Interviews with the President!

Well this week was good and bad. Lets start with the good.

On thursday, The mission president came to have interviews with us. It was a really crazy day because we had to do alot of things in such little time. We started the day after lunch. I was able to give a training to my District and I really thought it went well. I enjoy the opportunity to give these trainings each week because when I plan for them I learn so much about things I need to do better and things that would help the work! The assistents to the president were there so It was a little different but it went well! I was the very last one to be interviewed in the zone so I had to stay there from 2 til 6:30. It was really boring, but missionaries know how to have fun in boring situations.

The interview with the president went really well. We had a great talk and I really felt the spirit with him. He always knows exactly what to say to help me!  After the interview I had the great pleasure to have the mission president as a companion! We went on splits and worked together for the rest of the night. We went to teach a lesson at a nonmember/less active family and it went really well. The president knew exactly how to answer the questions and invite the spirit.

When the night ended we passed by the bishops house to say hi. They surprised us with a huge dinner! It was really funny because you could tell that the president really didnt want to eat but the bishop kept throwing food on his plate to make him stay longer. I had a great time and the food was excelent! We ended up coming home at 10:30. I made the joke ``Hey companion, do you think we should ask Sister Castro (his wife) for permission to stay out past 9:30??´´ haha.. 

So the week started to get worse on Saturday. After lunch we prepared for a  Stake activity and baptism of some other missionarys. We were at the church the whole day and I had the biggest headache! It lasted the whole day and it was painfull! My head was throbbing and I was dizzy. I finally got home at 9 and thought things would get better. It didnt! Long story short I ended up throwing up... a few times. It was a horrible night to say the least.

Sunday I woke up a little better, but I had no energy. I was able to make it through the day. Our little sacrament we had was nice as usual. Now we have sunday school at 3 and sacrament meeting at 4. It was 3:10 and the bishopric wasnt there so I decided to start the meeting alone! My companion was in charge of the primary and I was able to teach the lesson. The Bishopric walked in halfway through and they were pretty impressed that we took the initiative. Im just really glad that they showed up because I dont know the rules about holding a sacrament meeting without a member of the bishopric.....

Tuesday we had a family night in our area. Tons of people showed up and it was a great hit! One of the members owns a ``snack stand´´ that sells hotdogs and hambergurs so he made us all hotdogs. Its was a really good night and a few people went to church because of the sucess.

So I have one more announcement to make. For the last few months I have been feeling some knee pain. The president made me schedual an exam so I will be going to the doctor this Wednesday. Im sure its nothing to worry about but I need an exam so they can fix the problem without it getting worse.

Thats all for this week,

Elder Horst

if you build it.......they will come!

Haha so this week I have had alot of fun! Living with three other missionaries, two being american, is always a blast! We have been ´playing the movie quote game today so that kinda explains the subject line (field of dreams). But at the same time it also has a really good message behind it! Ill explain later

So this week passed by so quickly! I cant believe that I have 11 months in the mission. Its gone by so fast and im so scared for how fast its gonna go from here! So the areas been great. We have been working really hard and its really paying off. We dont have any baptisms yet, but those are sure to come next!

So heres a good story. Its about the importance of being a friend and an example to everyone. A few weeks ago we were heading to the bus stop to go home. We passed a home with a few people sitting outside and I started to talk with them! It seemed to be just fine when out walked a lady. When she saw us she started yelling at us and telling us to go away! I tried asking for an explination on why she didnt like us and she just kept saying that she doesnt ever want to see us again and she would never ever talk to us! I kept trying to talk to her but nothing was working. I finally said, `Why dont you like me? What did I do to you?´ Than she started telling a story about a missionary that passed by her house a long long time ago. I dont want to get into too many details but he wasnt a good missionary, and did something bad to that family. Ever since, this lady has had a hatred for us!

So I wasnt really sure what to do. I understood why she was mad at us but at the same time I wanted to explain to her that the sins of one man doesnt represent who we are as a church! I sat down with her on the side of the road and she didnt even want to look at me! I asked her if I could come back and she replied that she doesnt want to know about my church! I told her that next time I come over I wont say anything about the church, we can just have a nice conversation and be good friends.

