"We had explained everything we could and then just left it in the Lord's hands, and He worked things out. He always does, right?" (Hilary)

Um ... no thanks

Well, GOOD NEWS!

This last transfer was shorter than usual, because of some timing with the MTCs and all the new missionaries and I don't know. So, yesterday were transfers and ... although Hermana D had already had three transfers in Ibarra (and she had literally already packed everything but her sheets and her clothes for the following day and she had said goodbye to everyone and everything), I WAS TRANSFERED TO QUITO TO BE COMPANIONS WITH HERMANA ELLIS. Yes, you read right!  I had had such a hard time for a couple weeks. I have been working so hard to be a good, humble, loving companion. I have been working on being the person that lets things go and keeps moving forward with a good attitude. I felt like I had done my part and fallen to pieces a few times just praying for the strength to move on. Of course, Heavenly Father always blessed me with what I needed. I had to keep reminding myself that He wouldn't give me these tests if I couldn't make it through them. It was a great learning experience and I feel like I am becoming a different person.

2 of the 3 amigas ... together again!

Well, now I am in C. Quito. Hermana Ellis says that the members are so great. As we started arriving to the area in the bus, I just became overwhelmed with a feeling that there are people here who need this. Looking at all the houses I just thought "we are going to have a good change". So. I am going to keep striving to do everything I need to do to be the missionary this area needs and the companion that Hermana Ellis deserves! She is the greatest and I feel like I am dreaming a little bit. I am having a hard time comprehending that we get to just be companions and have so much fun doing this awesome work! It was funny - when my zone leaders told me who I would be companions with, they were like, "The assistants told us to tell you 'No pajama parties.'" I just laughed. Tras muchas aflicciones vienen muchas bendiciones.

Well, thank you all so much for everything you wrote. Tell Sister Jaccard thank you so much for the email. I really appreciated what she shared. And it is true. The mission wouldn't be the mission without the hard times! I love you all and I pray for you daily as well. And I want you all to know, I have felt your prayers this week more than ever.

I didn't hear about the new missions, but they did tell us that our mission is being split. How weird! I might finish in a different mission than some of my companions or President and Sister Ghent. They're so great! We will have to see what happens!

Well, not yesterday, but the other Sunday was elections day in Ecuador, so we weren't allowed to leave. We could only attend church and then we had to stay in the house. I spent a lot of time reading my notes from talks and my study journal from the MTC. It was really cool and gave me a new desire to work. I was so excited. I love this work.

The other Thursday we had a training from President Ghent, Sister Ghent, and the assistants. It was really good. Super powerful. It wasn't a super èxitoso week in the mission numbers-wise, but I felt like numbers can't show all the we were able to learn and do. It was really cool.

I have been really worried about F. lately. When I left he wasn't attending church because he was working to pay off his mom's debts. A few times I have seen the sisters there in Imbabura in trainings and interviews and things and they can't find him. The newer sisters there don't know him, so I think they don't feel the drive to search for him as much as I would. I dream a lot about the people I have gotten to know here in the mission and just wake up worried about them! I want the best for them. Please pray for the people here in Ecuador.

The other day we went to the market to do our grocery shopping and there was a kid standing on the corner with a group of goats, selling goat milk. Hermana D was so excited. She ran over and he pulled out a plastic cup and just milked the goat right there in the middle of the street and she just drank it straight up. It was bizarre.

I wanted to include a little miracle that we were able to see the other week. Like I said a couple weeks ago, A2 had a really tough experience and was convinced she would not return to the church for a while. Right after her baptism. It was so sad. I just felt like a huge failure. I knew there were things I probably could have done better and I just felt horrible. Well, we spent the week just praying and praying for her and that Heavenly Father would change her heart. And He did. She was so convinced that she wouldn't return for a while, but a few days later she told us that she realized she needed to return. It was really cool. We had explained to her everything we could and then just left it in the Lord's hands, and He worked things out. He always does, right? And something I love that Elder Eyring taught in his October conference talk was that, even when the Lord's timing isn't the same as ours, it should be enough for us, because we know that He has our best interest in mind.

