"Bajio and Costo Vida ... I MISS YOU!" (Sam)

Is this like a "pinky promise" ?

Good morning!

   Mama, you´re right, the week's over and a new one's starting! Gotta constantly be involved and thinking or else an entire week can pass by without you doing anything! The weeks FLY BY in the mission... its scary! In exactly one week I hit TEN MONTHS. Wooow.

   Things are great! I think I have said that every single week of my mission.... :) but its cuz its true. Couldn´t be in a better place doing a better thing! We. Have. The Truth. Why would one want to be somewhere else? This gospel and this message bring something different to the lives of the people. It fills the holes that they didn´t know they had. I´m happy, and ´´things are great!´´ :D

   WOW. Dad, I can feel the power of your talk through the letters on a computer screen. I can't even imagine what it would´ve been like in the building... hearing it. Thanks for sharing! I absolutely love love love that chapter. I think I have left that exact chapter (2 nefi 31) with investigators to read more than I have with any other chapter. First off cuz its a great chapter, second off cuz it talks about baptism :) and what they have to do to get there.

   Tell Braydon DeChristifano hey! Tell him to write me or something. I´d love to get in contact with him!

   Well things are going well. We´re working with lots of people right now. Thats one thing I've learned here in the mission is that we need to talk with lots of people about this message.. We need to learn to share the message well, but in a short powerful lesson and  then allow the people to use their albedrio........ agency(hah! english...) and make their decision. Its been hard for me in my mission when people reject us or the message.. cuz I just want it so bad for the people.. but I´ve realized that I need to use more of my time searching and teaching rather than getting bugged over the people that reject it. There are sooo many poeple that are waiting.. even here in Alcoy. Tons of people! We need to be able to teach with power and really discern and work with those that will accept and move forward. Its sad that people don´t receive the blessings ... but it makes me that much more happy when others do!

   We´re teaching two awesome families right now. One from Colombia and one from Ecuador. The colombian family has two pit bulls. :) The dad gets home late late from work and doesn´t want to listen. Its sad... PRAY FOR HIM! The others are all listening and learning. They are reading but struggling with prayer and church attendance. We´re working on it but pray and help us! :)

   The Ecuadorian family that we´re teaching is sooo awesome! HERMANA NORTON! QUE SUERTE TIENES! ECUADOR ES UNA MINA DE ORO! ¡¡SIGUE BAUTIZANDO!! We knocked their door one day and the mom was like.. ummm ok come by another day... like lots of people tell us just to make us leave.. haha and then she was like... but first you have to meet my daughter! And she ran and woke her 17 year old daughter up and presented her to us.  :)  So we passed by several days later and to our surprise the mom and the daughter were there waiting there for us so we went in. The dad sees us and goes into the other room, not wanting anything to to with us.... :\... So we asked them to invite him in and they said he wasn't interested :( . But anyways, so we taught the wife and daughter and they had a thousand questions! The mom was like.. "aaand how do they get young people like you to go out and do this every day??" and we were like "actually.. we chose to be here.." and she flipped. We invited them to this activity we were going to have at the church and they came and played the games and everything.. and then yesterday, we were going to go pick them up in the morning and we were running a little late and we turn the corner of their street and they are already walking towards us to go to the church! :O wowow. The mom´s name is B and the daughter is J. There´s another little brother and I don´t know the dad´s name. We´re trying to involve everyone so that they can be baptized all together.. we´ll see!

   There's this lady in our ward that is from Mexico and she is amazing!! She served a mission in mexico and after her mission she met a Spanish member on a church chat or something.. so they were married in the Mexico temple but live here now. The husband is extremely smart... extremely smart. He is a chess teacher and champion like a billion times over (they have trophies all over their apartment). He knows all the doctrine and actually told us he was talking to one of his friends about the church and Book of Mormon but he doesn´t come to church. Yesterday after chruch and a couple meetings we had, we went over to Rosy´s (la mejicana) and she made us mexican food! I like spanish food but it was reeeally nice to eat some good ol mexican food again. :)

-------------Bajios and Costa Vida! I miss you!!!---------------- :)

   I finally got my letters that arrived in Málaga when I left. I got one from you mom, the Christmas card, loved it! I got one from Nate Crosland. :) The kids a crack up! I love him so much. I got a Christmas card from the Jaccards.. Coolest family! and one from the Lewis couple. So supportive!

   Anyways, thats all I got today! 

BTW.... M´S SISTER GOT BAPTIZED.

