Week 45: Feliz Navidad!!!!!

Merry merry Christmas to all! it has been quite the crazy week! I can't believe everything that happened this week! I want to start off and say MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! AHH! I had the most amazing Christmas ever!

Here is the week :)

Monday - Wednesday:
At emails on Monday Hna James said she was feeling really sick so we headed home. The rest of the evening she was throwing up in the bathroom. :( She didn't come out of there for a full 24 hours.  I felt so bad for her, but there wasn't much that I could do. The elders came over and gave her a blessing which I think really helped. Tuesday She wasn't throwing up, but she was still feeling pretty sick. Tuesday night I started to feel really sick too..... oh no... she infected me! I was sick Tuesday night and all of Wednesday. We were home for the majority of the time. I had a lot of time to study the scriptures, sleep, and talk with my companion. So that was the start to our Christmas week. I think that being home sick made Christmas Eve and Christmas that much better!!!!

Thursday: aka Christmas Eve!!
What a wonderful day! We had a meeting as missionaries (district meeting) in the morning and we were all so filled with the spirit of Christmas and all so excited that it was one of the best District Meetings I have been in for a while. Elder Moe, my district leader, read for us out of the Bible Dictionary what it said under Christ. Wow. The spirit instantly filled the room as we all sat there and thought about what our Christ has done for us. It says "He is the greatest Being to be born on this earth... He is Lord of lords, King of kings, the Creator, the Saviour, the God of the whole earth, the Captain of our salvation, the Bright and Morning star. He is in all things, above all things, through all things and round about all things; He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; His name is above every name and is the only mane under heaven by which we can be saved." I know that I have a Saviour and I am so grateful for him.

But as for Christmas Eve activities, we went to a members home and had a party! They invited us over (all 12 missionaries!) we had a Christmas song game, and then we ate dinner. (A whole bunch of crazy finger food). And when caroling at the neighbors home. It was really fun to get to share the spirit of Christmas with others on Christmas Eve. We came home that night and had a sleep over with all the sister missionaries here in Stillwater. There were six of us sleeping in our house. We read a story that is a family tradition in Hna James' family, made gingerbread houses for Hna Snowden's tradition opened Christmas eve presents, and then tried to sleep! we were all so excited, so there was a lot of chit chat haha.

Friday: aka CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Oh man! best day ever! We all woke up super early and went to the institute building to open presents! All 12 of us missionaries together super excited on a Christmas morning in pajamas was quite a sight! We all opened presents and then headed home to get ready for the day. After I was all ready we got to Skype home!!! Best thing ever!!! I can't explain how amazing it was to talk to my family. They are everything to me and to see them all happy and well was the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for. I think we as humans don't realize how much we love people until we are taken away from them or them from us. Then when we are able to see them again, you realized the extent and deepness of the love you really do have for them. I love you family!!!!!!  After Skyping we went to Sister Buckners house. We hung out and ate lots of food! We also watched "Once I was a Beehive" (of course approved by President Walkenhorst) and it was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen! and so accurate to what girls camp is like. After the Buckners that evening we went back to the Institute building and played games. I beat everyone in ping-pong! woohoo! Undefeated! it was really fun!  Then back home to crash!  I have to say it was one of the best Christmases that I have ever had. Thank you so much to everyone who made that possible for me!!!! I love you all!

Saturday:
We drove out to Cushing! IT was way fun. The weather is starting to get really cold and it is raining/icing everywhere! So we were out in Cushing in the freezing cold doing the Lords work! It felt so good to be back outside working hard after a week of being sick. We saw so many miracles out in Cushing. One of them being Kenny. We knocked on Kenny's door and we asked if we could share a quick Christmas message. He said Sure! And we went in. Turns out he works for a member and knows quite a lot about the church! He LOVED the Book of Mormon and is really excited to read it and have missionaries come back and teach him more. Sadly he is not Hispanic, so other missionaries will be teaching him, but I sure am grateful I was able to meet him!

Sunday:
We woke up, got ready to go to church... and then..... They canceled church!!! I don't think that has ever happened to me before! At least that I can remember. The weather conditions were bad enough that they canceled church and asked us instead to keep the spirit of the Sabbath and listen to Conference talks, so that is what we did! We were home all day because the weather was so bad. So a lot of study time and time to get things in the house cleaned up.

And here I am now talking to yall. While we were in Cushing we found a church sign that said, "If you're not hungry for God. You might be too full of yourself" It is soooo true!! I hope that we can all realized how much we are all blessed and this week make goals for the coming year on how we can be "hungry for God". I know I am going to be doing this. It is so important. I know that out here in Oklahoma as I have forgotten myself and searched for the things of God, I have been so much happier. It is a promise from our Heavenly Father that we will be happier when we do the things He asks. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God doesn't lie. Lets all search for happiness :)

I love you all so much!!!!
Hermana Hilton

Christmas Eve at the Pestridge's home!

Christmas morning with my mission "mom"!!! 

More Christmas morning with my Companion Hna James!!!! 

Thanks for the huckleberry pancakes Grandma Chick!!! 

This is Christmas Day at the Buckners home! 

Shout out to Sister Buckner! She is the best person on the planet!!! I love you Sister Buckner! 

This is Wyatt! He is the smartest kid I have ever met!!

Christmas party at the Institute building! #pingpongqueen! 

Week 44: Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! Only 4 more days until the big man comes stumbling down the chimney! woohoo! I love Christmas time so much and as a missionary it is even more amazing because you are able to focus on Christ. We have had a lot of activities this week that have helped me realize the Christ in CHIRSTmas.

Monday we had a group Noche de Hogar (family home evening) We went to a lady's house in the ward who had the most amazing Christmas tree display I have ever seen. It was literally jaw-dropping. I have currently misplaced the pictures of it, so you will have to wait a week more to see the picture of it. But holy cow! I couldn't believe it! The group members came and we had a wonderful evening together.

Tuesday was one of the saddest days. We said goodbye to Bartolo. We had a lesson with him at the Johnsons home. He told us that he changed plans and was leaving in the morning. Tear. We taught him about faith and repentance and baptism and the holy ghost and enduring to the end. To be honest with you guys. I didn't even want to say anything because I just wanted Bartolo to talk to whole time. His testimony is so strong and so powerful. He told us about some things going on in his life that are hard. His friends have noticed the change in him and are starting to make fun of him for it. He said it is hard. He also told us that his mom is really sick. He said something about chemotherapy so it can't be good. It broke my heart to hear him say all of this. But then he said something that I will never forget. He said, "Trials come, but I can overcome them because God is on my side. He is with me, verdad." He gets it. He gets that the gospel will help every situation. To see someone so new in the gospel understand the all compassing love and atonement of Christ is life changing. I can't explain the spirit that filled the already spirit-filled room when he said that. We can all learn a big lesson from him. I know I have. He has forever impacted my life. We exchanged emails so we will get to stay in contact! woohooo!