Well, that is all for now. I love you all!

Hermana Norton

"It was hilarious ... later that day we were ... just crying because we were laughing so hard" (Hilary)

Family,

Well, another week came and gone. Where does all the time go? I hope after the mission I feel really satisfied in the eighteen months I spent serving, because at the end of the day, sometimes I feel like I have hardly scratched the surface of all there is to do.

I haven't finished reading everything that you all wrote me yet, but I just want to say thanks. Thank you so much for writing. Sometimes I get a little sentimental (sp?) when I write ya'll on Monday... I just can't really express my gratitude for you guys.

Well, we had an extremely eventful week.

Yesterday were transfers, but thankfully, we're both staying. Hooray! I love Hermana D. She is hilarious. She has an attitude and it is really funny. The other day she was telling me about how she calls her sister's boyfriend her "keychain" because he is smaller than her. JAJAJA.

I KNOW that President Ghent receives revelation for his missionaries and for the mission. I know that what he says is what God wants him to say and what we need to know and do. Interviews were Friday. They went well. We traveled to Otavalo for ours, so I was able to see Hermana Marca (LOVE HER) and some other missionaries there. That was cool. We played a memorized scriptures game and I won. And they bought us a really tastey lunch that included green salad (something we hardly ever get) ! Yum.

Wednesday I fell as we were crossing a big, busy street. I literally fell flat, lying down on my face. I was all scratched up (legs, hands, face) and so sore the next day. It was hilarious. Hermana D and I later that day were telling A1 about what happened and just crying because we were laughing so hard.

Speaking of A1, she was baptized Saturday! It was a really cool baptism and she is just so amazing. I am going to attach a picture. Or two or three. Her baptizm was scheduled to start at four. We were all waiting and waiting and waiting and dying of anticipation. She has had a bit of opposition come from her family and they were the only ones answering the phone calls and just were saying, "Oh, she's not going to be able to go." Finally, we said a prayer as a zone and two elders offered to take a taxi to go look for her. They returned after about forty seconds and she had just been entering the chapel. It was really cool. Obviously she had been traveling beforehand to get to the chapel, but it was just neat - the timing. God, knowing we were going to say that prayer, sent her so that she arrived just afterward. We are so dependent on Him.

We have been working with the mom of Ax.and she has been really off and on. Some days she is so excited to be baptized. Others she won't attend church. She had her interview and we were planning on her being baptized Saturday but Thursday she asked us to come talk to her at her work. She told us she wouldn't be baptized and showed us this book that she found and told us about this video she saw - all anti-mormon stuff. I felt so bad. She was so concerned. She had a thousand questions that I think maybe had just been building up. Anyway, we worked through a few of them Thursday and Saturday we went back with our zone leaders. The lesson we had so amazing. The spirit was so strong and they knew exactly how to address her questions. We learned so much from them and their examples. At the end of the lesson, A2 told us again that she wants to be baptized. It was one of those moments were the spirit testified to her heart, and that triggers the conversion. Afterward she was so comforted and she really understood. She is a skeptic, but she has learned to recognize what comes from God. She will be a strong member if she keeps progressing.

Well, that is all for now. I pray that we can all keep growing. I am so grateful for Christ's in God's plan and I don't want to be in vain. I want to change and I want to reach my potential. Keep growing. Keep changing little by little to become who God needs you to be!

Hermana Norton

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY

"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

which is worse, beetles or green beans? You be the judge ...

 Sam has eaten octopus and Hilary has eaten beetles. But that's nothing compared to this ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdFbTyAHYes

Happy Birthday to my sweet 4 year old grandson!

"I guess people don´t like to talk when the wind is blowing the rain sideways into their face... like whats up with that!?" (Sam)

Service is the action form of loving one another ... 

