Week 71: You Never Fail Until You Stop Trying

Hello Everyone! How are you all doing? This week for me was great although it was the smoothest week I´ve had. Last Sunday we didn´t have any investigators at church, but we did receive good news that Diego will be getting married on Friday November 10th and soon after we will baptize him. After church we ate lunch at our recent convert family´s house (Romilda, Lucas, and Luana) She is so awesome. Every single visit we mark with her she has a full meal prepared for us to eat after the message. We don´t even expect it, she just loves us and shows her love by making us lots of food. It has been very fun seeing them grow in the Gospel and integrate with the members. I can see how they´ve become happier people. Romilda has already introduced us to a few friends of hers, and we taught some of them this week. We are now in a trio because Elder Costa e Silva is training Elder Cantuário to be the next financial secretary. President has spent the whole week in the interior doing zone conferences and we stayed here taking care of the missionaries in the capital and other areas. We helped the assistants with all the things they needed to travel and take to the zone conferences in the interior.

Unfortunatley this whole week I´ve been feeling rather sick. Monday through Friday I did normal office work and taught lessons at night. I won´t talk a lot about our office work, because it´s not that interesting. In the office we just work on our normal tasks and solve heaps of problems to make the mission run. Here is a funny story. On Monday my cold that i got the Saturday before got worse. I was having a sore throat, headaches, and a cough. Out of nowhere i got a bad bloody nose. Then on Tuesday Elder Cantuário and I went to the bus station to buy 2 tickets for an Assistant Elder. The company that we buy through is called AguiaBranca. We got there and there was a huge line. They had gotten a new system on their computers that day and they were having problems with it. The system crashed, leaving everyone stressed out and panicked that they would miss their buses. We ended up leaving the line and walking across the main street to the Bahia Mall to buy some office material at the Kalunga paper store while we waited for the bus company to fix their system. We ate lunch at the mall as well. After we ordered our food, we sat down at a table and out of nowhere my nose started to bleed again. I grabbed a napkin and tried to discreetly shove it up my nose. There was an old lady sitted at the table next to me and she called my attention and told me to lean my head back. Then she ordered me to take an icecube out of my Guaraná and rub it on my nose to help stop the nose bleed. I couldn´t believe it! I thought it was already embarrassing enough to stick a napkin up my nose, but there I was with my head leaned back, rubbing ice on my face. Everyone was looking at me in the busy food section in the mall. I thought it was kind of funny. I just had my food get put in a to-go box and we went back to the bus station. The system was running so we waited in the line again. When we finally got to the front of the line, the system failed again and we had to wait even longer. Eventually we bought the 2 tickets we needed and went back to the office to help this assistent Elder get ready to travel.

By Wednesday my sore throat and headaches were gone, but i was left with a persistent dry cough. We went to the Bus station again to buy more tickets and also to exchange the things we bought at Kalunga. We had accidentally bought all permanent markers instead of erasable white board ones!   After district meeting and lunch we went to the hospital. I didn´t want to, but my companions kept insisting because they were worried about my bad cough. We waited for 2 hours in the hospital, just to be attended for 5 minutes. The doctor prescribed some medicine that we bought afterwards that costed over R$ 150 ! Its some antibiotic and another pill.

Thursday we went to the airport to drop off Elder Boémia. He went to a different city to do some heart procedure in a hospital. That night, we did a division. Elder Costa e Silva stayed with Elder Boémia´s companion (Elder Palma from Mexico) and I was with Elder Cantuário.  Friday afternoon we picked up Elder Boémia from the airport. In our area we are searching for more people to teach and things are going well. Sometimes it gets discouraging when you´ve walked the same streets for several months and have already knocked on practically every door. I know that there are always people that are ready to receive the restored Gospel. We just have to do our part, exercising our faith, and putting forth our effort to find and teach them. My companion shared with me this quote: ´´It is not necessary for us to serve a mission to enter into the celestial kingdom. We must serve a mission for others to enter the Celestial kingdom´´.  This is motivation to serve.

In summary, serving a mission is difficult, but it brings you closer to Christ and makes you a man. I never know exactly what the future holds for me, and sometimes i feel uncertain, but i know that whatever comes, i can handle with my family´s help and the Lord´s help. I love this quote, ´´Let your smile change the world, but don´t let the world change your smile.´´.  I know that God lives and that Christ´s atonement is real. There is a Savior, people can change, they can be purified and become stronger by receiving the extra strength of the gift of the Holy Ghost. This changes the world. Recognizing God´s hand in our lives puts smiles on our faces. This is the good news of the Gospel that i was called to declare.
I love all my family and my friends.

- Elder McKay Hilton

another hospital visit

Office buddies

A BOX from MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Some tasty goodies to share with my companions. 

week 70!!!

