The plan of Salvation REALLY WORKS!

From 23 February 2016

I was really impressed this week by the behavior of our Bishop and his family here in Olivos, and I want to share their experience as a testimony with you all, that our Heavenly Father LOVES us.  So last Saturday, our Bishop´s 3-year old daughter had to go to the hospital, and on Monday she passed away, due to a bacterial infection.  They held her service Tuesday, and Wednesday, the Bishop and his wife purchased and distributed a LOT of supplies and food in order to prepare for the ward activity planned for Saturday.  At the activity they both faithfully showed up and participated, with smiles on their faces, and warm hugs and hand-shakes.  Now, I know a lot of people go through hard things, but I was just so impressed with these two people who were clearly heart-broken at the sudden loss of someone so dear, but are still so ready to serve and reach out to others.  I know that they are fortified by the understanding that they will see their daughter again, because they have the blessings and promises of an Eternal family.  They were married and sealed in the temple with their children, and now they have the sure knowledge that no matter what happens in this life, they cannot be separated.  

I know that the Plan of Salvation is a gift from God, and He wants with all of His heart for us to follow His plan and reach the eternal life with Him.  

This week we have been working hard, and we´ve seen a lot of miracles!  Our investigator Asuncion received the Priesthood, and invited his family to come to church and to the ward activity, with some success.  We´ve had some minor setbacks with some of our investigators, but Hermana Saylor and I have a lot of faith that things will work out in the end.  I also finished reading the Book of Mormon, and I just had a strong reaffirmation that this book is the word of God.  It is our guide in these perilous times, and will help us conquer any problem we might have. 

I love you all, and hope you have a wondrous week, full of spectacular surprises and marvelous miracles!

Lots of love,

Hermana Houghton

P.S. Still no pictures...

The potato is coming! Oh wait... I mean the Pope!

Dear Family and Friends,

To explain the title here, I`d like to point out that the only difference between potato and the Pope in Spanish is the little word you use before ("la papa" = potato, "el Papa" = the Pope), and to an English-speaker learning Spanish, the difference can be confusing!  But in all seriousness, this coming week the Pope is coming to visit here in Ecatapec (the county/colonia where I am right now) and there has been a lot of excitement.  School is being canceled, missionaries are being taken out of their areas, and people are setting up tents outside of the Basilica de Guadalupe!  Everybody loves the Pope!  Also, this past week, on the 2nd of February, we saw lots of people walking around with Babie dolls of the Christ child, because it`s a tradition among the Catholics here to dress up a Baby Jesus (with a crown, throne, etc.) and take it to a chapel on the 2nd of February.  I`m still not sure what the doctrinal basis of this tradition is, but it was a pretty big event this week.  

When we get crazy.  Because really,
missionaries ARE crazy.

In other news, we didn`t have a wedding this past week, but we`re looking forward to a wedding and a couple of baptisms this coming week, and for that we are VERY EXCITED.  In fact, it`s hard to explain in words how happy it makes Hermana Saylor and me that these people are making these important changes/decisions in their lives!  

Also, I just wanted to share with you all my love for Christ`s Sermon on the Mount, which can be found in the book of Matthew in the Bible, or in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, and which is WONDERFUL.  I especially love His invitation to "consider the lilies of the field", and remember that if He can take care of these plants and give them the nourishment and life that they need, He can surely take care of us if we put our confidence in Him and "seek first the kingdom of God".  I invite you all to review this potent passage, and think about how you can apply it in your life and receive the blessings of a loving Heavenly Father.

That`s all for now folks!

Lots of Love,

Hermana Houghton

P.S.  I almost forgot to tell you about the time we were turbo-walking down the street one evening and we went to step over a hole in the ground, and then a hand came out of the whole in the ground because a child was climbing out of it.  We may or may not have shrieked a bit and then continued turbo-walking. :D

Snoopy, the dog that lives at the church and thinks he deserves to be let inside the chapel, and who gets really sad when we leave him outside.

Free Stuff in Mexico!

From 1 February 2016

We randomly received these two lovely items throughout the week from strangers.  Anyone need some hair dye?

