It Isn't Snowing Here, But We'll Have A White Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!  I haven't posted in a week or two.  Sorry!  I have been an emotional Mom...I miss these children of mine so very much and I so want the very best for them now and when they come home...so hard to be patient, but I will keep trying.  Best Christmas present ever was talking to these two and spending time with our Jared. I am going to make one more Mom plea before I post letters and pictures.  Please keep Christopher and Isabella in your prayers.  For many reasons, they are both coming to the end of their missions, they are grieving the ending and anticipating the future with many concerns also we just learned that the Peace Corps has pulled out of Honduras due to increased violence in the country.  Truth be known, Chris and Isabel have sacrificed a great deal in their lives to serve the Lord including their physical well being.  However, I know that they are safe because they are in the Lord's hands and he has and will continue to protect them, but our asking never hurts!  Happy New Year to each of you and my the Lord continue to bless each of you in the the new year!

Christopher's Letters and Pictures

Buenas!

So, we had a baptism this week! Oh... And we had emergency changes. Oh... And I´m training again. And he had his first baptism! Yeah! I´m having lots of fun. The 31st we are going to baptize a family of seven! And this week we are going to try to baptize a family of two! Yeah! Or at least that´s our plan.

 

My companion is Elder Castro, from Honduras, a missionary who received his call to serve in Mexico; however, he has yet to finalize the papers to leave Honduras. So, in two weeks and a half, he will Be in Mexico. And I will have a new companion again. Now I´ve had companions from Guatemala, From El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. I only need to have two companions, one from Panama and one from Costa Rica to complete the Central American puzzle... of companions.

Today we cleaned the house in the morning and it´s really, really clean. And my clothes are soaking in laundry soap to wash them by hand. And... yeah. My life is a lot more calm.

Thank you for the money! This mission costs a lot more than $400 a month, right? Right. I don´t
think I´ll be able to pay you back $10,000, with... $5,000 extra that you have spent on me. I could
have gone to school with that amount of money. This is a lot like school, but better.

I don´t really know what to say, today... I am happy. I miss you all. I miss Isabel. But I don´t really feel it much. I haven´t forgotten about you. The Lord blesses us a lot in that aspect. We miss you, but we don´t literally feel it. 

I love you! Merry Christmas!

Today's Letter

I don´t know what to say. I wish that I would have listened more than talked on the phone.
But I love you all so much. I feel far away from you all. I know that you love me. This
Christmas has been quite beautiful. Gustavo is going to get baptized and the life of him
and his family will never be the same. In one year, they´ll be able to go to the temple.
And that makes me happy. I define happiness differently than I used to.

We had emergency changes again. My compaion Elder Castro went to Mexico today,
My new companion is FROM Mexico, Elder Juarez. He´s 23 and I like him. We get a long well at least for
now. Now I have from Mexico to Nicaragua (without Belize). Haha. I haven´t received
my packages yet. The sad thing is that my companion doesn´t know how to make mexican
food! He told me lots about the food there, and he doesn´t know how to make it. Haha.

I will send you pictues of the baptism next week. Send me pictures of the baptism of Troy.
It makes me so happy that you are having missionary experiences. I hope that you can
have more of them and that you might search for people for the missionaries to teach.
It is the only thing that will make us happier. Serving each other with charity and missionary work.

I´ll see you soon. Feliz año nuevo. We´ll see what 2012 has to say.

With love,
elder hill

Isabella's Letters and Pictures

sorry again im short on time we had three baptisms this weekend and i spent money sorry, on cake and xmas presents these kids are all alone and well i would have none of that, please call the 24 at 12 my time if thats okay! talk to you soon!
hna florido

Today's Letter

This Christmas was very fun we played white elephant, with the elders which really are like kids with name tags sometimes, and we went to the plaza and sang, these are pictures my comp took but the others of us singing and throwing cake at eachother are in my camera. i got to talk to everyone and i will admit that makes me responsible for talking on the phone like two hours when i was only supposed to use 40 min. hay y ahora? they cant send me home but i still feel some guilt... but not too much i spoke to natalie, it was so nice to talk to mom and see she is still the same and dad responded like he always does, jonathan was chill and cool and joeson talked about his job and the mish and made fun of how i talk now and janice about cake, chris about his testimony which was very special and about us, chris your spanish is great, david your spanish is way way good going to the spanish ward has helped. when we went to sucre to spend time together as missionaries with the president, we had to do a skit and i had the idea of being mini missionaries and having a christmas dinner and we could have certain roles like the dear john who received his letter, the teachers pet, the gringo who still was learning the language, the emotional sister and the indiferent sister with attitude and a rule keeper and it was really funny the president was laughing really hard and elder murphy who played the teachers pet who badly wanted to be assistent was told at the end by the president elder you will never move up, so funny and i was the emotional sister and the skit was about a dinner that we couldnt eat, pig! and we threw it out of the window but the window was closed, we had fun then we also saw the 17 miracles a great movie. watch it. take care

hna florido

 

Prayer Answered!

Christopher's Letter
I want you all to know that I love you a lot.

This has been a really hard week. We've had lots of succes this week. We had 8 investigadores in
the Sacrament Meeting, 3 families. But for me, it's been really hard. My companion and I have lots
of problems. I couldn't even begin to describe them. It's like living with someone that hates you,
which is tough. The good part is that God is rewarding us for our efforts. Tender mercies of the Lord.

I had a really special experience that I'd like to share with you. When I had just gotten to Country,
we had 0 investigators. Haha. Zero. When we had our first planning, we knelt down and I prayed
and I prayed for the Dominguez family. I didn't even know who they were, but we prayed for them
on a daily basis and asked everyone,"do you know where the Dominguez family lives?"

In that first week we received 3 to 5 references of families that we didn't know. One was called the Sambrano family.  We tried to visit them a few times, but we became busy with other families that were going to get baptized and so they were forgotten. In the last two weeks, we have been visiting with the Sambrano family finally. And here all families have two last names. This family is Sambrano Dominguez. I didn't know until now that I truly had received an answer to my prayers until this week. The wife of this family said, after having gone to church, "I will be honest with you... I have never liked any church before, but this one pleased me. I promise that you will have me in church again the next week."

