag for my French scriptures (LdM & Bible). I'm not sure if they have any online, but the one's here look pretty cheap. Also, do I still have a pocket Oxford/Hachette dictionary? They don't sell pocket dictionaries here! Oh and, a picture of the Philly temple and my Farewell talk (I think it might be in my church bag or something). That would be great. Also, you asked if there's anything else I needed. Make sure you look at the letters I've sent in the past, especially that first one I sent home with that list!

Okay, well my time is up! I hope everybody is doing great. If I don't get a chance to tell everyone next week, just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Hawkins

John 16:33

P.S. In case Elder Kunz doesn't mention it in his letter to his mom, he's our new district leader! Pretty cool stuff... I think he'll do great!


Note from the FRO: I have to say I've never seen my boy so excited about cleaning for 3.5 hours, I'm glad he had a great experience there! Also, I've been learning a few things about Benin myself from Mom's whose sons have gone before mine. I knew about the hand washing laundry in a bucket and lack of warm showers. I just decided he probably didn't need to know all that until he got there. Especially some of the foods I've seen served....like monkey. Not sure how to explain the canned chicken we're sending him for Christmas. ;)

Almost a MONTH!!!

Hey everybody!

Can't believe that it's been almost a month! Like I've said before, it feels like I've been here for a year, but it also feels like I just got here yesterday. 

Actually, awesome story just happened to me last night! So, my roommate from BYU last year, Mike, who's going to Kennewick, Washington, Spanish speaking is here at the MTC right now too. He got here a month before I did and I've seen him around but recently I haven't seen him at all. I was getting kinda bummed because we were never able to get a picture together. One night I heard his name get called on the intercom, so I thought maybe he left early or something. So, fast forward to last night and Elder Seidl's name gets called down to the front desk. I'm all like UGH! I just got out of my suit and everything. Because I don't have any sort of long sleeve PJs or P-day clothes, we have to go out in the FREEZING Utah cold to the main building. So, as we go into the building, I go up the stairs and I hear a "Hey, Elder Hawkins!" And lo and behold, it was Mike walking down the stairs past me! He couldn't see my face, but I was wearing my bright orange Flyers shirt and he told me that he thought "there would only be one person in this whole MTC with that shirt!" So, I told him, we had to get a picture ASAP! Then we freaked out because we didn't have a camera, buuuuuuuuuuuut the whole reason Elder Seidl got called down to the front desk was because he lost his camera and we were going to pick it up! So, after we picked it up, we met up in the laundry room to take a few pictures and say goodbye... since he ended up leaving the next day! How lucky is that?? Didn't see him for a few weeks and happen to see him the night before he leaves! I'm going to attach some of the pictures we took! Anyway, I'm really thankful we got the chance to take some pictures together at the MTC. 

 Me and Mike! Wish we coulda been in our suits but I'll take what I can get!

At least we have our tags.

My arm is extended, btw, because that's where Joseph should be! 

Crazy kid! Hope he's having fun at BYU. Tell him we miss him!

Anyway, things at the MTC haven't been too exciting, but the French has been coming along. Elder Seidl and I had a pretty tough time teaching our lessons this week, but we're starting to get more into a groove. I think we're finally starting to get into the swing of things and actually teach good lessons. We also had another PVL last week and it completely failed. I think most of the day, we just forgot that it was PVL because our teachers were speaking a lot of English for some reason! But, we have another one tomorrow and one more on Saturday. Our goal is to work up to two full weeks of PVL within our last three weeks here. That's going to be pretty crazy! I know I can do it, but it's still pretty hard. 

Elder Adams was feeling sad so he went to the 

corner for a bit... haha lol just kidding. 

He's so goofy we were just having some fun!

It's been pretty cold in Utah lately though... we were walking to the Temple for our Sunday walk (we joke around and call it our yard time since it's like the only time we get to have time to just walk around to stop and smell the roses, per se) and it was pretty cold for us African elders! The sisters were like, why don't you have any coats on. Then I promptly replied, "Because we're going to freaking AFRICA!!!!" and then everybody laughed... but it was still cold. It also snowed that Sunday and then yesterday as well and it's super icy here... since we're kind of on the edge of the campus, they don't salt it as much so we were slipping and sliding on our walk back to the residences last night. Everyone keeps saying oh you should enjoy it since this will be your last winter for two years... in my head, I'm thinking... ummmm... I lived in PA for 10 years. I think I've had my fair share haha.

