My Dearest Fam Bam and closest friends =) hey!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! This week will be awesome as you my amazing family goes to Oregon, Austin stays in Utah or goes to Colorado, Hayley goes to San Diego, and yea.... I hope everyone is safe and has an amazing time =) we will not be eating Turkey but I will be thinking of my amazing country and how grateful I am for every single blessing that I have in my life =) cuz I have too many to count!
So, this past week was crazy but Ill start with announcements first. AHHHHHH!!! I am literally on the edge of my seat waiting to find out where you go on your mission Austin!!!! I CANT WAIT!!!! Next Monday Ill probably be laughing and crying here in the internet cafe lol. Spencer.... Loved the pic of you in all my clothes =) make sure you send Hayley that pic cuz she picked out that outfit for me lol. You look so handsome and I love you so much =) Madi.... IM SO PROUD OF YOU!!! You got all tourney =) great job!!! you also look so pretty and you are really growing so fast =) Parker... you look like you had so much fun at the football game =) and I love you so much. Dad, I hope work is going well, and I havent gotten an email from you this week haha. You are so busy but the best Dad ever =) And Mom!! Congrats on the Young Woman President =) I love it and know that you will do just amazing. Youre not still in the stake then? Thats awesome family =) you all sound so good and I love you all. Soooo..... I got my Christmas Package from you all!!!!!! YAY!!!!! It got here this past Saturday when we had a zone meeting and the ZLs gave it to me. I opened it and took out the decorations which I am so excited for, got the pics out but left the letters to read on Christmas, and Im leaving all the presents for Christmas =) you are the best family ever!! Elder Barton was like wow.... I never got anything like that. and Mom... you know me so well. I love the little gift bags and cant wait to hand them out, and the Christmas cards. And the CDs are amazing =) I opened those cuz I wanted to listen to them lol. So thank you so much fam =) you are the best. As to Moms question, no I havent sent handwritten letters home yet, but Im doing special christmas cards for all of you, and Elder Barton is going to take them home with him next week and send them from Utah.... so you will get them before Christmas =) I want you all to open them together!!!! OK =) Im super excited and have great ideas for the letters.
Well, I think thats about it for my announcements =) Know that I love you all... and here goes my week =) It was the hardest week of my mission so far, but looking back, I will just learn from my experiences.
November 12th, Monday= Had a great P Day. I thought this past week was thanksgiving ahha. Im dumb. I got letters today from Rachel Jenkins with an awesome pic of me, caleb, her and bree all in the MTC =) merrry christmas rachel!! and I also got letters from Hayley, Mom, Dad, Gaylene, Suzie, and Mama Margie Aiono =) thanks so much to you all and I have so much support. I was reading Castelias email and she said that truly the IOne ward missionaries have the best support. I agree whole heartedly cassie!!!!! =) we have the best ward. And congrats to Cami!!! And I pray for you Grandma Hansen. Love you! Stay strong.
November 13th, Tuesday= Today we taught some lessons, with our new investigators pablo, yolanda, and suzanna. We had ward activity where we are helping all the primary kids learn I am a child of God for the primary program this coming week =) im playing the piano for them so thats exciting!
November 14th, Wednesday. Today we had zone conference and it was amazing. Ill share just a couple things that I learned from President and the spirit. The best part was President had 7 life size cut outs, 3 of Jesus and 4 of angels. He brought up an elder to stand in the middle of all of them and said that this is the power that we all have surrounding us daily =) when we dont keep a rule of something, an angel leaves. It is so important for all of us to keep the rules at all times. Also, OUr Heavenly Father has given us everything, including our agency. This is the only thing we can truly give to our Heavenly Father. This is what we have to give to our hewavenly FDather. Our very will.... and choose to follow him. Agency begins with desire, which desires do we have to do most, and our choices will reflect those desires. My desires are to serve now, even though it is hard, very hard at times, but that is the desire of my heart =) my desire is to be with my family for eternity, so I exercise my agency in making the decisions that will allow me to continue on that path. Also, president focused on the miracle of the BOM and how that is greatest missioanry that we have. Converts and members alike MUST have a testimony of the BOM, ort else they will fall off the path and be lost. I love the BOM and am loving reading it daily! I loved the conference and the opportunity it gave me to think about all of this and the use of my agency =) I love the gospel!!! What my life would be without it I can never imagine. The rest of this day was good.. We had some lessons and it was good.