I still don't know anything about the calls on Christmas. I would rather talk with you on the phone so
that we could talk with Isabel as well, but we'll see. I also haven't gotten my package, but that is okay.

Also, we are going to have another baptism to complete a family this week and we are going to a pueblo called Ojajona to marry them! Yay! So, if you want you can search for Ojajona, Honduras on Google and look at where we're going. It would be really excellent if you doposited money so that I could buy some things there for everyone. Sorry. I don't like asking for moeny. The money that you gave me went to paying bills.

I'm glad that Grandpa is better. Tell them I love them.
I love you all.
Chris

 

I so love and miss this boy!!!  No word from Isabel today.  I did hear that her family heard from her...so maybe next week!  Please pray for my kids!  That is what I want most for Christmas is for them to be Safe, Happy, Successful, and to Know that they are LOVED!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Pancakes and Love!

Isabella's Letter

this pday we are going to the mine yay! its going to be pitch black and small. here in potosi they believe the mine has a god who they call el tio the uncle and its the devil they think he´s the owner of the mine. and so i will take pictures. this morning i woke up really early and went with my companion to make pancakes we were the heros of all the north American missionaries they turned out fantastic. because a sister was going home. sad. and we whipped cream and added canned strawberries. they were yummy. this week we worked so hard, this week was also week of transfers and i asked the president to keep my comp here and he agreed i am so glad. we get along very well and people sometimes think we are sisters and on mondays we clean the house and dance and laugh and our unity shows in our lessons and its so fun to just contact people on the street and give them correct principles to govern their lives and my comp has adopted many of the things i do very well and i have taken the things she does too. this week was a bit harsh, the bishop thinks the world of us and trusts us very much and i teach Sunday school for the teens and they laugh and cry and are ashamed at times and commit to read and share the gospel its truly edifying. what was harsh this week is that we met a great young man, alvaro who helped us teach his mother how to pray in quechua and accepted to be prepared to be baptized and then the next day wanted to avoid any contact with us it was very strange, then we had a young girl darla open up to us about the abuse in her house and then the next time her younger sister was sent by her mom to censor everything she said and then this same week we found that same little girl in the house of a witch in our area. very creepy. everytime we are to teach her something interrupts and chases the spirit away so we decided to read outloud the scriptures and to sing hymns and all that creepy stuff started to dissipate. and then the family we are working with asked for more time to be baptized. and we had no investigators in church this sunday. but! rocios father our recent convert who is less active had a nice sweater and took us in his taxi to church and was very easily persuaded to come in and the kids at the end just gave the best lesson, they began to say father you need to come every week now we loved having you there. that was very rewarding. and whats best is that we have the lord on our side and we just need more humility more obedience more faith and more prayer and eveything will turn out fine we found alvaros mom in the street and with the best hand gestures i told her i was sad alvaro didnt want to hear us anymore and she said she would talk to him. and her best friend is an old investigator of the elders and they speak quechua and spanish this wed im going to begin clases with them. whats nice about life is that its fixable everything has a solution and there is always tomorrow. and when there is no tomorrow then we are in heaven chilling and learning or repenting and Gods plan is that we progress. anyways take care

hna florido

 

Christopher's Letters

Love you!

 

Pictures from the last two weeks.  Weddings and Baptisms!

 

I want you to know that I love you.
This week has been a good week and a difficult week.
I cant say all of the reasons why. We have
had some really exciting experiences.

We have a new rule that we can
only write for 30 minutes, so I will
begin to write you by hand more
starting today. Sorry. Thats just
the way it is.

Right now, we dont have any information
if we can use skype.

I love you.
Elder Hill.

...

Te amo...

 

 

Baptisms!

Isabella's Letter

this week we only had 4 lessons which really bumbed me, my comp keeps feeling ill but we also went to sucre for a talk from elder useda thats from lima peru and he spoke about obidience and i felt i had many things i needed to do better and on top of that we werent leaving the house much to teach and i felt like the people werent going to progress but i decided to repent and pray and i spoke with the lord for a long time and then we went on saturday to invite one of our investigators who wanted to be baptized but her father wouldnt sign her permission well we found her and her dad and we convinced him that she should get baptized and she said she wanted to get baptized that same day and it was such a joy to see the lord take care of everything even thou we had many inconveniences with the keys the water the heater and such nothing got us down. also janice i did say i would go to salt lake for many reasons some of which you mentioned. i will be set apart there,

have to go Hna Florido

 

Christopher's Letter & Photos

Hey!

So, this morning we went to the temple and it
was just so beautiful. Right now it is four o clock!
Wow! It is late. This week we are planning on
having 5 baptisms (2 families), which will be miracles,
all of them.

I hope that Grandpa feels better. That is really strange.
I dont know what to say. Tell them that I love them.

I hope that as much of a burden is the snow and doing
Christmas Tree Jubilee that it might be enjoyed. Here
there isnt even snow here. I miss the snow and clean
air. I am a little sick from the polution of the city. I have
a lung or sinus infection always. Haha. I love Honduras.

I love you, mom. I love you, dad. I miss you. I hope that
you give Elder Christensen a big hug, and that you all go
well dressed. He has impacted my life more than you know.
I hope that you would gift him something. Ha! I remember what.
Gift him one of those prepared dried sausages that they
sell during Christmas and write on it "The day you were called
to be the asistant to President." Maybe he will remember.
We ate a bunch of this sausage that his parents had sent him,
and we felt sick afterwards. Me because I ate too much and
him because he was called to be Asistant.

Oh, and you asked me if you wanted to come get me or if I

wanted to go home. The rules are that it is better if I leave
directly from Honduras. So, I think that I will just go home
and get married. :)

Among other things that I would like for Christmas:
Vanilla extract that doesnt have corn syrup.
In other words, Organic Vanilla Extract.

Here are lots of photos. I love you all.

WIth love,
Elder Hill

 

Bishop Henri Castillo

Familia Andino

Familia Andion and Sister Jesenia

Temple

The Temple is Almost Done!

