July 26, 2013

Hello hello hello my fellow friends! So we got our reassignments today and guess what!!!! I'm going to Rochester, New York! AAHHHHHHHHH Im so excited. Seriously it's like all I could ask for. This mission has Palmyra and Hill Cumorah in it (yeah Dad, get pumped) and borders Lake Ontario. It also has Niagara Falls in it. P-day activity! Ahhh I'm so excited to be in such a beautiful place at such a beautiful time of year. I have felt like I need to be somewhere else before I went to Brazil and I know this is the place I'm meant to be. Honestly I could not be happier or more excited.

 

I leave on Monday Jul7 29 at 9:00 am and land in Detroit at 2:28 pm. I have a layover until 3:23 pm and then leave for Rochester. I am allowed to make phone calls, so I will either call you before my first flight in the morning or in my layover. Ill try for the morning. Does that work? let me know. My P-day is tomorrow, so I can communicate and plan via email.

Get as much dirt on the mission as you can and tell me about it :)

More pictures

Pictures from the MTC

July 22, 2013

Hey everybody!! Wow, time is just flying by and its a little overwhelming. So much happens in a week that its always so hard to know what to write in these emails. I'm gonna write SS a letter, because I'm so pumped for her. Also, MR is getting murried!!!!! all my friends are dropping like flies! But I love it. Everyone is making such great choices. So proud of my girls.

 

So I see Elder M every day. He is doing great. Also, dont worry, BY is getting lots of hugs and we have had some great talks. She is handling all of her adversity so gracefully, and I know this timing is happening for a reason. What a miracle that I was able to live so close to her and give her comfort. Such a tender mercy. Okay, so speaking of miracles, I want to share a story with ya'll. As sister training leader, Sister K and I visit all of the girls rooms at night to make sure everyone is doing well (we dont get a lot of sleep with this calling, but I LOVE it). We have a new district of girls that we just did orientation with and some of them were struggling with homesickness but they seemed relatively okay. Then, on Saturday night, we asked a sister how she was doing and she just broke down into tears. We took her out into a quiet place to talk, and she proceeded to tell us that she had never struggled with her testimony, but now she was suddenly beginning to doubt everything, and she felt awful and didn't understand why she should have this happen after making the decision to serve a mission. She was so distraught and Sis K and I kinda looked at each other for a sec like "okay.....what now?" Then, it was go time. I went and got some scriptures and then we just followed the Spirit.  It actually kinda reminded me of an investigator lesson a little bit. This sister said that she had never had a struggle, so I explained that everyone has to have a trial of faith at some point in order to grow (watch the Mormon message: The will of God) and that it doesn't make her a bad person. She had begun to wonder if maybe the gospel was all just a fairy tale and that feeling the Spirit is just our own mind convincing us that we are happy.

   At that moment, I was so grateful for my own trials of faith that I have had, because it allowed me know exactly how this sister felt. I was able to describe the feelings that she felt, because I had felt them too. I was able to testify that the Spirit is real, because I have felt what it is like not to have it in my heart and there is literally NOTHING else that can compare to the feeling of the Spirit. We promised this sister that if she would only cling to her desire to believe (Alma 32) then God would answer her prayers. For a moment, I felt a little bit like we were promising too much because we promised her that she would hear an answer tomorrow at church and that she would be able to feel the Spirit. That's a lesson I've learned here: don't be afraid to make a promise if the Spirit tells you to. We must have the hope to trust that God will answer a promise that is given by the Spirit. So, we made this promise, and she still felt so lost and doubtful, but then I told her to imagine the most perfect moment in her life. Then, I said " as you picture this moment, can you honestly say that this is a world without miracles?" which of course she said no. I told her that there are miracles every day, but we often fail to recognize them because of our lack of faith and hope. Remember we must have hope before we have faith. I promised that God would perform miracles in her life, whether she recognized them or not, but the more faith we have, the more we can recognize them. I asked her to search for a miracle tomorrow.

