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| May 2011 |
Dear Mom and Dad,
I love you both so much. It is so
good to hear from you every week. In the morning on our P-days we print
our emails and walk around Quito looking down at the pages just smiling
and laughing. It's so so great.
Usually I organize my thoughts and have so much to
write. I have a lot to share, but this might be
short because I hope to be able to write Sam and Mitch. And can someone give me
Adam's email address? Or better yet, Adam, email me!
Okay, we went to
the offices this morning and I got more letters (from Mom, Sam (via
Mom), and a Dear Elder from Sister Lauren Burton -- ( Sister Burton was Hilary's Ma on the trek several years ago) Please please tell
her thank you so so much. It was so fun to hear from her and her letter
was so encouraging and fun to read. She is so awesome.) AND two packages
- one from Mom and one from Mary Anne Grant (via Mom)! Please tell
Sister Grant thank you so so much! (Sister Grant was one of Hil's Young Women leaders yrs ago) She's so sweet and thoughtful and I
have always been so grateful for her friendship to our family. And Mom,
thank you for the scriptures! I am in the process of figuring out what
to do with my others. Okay, I mailed some letters last week and more this week. Mom, thank you so so much for all
you are doing for me. I am so amazed. I love you and hope all is well.
Okay, things are good here in Santa Ana. Cambios are
coming up soon, but I think we get to stay. At least that is what I
hope. I love this area. We have a baptism this week for Gi. and
Mi., the cousins. You would be amazed at how great they are.
They're 15 and 14 and their parents aren't members, but they have aunts
and uncles and cousins that are members. But they're so great! They're
reading so much and are working on personal progress and have filled out
all of the pamphlets that we give them. They're always bearing their
testimonies to us and asking us questions to make sure they understand
things. The other day Mi. pulled out her For the Strength of the
Youth pamphlet and was like, "So this part means that when I start
dating I should only go out in groups and not one-on-one, right?"
Also, this week we found a really awesome family. M. is the name of
the Mom and she is so great. She kept asking questions like, "So, how
can I know that this is true?" and things like that. Which is so cool
because really we're here to INVITE people to ASK for themselves. I love
that about this work. OH, and with Y - all you that prayed for
Y, good news! She has a baptismal date! Okay, here's the story (I
copied this from my letter to the president):
In our district
meeting this past Thursday we talked about a few key points that you
have given us as guidelines in the work. One was that we need to pray
when an appointment falls through. I had not previously learned of this
rule, but we put it into play that night. An appointment fell through
and we had a member with us so we said a prayer and began to contact a
little. We came across a woman who seemed moderately interested and we
set up an appointment to visit her Sunday. Sunday came and she was not
home. As we were standing on her porch, we looked across the street and
saw a reference who had somewhat been avoiding us. Her name is Y.
We crossed the street and greeted her and asked her when we could visit
her. She said, "Now isn't so good.." and her son then said, "Why not?
Why don't we go to the house right now?" She thought for a second, and
said, "Okay, sure, now is good." We walked with them to their house,
taught them about the first two principles of lesson 1, answered a few
questions, and invited them to be baptized. They accepted. The spirit
was so strong and we had a really great experience with the family. It
was cool for me to see the promises that God keeps when we are obedient.
This work is like one big puzzle we're putting together. It is such a
blessing to see the results.
Okay, I have been saving the best news for
last. In a couple weeks, Elder Holland is coming to visit our mission
and speak to us. That's right. If you weren't previously convinced that I
got called to the greatest mission, now you are. Elder Holland! I
wonder if he will recognize me from Grandpa's funeral?
Okay, I am going to write my brothers. I love you
two. Thanks for all you do. I couldn't keep going without knowing that I
have your support and prayers. I hope you are happy and healthy.
Hna. Norton
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