Best for Last

11-25-13

Family,

I'll start off this letter with some random interesting things that happened this week that I want to share. Like for example, I ate a foot of a young woman this last week! It was a tough but still sweet.

I was eating Pudding (as it's called here) or Flan (for those who know what that is. It's DELICIOUSS) To make flan you need milk. Leite de moça which would mean milk of young woman but means condensated milk. And I think one more thing..but it's very delicious and I was eating it and the young woman who made it asked me "da para casar?" Or basically "good enough to marry?" I heard it and thought "...what?!" and then said "Não não, não posso!" (no no, I can't) but then they explained it’s just a saying and not meant to be taken literally. It just means it's good basically. And then I responded "sim, certamente da para casar" "yes, certainly good enough to marry" haha I like brasil.

I don't know if you guys have noticed the trend here. Sometimes to describe something as sweet, the brazileans just add "de moça" or "of a young woman" haha.

The verb for to snore is roncar but the first r has an "h" sound so in English it'd be honcar. We were talking about snoring and I thought it was really funny because of the way the word sounds as if it were a car honking or something. I don't know but I thought i'd share that with you.

Also, you guys remember how with James, we recorded our voices and then sent the recorder to James and he did the same thing and sent it back? I was thinking about doing the same thing. And it'd be a lot easier too, I could just load it up on the computer and send it off! And so I might just buy some machine to do that...we'll see. Maybe I'll use the awesome spy pen to do it! I think it'd be cool for you guys to hear my Portuguese :D

Also, in brazil, instead of typing "haha" like we do in the US, they type "caca"

It’s been raining a lot here which I prefer a lot to the heat but it's a bit annoying because one day we were leaving from lunch and the whole half of my pants from my knees down got completely soaked so that was a bit no fun but I think still preferable to heat.

We met a woman who had never heard of America before. Or Canada or Mexico. And her vocabulary was pretty limited. She wasn't mentally handicapped or anything, she was just really limited in her learning. It was the first time that I had seen that in Brazil and it was the first time Elder Steele had ever seen someone who hadn't heard of America.

Yesterday we went to Jacareí to a meeting where President and Sister Ferrin spoke and it was interesting to hear their Portuguese. Elder Steele said that my Portuguese was already better than that of President Ferrin and he already served a mission in Brazil (a long time ago but didn't use it when he was at home) and he'd also already been in Brazil almost 1.5 years. But it was kinda funny you know how in English we say "let’s go pay a visit" or "they paid a visit." Well President Ferrin said "eles pagaram uma visita"(they paid a visit) but this makes No sense in Portuguese haha still learning. But it was good. The meeting was good. All about missionary work and incentivizing the members.

I'm happy I took WTG150 before the mission because sometimes my English is horrible. Elder Steele and I almost never talk in English. Yesterday I was talking with Sister Ferrin and I was trying to talk English but kept talking Portuguese haha I think it's cool.

Hey mom, do you think you could sign up for me for the Liahona? For 2 years? List the address as the Mission office...you have that address right? It should only be a couple of bucks for 2 years. Maybe 5 or 10.

Elaine is a woman that was definitely prepared by the Lord for us to find. We've been teaching her the lessons and she's accepted to be baptized this Sunday along with her son. She is practically already a member of the church. She's just awesome. We were teaching her and she said that she was feeling something that was hard to describe. Elder Steele spoke up and said "As if you already knew it" And she jumped on that and said "yes that’s it!" It’s so cool how the light of Christ works in people to help them recognize truths and how the Lord prepares His children for us. We didn't find her, it was a member who felt like they should talk with her and then gave us her reference and we've been teaching her together and she came to church yesterday. She's just elect.

 

I saved the best for last :) Yesterday we baptized Marcelo!! I had the privilege of performing the ordinance. I've already sent the pictures. It was a very cool experience for me. My first baptism of the mission with more to come. I think I've already talked about Marcelo. He was also elect. Just ready to be baptized. Elder Steele said something that I like. He said that "he's happy that he can be a part of this work" and it's true, we're just a part of this work. We couldn't do this without the spirit or without the Lord. We went and visited Marcelo later and I asked him how he felt and he said he felt "leve" or aleviated or light. It's so coool! And he hasn't even received the Gift of the Holy Ghost yet! All the members of the ward were excited too and I'm excited and he's excited and just everyone's excited.

Well that's about all that I wanted to share with you guys. Good thing too because I don't have any more time. And Still I need more time to work on that scripture mastery thing. But I love all of you. The book is blue, the church is true. I know it and I know that God knows it and I cannot deny it. For this is the testimony last of all that we give of Him. That He lives! And he knows each and every one of us and our trials and our afflictions and every single emotion we feel because he felt them in the garden of gethsemane so that he can succor us. Rely on him. For his yoke is light. Alma 37:36-37. I know in whom I have trusted. My Lord hath been my support and hath led me through mine afflictions. I have trusted in the Lord and I will trust in him forever. In the name of Jesus Christ our savior and redeemer, amém

Elder Horton

 

 

 Marcelo da Silva Irmão was baptized Sunday!

