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

My Poor Companion!

Well, this week has really changed the pace of our transfer! On Tuesday, we woke up and went to our weekly district meeting. My companion was feeling a bit sick but we just thought it was because of the water. (The last few weeks we have really been getting sick from the water... like using the bathroom all day sick. We bought some mineral water and now we are feeling much better!) When the meeting ended my companion pulled me aside and said that he was not sick because of the water! He reminded me that before the mission he had many problems with the kidney. He told me that he was feeling sick because he had a kidney stone! The poor guy... So Sister Castro set up an appointment to go to the hospital on Wednesday and check things out. Tuesday we pretty much took it easy in the house.

On Wednesday we went to the hospital in Porto Alegre. The doctor just set up another appointment (next week) and told him a few ways to be careful and prevent pain! I felt like I really took on the mother role this week! I packed him a bag for the hospital with water, food, and a few books! Every five minutes I seem to be asking him if he is feeling okay and if he needs anything. haha I think he thinks its real annoying! He cant drink soda and has to take it easy on meat and beans (EVERYTHING WE EAT HERE) so ive helped him out with that and kept him on track.

Dont get too worried or anything. My companion feels fine each day but we just have to take it easy. He doesnt have much energy and doesnt wanna overdo it! We usually get a few good lessons each day and not much more.

Since the week has been kinda slow, ill just share a few thoughts that are in my head right now. First, ill talk a bit to those preparing for a mission.  Buy a good backpack!!! Its your most important possesion that you will use each and every day! I bought a really nice, heavy duty, but breathable backpack. I like small backpacks. Mine only fits two books, my camera, and plenty of pamphlets. I feel like if you get a bigger backpack, youll just use that as an excuse to pack more, which will make you more tired throughout the day!

Okay, ya know how there are a few simple things that are annoying to you when they shouldnt be? Or things that you love to do but are really simple? Ill share a few of mine! I hate when people zip up my backpack. I like to have both zippers meet at the top.. for easy access next time. Everyone seems to zip it up to the side... Understand? Its hard to explain.

I love to run my head under water. I take two (sometimes 3) showers a day because its really hot. But when im not taking a shower I love to rinse my head under the sink faucet or shower. Its the best.

Im starting to lose my English really fast! People ask me to translate a word and I dont remember it! Luckily my companion speaks English pretty good so he replies for me:) Yesterday I thought that Robinhoods name was Robinwood.. It seemed so normal to me and my companion said.. isnt it Robinhood? I got really embarrassed that my companion knows more than me hahha.

So yesterday was the Superbowl huh? I didnt hear a word about it here! Yesterday was the gre-nal. Or Gremio vs. Inter. Its the big rival game here in Rio Grande de Sul. Its such a big deal to these people... and gremio lost. (its always my team that loses big games!)

Last week my mom asked me to take pictures of my shoes. (I think she just secretly wanted to inspect their condition because she knows I wont tell her!) So I shined them up a bit and snapped the shot. Two hours later in the road I took another picture.. They were so dusty! Why do I even try? haha.

I also sent a really funny video. Well.. I have a problem. I like to celebrate my birthday more than one time each year! I didnt remember about this, but apparently on facebook, my birthday is in January. Well here is a video of a party some of my friends had for me! Dont worry, I let them know it wasnt really my birthday, but we just had some good clean fun!

(Sorry, I couldn't upload it....)

I am rounding out 10 months in the mission field! Things are great and I feel really good. I feel so natural here in Brazil and I love living here! Im thankful for every day here and the opportunities ive had.

I guess this all for now. I hope you liked my extremely random email this week. Have a good time in the snow. Love ya!

Elder Horst

Personal Revelations and the Trial of your Faith

Well this week has been a Grand Slam, as the Americans call it. We have worked really hard and have some really good investigators. We have seen miracles, apostles, and much happiness this week but at the same time have been blessed with hardships.