So thats what happened. I went over there two times and, as promised, I didnt share a message. I noticed that everytime I was over she would open up to me a little more. She would even be a little sad when we left. Last night I passed there and when I walked through the door the first thing she said was, ``I want to know more about what you do!´´ I asked her why and she replied `Because Im lost and need help´´ for the rest of the night she shared her feelings and problems with me and we had a nice lesson about prayer. How cool is that? Its just one of the many examples of how we need to love everyone. Its an example of the spirit and the power he has to change people. Its proof that members of this church are examples to the world. They will see what we do. When they see how happy we are doing it, they will want it too:)

We have another investigator named Jessica and her mom Rose. They are really special. Jessica is a professional at lasso and she promised that she would teach me a few tricks so im pretty excited for that.

Remember Danielle, our baptism for this saturday? Well last week we told her that she needed to go to church this week or we would have to post pone her baptism. She was faced with a hard decision because her boyfriend came home from a 2 month trip on sunday and she wanted to be with him. Hmmm Church or Boyfriend?? Unfortunitally she picked the boyfriend and she cant get baptised this week.. Its kinda sad but I am excited to keep teaching her and preparing her for the waters of baptism.

So my companion has 4 weeks in the mission. The start of the mission is really hard for most missionaries. On Thursday night he kinda had a breakdown and on friday he just layed in bed and wouldnt talk to anyone haha. SO thats how I spent my birthday. Sitting in the house. On the bright side, I made pancakes!!!! Later that night, the bishop and his wife came over. They gave him a little pep talk and bought me a cake, some lunch, and a lot of fruit:) So it turned out good in the end:)

The bishop of this ward is awesome. He is a great example to me and a big help.

Well thats all I have to write about for this week! 

Love, 

Elder Horst 

Mother's note:

  Elder Horst sent me this announcement from his mission president:

Á From today, you are allowed to send e-mails outside the family, also friends, priesthood leaders and converts. Time internet usage will increase from 1:00 to 1:30. My only recommendation is to be wise in this important matter, sending e-mails brief and

edifying.

Elder Horst's email is    sean.horst@myldsmail.net

Another Successful Week!

Well this week has been so much fun! Im starting to get comfortable and settled  which has really helped me. This is by far the best two weeks of my mission and its just going to keep getting better!

Monday: Every Monday we have a family night at someones house in the ward. Almost thirty people show up to the event. It starts late at 8:30 but the bishop called and got permission for the missionaries to stay out late and get a ride home. A few months ago, a whole family was baptised just because of these family nights so usually theyre a real success. My first one was on Monday and it was so fun. There were tons of people to talk to, a lot of food to eat, and a nice message about the sacrament. We will have another one tonight

Me sleeping in the elevator on the way to our fifth floor apartment :)

Well my companion is suffering from.. ``im not used to the food and climate here so im getting sick disease"  that happens to alot of new missionaries. He is kinda being wimpy about it but ive convinced him that it will pass quickly and we have been able to work without too many interruptions. He is a really great companion. He is starting to adjust living in a house with three other missionaries so thats good. Hes also starting to talk alot more which is really great.

We have been spending alot of the week visiting less actives and our investigators. Its been packed with good stuff.

On our way home from one service project.

Working on a service project, didn't have time to change.

Building a fence was hard work, especially in the heat!

We are building a form to pour cement for the fence.

These were our shoes after the service project......I'm the one holding the camera.

First ill talk about my investigator Danielle. She is an 18 year old girl. We started visiting her after a reference from her cousin. She has a baptism date for 23 of March. She has recently come upon some doubts about the church but I told her that she has these doubts because she hasnt been going to church. Than I promised her that if she goes to church, she will be more than prepared for baptism. Lets see how it goes...

This week I passed a less active woman  named Adriana. She is a mother of four girls and a boy. The second time we passed there in the week, we found out that she was sent to the hospital because she was sick. The next morning we went there just to say hi but  the nurse kinda kicked us out. She was released that night and I went to her house where she asked for a blessing. It was really a great experience. She promised that on Sunday she wouldnt go to church because she was still sick but all her kids would!

