week 59

to my surprise, i received a transfer call...im leaving Toronto East! but i'm not going far :) im heading back to Spanish work, to Christie East. my new companion is Hermana Sandorf and we are making the area a Sister Traning Leader area! this means i am heading back to the Christie ward! (the ward i was born into last year with my trainer) Toronto just can't get rid of me :) i literally did not see this coming one bit. i was SO SURE i was staying here! but back i go to my beloved hermanas y hermanos en el barrio Christie :) i love them. i am a little sad, because we have 5 solid people who are being baptized in August into the Toronto ward... but i will be in the same chapel so looks like i will just be sneaking over to see them :) i will also miss my companions so much, the people we are teaching, as well as the members who i have really gotten to know so well in just 6 weeks. this has definitely been one of my favorite transfers of my whole mission!!!

we had such a great week! :) we achieved a lot of our goals and are still teaching and finding like crazy. it has been so awesome! i am so excited and happy for Timothy, who is going to be baptized this Sunday. he passed his interview yesterday and was so happy to plan his baptism! when we taught him the 10 commandments this week we asked them how he felt about them. he just looked down at the Book of Mormon and said, "i love them." awwww it was so cute. man i can't even tell you how much love i have for the people here. and guess who else came to church yesterday? the Sabado family! i have talked about them a lot.... because seriously they are amazing. sadly they have a lot of legal things going on right now that didn't go well this week but when we asked Teri (the dad) if he still wants to be baptized on August 16, he said "yes yes, that is what we are working towards as a family." my heart just melted!!! Teri told the family too that in the mornings they need to have scripture study together, then he showed up with the kids at church yesterday and absolutely loved it. 

we went on exchanges this week with other STL's that are from the far east. a sister came with us that had never been on a bus or subway before, and had never seen the CN tower, never really been in the actually city. haha it was so fun cause she was so wide-eyed all day! it is funny cause a lot of areas in this mission are like walking into a whole new country.

also here is a cool moment of the week... totally the hand of the Lord: we were at a members home having dinner and they invited a friend (awesome member missionaries!) so we taught about Joseph Smith. the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was playing in the background all night, and right when Sister Bott started quoting the first vision, Joseph Smith's first prayer came on in the background. literally like, "i saw a piller of light..." and "oh how lovely was the morning!" at the same time. such a movie moment! God is so cool :)

its been really hot here and definitely humid. also i can't even wrap my mind around the idea that it is almost August. holy cow! i am loving the mission and really wish time could slow down. i love this work more than i can even tell you. i know it is the work of the Lord. i know He stands by me and guides. i love giving my all to the service of the Lord.... this really is the MTC for life!

con mucho amor, hermana horton

week 58

we had a great week! i love my companions so much. it​ really freaks me out that transfer calls are again this Sunday

. we just had them! this transfer has flown. and they are just getting faster and faster. it's crazy! we have a good feeling the 3 of us are getting split... gotta make the most of our last week together!!

it's WICKED humid here. it was 30 C and 80 % humidity on Friday. holy we almost died! i have sweet pictures but unfortunately thanks to a dumb dollar store card reader, i lost all of them :( yes i am ticked. but holy i felt like i was literally swimming!!!

one of the coolest miracles of this week was when we found 7 new investigators in one lesson! it was sweeeeet! we found a potential named Fay, and she told us to come back Saturday at 12... and when we came back, she gathered her family (husband and 2 boys) and went and got her sister Kate and her 2 boys, and we had a massive lesson with those 2 awesome Jamaican families. so cute when all those 10 and 14 year old boys read the pamphlet with us, and they were all amazed at the experience of Joseph Smith. i know that He saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. that experience of a 14 year old boy in a grove of trees in New York was an answer to a prayer that changed the world. and i am so grateful for it! 

Yuri and Teri and their kids were able to come to church again yesterday too :) they are so cute. i seriously love them so much. praying i stay in the area so we can help them get baptized! Timothy who is supposed to be baptized this Sunday is doing AWESOME spiritually... but is having lots of problems with the voices in his head from his Schizophrenia that he has had for at least 20 years now. i feel so bad for him :( he couldn't come to church yesterday because of it, but we did help him to receive a Priesthood blessing.

went on exchanges this week to Toronto YSA! the area i was in for 1 week. love it :) a lot more happened this week but i can't really remember..... we were SO BUSY though! barely found time to eat... having combined areas is forcing us to have back to back to back appointments. but the Lord always provides :) basically i love being a missionary, i love Toronto, i love this area, and i love the Lord. the Church is TRUE! 

con mucho amor, hermanita horton

toronto is awesome

week 57

oh man. as i sit down to write this email today and think about this past week, i can't help but feel so grateful for the blessings God poured down upon us. He is way too good to us. so many prayers were answered, and we saw so many miracles... i don't even know where to start! definitely one of the GREATEST weeks of my whole whole mission!!!!