Dearest Family,

I`M ALIVE!  I know you were all pretty concerned about that point, so I thought I`d clarify it straight off!  We are working HARD here in Olivos, and we are seeing MIRACLES!  This week has blown by pretty quickly , inspite of the usual challenges to over-come (people not being at appointments, walking all over our giant area, eating "Chicharron en Salsa Roja", etc.), and I`m very excited to announce the wedding of our investigators!  Woohoo!  One of our investigators isn`t married to his wife, so he has to legalize everything before he can get baptized!  Fortunately, his wife decided that she`s okay with the idea, and they`ll probably be finalizing everything this week, and we`ve got his baptism scheduled for the 11th!  Also, this Sunday was really awesome because we had Stake Conference (a big meeting for all 11 of the congregations or "wards" that are in this area)  It was especially exciting because my old area, Bosques, is in the same stake so I got to say hello to Hermana Bracamonte, and a bunch of ward members (AND SOME INVESTIGATORS!!!!) from my old-area.  It was a crazy couple of hours, but it was wonderful!  

Well, that`s just about all for now folks.  I`ll just finish up with this spiritual thought: It`s really EASY to listen to feedback and instruction when we are already living the laws and commandments that Heavenly Father has given us.  However, the moment we fall away and start to mess up, it gets significantly harder to listen to that feedback, and we have to be careful that we KEEP listening, and we don`t try to justify our actions that may actually be hurting us.  It`s a lesson that the Nephites in the Book of Mormon kind-of had a hard time learning, but really if we humble ourselves and listen to Heavenly Father and His servants, we are going to be so much better off.

I love you all and hope you`re having fantasmical weeks doing wonderful things!

Lots of love,

Hermana Houghton

My new district is crazy, and almost entirely new (only
Hermana Saylor and one other Elder were here in this district last cycle),
but we`re working HARD here in zone "Anàhuac".  (and some of us
got special stickers because we remembered to bring Preach My Gospel to class...)

This is our hot-plate... Isn`t it beautiful? 
The spoon helps it to sit slightly more evenly on the melted table :D

And this is Gordito.  Our neighbor`s puppy.  He`s adorable :)

FAM BAM!!

From 25 January 2016

Micro-ride selfie!

Dearest Darlingest Family,

In response to some questions and concerns from the previous week`s photos, no, we don`t have chickens, they just live right next to our house and one of the other renters in our "habitation" takes care of them, and a couple of turkeys.  The roosters crow every morning starting at about 4, but it doesn`t bother us too much, because we sleep like rocks!  Also, I got some fun mail this week from family and friends, and I just wanted to let you know how much I TRULY appreciate getting mail.  It`s the BEST! It`s so fun to hear about how things are going on your end of things, and I will try to get better at responding back when you send things my way :)  

Ok.  Fun-facts about the new area Olivos:  

1) Every day they have something called "Tianguies" on a different street in-town.  It`s basically a giant out-door market where people set up stalls/stations selling candy, clothes, fruit, meat, electronics, etc.  You name it, and it`s there.  When you walk through, it`s kind-of an overwhelming smell-sight-and-sound experience because there`s SO many things and people to look at.  Anyway, not too far away from Olivos is the biggest Tianguies in the world, in a place called San Felipe.

2) The ward here is pretty active, and they actually work a lot with the missionaries, which is AWESOME!  On Sunday we worked with the leaders in the congregation (Ward Council) to plan an activity in February to celebrate Valentine`s day and the family all in one and we`re calling it "When there`s love at Home".  It`s going to be awesome, and they`re going to make hamburgers and I might have to find a violin to do a musical number...

3) (this isn`t really about Olivos, it`s just general Mexico/Spanish fun-factness) In Mexico, "Aguas!" means "Water!" but it also means "Careful!"  So we say it a lot because it`s important to be careful.  