Wednesday evening we were at the church. Our meeting had gotten cancelled so we were out in the hall talking to Hermana Fox. Then she said, Do you guys want to go shopping? I can get you a Christmas present! So she took us to Walmart and got Hna James and I each a Christmas present! That was super duper nice of her.

Thursday we had our mission Christmas conference! It was amazing!!!! We had a bunch of trainings from our leaders and from President Walkenhorst. We talked a lot about what the color white symbolizes. Here is something that President said to us, "If we want to progress to the point where we know all things, we must be obedient. There is no other way. Christ is the only source of truth and light. Every time we reject light and truth we submit to "the Evil one" who seeketh to destroy light and truth. The only way to find joy, peace, and happiness in life and throughout eternity is by obedience to the gospel which increases the light and truth that we receive through Christ. Enjoy the Christmas lights and ponder to what degree you truly seek light and truth. Are you willing to do what is necessary to increase in light and truth until you know all things? Are you willing to be more obedient? I pray that you may bask in the Light of Christ this Christmas season." It is so true! So in reality, "Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more..."The Christmas season is such a special one! After the trainings we had a mini concert and then we all got gifts from home!! I want to thank everyone for the letters! I really really loved them!!!

Friday I was sick, so I stayed home for most of the day. We went on mini-exchanges so Hna James could get out of the house.

Saturday I was feeling better so we were able to go to a temple sealing!!! A couple in South OKC  got sealed, so we were able to go. It was  a beautiful sealing. It was amazing to see everyone so happy. I love the spirit that is in the temple. We listened to the session in Spanish. That was a first for me! I was surprised by how much I understood!  That night we went to a members Christmas party! There were so many people! I knew about 3/4 of the people who were there. We ate a lot of food and listend to so much Christmas music.

Sunday was our ward Christmas program. Hna James and I did two musical numbers. We performed "This is the Christ" and "Away in a Manger" It was a lot of fun to be able to perform.  Then that evening we made peppernuts and delivered them to the members in the ward. We had flautas for dinner and the were soooooo good! Luis, a recent convert, and his friend made them for us. So good!

I want to wish you all a merry merry Christmas. I hope we all can remember the true gift of Christmas and give thanks to him this season! Family, I can't wait to see all of your beautiful faces!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Con amor,
Hermana Hilton

This is the Christmas party that we went to on Saturday :) I am sitting next to the Guerrero family! They are the bomb.com!

Selfie with santa at Christmas Conference!!! haha jk Santa is Elder Steed. He was my first District Leader and now is an AP.. crazy kid!

Week 43: 11 MORE DAYS TILL SKYPE CALL!!!!!!

What a crazy crazy fun week.

 We had service Tuesday and the store we volunteer at was over loaded with Christmas stuff that we got to price and put out on the shelves. I have never seen so many odd Christmas decorations in my life!

Tuesday night we had a lesson with Rosi and Jenny. As we were talking we asked Jenny (she is 9 and the only member of her family) why she isn't coming to church. She told us that she doesn't like to go and see all the other families there and not have her's there. She said it is sad. A tear fell on her cheek and it wrenched out my heart. Jenny's mom, Rosi was sitting there listening to all of this. She started crying too. Pretty soon we were all crying. We testified boldly that Rosi needs to be there for her daughter. She needs to come to church. Rosi told us that she knows that. She needs to help her daughter. It was a very very spiritual lesson. I love Rosi and Jenny so much I can't even explain it. I would do anything in this world for them. 

We also met with Bartolo on Tuesday. We had a lesson with him at the Johnson's home. We retaught him the Restoration of the church. It was an amazing lesson. So I have good news and bad news about Bartolo. I will start with the bad news. He is moving on the 18th. So in four days... I am so sad. I don't know how I am going to say goodbye to that man. but! The good news is that in our lesson Thursday we had a heart to heart. He told us, "No se precupe Hermanas, Tengo los herramientos que nesecito. No voy a caer." (Don't worry about me Sisters. I have the tools I need. I am not going to fall.) When he said that to us this overwhelming peace filled me. I know that he will be ok. He has a work to do in another place. We have taught him everything that he needs to know to succeed in this life. He will be dearly missed because he is so dearly loved.

Another cool miracle. We met on Wednesday with a less active lady. We decided to teach her the Restoration of the church as well. She has some people living with her and one of them was in the kitchen as we were teaching Hermana Cortez. I looked over into the kitchen about half way through and Luis (they guy living with them) was totally listening! He was nodding his head as he was listening. I thought that was amazing. and then when we prayed to leave, he took off his hat, bowed his head and listened to our prayer!! how cool is that! Miracles are happening!!

Saturday we had our ward Christmas party!!  Oh man! it was a blast!! there was a huge turnout and we had a lot of Hispanics come too! We had 5 investigators there and get this! An in-active member came and brought a friend. It turns out she was baptized in Peru! So she is a member too!! We had a lot of fun entertaining the kids, eating and talking, watching the primary kids' nativity, and saying hi to Santa Clause!!!

Sunday. Guess who came!!! Rosi and Jenny!!!! I sat next to them and Jenny said that she was super happy that her mom was there with her. They look so happy. Watching that family grow slowly, but surely in the gospel has made me realize that the gospel really does make me happy! I read President Uchtdorf's talk from Conference titled "It Works Wonderfully!" This gospel really does work. It makes us happy. I am so thankful for it. I am so grateful for this Christmas season when we can celebrate Christ and all that he has done for us. 

Christ was born so I can be happy :)

I love you all so much!

Hermana Hilton

Week 42: The Waters of Baptism

Monday:  We had our very first Noche De Hogar (family home evening) as a group this Monday! It was way fun. We watched the Christmas video that the church put out (if you haven't seen it yet, watch it!! christmas.mormon.org) Then we played chair bingo and holy cow it was a blast! we had a huge turnout to the activity! 33 Hispanics! that is a lot!

Tuesday: I got to open my first 25 days till Christmas package from my family! that was so much fun. Hna James and I are opening a present every day and it makes it really feel like the Christmas season! thanks mom!  Tuesday is always our service day. we did about 4 hours of service and it was way fun. then we had dinner at a members house, and then we taught Bartolo at the Johnson's house. that was crazy....  Sister Johnson's parents from Spain were there and man.... they were intense and I COULD NOT understand their accents!! crazy.....

