August 24th 2015

Hello again my most dear and wonderful family!

I should have you know that I have been slightly freaking out for the past 24 hours. "Why" you might ask, well it is because another transfer is over, and that means transfer calls. And that means the potential of leaving this awesome area! I was especially nervousness because just  this last week are seeing so many miracles! The members are reaching out to us more and we are seriously super busy!  I was really scared that I might leave and be  transferred . Well after some pleading with the Lord last night, the calls came in and we are staying!!! I am so happy! So now we have so much work to be done and I am so stoked! 

Let me tell you of some the sweet miracles we have seen this week! Well, one is that we have been really trying to go and meet with all of the members of the ward and we have been practicing teaching.  This is really effective so far and many many of the members  are becoming more comfortable with us.  There are some that have friends that have some potential so we are going to try and meet up with them! 

Saturday though was the kicker of crazy days, We started by going and doing service for a sweet lady that's over 85 years old named Momma T.  We  got to trim her hedges,( i think we looked kind of weird trimming bushes in our white shirts and ties! I think I might start a business called "Formal Landscaping) any who, we got to have lunch with her.  She has had a lot of contact with missionaries in the past and has a lot to do with the community so we think by working with her it will help us reach out more to the community!

After we spent time with her we went over to see if Rada was home but when we got there, only her mom was there( who is from the Ukraine and knows next to zero English so for a good twentyish minutes we just tried talking with her by signing and stuff, Because of it she called Rada and we were able to set up an appointment with her that night, which was good because she hadn't been answering our calls. That lesson was really good we had a member come with us and it was awesome to see him bear testimony with Rada of how the Book of Mormon will change her life! It was awesome! Rada wants to go to the sights with us this up coming week! So we are excited about that!

We had plans  to go  and see a less active brother in the ward, and then to drive down to  Honeyoe Falls in the southern part of our area. Well, I was driving and without even realizing it, we were already half way to the Honeyoe Falls. Well, we were like well it's to late now and so we just went to see everyone we had planned to see, And it was the oddest thing. Everyone was home! We set up future appointments, contacted some referrals ( who weren't interested but who cares they were home so we could know!) 

The coolest part though was there is some members that live in an apartment complex that we have been visiting a lot, and from our many visits we have met several of their neighbor that we have given Book of Mormons to! Well we went to see Shannon who said she was interested in learning more, so we took sister Rosario with us and Shannon wasn't home, but her Mom, Debbie was! Well she told us that she was very catholic (and if it was only us, it would of been left at that) BUT sister Rosrio bore awesome testimony to her of the Book of Mormon and how it has helped her so much, in essence Debbie let us in we talked about the Book of Mormon with her, and she committed to read it! So weren't supposed to meet Shannon at that time we were supposed to meet Debbie! So cool!

Sunday we got to sing a musical number with the sister missionaries in the ward, we sang I feel my savior love, it went very well, ( I was so nervous I was practically shaking on the inside) after church we were basically running around trying to work with and talk to the members! It was so cool! I seriously love this area, I love the members! I love how the Lord is able to put us where we need to be even if it means giving us a stupper of thought. I love this work! I love you all, and I am grateful that I have the coolest member missionary parents! I am so excited for Nicole and I am keeping her in my prayers!   I truly do feel my Savior's  love and am glad to share it with others freely! Have a great week!

Love you Tons!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love

Elder Todd Houghton

August 17th 2015

HELLO hello HELLO hello, I am writing you today, hello

 HELLO hello, HELLO hello, With lots of things to say! Hello.

Man what a week. Basically my whole out look on missionary work is changing, aka the way we find people to teach. A lot of what we have been doing from my time here in the mission field  has had a lot to do with walking around and talking to people on the streets. Which is good. But really it's just not as effective! So last Thursday we got to have a meeting with our ward mission leader, Brother Stone! He is the coolest ward mission leader. But right now he is in Illinois so we had a Skype meeting with him. We felt so professional.:) And we just talked about all sorts of ways  to  more effectively work with the members and get them in a missionary mind set. So we are going to try and go around to all the members in the ward and practice teaching them. And really try and work with the members.

