week 50

thank you all SO MUCH for the birthday wishes!!!!! i only have 10 minutes to write today because we are heading to Toronto and need time to travel/spend there.... and the member is taking us real soon. and sadly i haven't even had a chance to watch this amazing video yet of the birthday wishes!! man i am going to be so anxious until i get to watch it next week. ahh! i don't even know who is in it! im excited already :) my birthday was such a great one. a weird day actually haha but a super great day. im 20! that's crazy. the members made it really special. members made me cakes, we had dinner at our WML's house and they gave me a cake, my comps made me breakfast, and president & sister Clayton called and sang me happy birthday 2 times. it was so great :) 

a cool but hard miracle/sadness of this week was yesterday when i got a call that one of my Recent Converts from Toronto has passed away. luckily the family has been strengthened more than ever, so it has been kind of a miracle in disguise, but that was a hard call to receive on my birthday. luckily i did get to talk to their family <3 i="" love="" them.="" u="">

we are going to Toronto with Viry and Kendra today :) 2 of my favorite people ever! the 5 of us are going to party it up there. i am so excited :) thank you all again for the birthday wishes and packages! i appreciate them more than you even know. i am so grateful for the love and support i receive from home... it really motivates me to work so hard! i wish i had more time to update you on our week, but it will have to wait until next week. 

muchisimas gracias! cuidense mucho :)

XOXO, HERMANA HORTON

week 49

best news ever! Hermana Flake is back :) YAY! i love her. her companion is too sick to follow up train her, so president Clayton called us Monday night and told us switch. we are now in a trio together! her, me and Hermana Ridgway. its such a party! we all have so much fun together :) im excited to finish training her with Hermana Ridgway. it's been so great! we haven't even pillow talked at night though cause we have been coming home each night so exhausted haha. but i love this companionship! i am learning SO MUCH from being with both of them.

Canada celebrated Victoria Day yesterday which is why our Pday got switched. a day to celebrate the Queen! there were a lot of fireworks and all the stores were closed haha that's pretty much all the happened. #canadianholidays

we have seen some amazing miracles this week together! on Wednesday night we were about to go home for dinner hour and to do training, when we decided to stop at the home of our ESL investigator Susana. she was so happy to see us! she welcomed us in and gave us this yummy treat from Cuba; mango's and cheese. she is so happy! we taught her L1 the Restoration. and she loved it :) i felt the power of the Holy Ghost so strongly as i told her of the first vision. she was excited to see the Book of Mormon too, and told us she couldn't wait to read it. she accepted a baptismal date too! June 7 :) #ilovemiracles

Friday night was FULL of citas. back to back to back. it was great! haha we were so tired that night. Luz made us dinner :) she is so cute. i just love her. we also got to teach Yolanda! we found her about a month ago + her 2 children. they are a solid family. and the lesson was amazing! she also accepted a baptismal date for June 14! im really grateful for the member we brought with us, Hermana Beaton. because i know that's how we got in and taught her and i know having that friend really helped her see that this is what God wants for her. such an answer to my prayers of being able to teach Yolanda again :) i love feeling God's love He has for His children. and i love teaching them His Gospel!

we saw a cool miracle last night too. we went to drop by a less active and when we got to the town homes we realized we didn't have a unit number! we knew God placed us there for some reason so we tracted the area :) something our Mission President has told us to ALWAYS do. it works miracles! we found Ricardo, he's in his 20's from Colombia. he has lots of questions and was intrigued and interested in learning more. we taught him the Plan of Salvation for about 20 minutes and got a return appointment. i know God knows His children perfectly and placed us in Ricardo's path for a reason!

the work is so wonderful! i love Mississauga. i love the people here. i love the ward! we are so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives. i love the Book of Mormon... it's my favorite thing to share with people! i have been trying this week to better my Spanish as well. i never want to stop improving it... all for the benefit of the people too.

D&C 18:15-16

15: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"

16: "And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

XOXO, HERMANA HORTON

week 48

HOLAAAA.

this week was wonderful! Hermana Ridgway is an amazing missionary, and i am so lucky to be serving with her. she has already taught me so much! we actually served in the same area last summer, and i never would have guessed we would be with each other now. i think this is probably the hardest i have ever worked on the mission! the most focused i have ever been. and i love it. 

we struggled big time this week with teaching lessons. i have yet to teach any investigators with her! and in English work, we are doing awesome haha we have been finding like a TON of awesomely prepared people. sadly we have to pass them all off to the English sisters but we do the Lord's work in one way or another eh? it's fun contacting with a new companion. we do it well together! we felt the Spirit guiding us everywhere we went, and we stuck to our plans everyday of what we had felt inspired to do, even though every single appointment fell through. i have a testimony though, that God will lead and guide us in His work. i know we are instruments! and He helps us do what He wants, for the benefit of all His children. and the people we met this week that were so prepared really did need us. and some of them even came to church yesterday :) boo yah! 

we had an awesome Zone Council this week, focusing on changing ourselves so we can see more miracles. i loved it! and that's something i have been focusing a lot on personally. the Lord is never far from my heart. i am really learning to depend on Him and my Father in Heaven to know what needs to be done in this area of the vineyard that i have the wonderful opportunity of serving in! 

i spent time making cute gifts for the 15 moms i have right now for mothers day. haha i figured its the only time ill have this many so i have to thank them for all they do :) we bought yellow flowers and put cute notes on them and gave them to the wonderful Spanish ladies in the ward. they loved them. it made me miss my own mother though... but how wonderful it was to talk to her and the family yesterday! i love my mom. i love her love for the Gospel, and i love her example for me. i am so lucky to have the best mom in the world! i am so grateful for an Eternal Family <3 u="">

i don't have much else to say this week, but i just want everyone who is reading this to know, that with all my heart, i love the Lord. i love Him and i love His work.