Saturday I called the bishop telling him that we would need more chairs at the new church building.

Sunday was a day packed full of things to do. I prepared a talk for the SECOND sacrament meeting of the day. When I arrived at the first, they asked me to give a talk.. haha good thing I already had one prepared. Lunch was good. Then we got ready for the second sacrament meeting. Its so fun to see my friends and members walking down the street with nice clothes and a smile on their face coming to church! The building was filling up and I was getting worried about how many chairs we had. Next thing you know, a group of 15 kids started walking down the street. They were the children of Adriana with all their friends and cousins. haha luckily we had space for everyone. Last week we had 13 people from my area with the help from a few members that lived in the center of the city(Who go to the first sacrament).  This week we had 32 people!! How cool is that? Im hoping next week it will continue to grow. I gave another talk for the second meeting and I felt the spirit really strongly.

Well its been hard to type today and im kinda distracted so sorry if none of it makes sense haha.

Until next week,

Elder Horst

This is a view of our area.

Horses wander around everywhere, this one is letting me touch him.

It's Sean's birthday on Friday, March 15.  I sent him a red velvet cake mix with a can of cream cheese frosting.  He always does things ahead of time !!!

Happy 20th Birthday Elder Horst :)

Bage!

Sorry for the typos. Im writing fast!

Well, how do I begin? This week has been full of things to talk about that I dont think I can get through it all. How can so much change in such little time?? Well, Ill try to take it day by day and not forget anything.

TUESDAY: Well this was officially transfer day. I was really excited to see my new companion. We bought a taxi to the mission home and were there at 12. The new missionaries were really late so there was alot of down time but the president took us out to eat at a buffet. After everything seemed to settle down we had a little training on how to be  a good trainer. I was able to talk to a few people that will be working in my zone and got to know Bage a bit. Then the new missionaries (22 new. 6 sisters. 1 American). I was assigned to be training Elder Ferreira! (I think he will get a name change cause theres already one here.) Elder Ferreira is from Manaus. He is 20 years old and a convert to the church. Only his mom is a member and she left the church. He seems to be a good missionary who wants to work. And im excited to be with him.

President called me over to talk with him for a minute. He asked me how I was doing and gave me a big hug! Than he said Congratulations on being District Leader! I was shocked! So now, not only am I training and opening a new area, im district leader for the first time! What a huge responsibility. I am so excited for the opportunity and the chance to be an example to the other Elders.

So we were all running real late that day. We loaded up the bus to go to the bus station. I get there and a few of my favorite members from my other area were there waiting to say goodbye to me! We snapped one last photo and ran to the bus port. Bage is a 5 hour bus ride. We got there at midnight. I didnt really mind the bus. I didnt sleep much but I enjoyed it.

Sunset on the way to Bage

I live in the house with our Leaders of the Zone. Its really fun being around them and nice cause I can learn alot from their work and example. Its also really easy to pass informatino and numbers cause we sleep right next to each othe :) My roommates are Elder Lambrechtsen from Riverton High (Utah) and Elder Henderson from Colorado. Theyre really cool guys although I think my companion feels a little out of place being with three Americans! We never speak English in the house.

A good sight to see when I walked in the room!

So Wednesday was my first day of work. Let me explain a bit about our area and what I will be doing here. Im in the Castela ward. They are trying to create a new branch. My job is to work in the area where the new branch will be. I need to reactivate members and bring new people into the ward to help grow the church in the area. Once we can get enough priesthood holders, they will be able to split the ward.

The problem is that my area is really really poor. They cant afford the bus to go to church every week. A member bought a house in my area and we had church there for the first time this Sunday. I wll explain more later. But in the morning I go to regular church and the afternoon we have a sacrament meeting in my area with the members there and the leaders of the ward.