 The district... Sister Hall is the short one! 

So, our new sister came in! Her name is Sister Hall and she's from Vancouver Island, BC. She's going to the New Caledonia mission, apparently, but there's some weird island too that she's going to (it's starts with a V or something). Anyway, she's pretty cool. She's in a trio with Sister Hoar and Allred... they seem to get along well. Although I feel pretty bad for Sis. Hall because she has to pick up French pretty quick since she's essentially three weeks behind us. She honestly knows nothing about French but the resource teachers come in and give her personalized lessons during language study. She'll be a pro by the time we leave (since she leaves three weeks after us and still has to do the 2 weeks of PVL with us) so I'm sure she'll be fine. 

Elder Seidl and I... with the sisters sneaking behind us lol.

Thanks to everyone for all the letters this week! Sienna sent me some pictures of the family, which I'm really glad to have! And thanks for all the stuff Sienna sent too... I'll write to her in a letter and talk to her more personally but I will say... I got a back scratcher so I am happy! :)

As for the shirts, I'm more of a fan of the non-Oxford collar ones (the one's that need collar stays). I bought like 20 collar stays before my mission so the shirts with buttons kind of make those a waste of money. As for the fabric, they both feel fine so feel free to send whichever. Still need to get baptismal clothes so I'll try to get that done within the next few weeks. 

Oh, one last thing before I clock out. The BYU Men's Choir came for our Fireside on Sunday night and it was amazing. When they sang O Holy Night, the Spirit just hit me like a ton of bricks. I absolutely love that song. I'm super bummed that I missed Adele singing it at the ward party, but I'm sure I'll get to hear it when I get back. But, that choir sounds absolutely beautiful. I wish they sang Handel's Messiah chorus because I really miss hearing that. Yeah, it was really awesome to say the least. (Cue the Fro, find videos maybe?)

(Couldn't find a video of the BYU Men's Choir singing O Holy Night...

But I think Trevor would appreciate this one!)

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season. Just remember to take a step back and remember what it's all about... if you need help, just sing a Christmas hymn or two. I'm so thankful that I have the chance to be here and spend it with these amazing people, even though I miss being with the whole family (and we definitely don't have a 15 foot Christmas tree here!) The MTC did decorate the trees outside with Christmas lights and it looks really cool. I'm going to try and get a picture of it if I can. 

Miss and love everybody,

Elder Hawkins

We HAD to get the classic coats picture!

Note from the FRO: Nice to know our boy is still recognizable by his undying love for Philly teams! What he didn't mention about Sienna's package and his most prized "back scratcher" is that poor Sie went shopping all over Provo just to find one and then couldn't fit it in the box.  It was partially sticking out when she sent it.  Nice to know it arrived the few blocks to its destination without any mishap!  And I LOVE that he mentions a back scratcher when his own FRO sent him a box of Philly Soft Pretzels and Tastykakes!!!  What?!  *shakes head

Remembering what the season is all about!

Bonjour...!!!

Hey Everyone!

So things are going good right now at the MTC. Life has gotten pretty normal now that Thanksgiving is over with, so I have definitely started getting into a groove. Not much has been happening around here though. The MTC is definitely getting smaller and smaller as everybody anticipates all the new missionaries coming in from the announcement in October. They're renovating buildings all over the place and putting new chairs/desks into the classrooms. It was so awesome when we got brand new mesh chairs and huge desks to work on! We had these dinky little desks that were pretty hard to work on, but now we have so much more space! It's kinda sad because we realize how lame it is to get so excited over new desks and chairs, but it was like Christmas came early!

Anyway, I'm doing good now, too. A lot of the French mission elders get to go to San Francisco for a day and pick up their visas, so Elder Kunz is tagging along with us for the day while his comp is in San Fran. Definitely kinda cool, now that the other four Benin elders left this week, we are the 3 left right now. Apparantly there are some more elders supposed to coming a week before Christmas. And that new sister I said was coming last week? She's actually coming tomorrow and is going to some random island (not New Caledonia).

The district has been doing well though. It's really weird to think, but we see each other probably around 10-12 hours a day. Needless to say, there has been some rough spots here and there as people start to get home sick and pet peeves start to get more annoying (don't worry, I've gotten used to my companion singing! I think somebody might have actually told him to cool it down, because he has been much less sing-y the last few days. Thank goodness!) But yeah, we've all been doing well. Our first "Speak Your Language" or "Parlez votre langue" was last Wednesday and I gotta say, it was pretty tough. Not communication wise, but it was just a lot of work, even for just a half day. Thankfully I was able to get through it and it was only half of the day. But, we have another one coming up on Saturday and I think I'll be much more prepared for that one!