First Ill start with the hardships. This week has been so great! Weve worked really hard with our progressing investigators and have been really bold to invite them to follow Jesus Christ. By Saturday, we had a whole list of people that were ready and prepared to come to church. NONE of them came!!! AHH how annoying is that? It didnt help that it was held at the stake center because of conference either. This whole week we have been teaching investigators about Ether 12. That we only receive faith AFTER the trial of our faith. In other words, they wouldnt receive a testimony about this church until after they have visited and felt the spirit. All my investigators seemed to agree and were excited to attend.

It wasnt until Sunday night that I realised I was being tested of my faith. It wasnt easy sitting in Stake Conference without any investigators. It definitely wasnt easy knowing that many of the goals we had for baptism fell for the date we had planned. It was hard for me and my companion. Thats when I realized that maybe my companion and I were being tested. Maybe the Lord wanted to know if I was strong enough and prepared to teach and invite his children to the waters of baptism. Im not sure why it happened, but I know that this week my companion and I will continue to work hard, continue to invite our investigators to feel the spirit and become converted, and continue to keep the commandments and have the spirit with us.

Ill share a little about my investigators. First there is Marlisa and her daughter Michelle who is 17 years old. They read the Book of Mormon and pray together when they have time. They both know the Book of Mormon is true and Marlisa has already received an answer. The problem is that they havent been to church yet. I know that when they go to church, their beliefs will become testimonies. They agreed to be baptised when they receive a full answer of this gospel.

Marcelo is a grandson of a less-active member. His brother is also less active in the church. We are working hard to bring the Grandfather to church and baptise Marcelo.

Bruna and her brother Luan. Bruna is 19 and over the last 6 months of her life her father has become ill with some kind of deadly disease. He is starting to get better but is completely dependant on her to help him with everything. Since she has been faced with this trial, she has thought alot about religion and her purpose in life. She is progressing really well and promised to pray about the Book of Mormon. She prayed in front of us for the first time in her life. She says that she likes the feelings that she gets but needs to take it slow because religion is a new thing for her.

Ana Claudia is a mother in her late forties. She is having problems with smoking and drinking. She drinks when she is sad and lonely. She quits smoking than starts again. The good thing is that she is ready to turn to the Lord and get help. She has looked me in the eye and told me that she will be baptised when she gets the answer. She is full of faith and im excited to teach her.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to listen to David A. Bednar. A true apostle of Jesus Christ. It was one of the most wonderful experience of my life. Just as he said, being with an apostle, two members of the quorum of 70, A member from the area presidency, and your mission president, and being in a group of 60 people will never ever happen again! We were able to ask great questions. I learned so much about the church by the things he taught. He taught us how to receive answers from the Lord. I learned how to teach and convert my investigators. And just as important, he taught us skills that help me for the rest of my life! I was blessed to see and hear him. OH and yes, I wore the ugly family tie:)

(This is the tie if you can zoom in and see it....this photo was taken in July, 2012)

Well ill wrap it up for this week! Be safe and remember to do everything good to always have the spirit with you.

Love,

Elder Horst

Baptisms!

Well this week has been very special and amazing for me. First of all, today is transfer day. The president was inspired to let me stay in São Tomé with my companion Elder Andrade. I am so excited for this because I know that we will work so hard together and earn alot of baptisms. This transfer will only be five weeks long because its the month of February, but its not a big deal!

Yesterday was a spiritual feast! We had two baptisms! My first baptisms as senior companion. One baptism was João. He is eight years old and his mother has been a member for three years. I was able to teach him and baptise him. The same day, my companion confirmed him a member of the church.

Also baptised was Diego. Diego is 14 years old. His sister was baptised last year. One of the most important things we taught him was prayer. He never prayed before because he never knew how to pray! We taught him and through alot of practice, he can now pour out his heart to his father in heaven. One time when we were praying he said, `Thanks so much for the missionaries here. I have always wanted to be baptised but nobody ever asked and I didnt know if I was allowed to. I am really excited for baptism because I know this will help me.´ Hearing that prayer was such a spiritual experience for me. I know that there is a Heavenly Father who loves and watches us every day.