  

Work!

Isabella
We received a letter from Isabel today that was addressed just to Dave and I. Because the letter was specifically for Dave and I we felt it better to not share it on the blog.   She didn't have much time to write but said the mission in Potosi is awesome and she is finding lots of amazing people.  She has completed 15 months in the her mission and thoughts of returning home are exciting her.  She says she has alot to share with us from her mission!

Christopher
Dear mom and dad,
Did you get the pictures and story I sent?
We´re working really hard here and we´re seeing results. I am really
trying to dedicate everything to the Lord. I´m not perfect in writing you
and I need to learn to balance out my time on P'Day.  
Be careful on the roads with the snow please. Take care of yourselves.
I miss you all. 
Here it´s cold somedays and hot. We´re in the city and the pollution is
getting to me. I´ve had a sinus infection, but I think that I´m getting better.
I wish that I could go to the temple with you and be at home in the snow.
I love the snow.
This month, I think we´re going to baptize a family this month and the next
month we have plans to baptize 3 or 4. We´re going to see what the Lord
has in store for us. 
I hate to ask, but I don´t have any money right now. If you could help me
out, that would really help. The wedding killed us a little. I also, for Christmas,
would like to have:
1) a small Preach My Gospel in English. They somewhere online sell miniturized
Preach My Gospels. I want one to carry with me. :)
2) a black, wool v-neck sweater.
3) a big bag of ginger snaps.
That´s all I want. And pictures. New pictures. Of everyone.
I love you all so much. Please help me with money. Sorry, I just have nothing
for two weeks.
I love you so much. Please don´t lose the romance of life.

I Let The Game Come to Me, Wedding & Baptisms!

Isabella's Letter

i had the game come to me! what a blessing

so this week has been very special. and i have a ton of pictures already but! it has virus still and i dont know how to fix it. but today i will work on it. potosi! its supposedly summer but its way cold and it snows lightly its so fun. the one thing is that my pressure drops way to rapidly and it feels like you have been in a roller coaster that left you woozy. we are exactly 4850 meters above sea level. i know thats why my prayers are better heard jk ha ha but we have still worked whats amazing is that my comp has felt bad physically so we have had to rest a lot this week but we still found many many new people and she was like here people are catholic they wont let you in, she said trust me dont get hurt over it its normal but we had no troubles getting in and finding families and WOW talk about your efforts being rewarded, i remember cala cala just about broke me everyone so rich and occupied with no time for Christ except for the ones God had prepared but it was like finding water in a desert. but here all that perssitance paid off. janice thanks for sending me that picture of joeson so funny am glad they are having fun. its nice to see them happy. oh and i did just get the other package and i love the gray cardigan and its coming way in handy but dont send me anything really just a letter with pictures :) i love hearing from you guys i have pictures of birds for granpa finch again. i have this fear that my bags will be over weight when i come home so yeah. people just give you stuff and its wat dear to me i dont care how but im bringing it. oh also they dont know what halloween is really except that its something they see on the movies, people ask me that all the time is the US really like the movies? anyway here they celebrate todos santos whats interesting is that here in latin america and in many other place of the world people celebrate similar things. as humans we have aneed to mourn and oversee the safety of our ancestors souls. what they do here is that they dress all in black for mourning and the first day they mourn the ¨angels¨ meaning the kids that died the next day the grown ups so they build an alter and put things by the picture of the dead things they liked chicken candy beer anything they liked then they pray and whoever comes to pray gets masitas those are little pastries made of either orange flavor or caramel or coconut. then the 3rd day they go to the tombs and the cemetery but things get kinda scary because everyone is drunk. so we dressed all in black and told them of the plan of salvation and temple work and how to pray with real intent, it was a good experience and i promise pictures.

 

(just a side note:  Isabel was so concerned in her last letter about having a companion who was sick again and not being able to do what she would like to do in missionary work.  Dave wrote to her about how a missionary experience was just brought to him and how like Karl Malone used to say, "Sometimes you have to let the game come to you!"  Hence the reason Isabel titled her letter this way.  Way to go Papi in Roy for giving great advice to your future daughter in law! :) )

 

Christopher's Letter

 

I don´t have much time! I am sorry.
Here are photos from a wedding and
a baptism that my companion and I
had. I´ll send you the story on it!
I love you all so much.

Adios!.

 

Transfer to Potosi

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! Here is Isabel's letter. We did not receive one from Christopher....note Mom's sad face here.....

FROM ISABEL

on tues my com hna condori had called everyone in the ward that meant something to me and all of our investigators it was very emotional and special to hear people thank me for things that i didnt think anything of or investigators who i thought didt fully understand what i taught them tell me in detail what i taught them and see them cry over my departure on wed i went to go pick up my comp and the assistants let me know that i needed to go to the hospital to pick her up there bc she under went  surgery for a stone she had and she spent the rest of the time healing i went to the hospital with all my bags and they told me there was no room for me and i had asked the elder to call and verify if there was room for me and usually i would have gotten irritated but now i truly laughed. and my comp condori was like whats funny! i said all of this its like wierd things  placed on your plate to see if you can handle it and the combination of things on my plate is hilarious and its going to be interesting if i can stomach it. i think i can. they told my companion that she needs 2 months of resting and low level excersice so that everything heals and i have 4 months left in the mish so thats going to be interesting. but whats the best is that cala cala just totally humbled me and now i laugh when things go wrong like when the elders told me that they didnt know where my comps bags were and they were one in the office and the other in the temple and i just laughed or when they couldnt reimburse me 277 boilivanos bc i lost my receipts i just laughed so hard and then asked them to do me a favor this time bc i needed the money and they did they approved the reimbursement. they said i had typhoid fever and thats why i had all the diarrhea but after taking medicine i was allergic to i am all better again. i got the package muchas gracias for the gray shirt, so you couldnt find the cardigan? gracias for the pads that makes things easier. i could use some pictures and maybe that brownie i begged for a while back but then again i will be coming home soon. potosi is so great! the rocks are just enough to make max factor beauticians jealous they come in all shades and shimmers and the poeple have this chinese look to them and they say the soil is so rich that they have a potatoe  fair of over 200 potatoes and that the water has so much minerals that your hair grows twice as fast here. well thats all and we dont celebrate halloween instead its called todos santos were they pray for salvations of their dead. also i think i want to learn quechua this time around and i think i might with all the reasting that we are going to have to do.