   So, Sister K and I plopped into bed late that night and prayed our hearts out that our Sister would receive an answer and see God in her life. Guess what! It was crazy, because the talk in Relief Society was dead on, exactly about trials of faith! Yeah, it was awesome and literally addressed all of the issues this sister was facing. I felt it was a huge answer to my prayers and hers and then every talk that day continued to address her very needs so specifically. Okay, now this may sound so small and insignificant. Some of you may be thinking, "a talk. really? that's just coincidence." But first, that topic has never been spoken about the whole time I've been here....and we have a LOT of devotionals. Next, how miraculous that a speaker who has been planning for weeks what she will say would speak the exact words that need to be heard to one sister in a room of hundreds at the EXACT perfect time in her life. In the very moment that she was doubting if God knew she existed, He reached out to her. But not only that, He had planned for this moment and inspired others and weeks ahead of time.....all for just one of His billions of children. Yes, that talked helped everyone I'm sure, but for her, it was probably life changing. Not because of the message, but because it was a direct answer to her prayers, which we had promised her...a bit tentatively, but boy am I glad we did.

  I want to promise you that miracles happen every single day. I mean it. Please, everyone, read the talk by Bednar "Character of Christ". It will change your life! But anyway, it talks about faith. We must exercise faith in order to recognize God's hand in our life. Note that I said "recognize", because God is helping us along whether we believe it or not, but it's our responsibility to recognize it. There are miracles in this world. I know it. I have seen so many tiny miracles since being here. God works in small and simple ways, but He truly does bring great things to pass. Look for the tiny miracles every day, and before you know it, bigger ones will happen. Hope for something better than you expect. We all know the saying that we cant have faith with fear, but even more, we cannot have hope if we are too afraid of being let down. Be brave enough to hope for something miraculous. Try to align your will with God's and we can become a part of those miracles. This world is so bright and beautiful. I'm so busy. I'm very tired, and sometimes I feel very discouraged, but these moments give me the realization that I absolutely must rely on God to do what He asks. I will not find happiness until I recognize that I can't do this life on my own. In our weaknesses, God can make us strong, not because we become stronger ourselves, but because when we recognize how weak we are, we also realize that we must rely on the Atonement. We must become one with Christ, and He will become our strength.

 

I love you all so so so much. Hey everybody at the beach!!! I miss you all. Cousins.....and aunts.....do something crazy and ridiculous in my name, since we all know I can't really do that right now haha.

 

Okay, gotta run. LOVE yall!

7-16-13

Hey guys! Okay first Im gonna crank out all the general news I have to share:

 

First of all, you guys can make your emails as long as you want, because sis Kunkel and I print them out in the morning so that we dont waste computer time reading them. Also, thanks so much for the package! So great to get stuff from yall....and thanks Claire for the cookies! Anyway, those socks that you sent are fantabulous and really helping me with my feet. They still hurt really bad in multiple places, but I mean the doctor said that I didn't have any lasting damage, so I guess just lots of ibuprofen is the way to go. He said he could do a custom insert for about 300 dollars...but I don't want ya'll to spend that much money when I don't even know how much it would help.  Also, Sister Mildenhall, guess what?! I went and gave Sister Nally a big huge hug for you. When you told me to keep an eye for her, I didn't realize she was the mission President's wife! haha I was kinda scared to go up to her, but she was so sweet and friendly. She seriously seemed like a clone of Carollyn. Also, as the new Sister Training leaders, we get of list of all the incoming missionaries in our zone. Guess who will be in my zone? TYLER MOLINARO. How cool is that? Get ready for an awesome time Tyler. Can't wait to see you :) Guess who else I see ALL the time? My dearly beloved cousin Bresia. Yeah, she is two doors down from my residence room. How cool is that? I see her every night and we talk all the time while we brush our teeth and get ready for bed. I even got to sit by her in choir practice. What a blessing. I am so happy to be able to see her often and we can support one another. That's what this life is all  about: supporting one another.