 

 

 

 I fastened myself a new wallet with cartões de amizade

or pass-along cards :) fico feilz. I'm happy.

 

 

 

A vulture was just sitting there so I decided to take a picture.

I was playing with him a bit too. I was trying to

touch him very cautiously but then he

opened his mouth and made a sound I didn't like

and I stopped trying to touch him.

Little Miracles

11-18-13

The churros here are unlike those in the US completely haha it’s great. They fill the churro with something that you pick (I chose chocolae and doce de leite) and then they place another topping of your choice on and its very unhealthy but very delectable.

Last Tuesday something really cool happened. We left for a compromisso but they weren't there so we went to plan b which involved getting a reference from a nonmember who had spoken with a member who had spoken to us in passing the previous day that that nonmember had a reference for us. I said this to show it’s kind of coincidental but anyway we went there and she said she'd take us to where that person was living. We went there and began to talk and found out that he had recently moved out but was visiting his mom who lived there. He also said that the previous day he had been praying all night for God to give him an answer. He then said that the next day, we showed up, and he said he felt like it was an answer to his prayers. It's pretty cool how the Lord just makes stuff happen when we're completely oblivious but I love being able to see these little miracles and this chance I have to be a better instrument in the Lord's hands.

The time seems to be flying by faster and faster, it's crazy

We had 6 people at church this Sunday! And one of those 6 is now firm for being baptized this Sunday! Yay!

I am Very short on time today so I'm sorry everyone.

I love all of you.

Elder Horton

 I found a great picture of the salt lake temple and stuck it to the front of my planner!! 

I hope people ask me about it and I can explain what it is. It's also just really awesome.

I sent some pictures earlier of paved streets and what not but we work a lot 

in places assim as well (assim means like this)

The montador didn't come to put the tables together 

so I took matters into my own hands! I'll finish 'er up today.

It’s a bed frame. With a door. And cloth draped over it. Or in other words, its a table! 

The bed frame was spare in our casa but the door was trash that Elder and I salvaged :D 

We use it for eating on.

6 People at Church!

You can write to Elder Horton at garrett.horton@myldsmail.net           Missionaries love letters!!

11-11-13

It's good to hear about how everything is going with all of you and I'm happy to hear that everything seems to be going good!

We did a division...Same thing in English? I went with one brother and Elder Steele went with another. The Danilo and I went to teach a reference from another dupla of missionaries for the first time and so this was the first time that I taught basically all by myself the whole first lesson and it actually went pretty good! I had Danilo talk about the ministry of Jesus Christ on Earth and the Book of Mormon and the man we were teaching, Wagner, accepted all the invitations...unfortunately we visited him again and he basically dropped us but that’s okay because it was a good experience for me and we're teaching people who are a lot more prepared than he is to hear the gospel.

Elder Steele and I had a cool experience. We were going to a members house mainly to ask for their son to work with us and also to leave a small message with them and so it was my turn to leave a message and I like to try and leave messages that can actually help people in their lives and I felt like sharing the story of the people of Alma in Mosiah 24 when they were under the captivity of the Lamanites and how instead of getting angry with the lord when times got tough they prayed and even when they couldn't pray they opened up their hearts to the Lord. And as a result the Lord strengthened them that their burdens were made light. I noted in the mensagemzinho (little message, very cute way of saying it) that the Lord didn't just take away their trials and tribulations. He made it so that they could handle them and made them easier to carry! And then when the time was right, he removed them from captivity. I applied this story to our life here on earth and the sister, Simone, said, almost crying, that the message was an answer to her prayers and I thought. Nossa....que legal! I wouldn't say I'm a full-fledged instrument in the Lord's hands but I would definitely say that I'm trying and that when I am, it fills me with great joy.

One day we were finishing up doing a contact on the street and I looked to the other side of the street and there was a man who was waving at us. He crossed the street and started to talk with us and he told us his name is Jean Carolos and he also said he is an alcoholic and that he's tried lots of different things to try and stop drinking alcohol but nothing works and he said he saw us a couple of times and this time he decided to talk with us because he knew we were men of God and he really needed help. We decided to walk with him to his casa and try to get to know him and his situation a bit better. He told us of all of his problems that have come with drinking alcohol. That he fought with his wife and that it’s really messing his life up in a lot of ways. He was very emotional and crying sometimes when we were talking with him. We gave him a priesthood blessing of health and left the house and returned Saturday to talk with him but he hadn't returned from work yet but we met his son, Marcelo and his son went to church with us and I'll talk more about Marcelo next paragraph