Till next week.....

Potosi & Letters to Mom & Dad (we choose to share them)

From Isabella

so im leaving cala cala part of me is like yupi!!!! the other part of me is going to miss all of the families that i loved and loved me. and my investigators, i have 4 months left and there are some that i dont know if i will ever get to see again. so many live in the top or the hill and they dont have any phone numbers or street names or email so it fills me with this feeling of nostalgia. like what will be of jorgito in 15 years? i dont know it makes me sad. there were two places that i wanted to go tarija they say the nicest people of bolivia are there and everyone listens and its clean and beautiful and then there was potosi they say its higher up than la paz like 4500 in altitude and i like a challenge. so i prayed i want to go to the indians the hills because i only have 4 months and where ever they send me im probably going to die there unless they send me my last 6 weeks to tarija...i like the idea of that, and i got my wish POTOSI whats frightening is that they also say that potosi is the apostasy of the mish where they act out because the president is so far away so i dont know, but its a change and i like change. i hope to serve a mish with chris here in bolivia in the future i hope that they still let the church in becuase sometimes the relationship between countries in rocky. and chris is white. :) i love bolivia and i hope to get money for christmas hint hint ;) because i want to bring home cookbooks and souviniers. Bolivia runs through my veins and its going to hurt when i have to say goodbye i speak like them now, i expect the same things like them, i eat like them, i have some of their same instintcs, thats going to be another change of mixed emotions. i still havent gotten my package but i look forward to it. also i think that well i dreamnt that i was picking fruit and drying it and covering it with chocolate and selling it so i would like to look into having a small business of seasonal goodies i have to go i love you all very much Chris te amo! ciao

From Christopher

To Mom:

I love you, mom. I don´t know if the ties have arrived, but I know that they will
be here shortly. I don´t have a lot of time to write. I have to write three reports
and it takes a little more time. I love you so much and I am very humbled by
the service that you are doing for the Lord in paying for my mission. It truly
is a sacrifice. I hope that you can experience the joy of bringing someone
to Christ. There is a scripture in 2 Nefi 32: 3;5 that says: "Delight in the words
of Christ; becaause, wherefore, the words of Christ will tell you all the things that
you should do.... Because wherefore, I tell you again, that if you enter the way
and receive the Holy Ghost, he will show you ALL the things that you should do."

I love the scriptures and they are my best friend. The Book of Mormon is
the best book that there is know by man. It will truly help you in your work,
in your relationships and in all aspects of your life. I love you so much. And
you were never the cause of anything that happened as a child. Don´t ever
worry. The atonement of Christ is perfect for all persons and all problems.

With love,
Elder Hill   

 

To Dad:

 

I love you a lot. And I think I miss you more than anyone. I beg that the Lord
will give us more time to mend the hard times that we had... O mejor dicho:

Te amo mucho y creo que me hace falta más que los demás. Ruego que
el Señor nos dé más tiempo para arreglar los tiempos difíciles que pasamos.
Yo también me encanta el español y deseo servir en la iglesi siempre. Mejor
sería que moririemos si no hubiéramos conocido la iglesia. Quizás un día
otra vez jugaremos baloncesto. ¿Qué tal te parece? Estoy feliz que te has
metido en el servicio de Dios.

Tengo otras ovejas que tengo que atender. Te amo mucho.

Estoy agradecido ser tu hijo.

Con mucho amor,
tu hijo,
Elder Hill

Here is the translation for you as well...

I love you much and believe that I miss you more than others. I pray/petition/entreat that tthe Lord will give us more time together to fix the difficult times that we had. I also delight the Spanish and desire to serve in the Church. Maybe one day we can play basketball again. What do you think? I'm happy you have placed youself in the service of God.

I have other sheep that i have to tend to. I love you much.

I'm thankful to be your son.

with much love
your son
Elder Hill

 

Obedience, Blessings, El Country & District Leader

Izzy's Letter

Hola amigos y familias. i am so happy with the progress that so many of my investigators are making i feel i might leave cala cala (which means butt naked someone told me this week ha ha) but at the same time i feel that i will be able to see my investigators be baptized, the ones i am really hoping for is Bryan Fuentes, Rodrigo Sanchez who confessed this sat that he has had many confirmations that these things which we teach are Gods words and he feels this is Christ´s true church. that was such a highlight, Bryan said that he wants to move at his pace and i told him you are not being asked to run further than you have strength you are being asked to pray and read as He has asked because its for your good. Being obedient, dont we all love obedient children and then we have a ton of excuses not to be obedient with our Lord. Bryan is full of them... im not ready i dont have the desire i .. i.. i Told him i Love you very much and im not going to give up on you ever even if i finish my mission im still going to be gum on your shoe, i laughed and said my parents made me brush my teeth even when i didnt have the desire to brush them even when i would lie and said i did brush them because i didnt understand the importance of dental hygiene but because of them and them making me do this which i hated at the time i have teeth today something so small but so important, now why wouldnt i insist on you reading the Book of Mormon when your eternal salvation is at stake and not just your teeth? he teared up and said i will sister not perfectly but i will try. What more can i ask for. i love the mission, and the end is zooming by so fast ahhh. i also want to see hna Luz angela be baptized. she is colombian and we just understand eachother so well. her goal this year is to be baptized and she is reading and praying but has many family problems and admits she probably hasnt gotten a confirmation that this is true from the holy spirit because she is focused on the many issues she has right now. but i know that it is because she isnt attending church as she should. ive become a doctor to spiritual disease. Jorge is getting baptised this saturday and hopefully Josue too he still needs his permission signed. but i feel like my work is paying off and people are becoming happier and filled with hope in His atoning sacrifice and that is ultimately why i embarked in this journey. i know that prayer is a gift from God i know that  you dont have to have the best words and that even the mute can fervently pour their heart to our Heavenly Father and that he listens and answers prayers. i know that the scriptures are tools that narrow the gap between our understanding and His. i know that He has restored his ture church, that we can learn his gospel and be saved. and i know that the love i share comes back ten fold. but i also know that prayer needs to be done frequently and every day but the blessings are innumerable the Biggest one of them all is that we know we are being obedient with the Lord and therefore feel confident that he is pleased. i love you all 4 more months till sushi and your faces!. in that order just kidding. i havent recieved anything yet but i am looking forward to it!
love hna florido


Chrissy's Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,


Saturday, I got my package.  Thank you for everything.  I really like
the ties.  I gave the green tie to my companion for his birthday.  I
hope that's okay.  And also thank you for the card and for your love
and the pictures and all that you do.  It's too much and I am really
humbled at so much love.

