11-17-14 "Man...he's pretty"

11-17-14

Hey mom

I was waiting for a bus and a young woman kept looking at me and then she said something to me and I started to talk with her. I told her my name and she said the equivalent of "man..he's pretty" and we got the same bus and then when we were leaving she said "tchau gringo!" American moments in the Brasil.

Something Elder Bolognini said recently that I thought was interesting. He was talking with some people. "Do you think having a calling is convenient? Do you think it's convenient to teach every week or be a secretary or be a leader? The answer is no, it's not convenient. But it's necessary." He's also known to say "You think life isn't easy for you? Life isn't easy for anyone" haha it's an interesting point of view. And it's true. Life would be "easier" without callings but they're necessary to the growth of the church and our personal growth.

Elder Campbell, that other tall, American that I met at BYU, is assistant to the president now! I was happy when I found out :) I've always liked that guy.

My district changed! Now it's my companionship, the other one in Pinda and one more in Guaratinguetá. I like the change because now I feel like a District Leader again because when my district was just my house, it was all different.

I got your letter too with the credit cards. I thought it was funny the comment "no snickers this time" That same day I went in the market and bought snickers.

Tell me about who you’re teaching.  

We were visiting a woman, Maria do Socorro, a cousin of Lelia, the Relief Society President and the visit was super  cool because Leila also shared her personal experiences and it was special because how the 2 of them came to know the church was about the same. I believe that Maria do Socorro will be baptized here in 2 weeks. It was funny too because during the lesson she said that she wanted to visit our church but she said she was waiting for Leila to invite her! Don't leave your friends and loved ones wanting to visit the church of Christ! Invite them! Invite them to go to church and into your house and invite the missionaries and you'll be giving them a great opportunity to get to know the restored gospel!

Tell me about your blessings.

I have the blessing to learn with Elder Bolognini many techniques to be more excited and to teach and to excite other people. 

"We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes." -Pres. Monson

Tell me what you think about the meaning of “being in the thick of thin things”.

I think that being in the thick of thin things means exactly what Pres. Monson said. Like we're too worried about watching the next episode of our favorite series instead of thinking about that one member that only goes to church every now and then or maybe your home teaching family or maybe your lesson. In the grand scheme of things and in the end, God won't ask you "Hey did you like that episode of Burn Notice??" He'll ask "Did you feed my sheep?" That doesn't mean that we can't have our "me" time either, it just means that our "me" time shouldn't take priority of the Lord's time.

I bore my testimony to a non-active man and he told me that my testimony was just a result of my being raised in the church and that my mind was closed to other options. I bore my testimony again and told him I knew God had responded my prayers and that the church I represent is the true church of Jesus Christ. This man came to be even the president of the quorum of elders but he began to look for information and study about the church but not with church resources and studied philosophers and what not and he has come to the conclusion today that Jesus Christ was just a simple man and not the son of God. When I came to know about that I was sad. But it just goes to show a fact. Something that Elder Bolognini said. If you study books that an atheist wrote, then you'll start to believe that God doesn't exist. The philosophers didn't believe in God. if you look to prove that Jesus is the Christ and the son of God then you'll find proof, but if you look to prove that he isn't then you'll start to believe that and you'll have your own "proof"

It's sad but true. We did our part, we gave him a chance and we bore our testimonies. I hope one day he'll see the light. But as for me, I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he saw God the father and Jesus Christ as Moses saw them in ancient days. I know that God's church is on the earth today and that we are part of His kingdom. This testimony and knowledge came to me by the Holy Ghost which teaches all truth.

I love you all!

Elder Horton

(in response to Dad’s letter)

Man that'll be an interesting calling for you, but you've proven yourself to be well able to work with kids and youth with your Sunday school class. I'm excited to hear how things will go with your seminary class! If you're still teaching when I get back then I think I'll want to participate sometimes just to see it personally.

Every time you mention something about your mission, it seems like it's something new every time, something that I've never heard before. That I remember, you never really talked a lot about your mission so it's interesting to hear little details every now and then. Thanks for the stories and the incentivation, I always like to receive your letters.