Then on Friday for our district meeting President Francis came and gave the training. He really talked about working with the members! So Saturday came and we went and just visited as many members as we could! We shared some spiritual thoughts, pulled some weeds. It was great!!  Then Sunday came around and we are already feeling a difference in the ward. I am excited! If there is anything that the missionaries do in Idaho that you think is helpful to you as member missionaries let me know.

We also had a cool experience; we got a random call from a Moma T this week and she asked us to come and help do some service for the community. We were happy to oblige. So we went and apparently there was a man that needed some help clearing out his garage that was just full of junk and put it into a big truck --so we did. And it was great! One of the ladies that was in charge came over and started asking us a bunch of questions, about our name tags being elder and what was our belief  on Sunday.  It  was just really good experience. Then after we were done Moma T got us a huge sheet pizza! It was awesome! 

We are seeing a lot of cool things here and I sure love each and every one of you!

Hurrah for Israel 

Love 

Elder Todd Houghton

August 10, 2015

Hello hello!

We have had an interesting fun filled / moving filled / meeting filled/
miracle filled week!
And I have loved it!

We have had so many great opportunities to serve this week, we were
able to go and help a family move into the ward from Layton, so it was
fun talking with them.
Also with moving we got to go help some members in our ward move 
their friends. It was a great opportunity for fellow-shipping  to help this family.
The only catch was the family that we helped were from Russia. And knew
very little English. It was actually real cool. It made me feel like I
had gone foreign for a little bit!

One of the sweet miracles we had, happened on our way to our dinner appointment.
We got to the appointment a little early so we decided to just go walk the neighborhood
for a little bit. So we walked the street and elder Labar
looked at this one house and he said "let's try this one". So we did we
knocked on the door, and a young man around our age came around from
the back of the house with kind of a confused look on his face. At
first it was kind of awkward, ( but what can we say missionary work is
awkward) well we told him that we were going around telling people
about the Book of Mormon, and he said" yea, can I actually have one of
those?" We were a littler shocked at his response but we were like "of
course!" And then he said "yeah! I want to read it before I judge it."

I think my mouth might have dropped. We were a little surprised that's
what we want everyone to say. He said he was interested in learning
more but he had to leave like right then to go to a class. His mom
pulled in to the drive way right as he he had to leave so we got to
talk to her for a while. And she said we could come back and accepted
a Book of Mormon. I was litteraly speechless as we walked back to our
dinner appointment. But we had a great story to share with for dinner.
So we plan to meet with them this week. :) supper excited!

We have had many other awesome miracles. We were able to meet with
many people and place the Book of Mormon in their hearts. We met
two Muslim ladies that were extremely nice and they said they would
read the Book of Mormon, so that was really cool.
Today was really fun we just had a zone p-day, here at the Palmyra
stake center. We had a pot luck so Elder Labar and I naturally brought
panini. It was delish!
Well I love you all!
Miracles are happening!
Love you


Elder Todd Houghton

Aug. 3rd, 2015 Hump Day

Hello again!

This week has been a great week full of all types of service!
We started by helping a member move into their new home on Tuesday. It
was nice, hot and humid.

Wednesday we helped move another family into their new home. It was
nice hot and humid.

Thursday was a very special day because that is the day that I reached
my year mark! Woot woot! It is seriously the wildest feeling. Like it
doesn't feel like a year at all, I still feel like we just came out of
the MTC. But then I think about everything that has happened since
then and it does feel like it. 

We also had the great opportunity to go
and give two priesthood blessings. We got a call on Wednesday night
from a lady that had just recently moved into the ward. She has a
very interesting story. We were able to give a blessing, and share a lesson with her.
right now she is living with her new boyfriend's mother. She was a sweet old lady 
that is not of our faith, and after she said we could come anytime we wanted! It was
great.  

