5-4-15
Hey family! :)
As for the travel plans, I manage
to think about these things and plan without really getting trunky so we're all
good :)
Wow! Isaac scored 5 goals! I
remember when I played soccer..I think the only goal I every scored was a goal
in our own net....eita!
As for writing in Portuguese. I
think that was one of the things that most helped me to learn to speak and
read. Because writing, I had to know how to spell the words and when you know
how to spell the words, you know how to say them as long as you know the
grammatical rules, which I know :) I even write in my journal in Portuguese. I
started doing that my 3rd transfer on the mission because I was thinking in Portuguese
and trying to write in English so I switched it up because it was easier to
write in Portuguese. I'll translate my journal at a later date for future
generations :)
The conference we had this week
was really awesome. They wanted to shake everyone's hand so we spent 40 minutes
for them to shake every hand of every missionary in 2 missions. Elder Cleiton
and Elder Aidukaitis came and spake to us with their wives. They talked about
getting close to Christ, the missionary purpose and the gospel, being proactive
and having inciative, and our potential as missionaries. They even opened up
the meeting at the end for the missionaries to do questions. I tried to think of
a good question to ask but I couldn't think about anything at the time that I
didn't already know the answer. It was funny though, 2 people asked in their
question using a phrase that is the exact title of Preach My Gospel. One said
"How can I use my time with more wisdom?" And he just said "Read
Preach My Gospel" haha.
An interesting story that was
told by Sister Cleiton. She purposely spilled cereal on the ground in front of
the front door and hid and waited for her kids to get home. They came in one by
one. The first didn't even notice the mess and stomped on through it making it
worse. The 2nd noticed and then started to blame the others "who did this?
They need to come here and clean this up". The 3rd also saw and yelled "MOMM
come clean this up" and continued walking. The 4th saw, and walked around the
mess but didn't do anything. When the 5th child got home, she saw the mess, and
got the broom and dustpan without saying anything and just cleaned it up. And
then Sister Claiton compared this story to us and said that probably all of us
fit into one of these categories or roles played by her children but that we
should all be proactive and have initiative like her last child did. I thought
that was very interesting and it's something that I always try to do as well,
be proactive and I try to teach this to my son and those in my district. It's
very important. She also cited Philemon 1:21 as an example of proactivity
Elder Claiton also spoke about
being bold because we have power and authority from God to be bold. In the
beginning of my mission I wasn't very bold but now, being bold is one of the
things that I most love to do. And I believe I do it well too. For example,
yesterday, I was talking with 2 young men that had gone to church to resolve
something with a member and they were baptized already but inactive and I could
tell that they didn't lead the most righteous life. I did a lot of friendship
with them....which you totally don't say in English....I became their friend..that's
better. In a matter of 30 minutes and I also understood who they were and their
background. And then I called them to repentance. And I promised them that if
they continued in that path until they died that they would go to hell. It's
something very strong to say but it's very true and they understood because of
the way I said it (I'm very good with things like this now) They knew that what
I was saying was true. I told them to pray, read the scriptures, and come to
church and they could still repent and be worthy to enter into God's kingdom.
Like I said, I like being bold, and missionaries need to be bold and cry
repentance unto all the children of God.
I like meetings because it's an
opportunity to repent, improve, and be better than you were before.
We're going to the temple
tomorrow! It'll be my first time to go to the temple of São Paulo. Every time I
went, I went to the temple in Campinas. I'm really excited! It's also really
convenient because there's the temple store and Deseret by the side so I'll be
able to buy some good materials, I think I'm gonna take out the rest of my fun
money.
I also encomended (do we say that
in English?...) I asked for a scripture case for my future wife :) haha it'll
say Sister Horton on front and with a picture of a young woman in armor and on
back it'll have a picture of Adam and Eve. I did it for the triple combination
in English.
In response to Dad’s request for input on making the home an MTC:
As for making our home an MTC.
Well let's think about what are the most important things. A testimony of the
gospel, a knowledge of the gospel, and an obedience and willingness to follow
the Lord. If you perfect these 3 things, you'll be as great a missionary as
Ammon. So now the question, what is to be done in the home to encourage this?
Make sure that everyone reads the scriptures every day and gains a love for the
scriptures is important. I believe something else that would help would be if
the family set som goal to do missionary work. Like set goals to talk with
people about the church and the gospel once a week or once a day depending on
the needs. Or a goal to work with the missionaries. Also a goal to read and
study Preach My Gospel would help a lot. Any plan or goal and activity that has
to do with these things would be effective in making your home a mini-MTC
Well I feel like that's about it.
Thanks for the letter and the love and the support!
Elder Horton
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