Valentines Day

The lovely couple

Group Pic.

Jesus es mi Luz

We celebrated our valentines day starting Friday... with a wedding!!! WOOHHOOOOO haha My first wedding of my whole mission... POR FIN. I have always wanted to have one. Laura (Who got married with her husband who is already a member) then got baptised on Saturday. And I know I say this about all my converts... but she's pretty much the coolest. We have seen such an amazing chagne in her over this past month since we've been teaching her. She literally knew NOTHING about God, or religion, and it's been incredible watching her plant her seed of faith, and watching it sprout. Aaaaaaaand a year from now they are for sure going to the temple!! FAMILYYYYYYY


Spent 6 hours in a bus STANDING today going to a Liders conference. My. Mind. And. Body. Are. Dead.


Other than that, this week was just like any other hectic life being a missionary. LOTS of talking with everyone, and doing crazy last minute wedding plans ha It's so much fun


So in church on Sunday, the Ex-President of the branch showed up to church for the first time in 7 years... He stopped coming once he got released for giving out Bishops food storage to everyone. There is such a problem with that here. There are SO many less actives who hate the church liders for taking away their food storage, it's like the feel entitled to recieve constant help from the church, when in reality the program is in place to temporarily help those in need, and help help become self sufficent. It's just such a sad thing, to watch a family that has so much potential, trade their blessing for a pot of pourage... By letting something so small keep them from enjoying the feast of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and becoming clean through his atoning sacrifice


I studied in particular John 14, 15 and 16 this week, which contain a detailed discourse of Jesus that he gave after his Last Supper with his disciples. It truly touched me reading about his lving sacrifice for us, and the need we have to always have the spirit with us, it is obviously made of great importance by the Saviour in his last hours as a mortal being. It touches me beyond belief the great love he has for us. He believes in us! He had so much faith in us that he was willing to "Take of the bitter cup, and shrink" and die for our sins. I will forever be grateful for Him, and the sacred duty and privilege I have to wear his name on my name tag, and for all the wonderful spiritual experiences being a full time missionary has given me. Looking back on my mission, I truly feel... at peace with myself. I feel good about the work I have done and the progress I have made, and that is so important to recognize.


Love you guys so much! Have a great one




Dum Dum Dum Duuuuuuummm Dum Dum Di Duuuuummmm (Wedding march) played by the one and only. Turns out the years of suffering through piano lessons DID end up helping me out on my mission :)

Aguaity

So.... this week we went in search of the indian tribe.


Okay, so we headed off at 9.30 and took an hour and a half bus ride which took us through open plains, and thick jungle, crossing rivers and heards of cattle. We were told by the missionaries that there was a Pueblo... like a group of people who lived in a little town, like REALLY little town called Aguaity. We hopped off the bus with an unbreakable faith that we would find someone that would be willing to progress, with nothing more than a bag full of BOM´s... Feeling completely lost... haha We were the second missionaries ever to reach this city. Trying to communicate with the people there was near impossible, because EVERYBODY speaks pure Guarani. (Which sounds like someone speaking chinese with a bloody nose) hahaha It would be more funny if you could hear it


So I guess it's not really an indian tribe... It's more civilized than I'm making it sound! They live in normalish houses. (Little shacks) and everybody makes adobe brick for a living, and they have motorcycles, and some have cars and stuff. But like... where do you start in a situation like this? We decided to ask around for someone who spoke spanish so we could communicate easier ha And a guy gave us a reference for a lady who lived in a nicer house out side of a soccer field. We went to check it out... And turns out that the lady who lived there was a member of the church!!! hahaha She let us in with open arms, sat us down and made us lunch haha And then told us her story...


So she had dreamed for years of owning her own house... And having lived in this small group of Guarani all her life, she decided the best option for her would be to move to Spain to find a stable job (where she learned spanish) with all her family. In Spain, she met the missionaries and got baptised with her kids, and then moved back to Paraguay 9 years later (She was active for those 9 years) and decided to move back to her Pueblo and build a house. SO she is now inactive and lives a mere 5 miles from a church building (In a neighboring city). Now she just has to go to church again, and she can bring all her fmaily and relatives that live with her :) M I R A C L E


She then left with us to do visits, and bore her testimony and translated for us for all of here neighbors and friends. It's a bummer it's so far away, or else we would go there every day. We can only make it there Fridays, since it's one of the only days the busses go out to this town.


This week we have a wedding!!!!! YEAHHHH the branch president's brother (age 28) is going to get married and his wife (age 16) is going to get baptized!!! I know that it sounds a bit strange, but it's so normal here haha And they already have a kid soooo.... B A U T I S M O


I. Love. The. Mission.


And I love you guys too!


Elder Horton

KAQP

President thinks he's soooo funny always putting me with the short Peruvians! lol

He must be Peruvian

Paraguay

I am in love with this area. I have been having so much fun! haha I have never worked so ahrd in my whole life.


We had ourselves a Zone Training this week, which we were in charge of giving. It went really well. Honestly our Zone is really struggling as far as retention for the new converts go, so we had a discussion about how we can better do that. The spirit was there, and I really feel like it helped out


We have a Burger King like 2 blocks from our house. I still don't understand why they put one here, because it's jsut a small catholic town in the middle of a jungle in Paraguay, but I am not complaining one bit ha


We have been doing divisions all week with the Elders from our Zone, and I had the pleasure to go to an area called 'Arroyos y Esteros' or translated meaning 'Rivers and Streams'. Now THAT is a small town in the middle of nowhere. It's about a 2 hour bus ride area, and literally only potato farmers live there, and everyone speak guarani. Hardly any spanish! But I got to practice my Guarani a bit so that was fun


So me and my comp live with two other Elders, and basically it's a party every night when we get back to the apartment at night. Yeah. We have a hard time getting to bed on time. hahaha


I am just so happy here in the mission... I know what we are doing is the owrk of the Lord, and I feel him guide me from the moment we step out the door every day to new people to teach, and help come closer to Christ. My scripture of the week: D and C 64: 33-34


Love you guys!


Elder Horton