Then we went and to another lady that is from Scotland and we gave
her a blessing. I loved her accent! She seriously call us "son" like 30
times! She hadn't been feeling well. It was great being able to
help her out. Then right after we visited her we ran over to help set up the
Pittsford Farmer's Market. We have been volunteering there for most of
the summer now, and everyone there was very appreciative of everything
we had helped out with so far and so this time they went and gave us a
t-shirt, and Also a bowl of ice cream for the service! It just felt
like one big party! And I love being able to creat these good
relationships with those people! It was so cool!
Then after that we went to a park and burned a shirt to represent the
one year of service! It was really cool!
It was a perfect day!

Burning my shirt on the year mark

Friday I got to participate in such a wonderful event! We got to go to
the temple because there was the sweetest couple that I got to work
with a little bit in Bath went to the temple to receive their
endowments and then they were sealed together! It was such a sweet
experience! I loved it! And I got to see some of my favorite people in
this mission! The Jones's!  I love them so much! Really it was just
wonderful to see the gospel bless the lives of this family in its
fullest! And it made me so happy!

And to top this day off-- Our mission has had the challenge to read 
the Book of Mormon in 42 days! And I finished  10:20 pm on the last night of the 
challenge! It was such a great experience to read that book! I love it with 
all of my heart and I know it to be true!

I am so grateful that I have one more year to go
and tell people the amazing messages that this gospel contains!

Saturday we went and cut down and hauled a huge tree! It was massive,
but we went and did. And now it is in pile by the road. Oh also on
Saturday we helped out with taking out a pillar to a home and also
putting in a new one!

So needless to say we had a great week!

I love you all so much!


God bless!

Church is true!

Read the book!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love
Elder Todd Houghton

July 27th, 2015

Hello again! From the beautiful green, hot and humid country of New York!

It is so good to hear that everything is going well! For all of yall
back at home! I love to hear all the great wonderful things that you
are all doing back west. I read today in 3 Nephi 12:14 Verily, verily,
I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city
that is set on a hill cannot be hid. I read that verse and thought of
you and you truly are all being that light to those around you! And I
love it! ( plus we were reminded every week during FHE!)

I forgot to mention but Elder Labar is from Portland Organ, but his
family moved to Boise about two months before he left on his mission.


We have been seeing so many miracles this week it is so hard to count!
Mostly this week we have been really focusing on the Book of Mormon in
our finding and we are seeing so many great things! Just
this past week we were able to go and place 11 copies of the Book of
Mormon. Each one went to someone that will be blessed to have
that amazing book. I don't know what will come from many of them
but it makes me feel great to know that we are doing all we can to
help these people. And I hope that from this push we will see a great
harvesting of souls!

 But the miracle I want to share with you, happened on Saturday, while we were

 on exchanges with the assistants.
We were walking around the southern part of our area to visit some former contacts
and it was hot and humid, and no one was outside –like at all.

 We took a couple of wrong turns, had a couple
HBH ( home but hiding) then we got to a corner and saw a guy on the
other side of the street on his porch, so we decided to go talk to him.

He was nice but not very interested. They did however, accept a Book of
Mormon. On the way back to our car we met a young African American
girl that looked really sad. So we went over and started talking to
her. When we told her that we were missionaries,  she just got this
huge grin on her face and was like "oh that's awesome! I love church!"
She thought it was the coolest thing and she was like I want to be a
missionary. We told her about the Book of Mormon, and she said she
was really interested in learning more.  She wanted to come to
church and everything. She told us she would be turning 18 next Sunday
and then she would be moving up to Rochester. Now this was really
convenient because I was with Elder Whatcot who is serving in the YSA
branch in the city.  She was especially interested in surrounding herself

with good people. It was just awesome that we were able to run
into her, and to be able to help where we could! We then went back
yesterday night to teach her the restoration, because she wasn't able
to go to church but she still wanted to meet! So that was awesome!

I am so grateful for this gospel! I was especially influenced today
when I read the part in 3 Nephi  when Christ tells them Yea, verily I
say unto you, if ye will COME unto me ye shall have eternal life.
All the lord asks us to do is to come! And he will bless us with eternal life!
Well I love all of y'all tons!
Love
Elder Todd Houghton

Helaman 5:12

The field is white already to harvest!