Week 6: I MADE IT TO COSTA RICA!!!!!

Hi mom just wanted to let you know that I made it here in Costa Rica safe and sound. There are lots of funny stories that I want to tell you like how because I was the Travel leader, I had to make sure everyone was at the bus on time with the right weight of suitcases, etc. but one Elder never showed up, so I had to run to his casa (the lights weren't on) and bang on the front door till someone opened it and then go bang on his door til he woke up (apparently his alarm didn't ring..) and I told him we gotta go! I told him to take what he needed to wear out of his suitcases and get ready while I take his suitcases to the buses. Luckily we barely made it to the bus with a few minutes to spare. After that, everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, I think I'm getting sick because I barely got any sleep at all because I was nervous and right as i was drifting off the CO alarm went off in our casa at 1145 and we all didn't know what to do, so we ended up going out of the casa and standing there while we waited for a guy to come inspect it. And then I never really fell asleep by the time my alarm went off at 3. so i'm really tired right now so sorry if this doesn't make any sense. oh its super windy outside and humid just like florida.

Saying Goodbye to Estevon, THE BEST COOK EVER!

The people that welcomed us were Americans that had been in the field for about a year, and they were speaking exactly like the latinos: fluent, fast, and expressively. I didn't know all of what they were saying, so they had to use a bit of English to get the important stuff across. seriously though, I look up to them so much for how they were able to accomplish that level of spanish. I was reminded that I still have tons and tons of learning to do to get even halfway to where they are. But as I was thinking about this, I was reminded about what the scriptures say. In Moroni 10  it says that perfection is in Christ, not in the world.  So, when we have faith in Christ, we can be "perfected in him" or be forgiven of mistakes, and be made a better person. I know that if i'm diligently faithful, spanish and lots of other things will come naturally.

The Mission President on the left and us 5 "newbies" who just arrived from the Mexico MTC

San Jose Costa Rica Temple!

Scripture of the day: D&C 112:10 "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers."

Quote of the day "Fully accepting our Savior’s Atonement can increase our faith and give us courage to let go of constraining expectations that we are somehow required to be or to make things perfect." - Gerrit W. Gong

Love, Elder Hilton

Picture on the left is my new companion!  Picture on the right is a family member of one of my Haley's family she spent a lot of time with on her mission in Oklahoma City!!!  We ate breakfast at their house the morning we arrived.  Crazy, small world!!!!!

                                                                                   

Week 5: Goodbye MTC!!!

Well that was fast, its my last 5 days here at the CCM, and we leave early for the airport (5am) we beind me and 4 other people I;m in charge of. I was called to be the travel leader over the Costa Rica mission, and there are only 5 people going there (including me). Luckily I'm not in charge of like the Santiago mission or I'd be over like 20 people and have to keep track of all of them their bag weights, etc. I might not have as much time as usual for my email today because I have to track down those 4 missionaries and get them ready to leave. Anyways, here's a few things that happened this week:
On Friday and Saturday, we learned Present and Past Subjunctive, and that was when I started to realize that I really don't know what is going on. But a cool story about Spanish:

This week the topic for our talks was the Restoration, and because I didn't want mine to sound the same as everyone else's, I wrote mine on the power of prayer, which was a huge part of the restoration. And writing it was kind of cool experience. I first wrote it out in English, and started trying to translate it, but it was super hard because I use certain phrases when I speak that lose their emphasis and power when you translate it. Basically I was worried that my talk was going to lose all my personality of how I speak. So I was stumped for about an hour and a half, but finally I started translating word for word, cringing because I know it doesn't make sense in Spanish. But as I started doing it, new phrases popped into my head, and some grammar things made sense, and I was able to finish translating my talk in 20 minutes!!!

On Sunday there was extra time in sacrament meeting, so President Alvarez called on me to give my talk!!!! I was actually really hoping that he would call on me, because this was definitely my best talk yet! Also a tender mercy was that they needed a pianist to play during the transition time, so I got to play some hymns with the quiet pedal!

My spiritual motivation this week was in Alma 34: the whole thing. Its when Amulek testifies right after Alma. This chapter covers sooo many things that I'm not even sure what part to talk about. I love the part where he says to pray everywhere, always (19-27, especially the end of 27 and 28) I also like the part about giving thanks (38). Its cool that it says contend no more against the Holy Ghost, because the truth is if you do it, you will win every time. That's because the spirit doesn't contend. We have to make sure we have room for him in our minds, and that our minds are clean enough for him to be comfortable coming in, and quiet enough for us to hear what he's telling us.

