week 97, THE LAST ONE

This week was by far the fastest week ever! Little by little I have been recognizing less faces on Zoom Calls until the majority of people I know are all home and replaced by new missionaries. Today was transfers and because of some crazy logistics in our zone I had to go down to Woodbridge (about 45 minutes away) for all of Pday to be with Elder Weatherly who is awaiting his trainee, and so we had as much fun as we could playing pool and basketball all while I gave him tips on how to be an effective district leader/trainer, gave him some great training ideas for district council, and planned some fire lessons for tonight. I could tell he was sort of nervous but I have know doubt that he will do a fantastic job! 

This last Sunday was a very special one. I missed my mom a lot as we sat through the mother's day talks at sacrament meeting and then afterwards I said goodbye to all the faithful branch members that I had worked with for the last 4 months. There were lots of pictures taken and hands shaken and elbows bumped, etc. And we left that church building for the last time :( Also I found my Book of Mormon that I had lost the last time and that made me soooo happy. I have put so much energy into that book that I have used the majority of my mission, and although I was prepared to go home without it, I have it back with me and I can go home in peace! I love the Book of Mormon!!

I apologize for the lack of detail in this email, but transfers are dang busy and either way, I can tell most of you all about it in 2 days! See you all!

A beautiful quote from Elder Holland that I dedicate to my mom:

"How can mortal love be so strong that you voluntarily subject yourself to responsibility, vulnerability, anxiety, and heartache and just keep coming back for more of the same? What kind of mortal love can make you feel, once you have a child, that your life is never, ever your own again? Maternal love has to be divine. There is no other explanation for it. What mothers do is an essential element of Christ’s work ”

week 96

Hello everyone! This week was another interesting one filled with its ups and downs. The sad news: Our Friend Jacinto Sanchez who is to be baptized on May 8th moved to Richmond Virginia (over 2 hours away) on the day of his baptismal interview and even though he is so ready, it will be physically impossible for him to be baptized because he can't drive. We are working to find out his new address to pass him off to the missionaries down there, so they can get to know him and do the interview and baptize him.Everything else: 13 of our 34 lessons we had planned this week happened and each of them were great! We taught the Restoration many times and got to meet a few new people that started from mere conversations on Facebook. One guy I've been helping with English said he'd love to go meet at some restaurant but since that's against the rules I told him let's just do a videocall! He called me right then and there and I got to know him and his entire family - wife and 2 kids - and they are so amazing! He said he would love to meet me in person and tell me about more of his Honduran culture and hear about what we do as missionaries! If we are able to get an appointment somewhere in our area (because he lives in my old area) then I might actually get an in-person lesson for the first time since being reassigned before going home next week! I was reflecting about one of my past exchanges we did with a companionship and how humble one Elder was. He was a convert of the bare minimum when he left on his mission. He did the at-home MTC by himself and had no support and he arrived to the mission field and didn't know who Joseph Smith was. Since then he has read the Book of Mormon and gained his own testimony of it and learnt Joseph Smith incredible role of the prophet of the Restoration and during a lesson I heard his simple, heartfelt, humble testimony in broken Spanish and it was incredible. I was thinking of how I could share my testimony with that level of humility and eliminate any pride from my life and I was reminded of the inspiring words of my Mission President about pride and humility. Pride often slips into our lives as a counterfeit way to make ourselves feel justified when our performance or feelings are less than our spiritual capability.Humility, on the other hand, is a sign of spiritual strength. It causes us to think deeply about the things that really matter in life. It tempers harsh and judgmental thoughts and communications. Humility prompts us to rise above our own limitations so that we can lift and strengthen others. Truly humble servants of the Lord actively seek to know His divine principles and will so that they can reach toward Him by consistently adjusting their thoughts and personal behavior. They know that commandments and principles provide the sure way to heaven through the atonement of Jesus Christ.I love my Mission President. All three so far have had a profound impact on my life. I am grateful for my mission and I pray that we all learn to love obedience and that we all work to defeat pride in our lives and “let God prevail”. I love God’s commandments and want to fill every day with compassion and concern for the well-being of others. Let's all rise above any prideful rationalizations and worry ourselves less with our own small discomforts or insecurities. With that I hope you all have a great week and find someone to help! 

Love, Elder Hilton :)