4) Because Hermana Saylor and I are both "gueras" (white girls) we stick out a LOT, but we use it to our advantage by "contacting with our Guera-ness" which means that when people randomly stop us in the street to ask us if we speak English or ask us where we`re from, we contact them and teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ!  It`s a huge blessing, even if it`s a bit strange.  

illustration:  Captain Moroni

Anyway, spiritual thought for the week: Captain Moroni is my HERO!  Seriously though, I was reading through the "war chapters" of the Book of Mormon at the end of Alma this week, and I was incredibly impressed by the power and passion that Moroni puts into protecting his country and serving our Heavenly Father.  I particularly love chapters 60 and 61 of Alma, when he`s calling his fellow governor Pahoran to repentance.  One thing he says to Pahoran is something I like to apply to myself as a member of the church here on Earth.  He asks him why he is with-holding provisions from the armies of his own people, when they are literally starving to death, and it made me realize how important it is for us to share our "spiritual provisions" with those who are equally starving and might be looking for understanding of the gospel.  I know that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of His children (us) and He wants us all to have and to share the spiritual nourishment he has given us.  

I hope you`re all having a fantastic week!  I love you all and it`s VERY exciting for me to hear from you!

Lots of love,

Hermana Houghton

My new desk
(conveniently in range of the fridge!)

Zone activity in the morning!  We`re zone Anàhuac!

OLIVOS

Hermana Saylor and me at the house with our chickens!

Dearest Family,

Transfers did indeed happen this week, but I didn`t go too far!  Just a hop skip and a taxi-ride away (still in the same stake and everything!) from Bosques is my new area: Olivos!  I`m here with Hermana Saylor, who actually just finished being trained by my trainer, and even though we are both REALLY white, we`re going to find miracles here in Olivos.  Just a little background info: Bosques is a solid middle-upper-class neighborhood, and Olivos is what you might call the ghetto.  I have noticed that a lot more people randomly call our "Gueras!" ("White Girls!") when we`re walking down the street here... So it`s going to be an interesting adjustment :)

In other news, Presidente Anaya and his inspired ability to do exactly what nobody is expecting have struck again!  He left Hermana Bracamonte in Bosques in a trio with two Latina sisters from the Visitor`s center, and one of them is just fresh out of the MTC and being trained by the other.  So Hermana Bracamonte`s an "Aunt" or something, and I`m like a great-aunt now.

On a different note, just so you all know, tomorrow is a world-wide missionary braodcast (just for the missionaries I believe), which will be AWESOME.  Also, I was thinking about how important it is to read the Liahona or the Ensign each month.  That wasn`t something I did a lot before I came on the mission, and I kind-of thought modern-revelation only came twice a year during general conference, but that is NOT true.  Prophets speak to us each month through the talks and messages in the church magazines, so I invite you all to look up the January Ensign and take a peak at what the Lord has offered us! 

I love you all and hope you know you`re in my thoughts and prayers!

Lots of love,

Hermana Houghton

My last district class in Bosques!
 (Elder Delgado, Me, Hermana Bracamonte, Elder Jensen, and Elder Williams)

Saying goodbye to Bosques and Hermana Bracamonte (with our "theme" of the past three months: 1st Nephi

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

From 4 January 2016

. . .Good Morning!  Study Time!

Dearest darlingest family and friendlings,

I learn new things about Mexico every day.  But.  Something that ISN´T new, is their love of parties.  I mean, everyone likes a good party, but here everyone REALLY likes parties.  The holiday season goes like this: 24th (GIANT Christmas dinner/party/Santa Claus), 31st (Go OUT partying, have a piñata, and stay up until 3-5 in the morning), 6th (the Wise Kings come and leave gifts--like Santa Claus roudn 2--and you eat a Rosca and whoever happens to cut into the rosca and find the Christ Child has to throw a party in February) Feb. 2 (the person who cut the rosca in the wrong spot throws a tamale party and invites everyone).  So, vacation continues this week until the 7th!  Of course, that doesn´t really matter for missionaries...