This week we were able to invite many people to be baptised and right now we are focusing on 5 different families who have a baptismal date for this February. By the end of this week, we hope to have ten families that are working on being baptised. The Lord has greatly blessed me and my companion and we are working hard to thank him for all that he does for us.

Lastly I wanted to mention that I am going to be an uncle for the 9th time!! My sister Lindsay announced that she will be having her fourth child. Congratulations! Now I only need my other two siblings to have a child and I will come home to 5 beautiful unknown faces!

Thanks for all your help and support.´

Elder Horst

A Spectacular week!

Well this week has been spectacular! I have worked extremely hard and I have seen many blessings! First I will talk about my new companion. His name is Elder Andrade from Curitiba Brazil. He almost has 6 months in the mission and we are a perfect companionship! We set really high goals and work hard to accomplish them. I have a strong feeling that if we get to stay together for some time, we will have alot of baptisms coming up!

Speaking of baptisms! We are planning on having two people get baptized this Sunday. One is an 8 year old boy named Joao. He is the child of a member but has a few fears of getting baptized so we have been teaching him a bit and preparing him. I am really excited to see him get baptised. His mom said that once he sees the coolerr baptismal font he will be so excited to get in that his fears will leave. haha.

Also we are using our faith and planning on baptising a boy named Diego. He is 14 years old. His younger sister was baptised last year and now he has a desire to be baptised too. Its really fun to teach him because I can see that through teaching him he has gotten closer to his sister.He is really shy and every time he prays he needs his sister to whisper in his ear haha. Its kinda funny but really cool too.

Sometimes we can learn more from children that they learn from us and our examples. My area has an 8 year old girl named Giovana. She was baptised just a month ago. This week we were at her house eating lunch. When we were giving the message, we asked the family if they had people for us to teach. Giovana told us that her friend who lives down the street wants to be baptised and we needed to teach her. I asked her if she would come with us to her friends house and invite her to church. She felt embarrassed but after practicing, she was ready!

We went to her house and I talked to the mother for a little bit about our church and set up an appointment to talk with them again. Than I told Giovana to invite her friend and she said, ``Do you want to come to church with me tomorrow and get baptised?  Haha. I had to explain that we wouldnt baptise her the second she walked in the door but I was really proud of Giovana. She put away her fears and relied on the Lord to help invite her best friend to church. How cool is that? Maybe we need to follow the example of this 8 year old girl and work harder to invite our friends and co-workers to church even if its hard to do.

On the 27th I have the opportunity to meet Elder Bednar! He will be coming to our mission. Also there will be a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, a member of the Area Presidency, and a member of the Seventy of the Area. Haha a bit confusing... but 4 people called by God to be leaders of the church. Im really excited to pull out the classic family tie! (and im nervous that Elder Bednar will say im not allowed to wear such an ugly tie haha). Im very excited for these opportunities to see him.

I hope everyone is doing good. Always remember to have the spirit and keep the commandments. This will bring much peace and happiness.

With love,
Elder Horst

Mom's note:  The ugly tie

Jeremy, our son in law and Lindsay's husband, served his mission in Bilbao Spain.  Before he left, his best friend gave him a really ugly tie (that he found at a thrift store) and said that Jeremy had to wear it to a very important event and have his photo taken that day, wearing the tie.  When Jeremy returned from his mission, he signed the inside of the tie, dated it and wrote the name of his mission.  He gave it to Jordan, Addison (who all did the same) and now Sean.  Next it will go to Jeremy's nephew Jordan  (who is 16)and then to his son Bridger (who is 7 l/2).  It is a fun tradition.  I will post the photo of Elder Sean Horst wearing the tie when he sends it to me, so you can see what it looks like :)