Ano Nuevo

Santa came to Paraguay?

Oh, but yes, I did get my Christmas Kiss under the mistletoe...

Mango plus Leche = Mango Milk Hetere'i

Boy was it so great to see the whole fam bam on christmas, they are the best!! It is really weird to think though that life still goes on back home ha My little sister isn't so little any more!! 

So I got sick on Christmas Eve, and we had to cancel all of our christmas plans and stay inside while I recovered. Bummer. I hope New Years eve works out a little better for me ha 

"A man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is unfit for the kingdom of God" -Luke 9... near the end of the chapter ha The scripture of the week to keep me focused on the work here at hand, and not letting myself get distracted. Speaking of missionary work, we ALMOST had a baptism this last week, but of course the night of his interview he decided to move to Brazil. Dang.

Have you ever tough someone using a language that you don't know, or can't speak? I have! It happens quite a bit, since a lot of the older population here ONLY speaks Guarani, the native indian language. It's all gift of tongues, because I don't know how, but I can understand like almost everything, and explain a few basic principles of the gospel, invite them to church, and have a very basic convesation with them. We also have an 80 year old investigator who only speaks guarani, and can't read or write. That bring with it a lot of challenges to teach her. We have to use lots of pictures, and bring members with us to help out, and somehow they end up being really spiritual lessons. She's been coming to church, and is really being a huge missionary with her family. She invited her daughtes and one of her sons to church on Sunday, and they filled up a whole sacrament bench. It's been way awesome to see her progress. She has a baptismal date for this next week. Ñapumi. 

Love you guys! Have a Merry Christmas

Elder Horton

I'm Dreaming of a White (people) Christmas

Me and the gang.  Zone 10

Me and the Guys (Utah State) 

Christmas Lunch

Me and the group.  (Biggest in Mission History.28)

Christmas in Paraguay is.... fun? People just get together and drink. Supposedly Paraguay is one of the countries that consumes the most alcohol, and I honestly believe it. There is a Bar on every corner, and it's dirt cheap. BUT I won't let that get my christmas spirit down!

So nobody in the ward planned anything as far as a christmas party goes... We are having to put something together as missionaries. Tomorrow, we are going to have a little get together in the church, and we put together a choir with the youth, and then we are going to watch Meet the Mormons and eat food. We will see how it turns out, after all it was planned by 19 year olds ha

Gave a talk in church this past week about christmas. It went okay, I didn't feel like it left from my heart everything I said. Maybe jsut because it's a bit more difficult to express myself fully in Spanish, in that it's not as easy as in English. It also hit me that I know the members here WAY better than I know the members in my own Ward back home HA How sad

So we had our christmas activity as a mission this week, bottom line, it was the best day EVER. We put together a presentation here in our Zone, and sang a song about a missionary getting Dear Johned, and then busted out into chistmas carols that finished with an Elder (Who weighs 250 pounds) Dressed up as Santa break dancing, and doing the worm. It got a few laughs hahahaha!

Love you guys!

Elder Horton

Ka'akupe

This week... where do I start... So much happens in one missionary week!


How about with the title: ka'akupe. (Translated: Behind the leaf) Dia de la virgen de Ka'akupe was this tuesday, A national holiday where 2 million people parade from crazy distances, and gather in a city about an 8 hour walk from where I'm at to worship a giant doll that stand on a banana (It's acutally a half moon) Tuesday night, the streets here were filled with devout catholics pioneering their way towards the city of ka'acupe


On this same day, we woke up early and went to Asuncion for a lidership conference. It pretty much changed me, adn my atitude that I have been develpoing lately, what the president shared with us. He did us a question: What is the one thing that we have, that is truly ours, that we can give to God? The answer: Our will. It really touched me, and made me think if I am doing things in my way, or God's way? We have chagned a few things up in our area, and have really been focusion on 100% obedience, which is SO hard for me ha BUT we have seen so many blessings for doing it. We ahve recieved refernces out of no-where, and we even jsut ahd a guy show up to church for us to teach him this week and.... a BAPTISM Wooooooo!!


Soooooo the storm cleanup is slowly kicking into action. We live in a part of Asuncion pretty far away from the city itself, so its been taking a while. We have light and water about half of the time. I feel liek this storm has really waken me up. Like before, I dunno i thougth I was giving it my all, but my heart really wasn't in it. I was working with all my Mind, Might and Strength... But I wasn't doing it out of love for others, as I should have been. maybe it's jsut been the whole routine thing: 10 months is a long time in one area. But My heart was jump started this past week with the storm, and I really starting seeing others through "Heavenly Fathers eyes" as the new apostle said this past conference, I don't remember hsi name ha And doing so has helped me REALLY give my all.


