First the faith, then the test, and then the testimony

Hey family,

Man...I got caught up in time today, I was doing stuff and the time just went away.

We had 3 investigators at church. Elder Gilliat and Elder Elias left to find more people to come to church and they came back "empty handed" But later, one of the people that they had talked with came back to the church saying that they were interested and wanted to know when the meetings were! They're really cool

We've started to read the Book of Mormon as a mission which is cool because I know that the other Elders are reading the exact same thing that I am and so we can share experiences and what we learned and what not.

Me and my companion are doing a lot better. Recently I've been learning more Spanish with him and so that's been a good reason for us to laugh and to talk together.

The Branch of Pindamonhongaba is growing and maybe by the New Year, it will be a ward!

What have you learned about people or about yourself as you have seen people have something wonderful like the gospel in their grasp, but they let it slip away?

That's one of the saddest things that a missionary has to deal with because we love the people so much and we know how much joy and happiness this message will bring them so it's really saddening when they don't accept the message or the church.

I learned something about prayer this past week. It's something that actually happened to me when I was little but that I didn't recognize the doctrine contained until now. I was praying once when I was like 10 or so and I was curious of God really was hearing my prayer and so I asked "Can you hear me?" And I didn't feel anything and I asked myself, "Is it really true, does he really hear prayers? What do I think?" And I answered myself "Well....I believe he does." It was only after I decided for myself that He really does hear our prayers that I felt something different in me. Something really special, a confirmation by the Holy Ghost. I believe that my first testimony was about prayer and from that, I gained a testimony about many other things by the same principle which is written in Ether 12:6. First is the faith, then the test, and then the testimony.

Gain and strengthen your own testimonies!

Elder Horton

Get to know someone new this week

Family!

Hey mom guess what, the wife of the branch president said to me yesterday that you prepared me well for my mission :) So congratulations! I've also shown your picture to seem people and they're like "wow she's pretty!" So that's a job well done and you can feel even better about yourself today :) best mom in the world!

I found out today that one of my converts, Bruna, will be serving a mission! She put in her papers yesterday and here in a month she'll know where she's going! I'm super excited!

Maybe you can use your hymn playing to bring the Spirit when you teach?  Is that allowed?

I don't see why not, there's no rule against it. I'm gonna learn some church music now that I have a guitar

Did you get to watch conference and if so, what were some of your favorite messages?

Yeah I watched all of it, my time is short so I won't talk a lot but I learned some principles and techniques about being a leader, I learned better ways to be a missionary and to serve others.

How was your week and how are the missionaries in your district?

The week was cool, we started to work in Pinda instead of just in Moreira Cesar which is really far from the church and we've had some successes already! We brought a less active family back to church this Sunday and they really liked it and so I'm happy :) The district continues to improve including my companion

Do they celebrate Halloween in Brazil?

Nope

Looking back over your mission so far, what have you learned about yourself that you didn’t know before the mission?

I've learned that I wasn't as patient or humble as I thought I was but I've improved in those areas. I've really become more focused on the Lord's work. Before, I just went to church and seminary and sat there without really worrying about anyone else other than me but now I'm able to see things a bit more as God sees them and how He cares for His children and I'm motivated with the desire to help them. I've also come to recognize some gifts that I have as I've put my shoulder to the wheel of God's work and glory. That was a good question, a thought provoker.

Well, my times basically up. It’s not the biggest letter I've sent but I've seen the letters of other missionaries and they're a lot shorter soooo yeah. I also forgot to look in my journal to get some highlights of the past week and I can't think of anything right now so yep that it.

Get to know someone new this week at church! Ask the missionaries if there's anything you can do for them!

The church is true!
Elder Horton