well, first off... i am in a trio. again :) my 4th trio haha! which is awesome cause i LOVE them. i was on exchanges with a sister on Tuesday night and we got a call from President saying there was going to be an emergency transfer since a sister had to go home. luckily Sister Mencarelli or i didn't leave! i was so nervous. Sister Bott joined us on Wednesday :) she was already serving in our ward as well so we have just combined areas for the last 3 weeks of the transfer. i love her! she is so great! 

miracle #1 is TIMOTHY! so i mentioned him last week... we found his name on a potential list one night and gave him a call. we have been teaching him a LOT since he is super prepared and already feels in his heart that the church is true.... and he came to church yesterday! he will be getting baptized in 2 weeks :) i am so excited for him. last night we taught him family history and temples and he LOVED it! he is excited to go to the temple and be baptized for his dad :) he is from Sudan.

miracle #2 would be the amazing part member family we are teaching, the Sabados. they are from the Philippians... (mom, Yuri, is a member, dad no) and the lesson we had on Friday was definitely one of the coolest experiences i have ever been a part of. hands down one of the best moments of my whole mission! last week as we were teaching the 2 little girls, Trisha 9 and Tyra 8...  and we asked the dad, Teri, if he wanted to learn more. it was our first time meeting him and he said he did! so on Friday we taught their family the Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith. oh man it was SO hot in there. and all the little kids (5 of them...) were being so so loud that we felt like Teri couldn't even hear anything we were teaching. but when we shared the First Vision, we invited Teri to read it. the spirit filled the room, and we could all feel it so strong even with the little kids screaming. when we asked him if he believes it is true he said, "yes i believe it! this really touched my heart today." we invited him to be baptized, and before i could even finish the invitation he said "yes yes YES!" him and his 2 little girls accepted a baptismal date for August 16!!!! we were all in awe. MIRACLES are real. and the little girl Tyra said, hey i will be baptized for my birthday! Teri said the closing prayer, thanking Heavenly Father for his family and him and Yuri were both crying. im tearing up just thinking about it! because there is a lot of things going on in their family right now (a huge misunderstanding and legal complexity) we have been praying for them like crazy and weren't sure if they were going to make it to church. but there we are sitting in Sacrament meeting yesterday, and in walks the entire Sabado family!!!! Sister Mencarelli and i just looked at each other and cried!!! i can't even express my joy to you knowing this amazing little family is preparing to be baptized and go to the temple to have their prayers answered and be an ETERNAL FAMILY <3 are="" class="aBn" data-term="goog_1595957975" fhe="" having="" span="" tabindex="0" them="" we="" with="">tonight

, and i pray we can help them continue to progress towards baptism!

Alma 26:16 

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which i feel. 

my joy is so FULL!! we were also able to have interviews with President Clayton on Friday and i just love that man. he is so inspired. also we had back to back exchanges this week. it was INSANE. hahaha we had an hour together as the 3 of us then switched with another companionship. but i did go to Chinese work for a day which was a blast :) i realized the spirit is strong while teaching about Jesus Christ no matter what language it is. 

i love this work! i love this area... Toronto has stolen my heart. i love the members here. i love the Gospel with all my heart and i love being able to help and invite everyone to Come unto Christ. thank you all for the love and support! i testify that this work is GOD'S work. i know He lives<3 div="">

con mucho amor y besos, hermana horton 

week 56

hope you all had an awesome 4th of July! my one and only 4th out of the U.S. i missed it. i am proud to be an American :) Canada day was on the 1st and they actually didn't even celebrate it a lot. there were a few fireworks but nothing big. we definitely go all out compared to Canadians :) then again no one is Canadian over here...... haha.

we have been SO busy! this week just flew past my eyes. don't even know how it is July. with lots going on the days and weeks are flying. it hasn't been that warm here #canada. but we are finally getting above 30 C! woo hoo! 

we are teaching like crazy. it has been awesome! we are teaching Golam still who is progressing faithfully. it has been different to teach him and he has a lot of questions and not much of a Christian background.. but he is also the most open person in the world! we are also teaching the cutest lady in the world named Joyce. she is from Uganda and is still learning English so she says the cutest things like "Jesus lovin me" "you come teach me and me happy. before me cry." awwww she is adorable. also, Timothy. an awesome new investigator who has decided he wants to be baptized. we are struggling big time on getting people to come to church. it really is the worst when they commit to come, and you stand there waiting and they don't show up... "noooooo not again!" hahaha. but the members here are great too, we are loving getting to know all of them.

i had another exchange this week with Sister Tang. she came to work in our area and we had an awesome day together! she is a great missionary. i also went to my first MLC meeting. Missionary Leadership Council. the Spirit was so strong. i really am learning so much as a missionary. about what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ for the rest of my life. who have i become? how can i continue inviting others to Come unto Christ even when i am not a full time missionary? Christ is everything. and i will always continue to serve Him. i am so grateful He knows and loves me personally. i love Him.

the Gospel is true and real and is being spread all over the world. the Lord needs us! this is His work and His glory, and He invites us to invite others to come with us as we strive to be like Him and endure to the end. 

con amor, hermana horton