So, just to fill some people in, I have TONS of time to write letters home on Tuesday (like 3 or so hours). Last week, I only sent three out but they took me forever to write! I also think I'm going to write a weekly snail mail letter home in case I forget to write something on my email here. So... be expecting that. Also, thanks to everyone for sending DearElders! I love those! Just FYI though, they don't get delievered on Saturday and Sunday, so I won't get to read them until Monday. Not too big of a deal since I can't reply until Tuesday, but just thought I'd say something.

Some more nit gritty stuff... so the Church pays for two checked bags at the airport. Should I buy another bag at the bookstore? Because I will definitely be needing another bag for all my books that I was given here. Also, mom was talking about how some of the moms on the mission forums were saying what to bring and not to bring. What things should I be stocking up on here before I get out there? And I wouldn't mind getting Jared... errr Elder Koncurats address to write to him. Also, Mr. Eberly sent me his email/address so I wouldn't mind writing to him about my French experience thus far.

On Sunday, we had the wonderful opportunity to watch the First Presidency Devotional (cue the Fro: post a link or embed the video to that on my page!). I really loved President Uchtdorf's talk about Christmas not only being the season of giving, but also the season of being a thankful reciever. While we should be trying to give to people out of love, we should also be recieving those gifts out of love. Because if we don't then it can really hurt somebody. So, I liked how he talked about how Christmas is also a time of appreciation. Because really, the gift we should be appreciating the most is the God's gift to us, Jesus Christ.

That reminds me about how much I'm looking forward to the Christmas season this year. Sure I don't have the traditional Christmas music to listen to, the big tree to decorate (I still roll my eyes when I think about that 15ft tree haha), and the parties to go to. Here, I have the opportunity to really focus on Christmas for what it's about. And you know what's even cooler? I get to appreciate that with almost 2000 people here! Our district is doing a little secret santa thing. I happen to have Elder Ihalmo, the funny Finnish elder, and I know exactly what I'm going to get him... a huge American flag! Just kidding! I do have an idea of what I'm going to get him so I'll let you know how it goes when I give it to him. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to Christmas here... if Thanksgiving was any indication and also how spiritual the hymns have been during devotionals/firesides (we have special speakers come every Sunday/Tuesday night), I know that this is going to be one Christmas to remember.

Anyway, I hope everybody just takes some time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas this year. I know everything gets super crazy with finals, parties, decorations, gifts, and food (okay, that I DO miss!!!! Send me a Bouche de Noel and some raclette!). But, if you do reflect on the great gift that was given to mankind over 2000 years ago, I can absolutely guarantee you that you will have a much better Christmas season. I know it's been doing wonders for me just thinking about hymnal music and reflecting on this truly great time of year.

Love everybody and miss you tons,

Elder Hawkins

P.S. Thanks for all the letters this week. I'll be writing letters later today. No pictures today though, sorry! Nothing much to send and the computers down in the laundry room were super crowded. Also, Fro, could you send me a print out of that picture of Christ on the ship that I like a lot? It used to be on my ipad lock screen. Oh, and when will I'll be getting my photo album?? Everyone's been sharing their stuff, so it's really depressing when I can't tell everybody about how awesome everybody back home is! Alright got to go, already went past my time! Ahhh!!! I did hear that in the mission field we will get tons more time to write (like over an hour maybe) Anyway, love you and thanks for the almost daily letters! I love hearing about everybody back home! Good luck with the Christmas party (I know it will be awesome like in VF!). Also can't believe it snowed out there first before here! Everyone's hoping for a white Christmas and I'm like... ugh... I guess I won't have any in Benin though! Okay gotta go! Love you!

Note from the FRO: Sigh, we're working on that photo album....my fault, his Aunt has been waiting for me to upload pics. If anyone has pictures to add to it, you know, so he can refer to you as "awesome", please email them to me, or post them on Elder Hawkins' facebook page.  Also, thank you THANK YOU for those of you who have written to our Elder.  Please keep it up!  For those of you who haven't yet, please do.  You will get a nice long letter back in return....and, he actually has legible handwriting.  Bonus!

As per my instructions, here's the First Presidency Devotional for you all to watch.  A fantastic way to kick off the season. Enjoy!