I love you guys and I wish I had more time to tell you all some of the more funny stuff that happened! Don't forget to pray!
Love, Elder Hilton

WEEK 4!!

Each week seems to go exponentially faster, and this one was no exception! Lots of the same things happen each week in the MTC, so I'll try to slip in some funny stories:)

Thursday
We whooped everyone in ultimate frisbee again in the morning and it was super fun. Unfortunately elder platt got sick and so he had to stay in bed for the first few hours of the day. and now im a lot more conscious of everything I touch... anyways, all the water we drink here is from these big jug things, and when they are empty someone has to change them and its realllly hard because they are so heavy and you have to flip it upside down onto the dispenser machine and it always makes a huge mess of water. So when the one in our casa ran out we all voted that Elder Parkinson change the water cuz hes super strong (he used to be a quarterback, but hes a really shy, nice kid) and so he shrugs and says "ok" then out of nowhere everybody started cheering "Parkinson! Parkinson! " and everyone gathered into the room with the water and he swiftly flipped it onto the dispenser without spilling a drop and the whole house exploded! we were cheering and giving hugs and honestly it sounds dumb, but its those little moments of being boys that makes it really fun.

Friday
Today we had another service project and it was pretty easy. We were just folding up and packaging sheets but it turned into a dance party because the latino dude in charge (the same guy who started the huge arm wrestling competition last week) let us play music from his phone! I miss my music

Saturday
I have to talk about the rain today. And fyi it has rained every day except for 2 so far, so I'm being serious about how cool this rain was. It was the kind of rain where an umbrella it totally useless cuz the gusts of wind throw the water at you from all directions, and the water is hitting the ground so hard that the splash forms a thiccck mist a couple of feet off the ground, and the roads are rivers, and the grass is a swamp. you were already soaked to the bone from being out there for a few seconds, so we decided to play basketball outside, but the ball didnt bounce that much because of the insane amount of water on the court. it was nice cuz we were the only ones out there :) and We didn't need to shower when we got back, haha. Jk we still showered but now that I think about it I should've just got some shampoo and went outside :)

Sunday
Another very spiritual day full of good, but long, meetings. Sacrament meeting is always my favorite because everyone gives thier talks in spanish, and because its gringo spanish, I can understand it! I actually wanted President Alvarez to call on me because I prepared a really good talk about the importance of the atonement in the Plan of Salvation. But he didnt. Anyways the devotional was about missionary work, especially about the power of companionships. We learned a lot about perhaps the greatest companionship of all time: Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The knew each other and worked together perfectly, and Hyrum supported his brother as he was trained and tutored for 4 years by Moroni, the great prophet of the americas. Then when the time came, they sealed their testimonies, each trying to protect the other, when they were both murdered in Carthage jail. Its a distant goal, but I want to be as valiant in my testimony with my companion as Joseph and Hyrum were. But anything is possible little by little right?

Monday
It was super hot today, and Since we are technically in the start of week five, we should be speaking a lot more spanish than english. Entoces, solo español de ahora en adelante. Just kidding. Our teacher Hermano Galindo made a new game where we each have a team of 3 people, and whenever someone on your team speaks English, you have 20 pushups. I only did 60 by the end of the day, but elder Parkinson and Stephenson have 180, and the rule is that if youdont do them  by 2:00 the next day, they double

Tuesday
Im sore. But they are way more sore. we did more espanol but today was especially hard. We learned (or were supposed to learn) Reflexives and they kinda just blew our minds. We have two teachers (one for the morning and one for the afternoon) and when our afternoon teacher heard that we didn't understand at all, he trashed his planned lesson and taught reflexives to us a different way and it really helped! Later we were outside with some personal study time, and I was sitting next to Elder Platt. The sun was setting and the birds were starting to settle down, and Elder Platt asked if I wanted to help him write a poem. Of course I did, and here's what we co-wrote:

Pensive I rested at the foot of the mountain,
Listening carefully to the trickling fountain.
The chirps of the birds echoed off canyon walls,
As I pondered the message from life so small.
The trees chimed in, the wind howling its tune,
The river, in harmony joining in too.
Raw beauty it seemed moved through the air,
to the hymn of creation; nothing compared.
A beautiful set made of forest and stone, 
Magnificent brilliance, through all of it shone.
Singing and smiling through soft morning light.
Nature praised its creator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I've always loved nature, but sometimes I forget that it's a gift that was made for us to enjoy. I am so grateful for the love of the savior and I know that he is eager to bless us, sometimes in unique ways. For me this week it was the beautiful outdoors and my ever-improving Spanish. 