This past Sunday we had 6 people at church! The most yet! It was very cool. Ana (mãe) e Adriele (Filha), Marcelo (15), Vitor (21), Wellington (pai) e Jonaton (filho). The numbers are ages. Marcelo and Vitor both appear elect and they're both very excited about church and have accepted to be baptized this Sunday with our help and preparation. A lot of people accept this commitment but unfortunately not as many follow through. I've been learning this as I've been here. But I think Marcelo and Vitor really have a good chance and I'm happy that we've been able to find them. The really awesome thing that Elder Steele pointed out yesterday that I hadn't thought of yet was that he moved here about 3 months ago. Just a little bit of time before we both got transferred here. How cool is that! Coincidence? I think not. Marcelo is a really cool guy too, he's tall for his age and he likes math, science, reading, and writing. We were talking with him and his father last night. We were mostly talking with Jean Carlos and helping him with his alcoholism. Giving him support. Giving him means to avoid alcohol. Helping him find strength in prayer and in Christ. It was a really good conversation we had with him. He really has a strong desire to be better. A cool thing was that he drank a little bit after the first day we talked with him but since then he hadn't drank anything. We're going to call him every day at least and give him support. After we closed with a prayer we were talking and I mentioned how much I like science and chemistry and stuff and Marcelo mentioned he had a chemistry book and I said "nossa que legal!" very excitedly. He grabbed it for me and I was looking through it and it was wayyy cool seeing science in Portuguese. It was like a fun way of demonstrating science basics with cool pictures and stuff and I thought that was way cool. Then he asked me if I knew Stephen Hawking and I said Heck yes I do! (Or something similar in Portuguese) and he grabbed Another book! By Stephen Hawking! Who is super super super smart! And it was great it was all about astrophysics and stuff like black holes and worm holes and everything I love. And it was in Portuguese :) I think I'll ask to borrow it for next p-day. I'd love to read it. I miss science. Sometimes when I'm feeling a bit unexcited I'll do science to excite myself :)

As some people are baby hungry, I'm baptism hungry. I want to baptize someone but I don't mean just baptism. I want to actually help people to come unto Christ and to actually build their testimony of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Church. I'm excited to be here serving this mission even though some days it’s really hard. My goal for the end of my mission is that the Lord will be able to say to me "Well done thou good and faithful servant." That would make my mission perfect.

I love you all,
Elder Horton

 Elder Horton

 

 Elder Steele

They finally got their study desks!

A kiss from a young woman?! Beijo da Moça

11-4-13

Dear mother, family, and friends :)

That was cute about Isaac with the Wallace and Grommet motions for mac and cheese!

Sounds like you guys are having fun up there and enjoying the family. I know what you mean it would be pretty cool to be up there at this exciting time in all of your lives when you're all pretty close together but I'm happy to be here and I know this is where I'm supposed to be :)

I'm sure you did great with your lesson on hastening the work! Keep up that mission spirit!

I think we'll go and visit Pauliana proxima semana. Next week. We haven't set up an appointment with her yet but we will talk with the elders in her area today about it!

Ender's Gameee....I wanted to see that haha I'll see it in 2 years. I have always kind of looked to Ender as a role model...hah I'm mostly kidding. I have always admired some of his traits and smarts.

Have you been able to teach Luis some more??  (The man from the bus stop?)

So we called him and he said "voce estava enganado" or that we were decieved when we were trying to describe how we met him. We think he was drunk at that time...but whatever the case we didn't teach him and we're not going to.

Did you get an answer from your President about drinking Coke?  I’m glad you were obedient even before you got his response.

His response to me:

YOU CAN GET A COKE IN THE LION HOUSE WHERE A LOT OF THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES EAT LUNCH. WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?
Elder Steele and I got a good laugh out of this response. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

And also my letter to him this week:
This past week has been really cool as we've had the opportunity to watch 4 of our investigators really progress in the gospel and their testimonies. We're have 2 baptisms firme this week and 1 more probable for this week and 1 more probable for next. I'm super excited to finally be able to baptize and I think this is helping Elder Steele and I to be more excited about the work and also all the members in the ward. We have brethren to go with us every day of the week and we are way excited to work with them. We're also seeking very hard to find and baptize men so that way when the ward is ready to split it can have enough priesthood holders. We're thinking if we just baptize 50 more people that the ward will have to split to fit all the members so we need more men! This would be the desires of our hearts if we could be perfect instruments of the Lord. We're not perfect but we'll do our best.

What was your greatest blessing this week?

Having the opportunity to help the Lord bring his children to him.

Have you learned any new Brazillian traditions or customs lately?

Of the top of my head...I think no.

What do you do at your District Meetings?

We talk about our investigators that went to sacrament meeting and maybe a bit of how we can help them and then we receive training from the DL

Are your shoes and clothes holding up OK so far?

