This is What Happiness Looks Like!

From 30 November 2015

Dearest Everybody,

So.  Nope.  Mexicans don´t celebrate Thanksgiving.  And no, I have no eaten a single one of the 26 pies that were apparently made in my home, but here in Bosques we´re still happy smiling, and REALLY full of food.  I did discover this week that in Spanish, they call Thanksgiving "Acción de Gracias" or "Action of Thanks" which is kind-of an interesting twist to the usual name we use.  I do feel very grateful this particular Thanksgiving, because in a world full of loss, sicknesses, and sadness, I am SUPREMELY happy to have a happy, healthy, hardy family, and wonderful friends, and a truly magnificent message that I get to share with the people of Mexico!

Speaking of the people of Mexico, this last Sunday we were blessed to help out with and see the baptism of Leticia, and her two daughters Xenia and Uxkendal, which was AWESOME.  Really, it´s pretty amazing what miracles we get to see here in the mission, and this little family was an answer to prayer for Hermana Bracamonte and me.  I am SO excited for them and for all the blessings I KNOW they will receive because of their decisions to follow Christ and be baptized. 

On a different note, in order to have all the baptisms that we had planned for the past week or so, we had to work with the Elders in our ward not once, not twice, but three times to empty out the baptismal font using buckets, because the pump was out of order. Needless to say, it was a wet mess each time, and none of us came out dry, but the job got done, and we survived just fine and the chapel floor is just a little bit cleaner now.  

Last but not least, I wanted to share a bit of a spiritual thought with y´all this week:  In the December Ensign/Liahona there is an article about enjoying the spirit of Christmas, and there was a part I really liked.  In the article a pastor of another faith was quoted from a radio interview talking about the changes he had seen in his faith over his lifetime.  He said that earlier in his life, he had treated prayer as a sort-of grocery list to Heavenly Father of all the things he needed.  However, as his faith and relationship with Heavenly Father grew, he began to realize that prayer is more like an opportunity to sit by the proverbial "fire" of spiritual peace and goodness that comes from being a bit closer to our Heavenly Father, and soak in the heat.  For those of you who don´t know me that well, I LOVE "fire salamandering" or curling up by the fireplace in Winter-time and falling asleep, and I loved this analogy.  So my invitation for you all is to spend some time in prayer this week and soak up a bit of that heat to keep you warm through the hard moments that are sure to pass through the coming days, weeks, and months. 

I love you all BUNCHES, and pray for you all the time!

Lots of love,

Hermana Houghton