Casi allí

Hola Todos!!!!  I'm having so much fun! Today was the last day before i get a latino companion so we went on a tour and i got to see some pretty sick stuff. 

First we went to the temple and it was incredible as usual but i had some pretty inspirational revelations. And now i just wanna learn spanish so i can teach better and better!

After the temple we went to this mountain and saw some incredible stuff. We could see the entire city!!!!! And there was some catholic church on the top with some incredible statues of Christ during the different phases of his life. I was pretty inspired by it.

So here's the picture of the city from above

When we were done there we went down into the city and went through a gold museum. It was pretty dope but we went pretty quick due to lack of time. 

Here's one of the pieces from the gold museum.




After that we went and bought jerseys of futbol teams and i picked alemania, the world cup champions. Everyone says i look exactly like them and that i could be on the team hahah!

I'm loving talking to the people out on the streets cuz they're all SO nice and i'm so happy to have been called here. Two more weeks and i'll be in Bolivia!!!!! Super exciting. 

I hope you're all doing well. I know the book of mormon and the temple are the two things that always lift me when i'm going through a rough spot because that's how i get good communication with God. I really feel closer to God out here on my mission. And I know that we all can feel closer if we change the things in our life that take us away from him and add the things we know will pull us closer. 

I love you guys!!!!! until 10 days!!!! 

FIRST DAY OUT

Hola everyone! 

Yesterday was my first day out of the CCM!!!!! It was so scary and nerve racking!!!! Oh man i cant wait to share all the crazy stories! But first, the new Latinos came in 10 days ago and they're amazing! They're way more mature than the last group which is good in some ways but bad also hahahha! But, there's a lot from Bolivia which is sick cuz that's where i'm going and i get to learn more about Bolivia! 

One of them is like this huge gorilla dude and he sits by me and puts his arm around me and gives me like head rubs during the meetings and everyone says it looks like a gorilla protecting me, hahahaha its awesome. He's from Santa Cruz so i love him, were besties hahahahah! 

I get a latino companion in 5 days which is exciting but its gonna be hard cuz it will be all spanish from then on basically hahaha! Dang i'm pumped... Ok here's the exciting part! I went proselyting !!!!!!!!!!! So after we said a prayer we started walking and the first people we talked to were these three old ladies who were so cute and nice i was so glad. Then it just went uphill from there. We got around 20 contacts in 3 hours and i felt so good because almost everyone of them seemed legitimately interested and receptive. I really hope that the missionaries will find success with them. 

Especially this one guy that was INSANE looking!!!!! He had this giant red mohawk, and a super long jedi braid and the contacts that make your eyes look super crazy and piercings all over. And this one piercing in his neck that was really freaky hahahaha! But after the initial shock of his appearance we talked to him and he was SO receptive! We gave him a book of mormon and a couple pamphlets and a picture of Jesus. It was awesome and it was my favorite day on my mission so far cuz it was legit rather than fake investigators which are cool for practice but it just feels good to have real success:) 

The temple is incredible. I'm so thankful for the opportunity i have to go twice a week cuz i love it. Its such a great way to get closer to God and to become a better person! And reading the book of mormon is incredible because everything in it, all the stories and everything can be related to our lives. I just wanted to share my testimony that although we have so much going on in our lives with our iphones, school, work, whatever, its ALWAYS worth the sacrifice to get to the temple, read the book of mormon for an hour, go take the sacrament. Because these things are eternal. I love you guys!!!!

P.S. Me and my district did this super awesome game where we picked animals we would be for different things. So just for fun if you're interested here's the list of what they picked for me hahahah! :

Land animal- Giraffe
Water animal- Seahorse
Air animal- Flamingo
Mythical creature- Elf
Star Wars- C3P0
Lord of the Rings- Legolas
Hobbit- Legolas' Dad
Book of Mormon- Abenedai
Harry Potter- Lucious Malfoy
DC- Kid Flash
Villan- Joker
Super Smash Bros- Link
Celebrity- Shia LeBouf
Disney- The Candlestick from Beauty and the Beast
Video Game- Zelda
History- King Arthur
Greek god parent- Hermes

Columbia is LOCO

Hey everyone! This week was so amazing because I had some SUPER spiritual experiences which of course were countered by some SUPER difficult and miserable experiences hahaha! But I'm learning so much here.

I had to say goodbye to the latinos today  because they come and go every two weeks and were here for 6 so I get to meet three groups of them. Its CRAZY how much I bonded with them even though we can barely communicate! It was super sad. I'm gonna miss them. But it made me realize that I'm just gonna love the people here like crazy and i think that will be a really good thing.

This country is insane... the traffic rules are like recommendations because people are insane on the road. There's way more motorcycles than cars. I'm way surprised I haven't witnessed an accident yet. I'm at the phase with my spanish right now where I'm forgetting how to speak english but i still don't know spanish so its pretty pathetic hahahaha.