Wednesday: We ran over a squirrel.............. he was so dead!!! we were driving down this back road out in the middle of nowhere, and we came up on a squirrel. the dumb thing didn't move, so we hit it..... woops.

Bartolo had his baptism interview!!! We talked to Elder Moe (he held the interview) afterwards and he said that it was one of the most spiritual things ever and that Bartolo is so prepared and ready for his baptism! woohooo!!!!!

Thursday: We were in the Stillwater Christmas Parade!!!!! We decorated the Zone Leaders truck with christmas.mormon.org and put our Christmas tree in the bed of their truck and hopped into the parade! it was so much fun. We saw a lot of members there and every time they saw us they got super excited to see missionaries in the parade! haha miracle. So we had a generator in the back of the truck to light up the Christmas tree. Before the elders set everything up, they made sure the generator worked. When they got to the parade no one could get the generator to start..... we were all really worried. after about 7 prayers and a lot of faith we were able to get it going so that the Christmas tree was lit and everyone could see us! The Lord answers prayers!!! even for the temporal things!!!!

Friday: 1 more day till Bartolo's baptism at this point! We met with him at 8, so our last appointment of the day. Holy cow... I think it was the most spiritual lesson of my time here in Stillwater. We were in the chapel, just talking Bartolo through everything and seeing how he was doing. The whole time he just testified to us that the church is true. He knows it. man. I have so much to learn from him. We also found out that he is going to be moving in January. so our time with him is limited. I am sad, but I know that he will go on and touch so many peoples lives!

Saturday: The bid day!!! Everything went super smoothly!!! When Bartolo walked in he had the biggest grin on his face! The biggest grin ever!!! he was so happy!!!!! The whole service was beautiful. Guess what else!!! we had 3 other investigators of ours there too! two of them were Bartolo's really good friends. They were super happy to see Bartolo so happy. The spirit was there and everyone felt it!!!

Sunday: The busiest sunday of my life!!! Bartolo was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!!!!! He just kept telling us that he was so  happy and he kept asking us how we felt. SOOOOOOOOO HAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was fast and testimony meeting and when they opened the meeting up to testimonies guess who hopped up crazy fast and went.... yup! Bartolo!!! he bore his testimony! He was so sincere and so genuine. You could see the spirit working in and through him. While he was up on the stand, I looked over next to me where he was sitting, and there was a tithing envelope. He paid his tithing. *tear* His faith is so strong!!! After sacrament was over,  Bartolo recieved the priesthood!!!!! Oh my goodness I couldn't believe it! he was gleaming! He kept saying that he was super "contento y feliz" I wish you all could have been there.  that night he also came to the Christmas devotional and he watched the whole thing with us. We gave him a gift, which was his own set of scriptures (triple and bible), for the strength of youth, true to the faith and a letter from us.  He told us that night that he read our letter with his mom in Mexico and that they were both crying.

This week has been such an amazing experience for me. I hope you all had a wonderful week and that we can all keep in mind the true meaning of Christmas which is Christ and his love for each and every one of us. I love you all so much!!!!!

Alma7:15 
Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

Hna Hilton

Week 41: MERRY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to start off today by saying HHAAAPPPPYYYY THHHANNKKKSSGGIVVVIINGGGG!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)

 I have so many things to be thankful for this holiday season! I don't even know where to start. It is amazing to take a second, sit back, and think of all the countless blessings that each of us have. I hope each of you got the chance to take a moment to think about all the many things the Lord has blessed us with.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Stillwater! It consisted of: Turkey bowl sports, mud face masks, ballet, food, food, food, food and a lot of pie! We had 4 thanksgiving dinners! It was a whole lot of really good food. We were able to have a thanksgiving meal with the Gonzales family from the Spanish Group. That was SO much fun! Hispanics know how to throw a party! We were in this little tiny tiny trailer, with tons of hispanics and tons of food and tons of loud music. There were kids running around everywhere and so many welcoming faces. I wish you all could have been there to experience it. I ate my whole meal the only way any one should ever eat, with tortillas!!! Only in Hispanic homes! What was crazy to me is that I felt way more comfortable with the Gonzales' and their family than I did anywhere else. I love their culture! I love the people! I also would like to give a big huge thank you to Sister Buckner also. We went over to her house and she had a delicious meal all prepared, she opened her home to all of the missionaries here in this area and made sure that we all felt like we were home. She is an angel and I love her so much! We got to play heads up there and man, that was a blast!!  My Thanksgiving this year was wonderful and I want to quickly say thank you to all of those who helped it happen!!

The day after Thanksgiving the mission threw us straight into the Christmas bus! We are going Christmas full speed! Yesterday (Sunday) the church released their new Christmas video. It is called, "A Savior is Born" WATCH IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so good! You can't help but feel the spirit when you watch it. It fills you from head to toe with happiness. You can find it on christmas.mormon.org watch it.  It is so good! And share it with everyone!!! This Christmas season is the perfect time to show people that you love them. To share with them the things that you cherish. I challenge each of you this week, to share this video with at least one person. The joy of living the gospel is amazing, and the joy of sharing it with someone else is even more wonderful. Words can't express the feelings that come when you are able to help someone else feel the love of their Father.

Bartolo is still pushing forward to his baptism. It is this coming Saturday!! I am soooooo excited for him! and he is soooo excited for his baptism too! We talk to him everyday and everyday he tells us how excited he is to be clean. The fact that we have a way to be clean in this world full of sin is a marvelous blessing that I am so thankful for. Cool miracle! So Bartolo went to Kansas this weekend to be with his children for Thanksgiving. He was so sad that he was going to miss church. After a few calls, Bartolo was able to go to church in Kansas this Sunday! Another blessing of the Lord! We can go to church no matter where we are in the world! He called us afterwards and told us how happy he was that he was able to go to church.  We are planning on meeting with him every day this week so that he can be 100% ready to go for Saturday. I don't have any worries, and I can't wait till that day is here!

One more event from this week that is worth mentioning :) We had exchanges!!! (when we switch companions with the Sister Trainer Leaders/STLS for a day) and guess who my STL is??!! Yup! you guessed it! Hna Snowden!!!! We had so much fun being together again. We went out to Cushing and met so many cool people over there! Hna Snowden is one of my best friends ever here on the mission. I love her so much.