Yesssss, mostly. Tipo they're getting worn bit by bit but they still have a long time left.

What is the high temperature getting to now?  Is the humidity high/low??

Ummm I think it's around 95 some days. Humidity, depends but usually highish. About like South Carolina. I've never noticed humidity that much honestly. Like the difference between Utah and South Carolina. I don't really notice.

Have you had any scary experiences since you got to Brazil?

All the police Always have their hands on their guns. That's always a bit intimidating for me but I'm never really scared for my life or anything. I haven't really felt scared for my life or anything like that since arriving.

Thanksgiving is later this month – what are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for too much to write. God, scriptures, prophets, general conference, opportunity to serve, members, my planner haha, my amazing parents, supporting friends, family, shoes! The A/C that I'll have in 2 years haha

Do you think that the things you are thankful for have changed since being on the mission?

I think yes....but like the setting of the sun it's something that’s changed day by day for me and so it would be hard to say what exactly but I know that they have changed. If not what I'm thankful for, in how much I'm grateful for it.

Don't cry mom *pat pat pat*

ps: Yes I said that just to make you cry again

pps: and now you're laughing crying

ppps: I love all of you! Especially you mom, you've been an amazing mother and I couldn't have asked for better. If I could change one thing about the way you've raised me, I wouldn't change anything. I'd say you did a fine-dandy job.

pppps: I'll go ahead and send this now and then respond with how my week was a bit more.

This last week I got a kiss from a young woman!

We had a way cool experience this past week that has really strengthened my testimony of the priesthood. Eu penso tambem que eu vou escrever em portugues e então traduzir para ingles. Vai ser mais divertido :) Então estavamas la em caçapava entrevistando um pesquisador das sisteres la e estavamas voltando para a rodaviaria e uma mulher nos parou e estava perguntando "Quem são vocês?" Nos respondemos que nos somos missionarios e ela disse "Ah! Entram ai entram ai! Nos temos criancinhos que estão doente! Podem fazer uma oração?" Então nos entramos e Elder Steele e eu fizemos um bênção do Sacerdócio para eles. Fizemos 3 bênçãos de saude e um de consolo e então uma sister orou para a casa e familia. A proxima dia, nos ouvimos das Sisteres que todos os meninos naquele dia estavam sem doenete! Mesmo um daqueles meninos que não estava comendo comecou a comer quando nos saimos! Nossa que legal!!!
Translation: I think I'm going to write in Portuguese and then translate to English. It will be more fun :) So, we were in Caçapava interviewing an investigator of the Sisters there and we were returning to the bus station and a woman stopped us and was asking "who are you?" We responded that we are missionaries and she said "Ah enter there enter there! We have little children that are sick! Can you do a prayer?" So we entered and Elder Steele and I did a priesthood blessing for them. We did 3 blessings of health and 1 of comfort and then a sister prayed for the house and family. The next day, we heard from the Sisters that all the little kids that day (the day after the blessing) were without sickness! Even one of the little boys who wasn't eating, began to eat when we left! Nossa how awesome!

The priesthood really is powerful. It really is the authority to act in the name of our loving Heavenly Father. The power is dependent on our worthiness and the will of God. God blessed those kids that day through us and now that family is taking lessons and accepting the invitations and I think will be baptized with a strong testimony of the priesthood. The same priesthood that Jesus had. That He gave to his apostles. Unfortunately the priesthood power and authority to organize and lead the church and baptize was lost when Jesus died and was resurrected and also the apostles but I know that Peter James and John gave this same authority that they received from Jesus to the first prophet in these the latter days, Joseph Smith. That same priesthood I hold can be traced through my dad and his dad and so on to Joseph Smith and then to Jesus. Oh how thankful I am for the power of the priesthood in my life.

I awoke on the morning of the 31 of October. Elder Steele said happy Halloween. I said Oh yeah. We laughed for about 2 seconds. That was the extent of our Halloween festivities haha

Okay that kiss from a young woman. That was a doce or treat that’s called beijo da moça. Orrr kiss from the young woman :) Don't fret haha I'm just messing with you guys. It was a very delicious treat.

 In Caçapava also they have a part of the ward that is very distant from the building and so it’s difficult for some of the members that live there to participate and make it to church. This story is about an irmã (sister) who is the perfect example of a member missionary.

She lives in this section that is very distant and she rents a van once a month for all the members that live far from the church as well. She also holds a family night every week! And invites all the members and they all invite their nonmember friends and she teaches lessons out of the gospel principles to them, and sometimes it happens that all the missionaries have to do is give a summary of the lessons and then baptize because the people who go to the family nights already know the information. How cool is that?!?

Our Zone

Okay thanks for the words, Time is ending. Love you!

Elder Horton