Thursday, November 15th= Well, today was hard. We had literally every single appointment fall through. We were relying on back up plans, and even those fell through. Dont let anyone ever tell you that a mission is perfect, because there are days and weeks that just seem to all go wrong. Today was the beginning of that for us. Its great though to be able to look back, think about how I can improve, rely on the Atonement to comfort us and help us commit to being better. Also, today we were washing dishes after lunch for the members and I was washing and didnt see a knife. Definitely sliced my thumb open on it. It was a a half an inch long on my right thumb, and bled so long haha. The members were like ahhhhhh!!!!! But they fixed me all up, and we cleaned it really well. Now its fine, but im defintely going to have a legit smile shaped scar on my right thumb =) love it. Also tonight we switched comps to do divisions. I was in our are again with Elder Gonzalez from Mexico City. =)
Friday, November 16th, = Today was great! Elder Gonzalez is really awesome and we got along great, with our mixed spanish and english when I didnt know how to say something haha. It was really cool... we were doing an inspired question activity in comp study and he said... ok... Im going to use inspired questions on you. So, he asked me what are the most important things in my life. I said my family and the GOspel. He said, ok, and what else. i said my friends next, and then he asked what was my biggest concern right now. I said Spanish, and after thinking about it for a good minute or so, said also the safety of my family while Im away. Spiritually and physically. He looked at me really intently and was like.... I have a scripture to share with you. He turned to D and C 100 verse 1. He said to replace Joseph and Sydneys names for mine and his. It says, Veryily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my friends Elder Hoyt and Gonzalez, your families are well, they are in mine hands, and I iwll do with them as seemeth me good, for in me there is all power. I read it out loud, and the spirit was so strong. I was in tears by the end, I didnt even know I had been worried about that, but with inspired questions of the Spirit and the scriptures, my resolve was concerned. It was amazing. I miss you all so much family, but know that you are in the Lords hands =) and that allows me to focus more and not worry.
Saturday, November 17th. So today our appointments continued to just kinda fall through, ugh. But today we did have a lunch buffet put on by all the bishops and the stake presidency for all of us missionaries =) so our whole zone got to go eat as much food as we wanted, and a huge table of desserts with a chocolate fountain =) wow!!! haha. It was amazing. All of us missionaries were like little kids again lol.... (not that were anything really but little kids =)) hahahaha. We also had a baptism tonight of investigators we used to teach but then moved into the ZLs area. The woman asked elder barton to baptize her, so we got to go do that. It was amazing and we got to sing for it. Also, the ZLs left the font running accidentally and it flooded. So we had to mop up the bathrooms and hall cuz water was spilling out hahahahha. Life of a missionary =)
Sunday, November 18th. Really a hard day. None of our investigatros came to church, and we didnt have any lessons. We visited members that were supposed to have the investigators at the lesson, but the 2 we had planned, the investigators couldnt come. Also, Elder Barton made me a hot dog that I ate, even though I didnt really want to cuz I hate hot dogs lol. We had chile rellenos for lunch (which were spicy and deep fried) and deep fried Chicharones at a members. So yep..... it finally happened. Last night I got sick. I was up at 1 in the morning after going to bed at 9=15, puking up everything that I ate. It was a double dose.... remember when Dad ate the bad pizza from Little Caesars...yep,... that was me last night (Family... youll get that reference =)) haha. Ugh... it was awful. I dont think ill ever eat hot dogs or chile rellenos again lol. I still feel a little sick right now, but Im feeling better. But hey! I went farther than most Americans without getting sick, i went almost 3 months in mexico =) so blessings.
So pretty much this week we had the lowest numbers ever at the end of the week, after having the highest last week haha. The life of a missionary. But I learned many important things. Always work my hardest, have agood attitude,a nd keep pushing forward =) Elder Barton leaves next week and Ill be getting a new comp next Monday!! AHHHHH!!! Crazy!!! So, lots of prayers for me =) I love you all so much family and hope you all have an amazing time at the cabin this week =) say hi to everyone for me, and send them my love. I love you all and cant wait to find out where austin goes on his mission!!!! Btw... the pics are of me in a path through the jungle that we like to take, and me and some of the missionaries in my zone.
I love you all and always will for eternity =)
With all my love, Elder Hoyt =) Seth =) Little Seth =) Sethie Poo =)
Elder Hoyt on a path through the jungle that the Elders like to take!
Some of Elder Hoyt's Zone!
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