Well, yup that was pretty much this week. I am so thankful for my parents. Mom. Dad. you two are such a strength to me. I know that you are right there behind me supporting me every step of this crazy journey. I love you so much. The unity that you two have as a couple helps me know that
I can do it to!  Mom. Your constant love for me helps me love the people of Oklahoma that much more.  Dad. Your example of selfless service and forgetting yourself completely to serve others is something that helps me remember that I am here to help others. I am here to do the Saviors work, not mine.  Mckay. Your example of relying and trusting in the Lord no matter the circumstance or situation pushes me through so many difficult days here in the mission.  Zach. Your hard work ethic is an example to me and drives me to keep working as hard as I can no matter how many people shut me down.  Roz. Your simple testimony reminds me every day that when it comes down to it, all I need is a testimony. Your testimony has touched my life so I know that I can help others.  Raimie. Your smile and laugh remind me to keep laughing and smiling everyday. Your example of forgiving and forgetting push me to be better and more Christlike. I can't say thank you to my Heavenly Father enough for the wonderful family that I have. They are my strength.

I love each of you so much and I know that Heavenly Father loves you too. Lets share this love this Christmas season!!!

Hermana Hilton

Thanksgiving dinner number 1 with The Murray family. This is Grandma Murray! She had 4 generations of her family there for thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving dinner number 3 with Jenny and John Gerrero!!! These two have my heart <3

Hispanic Thanksgiving!! you can't eat anything without tortillas!!!

Exchanges with my favorite missionary ever!!!!!!!!!

Week 40: If you are not happy where you are, MOVE. You are not a tree :)

Monday: We had an awesome p-day! Sister James and I shopped all day! (well from about 2-4) then we had a family night with a member of our Spanish group. It was a blast! we are going to start doing family night with them every week, so this was the first of many to come. We talked about eternal families. It was fun to see what family meant to all the little kids.

Tuesday: Service day. We were doing service at Habitat for Humanity. We stocked all of the shelves fulllll of Christmas stuff! It made me super excited for the Christmas season. We had a lesson with Bartolo at the Johnson's. We taught him about tithing. He loved it! He told us that he was excited to follow this commandment because he knows that more blessings are going to come from keeping the commandments of God. Bartolo gets that and I love that. He understands that if he does what the Lord asks, the Lord will help him out with everything else. It was a super spiritual lesson. Bartolo testified of the gospel and the blessings it brings more that we did!

Wednesday: We met with our Group Relief Society President and talked about what we can do to strengthen the sisters in Relief Society. Man We have an awesome president. We talked about how we can help visiting teaching increase in the group. On my mission I have really come to realize how important it is for us as members to help strengthen other members. It is so essential!!!

Thursday: I got to make peppernuts!!! for those of you who don't know what those are, they are the most delicious things ever!!! granted they do look like dog treats, they are the best. We went over to a members house to make them and it was a blast. We turned on Christmas music and just had  an awesome time making a family tradition. They all loved them so much. The rest of the day was hard with cancelled appointments and doors closed in our faces, so the joy of making peppernuts was wonderful!!!

Friday: We had a Visiting Teaching Conference! And we got put in charge of whatching the kidlets. There were only 2, and we had a blast. Trying to entertain kids without being able to interact much with them is pretty darn hard!

Saturday: we set 2 baptismal dates for Rosi and her son John! Rosi's husband Juan said he didn't feel ready to accept one yet, but I know he will come along! Their 9 year old daughter got baptized a while back and she is such a strength  to that family. I love them so much! We have been going over there about 3 times a week in the evening and reading the Book Of Mormon with them. The change in their home from doing that has been crazy. I couldn't believe it. I have gained a testimony that reading the Book of Mormon really does make you happier. You can see the happiness that it brings on other peoples faces.

Sunday: Bartolo brought one of his best friends to church! It was so cool to see them both sitting there enjoying church. We went about the rest of our day and at about 8 o'clock we got a call from Bartolo. He told us that he was in the ER. So of course we dropped everything and went straight to the ER to be with him. We translated for the doctor and found out that he was having an allergic reaction to some medication they had given him a couple weeks ago for something else. Bartolo had bad hiccups that hurt really bad and were making it so he couldn't breathe. They got him the stuff that he needed. We got some priesthood leaders to come over and give him a blessing. I know he will be alright.

I know that this gospel brings us happiness. It helps us through the good and the bad. Living the gospel changes people for the better. I have seen it in my life and I have seen it in other people's lives. I love being His servant. There is nothing better. I found this scripture this week and have fallen in love with it. I personalized it to me and I love it.

1 Nephi 21:3-4

3 And said unto me: Thou art my servant, [Haley Hilton], in whom I will be glorified.

 4 Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught and in vain; surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

 5 And now, saith the Lord—that formed me from the womb that I should be his servant, to bring [Bartolo] again to him—though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.

I pray that you guys will all continue to search for Christ in your lives and strive to share that with others. This is the beginning of the Christmas season and lets make it all about Christ! I love you all so much. Especially my family.
Dios le bendiga,
Hermana Hilton

This is Bartolo!!! We finally got a picture with him!

This is our crazy little friend Ashley. She is a hoot!

Week 39: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:10

Another week. On the mission the days are really long, but the weeks are oh so short. A couple highlights from this week.

Interviews! We had interviews with our mission president, President Walkenhorst, on Friday. It sounds like this scary thing, but really it is just a one on one conversation with Pres. W and a little bit of time to ask him any questions that we have. We talked a lot about what it means to be bold. As missionaries we are supposed to be bold with these people. But what does that mean? President and I talked about it for a while. We decided that it means that we love the person enough to ask them to change because we know that it will help them be happier in this life. I really liked that. I love the people here so much, so why wouldn't I want to help them be happier by being bold and invite them to come unto Christ? It is always super amazing to have interviews with president.

Bartolo! We have been meeting with him a lot! His baptism is coming up so soon and he is so excited. The 5th of December. In church our group leader, Bro Johnson asked Bartolo to share his testimony on his baptism. Wow. It was so powerful. I couldn't believe it. He is so amazing. We met with him Tuesday, Thursday and  Saturday for lessons and he came to church on Sunday, so we see him a lot. He is doing amazing. On Saturday I was sick during our lesson with just the usual head cold. Bartolo noticed. On Sunday during our Sunday School class he pulled me aside and said hta the bought me medicine. How sweet of him! Then he said, "Oh don't worry, I bought it last night, so I didn't break the Sabbath." (we taught him about the Sabbath day on Tuesday). To know that there are people here who are watching out for me was awesome. Bartolo is teaching me every day. I swear, he teaches me more that I teach him!

