Pictures!

 

 

There are some us in the snow, us eating bear with the Ward Mission Leader and his wife (they are some of my favorite people ever. Sister Murrell is the one that helps us a lot.) He caught the bear himself! It was delicious :) and the other pictures are of the Sunday night struggles that we sometimes have.

 

 

 

 

 

This is my district this transfer! If you zoom up close its really funny

Dedicated to the babe Elijah‏

From:	Callie Horton (callie.horton@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Mon 1/27/14 9:24 AM

Aloha! 

Congrats to Mike and Sashana on cute little baby Elijah!! He's pretty stinkin adorable. Be sure you tell him all the glorious legends of his favorite aunt so that he will know me by the time I return from my journey.

 

It snowed!!!!!!! There was a tiny snowfall a couple week ago but it was melted by like noon, but it snowed last Tuesday a lot! A lot for Virginia. Would be more like a light snow covering in Utah. But it was great! We were super excited about it! I never thought I would miss the snow, but I have. There is still a little on the ground, but it is mostly melted now. Virginians are funny. I love them. They freak out about snow and go and clear out all of the grocery stores of their milk and bread when they hear word that there might be a storm haha. Bless their hearts.

 

My poor companion had strep throat this past week so we were inside for most of the week, so not a whole lot happened, but that's alright. I was able to study a lot which was great and I just honestly learned a lot. We grew a lot as a companionship. I learned to serve her and love her more, which was something that I needed to learn to do. At first I was getting so caught up in that fact that we weren't out working, but then I decided to take a step back and see what I need to learn from what was happening. My eyes were definitely open. There are a lot of times in situations where I think we get caught up in what is happening that we don't see the real meaning for the thing that is happening. If we can just step back and see what God is trying to teach us, we will usually learn so much. We were able to go and teach Veronica on Saturday night and it was just so fabulous. We wanted to show her the talk by Elder Holland about the Book of Mormon, but after we tried for forever to get her DVD player working, we had to accept the fact that it just wasn't going to work. So I'm just kind of freaking out inside because we didn't know what we were going to teach her, and I'm just praying and praying that Heavenly Father will bless us with the words that we need to say. And He most definitely did! I just decided that I would go to my scriptures and share Moroni 10:3-5, but right as I'm about to open to it, I remember a scripture in Jacob chapter 4 about how one of the reasons for the writing of the Book of Mormon was so that their children can know their testimonies of Christ. We have talked so so much about the BOM with Veronica, but this was a different way to look at it. The amazing prophets that wrote the Book of Mormon were real people with real families, just like us. They wrote that book so that their children, and everybody after them, could know that they knew Christ and that they had a testimony of Him. And how great were their testimonies! Then we start to talk about how we can receive answers to the questions in our lives through the BOM. She had expressed to us a lot that she feels like she is not getting answers to her prayers. So then Hermana Pratt just whips out Moroni 7:12-13 where it talks about that every good thing comes from God and how if it inspires to do good, then it is of God. Veronica then started talking about how she felt differently when she talked to us then she did when she talked to people from other Church's. Slowly and surely she is starting to grasp the things that we are teaching a little bit better. We just hope and pray that she will be able to receive and witness that the things that we are teaching are true!

 

Enrique went to church yesterday for the first time!! He went to the Spanish branch/]. We had a lesson with Filiberto last night and he said that he met him and that he seemed to really like it! Speaking of Filiberto, he is doing so so great. We were talking about what we need to do to build a strong foundation in Christ. He told us how in church every week they pray for the people that didn't come. It did not make any sense to him why people wouldn't come to church! He just already knew that we need to make that decision before hand that when Sunday comes, we go to church. He also said that he is studying a lot about the priesthood so that he can be prepared to receive it. He's pretty stinkin great.

 

I hope you all have a super duper week!! Remember that I love you. I pray for you every day. Stay cool.

 

And now I close mine epistle. I am Hermana Horton.

Richmond Zone

0.5

0.5‏

From:	Callie Horton (callie.horton@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Mon 1/20/14 9:21 AM

Familia y amigos!

 

I hope y'all are doing fabulous! Life here in Virginia is wonderful! I love this place. I love the people. I love the beautiful language of Spanish. La lengua de los angeles. Filiberto is doing soo good! When we talked to him this week he just talked about how he was able to work so much harder because he has the gift of the Holy Ghost now ha-ha. He's a gem. And he quit one of his jobs this past weekend because he didn't think that the environment there was good! His faith seriously amazes me! And he decided that he wanted to come to the Mechanicsville ward yesterday to visit and then he went to the Spanish branch after. All 3 hours of both. I don't even know if I could do that! He is just in love with the Church now. And our Bishop announced that he was baptized during sacrament meeting and he just so proudly raised his hand and waved at everyone with this huge smile on his face! Ha-ha. We are so proud of him, but it is even better that he is so proud of himself. He also told us yesterday that when he returns to Mexico that he is going to teach his family about the Church. They told him that they weren't interested in it, but that they completed supported him, but he said that he will help them understand. He's the greatest! Sometimes it’s cool to think about how one new member of the Church can actually bring so many others to the gospel. He will definitely be a strong member that brings many to the knowledge of this gospel.