Speaking of which, I have a cool story about that very idea:

So, this week has been a bit rougher than the others. You definitely  have ups and downs as a missionary, which any RM can understand. I started to get really discouraged and felt totally inadequate as a missionary. I began to doubt that I was good enough to qualify  for the Spirit because of my pride and my huge inadequacies. I just kind of gave up on myself and it was a horrible feeling, because all I want right now is to be a good missionary. The thought of not fulfilling that purpose is devastating and so many missionaries go through it. Anyway, I wasn't myself at all and was way stressed, but I didnt really realize it. Luckily my teacher did and called me out of the class to talk to me. When she asked if everything ws okay, I just started crying (I know right? I don't cry very much in front of people) and told her how inadequate and unworthy I felt. She made me look her in the eye and tell her if I was trying my best to be a good missionary, which I replied yes to. Then, she said, "then you already are one", and I realized then that it was true. God doesn't want perfection, because we are all imperfect. We are only perfected in and through Him. All He wants is a sincere desire and a willingness to do as He asks. Then He can fill in the gaps, which I have many of those. My teacher also read us the talk "His Grace is Sufficient" which EVERYONE should read if they are feeling down on themselves. Then she told me to research the Gift of the Holy Ghost, so I did.

Here's the cool part. I had all these great scripture written down about the qualifying, inspiring power of the Holy Ghost from my research and I was feeling great, but then guess what. Sister Kiunkel started getting down on herself in the same way I had and I could see exactly what was happening. Luckily, I had all of these scripture that I could just whip right out. Even more, I could testify to her that the Atonement is real for all of us, because I had JUST experienced it's power for myself. Those scriptures really worked for sis Kunkel (Moses chapter 6 is the best) and soon we were both able to teach and plan by the Spirit again. I know Heavenly Father directed my teacher to have me research the Holy Ghost  so that I could then help my companion. You see, we are all here to take care of one another, and God has a hand in it all.

 When we are feeling down on ourselves, we don't necessarily forsake God. We just think we are unworthy of Him because of this or that. It's as if we think He somehow doesn't know that we are worse than He thinks or something. But you see, Christ has ALREADY suffered all of our shortcomings and pains. He ALREADY knows it all and He understands. He wants us to be perfected through  Him, not on our own. He is waiting for us and we are the ones pulling away. All we have to do is trust God and have faith. If we don't think He can save and fulfill and qualify us, then we are calling God a liar, and then we may as well not believe in Him in the first place.

The Holy Ghost is the Comforter. It can fill us with the love of God, and give us answers if we are willing to listen. If  we truly and humbly desire inspiration, we are ALL worthy to receive it, imperfect and flawed as we may be. Remember that repentance is a gift, not a condemnation. It lets us leave our shortcomings behind and step forward into a fresh new day. Yes, we will repeat mistakes. God knows this. But when we repent, we have a DESIRE to not repeat our mistakes. We have a desire to be better. If we let Christ change us, He will truly turn us into masterpieces, but we have to trust that we deserve it first, which we all do. Life is beautiful. People are beautiful. We are all worthy of love. I know that God will pour it upon us if we will only let Him.

Oh, one more thing on the topic of repentance. Watch the Mormon messages Youtube video called "Reclaimed". It's awesome. Watch it.

Okay I love you all sooooo much. I love hearing from you, and youre in my prayers. Keep in touch!

 

Sister Huntington

7-9-13

Alrighty guys, the clock has started. Seriously, p-day is kinda stressful, because you want to say so much in soooo little time. But I'll do my best, k? I got your package! It was fabulous and thanks so much . My district got a kick out of your missionary survival kit dad.....I would recommend using Tupperware for any food you send though hahaha, The cookies were somewhat resembling pancakes. They still tasted good though. It really just feels so good to receive a package and know how loved I am. Oh, and I trust that anything Machelle cooks would be amazing, but if she wants to get crazy, she could even send cinnamon rolls, and my district would be in heaven. Thank you all who are supporting me. It means the world. Also, Dad, Sis Kunkel gets a kick out of hearing about your garden. She makes me update her every time, so keep it up haha.

