85th Week Out, Week 5 Garupa "1 Plane, 6950 Miles, and 18hrs 30min of plane travel."

That's a long time before I get to stand on the dirt of my country! My itinerary got here! I'm going to leave in a plane from Buenos Aires, but I don't get off the plane for the whole trip.......... Only 1 plane. Wow.

So I've been working a lot, not really getting baptisms, but I don't even think twice about that. Knowing that the Lord commands when making covenants with His children makes it easy to understand progress as a missionary. We have contacted so many people in Garupa that we tract and find people who say "But you guys already gave me a card?" That's happened a lot actually.

Other than that, I am working on ways to be optimistic. (You can never be too optimistic ) It's really fun, I would recommend the study to all of y'all. I want to be the best me I can be. I find that some of my strengths have to with enthusiasm, loudness, and a sense of humor; Appendages to a lively character. 

I want to be conscious of my own behavior at all times. I want to recognize my uninvited pride before I make ignorant decisions! I really feel like ranting about how pride can ruin one's life. Honestly I need pride removed from my life. I know it is the strongest key that Satan has to chain me down. In my opinion if someone has the capacity to control THAT end of the many weaknesses of man, he or she is a master of his life. It's something that denies access to knowledge, to wisdom, to understanding. It just blinds, and affects all of your surroundings. If one can dominate pride, that person will enjoy this life more than anyone.

Pride has to do with the way you think, the way you act, the way you speak, the way you consider and ponder and study. EVERYTHING! It secretly plays with all the controls on the panel while you try to find the buggy virus!!

But my mission gave me an open mind. I am so blessed to have been able to look upon my sins, and my pride and to give it away. I NEVER WANT IT BACK! I want to love the innocent! The naive! I don't want to fight with the ignorant! The opposite end from pride is the beautiful, merciful, humble, love that God reigns with!

Oh how great the verse that says that we must become as the innocent child!

Here's an example I found:

That moment when your parents call you over and ask "Who did it?"

Good parents don't ask that question to know who it was, because they already know. They ask to give a chance for the child to repent.

Oh how one can apply that example to Adam when he sinned. He hid from the Lord. The Lord asked "Where art thou?("Who did it?")

But the wisdom of Adam is manifest when he IMMEDIATELY LEFT HIS HIDING PLACE and stood infront of his Father.

Now, we know that the all seeing judge will ask us "Who did it?"

Will you give in, will you give up your pride, will you come out from your hiding place, and take responsibilty for what your errors are?

Because God does not ask to know who it was, but he asks so you can repent.

Therefore repent, and establish yourself on His side! Feel the righteous love that comes from the opposite end of pride! Love is such a profound word! Who can describe it!?

I think that's enough for today :)

Impressions of Garupa:

-I love Leche... I drink like 2-3 liters a day :)

81-84th Week Out, Week 1-4 Garupa "100km/h"

So I just want to say that I love the mission.

I am such a blessed young man. I have so much future to start up. How
wonderful it is the feeling of the Lord's hand over you. One day I'm
going to get home, and be infront of that pulpit. I'm going to try and
tell you guys in so way or form about this trip. 

I feel like the Nephite prophets that write and tell us of their weakness in writing
and how they yern to tell us in their sounding words, with their lips
and their face. But they can't, because we have to have faith! :)

Because otherwise it would be too easy to believe! 3 Nephi

Elder Stephen Horton

80th Week Out, Week 16 Puerto Iguazu "WEW...I'm being transferred and becoming ZL1!"

Hello! This is the week of transfers.

I will be going to a place called Garupa! I've been there before!

I was there a lot doing divisions with the zone leaders. But I guess

it's my turn now to be the zone leader as I will be moved up to ZL1!

They aren't even going to train me. I'm going to be straight up the

senior companion zone leader with a missionary that has only 4 or 5

months. My zone is also the 2nd largest in my mission. But everything's

fine, tranquilo! I'm probably going to end the mission in this setting.

So YEA MAN! I'm just going to go to work, and finish strong! I can also 

visit my first area and my first baptisms!

But to end my email I would just like to talk about an experience.

Over my mission I have noticed that I think more and speak less.

I think the longest parts of my mission are the hours and hours

spent waiting to board and to arrive in the large 2 story omnibuses

of South America! I decided one day that I wasn't going to be tempted

by the entertainment of the television screens but I meditated with 

Heavenly Father for as long as the trip would go. I think it was that

day that I really started thinking. I started my prayer and it was like

I had openned the fridge for the 5th time looking for some kind of food

that maybe I had missed again! My brain was as if it were, stuck on

windows 98 still! A barren wasteland it was. But I walked around it however.