So I was transferred to a place called "Country."  It's in the city
and I was also given the asignment of being District Lider.  I have
been living constantly with deja vu here.  I feel like I recognize
everything...  I don't feel like I moved at all.  The members and I,
in less than a week, have gained a lot of trust and we're already
working with references.

This week, in Siguatepeque, two investigators of mine are going to get
baptized, too!
And this family had received the missionaries for 20 years!  Yay!

You asked what I would like for Christmas.

1.  That Dad could write to my companion in Spanish.  I will have to
get his address, but his name is Elder Galeano, from Nicaragua.

2.   2 pounds of Maca, a bottle of Reishi and Cordyceps mushrooms from
jhsproducts.
...Is that bad? It is cheaper if you buy it online. That is all I know.
I don't really care about these things so much, but I like them.
Just know that I love you.  I don't need anything.  I wish that I
could be here another year.  I like Honduras a lot.  In nine months,
I'll be home...  The time that it takes for a fetus to mature.  I
don't really want to come home.  I love you all very much, but I like
being a missionary a lot, too.  There is nothing like being one with
the Holy Ghost.

I love you all a lot.
Elder Hill

Baptisms in Cala Cala and The End of Siguatepeca!

Isabella's Letter

hello everyone, this transfer is coming to and end already! this month we have two boys with a baptismal date, and they are so different but find common ground in the gospel, we had one lady come yesterday by herself to church because a member gave her the address and his testimony that the gospel changes lives her name is olivia and she has loved everything she wants to go to all the activities and she asked me when she could get baptised. i said oct 29 she didnt even flinch she said well if you can get me ready. and two sisters that are blind also came and they listened intensely. about the book of mormon and loved the church they felt very welcomed. it was funny because we woke up early and split up our companionship of 3 and the sisters who came to help us were late and we went to the various houses of our investigators and many had forgotten or couldn't come but still we had the blessing of 8 people there in sacrament who werent planned just show up. its great how the Lord blesses your efforts. i am feeling good here in cala cala and i love my investigators, one who i felt was progressing but very slowly, shocked me with all of his participation in gospel principles class his testimony is growing and so is  my faith that we will be able to see his baptism. Chris you sound good too and i know that where ever they send you, you´ll be the key to bettering that area. 

love hna florido



Christopher's Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

This is my second to last day in Siguatepeque.  Ha!  Me voy!
I have noticed that I am really happy to leave and even though
I could have done better in many ways, I feel that the Lord is
grateful for my work.  It is a really interesting sensation... that
the Lord thanks you.  Haha.  We're so small, and yet I feel
gratitud from him.  It is like one of those moments when it
is really cold outside and you say precisely,"It is really cold
outside.."  And within seconds shines the light and warmth
sun upon you from out of the clouds... 

I am really, really, really happy.  I have been working on
purifying my heart and being who I am.  This has been the
challenge of my life: to be Me, from my heart, without
social walls.  It is a challenge, which is easily forgotten
like being conscious of breathing.  I have to consciously
change how I think, the source of my words and expressions.
I am constantly thinking before I say and I hope to succed
in this great feat, to defeat the walls that sorround me and to
submit myself to the will of God and the heart of a young
spirit. 

My patriarch blessing says to me:"as you serve your mission,
learn to do it with humility and a quiet spirit, and you will
know of: 1) who you are and; 2) what you and your Father
in Heaven have agreed to accomplish."

We know from the book of Jermiah 1:5, that God knew
Jermiah before he was born and we therefore can assume,
along with the study of other scriptures (Proverbs 8 and
Job 37), that we lived too with God.  My desire to know
who I am, in other words, who I was.  I want to be 100%
Me by getting rid of the programming of false doctrines
of the world.

Also, I am learning that the Word of Wisdom is a perfect
law of health.  I have taken a fascination to eating whole
wheat panckaes and brown rice with vegetables. "El grano se ha dispuesto
para el uso del hombre."  (I don't remember how it is said
in English.  Haha.)  And what I have found is that I have
lots of energy and have less of a need to eat.  It is really
fascinating.  Whole Grains, Fruits and Vegetables.  I
like eating meat, but not too much.  I wake up feeling
drugged if I eat from 5 and forward. I invite you all to
try to improve your obedience to all of the laws of God,
avoiding the bad and, even more so, focusing on the good.
And doing it.   I know that you will be able to find treasures
of wisdom.

...Another thing.  I don't have much money.  The other day
a lot of money fell out of my pocket.  I don't want to ask, but
I kind of have to.  If you could help me out, will you please? 
I promise you that I am learning how to manage my budget
and how to sacrifice, and not act on impulse.  Thank you so much.
The mission has taught me so many things and I am still learning.


I love you all so much.  Dad!  Happy Birthday! I love you so much.
How is the reading of Doctrine and Convenants going? If you could
send me photos of the dogs that would be neat.  Do you guys know
someone that you could present the Gospel to?  All you need to do
is invite them over for Family Home Evening, be their friends, and
then invite them to activities in the church, then invite them to attend
church and then!  The Missionaries!  Yaaaay!!!  The key to conversion
is Fellowshiping, being their friend, being an example of the Believers.
I have seen great miracles because of Fellowshipping.  We need
to be more social as persons and be friends with everyone.  I promise
that you can help and baptize a family.  Pray and God will help you
find the chosen ones.  "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall
be unto you...  For such is the Kingdom of Heaven."

