May 11th, 2015

Hello from the beautiful place of New York! . . . Finally

I can't tell you the joy that filled my heart as I got to see all of
your smiling faces! I seriously thought that we were all in same room,
it was so exciting! Then once we were done and the call was over, I
had the thought oh yeah I am in New York right now! :) It is such a
blessing that we can Skype each other face to face miles and miles
away! I am definitely ok with that! Sadly there is never enough time
to tell you all the amazing experience I have been able to have. And
so you will have to deal with the small plates [letters] which I write
an small accounting of the record of this Elder. Nevertheless the
time shall come when all shall be reveled, but until then I must
continue to apologize for the Lord has not made me mighty in writing
like unto the brother of Jared, but my weaknesses may become strong
through the Lord.  Until then be patient with thy son, or brother
yeah even thy younger brother (for some).

So this week things have gotten ridiculous! Winter has become summer
in the matter of like two days; we have had some nice 90 degree
weather the past couple of days. So we have been sweating bullets! The
plus to that is I think it has softened the heart of some of the
people we meet when they look at us with our shirts and ties and dark
slacks. So I guess that makes it all worth it!

We had on kind of weird experience this week. We were walking down
the Erie Canal pretty close to our apartment and we were just talking
to as many people as we could, inviting them to the Pagent and the whole
sha bang.

We went and started to talk to this one girl who was fishing,

and as we were talking to her she was super open to talk with us and she was
asking us questions.  As she was doing it she pulled out her smart
phone all nonchalantly started recording us and our conversation.
It was pretty obvious she was recording, but that wasn't all. She is basically a hippy
and told us her love for everything around her and that she is always
open to hear new things. Also when we invited her to the Pagent she told
us she was going to sign up for it and everything, we were like
we'll do you want to know what it's about?! and we explained the Book of
Mormon to her, which fascinated her.

Then some of her friends came up and were chilling with us as well and were talking to us. It was

really random and everything. Then we had this one random guy who
walked with a strut and his head tilted up, came up and just started
pretty much yelling at this girl to not listen to us, that we were
teaching false doctrine, and said that we didn't believe in God and
Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. . .  And all sorts of garbage, while
he was doing this the girl was recording him on her phone and
everything, it was just weird. After her and her friends came up to us
and were like "that guy is crazy! Your badges say Jesus Christ right
there!"  And so with that we testified of what was true and got
her email and gave her a Book of Mormon and she was like, “I get to
keep this!?!” We were like of course! She said she would read and
study this book! So we were  pretty excited about that.  That's the mission life!

Well great things are happening here!
I love you all!
Happy Mother's Day!
Love Elder Houghton

May the 4th Be With You

Mission work! ( play music)🎼🎶🎼🎶 Baaaa bum bum bum ba ba bad bad da
da da bum. . . .

Turmoil arises in the east coast, wickedness is abounding, and many
are searching for truth  but know not where to find it. Elder Houghton
and his fearless companion, Elder Garland, go to help free the people
from spiritual darkness and bring the light of the restoration to
their lives. Day after day the duo march forth across all of
Pittsford, declaring truth unto this people. They press forward,
despite aching feet, to declare truth unto this people. Sadly many
reject these servants of the Lord, thinking that they are "all set".
However Thinking of new ways to reach out to the people of Pittsford,
The Elders use the great resource of the up and coming Hill Cumorah
Pageant. Many receive this news with gladness and it has helped soften
their hearts. Surprisingly to these elders, is how many of the people
have not actually heard of the pageant, which is only about 15 minutes
travel from Pittsford. And so with gladness they explain to them of
the spectacular spectacle.
The work continues to go forth and many are working hard but also with
these difficulties the joy from it is far greater, for Lori has
committed to be baptized this following Saturday. . .

OK it takes too long to write that way.

This week we also had a specialized training where everyone in the
mission went to the Peter Whitmer Farm. It was so much fun and such a
great experience. It was such a cool experience going to place where
 the church was first organized and to feel of the spirit there. It was fun to be able
to see all those other missionaries as well. I got to meet elder
Gibby's new trainee Elder Bennet! He is a giant, he is 6'8" and is I
think the only missionary taller then president Francis.

And I am super excited for Mother's Day! So this letter will be a
little bit shorter because I will see you soon and talk to you in person! I love you
all! We get done at church at 3, so if you could just let me know
what would work for you that would be great!
I love you all.
May the Forth be with you!
But more importantly God be with you!
Love
Elder Houghton

This is my posterity. Apparently I do have some tall genes in me!

Peter Whitmer's Cabin--Where the church was established

April, 27th, 2015

Hello again from Pittsford New York!

 This week has been a week of adjusting. This is already my 4th area
in the mission, so I thought I would be used to leaving everything
behind again and start all over in a new area, with new things, new
people, pretty much everything except that it is the same work.

Leaving bath was difficult for me this time. So far it seems like my
time in each area is getting shorter and shorter. But I look forward
to the new experiences that await me here in Pittsford.

Pittsford is where our mission office is and also where all the
missionaries go for transfers. So the church building that I now go to
is the first church building I came to in the mission. And every
transfer we go to we meet in Pittsford,--So now it's the church I go
to! Also it was so different coming up from Bath because there are people
everywhere!! I seriously didn't know what to do with myself. “It
doesn't look like Bath anymore Elder! “ This is considerably one of the nicest areas in the mission, so that is really different too.