Go love someone

Good monday morning! Good morning monday! Monday, good morning! Morning.. good monday.. O.o

   Hello! All is well here in SPAIN. Its been super cold here lately, rain quite a bit, lots and lots of wind.. Its all good though, just a good chance to learn some weather vocabulary. :)

   The works been pretty rough lately.. turns out that people don´t like cold weather as much as we don´t. I guess people don´t like to talk when the wind is blowing the rain sideways into their face....... like whats up with that!?? :) So, we have been working more with the members lately, partially cuz they let us through their doors and give us hot chocolate, and more importantly, because often times they are the connections to new investigators. You can knock 100 doors and contact 100 people on the street, or you can work with members, recent converts, and current investigators, and find direct connections to people waiting for the Gospel. Not to mention that the members are usually more than willing to help teach and support their friends.

   The family that we´ve been teaching recently... N and H are very, very religious people. They both have firm Christian beliefs and desire to learn more knowledge of Christ. Their problem is that they feel they don't fit in because the are different ethnicity and H leads the songs and praises at their church. They are an awesome family but they just haven´t put 100 percent of their faith in the Lord to change their lives to what they know is true. Her ´´calling´´ is whats keeping them ´´active´´, the problem is they are ´´active´´ in the wrong chruch. :D

   I´m already runnin out of stinking TIME. Time time time. Such an important resource. USE IT WISELY.

   To answer a couple questions... I haven´t learned to make any recipes yet but I have tried a lot of things I really liked. I will start to collect recipes and learn how its done. I actually have not been eating a lot of fish. Núñez is alergic and all the members know so they basically don´t make food with fish, even if its for my companionship.. fine by me! :P Haha I did octopus one time.. but I think I already told you guys that.. that was in my first area.

   Lyman and I are doing well. We are getting into a better groove of working together well but the problem is that we haven´t been able to teach many lessons to investigators lately, like I said earlier, we´ve been working a lot with members, and those lessons are a lot more conversational.. But we´ve done some practice during comp study and its coming along.. . he goes home in three weeks, so i´m gonna be getting a new comp soon. :\  We´ll see what happens.

   MOM/Sharon, loved the Romney thought. Super cool. (Dad, loved the Obama thought....... :) hahah)

   Mamá, I took care of the box for Pepa. I got a phone call the other day from those elders and they were like.... uhhhh there's a package here for you..... we´ll send it over your way when we get a sec. So I was confused.. but when I read your email I called them and told them whats up and they said they´d give it to her. Next week I´ll send you her address. I don´t have it with me right now.

   Ahhh! Tell Bryce Congrats on his baptism!

   Loved the song lyrics mom. Thanks! Also, I'll take some SPAIN/MALAGA pictures this week and send them  to you. I already have some ideas...... :)

   I forgot my stinkin christmas list that I started to write down........ SRY. I´ll send it to you next week. Promise!

   Anyways, I gotta go! I love you all! Go help someone today. Help someone feel happier, more appreciated, or more accomplished.

-Elder Norton

P.S. Don't forget to read your Book of Mormon

Click here for great service ideas 

https://www.lds.org/youth/article/13-simple-service-suggestions?lang=eng

You would be acting against your purpose not to obey these simple commandments. (Sam)

Hello!

   Not too much happened this last week.. but what did happen was great! Do. and his wife R. were baptized this past saturday! So exciting! The lady that lives with them, M, wants to take a little more time. We´re still working with her and we are expecting next saturday or the next. Mx. had a really bad tooth infection and we had to postpone his baptism.. :( Its ok.. he´s ready to take upon himself the covenants but he will keep learning and he will be baptized soon.

   That is by far the best feeling on the mission. Pulling out the long sleeve white shirt, the white pants, finding that pair of white socks, and tying on a completely white tie. :) THATS OUR PURPOSE! Whooo!