These last few weeks have been great weeks. Challenges arised, but we saw how when we trust in the Lord everything turns out okay. My companion and I have been facing challenges in our area, in the office, and in our personal lives. I came to understand better the importance of prayer and trusting that God listens to each of our prayers. Sometimes it can be a ´´wrestle´´ like Enos experienced. The week before transfers and the week of transfers, we worked a lot. We bought lots of bus passes for missionaries being transferred, and prepared to receive the 5 new missionaries that would arrive. I organized all the flight plans for departing missionaries and all that is included in their plans during their last week in the mission. We did what we love doing most as secretaries; picking up the new arrivals with President Bangerter and Sister Bangerter at the Airport. It makes me remember when i arrived in the mission and it makes me re-live it all. That Tuesday we went to the airport 3 times to pick up new missionaries. There was one Elder from Woodland Hills, Utah that i talked with a lot. He turns out to be a state champ tennis player and a snowboarder and does everything that i like to do. Maybe one day we will be companions :)
This new transfer we are in a trio. My companion Elder Costa e Silva will be training Elder Cantuário to be the next financial secretary. I went on a division with him at the beginning of my mission so it´s good to see him again. We all get along really well, and i can tell it will be a good transfer. GOOD NEWS!! Diego, our investigator will get married on the 10th of November and then he can be baptized the next day on the 11th. It will be super cool. I really happy for him and his wife, knowing that they can progress together until eternal life. We are working on building a better group of investigators in our area with different people to teach that are ready to receive the restored gospel.

I am grateful for the various ways we can feel God´s love in our lives. I´m grateful for the scriptures, for the sacrament, for our families, and for everything that He gives us to strengthen us. Through these things, He individually helps us realize our potential then reach our goals. I know that the Savior lives. I love him.


Here are some pictures of us.

The couple missionaries Briggs came to our house to check on it and they gave us banana bread and M&Ms! 

  

Going back and forth to the airport. Lots of taxi rides makes for lot of naps!

Elder Sonntag and I at the bus station! He will be starting his mission in Livramento de Nossa Senhora.

Week 68: Mission life

Hello my family and friends!!!

Hello guys! how are you today? I have some very interesting news, but nothing to crack the world, just simple little things that have happened in my life and yet are a miracle in my eyes.
On Monday we ran like crazy to leave everything ready for the mission council meeting that was on Tuesday. My companion and I were very excited, especially after a general conference that answered all our prayers and questions, and after a morning of interviews with the best mission president in the world! It was magnificent! We also helped the zone leaders from Porto Seguro who came in to the city to take an English test.

On Tuesday we had the mission council starting early in the morning. It was very inspiring and powerful. We discussed the teachings of general conference as well and how we can apply what we have been taught in our mission, with investigators and in our lives. It was a very good discussion. Then we learned a little more about how to teach our investigators so they can receive the blessings of baptism and the gospel more quickly. President also asked Elder Costa e Silva to sing the hymn "A poor wayfaring man of grief" It was very good. Later in the evening we took the everyone to the bus station and Elder Brito went with Elder Costa e Silva while I finished some tasks in the office with the rest of the assistants.

Wednesday we had many tasks to do early so we started running and doing everything on time, it was nothing different, only that we started very early, before 8:00 a.m.

Thursday It was a little different, Elder Prado, Elder Jenkins and Elder High finished their missions and went home. We took them all to the airport. Elder Prado went early in the morning, we said goodbye to him.  Elders Jenkins and Elder High went to the airport in the afternoon. We had lunch with them and we said goodbye ... I love those guys, very much; They're like brothers to me. taught me, helped me and made me laugh. They are good and finished with honor. I'm going to miss those guys.

Yesterday we worked normally, solving problems and making everything work in peace. In other words, giving our best so we can we find a family that will progress fast. We are helping some more people to prepare for baptism. Everything will work out and we know that with the Lord by our side we will find more and more elect people. We will be able to bring them to Christ and his true Church.

I am learning more about becoming a better and more effective missionary, I have had a lot of help and I am trying to apply what I learn; and as we learn from Elder Holland, it is okay for us not to be perfect, what matters is to keep on seeking to be perfected in Christ and he will fill our holes.

I love you family

-Elder Hilton

Then there is a nice Audi that was parked close to our house!

Week 67: GENERAL CONFERENCE

This week was great! On Wednesday Elder De La O came to Salvador to renew his VISA. We also renewed Elder and  Sister Briggs´ VISAS. We only ran into a few problems with Elder De La O´s VISA renewal process, but we just paid a fine and everything was okay. Elder and Sister Briggs bought us pizza too!

I´ve been pretty excited about general conference. I always feel more uplifted and inspired afterwards. Hearing it as a missionary is special. I hear everything in a different way. This week i want to share only 3 highlights of general conference. These are the top three things that i liked most about conference.

us watching general conference in the office

1.)  I loved what Dieter F. Uchtdorf said about how we receive blessings. He said, ´´Blessings won't come because of our abilities, but because of our choices.´´  That is very true. agency can work wonders.

2.)  Jeffery R. Holland quoted Matthew 5:48“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect”
We can be our own enemy. As children of God we should not demean and beat up on ourselves.  Perfection is still pending! AMEN!!!

3.)  Gary E Stevenson described a total solar eclipse. He put into perspective the sun's size in comparison to the moon´s. It´s like a bike tire and a little pebble. Spiritual eclipses is when we let sin and temptation block the light of the gospel and our father in heaven. We can protect our eyes from spiritual eclipses by wearing the protective glasses of the gospel. Ways we can “wear our glasses´´ is take the sacrament and say our daily prayers. I love that.  We need to look at challenges through the lenses of the gospel. He said don't let small things in our life obstruct our vision of heaven and the future. Don't be blind by focusing on such small things. 

Those were my favorite three things from this general conference. I actually loved all of it, but these three topics called my attention the most. I´m grateful to be a missionary. I know this gospel is true and that following it brings happiness. Love you family!

-Elder Hilton

The new group of missionaries we picked up at the airport September 5th with President and Sister Bangerter