I love the attitude I have seen from the Parguayn people. They are so great! I love them haha For example, we went to a lunch appointment, only to find out it been canceled, we turned bck to go home and cook, when we saw an old bald guy putting his roof back together. We offered him help, and he gladly accepted. He siad " This wind was so strong, it blew my whole roof apart! And it took my hair with it!" HAHAHAHA I laughed so hard. Another member lost his whoel carpinter shop, and so we went to help him piece it back together. They still ahven't had water for the past two weeks, and jokingly said "Well, looks like we are going to have to start bathing ourselves with Coca Cola!" hahaha They are just such a happy, and light hearted people.


Studying a conference talk this pst week entitled "What lack I yet" (i think) from this past conference. talked about the parabole with teh young rich man who kept all the commandments, and asked Jesus "What lack I yet?", but couldn't complete with the difficult, yet divine instruccion to "sell everything and give it to the poor". The speaker then invites us to make similar, self-reflective questions, to find our status with God, especailly while we are taking part of the Sacrament. I put it in practice yesterday, and the Holy Ghost whispered to me through the meeting as we listened to the talks "Be patient with the local liders, they do the best they can", and a quote from I forget where kept coming to my mind, how "We so easily find fault with others, especilaly leaders, without realizing and seeing how God's hand works through them to bless the lives of others" Although the local liders here really don't do well their callings, I need to cut them a bit of slack. I mean, 90% of them have been baptized in the past 10 years.


Well, love you guys! Happy Holidays!


Elder Horton

Super Storm

Wow. What a week. So I stayed in my area... to witness the biggest storm Paraguay has seen in years...


Let me start off by saying I have not showered since Wednesday night. There is no running water, or electricity. Thursday morning, a huge electric storm hit, at around 4:30 in the morning, and lasted about 2 hours, during which it was impossible to sleep. Water was seeping in from who knows where, and we spend the night clearing our house of water, even though we live on a 2 story house. But I have no room to complain, seeing what has happened with all the Paraguayans... Many simply don't have houses anymore. Simply put, nobody was prepared for such a storm. Some shut themselves in their wardrobes to avoid getting blown away, one mom wrapped here kids in their foam mattres s and put them under the bed to keep them protected. I feel like this week has changed me more than any other. I feel sad... but in a humble way. Like sad to see the people here have to suffer.


Needless to say, we have had many opportunities to serve others. From cutting down trees, to helping people put make together their roofs, to bringing people water. We luckily have a huge storage tank in our house, so don't you worry Mom ha


I don't have too much time, but just know that I'm safe, and that the people here could really use your prayers. Love you guys! I will try to send pics, but we are emailing from a different cyber, we had to travel an hour or so to email today. Love you guys


Elder Horton

Transfer Week

Soaked from head to toe, due to torrential tropical rainstorm

Snap shot of Paraguay

This is the week of transfers... will I go or stay? I fell like I'm going to stay, but if I do, I will officially be the laughing stock of the whole mission... because I will complete one whole year in this one Ward! That hasn't happened in the history of ever ha But we will jsut have to wait and see


Learned a good lesson this week about Patience:


I. Love. Mangos. So here in Paraguay, about every house has a mango tree. As of right now, the mangos aren't quite yet ripe, but just starting to change from yellow to green, or from yellow to red ( depending on the mango) so they just all sit there taunting you as you walk by, it's really quite ironic, because there are SO many mangos, just none of them are quite ready yet. Sooooo I commented this to a member, and he told us that he knew of a tree where they were already ripe and ready to eat. Without hesitating, i told him "Vamos!" so we went, my mouth watering the whole way, ahhhhhhh i wanted a mango so bad! ha So he walks over to the tree, plucks a seemingly ripe mango, all big and red and juicy looking of the tree, and brings it over for us to enjoy. He cut off the first piece, and offered it to me, I took it in my hand but it looked a little too green for me still to be ready, but after walking so far I honestly couldn't have cared less, I just wanted to eat mango so I took a big old bite, but tasted nothing but bitterness. "Ndirachori!" (Dang!) it still wasn't ripe yet.... Little did I know that eating unripened mangos REALLY does to you. I found out later that night, when I layed down and tried to go to sleep, but my lips were burning, no stinging, no scorching hot! haha I woke up my comp up to tell him, and that's when I found out that unripened mangos are dangerous, often times so acidic that they easily burn skin, often times leaving scars. Boy do I regret eating that mango, because I have slept very little these past few days haha BUT it is getting much better, don't you worry mother