Long-story short, I reached a new platform in my mind. It wasn't just a

calculator, or a memory card. But a stage, and a theater. A refuge, and

a classroom. A holy place, and a battle ground. I flew through dimensions

even as Doctor Strange! (yes I saw it in an omnibus, I'm a sinner)

May sound a little cheesy, until you experience it yourself.

What is the gift of knowledge?

Impressions of Puerto Iguazu:

I am the first Elder apparently in a long time to establish a relationship

with the Branch President here. He teared up my last day in his house. It was

over a small tie that he told me he liked a while back, and I gave it to him.

79th Week Out, Week 15 Puerto Iguazu "One time I thought..."

I love to exist.

What a priviledge it is to BE. To ACT and not be ACTED UPON. You can have REAL ZEAL to LIVE. To do things, to go higher, to be better. When you find out that you were alive before you were alive, and you're told that you were ordained to do great things... What is it that you need to know from that. Why does the Lord allow us to know these things? Why? :)

Someone once told me "Death exists not, for those who believe in Jesus Christ"

Impressions of Iguazù:

-I've noticed that mental and physical liveliness is healthy

78th Week Out, Week 14 Puerto Iguazu "O Meu Goodness!"

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The world goes round even when you're not there. Do we have flying cars yet? Robot butlers? Has chocolate milk made it on tap yet? What's happening on the front page of society? What are the cameras aiming at?

What's college like? What's my eternal companion doing? What kind of car will I drive? What's my next calling? Who are my children? How many will I have? Who are my ancestors that I am so blessed by?

What's going to happen in 20 years? Can I watch Chitty-Chitty-bang-bang on Netflix now? Have they brought back the Jetsons on television? What's it like to live on top of a super tall building looking over a huge city evey morning?

I know what this is. Endure to the end. It's fun.

Something that has helped me a lot this week is this phrase "Let the peaceful, happy moments roll!" 

Worry not: D&C 43:34-35

34 Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds.

35 Be sober. Keep all my commandments. Even so. Amen.

76-77th Week Out, Week 12-13 Puerto Iguazu "If you want to view paradise, take a look around and view it."

FREAKIN HELLO!

I am doing great! I love the mission! Still here in Iguazu! I can't wait for my next area because it shall be my last as I have 3 transfers left. I'm pretty sure I'll either stay here and finish training Elder Santos or I will recieve another Greenie.

I would just like to bare a testimony: 

I love this church.

I know it's the true church. 

It's so real to me. 

I am so grateful for my membership to it. 

I want to serve in it the rest of my life. 

And I love Jesus Christ. 

I love repentance. 

I love life, because it gives me knowledge, it gives me second chances. 

God is a Holy, Righteous man who desires only that we are happy, and safe, and with Him. 

I marvel every single day at the mercy he contstantly holds out to me. 

I watch His hand go before my face and touch people. 

Like Jesus Christ touched the rocks in front of the Brother of Jared and the lit up.

What a priviledge it is to live this life.

God is a wonderful person.

Impressions of Puerto Iguazu:

-There is a place here called 3 Fronteras! THERE IS A HOLOGRAPHIC LIGHT SHOW THERE! IT WAS SO COOL!

75th Week Out, Week 11 Puerto Iguazu "Training once again!"

Hey, I'm alive! Yea man! Training once again! Elder Santos, Recife Brazil, 19 years old, 6 days on the mission. I love my new companion! He's super funny and ready to work! Very neat to watch him testify. He knows how to teach with the spirit. Reminds me of my first days.

But yea man. I'm not in auto-pilot, and I am taking a view of my huge strides that I haven't noticed before. I really like to study the scriptures. I have a Spanish seminary book for the Book of Mormon. Absolutely delicious indeed. I think I've opened to the middle of the book a few times just to look at cool stuff! I've received a lot of impressions about the DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. It's really simple for those who have not yet been baptized and they seek to find the doctrine. And something spectacularly greater for those who are baptized by the authority of God and want to follow and understand the doctrine.

I actually didn't like to read the parts of the Book of Mormon where there were battles and stuff that only talked about that. I loved to read only the sermons and messages filled with information about the eternities and the path way too it. But I actually wasn't paying enough attention. For example in 3 Nefi 4 its FREAKIN SICK! They wreck the crap out of the Gaddianton Robbers. And then they praise God! The verses that hit me the most were these.

8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.

9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies.

10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them.

YEA MAN! So that. And I have also been having a lot of success here in Iguazu. Not really baptism wise but in many other ways. I may have a family baptized here though in a few weeks.  I'll share her story some other day for I am out of time.

Love Elder Horton!

Impressions from Puerto Iguazu:

- I think I've mastered a pancake mix, and a buttermilk syrup. #Iamlearned