   The spliting of our area has been pretty rough!.. My new comp is awesome. He´s from California and he is very smart. He knows soo many words in spanish. Even little random words.. basically he knows em all.  ....... long story edited ... So anyways.. its been kinda rough ... and our numbers are down ... but We´re good. I have things that the Lord needs me to learn and maybe its the same with Elder Lyman. We´re working hard and if we match our will with the will of the Lord, we don´t have to worry.  Sorry if that was a little heavy! :) Things are great.. the mission is just full of ups and downs. Gotta keep working through em!

   Last night, Elder Lyman and I and another companionship in the other ward, traveled to Fuengirola, the neighboring city and we visited this senior couple of missionaries, Elder and Hermana Spainhower... and they made us dinner. :) And it was like a huge breath of home. Honestly, we ate enchiladas that reminded me of moms... they weren´t as good but they reminded me of yours, and we had these other burrito things, and we had this apple crummble stuff and vanilla ice cream..... ahhh so good! and then we walked out onto the back balcony and they look out right over this golf course............................. I JUST ABOUT DIED. I want to play soo bad! :) .......i hope you guys are practicing........... imma come home an beat you! But their window is right over the tee box of the dog leg right par four.... I wanted to grab my hybrid and go hit a nice little fade up onto the green.. :).... We´ll see! A sister missionary here in Malaga, hermana Latendri, and I are trying to organize a pday where a bunch of us go hit the range. So.... another thing to pray for I guess!......... O.o.. :) just kidding.

   I helped our bishop the other day with a song that he wrote. He wanted to put it down onto sheet music and so we set up an appointment to meet at the church and he sang the song to me and I found it on the piano and wrote it down on some blank sheet music. :) Kinda fun. He was super appreciative and wants me to help him with another one soon.

   Anyways, our times up.. lemme see if there were any specific questions you had..... Oh, i´m glad you got the letter! Sorry for the one pager to mom and dad and the 25 pager to Adam. I promise I love you all equally :) I just email you guys every week and Adam almost never. haha anyways, send me the card whenever. The one i´m using now still has a lot of room so we´re good.

   Thank you for that spiritual thought. Loved that story!

 

   I love you! Ask everyone to write me letters! I love letters! And tell everyone you see that Sam says hi... cuz if I were there I would tell them hi... :)

Love you all! Read more!.... actually STUDY more! Pray more... actually talk with your heavenly father more! And never miss a church meeting or activity. ITS THE REASON WE´RE ON THE EARTH. You would be acting against your purpose not to obey these simple commandments.

BYE!

-Elder Norton

"I didn't realize it until it brushed against my tongue ... and I could feel all the hair." (Hilary)

photo courtesy of Howard Collett - LDS Church News

"nuca otavalopa camponi"

(^^^^ That is Quichua for I am in Otavalo)

añlksdjfñalksjdfñalksjdfñalksjdfñalksjdfñalksdjfñalksjdfñalksjdfñalksjdf ... and <<<<< that is quichua for "We had emergency transfers!" I am in Imbabura. It is basically Otavalo but a different stake where all of the meetings are Quichua and all of the members are indigenous. Things are going well. My companion is great. Her name is Hna. Guevara. She really likes to work hard and she has a LOT of faith. Things are very very different here than Santa Ana. Okay, I don't have much time because we don't get much of a p-day today. But a few things I wanted to say.

Wow, next week I will write about the experiences that we have had, but literally I feel like I am in a National Geographic mag. All the things we have seen and done are so incredible. I am going to take pictures and send them Monday.

Congratulations Rice Family!!!! I need pictures of my niece!

We helped some Elders the other day with a service project in the ward. We put up a room for an oven. It was really hard work,  Dad, you would have been very proud. I just kept thinking about how grateful I am for what you have taught me about hard work. After, they gave us lunch. GUESS WHAT IT WAS! Woooooo. Pig skin! I didn't realize it until it brushed against my tongue in one direction and I could feel all the hair. Yeah. So. Hope you're all enjoying Wendy's. If you get a chance, priority ship me a frosty or a bean burrito from Taco Amigo. Thanks a million.