Patience: Trusting in God's time table. Satan tempts us into thinking that now is the time to kick back and relax, luring us into partaking of the juicy mango, that seems so delicious, leading us to think that sinning a little here and there is all right, but little aware are we of the often times eternally painful consequences of our actions. We must ALWAYS trust in god's time table for us, enduring patiently until the end. Patience is the test of our faith as James teaches us, so let us do as it teaches us in Hebrews 12, (rough translation) "Put off every sin that so easily both beset us, and run paciently the race that we have before us, with our eyes on Jesus, the author and Finisher of our faith" I know that doing so brings belssing both temporal and spiritual, for I have seen it in the lives of so many people, and in my personal life.


Love you guys! Have a great one


Elder Horton

Dia de Gracias

I'm not going to be eating turkey on Thursday, But I am grateful for the opportunity I will have next year to enjoy it with the fam bam :)


While teaching a Less Active guy this week whop is starting to go to church again, (Got baptised and sealed about 20 years ago in Argentina) we decided to talk about temples, and to help him put a personal goal to prepare spiritually to enter into the temple once again. He told us that here in 2 years, he would be worthy to enter into the temple, which is a long time! haha I asked him why he would wait so long to receive such great eternal blessings that the temples offer us, and he responded by saying he couldn't complete with one law: tithing and offerings. He then expolained to us how he had recently bought a Motorcycle (Pretty much a Harley Davidson Parguayn style) that costed WAY more than he could afford, and that his páyment would end here in two years, and then, and only then, could he enter into the temple once again. We tried reasoning with them, but he had obviously letten the things of this world become more valuable to him than the things of the eternity. The whole time his super sleek black chromed motorycycle was sitting behind, and seemed to be just mocking him. Sad Stuffffff


As lately I have been studying a lot out of Jesus the Christ and the Bible. It really touches me and moves me thinking about all that our Savior has done for us. His teachings truly change one's character and form of thinking. If I have learned anything out here on the mish, that's one of them


But seriously though the mission is jsut a great school, where one travels from place to place, family to family learning what to do and what not to do. Learning how to Endure paciently and enjoy it, learning from the scriptures and more than anything, how awesome it is to have the spirit with you in almost every moment. But although we learn all this in the mission, that isn't why we serve a mission. Even though we become much better people, that's not the reason why one should serve a mission, which took me a while to figure out, but I feel like the Lord is teaching the very important lesson, that we must always serve others, and do it with an attitude of "What can i give" and not "What can I get"


Well, that pretty much sums up my thoughts ha Lvoe you guys, enjoy your thanksgiving


Elder Horton

WET

The Zone

Nightly bathroom cockroach kill.  be grateful you aren't in a country where these little creatures fly...

Bout to get my hair cut!

Pigeon eggs.... Delicious!

I am constantly soaked, whether it's sweat because it's so hot, or from the rain, like I am right now hahaha Ohhhh Paraguay how I love you


And I was going to be wet from a baptism we had planned for this last week BUT it fell through.... MAN! Oh well we will get em next time


New Rules we given this week by the President, and it honestly is going to make it very difficult to work like we were before. To have a lesson with someone of the opposite sex, you HAVE to have an adult present (18 years and up). This changes everything, I mean lets be honest, 90 percent of our investigators are women, and no guy is available until about 6 o'clock at night. Like what do we do during the sacred hour of the ciesta? (National Nap time) It's been tough this past week, to say the least. Lots of walking ha


BUT we did find a cool fam to teach yesterday. A less active kid showed up to church today, and he is super awesome, gave us a bunch of references of his family. I swear, the spirit of the church here is in the youth. It is difficult to get adults involved with the missionary work,. especially the men, but hey watcha gonna do.


I almot have 10 months in this area.... I think the Lord is testing my patience. I know he is! 10 months ago was last Februrary. HA So much time in one Ward, it's been quite the challenge lately. I feel like I have already talked to everyone under the sun here. Just gotta hang in there I guess


Welllll Love you guys a ton!


Elder Horton