 

I can't believe that I forgot to talk about Valeria and Fermin last week! They are soo amazing. I think I mentioned them before a while back. But we have been teaching them these last couple weeks and holy cow! They are some of the most prepared people I have seen so far on my mission! They just take it all in like champs. Everything just makes perfect sense to them. They have so many great questions too which is awesome! And they have asked us some questions that the answer is sometimes hard for people to hear that have just started investigating the Church, but it wasn't at all for them! It just all makes perfect sense. And Fermin just has the cutest grin on his face the whole time. Sometimes when we say stuff they both just get super excited and start explaining it back to us to make sure that they understood or if the one of them understood and the other one didn't, the one that understood will excitedly explain it to the other ha-ha. They are seriously like bouncing in their chairs in excitement! And we had a super powerful lesson about what happens after this life with them last week. We had a wonderful member with us who I've talked about before, and she was just so amazed by the excitement and the spirit that was in the room. We asked her to bear a short testimony and she just cried and was expressing how she could tell that they had so much excitement about the stuff that we were teaching even though she didn't know exactly what we were saying. It was super powerful. And cute little Fermin got up and got her water to comfort her ha-ha. They are so amazing. We love teaching them so much.

 

A lot of our investigators expressed their true feelings to us about baptism this week. Hermana Pratt says that she brings that out in people haha. Veronica is one of them. She is doing soo wonderful and is sweeter than ever, but the road to baptism might be a long one, but that's totally ok. She will make it there. We have a lot of walls to break down, but we know it will happen. Our investigator Josue came to church for the first time yesterday! He went to the English ward that is closest to where he lives with his neighbor who’s a member. He is so close to setting a baptismal date too!

 

Being a missionary is absolutely the best decision I have made in my life up to this point! I can't even believe that this week I will hit my half way mark... Ahh that is so crazy! This time is going way too fast. It is cool to reflect on what I have done up to this point though. I am very glad for the person that I have become, but I know that I have so much more learning and growing to do. We have been studying a lot about goals and visions and such lately, and one thing that I read in a talk that President Wilson gave us was that when we are trying to follow Christ and do the things that we need to be doing, we can see more clearly the vision that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us. I would completely agree with that. It has never been clearer than it has on my mission the person that I have the potential to become. I am so far from that, and will probably work my whole life to try to get there, but I can constantly set goals and such and grow closer every day to that person that Heavenly Father needs me to be. I have so much more growth that I need to do and I am so grateful that I have so much time left to do it! My mission has seriously been such a blessing. I don't know where I would be without it or all of the wonderful people that I have met here in Virginia.

 

I hope you all have the best week ever! Find something to be grateful about every single day. I love you all!!!

 

And now I close mine epistle. I am Hermana Horton.

 

Pictures of Filiberto's Baptism

Get ready for a big surprise!!‏

From:	Callie Horton (callie.horton@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Mon 1/13/14 9:11 AM

Familia!!

 

So big surprise..... Filiberto was baptized yesterday!!!!!!!!!! So this past week just a lot changed. The branch where he got baptized was planning on having 2 baptisms yesterday already. So Filiberto was asked if he would like to move it up because it was going to be a very special program, and he agreed!! He was interviewed the next day and yesterday he was baptized and received the Holy Ghost! Holy flip. It was such a great baptism. The program was fabulous and his face was just so full of the light of this gospel. In his confirmation blessing it said to bless him to be a strong leader in the church. That was probably the part for me when I realized what I had helped to do. I know that none of this could have happened without the amazing help of the Spirit, but I am so happy that I was able to be one of the bearers of the precious words from the Spirit. He WILL be a great leader someday. I felt like a mom being proud of a kid or something haha. The whole thing was just such a great experience. And since Filiberto went to Chesterfield Ward a couple times, some members from there came to support him, so it was so great to see some old faces! The ward mission leader from there was talking to me and brought up the fact that I could barely speak Spanish while I was there haha but he was proud of how much I knew now haha. He's a character. It did make me happy though that people from there remembered me! But yes, it finally happened. The great and wonderful Filiberto is now a member of this true and magnificent church! Man, missionary work is the absolute best.

 

Hermana Pratt was pretty deathly ill this week so had to stay in a lot, but the lessons that we were able to have were great! We were having a lesson with our investigator Ishmael when we realized that he didn't really remember a whole lot from the restoration so we decided to review it. We were kind of having a hard time keeping his attention and there were a lot of people at his house that were talking and stuff, so we weren't really feeling like it was the most successful lesson ever, but then Hermana Pratt recited the beautiful words of the First Vision. I have yet to have a time on my mission where the Spirit did not just flood into the room when the First Vision was being recited. The rest of the lesson may not have been that great, but when the words of Joseph Smith's vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were recited, it was just amazing. We had a member with us that didn't speak any Spanish, and after the lesson we were just talking about the lesson and she starts talking about how there was this really powerful part when Hermana Pratt was talking. And she could barely finish talking, when I got super overly excited and said, "It's because she was reciting the First Vision!!" Even the member who couldn't speak Spanish, could feel the Spirit that comes from the First Vision. I can't even get over how true Joseph Smith and his experience is. The Lord testifies to me every single time we talk about Joseph Smith, that it is true.