I want to share with you all something that President Walkenhorst shared with us. Here it is:
"At the last zone conference I spoke a little on the phrase "baptized unto repentance." Recently I have focused on the phrase "faith unto repentance." Alma 34:15-17 uses this phrase several times. The first principle of the gospel is faith. Not simply faith, but faith in Jesus Christ. For us to participate in the gospel, we must have enough faith  that we can change, the He will help us, and that He will forgive us and allow us to become clean. As missionaries we must have enough faith in Jesus Christ that He will give us success and that we can become clean from the blood and sins of this generation. This is His work. His work is not only to take the gospel to all the world, it is to plant the principle of repentance deep in our hearts to the point that we will repent. His work is to help us repent and change. He can do His work. D&C 60:7 states, "for I am able to make you Holy." He can and will if we will just exercise faith in Him and allow Him to work in our lives. He said in Jeremiah 18:6 "Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house if Israel" (see Jeremiah 18:1-6)

I love these words so much. I love this work and I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know it is true and I love it.

Hna James and I being loca!

We got all the ornaments on the Christmas tree!!! woohoo! 

Week 38: The Refiners Fire and Manna

Hello everyone. This week has been crazy. Um. I don't really know what to say. the refiners fire is real. It has been a really hard week this week, but I have learned and I am still learning how important it is to rely on the Lord daily.

I am sure you all know the story of Moses and the manna. I have come to a greater understanding of what it means to rely on the Lord. The work here is slowing down while the winter quickly approaches. It is kind of frustrating to be 100% honest because I want to help these people so bad. In Exodus 16 the story of Moses and the manna is told. it says in verse 21 that the people gathered the manna every morning. Every morning they went out and worked to gather this food. and In verse 35 it tells us that they did it for 40 years. Every day for 40 years these people relied 100% on the Lord. They trusted that when they woke up in the morning there would be manna for them to eat. They couldn't save up the manna either. They had to go out every day to get it. That is what sustained them in their 40 of trails in the wilderness. This morning I was able to look back and see the "manna" that the Lord has put in front of me every day this week. As I looked back here is what I saw:

Monday through Wednesday: these days were pretty normal. They were good and things when pretty much as planned. Thursday is when things got interesting. So I am going to go straight into Thursday.

Thursday the 5th: Another hard day. My wonderful companion and I talked about everything going on and she shared with me 2 Nephi 33:3-4 it says, "I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, an mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry. And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people." Exactly what I needed to hear. The Lord and I are on the same team, so he will help me.

Friday the 6th:
Everything fell through this day. We planned for a whole day of good activities and everyone cancelled. No one was home. Literally everything fell through. I was done. I was so frustrated. So we decided to go knocking in a trailer park. We got a very cold welcome when we came in. All the people that were outside ran inside and said some choice words to us. So as we were driving out of the park, I recognized a little girl jumping on a trampoline. We pulled over and talked to her. She ended up being the daughter of Deysi! A lady who has been coming to our English classes! She let us in and we had a wonderful lesson with her. Man. That was a tender mercy and a huge humbling learning experience for me. The Lord sent us there at that time for a reason. To find Deysi. And the only way that that would have happened was if everything else fell through.

Saturday the 7th:
I woke up again pretty discouraged. In my studies I found Alma 32:42. It says, "And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure about all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst." for me this was a promise straight from God, that even though it is rough right now, if I am diligent and keep going, I will see success. That definitely got me through that day!
Something else that got me through Saturday. The other sisters in this area had a baptism and we were able to go to it with Bartolo! He absolutely love it. he leaned over to me and told me, "Hermana, I feel like a changed man. Being here has changed me." I told him, "Bartolo, imagine the change that you are going to feel when you are baptized on the 5th." He gave me the biggest smile and you could see the joy radiating from his eyes. And he said, "I know." Bartolo understands that this gospel, this church and it's teachings changes people. He has seen it and he knows it. To be part of this change in his life right now is a huge blessing to me. I am so blessed. For me this was quite a large chunk of "manna" that helped me a ton.

Sunday the 8th:
I was studying in the morning in Matthew and I came across Matthew 11:28-30 it says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." That was exactly what I needed to hear to get up and go work that day. Then we had a lesson with Rosi and Juan. We talked about how the Book of Mormon answers questions of the soul. I think I needed this lesson more than they did. We made if fun and the spirit was so strong.

It is so true that the Lord really does help us through everything. He will help us if we go out of our way and look for the daily bread. John 6:31-35
 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The Lord is there and he is helping us. He is helping me and I am so grateful for him and for his help. I love you all so much and hope you have the best week ever!!!

Hermana Hilton

Yup! I am still living with these two crazies! sister Young and Hermana Snowden!! I love them so much!!

Well November is here, so we set up our Christmas tree!!! woohoo!!!!

Week 37: Halloween!!!!! BOO!

Monday: We got to play tennis again this morning! Then a less active from the English ward took us to Mexico Joes. It is a restaurant here that is only in Stillwater OK. They are super famous. It was a lot of fun. Then we tried a bunch of people and no one was home.

Tuesday: Today was Hna Bryant's last day in Stillwater. So we went around to everyone and let her say goodbye. It is always so hard to watch people say goodbye. They are no fun. Sometimes you don't realize how much you love someone until you have to say goodbye. That night we helped Hna Bryant pack and get all ready to go.

Wednesday: TRANSFERS!!! oh man..... soooo..... We headed out at 8:30 to head to Moore OK for transfers. we were planning to get there at 10 but............. we got lost. We drove way out of the way! Any of you who know Oklahoma geography, we were supposed to go from Stillwater to moore, but we ended up going almost to Weatherford!!! way the heck in the wrong direction. So we totally  missed transfers. we got there at 12. we quickly switched companions and then headed out to go eat food cuz we were hungry!!!!  man. So I spent about 5 hours driving!!! It was nuts. We went to eat in Oklahoma City and I got to say hi to Hna Ryan! It was fun.

Thursday:  We had Lunch with Joyce and Arnez and it was a blast. Super fancy yummy southern meal.  and then the rest of the day Hna James and I weekly planned.. all..... day.....looooong.... man it was so tiring.

Friday: We had a relief society activity for the Day of the Dead. We decorated cookies and it was a blast. earlier that day we walked out in the pouring rain!! Since I got us lost on the way to transfers we had no miles, so we had the pleasure of walking in the rain!!! It was actually way fun.

Saturday: Hna James is awesome. She is teaching me so much and we get along so well. We had a really awesome lesson with Carmela. The spirit was strong and we got her thinking about baptism. So cool!!!! So Saturday was Halloween right.... guess what all the missionaries in our area did.... we got together at the Buckners house, ate dinner and watched Saratov Approach!!! man it was nuts! I can't believe that I got to watch a movie on my mission! Halloween was a blast though.