With lots of love and gratitud,
Elder Hill

Diplomacy, True Love, and Seven Days

Isabel's Letter

Diplomacy something i swore i could live without, but im learning to have, last week i let you know how i got to be in a trio and what a blessing it has been im still forced to lead by the two other sisters but they share the work and the calls and the notes and the visits and the testifying and its wonderful and i have ignored the bishop and introduced him to the investigators and he seems to quietly respect all the back breaking work we are putting into the area. it is exhausting work but i swear i can always give more because i love my investigators. i love them. i loved the talk of one newly called 70 who said its better to look up. leading is hard and trying imagine how the prophet feels but he does it happily and faithfully because he loves God. i will try to do the same. i love the people i work for and serve here in the mish the Bolivian people, i am so humbled that i was called, happy that i answered, and sincerely grateful to live amongst and serve my lamanite brothers and bring them to the knowledge of their forefathers and their faith in Christ. to see the redemption of a soul. WOW to see someone come out of the water and have more air to breath. i am greatful to have some of my mother in me, she has taught me to do things right to stand up for what i believe in even if i stand alone. she loves the old and the young in short those who are helpless and because of her i love them too. i glad to have some of my father in me, he has taught me to understand others and to excuse their temper and pain and to do it with a smile. i smile alot and have discovered that people, taxi drivers, immigration workers, leaders and others do things happily for me when i smile. its a power i didnt know i had ha ha ha :) im glad to have the example of my older brother who went to serve the lord, im greattful for the family i have, sure we are far from perfect but i would not be me with out a little piece of all of them, jonathan in our family has diplomacy. a word i am pondering and reflecting on very much. not hipocracy but diplomacy that comes from the true desire to work together. this conference was very emotional for me i realized it would be the last time i would climb up and down a mountain, race against time and plea with the spirit to bring my bothers and sisters to see the restored gospel in action, to me that is what general confrence is its the fulness of Christ´s gospel in action, in evident proof, tangible, real...a living prophet and 12 apostles like Christ had when he walked amongst us. we had 7 people there the youngest 12 the oldest 84 like the prophet. Karen who is 15 asked so many things on the trip to conference and i said i promise they will all be answered she looked at me puzzled i said trust me. the second speaker spoke of the book of mormon and of baptism and she said he is answering my questions, how? i said he doesnt know you but God knows you very well and he is using this good man to speak to you, she smiled. my blessing says share your cheerfulness freely and let your knowledge of the Lord be known fear not... i have been doing that and striving to do that every day of my mish some days it has been dificult others quite easy but definitely always worth it when i share the gospel with a smile with a laugh like when i did with my friends or with my brother or chris people respond. there is a young man who we contacted and turns out he is a less active, i smiled and said Jose you owe me one he looked surprised but bc i was smiling he couldnt help but smile and said why? i said because you have seen me so many times and you have never said hello sister. so there it is you owe me and big time he laughed and said i didnt want you to preach to me i still have so many problems, i laughed and said thats not my problem is it, say hello when you see us, he said Hello sister, okay thats better but you still owe me so what will it be a trip to church and a serious talk with us or a million bolivianos , he said where am i going to get a million bolivianos i smiled and hna condori said well the trip to church it is. Jose is 19, absent from church for 3 years and the only member of his family that is semi active or member. he came yesterday in a full suit and thanked us for the laugh and the motivation and i said now you owe God one you know, he said oh no what would that be, i said serving a mission he said help me out with that. we said duh thats what we are here to do. it is good to do good it feels great and the Lord puts people in the way that you will be able to reach. i love my mish but its coming to an end way to quick.
 
love / hna florido
 

Christopher's Letter

Dear mom and dad,

This is quite possibly the last week of my time in Siguatepeque.
I don't feel like it should end, but all good movies have siguals.
Other stories.  Other scenary.  Other stars.  A young man has
to grow old and the dust will collect where it was found in the
sand.  But first come the wrinkles.  First comes the problems
and great questions.  I don't really desire having wrinkles,
nor do I want to leave Siguatepeque.  Nevertheless, I am rather
excited for a change.

I have been here for 6 months and 3 weeks.  This weekend
we were able to have the priveledge of having 8 investigators
in the conference.  All of them heard the prophets, and it is
probable that they will all get baptized this month.  Next
Tuesday, we are going to have a baptism of 4 and hopefully
3 more.  Tuesday is the day before the transfers.  Haha.
I desire the salvation of others a somewhat selfishly.  I want to see
it come to pass.

I don't know what else to tell you.  Today we went to Comayaguala,
40 minutes from Siguatepeque, and we spent time with other Elders
and ate pizza.  While they played soccer, I played piano on a real piano,
with pedals, with sustain, which was heavenly.  I love the intimate interaction
with musical instruments, the vibration of the humming chords, the mixture
of sounds in the strings and the metaphorical levation of my soul... Music
is divine and cannot be defined or controlled by dollars and dimes.  In other
words, I declare music a god given right.  A Freedom given unto us by birth
like the governing of the air of one's lungs. My favorite thing about conference is the Music.

I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  I loved "I Believe in Christ" and "Consider
the Lilies."  They are by far my favorite.   You asked, mom, if it makes me homesick
to see the temple and the conference.  And I feel very homesick.  I love the temple.
I love the conference center.  I love the sounds of the words of the prophets.  When
I watch conference, I no longer take notes on WHAT they say, necesarily...  In a talk
that I heard in the MTC, David A. Bednar invited us to listen to his talk, but in stead
of copying down what he said that we should write what the spirit inspired us to write...
That has changed my life.   

I loved the talk about repentance by D. Todd Christofferson.  Repentance is a hard thing
at heart, but it is a gift of God.  I learned that Repentance and Forgiveness are healing
hebs for the soul.  And only God can give them.  I always will remember a talk that I heard
in the MTC by an Elder that went to Spain.  He said that when he was little, his mother
always had her own jar of cookies and that he could only eat them if he had permission
One day when he returned from school, he said that he ate one cookie without permission.
They where so delicious and so tempting and he thought to himself,"I could just have another."

