week 33

we saw so many miracles this week! it has been amazing. this week i realized the importance of using the Book of Mormon to help people come unto Christ. there is POWER in that book. i know its true, i know it was translated by a prophet of God, Joseph Smith. it is so special to me and i want it to bless others lives like its blessed mine. i know it's TRUE!!! and we are beginning to see lots of miracles by reading from it with those we teach.

Jose, our progressing investigator, is doing so awesome. please pray for him! he has the desire to be baptized but doesn't feel ready yet. he is incredible. he is so prepared and he is accepting everything! he has his doubts and questions and easily gets very distracted when we teach him.... also he is trying to learn english (so every lesson he'll say "como se dice... " (how do you say) to everything hahaha) but the spirit is so real and strong when we teach him. in God's time he will enter in the waters of baptism <3 u="">

here's a great story. so 2 weeks ago we called a potential named Juan to come to Church. his best friend is a member and he ended up coming! we have been calling him all week to try and set up an appointment, and after a really rude text sent back, we decided to stop contacting him. all the sudden we walk into church yesterday and he is sitting there with his Book of Mormon in his hands with the member friend... we were like WHAT THE? haha come to find out.... we've been contacting the wrong Juan. #spanishnames. He is awesome though! :)

last night we knocked on a random door, the man happened to be Spanish (super rare....) and he agreed to let us come in. all the sudden his dad is there... who is a less active member! (holy miracle!) we had a lesson with him, his name is Arnold. he is so Christlike and loving and the spirit filled the room as we shared Mosiah 18:9 with him. his son also agreed to have us come back! we also stopped by another less active last night... definitely revelation since she needed our visit so badly. YAY FOR MIRACLES!

the work is amazing here, i am learning, growing, and changing so much. i feel so blessed to be here in the work of the Lord. its real and true and SO happy! 

XOXO, HERMANA HORTON

week 32

family & friends,

this week was absolutely amazing. it had its ups and downs just like every other week in the mission, but the best part was when on Saturday, we got to meet an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Elder Oaks! something i will never forget :) after a plane delay we were happy he made it there! we also got to hear from Elder Allard (area 70) and Elder Kacher (Quorum of the 70), and had a wonderful morning with President & Sister Clayton. I took so many notes I don't even know where to start! 

the thing I loved most was when he talked about being a FULL time missionary. he talked about us being pens... theinstruments in the hands of the Lord. how we have to be prepared, worthy, ready, and focused so he can use us to convert and change the lives of many. we can't be part time. we were set apart to be FULL time servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. this isn't OUR mission, we're sacrificing for HIM, because we love Him and we know this work is true. It was amazing, because it was bold, but in such a loving way. he testified of how proud our Heavenly Father is of His missionaries who have sacrificed to serve the Savior; how much God loves us, and how we are here to do His work, in His way and in HIS time! the spirit was so strong! I learned so much, he really was an answer to prayers; for both the mission, the members/investigators (who ALSO got to have a meeting with Elder Oaks after... we also got to attend which was such a surprise to the missionaries!) and for me. I want to do ALL I can to serve the Savior with a full purpose heart. missionary work is incredible.

we saw lots of miracles this week as well! to prepare for Elder Oaks we were told to find at LEAST 2 new investigators, which we should do every week, but to put a big focus on finding. we found 3. yay! our progressing investigator, Jose made it to church yesterday. he is amazing! he has a hard time with English but luckily he is coming to our ESL classes. he has lots of friends in he ward and he has an open heart and mind. we have tried setting him with a baptismal date... we are hoping he will accept this week. speaking of our ward, its definitely different than the Spanish ward in Toronto! (miss that.) I am in an English ward, but there is a Spanish 'group' as well as a Chinese 'group'. we also cover another nearby ward with a Spanish 'group' (Oakville ward) so we do go to 2 correlations and 6 hours of church. 

we also got fed a TON by the members this week. something i am definitely not used to. i actually feel bad cause we got fed like 9 or 10 times... but the other missionaries never do... haha the Spanish people love making us food. and they love making us a LOT!!! i decided in order to stay in shape we have to exercise hard core (since we are now in a car area too and not walking everywhere) so now i drag my companion out in the snow at 630 and we go running. i love running and i love the snow so its awesome! but yes i did fall on the ice. haha its not as cold here as it could be... im surviving the Canadian winter!

the mission is great, i love it so much! i am so happy here. i KNOW this Gospel is true, i know Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the light. i KNOW the Book of Mormon is true! i love that book with all my heart. thank you for all your love and support, there is no place i would rather be!