Sunday: Main miracle of the week happened here. ROSI AND JUAN CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh man! The missionaries have been trying for eeevvveeeerrrrr to get them to church, and this week, all on their own, they came! It was amazing.

Well this week has been awesome and I love it. I am so excited for this transfer. For everything that we are going to get done this transfer and for all of the miracles that we are going to see. I love you all so much and hope that everything is just dandy :)

Con amor,
Hermana Hilton

Hermana James and I's first day together!!!!! 

saying hi to Hna Ryan in OKC!!

decorating cookies at the relief society party!

Me and Jenny having a good time on Halloween. 

Us trying to get to transfers..... 

Week 36: OSU Homecoming week!

This week was OSU's homecoming week and holy cow it was crazy!!! I have never seen so many cars here! The traffic was insane and there were people everywhere. 

 I don't know if yall heard about the tragedy that happened this weekend though. For those of you who don't know during the OSU homecoming parade a woman lost control of the wheel and drove straight through the parade. Many many people were seriously injured and some were killed because of the accident. My heart and prayers really go out to all of the families and friends that have been effected by this tragedy. All the missionaries were safe, thanks to the protecting hand of the Lord, but I know several people who have been affected by this. It just really shows us that we never know when our time to leave this earth will be. We have to prepare and get ready for whatever comes our way. 

This week, Tuesday, we had exchanges, so I went with Sister Young to an english area for a day. We taught this Chinese lady named Sun and it was crazy. She has never heard of God or Jesus Christ before. It helped me realize how really blessed we are to have the knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ. 

We are still working hard with Bartolo and he is so excited for his baptism on December 5th. He gets super excited every time we talk to him about it!!! that man has such an amazing testimony and I learn so much from him everyday. 

This week we started and completed Project Cookie Monster!!! We pretty much made cookies and wrote notes to everyone in our group and some of the English members and took them to everyone. We made 103 cookies!! (yes we counted :) ) It was really fun to express our love and apreciation for everyone in that way. 

I want to tell you all a little bit about Hno Cortez. He was the first Hispanic who was baptized here in Stillwater. I believe it was about 12 years ago. He really helped the Spanish group here grow a lot. He came to church on Sunday for the first time since I have been here and man! He was like a little kid! He could not sit still and was making silly remarks the whole time. In the middle of sunday school he pulled out a penny and was doing magic tricks. (Grandpa Tim and Grandpa Dude, that reminded me of you guys :) ) He is such a funny guy and the past week I have gotten really close to him. It has been a blast. I love the people here so much. 

My testimony has grown this week that the Lord watches over his missionaries and that he loves us. He is there for us when we need him and we are never too far off the path to look to Him for help. 

One last thing. This transfer is coming to and end and we got Transfer Doctrine last night. I am staying here in Stillwater, but Hna Bryant is leaving me and Hna James is coming in! so on Wednesday I get a new companion. I am super excited! 

Advice of the week: It doesn't matter where you are on the road to perfection, it only matters which way your feet are going. 

I love you all so much!!! 

Hermana Hilton

Project cookie monster!

It is going to be sad to say goodbye to this girl!!!! 

Week 35: "be of good cheer and do not fear"

It has been another super amazing week. I know I say this almost every week, but I have no idea where to start. And I know that I say this every week also, but this was the best week ever! Seriously. Every week as a missionary is amazing and full of so many tender mercies of the Lord. I love it.

Well here is the miracle rundown of the week :)

Monday: We were out knocking doors at about 8 pm and we found Nidia! We talked to her for about 30 minutes at the doorstep and she finally let us it! She is pentacostal and she invited us to her church (reversed roles for a second there haha) We said we would love to come, but that she should try out our church too! So we are going to do church exchanges! I am so excited. Nidia is 23 and super super nice and cool. We all got along super well and I am super pumped to go to pentacostal church this week!

Tuesday: After a crazy afternoon of service at Habitat for Humanity, we had a miracle filled night! The biggest miracle I would have to say was the lesson that we had with Bartolo. We taught him about Joseph Smith and the priesthood (the Restoration of the church) He love love loved it! We had a member with us, Hna Fox, and she was so perfect. The spirit was so strong and by the end of the lesson Bartolo was testifying to us that the church is true. so so cool. Before this lesson we had a dinner with a recent convert, Luis, and all of his nonmember friends (all crazy hispanic guys) holy cow it was a blast!!! These four guys cooked for all of us and holy cow! I have never had such amazing food! It was crazy spicy, but crazy good! halfway through the meal we started talking about all of the crazy things we have eaten. They then tried to convince me that I was eating lengua... (cow tongue) I freaked out for a second and then figured out that they were joking haha .....but they said that next time there were really going to make it and that I had to try it... poo... I am scared. But it was so much fun to joke around and have a great time with Luis and all of his friends

Wednesday: Pretty normal day. Biggest miracle. English class!! We havce so many people coming to english class and it is awesome! A huge huge success. It is also super fun and funny to watch all these people try to learn English. I have realized that English is the dumbest language ever and I am so glad that I don't have to try to learn it!

Thursday: Chocolate-chip waffles with strawberries and powdered sugar and syrup for dinner...... oh goodness can I say, instant stomach ache!!! After this crazy dinner we headed over to our Spanish Group Leader's house, Bro Johnson and his family. Man it was such an awesome experience! To get to know this awesome family and connect with all of them on a more personal basis was really awesome. I love them all so much and they are all freaking gorgeous!!

Friday: Double dinner..... oh man. I am talking a lot about food this week, but hey food is important right! We went to a less actives house to do some service. She has the two craziest girls I have ever met! Genesis and Belle. oh man, it was nuts, but we did some service and then she fed us. We had tacos and dang they were sooo good. then we headed straight over to El Vaquero (a mexican restaurant) for our planned dinner with a member. I ordered Carne Asada and man it was sooo good! I have never been soo full in my live though! The plate was huge! After dinner we had a lesson with Bartolo. We taught him the plan of salvation. wow... I don't even know how to express what went down in that lesson. I can honestly say that because of that lesson with Bartolo, I know that the Plan of Salvation is real. I think that lesson is my favorite one to teach. I love it so much.

Saturday: We taught one of our other investigators Carmela. It was super crazy. We walked in and sat down to start and she pretty much taught us the whole lesson!!! We taught....well she taught us the law of chastity and the 10 commandments! super duper cool. Then after that we headed over for the baptism of one of the Elders investigators. Wow. It was so good. Baptisms are so cool and I love going to them so much. To watch people make these changes in their lives is something really awesome and special. and guess what else.... Bartolo showed up!!! he was about 40 minutes late, so he pretty much missed all of it, but he came! That is huge people!