So Wednesday I was walking with the map in front of my face trying to find my area. After a while of walking a man in front of a house stopped to talk to me. It turns out that he is the Elders Quorum President! He spent the rest of the day with us. We took his car to many members houses and he gave me a tour of my area. He also explained what the ward wanted me to do there. I am so grateful for him because he truly made the day really productive and helped me get to know my new area. It was truly a miracle that the map took me to the front of his home :)

Thursday was a better day. I now had a plan and a little bit of a knowledge of my area. We went to a old investigators house who hasnt progressed since October. Her name is Daniele. She is super cool. We were able to talk about her fears and doubts about baptism and at the end of the day we marked a baptismal date for the 23! I am so excited for her to progress and be baptised. When we left her house we decided to knock on some doors. Without a warning, a horse came running full speed at us down the road! I got a little nervous and just walked to the edge of the road. I look down the street and my companion is running away as fast as he can screaming RUN!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahhahaha. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Although the horse was huge, fast, and it was kinda scary. Theres not as many dogs here but there are horses and cows on every road and they are free to roam around wherever they want. We have to be kinda careful about that I guess.... haha

Taking a quick break on the side of the road.

There are so many horses here, but theyre nice to be around..... sometimes!

I asked to take a photo with a horse and the man said it would look better if I got on top!! Unfortunately I couldnt ride him.

Oh ya.....

Well I know im skipping lots of news and information but Ill skip to Saturday. Saturday morning we had a service project to work on the new house where we will have sacrament meeting. We painted, pulled weeds, filled holes in the walls and did everything.... It was really fun. Throughout the whole week I have been inviting everyone to come to church.

Sunday came by quickly. I was lucky to get my package from my mom at church! Sacrament was really nice and I got to meet the rest of the members that dont live in my area. Then we had lunch. At three we went to the other sacrament meeting. There were about 25 people there (fifteen of them lived in my area and will be part of the new branch and ten live in the other area but were there to support) I can easily say that it was the most spiritual sacrament meeting I have EVER had. When we sung it sounded like millions of people were sitting in the seats behind me. Truly there were angels singing there with us. Almost every single person there was able to bear their testimony and they were all so grateful to be able to have sacrament so close to them. I went up to bear my testimony and I was all shaky. It was hard for my words to come out but I bore a powerful testimony about the church and its growth. I will never forget that meeting and how special it was to all of us.

The members of the very first sacrament meeting in my area. 

Definitely not to be the last :) History in the Making.

Well that was pretty much my week. Im head high in responcibility and work. I have to prepare a talk for the new sacrament in our area. The ward is really expecting alot from me and I am trying my best to work hard. Its an hour walk just to arrive in our area so thats kinda hard haha. I walk there and take the bus home at night cause its dangerous here. After my first three days here I lost 5 pounds! I Think it was just from the stress and all the walking. Its SUPER hard to open a new area. Now imagine doing it while training and being District Leader for the first time :)

Dont worry about me! Ive never been so happy and have had so much fun in my life! I love living here and I hope to stay in this area for a long time to see my new area grow!!! I love you all and pray for you often.

Love,

Elder Horst

Transfer Day!

Well its almost 10:30 and I was supposed to know about transfers a half hour ago! Im sure it will be a good one. Either way, ill let you know at the end of this email, or you will just have to wait til next week:) This week was SO much fun with the members. Ill share a few things that went on.

Last Monday, we had a family night at a members house. The son of the family invited over one of his friends which was really cool. We started the night with the spiritual message. I always try to make messages at Family night a little more special and important than the regular ones at lunch each day. I talked about repentance then we watched the 20 minute video about the last week of the life of Jesus Christ (The Lamb of God). Than I shared with them how through the atonement of Christ, we have the opportunity to repent and be saved! It was a really sweet and spiritual message.

The family that we had pizza night with. Theyre really sad that im leaving.

 (The daughter is 16 and kinda flirty. Thats why she is so dang close to me in the photo) Uncomfortable!!!