HERMANA HORTON

week 47

both Hermana Flake and i were heart broken last night when we got a transfer call :( we did NOT see this coming!! usually, when you are called to train, you train for the full 12 weeks. but i guess the Lord has greater plans in mind for the both of us, and the people we will be serving. they are taking my baby away! we cried it out and cuddled last night thinking of all our wonderful memories and miracles we have shared. i will miss her so much. i have learned a mountain being with her for these past 6 weeks, but i know she will work miracles in her new area! my new companion is Hermana Ridgway, and we will be staying here in Mississauga Spanish. 

we had an AWESOME week!!! we finished out strong. we had several awesome lessons, and although we have been struggling to find new investigators, we have a LOT of potentials right now, and most all of them are families. we have seen miracles finding these people, and now we just need to teach them :) 

i can't even tell you how grateful i am for the wonderful members here. i love them so much! the biggest reason i love Mississauga, is them. so i am so happy i am staying here. they are so wonderful to us. we had dinner this week with the Gundakers (who are moving to Utah soon! i am so happy!!!!) the Arguetas (who are moving as well. i will miss them.) the Saint Amours (the greatest Mexican family in the world) and the Hernandez family (they are amazing. their testimonies are so strong!) i know none of you know who these people are, but they mean the world to me. 

the twins came to church yesterday!! and they LOVED it!!! we have taught them quite a bit, and they are just soaking it all in. they loved Sunday School and Young Womens. they want to get baptized and go on a mission so bad! they are so special. i love them so much. yesterday was such a joyful day, all because of church. i bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting about these scriptures:

Mosiah 3:7-10

7: And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and abominations of his people.

8: And he shall be called Jesus, Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning;

9: And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name, and even after all this, they shall consider him a man..... and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.

after all he had done, the miracles, the healings, the teachings, establishing his Gospel, setting a perfect example, they shall cruicify him. as i read this scripture while partaking of the Sacrament, i couldn't help but be so overwhelmed at the love Jesus has for me. i know He is my Savior and Redeemer. i know He loves me perfectly. i know this is HIS restored Gospel, and i know He leads and guides it. i felt so close to Him. i KNOW the Atonement is real. it truly carries us. i have felt it so strongly on the mission, and i know the Savior never leaves my side. i love verse 10:

10: And he shall rise the third day from the dead;

HE LIVES! oh how sweet, the joy this sentence gives, i know that my Redeemer lives! and how grateful i am to always have Him, and the power of His atonement at my side. it has changed me. 

we also had a super awesome lesson with the Neves family. (Portuguese) we had members with us that spoke all 3 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese) haha so it was quite the lesson. we got their kids to read out of the children's Book of Mormon, AND to pray! Valesca (the mom) cried so much. all the kids go to Catholic schools here, so when she saw her daughter pray from her heart instead of the memorized prayers she was so happy, and said that has been her dream. ALL she wants is for all her family to accept the Gospel, to be baptized, and to go to the temple together. Eric wants it too, he just wants to know for himself its true, of course! Joel (the son, 9) asked us "when can i be baptized?" and we said, "whenever you want!" and he runs over and picks up the Book of Mormon and starts reading :) so cute. they didn't make it to church yesterday which was sad.... esta bien! we will be skyping at their house for Mothers Day on Sunday :) i can't wait to talk to you my wonderful family <3 u="">

Luz went to the temple! Saturday was so special. she was so happy and absolutely LOVED the temple. she felt the Spirit so strong! she got to be baptized for her Grandma :) she cried so much. i was so grateful to be there to witness that. here is this amazing faithful woman, who was pleading with God to help her find a church that she knew was for her. 1 week later she ran into us in the elevator. she accepted a baptismal date and was baptized 3 weeks later... and 1 month after that here she is in the Temple doing names for HER family!! missions are amazing, and i love seeing the Gospel change peoples lives. the names were also done for her dad and grandpa :)

man that was a long email! lots of great things going on here, and the weather is SO nice! while Hermana Flake was packing today, i gave her ALL my thermal tights. haha good riddance.... i can't bear to put those babies on again. i am SO happy to see the sun. i love this Gospel. i love being a missionary! SO MUCH. i love being here, i love serving the Savior, i love the Spirit and the miracles we see everyday. i hope you all have an awesome week :) talk to you Sunday!

XOXO, HERMANA HORTON