   I love you all! Don´t stop believing. You can´t see your heart, but you know its there cuz you can feel it. I can´t see my father in heaven... but I know he´s there cuz I can feel him. He loves me and he loves you. Talk to him a little longer and a little more intimately tonight. He´d appreciate that.

¡Hasta la próxima!

-Élder Norton

short and sweet ... (Sam and Hilary)

this week from Elder Norton:

Hello! Good monday morning!

   I hope you´ve had a great week. This one will be even better! Things are great here in Alcoy. Things are really picking up and its fun! We´re working soo hard.. and that feels really good. Its so interesting how the mission is technically so that we help people come to baptism and in reality we are the ones that come out changed and better. Elder P. and I are learning so much and trying to humble ourselves so much. The mission is hard. Its hard to mix two cultures. Its even harder trying to constantly communicate in another language. And ESPEcially when you get stressed or tired and are worried about other people... BUT... THAT is what is changing us. We would not be growing, changing, learning, humbling ourselves, or anything without the great pressure and demand. I love my mission. I love it. Its hard. And I love it.

   FAMILY. I love you and miss you! So much! I think about you daily and I want you to know I love each of you so much. We will be together forever! Don´t lose sight of the Celestial kingdom. Clear what is blocking your view of salvation and forget about it. We have one purpose on this earth. Fulfill it!

   We´re really trying to keep that rule (one hour on the computer) so I don´t have tons of time. NOT CUZ OF YOUR EMAILS. Please don´t feel like you have to cut your emails shorter. They are the only taste of home I get. I love them. Don't cut them shorter. We email President every week and do numbers and stuff too. We try to do it quick. We´re working on it. :)

Dang it! I have like 2 minutes! Haha :)

   I love you all! Thank you for all you do! Keep praying. Say specific names. Read with a purpose. Go to church searching!

   I love you all! Write me! I´ll write you back! :)

-Elder Norton

¡OBEDIENCIA!

*****************************************************

this week from Hermana Norton:

I don't have much time to write today; I apologize. To me, it is the most important thing I do every Monday. All week I am not thinking about myself - when I write my family, the idea is that there are people on the other end who want to know about me. It is refreshing and necessary! Anyway. Here is the latest.

We are working with a few investigators! They have had some amazing experiences! 

Yesterday we found the S. family. They are from F. in the U.S. and they have been members for years, but aren't attending church because obviously it is not in their language and they don't know Spanish!  Anyway, it was a few minutes of USA talk in ENGLISH and afterward when I got back to Ecuador/Mission world, it was so refreshing! I now understand why missionaries are nervous to go home! I miss you guys so much, but know that I am good in Ecuador. I like the mission.

Hermana D. and I are working hard with a few investigators. They seem to be progressing, except for church attendance. That might be the toughest commitment for people to keep, as far as I have seen here in the mission. We were expecting seven investigators to attend church yesterday and only two came. We did a lot, but I am determined to do more this Sunday, because although we have worked so hard, if they don't attend church, we have to take a few steps backward. Hermana D. and I are doing really well though. I feel like we have found a good group of people who are really interested and willing. We just need time to work with them.

Okay, I will write more next week, I promise! I am going to write Sam´s birthday note real quick!

Hermana Norton

"Food update: Cow tongue, Chicken heart and "Igado" ... which, I have yet to find in my dictionary" (Hilary)

Dear Family,

Happy Monday afternoon. I hope you're all doing well. What are you up to? It's really warm here in Ibarra; I feel like it's a July afternoon.

It has been a long, crazy, eventful week. Admittedly, the first in my mission when the thoughts, "Ah, what a long week," and "I want to be at home" have crossed my mind. But don't worry. I am doing well. I promise I don't want to leave. There is waaayyyy too much to do here and I have not made a dent in this work. I like the line in the hymn "Come, Come Ye Saints" that says something about how 'Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? Tis not so!' The other day I read all the talks from the Women's General Conference session of October. They are so incredibly powerful! I was on an emotional/spiritual high after reading all that. Just crying like a baby. But one Sister talks about how incredible some of the women pioneers were that had to bury their children in a bread box on the side of the trail and keep pushing forward. THAT is hard. I could never. Every day I realize more and more how weak I am. God has a good eternal perspective. That's why he sent me to such an easy life, knowing that even though I've got it made, I'd struggle and stumble.

We are working with D., who has really seen a huge change since he began attending church. He has a lot of family problems, but he is making the changes and giving a really great example for his family. He was telling us the other day about a notebook he bought for himself. He has been writing down his mistakes and sins on one side of a sheet and the commandments on the other to remind himself. The other day he was worrying because when he prays at night he often opens his eyes to read the list of the things he has to repent of, because he says often he forgets. I am really happy to see that he has recognized the real happiness of living in the world, but not of it.

