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10-21-13

Hey everyone. so my flight is at 3 today...i think.....i haven't actually received my itinerary. Still not sure on the phone call thing but ill do my best. So, yesterday was awesome! Mike got baptized and I know he is going to do amazing from here on forward. He just has such a willing heart and glows with the Spirit! It was an amazing gift to be a part of the on my last day here. What awesome timing! Mike is so awesome. He had fasted the day before without even telling us, and we hadn't even  told him to. He doesn't drive because of a traumatic event in his childhood, but he has decided that now he wants to learn, just so that he can get to church easier and so that he can help others in the church. He is so kind. AND we had another miracle yesterday. Rod, homeless alcoholic investigator, came to our last appointment totally sober, just as he had promised. Even more, he has been only drinking every other day. that was his own goal that he set! Oh, and here is the best part. He came to church yesterday!!! It was so awesome! He got a ride from a guy who has walked in his shoes and is a recovered addict, so they really connected. Even more, he stayed for all three hours! He had to take some smoking breaks, but it is such a huge accomplishment. Rod also has a lot of social anxiety, (which is why he drinks) so he was so afraid to be at church. He kept joking that either he or the church would burst into flames, so he kept tabs on all the fire extinguishers in the building haha. Just walking into the chapel and sitting down was a huge feat for him. At first, he sat in the back with Pete. Then, when he left for a smoking break, he had a hard time going back in, but Sister H and I came out to the hall and gave him a pep talk. We stood together and prayed for strength to get through the rest of the meeting, and then Rod gave a big smile at the end of the prayer. He was a-okay for the rest of church.  I just felt so proud of both Rod and Mike yesterday. What superstars! I can't wait to see what they do with their futures. If I pretended not to be sad to leave, I would be lying. Actually, my heart is really sad right now. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW I'm meant to go to Brazil and I know it's going to be soooo amazing the moment I get there. But right at this moment, it's really hard to leave all the people I love so much. I'm so grateful for the Plan of Salvation that ensures I'll be able to see all my loved ones again. I'm so excited for the day when we can ALL be together in the next life and distance and location won't matter and I can embrace and take care of everyone that I have come to know and love.
This life is meant to be happy. Smile. That's my advice. Our life will never be without trials. That's a guarantee, but we don't have to simply endure them. God has given us the resources to know how to find happiness. He has given us so many gifts: scriptures, prophets, church, the Holy Ghost. These things are there for the taking and they are there for anyone willing to seek after them. God has showered us with so many blessings! It's amazing how much He can be a part of our lives if we so desire it, but we have to use these resources He has given us for them to be of any worth. It doesn't matter that the Book of Mormon is true if we never read it. It doesn't matter that we have prophets to guide us if we never listen to their voice. It doesnt matter if we WANT to believe if we are not willing to ACT, but I promise that when we do start doing the little things that add up, it will change our lives in ways we could have never imagined. God is waiting to pour blessings upon us. I always promise my investigators that, even if none of their circumstances changed, the gospel of Jesus Christ would make their whole life better and richer and happier. When we neglect our relationship with God, of course he is sad, but it is really just us that suffers. This life is meant to be a happy one, a clear one, a good one. When we draw nearer to God, everything else lines up as well, but it definitely takes a little leap of faith and trust and maybe a few sacrifices.  I love you all. I can't wait to see what Brazil has in store for me, even if my heart breaks at the thought of leaving here. Thanks for EVERYTHING and all of your support. God bless. He loves you all sooooooo much. I promise :) I can feel it, and so can you if you want to.

Love, sis Huntington

10/14/13

Hello hello hello! Isn't facebook great? I got to tell you to tell you the big news before email time haha. Sneaky right? Anyway, yeah, so Im going to Brazil!! Here's the story. It was just a normal old day , when sis H walks over to me with the phone and said it was President Francis for me. I knew what that meant, but I was somewhat in denial. So, then he told me I had my visa and would leave the 21st (which is such a blessing because Mike's baptism is the 20th!). Well, I was silent....for a long time, and President probably thought I had died, but I just couldn't talk. I was crying and all the sisters were watching me and well.....I'm really sad to leave. I've got to be honest, I'm sooooo grateful for all of your prayers for my visa, but this transfer has just been amazing and i haven't even thought about my visa since it started. I always knew that God would wait until I was completely immersed in the work and vulnerable to tear me away haha. That silly bugger. I have been working so hard and accomplishing so much, and because of that, I knew it was coming soon. I knew it, but I really wanted another transfer here. How can I explain other than just one word: Love. I have loved and learned from so may people here in ways I cannot describe. I am sooo excited for Brazil, of course....well, I know I will be, but it is very bittersweet. I know without a doubt this didn't happen by chance. I know without a doubt I was meant to be here for reasons that are honestly too sacred to explain via email, but believe me when I say that God is so perfect in the way He directs our lives. We just need to trust Him. Trust Him! and you'll never regret it. Trust him, and He won't let you down.

I thank God for the opportunity I had to serve here. I can't believe how much I have learned in such a short period of time. Wow, it truly changed my life to serve here, so I'm trying to not think about leaving. But at the same time, of course I know that this is an answer to so many prayers and I feel so blessed to receive my visa with sooo many people waiting to go. In many ways, I am speechless. I don't really know how express in words how it feels to have so much emotion that is happy and sad at the same time, but I'm just working as hard as I can so that it doesn't sit in the front of my mind. Wow, Brazil. It's still sinking in. Holy cow, you guys, I don't speak Portuguese! Ahhh, but I know the Lord has me cradled in His loving hands. He'll qualify me for whatever work needs to be done. I am nothing more than a tool for Him right now,  and I'm going to need all the help I can get. I want to share His love with everyone. That is my ultimate goal in my mission. God's timing is something we will never fully understand, so we cannot get discouraged by stats or numbers. However, love is something we can feel and know and understand in our souls, so that is how I measure my success. I can truly see in people's eyes when it really clicks and they start to believe and feel how much God loves them. If people understood only this, if everyone really truly knew it, then we could change the world, baptisms or not. Share a smile. Tell people how wonderful they are, because we are all our worst critics. Isn't it amazing how many compliments are never actually heard by the person they are directed at? Why do we save all of our praise for people when they aren't in the room? Tell them, because they aren't telling themselves. I feel it is such a privilege to tell people they have worth, and through the power of the Spirit, they are able to feel the truth of my promise. We all have worth. Let's remind one another. I might be able to do emails again on Saturday. Not sure. I also might be able to call from the airport. Not sure again. I don't know my itinerary right now at all.

Okay, I'm headed to Brazil soon. AHHHH crazy! Love you all and feeling so blessed. Remember God loves you! He does. I know it. I feel it. You are all masterpieces in His eyes, regardless of where you are in life.

sis Huntington