And so went the cycle.  And as he returned yet again to the cookie jar, he noticed that there
were no cookies left.   Where might they have gone?  The Elder said to himself as a little boy,
"What have I done...?"

Soon the mother returned home, got ready to relax and unwind herself.  She went to the cookie
jar as usual and there were no cookies.  She looked with unbelief at her young child and said
nothing, but began to cry.  This young Elder said,"I'm sorry I ate all of the cookies..."

She replied,"Son, there are some things that you can't give back."

And so are many things in life.  Innocense can not be obtained in this world.  It is given once and if we choose to break certain commandments, like the law of chastity, pornography, and
other very grave sins.... you can't take those choices back.  But you do have a second chance
and that is through the love of Christ, Faith, Repentance, Baptism and the Sacrament and
following the holy ghost. 

I will always remember the picture at home of Christ that said,"I never said it would be easy,
I only said it would be worth it."

I love you all so much.

Elder Hill   
 

The Master's Hand

ISABELLA'S LETTER

I was in a really bad internet last week and i couldnt get anything done and now i dont know why this machine wont read my usb so im having a hard time to emailing you my pictures and i have a lot. so guess what... they didnt transfer me and i began to cry the day elder burgoa told me you are staying, and you are going to be in a trio, and your companions are hna condori and hna madrid, i was like what! and i admit i flipped and i said Lord give me a sign that this is inspired and i will relax (i have heard hna condori sent almost sent home many of er companions with nervous breakdowns... not making it up either) and so i was sobbing thinking okay this is His work His glory and i know this is for everyones progress i know it but why am i freaking out, just give me a sign you will be with me through this. and when i think that lady my friend in the ward calls and says sister whats wrong i felt i should call you. she hears me sniffling and runs over and gave me the pep talk of a life time. i followed her instructions and am ignoring the bishop, but being polite and working with those who have the desire to work and made welcome notes for the two sisters and ¨terrible¨ hna condori has been one of the best companions i have had, she is quick on her feet, polite but tenacious and we get so much done. i have prayed to have experienced companions and i sure did get my prayer answered with her. she confesses she heard from the elders i was mean but the sisters all seem to like me and she didnt know who to believe and was nervous. and though i thought it be hard working in a trio we split up and go everywhere in the area the numbers are good. i feel that since i was trained i have been training and its exhousting but now i have hna condori who is just a month younger than me in the mish field and is very responsible and teaches like i do and we get so much done. i only have 3 more transfers and i hope to get another seasoned sister. but not my will but the Lords be done because his will is perfect. i never would have chosen this for myself but He chose and we are seeing miracles happen and its only been a week. Christian got baptised and i felt similar to when Chris bore his testimony in church for the first time.When i recieved his house address i wrote it on the pie recepie janice sent me and i thought this would be a good recepie for a baptism, what did he request for his baptism... anything strawberry! i have been bugging him about serving a mish and he is now seriously thinking about it. he is a young man who has been through so much and he got baptised not because he knew this was true but in his own words ¨i feel like i have more air to breath here and that has to come from God, this tranquility is his¨ i spoke this sunday about Chris and i and how we are also responsible for our brothers activity in the Church and Malu who recently turned 21 and is sending her now fully active boyfriend on a mish thanked me for the talk but whats strange is that i a few hours before church i changed the whole focus of my talk and bore testimony of the atonement as evident by Chris´s change of heart, which is so similar to what she has lived with her boyfriend. funny thing is that our dinner flaked on us and we went over to her families house to eat and i spoke of missions and their eternal reward and she cried and said i think thats all was waiting to hear. i think im going to go too. another funny thing is her last name is Florido. i hope this makes sense its a bunch or little coincidences that are in actuality beautifully orchestrated miracles brought about by the Masters hand. whats interesting about a mish is that you plant one seed hoping it gives fruit but it grows into a tree that gives many fruits and each of those fruits have seeds and of those how many trees will grow and fruit and give seed is known only to the Lord i am now fully understanding that many missionaries baptize not 13 in my case ot 20 but thousands. im sure that the missionaries that knocked on my fathers door didnt forsee him on a mission, and his kids on a mission and little natalie and really we are purely the product of missionary work and how could have i stayed home? i would have regreated it all my life. well i love you and my mish and i hope to make my father in heaven proud thanks for your support, and chris i got your letter muchas gracias amor por decirme que eres mi converso. te amo!

hna florido

 

 

 

CHRISTOPHER'S LETTER

 

I love you all so much. Thank you for your sacrifices.
I am sad that I cant go to the wedding. Thank you
for the ties. Thank you for your letters. You are the
best parents in the world. I am really bad with money.
I promise that I will improve.

Oh, we had a baptism this week of a teenager who
didnt want to get baptized with his family a few years
ago.

Elder Hill

Baptism number 20 for Christopher and a beautiful & Glowing Isabella (finally!!!)  Makes this Mom happy!  I have never seen Isabella look more beautiful and my son standing taller and so happy!  Heavenly Father has definitely heard and answered this Mom's prayers and I am so grateful!

  Until next Monday....

A very Happy Birthday!!!

We received two emails from Chris today with photos and music.  We have not heard from the beautiful girl today.  I have a sneaking suspicion she was probably transferred and so maybe we will hear from her tomorrow or the next day!

Christopher's First Email

Queridos Padres,

Os doy las gracias por haberme mandado la pelicula en que
me entonaron Feliz Cumpleaños. Muchisimas gracias. En
este correo electronico, os mando la grabada de mi tocando
el espiritu de Dios, dos fotos de un bautismo que tuvimos el
sabado y algunos de mi fiesta el domingo. Los miembros
de la rama me aman mucho y me han dado mucho realmente.
Espero, mama, que aprendas a hablar en español. Hay que
hacerlo ya. La mañana no espera a la noche; solo viene cuando
venga.