Woo! So Saturday is E. Holland! We are all so excited. Apparently in another mission he visited, while he was talking, he randomly called two elders up to the front ..... So, Everyone is nervous.... 

OKAY G2G. LOVE YOU ALL.

H. Norton.
see more about Otavalo people HERE

A letter from Hilary! and suggested reading material

"Quito, Ecuador is a city of heights and elevations. The air is thin, and you may even lose your step for a few days while you adjust to the world’s second highest capitol city. You can ride the cable car, the teleferico, and climb Pichincha Volcano, to a height of 4,100 meters (13,400 feet). If you go on a clear day  you’ll be able to see most of the city of Quito, which sits nicely in a valley among the Andes mountains. If you’re up for it, you can also bike or hike up Pichincha Volcano, but that’s an all day excursion so be sure you’ve had time to adjust to the altitude."        

 info courtesy of FoxNoMad

Hola! 

   Oh my goodness! I miss you all so much! My homesickness spiked when I got to the field and I don't know why? I love Ecuador! I love Quito, it is so beautiful! Hilly and green and the sky is so blue! We're so high up I feel like I'm up in the clouds, I mean, it appears that way. I love the people here. In the streets it seems like people start at me, like I'm a creature they've never seen before. But I can tell it's mostly that they have never seen a gringa before. I smile at them and say "buenas tardes" and they're all so great! I love this work. It's so cool to find people who are interested in listening and want to change. When they say we can come teach them I'm jumping up and down inside because I know that if they accept the Gospel they will have happiness they've never experienced before. They're all so kind, too. They always want to feed us and love just sitting and talking with us.

   Okay so, we had a pretty cool experience the last time we went proselyting in Lima. We prepared to teach a 16 yr old girl who is recently baptized but not attending church. When we got to her house her father, who is a strict Catholic, answered the door. We invited him to join. I'm not sure why she doesn't want to attend, she was just saying things like "oh, I don't know. I get tired and just don't want to go." So, we worked with her a little and her dad the whole time was just completely silent. And then I felt very strongly that I should bear a very serious testimony so that 1) she could know what blessing she could receive if she returned and 2) so that her dad could have a better understanding. After I bore my testimony he started asking questions. He was suddenly interested. We gave him a pamphlet and committed him to attend church the next day with his daughter. I hope that he did. I think that one of the most powerful parts of a missionary's testimony is that he / she is on a mission. In a far away place talking to people they don't know. It is thought provoking - this work means so much to a 20ish yr old person that they left everything to come here and share it... that's pretty powerful. If I were not a member and learned that about the missionaries, I would be curious about what they were teaching. Here in Quito we've had some good experiences too. I'm looking forward to when we can really see the results. I guess it's too early now.

   Yesterday at church a woman pulled out a giant magnifying glass to read her manual. Reminded me of you, Mom. :)

    Okay the food I have had so far in South America is SO good. You need to make Humitas. Its this corn dish. Also we always have grilled banana, soup with corn and rice, its all so good. Also, Quimbolitos! So good!

   Dad, yes, I'm getting your emails, I love hearing about your adventures. Please tell the Tyler Norton family that I miss them! I'm trying to be exactly obedient and only write letters on P-Days. Today is July 23, so I'll finish quickly and get it in the mail.

   Family, for Family Home Evening por favor lean los discorses siguiente (read the following discourses) and stop and discuss every couple of paragraphs:

* "In Tune with the Music of Faith" by Elder Cook
* "How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration in Your Personal Life" by Elder Scott
* "Willing and Worthy to Serve" by Pres. Monson
* "Mountains to Climb" by Elder Eyring
* "Was it Worth it?" by Elder Evans
* "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" by Elder Uchtdorf

 Okay, no more room or time. I love you! Hope all is well!
Hermana Norton