This week we had a really cool experience contacting in the street. We went realllllllly far out to the corner of our area in a neighborhood called San Luis. There we decided to start knocking on doors. For a while it seemed like we weren't getting anything. After about an hour of that we were getting ready to head out since we were not having a whole lot of success and it was getting late. One house we knocked on and a Lady answered the door. She seemed a little afraid to see us at first but then we presented ourselves. Her name is Jaime and she invited us in to share our message with her. Before we even started the opening prayer she instantly started to cry telling us a lot of problems that have been going on in her life. We focused our message on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was our hope to bring peace into her life and to help her form a relationship with God. At the end of the lesson we invited her to offer a pray asking God for peace in her life. She offered one of the most beautiful prayers that I've ever heard in my life. She started off by saying " "Oh God" She then proceeded to thank Him for everything that she has. Then, pleading with all her heart she said "Dios, con todo la fuerza que tengo en mi corazon, porfavor ayude me tener paz." (God, with all of the strength that I have in my heart, please help me to have peace.) When those words came out of her mouth, instantly a peaceful calm fell over the room. The spirit was brought into her home. As she ended her prayer, her little daughter started to scream. But she looked at her and just smiled. We set up another appointment to come back and left. Passing her window we saw her continue to sit there on her couch and just smile at her daughter. It was a miracle to be able to see the hope and light come back into her! Leaving the house I couldn't help but think about how the Lord is preparing his children to receive his gospel. Don't let moments like this pass you by as you're walking about each day. The Lord is preparing the hearts of his children Alma 16:16. My testimony of prayer has grown! It also made me remember how immediate blessings come as long as we ask with faith.
I love you all and hope that your testimony of prayer can grow like it grew with Jaime!
Elder Horton
Monday, April 15, 2019
Monday, April 8, 2019
Mission Week 67, Duitama Week 2, "I know that repentance is the door that opens up miracles."
General Conference!!!
I learned so much! One of the things that I thought a lot about was Repentance! King Benjamin talked about having a clean conscience before God. When we have a clean conscience before God we know that we have done all that God has asked us to do. We know that we will return to live with him in his presence. Repentance enables us to be able to feel that. In Mosiah 4 King Benjamin explains also how we can have continual happiness in this life. He explained that when we humble ourselves before that Lord and trust him and do what he has been commanded of ourselves each and everyday that we will always rejoice, we will be filled with the love of God, we will always retain a remission of our sins, and your knowledge of God will increase everyday (Mosiah 4:12). If you want to feel happiness then keep the commandments of God! If you fall or fail to do so, get back up brush it off, make the changes necessary in your life, and keep going! It's never too late, or too difficult thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He has already lifted us all up. Thanks to him we will all rise again. You just need to understand and recognize that! The only thing that God requires is that we say we're sorry, change, and be BETTER. I know that repentance is the door that opens up miracles into our lives. If we are clean, then God will be with us, if God is with us then we will receive blessings and be able to behold miracles.
I hope you all learned a lot during the Conference. Now Go Apply all the things that they said!
Love, Elder Horton
Pictures of Temple Trip!
I learned so much! One of the things that I thought a lot about was Repentance! King Benjamin talked about having a clean conscience before God. When we have a clean conscience before God we know that we have done all that God has asked us to do. We know that we will return to live with him in his presence. Repentance enables us to be able to feel that. In Mosiah 4 King Benjamin explains also how we can have continual happiness in this life. He explained that when we humble ourselves before that Lord and trust him and do what he has been commanded of ourselves each and everyday that we will always rejoice, we will be filled with the love of God, we will always retain a remission of our sins, and your knowledge of God will increase everyday (Mosiah 4:12). If you want to feel happiness then keep the commandments of God! If you fall or fail to do so, get back up brush it off, make the changes necessary in your life, and keep going! It's never too late, or too difficult thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He has already lifted us all up. Thanks to him we will all rise again. You just need to understand and recognize that! The only thing that God requires is that we say we're sorry, change, and be BETTER. I know that repentance is the door that opens up miracles into our lives. If we are clean, then God will be with us, if God is with us then we will receive blessings and be able to behold miracles.
I hope you all learned a lot during the Conference. Now Go Apply all the things that they said!
Love, Elder Horton
Pictures of Temple Trip!
Monday, April 1, 2019
Mission Week 66, Duitama Week 1, "The hope that Jesus Christ brings us is that we DON'T need to be ALONE."