The next part of the family night was the food. Well after six months here in São Tomé the members have really gotten to know me and know my favorite foods (Pizza and Ice Cream) for the family night they made homemade pizza that was so good! They used to have a restaurant so it was just like the kind you would buy. They had all kinds of toppings (that were so good!) and the pizzas just kept coming. By the end of the night, the 7 of us ate 12 pizzas!!! Hahaha. They kept telling me that Americans love pizza and I have to eat more than everyone else.... so I did! It was almost a fantasy for me ;)

Just like most of the last weeks in the transfer, it passed VERY quickly. I dont even recall how the whole week went because it went so fast that I dont remember it all. I can assure you it was a great and spiritual week for working.

My best best friend Luisa. She is so adorable. I will miss her so much!

Saturday I planned an activity for a English Class. Its always been my dream to hold an English class and there were many people that asked for it here so I thought I would get started. It was really fun! Not many people were there because it was a holiday, but I think that it was definitely a success. I really like teaching English. It helps me with both my languages and I love helping others learn English because they help me every day with Portuguese. I made a little worksheet with homework for them to do. By the end of the class they were able to say phrases, (I like dogs.) negative phrases, ( I dont like dogs) and questions ( Do you like dogs?) By the end of the day they were being able to conversate with each other using these three types of questions. It was really fun and I want to continue to do it for the rest of the mission. Doing a English class is also a hotspot to get references. Everyone wants to learn English for free!!!!

My English class.

 Khayke is the one in the red soccer shirt. I taught him to prepare him for baptism.

 He is the brother to Luisa. He really likes me too and sits by me at church.

Saturday night we went to my dear friends Robson & Grazi and their family. They were celebrating Robson and Grazieles birthdays. It was so fun to see them and their whole family because im pretty sure im leaving the area tomorrow! We had charrasco for dinner and some really tasty cake! and of course... Coke-Cola!

Caroline, Pracila, Grazi, me, Durby, Luisa, Brenda, Julia, and Khayke.

 My favorite family! I will miss them so much!

 Whenever I arrive at their house all the kids scream ELDER HORST! and run to see me.

Chorrasco! Its makes meat so much more yummy!

Yesterday was a very beautiful Sunday. I loved all the talks and lessons that we had. I was able to bless the sacrament which is a huge blessing for me. When I looked into the crowd I noticed that I loved every single person there. I knew the names of every single person down to the new born baby and the less-active that we havent seen in a few months. It feels that im not just a missionary, but a member of the Branch family. I love being here. Its so funny how you can have such a love for people after only a short time SERVING them. I have a testimony through personal witness that when we serve our brothers and sisters, we will create a love for them that is unlike any other love that you have felt in your life. Its a love that will never fade.

A member in the branch who cried with she heard I was (probably) leaving.

The Branch President and his family.

 ( Were having a pizza night at their house tonight:) 

Theyve grown to love me too!!

Well... im about to wrap up this email and my district leader still hasnt called (We have a huge zone so im sure it takes a while to get all the information passed down). Im pretty sure im getting transferred. I HOPE Im getting transferred because my bags are already packed haha. So that would really stink if I did all that work for nothing. hahaha. (BTW I am an expert packer! Literally one of the best. I received so many presents, books, and random things over the last six months I wasnt sure if I had room for everything. I was able to get it all in without having to leave anything behind. Cachow!! And I did it all in an hour and a half!

Well thanks for all your love and support,

Elder Horst

BIG NEWS!!!

Okay, first of all im getting transferred to Bage. I remember when I first opened my calling I really wanted to go there... its kinda like the worst area haha because its the farthest away so its hard to get supplies and letters and stuff.

Bigger news. I will open a brand new area which is hard to do but I am really excited.

Biggest news. I am training a greenie!!!!! I will find out tomorrow who my new companion will be, but he will be fresh.. American or Brazilian? I dont know.. but im so super excited.

Wahoo!

Elder Horst

The last District Meeting of the transfer E. Horst, E Jenson, E Lima, E Xavier, E Andrade, and I dont know the other ones name because he is on a mini mission for just a few weeks.

It's Starting to Cool Down! Wahoo!