We are working with D.'s cousins, who immediately accepted the baptismal invitation. They are really smart and are really intune with the spirit. We taught them Lesson 1 and the following day we shared with them the short video of the restauration. Afterward, the hermana explained that although it was "interesting and new" what she saw in the video, she admitted she felt something in her chest confirming it. It was a really neat moment for us to be able to teach about the Holy Ghost. They are working on getting married so that they can be baptized.

Food update: Cow tongue, Chicken heart and "igado" ... which, I have yet to find in my dictionary. Could someone translate that for me? Thanks.

Some members here are wondering the following: How much is BYU tuition (undergrad and grad school) for members that are from foreign countries (i.e. Ecuador). Can you also let me know about that as well?

H. N. 

"igado" - a delicacy made up of pork tenderloin, liver, heart and kidney 


To read or listen to the Women's General Relief Society Meeting click HERE then scroll down

"Everyone tells me that I have the Andelucía accent which is like more.... more.. hick ish.." (Sam)

"I don't talk like no hick!"

Good morning family and friends!

   The ESPAÑA MÁLAGA mission is the best!

   Things are great! Alcoy is a very hard area but Elder Pascua and I are tearing it up! :) ¡Estamos a fuegote! (we're on fire!) :) Later in the email I´ll update you on everything.

   First things first... Papa, about picking us up from our missions.. I´m easy. I´ll do what the mayoría wants. My opinion would be wait till after and visit both places like you said. They advise us to not be picked up directly from the mission.. and I think more than anything its because it messes with the visas. And with the visas... how they are... I don´t want to be adding to the problem. I think it would be better that way anyways. Me da equal if we go to Ecuador or España first... I´m good with either way... but I would LOVE to go see ecuador. Ohh! I would love to. Anyways, thats my opinion.. but like I said, I´m easy.

   Ok, anyways! I sent you my address just barely in another email... and we are waiting for a couple things for Elder Pascua here at that address so we will be here a while. We both hope to change pisos after he gets his stuff though so I´ll keep you updated. I´m really glad you got my package! Hah it totally arrived late.. but just cuz I didn´t send it with enough time before christmas. The mail systems get all clogged up, I know, but I had to learn it the hard way. hah I don´t know if you remember during our phone call on christmas, I paused for a second like I was going to ask you something and then I said.. oh nevermind....... haha I was going to ask if you had gotten the package.... haha but you hadn´t said anything about it so I left it alone.... so that it´d be a surprise! :) I´m glad you enjoyed it. Sorry the presents are kinda dumb.. haha I couldn´t send too big of things cuz it costs a ton but I found what I could. :)

   Elder Hafen has called me a couple times with questions or little things and he said that the day I left (I left early in the morning) two letters arrived to our piso.. hah.... one from you guys.. probably the christmas card, and one from the Luis´, the family in our ward I think. I still don´t have them but i´ll get´em soon. No os preocupéis.

   Ok, a little update. Last week was great! Los estandartes de excelencia de la misión or The Mission Standards of Excelence are the goals that we want to achieve every week. We set specific goals for our areas every week as companionships but Los estandartes and mission-wide general goals.. The goal for amount of lessons taught in one week is 20 and obviously depending on the area and the missionaries and everything its different.. but this last week we taught 14 and we are very content with that. We are reopening the area.. the missionaries from before left us with........ nada.. basically.. haha and we have also heard that ´´when alcoy was part of the barcelona mission it was a dead area..´´ PSH! WE LOVE THIS PLACE. :) yes its hard but that doesn't mean its dead! It just means you gotta look harder and smarter in the places you haven´t looked yet! We´re really enjoying this place and we have several awesome families we´re working with right now.

   The ward here is good. We have heard that there may have been some confusion somewhere in the past here that helped the branch receive its own capilla and become a ´´ward´´..  There are few priesthood holders.. many many less actives...... its a very interesting situation.. ... Anyways, there are great people here! Really. .........  We´ll see how everything goes! Jacob 2:11-14&19-22......