My first week here in Duitama was great! Although it's basically the same thing with lots of cows, rain, and cold weather. The ward here is helping the Missionary work progress rapidly. I've never seen a ward with so many young men and young woman willing to serve. There are lots of Young men and woman preparing themselves to go and missions and they want to come accompany us to teaching visits with investigators. They also love to play basketball! This has to be the first ward that I've been in that likes another sport other than soccer! We live in an apartment on the 9th floor of the building. When I first got here we had to take the stairs up 9 flights with my bags because the elevator wasn't working haha that was rough. The elevator here is almost always broken, so my legs are going to be ripped when I leave Duitama. We also live right down the street from the chapel. In almost every one of my areas in my mission I've always lived pretty dang close to each church building which has been really nice.
My new companion's name is Elder Tarazona. He's from Peru. He's also apart of my group from when we were in the MTC!
Other than that we've been going to work looking for people that are ready to be baptized! We found a really great guy yesterday. His name is Hever and he is from Venezuela. He came to Colombia by himself. The lesson with him was really special. When we started the lesson he talk to us about some trials that are going on in his life. He is looking for peace and happiness. I was so happy when we were able to tell him that you're in the right place! We shared with him a message about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Some of our Favorite scriptures that we like to share are in Alma 7:11-12. It helped Hever to understand that he's not alone. As he read these verses he paused and tears started to form in his eyes. The spirit was so strong. He wants to learn more about us and what it is that we teach. He felt a peace that I think he hasn't felt in a long time. We well continue teaching him and see how he progresses!
The atonement of Jesus Christ is what I was thinking about a lot this week. There are so many people in the world with trials that are very very hard to handle alone. But the sad part is that there are many people that think they have to take it on alone. The hope that Jesus Christ brings us is that we DON'T need to be ALONE. He understands what we need. Let him be in your life and recognize him as your Savior. Alma the younger was a great example of how to realize that Jesus Christ is our Savior and how to change the misery that one has to joy and happiness. In Alma 36:17-21 Alma is there in the depths of misery ready to perish, but he remembers the teachings of his father about the coming of a Savior and as he concentrates his mind on that alone, he cry's out in his mind for the Lord to have mercy on him, to save him. As he does so the misery and pain that he felt changes immediately and literally immediately to a Joy that he had never before felt in his life. I want to invite each and every one of us to focus our thoughts this week on the fact that A savior was born, he came, he lived, and died for each and every one of us. I promise you that as your thoughts are more focused on the Savior that you will feel this joy that maybe you've never felt before in your life. Try to grow closer to the Lord each and every day and you will see a great change on the outlook that you have on life. You will have greater optimism and that light will shine and touch others.
I hope that you all remember that God loves you so much. No trial, nor sickness, or doubt is greater than him!
Please enjoy this photo of a braided horse.
Have a great week!
Elder Horton
My new companion's name is Elder Tarazona. He's from Peru. He's also apart of my group from when we were in the MTC!
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| The ZL's of Duitama (Elder Horton and Elder Tarazona) |
Other than that we've been going to work looking for people that are ready to be baptized! We found a really great guy yesterday. His name is Hever and he is from Venezuela. He came to Colombia by himself. The lesson with him was really special. When we started the lesson he talk to us about some trials that are going on in his life. He is looking for peace and happiness. I was so happy when we were able to tell him that you're in the right place! We shared with him a message about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Some of our Favorite scriptures that we like to share are in Alma 7:11-12. It helped Hever to understand that he's not alone. As he read these verses he paused and tears started to form in his eyes. The spirit was so strong. He wants to learn more about us and what it is that we teach. He felt a peace that I think he hasn't felt in a long time. We well continue teaching him and see how he progresses!
The atonement of Jesus Christ is what I was thinking about a lot this week. There are so many people in the world with trials that are very very hard to handle alone. But the sad part is that there are many people that think they have to take it on alone. The hope that Jesus Christ brings us is that we DON'T need to be ALONE. He understands what we need. Let him be in your life and recognize him as your Savior. Alma the younger was a great example of how to realize that Jesus Christ is our Savior and how to change the misery that one has to joy and happiness. In Alma 36:17-21 Alma is there in the depths of misery ready to perish, but he remembers the teachings of his father about the coming of a Savior and as he concentrates his mind on that alone, he cry's out in his mind for the Lord to have mercy on him, to save him. As he does so the misery and pain that he felt changes immediately and literally immediately to a Joy that he had never before felt in his life. I want to invite each and every one of us to focus our thoughts this week on the fact that A savior was born, he came, he lived, and died for each and every one of us. I promise you that as your thoughts are more focused on the Savior that you will feel this joy that maybe you've never felt before in your life. Try to grow closer to the Lord each and every day and you will see a great change on the outlook that you have on life. You will have greater optimism and that light will shine and touch others.
I hope that you all remember that God loves you so much. No trial, nor sickness, or doubt is greater than him!
Please enjoy this photo of a braided horse.
Have a great week!
Elder Horton
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| Ever seen a Braided Horse...now you have...enjoy! |
Monday, March 25, 2019
Mission Week 65, Sogamoso Week 18, "Transferring areas on a High Note with a Baptism, going to Duitama as a ZL"
SOOOO DAVID VEGA MORALEZ GOT BAPTIZED!!