Well lets start with some good news! Its starting to get ´cool´ at night. Its still hot in the day, and not even close to cold in the night, but its starting to get a bit cooler at night which really helps me sleep:) Im sure its starting to get a bit hotter in the states to so thats nice.. but be blessed for a bit of cold weather!

Lets start this letter with a trip to the Hospital. On Wednesday we went to the doctor for my companions kidney stones. He got one of those baby exams and they found stones in each of his kidneys. Than they did some tests cause they want to know why he gets so sick when he is so young?? Unfortunitally he didnt get fixed. But he feels good and he wants to go out and get some work done this week! Its the last week of the transfer so im excited to work too.

We had another meeting with the whole zone on Saturday with the President. It was so uplifting, motivating, and fun to hear and be trained from our President. He is such a spectacular person. Let me share a few more things about him. He used to be a high class Lawyer before the mission. He has 3 cool kids. The kids know me as Santa Clause, (Because of my stunt on Christmas), but I was surprised to know that they also know my name without looking at my name tag. Our president is 42 years old. The youngest president in the world right now! What a man...

Back to the meeting we had. It was awesome! The president is really preparing us to split the zone next week and prepare for another stake sometime in the future. He is giving our zone special treatment too! He was inspired to introduce a new program that we will use to have a better relationship with the ward and work harder on less active members. Its a genius idea and I am so excited to get working on it. I wont give all the details but its so good that Ill probably use it for the rest of my mission. I am so thankful for a mission president who receives revelation to make our mission better each and every transfer.

Our investigators are doing just fine. Because of my companions sickness, we dont spend too much time finding new people, but thats ok because between the investigators and less actives that we visit, it takes up all our time! I am really happy with where I am on the mission and happy that I can serve the Lord in Rio de Grande Sul, Brazil, (or as we called it in the CTM, The land down under!)

Transfer day is next week and the rumor is that I will be transferred after 6 short months! I am excited to go to another area, meet new people, have new experiences, and more success too!

Heres a question. Using sunblock is important. If I dont use it my face gets red and more prone to cancer. If I use it, my nice white shirts will get yucky yellow stains on it.. What do I do?

I would like to congratulate the chickens who live behind my house for having babies. They are very loud....

All is well here! Especially because our internet house just upgraded to air conditioning!!  I hope its all good there too!

Love, Elder Horst

Apple sauce cake. It didnt work out too well because I cant find apple sauce at the store. I dont think they have it! So I added water...

And I didnt have an egg but I really wanted to make it. So I added water, oil, and baking powder! It was good, but I didnt like it because it wasnt like yours (Mom). My companion liked it though!

Carnival!

Well This week is the Brazilian holiday, Carnival. Its their cultural celebration. Just think of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but alot worse. And they celebrate it in all the states, so its a big big thing! Luckily, it doesnt affect me at all and this week has been just like all the rest! I have a few important things to talk about but I think this email will be a bit short.

 

First of all, on Monday we got a reference from other missionaries about a guy in our area who wants missionary lessons. We passed by there on Wednesday and it was really fun! The guys name is Claudia. He is around 60 years old. His wife died from breast cancer and last year he picked up a disease and lost his eye sight. So you can imagine that the last few years of his life have been very dramatic. He doesnt have very much faith in God or Jesus but he wants to know more and have a faith in his life. I really loved talking with him. We have a baptism scheduled for the end of the month and we are really excited to teach him!

 

We had a special zone meeting on Friday with the mission president and the stake president in our area. They announced that they are really close to creating a new stake in our zone ad needed our help! We received alot of instructions and things that we needed to focus on to increase the membership and strengthen the area. We will be receiving trainings from the mission president every week for the next few months which is a huge blessing! I think i will be getting transferred at the end of the month but Im very happy and excited to be a part of this!

 

My companion is doing just fine. He has an appointment at the hospital on Wednesday and I hope that everything will get taken care of by then!

 

Im doing just great on the mission! Sunday I was able to give a last minute talk on the Holy Ghost and I thought that I did really good!

 

Well, I said that it would be short, sorry Mom! Thanks for all,

 

Love,

ELder Horst