   Elder Pascua and I are getting along great. I´ve been really tired lately and every once and a while I´ll get kinda sick of speaking spanish all the time and he´s really good cuz he´s more than happy to switch over the english and work on his english. Thats one thing we need to do more of is practice his english. He knows bastante but we just need to practice more. The language here is cool. This part of spain is super prideful and there is a huge part of spain that considers itself its one country... like not part of spain. Or they are trying to separate themselves from Spain or something dumb.. but they all speak this other language, Catalán.. and then there´s another separation inside of Cataluña (the part that wants to separate)... and thats Valencia.. and they speak valenciano...... which is the exactly the same language as catalán.. its just they are too prideful to agree on a name.. so anyways, here, ´´they speak valenciano´´ cuz they get offended if you call it catalán.. and Elder Pascua grew up in Barcelona learning Catalán so he´s teaching me. Everyone speaks both languages here. Valenciano (catalán) and Spanish (castellano they call it). Its super complicated but everyone speaks the spanish i´ve been learning my whole mission down more south in murcia and malaga and whatnot. Haha its funny though. Everyone tells me that I have the Andelucía accent which is like more.... more.. hick ish.. or more just like a different accent. One of the first member families that we ate with was commenting on my accent and everything and how they liked it and thought it was funny and one of the older women said to me.. ´´I´ll be honest, its better to have the accent that you have.´´ She was like... ´´You don´t have an american accent at all...´´ :) Yaaay!!! That made me super happy! I´ve been working really hard on my accent and that it flows out fluidly and not all choppy and that felt really good to hear that. Dad, what did you think of the lispy ´´graTHias´´ ´´diTHe´´ accent?´´ :) Did you notice it? It´ll be really fun to all speak spanish together!

   Oh, a couple things...

-Pops, I got the jump drive thing. Its awesome! There is actually some music still left on it. Like rock or country or somethin.. haha can I erase what i want? Thanks again, it works great!

-THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL MY CHRISTMAS STUFF. I never really thanked you for everything. WOW. Thank you so much for the candy the presents the notes the cards and letters and clothes, everything! Thank you!

-Oh, hah.. I thought of something the other day.. next time a package comes my way could you stuff so good beef jerky in the box. :) No rush.. just the next one. That would rock.

-Could you please send me my priesthood line? If you could, I would like a smallish page or something with my priesthood line back to Jesus Christ. We obviously teach that point a lot and its one thing to explain the unbroken chain to Christ, and its another thing to show them la cadena ininterrumpida. :) Maybe something the size of like an english Book of Mormon cover. That size of paper. I have a side bag that I carry with me and a paper that size would be awesome. Ask me if you have specific questions of how you should do it. I trust your judgement.

-annnd thats all.

   I love you all very much! Thanks for your support and prayers! We feel it.

   Read daily! It will give you strength.

-Elder Norton

"... a list of a few goals for 2013 and a few bad habits I can repent of then bury so I don't continue in my stupid sins." (Hilary)

Hilary & Sam on New Year's Eve 1999 - I love Hilary's handmade crown!

Good morning family! Hope you are all doing well! It is so fun to hear from you and I loved being able to talk Tuesday. It was so nice. I felt a little selfish afterward; we only talked about me. I am sorry and I hope you know that I am concerned with your well-being and pray for you all every day!

Something cool about Ibarra is that the Latins understand a lot more than the indigenous people. I don't mean that offensively, it's just that the indigenous people spend all day working in the fields, while the Latins have the opportunities to study and all that. Anyway, I have really enjoyed working with these people. I really love this message and I love sharing it.

Sundays are probably the hardest, longest, most stressful days of the week. Which is a bummer, but at the same time, I feel like I am really fighting to earn my salvation, so it kind of feels good too. Anyway, you won't be surprised if I come home with a head full of grey hairs and a couple ulcers.

We continue working with the M. family, and this week, Hermana Davila and I feel like we have been able to solve the issue that we had been working with. The other night, Hermana Davila invited them all to share their testimonies about the changes they've seen since they were introduced to the church. It was a really inspired invitation she made because I think it was the first time they were able to have such a spiritual moment and share their gratitude and love for each other. Hermano F. M. began to cry as he shared his gratitude for the help that the missionaries had offered him and his children. I was really able to recognize the desire of a parent that their children can have a better life. It gave us a glimpse of the intentions of his heart. It was a really cool experience.

I personally have been studying a lot about the conversion recently. (I have been studying a lot of the talks from this past conference and also a lot of the things that Dad put in the Norton Wisdom book.) I am grateful for the mission and all that I have learned here because I believe that beforehand I had a testimony but here my testimony is growing to become a conversion. I pray to be forgiven of my weaknesses and improve myself every day. It really is so beautiful that we can be forgiven and change. I love our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior.