We had one of the craziest lessons, on Wednesday. We meet with a lady
 who has been investigating the church for about a year and half. Her
husband is a member that started coming back to church recently. Well
let's just say that Lori is the most prepared person I have ever met for
baptism. Her baptismal date is on the ninth and she is so ready for
it. She has already had a calling, she has already spoken in sacrament
meeting, and she has already gone through gospel principles. We went
over to just do a run through reviewing both the Restoration and the Plan of
Salvation as a refresher for her baptism. Well she taught us. So I
guess this lady is pretty prepared. It was so cool.

Elder Garland is my new companion, and he is a good elder and I am
excited to work with him.
Things are finally warming up a little. And the leaves are just now
starting to pop out! And it is a joyous sight!

Sunday we had a huge area broadcast that all the stakes in the North
Eastern states listened to.  Elder Neil L. Anderson and
Robert D. hails spoke and it was the so good. Except the connection to
it here was terrible, the sound would cut out, and then the picture
would go away, and then it would buffer for the whole time, so other
than that part the messages we heard where very inspiring, and
missionary oriented, so I was all for it!

Really good things are beginning to happen here and I am super
excited to see things happen here!
I love you all a ton!
Love Elder Houghton!

Ps. The plumbing went out in our church in bath so they got us one of these. . .

Transfers. Elder Gibby is moving on!

Rocking the tie

 This is my posterity, Apparently I do have some tall genes in me!

April 20th 2015

Hey, Hey, Hey! The News has finally arrived!

 Waiting for transfer calls are probably one of the worst things ever. Because you just never know what is going to happen, it is so exciting! Well Earlier this week Elder Gibby got a call from President to train!!!! I am so excited for him! I am surprised and yet I am not surprised at all, because he is such a great elder He pretty much trained me! I mean he just finished his training and now he gets the awesome privilege of becoming a Father! So I get to be a Grandfather! It blows my mind!  I am so excited for him! 

So with that they are kicking me out of Bath. I feel like I just got here and now I am to go to the land of Pittsford New York! ( which is where our mission office is--- and another thing - Elder Walker served there as well so I am just following the footsteps of my father). It is always so sad to leave an area that I have grown to love! It has been a great privilege to see where this area was (which wasn't very much) to where it is now. It is hard to leave especially the people we have worked with.  I know I can look back and say that I did everything I could to help this area, and we have seen miracles happen and I can look forward to my new area. Pittsford is where I am meant to be and now I get to look forward to put in as much work as I possibly can.

 I am kind of excited for this new experience.  It also helps when the Sacred Grove and the temple are less the 20 minutes away! It is going to be so awesome! They call the missionaries here in this zone The Gardens of the Grove! It is going to be awesome!

This Week has been Crazy! We have both just been sprinting because we knew our time was limited, so we have been out and about proclaiming the restored Gospel as much as we can and it has been wonderful! We definitely meet some interesting people. Such as one man who was on a street corner playing a Trumpet, all dressed in Red White and Blue, with a large banner across his Chest saying "CALL FOR REPENTANCE" he was a nice guy who has traveled all across the U.S. and Europe on his Bike to go to street corners to spread the word. We talked to him for a little while, and he told us he had met missionaries as well all over the world. I thought it was really great and kind of neat.

One miracle happened on exchanges in Penn Yen. we exchanged companionships Saturday night and we still had about an hour and a half to walk around so I was with Elder Wilson and we just were trying as much as we could to follow the Spirit and we walked up to the house of a potential they had. Right as he was about to knock he turned around and said that it didn't feel right so we turned and walked up a different street. We walked up this street for a little bit and then Elder Wilson looked at this random house and said, we should knock on this one. We went over and saw that the people inside were having dinner, but following that prompting we knocked, and this lady answered with a big grin and invited us right in! I looked at her and I knew I had met her before. Then we realized that it was the Lady that worked at a diner that We had eaten at like 3 weeks before on another exchange. She was very friendly and we had a good conversation with them. Then apparently her son's Girlfriend came in and told us that her Grandmother had just died. We weren't able to teach them  but we offered and so we will see what happens. It is so amazing how the Spirit works, It is like the perfect GPS. It will lead you exactly where you need to be and sometimes you don't even realize it, but the Lord knows and he will put us where we are needed! It's so cool to be a missionary! 

Also on that exchange the Zone leaders also went on exchanges with The APs so we had 6 elders in an apartment it was pretty awesome! Each morning for companionship study we sing a hymn and so we had all 6 elders singing “Praise to the Man”, it was pretty powerful! I think we converted everyone who walked by. J

Good things are happening, and I have loved The Bath water, and I am sad to leave it. But it is time, to keep going to work wherever the lord sends us, and let’s do it Boldly and Nobly! 

I love you all!

Hurrah for Israel! 

 This is what happens if you don't have a very strong foundation. Helaman 5:125:12

 Best District in the Mission!

 This is a man is just out walking his dog,-- just another day in Bath.

Elder and Sister Jones- Probably my favorite people in the mission! 

Golfing On P-day! I think I won with the Highest score!