Leaving Hialeah :(

Dear Everyone!

 The golden duo is getting separated :(
And I'm leaving our wonderful Sister Santana too.
She's one of the most Christlike people I know,
and she has an amazing understanding of
the gospel and its application!
I have no idea where I'm going yet,
but will find out tomorrow. And Sister Ware is training!

I'm leaving Hialeah :( :( I know I will love my new area and companion, but it's kind of hard to see that right now. I will find out where I'm going tomorrow, and will update you on Monday. Sister Ware is staying here and training! About time :)








Okay, now down to business, with the little time that remains. We had a super-cool new investigator this week, G (his father's name was Sergio, so they just mixed it up a little. It's a fairly common Cuban practice.) is a young father with two little girls. Before we gave the Harvest blessing in his home he told us he knew that living with his girlfriend without being married was a sin and he needed to repent. Later he told us he'd lost his job six days before we came, and had been reading the Bible and praying that God would help him. It's hard to set up lessons with him because he lives in his mother-in-law's house, but he looked up mormon.org like we told him to and loved it. When he came to church on Sunday he told us how 'bonito' it all was, and told us the whole Joseph Smith story. He is so awesome! Also, he looks like a Latin version of Caleb Chain :)

And another look-alike! An 8-year-old from the ward was baptized this Sunday and he looks like a little Latin Levi. It made me so happy. I was asked to give the talk on the Holy Ghost at his baptism and learned something really cool - having the gift of the Holy Ghost is a promise from God that we'll feel good when we're doing good things. As we're worthy to have the presence of the Holy Ghost we feel good! It's so simple, but I never even noticed it before!

Pollo frito con tajada, L-made. SOOO GOOD.

L came out with us twice this week - and cried at the end of the first night when nobody would open the door to us. But then yesterday we had a great lesson with a struggling less active, where Liliana told her that baptism is just the beginning, and it's afterward that we do most of our growing in faith and repentance. It's so cool how much we as missionaries learn from the people we are 'teaching!'

2 Nephi 13:1-8,12 has never made sense to me. I've read it many times but always kind of skimmed over it. I loved the realization that I made yesterday, that it's talking about apostasy! It is the pattern for a general apostasy as well as a personal apostasy - allowing things of little import to be a bigger part of our lives than the things of God. I'm going to keep studying it, but I was excited for that break-through!

Gotta go pack now, so probably not too many letters... I love you all! Merry Christmas!

<3

HH

Elder Marshall and Hermana Houghton, both of the
CA Modesto North Stake, at the Christmas
Conference.  He's been out a while now,
but this is the first picture we've taken together. . .
And he was trained by Elder Levy, who was
trained at the same time, in the same district, as I was.

Santa Collins and his lovely wife with Sister Ware and I at the mission conference

SOME OF WHAT HH WILL MISS IN HIALEAH. . .

 Sister Santana's 10-year-old grandson Jonathan. 

He arrived from Nicaragua shortly before I came to Hialeah, and whenever we eat with the Santanas he helps us to learn Spanish and we help him with English. 

 A double banana that came from our tree

Sister Ware of course, and R, with his dog Mickey. Who knew but he speaks some English! :)

:)