Sunday : And guess what else happened today! Chruch... and guess who came!! Bartolo!!!!! and he love love loved it! it was super duper awesome. When you go to church and try to look at it from the eyes of an investigator, everything takes on a new light. I was able to do that for a second. and it was awesome.

As you can see this week has been amazing. My testimony is growing so much. I want to share with you guys lastly the amazing experience that I had Wednesday night / Thursday morning. As amazing as this week has been, sometimes you get pretty discouraged as a missionary. I know I might make it sound like everything is pretty much all butterflies, rainbows, and pink ponies, but there are definitely many many thunderstorms, ravens and flat tires. Wednesday night I was definitely feeling those thunderstorms and flat tires. So without knowing what else to do I knelt down to pray to my Father in Heaven. As I prayed I poured out my soul to Him. Tears were shed, but because God loves me he quickly wiped them off of my face. I don't know how else to put the things that I felt and learned better than that. He was there with me. He knows me. In this time of prayer and pondering I realized that the reason the hard times, the thunderstorms, come is because I let fear control me. I let the fears that I have dominate. When I realized that, I promised the Lord right then and there that I would turn all of my fears over to Him. I am human, I have a lot of faults and a lot of things that I need to turn over to him. My fears is what the Lord told me I needed to give up that night. So I promised the Lord that I would do it. But I also told Him that I would need his help. I can't do it without him. The next morning in my studies I came across Doctrine and Covenants 86:6 It says:

"Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come."

A direct answer to my prayers. The Lord is going to be with me. I can do this. I know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He leads this church. He love us. I know it and I love sharing it with others. Now if you have read to the end of this, I am pretty proud! That is a lot of reading :) Now go do something good for someone else!!!

I love you all!
Hermana Hilton

These are the two crazy little girls that we did service for! Genesis and Belle! Super cute!

My companion Hermana Bryant

 I got to play tennis this morning!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

It was so amazing! I had a blast! 

Week 34 #ThugMormon

I have absolutely no idea what ##ThugMormon is, but we went over to a members house for dinner and that was all that they talked about! haha I offically don't know what all the "awesome" kids are doing these days. Haha  Minus finding out that I am getting way behind the times, this week was a blast. A few highlights.

At this same members house, after dinner we played the paper bag game. Holy cow it was sooo much fun. It sounds really weird, but this is how it goes. There is a brown paper sack in the middle and you all take turns picking it up with your mouth. After you pick it up with your mouth you rip the part that you touched off and then the next person goes. Here is the catch. Only your feet can touch the ground. As you get further into it, it gets super hard because the bag gets really close to the ground. It was a blast.

We did a lot of service this week. We dusted doors and Habitat for Humanity. We helped Hno Gonzales put up a fence around his house. That was a blast. Digging holes and measuring things and eating a lot of watermelon. We also helped Adriana (a less active member) strip her whole house out so that she can remodel it. So pulling out all the flooring and baseboards and everything!  Super super fun.

We got to meet with Bortolo. And OMGosh!!! It was amazing. We weren't planning on having a lesson with him, but he called us up and asked if we could meet. We didn't have anything specific going on, so we said "Claro que si!" (For sure!) So we met him at the church that night. We had come straight from dinner with the Gonzales family and on the spur of the moment we asked their daughter Karen if she wanted to come with us. (later we find out that this spontaneous act was inspired) We get to the church and decided to do a little church tour. Man. It was so amazing. Bartolo loved the whole building. We ended in the chapel and before we entered we explained to him that this the most sacred room in the building and that when he walked in he would feel the spirit. Then we walked in. The spirit hit us all like a brick wall. Like a punch in the face that felt like a warm hug. I don't know how else to explain it. It was SO strong. When Bartolo walked in he literally let out an audible gasp. He didn't know what to do. We sat down and talked about the sacrament and baptism. Karen was with us and she was baptized about 3 years ago. We asked her to bare her testimony about her baptism and the church. Holy powerful. Bortolo cried and cried. We committed him right then and there to be baptized. And he told us, "Hermanas, este es todo que quiero, SI!!" (Sisters, this is everything that I want, YES!) We committed him to be baptized on the 5th of December. He was so excited for this and told us that he would do everything possible to make it happen. Guys. if this isn't proof enough that Christ is real and that God has restored His church, I don't know what is. You can not deny the spirit once you have felt it. It is a sin. I have felt that spirit. I felt it stronger that I ever have there in the chapel in Stillwater Oklahoma with my companion, a young girl and a man who has been looking for the truth his whole life and is now finally finding it. For my whole life I have taken for granted the truthfulness of this gospel. For my whole life I have take for granted the power of the Spirit. No more. I will no more take this gospel for granted. No more will I take the Spirit and its power for granted. I cannot because if I do I will deny God himself. I know that God is real. He is my Father. He loves me. He loves Bartolo. He loves you. Alma 29:1

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people  

This is the wish of mine heart also.I love you all, but more importantly God loves you. Never forget it.
Hermana Hilton

 Out knocking doors in Cushing!!! I love El Libro De Mormon!

Halloween is officially here! Knocking doors just got a little bit scarier.... haha

Early morning run!!

Week 33: General confercia

Where do I start. Conference was so good. I really hope everyone got to listen to all of the talks and enjoyed them as much as I did. They were amazing. I have been asked a ton of times what my favorite talk was, and honestly I can not tell you. They were all so good. I am super excited to apply what I have learned though! For example, simplifying life, and ponderizing! It am so pumped! woohhoo! and on top of that it was an awesome week!

Monday: we had an FHE with a member and an investigator. It was really fun to connect with the member family (familia Fox) and also see the members help and support our investigator. Super super awesome

Tuesday: We met with our Group Relief Society president and had a "vision" meeting which pretty much means that we talked about our goals for the relief society. It was so so good! Our relief society president is so amazing. She was called about 3 months ago and is doing awesome.  Fun fact. I was looking at when everyone in the group was baptized, and there are only 3 people who have been baptized longer than 3 years.