On a different note, this week Hermana Bracamonte and I were a bit under the weather for a couple of days, but we pulled out of that and were back working full days in no time.  We´ve been working hard to find and teach new people in our areas, and in some ways we´re beginning to see results.  We are SUPER excited for the baptism of one of our investigators, scheduled for this week, and we are learning lots about working with the ward to do missionary work.  Also, the amazing thing about missionary work is finding people who are genuinely prepared and ready to be accept the gospel, and then watching as little miracles left and right seem to carry them right to the baptismal font.  It´s not easy, but I know that ultimately everything we do is managed by Heavenly Father, (NOT ME) and that His plan is more perfect than any plan I could come up with.

Anyway, one special spiritual experience from this week happened just yesterday, when we were following up with a name we found in the Area book that the old Bosques Elders left for us.  We went and visited with a sister who´s about 65, and has had a lot of trials and difficulties in her life, which have weighed her down a LOT recently.  We sat and she tearfully shared with us her story for about an hour and a half. Then we had the opportunity to share our testimonies about how the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for each of us can carry us through every difficult moment that we have in life.  I just wanted you all to know that there are two things I absolutely know: 1) life will NOT be easy for me or for anyone else and 2) because of what Jesus Christ did, it doesn´t matter because everything will be okay.  

I hope in this new-year time, you all will find a couple of minutes to put a spiritual goal so that you incorporate the sacrifice Christ made for us--the atonement--a little bit more in your life this year.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Houghton

Hey y´all!  Sooo.. This is like half of the mission, when we went

into the temple together for our Christmas activity a couple weeks ago :)  

The Elder selfie-ing is Elder Nobbman, and he´s hilarious... yep!

I always forget these things...

 What breakfast looks like in Mexico (salsa verde, ham,
and manchengo cheese on the eggs...)

How Hermana Bracamonte feels about the dinosaur she found
in her stocking a couple of weeks ago (we named him Lionard)

That's CRAZy! Let's do it!

From 28 December 2015

Christmas Stockings. . .Bosquez, 24 December 2015

Dearest Everyone,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! (AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!)

I trust you´ve all felt the Christmas spirit this month, and that you´re feeling it still as you head back to normal life.  It´s been an interesting week to be in Mexico, where we still get into the 70´s every day, and Santa Claus doesn´t come on the 24th, the wise men come on the 6th of January.  One thing that is the same, however, are the lights.  I LOVE Christmas lights and it brings joy to my heart to see them strung up to and fro about the neighborhoods, temples, and trees here.  Truly, Christmas IS about light.  It´s about the light of Christ, and it´s about the Light of the World that was born just 2015 years ago.  I´m so grateful to be able to know His story, and remember it every single day of the year.

So now, I want to explain my title a bit.  You see, there is a talk, which I have heard about and not actually read, about a missionary who, when he was on his mission, thought about things that he would never even consider doing as a missionary, and then he decided to do them.  These things might include preaching on a street corner, contacting an atheist, and who knows what else!  Well, sometimes Hermana Bracamonte and I try to apply a similar technique, and then we see miracles that come when we put our faith and our courage to work, and we try to work "outside the box".  Anyway, I have a testimony that Heavenly Father works miracles.  The missionary program alone is a miracle.  I mean, can you imagine when it started out and someone stood up and presented a simple idea of sending people out to teach the gospel, and then at the conclusion of his presentation he said "oh and by the way, I think we should send the 18 and 19 year-olds".  Logically, the program shouldn´t work, but because it is guided by the Lord, it does! (see Isaiah 55 "The Lord´s ways are higher than your ways").  

Anyway, Mexico continues to be an adventure, and Hermana Bracamonte and I are learning LOTS from our experiences here in Bosques.  We (and our mission president and his wife) send our love your way, and hope that you will all have a happy, alcohol-free new year!

Lots of love,

Hermana Houghton

A picture from Hermana Bracamonte. . .a happy Marta on Christmas day!

Christ's purpose in coming to earth (an event we celebrate on Christmas) is to allow us to return to live with our Heavenly Father as families.   One of the most exciting parts of Christmas for families of missionaries is the opportunity to skype with their far-away missionary.  Thus, for just a few minutes on Christmas, our family was "together"-- a fitting reminder of the joyful and wonderful blessing of Christ!  

Look at those smiles!