Con amor,
Elder Hill

Dad's translation:

Dear Parents,

I give you thanks for having sent me the movie in which you sang Happy Birthday!  Many many thanks!  In this email I send the recording of me playing "The Spirit of God Like A Fire Is Burning", photos of a baptism we had Saturday and some of my party.  The members of the branch love me much and have given me much!  I hope, Mama that you learn to speak Spanish. Now is the time to learn.  The morning doesn't wait for the night; it comes when it may come.

With love

Elder Hill

Christopher's Second Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

I hope that you know that I had a really, really wonderful

birthday. I think I was sang to, like, 5 times. I was given
a pair of new expensive shoes, a souvenier keychain
made of wood that says HONDURAS. The 17th, we
had the best baptism of my mission, a sister who is named
Damaris. She has had a powerful conversion. The 18th
in church, after the meetings, I saw young man named
Cesar, who I have taught for 6 months here. We have
invited him and his sister to get baptized many times.
This Sunday was his first Sunday in church in a very long
time, the first since I have been here. I had a strong impression
to show him the baptismal font, and long story short.
I showed it to him and asked him to get baptized. He began
to cry and said that he was thinking about getting baptized
during the class. He will be my 20th baptism, and if his
sister gets baptized that willl be terrific. We are also hoping
to baptize a family of 5 this coming week. The dad has been

attending church for one month and this weekend he didnt
go drinking with his friends. My joy is full!

In the night time, I was truly blessed. One of my converts
and her sister made for me tres leches, which was really
really good. I also had received another invitation by a
family that I love a lot. We have had lots of special moments
together. We gave a blessing to the grandmother of the
family once and the spirit was so strong that I could stop
crying. I was overwhelmed for 15 or 20 minutes. The doctors
said that she was going to die because she broke her hip in a fall,
and we gave her a priesthood blessing in the hospital. She is
healing incredibly quick.


We went to this house, and they made us dinner with a cooked
wild hen from their house, potato salad and really, really delicious
rice. Hermana Kaylin made me a cake too. They sang to me
and at the end they sang,"mordida! mordida!" Which means to
bite. But... I didnt want to, but I did it and my companion pushed
my face into the cake.

I hope that you like all of the pictures, and no, I havent received
your package. This truly was the best birthday ever. I wish I could
always be in the mission work. We need to do better.

I wanted to share with you something. I learned in my study with
my companion that the book of Mormon is the proof that Jesus is
the Christ. Really, the bible isnt proof. It is just a witnees, but like
it says in Corinithians, by the word of two or three witnesses I will
reveal my will. The book of mormon testifies to the jews and all
of the the other religions that Jesus is the Christ. I hope that you
can all understand that. If the book of mormon is true, it means
that this is his church and that He is the savior of all. I want you
all to remember how important the book of mormon is.

WIth lots of love,
Elder Hill

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY!!!  Love you, Son!!!

Peace!!! & A Happy Birthday!

Isabella's Letter
what can i do i really dont know how to get along with the bishop and i still dont know the transfers bc the president was out of town so we get told today if i go somewhere new but i feel so frustrated to still have a crummy relationship with him and his family that makes up most of the wards leadership. his wife said sister speak with love which i feel i do, i told him to read 2 nefi 9 40. afterwards im not sure it was the best thing to do bc of his reaction. but i keep reading to myself alma 7 23 and 24 i really want to be like jesus and my pride gets in the way darn pride! i love cala cala, the meek and ¨weak¨ of the ward the ones that some leave to the side they are the best they make me laugh we serve one another we are like our own little zion. i wonder if i get to train and stay here or if they ship me off. leaving investigators thats the hard part even if they are little stubborn... you learn to love them so much you nurture them, feed them go to bed thinking of them you pray for them in your heart throughout the day you fast for them your heart breaks when they dont progress or when they feel the gospel is true but run in the other direction. danielita made a necklace others made me dinner one made me cry he said im going to talk to the president. so hard if they do ship me off so hard if i stay, but what ever the Lords will is, i know its going to be for the best of me, the ward, the bishop, the investigators and my companion. his will is perfect and magnificent. so i will be letting you know que pasa.


hna florido

ps i really need liquid for my lenses and chris i wrote you hopefully it gets there on you birthday.


Christopher's Letter


Dear Mom and Dad,
I have had a very good week. When I thought we weren't doing so well with our goals and numbers, I was surprised that we were carrying along just fine. We didn't have any baptisms this week, but I am happy to report that this week, we will have one baptism of a Sister who is quite converted to the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. She, this week, had a dream in which she was pleading with God if this was the true church. To which she beheld a bright, blinding light like the sun in the sky and suddenly woke up with a strong feeling in her chest. I asked her the day before she had the dream, "Sister, do you believe that this is the true church of Jesus Christ?" To which she responded,"Well... I'm not really sure." The day after her dream, I repeated to her the same question. "Yes, I know this is the true church," she replied. Ha! I love this job.

More and more, I'm becoming an old man here. Haha. I can feel changes that I have never felt before. And all of the sudden, I really dislike bananas. From one day to the other, I have lost all enjoyment of eating a banana. Of which, there exist more than 10 or 20 varieties of bananas. In the last week, I have eaten so much more meat than I have consumed in my entire mission! Haha. I love eating everything that there is to eat, but my body says to me that it wants vegetables. Greens. Grasses. Spring water. 'sigh'

My companion is really funny and tries to sell me everything he has. His ipod, his shoes, his electric razor, and his watch. Haha. It makes me laugh.

I want to thank you for all that you have done. The mission has really saved my life. I would have been a fowl, irresponsable creature if I had never lived and suffered the life of a missionary. From my youth, I was blessed to recognize the spirit, but the discipline is something that I have always lacked. In school. In diet. In the arts. I never completed anything. I think for that same reason, I am going to have to fight with all my heart to baptize a big family.

I, too, Dad, have wanted to go to the temple and do sessions in Spanish. I am really glad that you went. I hope that you both are taking care of your health. I pray for your both always, especially in this aspect. I wish to know you with all my heart.

I love you so much.

With love,
Elder Hill

It is Elder Hill's 24th birthday on Sunday (the last birthday I must endure without him too!) Happy Birthday Chrissy Bear!!! I love you and miss you son!