That was the best part of the week. He was so happy when he got to the chapel. After he was baptized he shared his testimony with everyone that came. He said that he felt clean as he came up out of the water. He confessed that he has done bad things in his life, but that he has the desire and want to change and to help others now. He wants to serve in the church! I hope that he has the desire to go on a mission soon. He's 23 years old and we've been talking with him about going on a mission and he's honestly considering it! David has a few friends from the Church of Jesus Christ that are leaving to go on missions as well. We'll see what happens.
Our mission President call me and informed me that I will be leaving Sogamoso and heading out to Duitama. It's literally 30 mins away from Sogamoso. I will continue being a Zone Leader there for the time being.
Sogamoso was a great learning period for me. I've been discovering a lot of insights of how to start seeing if people are progressing, who are the people in the street that really want the gospel in their lives, and how to help them understand it. It's coming little by little, but that's how it's supposed to be haha. Chapter five in Preach my Gospel is on of my favorite chapters, because it teaches you the key points to conversion. If you can help people little by little to start on their path towards conversion then you're fulfilling with your calling!
That was the best part of the week. He was so happy when he got to the chapel. After he was baptized he shared his testimony with everyone that came. He said that he felt clean as he came up out of the water. He confessed that he has done bad things in his life, but that he has the desire and want to change and to help others now. He wants to serve in the church! I hope that he has the desire to go on a mission soon. He's 23 years old and we've been talking with him about going on a mission and he's honestly considering it! David has a few friends from the Church of Jesus Christ that are leaving to go on missions as well. We'll see what happens.
Our mission President call me and informed me that I will be leaving Sogamoso and heading out to Duitama. It's literally 30 mins away from Sogamoso. I will continue being a Zone Leader there for the time being.
Sogamoso was a great learning period for me. I've been discovering a lot of insights of how to start seeing if people are progressing, who are the people in the street that really want the gospel in their lives, and how to help them understand it. It's coming little by little, but that's how it's supposed to be haha. Chapter five in Preach my Gospel is on of my favorite chapters, because it teaches you the key points to conversion. If you can help people little by little to start on their path towards conversion then you're fulfilling with your calling!
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| David, my comp and I in front of the church. |
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| David Moralez Baptism |
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| David´s Baptism Ward Support |
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| We made spaghetti with a special sauce called "Giso" |
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| They spelt burger wrong. |
Monday, March 18, 2019
Mission Week 64, Sogamoso Week 17, "Locked in a Special Baptism Date"
This week we got to lock in the baptism with David Vega for the 23rd of March. He tells us that he's been learning so much and wants to keep growing and knowing more and more of the doctrine of Christ.
Sorry for being so short but I'll send pics this next week don't worry!
Love Elder Horton
Sorry for being so short but I'll send pics this next week don't worry!
Love Elder Horton
Monday, March 11, 2019
Mission Week 63, Sogamoso Week 16, "He Showed Us His Faith..."
I had one powerful lesson this week!
David Vega is one of our investigators that we have been teaching for a while now. He's 23 years old and a super cool guy. He's been coming to church and attending institute class. He's loved every second of it. This Saturday we had the make or break it lesson. We tried to focus the lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ or BAPTISM. The one thing that touched David a lot is the gift of the Holy Ghost. He told us that here in the church that he has found more answers to his questions than an any other church he's attended. He wants to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to be able to keep growing his knowledge and finding more answers to his questions. He has showed his faith as he is searching the scriptures diligently and praying or ACTING to find his answers. He has felt the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon as the Word of God and he wants to keep growing his faith. We set the baptismal date for the 23rd of March and he accepted to be baptized on that date! He told us after the lesson that when we first knocked on his door he thought we were Jehovah Witnesses and he wasn't going to open the door, but he felt something tell him to open the door. He was looking for a lot of answers in his life during this time and he told us that he was so glad that he opened his door that day. That just went to show me the none of our efforts go wasted. There are people everywhere that need the light that the Gospel brings. Please go share it with someone!
Love you all!
Elder Horton
David Vega is one of our investigators that we have been teaching for a while now. He's 23 years old and a super cool guy. He's been coming to church and attending institute class. He's loved every second of it. This Saturday we had the make or break it lesson. We tried to focus the lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ or BAPTISM. The one thing that touched David a lot is the gift of the Holy Ghost. He told us that here in the church that he has found more answers to his questions than an any other church he's attended. He wants to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to be able to keep growing his knowledge and finding more answers to his questions. He has showed his faith as he is searching the scriptures diligently and praying or ACTING to find his answers. He has felt the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon as the Word of God and he wants to keep growing his faith. We set the baptismal date for the 23rd of March and he accepted to be baptized on that date! He told us after the lesson that when we first knocked on his door he thought we were Jehovah Witnesses and he wasn't going to open the door, but he felt something tell him to open the door. He was looking for a lot of answers in his life during this time and he told us that he was so glad that he opened his door that day. That just went to show me the none of our efforts go wasted. There are people everywhere that need the light that the Gospel brings. Please go share it with someone!