 

This amazing work is so great and so special. I am so glad that the Lord is letting me be a part of it with all of my imperfections. I have grown to learn so much on my mission how the Lord works by small and simple things. One of my all time favorite scriptures, "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." There are a bunch of 18, 19, 20, 21, etc., aged people going out and sharing the most precious message of all time to people and helping them to return one day to their Heavenly Father. If that isn't small and simple then I don't know what is! But the Lord has a great plan for his missionaries and for his children that need saving. What a great blessing it is to be a part of it.

 

I hope you all have a very wonderful week!! Remember that I love you!!!

 

And now I close mine epistle. I am Hermana Horton. 

Pictures!

Our last day with us and the other Sisters in our ward haha. And the pink thing is something that we found at a thrift shop!!

Oh the joys of this work!‏

From:	Callie Horton (callie.horton@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Mon 1/06/14 9:13 AM

Hello everyone!

 

Well I have my new companion now! Her name is Hermana Pratt and she is from Orem, UT. She has been out a transfer less than me. She actually took my place in Midlothian and has been there the last 3 transfers so it has been so much fun to hear about old investigators and everything there! She is great. But I have definitely noticed how much being in a Spanish ward blesses your Spanish. Her Spanish is great! But I have also had a realizing moment of I don't know how my Spanish is where it is with being in an English ward haha. But I love the Mechanicsville ward soo much! They are so great! Just seeing the way that they welcomed in Hermana Pratt reminded me of when I first came. First off, I remember thinking about how I don't know how to interact with white people anymore, but I just felt so much love for them instantly. They aren't too hard to love though. It will be a sad day when I have to leave this ward and this area, so until then, I am so grateful for the amazing people in this area! Everyone that we've visited, Hermana Pratt just says, "Man they're so great! They're just like those people that you meet and you just instantly love them so much!" Its the truth. We have some of the greatest investigators ever.

 

Filiberto now has his official baptismal date! It is going to be on the 26th and he is going to get baptized in the Spanish branch. Oh and the most perfect thing ever happened! Hermana Bingham got transferred there!! So now we can send investigators there that want to be in a Spanish ward with confidence that they will know someone! We were so excited when President Wilson announced where she would be serving. I seriously halfway stood up and almost joined her and her new companions hug I was so excited! And then I proceeded to cry because of just how perfect this was haha. But anyways Filiberto is doing awesome! He has met Hermana Pratt before when he attended the Chesterfield Spanish ward once and when he went there to practice for singing at the zoo. So we were talking to him on the phone the other night and I told him who my new companion was, and this was his reaction: "HERRRRMANA PRATT!!! Let me talk to her!" Haha. He's a gem. We can't wait until he finally make the covenant of baptism. He is so ready. I can't believe that it is finally happening!

 

We had a super amazing lesson with Enrique the other day! Hermana Bingham and I both were impressed to read Alma 5 with them. We were kind of apprehensive about it because that chapter just sounds like a lot of rebuking. And then she leaves me and my first night with my new companion, we teach that to them. It ended up being soo good! The Lord really does know what he's doing. We had a member with us who is just so amazing, but she doesn't know any Spanish, which ended up being so good because since she isn't trying to pay as much attention to what is being said, she is paying so much more attention to the investigator's reactions and the feeling that is in the room. Enrique always likes to hear the testimonies of people that haven't always had this gospel in their lives. So when we asked if he had any questions, he asked her how her life has been different with the gospel and if its made her happier because she was inactive for 20 years of her life. She came out with such a powerful testimony and couldn't even make it through without crying. After the lesson, he went and hugged her. I was AMAZED. 2 people that could barely communicate with each other were able to feel love for the other because of the Spirit. This just brought me back to my blessing when I got set apart. President Davies said something about being about to communicate with the people and when necessary, use words. Feeling love is so much more than just the words that we say. If we can help them feel the Spirit, then we will be communicating with them in ways that will touch them so much deeper than our words. Gah being a missionary is the best!!

 

I hope that you are all trying to share the gospel is one way or another. There is no greatest happiness or rush. And yesterday at church we were talking about how one of the greatest ways to strengthen your faith is to share it. That is why so much growth happens on a mission. We are sharing our faith every single day. I hope that I will be able to come home and still be able to share the gospel with people. This work is so precious and so wonderful!

 

I hope you all have a great week!! The best week ever! I love you all!! Hakuna matata!

 

And now I close mine epistle. I am Hermana Horton.