  My foot is alright. I saw a specialist yesterday, which was weird because Sis Kunkel and i went into the "real world", which was Provo....so that probs still doesn't qualify as the real world, but it's a step away from the MTC. He recommended me to wear raised shoes and inserts, but nothing big. What a blessing. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with horrible foot cramps though, so I have been downing bananas as much as possible. No worries though. I'm so excited for Bresia to come. She gets here tomorrow right? Oh man, she is going to love it here. It is so awesome how strong the spirit is here. I know I'll see her. I've seen everyone I know like a million times. Maybe she will even be in my building!! Tell her to get pumped though. The greatest time of her life is about to start....or I'll just tell her myself tomorrow :)

   Okay, so here's a cool update. Guess what! I got a calling. So, since getting here, I have been really praying and looking for ways to help uplift others and learn to be more selfless. I think that pride is really something that I need to work on and get rid of and service is the best way to that. Sis Kunkel and I have been trying our best to uplift everyone in our district and help them with the language and to bring all the girls together (you know how girls can have tiffs? well, the trio of girls in our district have a lot of tiffs, so we try to keep things positive and build them up). Anyway, we were doing our best, but I still felt like I needed to do more, like I needed to learn more. Then, this past Sunday, Sis Kunkel and I were asked by the Branch President to be the new Sister Training Leaders for our zone (it's like a girl version of zone leader). At first, I was super freaked out, because I haven't really been in a position like that in the church and I felt extremely inadequate, but of course we said yes.....then took some deep breaths. It's not really a big deal, but I want to do my best to fulfill every responsibility God asks me to do. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is an answer to my prayers, because now I have the chance to serve even more missionaries. I can help the whole zone instead of just my district. I don't think I'm any more qualified than the other girls, but hopefully I will learn a lot. I am finally understanding why it is so important to learn obedience in this life. The scriptures tell us that Christ gave His will to the Father and that is what gave him power. True power is only used for the improvement and uplifting of your fellow men. The more we learn obedience, the more power God can trust us with, and the more people we can help. You see, we don't lose ourselves when we submit our will to God. We actually become all that we were meant to be! We reach our full potential. Imagine if Christ had not submitted His will to the Father. The Atonement wouldn't have happened and He would not be our Savior. I still need to work on this quality... a lot....but I'm so thankful that I'm beginning to understand it, because it makes everything so much easier. In a devotional, we learned that God does not call us to repentance because He is angry with us. Yes, it is so that we can be clean and pure, but the real reason He calls us to repentance is out of love and mercy. He wants us to stop hurting. He wants us to let go of the pains and burdens of this life. Repentance is not for Him, it is for us. I can't wait to find out what Heavenly Father has in store for me to learn, and I know that the more I obey Him, the more I will see His love for all mankind in every moment. Oh here is one funny story real quick: so there are some words in the Portuguese language (PS, sis Wright and I are apparently having sleeptalking convos at night now, haha) that sound very similar, but have VERY different meanings. Today, our teacher told us some of the words that we have said that we should not say again......Parte means "part", but parto means "to give birth". Also, animado is how you are supposed to say "excited", but the literal translation of excited is "excitacao"......our teacher explained it DOES mean excited......but not how we want it to hahahaha. Oh man, we are going to make such fools of ourselves in Brazil. I cant wait!

Please pardon my horrible grammar and punctuation. Im typing as fast as I can.

 

Ill check here again later today, so hopefully you'll respond again. Life is so beautiful. Every moment of every day can be if we can but remember Christ. He can solve anything and fill us beyond our own capacity. I know this is true for all of us.

 

LOVE SISTER HUNTINGTON

Email from 7-2-13

Hey hey hey,

 