Love you all!
Elder Horton
Monday, March 4, 2019
Mission Week 62, Sogamoso Week 15, "Miracles can't happen if you're not doing something about it!"
Everything is going good out here in good ole Colombia!
Our zone conference with President was really really good. He talked to all of us about FAITH. He started off the meeting by putting his scripture bag in the middle of the room and he said, " Move the bag to where I am with your FAITH." He was standing up at the pulpit. After about thirty seconds of nothing, one of the missionaries ran up and put the bag where President was standing. That hit me really hard. Faith is something so simple yet hard to obtain, it's called HARD WORK! You work really hard and get things done and have the hope necessary to know that God will bless your life as you are obedient to his commandments. Just WORK HARD! Miracles can't happen if you're not doing something about it! Most of the time you are the miracle in someone else's life! People always think that Gods going to wave his hand and make everything better as they have "faith" in him. That doesn't mean sit down and wait patiently for a miracle to pass by magically. If you want the situation to get better do everything you can on your part first! Then God will show you miracles.
Something else that Hit me during the Conference was how he explained Faith as working with conviction in the field. If you don't have a purpose for doing something, something that you know to be right or believe to be right, you're not going to have much success. In fact you're going to be wasting your time. I love Moroni 10:4 as he explains to us what we must do to obtain an answer from God. We must search diligently with a "Sincere Heart", and "True intentions", having "Faith in Jesus Christ" and your answers will come by the power of the Holy Ghost. Those three things are not things that are obtained in the Blink of an eye. We have to SHOW our Father in Heaven that we are willing to ACT to receive a righteous answer to a righteous question that we really truly desire. I love to apply this to Missionary work. If you aren't ALL IN, if we're not willing to give it everything we've got searching for people with a Sincere heart, with real intentions, and having faith in Jesus Christ, we will not and cannot complete with our Purpose here as missionaries, just like we will not and cannot receive answers to our prayers if we're not willing to show God that we're willing to put a little effort in on our part. My invitation to all of those who are searching for answers/miracles in their lives would be to think. "Have I shown God the Faith necessary to receive such a Divine Answer/Miracle?"
I love you all and Hope that your Faith in Jesus Christ continues to Grow each and everyday. Remember that you can tell someone you love them and that's great, but it's better to show them that you love them!
Love, Elder Horton
Our zone conference with President was really really good. He talked to all of us about FAITH. He started off the meeting by putting his scripture bag in the middle of the room and he said, " Move the bag to where I am with your FAITH." He was standing up at the pulpit. After about thirty seconds of nothing, one of the missionaries ran up and put the bag where President was standing. That hit me really hard. Faith is something so simple yet hard to obtain, it's called HARD WORK! You work really hard and get things done and have the hope necessary to know that God will bless your life as you are obedient to his commandments. Just WORK HARD! Miracles can't happen if you're not doing something about it! Most of the time you are the miracle in someone else's life! People always think that Gods going to wave his hand and make everything better as they have "faith" in him. That doesn't mean sit down and wait patiently for a miracle to pass by magically. If you want the situation to get better do everything you can on your part first! Then God will show you miracles.
Something else that Hit me during the Conference was how he explained Faith as working with conviction in the field. If you don't have a purpose for doing something, something that you know to be right or believe to be right, you're not going to have much success. In fact you're going to be wasting your time. I love Moroni 10:4 as he explains to us what we must do to obtain an answer from God. We must search diligently with a "Sincere Heart", and "True intentions", having "Faith in Jesus Christ" and your answers will come by the power of the Holy Ghost. Those three things are not things that are obtained in the Blink of an eye. We have to SHOW our Father in Heaven that we are willing to ACT to receive a righteous answer to a righteous question that we really truly desire. I love to apply this to Missionary work. If you aren't ALL IN, if we're not willing to give it everything we've got searching for people with a Sincere heart, with real intentions, and having faith in Jesus Christ, we will not and cannot complete with our Purpose here as missionaries, just like we will not and cannot receive answers to our prayers if we're not willing to show God that we're willing to put a little effort in on our part. My invitation to all of those who are searching for answers/miracles in their lives would be to think. "Have I shown God the Faith necessary to receive such a Divine Answer/Miracle?"
I love you all and Hope that your Faith in Jesus Christ continues to Grow each and everyday. Remember that you can tell someone you love them and that's great, but it's better to show them that you love them!
Love, Elder Horton
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