I love you all!!!

Elder Hilton

Week 3: halfway at MTC

Another week zipped by and I wish I could talk about everything, but time is especially limited today, so I'll talk about just one thing. The highlight of this week was by far the trip to the temple! 

It was an hourish drive over there in a bus (no AC and we all have suits), but it definitely felt longer.

The roads here are not nearly as smooth as in the US so its was one bumpy ride. 

And It didn't help that we were sitting directly over the back wheel (but that's my fault because I had had to move my bowels right before we left and so we got on last and they were the only seats left :) Anyways, we sang hymns on the way there in spanish of course and it was hilarious because we would be singing loud and proud until we got to a word that was hard to pronounce and then everyone drifts into a mumble and then we all start laughing! We eventually got there and the white, clean temple stood out so much in the middle of the messy city that we all gasped and grabbed our cameras when it came into view. It was so beautiful!! The temple grounds were pretty small and it was surrounded by the bustling city, but it was still somehow peaceful and calm. I loved being in the temple and and I wish I could go more often, but my work now is for the people here on this earth, and its time to get back to work!

I love you guys!     Elder Hilton

  Fun fact: the Mexico city temple is the largest temple outside the US and it is one of the few temples where the angel Moroni is holding the brass plates!

I got a package from mom!!!!

 The visitors center at the Mexico City Temple

 Temple Grounds

 So beautiful!

 The colorful dirt city

A view from my room at the MTC

Week 2

This was nothing like the first week! Last week felt like it lasted a month, but this week went by in the blink of an eye! It has rained every day this week and I love it! Here are some highlights:

Thursday
Lots and lots of memorizing phrases, and my friendship with Esteban the cafeteria guy is at a whole nuther level. Today he gave me extra fries AND a knuckles! haha

Friday
Today in between studying spanish we did a service project that was basically making beds. It was pretty easy but we turned it into a competition and timed each other. the person with the faster time got one point, and the person with a nicer looking bed got the other point, and if it tied, then we asked the latino guy in charge to say a phrase and whoever translated it better won.

Saturday
We did an 'English Fast' today and it was hard. You had three lives in the form of sticky tabs on our nametags and if someone hears you use english then they walk over and rip one off all dramatically, haha! I did pretty bad, but so did almost everyone else, too. It was fun except for that at this point we all have the spanish speaking skills of a tree, so sometimes it was just really quiet.😄

Sunday
There was another super good devotional today about exaltation and families. One of the videos that was played  talked about is Satan met with an advertising agency to make evil things look good. It was very interesting, he knew he was at a huge disadvantage so his goal became to shift everyone's view of fundamental truths and make the Father's plan look restrictive and undesirable. There were lots of things said that I've never thought of before, and it really made me think. Anyways, later we watched part of a talk from President Nelson and this quote stuck out to me like a.... idk how to finish that... but here it is
" The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and has everything to do with the focus of our lives." - Russell M. Nelson

Tuesday
Another great devotional to end the day. Quote of the day: "Those who know of your love today are more likely to want to know of your faith tomorrow." Pres. Olsson

Wednesday - Today!
Pdays are always the best!! its like a mini christmas every week, haha. I got to play the piano again and it was soooo nice! Elder Remy and I went into the massive auditorium and it was totally empty, so I got to play some of my favorite music and I pretended there was a big audience and a spotlight and just had a blast. Later we played kickball and I mighta kicked the ball too hard cuz I popped a vessel by my ankle and now its all swollen. oops.

Im shorter on time today so I will end after sharing one of my favorite scriptures this week. i read this after pondering how much harder the actual mission field will be since I wont be in the MTC's little bubble of safety:
"Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear." - Moroni 8:16
I know this is true. Yes most of the people I am teaching right now are actors, but I have noticed that when you love the person, you tend to focus more on the message instead of the delivery.

Love you guys!!!