Wednesday: So miracle time. On Tuesday the English elders found this man named Bartolo. They don't speak spanish, so they invited him to the Book of Mormon class that they have on wednesday and explained that there would be some there to translate. (This is a cool part) HE CAME! He showed up on wednesday night for book of mormon class!! We pulled him aside and he just started breaking down talking about all of his difficulties right now and how he needs God. He told us how a while ago he decided he needed a church, any church, so he went out looking for one. He looked and looked and couldn't find anything not a single church. (which is really really surprising here in Oklahoma because there is literally a church on every corner!) But he came home after this search and saw two elders walking around in his apartment complex. He told us that in that moment, he knew that whatever church those two young men went to was the one he needed to join. He didn't talk to the elders that day and he said he couldn't find any. UNTIL!! He ran into our english elders on tuesday! How crazy is that! Man. I was blown away, literally left speechless after he told us that. After talking to him and helping him through some tough stuff that he has going on, we gave him a Book of Mormon and he promised he would read it every day. He told us that he wants to be baptized. He had to leave for Kansas this weekend so sadly we haven't been able to meet with him again, but we have been talking every day and he loves the gospel. He tells us every day how his prayers are being answered. It is so cool. His name is Bartolo. I don't know if is mentioned that.. haha

Thursday: Merry Octubre! Man I can't believe it is already here. Today we had Zone Conference. Which is when all the missionaries (I think there were about 50) get together and we are trained by the Mission President and his APs. It was waaaayyyy good!  We also got to teach Jossie and her mom about the plan of salvacion. It was so so powerful. They loved everything about it. The spirit is such an amazing teacher.

Friday: Another miracle! so Javier. He is a member of about 1 and a half years and he is our group mission leader. He is preparing to go on a mission. We went over there to talk to him and have a lesson. We started talking and he opened up a ton. He  told us about how a couple nights ago he was debating not going on a mission (His papers are allllmost done) And he didn't know what to do, but he said he was doubting going on a mission. So he decided to pray to try to figure out what to do. That next morning Hna Bryant (my comp) and I got up and sent out our daily scripture text. We decided to add some random people and Javier was one of them. I don't remember picking the scripture or sending it to him, but he got it and read it. He told us that it was a direct answer to what he had been praying for. It was so cool to see immediately the blessings of following the spirit. Even when you didn't know it was a prompting of the spirit! It might seem kinda small, but it was really really cool.

Saturday: GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! enough said!!! In between for lunch all of us missionaries made crapes at the church. It was a blast.

Sunday: CONFERENCIA GENERAL ROUND 2!!!!! Man I love conference so so so much. It was so good. We are so blessed to have living prophets that we can listen to every six months. That really love us and care for us.

Ok. Now thinking about what talk was my favorite I have to say hands down the one by Elder Holland. I am so very grateful first for my Savior, and Second form my mother. Mom you are such a strength to me. You really are like a Savior here on this world for me. Without you I would be nothing. Your support and loves pulls me through some of the hardest times. In the darkest of times your light mom, is what keeps me going. I love you so much and am forever indebted to you and also to my Savior I love you so much.

I hope we all take the time and effort to reread or relisten to all of the wonderful words we have heard this weekend. I love you all so much! And I love my Savior and my mom more than anything!!!


These are all the crazies that I live with! They are the best!

Zone conference!!! This is Elder Balch. He has changed my life!



yup.... we are weird!



Another day out knocking doors in a trailer park!



Sometimes you have to make knocking on doors fun :) I now have a weird obsession with motorcyles parked in crazy places! haha

Week 32: The Lord Answers Prayers

Monday: Zone P-day. So pretty much a whole bunch of missionaries from the area got together and we played "Quiditch!" Like the game in Harry Potter! It was so much fun! It was pretty much a mix of basketball, ultimate Frisbee and dodge-ball. It was super fun. After P-day was over we had a training from our area leaders (zone leaders). We talked about personal revelation and how important that is. Personal revelation is the only way that any of us can know what is true and what isn't. It is the only way that someone can gain a testimony. That is why it is so important for us as missionaries to help others understand this, so that they can gain their own testimony through personal revelation.

Tuesday: Well today I decided to put into action the training that we had on Monday. Holy cow...... one of the most spiritual lessons ever!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! We taught Rosi and Juan. (background info: Their 9 year old daughter just got baptized so we are working with them) The spirit led the lesson so well and we were able to break down huge wall that we had kept running into time after time. Later that night we found some Jehovah Witness' and talked to them. We taught about the Book of Mormon and a little bit about how we have our church. It was a really cool experience.

Wednesday: We had our first Spanish Group Correlation. It was awesome! We got so much done and it was so focused. This is a huge step for the Spanish Group and I am so excited to see where it goes! Miracles are going to happen!!!

Thursday: AHH! so do y'alls remember Jossie. The 12-year-old that told us that she wanted to be baptized? yeah her. so we went to her house to teach her. OOOOHHHHH MMMYYYYY GGOOOOODDDDNNNNNEEEESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!! It was fantabulous! her parents were there and sat in the whole lesson. We taught them how we have a God who loves us and that he wants us to be happy. So he has restored his church so that we can be baptized and live with God and our families. It was so so so so so powerful. Man I wish every single one of you could have been in that lesson. At the end of the lesson they all said that they would like to be baptized and we set a goal date for the 24th of October. Man. I wish I could explain how that room felt. I felt so happy! Oh! And to make the story even cooler, Hna Bryant and I had been fasting and praying that we could find someone who wants to be baptized and set a baptismal date with them. The day after our fast we had this lesson. Miracles are real and God answers prayers.

Friday: A pretty normal day. Taught a couple of lessons. Met more people from the Spanish Group. Had district meeting. overall a great day

Saturday: Women's Conference!!! Oh man, I hope all the women and girls who are reading this were able to watch it. It was so good and all the speakers were so inspired. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, go look it up and watch it!!!! It is so good. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk. I learned so much from that wonderful story. I think the thing that stood out to me the most is that we need to have faith. Faith is so important and with faith comes hope. When we have faith we are happy and we are able to do all the things that the Lords has in store for us. I hope you all can keep exercising your faith. I will be working on it too!

Sunday: Sundays are always crazy, but this Sunday was especially crazy. I had the pleasure of giving a talk in Spanish Sacrament meeting. I was scared out of my mind!! I was praying so hard, and I don' t even know if it went well, but cool story. When I was walking up there I was super nervous, but once I started talking all of my nerves went away. I felt the most calm that I ever have giving a talk in my whole life. And I was giving it in Spanish! It was a really cool experience. So I don't know if you guys all saw the moon last night! But holy cow! It was amazing!!!! The world is so cool.

As you can see this week has been amazing. I have never loved being a missionary more. Time goes by so fast and I hope that we can all take the time to enjoy the moment. Because once it is over, it will never be the same. I love my Savior. I know his second coming is getting close. I pray that we can all prepare ourselves for that day.

Keep loving the Lord!!

Hermana Hilton

Just another beautiful day on the bikes!!! I love biking!!!!!!!

Trying to be healthy while going on a Sonic run!