I was reading yesterday about the Anti - Nephi - Lehies people and I love their conversion story. They are so humble and they understand so well. I love that they are so converted that they say that they don't want to dirty their swords again after being forgiven (it reminded of what Elder Holland said in his talk: "Then why are we here on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation?" Sometimes we keep committing the same sin - why do we do that?) I put together a list of a few goals I have for the 2013 and a few bad habits I can repent of and then bury so I don't continue in my stupid sins. I want to invite you all to do the same! Let's thank our great God that permits us to change and forgives and continues to love us after all we have done.

I love you all. Choose the right.

Hermana Norton

P.S. Are you guys having Family Home Evening? I think I didn't think it was very important before the mission, but if the Prophet wants us to do it, we absolutely have to do it. I don't want a Monday night to keep us from exaltacion.

P.S.S. If you get the chance, can someone send me the talk that talks about the "tactics" of Satan or whatever? There are like four Ds or something. I would like it in English and in Spanish. Thank you!

H-

Want to read or listen to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk that Hermana Norton referenced? One of THE best talks EVER! 
click HERE for the link

Happy Birthday Branson!

Our second grandson, Branson Steven Rice, just turned 3!

hmmmm, not sure what happened here ...

here he is with his big brother Caden

and talking to baby sister Sienna

This guy packs a lot of personality into that 3 year old body! He makes us SO happy! We love you Branson!

"Read God's Word Daily! We'd be ungrateful not to" (Sam)

Happy New Year!

   It was great to talk on Christmas. I loved it! For some missionaries that messes with them and distracts them.. for me it just excites me and reminds me why I´m here... So that I can help others be in families too! Anyways, it was perfect!

   Christmas sounded like a blast there! New ping pong table huh¿? Thats pretty cool. Send me the old one in a package or something, we´ll set it up in our piso. :)................ ¡BROMA! Admo, keep playing sports and keep involving yourself in stuff. I know you feel really bogged down at times cuz I was in your exact shoes.. my only consejo is just keep playing.. it doesn´t have to be a ton.. just play and play with a smile. You´ll be glad you stayed involved. Oh, and DON´T SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT............................ ;P

   Wow! DJ´s already home and Berry´s heading out!! Tell DJ hi for me and give him a huuuge hug for me. Where's Jacob headed to again? Tell him from Norton... ´´good luck :) and be obedient´´ heheh

   Wow! Tyler Haws is wrecking! Keep me updated por favor. also, hows whats his name doing? the kid last year that was a freshman that everyone freaked cuz he was like a new little jimmer?? I can´t remember his name... but fill me in!

   The new area is amazing!! Elder P. says that he looks super gordo in that video.. haha but yeah, our area is amazing! And although this won´t make much sense to you guys, this area is outside of the region of Andalucía.. and its more up into like valencia and barcelona around there.. so everyone speaks pretty different. They have a lot of Spanish pride! Several members here have told us that they call the spanish that they speak "castellano".. even though its almost the exact same thing.. and then they speak this other language too thats call "catalán".. or valenciano... and its significantly different.. so Elder Pascua is teaching it to me. He´s been living here in spain for like 16 years now so he has heard it a lot.. anyways, its awesome! and tough.. haha!

   Mom, quick question.. did you sent Núñez a package? and if so did you send him one of those mirror rubik´s cubes? I just wanted to check cuz I want him to have one and if you haven´t sent him one I want to give him one of mine. :)

   President Deere did tell me about the dinner they all had together. He spoke very highly of Ty and Allie... Fam, you have to meet President Deere one day. He is an absolutely amazing man. Amazing! We´ve been in contact several times recently with Alcoy being opened and whatnot. We´re actually gonna be moving pisos soon I think. We´re moving into a new nicer one. They want us to be confortable so the only thing we have to think about is the work.

   Anyways, gotta go! Thanks for all writing! ADAM. Think up a new Avatar question. I´ll keep thinking too. :)

   I love you all! Read God´s words daily. We would be ungreatful not too. Set aside a time. Plan. It helps a lot. Maybe a phone reminder or something too. :) Lucky people.. you and your inteligent phones........ haha 

Anyways, bye!

-Elder Norton

In my email this week to Sam and Hilary I shared with them a new year's resolution of mine regarding my personal scripture study. Each of them, in their own way, addressed what I had said with simple but strong advice. 

I am so very grateful for my family ... my dear husband and each of my four children ... as well as the righteous family in which I was raised. I truly believe I was rescued in my pre-mortal life by this little band of valiant warriors. They may have seen me as a free spirit and known I would need extra help? or Maybe I was assigned to them from a higher power ... kind of like a service project? I don't know the details and it really doesn't matter. 

I am just so thankful to be surrounded by people that love me enough to push me to reach my potential. 

There is nothing in the universe I want more than to qualify to live with my family forever!
                            joanna