The best experiences I've had here have been in the temple, with my district, or during personal study. I went to the temple today and had some awesome insight. I realized that if we just trust that God is guiding us in our lives, which he always is, and we just do our best to be a good boy/girl and obey everything he tells us to do, then there's no reason to not just LOVE life and just be patient with him. I got pretty stressed recently and got down on myself but after this experience I don't see any need to get sad or upset. I'm not perfect and I know I wont be, but if I just trust that what I'm doing is right and just live it, then i have no reason not to just love every moment.

So a little lesson for everyone.... if you have nothing you need to change about yourself, then don't ever stop being happy because you're in the Lords hands. Also my district is just so incredible they're all great examples and I'm with them for a reason. Also the book of mormon has taught me so much and I love reading it here. Its so great to get to read it in silence for an hour each day. I treasure it because it teaches all you need to be happy.

Before the natives left a really cool experience I had was when some of them came in my room and handed me a dollar bill from their country (Boliviano's from Venesuela) and there was a short little note written on them with my name on it. It was really touching and I did the same for them with american money. Then one of them who's learning english told me that I need to send him pictures of all my baptisms. I love those guys.

Here's something awesome: In english my name is Elder Hilton. But with the way that spanish is pronounced I became Elder Eelton hahaha! And with their accents, when they say "Elder" it sounds almost exactly like "Eelton" So I'm basically that "Elder Elder" that everyone jokes about hahahaha! I love it, its hilarious. Here's a picture of my first MTC group. I'm right in the middle. You wont miss me hahahahaha!

I love all you guys and I hope you're all doing well! I'll talk to you soon and I'll send more pics when I can.

-Elder Hilton

First week in MTC

Hey everyone! I've officially been a missionary for like 9 days. Its so awesome to have my badge and everything! Its just crazy cuz when I got here I realized that I'm gonna be so lost for a while cuz no one spoke spanish!!! hahah! It was so scary but I said a prayer and immediately felt comforted and I knew I was in good hands when I was met by a couple of tiny little Colombians hahah!

The first week was SO hard and sketchy cuz I didn't know the language, I was scared and alone. But now I know everyone in the MTC (its called the CCM here and there's only like 60 or less people haha) and I'm friends with all of them! There's only like 12 north americans and the rest are latinos who only speak spanish ahah! But they're so nice and all they wanna do is help us and talk to us. They're super patient with us and I can just feel how pure they are.

Some of their stories are insane! They inspire me with their desire and spirit. I'm gonna be friends with some of them for a really long time. I felt so bad cuz a big thing here is trading ties (cambiar) and I love all my ties cuz they're so nice. But I ended up trading some because I realized that its not about stuff. Its about the people.

Ok here's some stuff I learned this week: the gift of tongues is real and if you pray for it and rely on it, you'll learn so much faster. Also the temple is incredible and its the ultimate goal for everyone. I want to see everyone there with their families on my mission. I know the happiness that comes inside those building and the incredible lessons that are to be learned in them. Also we have a lot to learn from other cultures and languages. The scriptures and hymns are all different here and it creates a whole new meaning for them and its awesome. And their faith is so strong. They pray and just expect and answer right there and they get it! its awesome how faithful these people are I'm so lucky to be here.

Another thing is that we all have different talents and knowledge and insight that people can benefit from. Use Christ`s atonement to see yourself as the amazing individual you are and then don't hold back! Bless peoples lives around you!!!!

It was hilarious to see all the people at the airport and on the plane just glued to their devices. Its ridiculous how people rely on it but I don't judge. I'd do the same if i could hahahah! But try spending like a day without it and just focus on blessing people with service and such it will pay off:)  If any of you are going on missions soon, a word of advice: the first week will be so stressful and hard but just push through it. It'll get easier after a couple weeks. You just need to adjust and figure out how to manage your stress:) Don't give up, just keep trying and pushing through and praying and trusting the spirit and I promise it'll be ok and it'll get easier:)

The book of mormon is awesome. I have time finally to just sit and read it cuz I have to and I don't have any distractions hahahaha:P  But try to just read a few chapters and just chill and don't get distracted and you'll see what I mean. Its so great. I love the book and the lessons it teaches and the joy it brings.

The rules here are crazy and there's no way to really follow all of them. But my heart is in the right place and if I just know that and don't get discouraged when I mess up then its totally fine and super easy to be happy. So that's some advice you can apply. If your heart is in the right place and you're not purposefully trying to be bad, then don't get discouraged if you mess up. Just make a change if you need to, smile and keep living the best way you can. cuz if you let that sorrow in and allow it to take over your life then you'll be in a bad situation. So that's a lesson I've learned here.

Another one is that you shouldn't get caught up in trying to be the best or trying to make everyone happy. Because you wont be the best and you cant make everyone happy. For me, I'm here because I want to share my joy with people through Christ and I want people to feel the same joy. So with that intention in my heart, I wont let other intentions flood in like trying to learn spanish the fastest or be the most obedient or trying to please all my teachers and the president cuz I cant do all those things but with the help of the Holy Ghost, I can make a difference in peoples lives with my message:)

I hope you all have a great week!
Love you

-Elder Hilton