Okay so sister Kunkel and I have strategically planned out our day so that we can spend a little time in the morning doing emails.....then you can answer, and then we can use the rest of our hour in the afternoon, so it's almost like having a conversation!!! Yeah, we're pretty smart. Of course, it will only work if you respond.....or send an email in the first place haha...which you didn't, just sayin. I did get Sister Mildenhall's letter, which was sooooo sweet. Please give her a hug for me. She is such an inspiration to so many women, including me :) Also, please tell Loretta that she has a thank you letter on the way for her package. Imagine the biggest smile on my face when I picked up a massive package filled with amazingly delicious cookies and new clothes! So cool. Everything fits great and I was just so overwhelmed by the amazing generosity. Packages are seriously the most exciting thing in the world. People walk by with a package and tear into it while they are walking, eating goodies out of the box, and everyone wishes they were them haha. Speaking of packages, if you choose to send one at any point, there are a few things I would request. Mom, those tan socks we got for my dress shoes. Yeah, I wear those everyday....and I'm gonna need more, much more if I want to avoid having constant blisters that bleed. Also, Mom, I think I forgot that tan and red dress that you altered for me.....because it's not in my room.....so I hope I forgot it or we might have a little leprechaun stealing things from our room. Finally, I bought a watch! I feel like Dad would be proud. It's really cute too. I was constantly asking Que horas sao? and I got so sick of not knowing what time it was (not to mention that telling time is not one of Sister Kunkel's MANY strengths....she really is so amazing though). I was wondering though, how long do watch batteries last? Do you think I should buy an extra just in case before I go to Brazil? Just wondering. Also, thanks for the Dear Elders. I think they are backed up at the front office, so I haven't actually received them yet, but saw them in my email and read them. Make SURE you send them to the right address too. Also, remind everyone that they are so easy to send....and the highlight of the day. Also, you can send as many emails as you want, just so you know and then I can print them and read them without using up computer time, so feel free. Just some ideas.

Anyway!!! wow, things are still busy busy busy here, of course. We have taught so many lessons in straight portuguese and yesterday our district had an english fast, so we ONLY spoke in Portuguese. It was actually a lot easier than I expected and sooooo helpful for my speaking . During the lesson we taught, I was just chatting away and words would just pop into my mind. I'm telling you guys, the blessing of the Spirit are so real. Once you start speaking so much in another language, you start thinking in it too. And you know how I sleep talk? One of the sisters in my room told me she heard me sleep-talking in Portuguese! I thought that was pretty neat, although Im sure my grammar was waaay off. I can't believe how much I can see and feel the power and love of 

God since coming here. You know, it isn't the location. It is the mindset. Anyone can come closer to the Spirit with the right mindset, but we have to shed our mind and hearts of all the doubt that sinks  in and floods us with fear. It's so easy to be afraid and start to doubt that God knows us and loves us. It's something we all must go through. Now, I just said that the environment doesn't determine how we feel the Spirit, because I worked at the MTC and it was just a bunch of buildings to me. BUT immersing yourself in the right environment is so so helpful. I think one of the reasons I'm able to feel closer to God is because I'm not a part of all the distractions that bombard our minds every day all day. It's such a privilege to have the chance to clear my mind of all my past worries and future plans and just think in the here and now. Everything we missionaries do is focused on others, but as a result, we learn so much about ourselves. I think that is because as I learn to love others, I come closer to Christ, who knows me better than anyone. As I grow closer to Him, I'm able to see myself as He sees me. I can feel it. When I feel the Spirit, I feel valued. I feel loved. I feel like I have limitless potential, but most of all I feel like sharing it with others. Dad, you said that you were worried about the direction our world is going. It's true, there is so much sadness and confusion, but there is also light and the light is spreading. We can each be a beacon, and we have to share the love of Christ constantly in order to give others "hope for a better world". I don't worry so much that our world is filled with sorrow and suffering, because we live in a universe governed by opposite forces. If there is darkness, there must also be equal light of that measure. We can be that light. We can live up to our purpose, which is to share this light and help it grow, so that it can spread and overpower the darkness. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I know it, and I'm coming to understand it a little more each day, but there is so much to learn and even more to feel. Christ is our hope for this world. Share His love. It's really very easy, and remember that we are soooooo sooooo loved by God and we CAN feel it if we sincerely ask for it and strive to come closer to Him. I know that the nature of God is a loving Father. I know it and we can all know if we ask and search the scripture for answers with an open mind. I love you all soooooo much. I'm sorry if this was preachy. I really don't want it to be. I just want everyone to know how great they are and how much God loves them. I want them to feel it, because then they will see how amazing every human is and can become :) I'll check my email again this evening and give a few more updates. Love you love you love all

 

Bom gia!

sister Huntington