XOXO, HERMANA HORTON

week 31

wow it has been such an amazing week! today i feel so so grateful to be serving my Savior Jesus Christ. this really is the greatest time in my whole life. this is the best decision i have ever made, to serve a mission; and i am here LIVING IT! what a blessing. i have already learned and grown so much. i love being a missionary.

so they weren't kidding when they said it's cold in Canada, it was absolutely FREEZING HERE this week! we hit a low of -30 C (-22 F) with the wind chill this week. and out of all days that we could have gone to Lakeshore, we picked the coldest day of the week to do it hahaha oops! it was an adventure, and i couldn't feel my toes but it was great! we saw SO MANY miracles this week, i don't even know where to start. i am just absolutely loving this area! the members here are so great and Hermana Hoffman and i's hard work is starting to really pay off! OH! and Elder Oaks is coming to our missionthis Saturday. i can't wait to sit at his feet and hear him guide this mission! we will learn so much :) 

miracle stories:

- we were in an area contacting and knocked on a door with one our pass along cards of Jesus sitting in the window... a lady answers who was taking care of her sick mom. long story short, it is actually from 7 years ago when this lady met with missionaries! we have been meeting with the daughter, Marian who has LOTS of questions and is crazy ready and prepared for the gospel. 

- this same Marian watched Joseph Smith, prophet of the Restoration on Netflix 2 weeks ago, and we knocked on her (mom's) door. SO COOL.

- we have been teaching Jose this week, (who i mentioned in last week's email, our new investigator) and last night we had an awesome dinner with a member who has been fellow-shipping him like crazy. (THE BEST. help the missionaries!!) anyways, he's amazing and we committed him to read the BOM.

- after a long 5 hours of contacting and finding on Saturday night we were praying so hard to find some answers of where to go and who NEEDS the gospel. a man named Juan stuck out to me on a potential list, and after calling him, he shows up at church yesterday with his best friend, a SOLID member in our ward. such a miracle! YAY for finding prepared people!

- guess who showed up at the baptism in our ward yesterday? SIMON!!!!!! i was so happy to see him :) i know its only been 2 weeks but i missed him. 

how have you come unto Christ? - i was asked to bear my testimony yesterday on that question at the baptism. we watched this video and i just absolutely loved it! its the 2014 youth theme, but it always applies right? go watch it! i shared 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, one of my all time favorites. i know that if we turn to the Lord, he will turn our weaknesses into strengths through HIS perfect grace. i know that His arms are always turned unto us.... turn to Him! and let him change you. i couldn't be happier about being here on my mission. i love serving my Savior Jesus Christ. i love this work and i love this Gospel. 

XOXO, HERMANA HORTON

week 30

happy new year! i can't even believe it is 2015. how crazy is that? this week was super great, my first week in my new area of Mississauga has been wonderful! the members are awesome, i love my companion Hermana Hoffman, and we have yet to get in a car crash with me driving on these crazy streets haha :) coming to a car area has been super different, and while being in a car is super nice since it is FREEZING here, i do miss contacting and talking to people on buses/subways. i already miss that so much! this is a different kind of missionary work than i have been in for the past 6 months but change is what helps me grow closer to my Savior Jesus Christ and i have continually felt His love and guidance.

miracle story!

we have been struggling to find new people to teach, and for this whole week i have actually felt like i brought that cursewith me to this new area since they were finding just fine... and i came from the city where we were struggling with it so much! we had a mission fast yesterday in preparation for Elder Dallin H. Oaks coming to our mission in 2 weeks (!!! im so excited!!!) and my companion and i were also fasting to find new investigators. while i can't fast right now cause of my weird health probs, i did fast from "treats" (haha since we all know how much i love them:) and ate very small meals... and all day long Hermana Hoffman and i had a prayer in our hearts that God would place someone in our path. we were out proselyting last night, talking to everyone we found and asking EVERYONE for people they know who speak Spanish, when we found a man walking into his apt room. he is from Peru and doesn't speak any English... we told him we teach free English and that we are missionaries! turns out he has LIVED with a Mormon and when we gave him a BOM he was SUPER excited and wanted to learn more! i know God hears and answers our prayers, i know He placed him in our path at just the right time because he is prepared and ready to let the Gospel change and bless him :) this is HIS WORK!

that was absolutely amazing last night, my companion and i were bouncing off the walls we were so happy haha :) i have such a big testimony of prayer. for those that have asked about my test results from the doctor-- everything came back negative so they really don't know what it is... i have a sensitive stomach! im taking medicine so everything will be fine so soon!! the work will hasten :):)

im so grateful for this Gospel, i love it with all my heart! i couldn't be happier to be serving my Savior.

XOXO, HERMANA HORTON