Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year!! Hope you enjoy celebrating a new start!!

It was great to celebrate Christmas this week. Already though it seems like that happened a very long time ago! So weird how time flies but at the same time so much happens that the beginning of the week seems like it happened a month ago!

This was a really, really good week. We were able to teach a lot and even surpass some of our goals for the week! We were also able to see miracles. One day we prayed to know where we should go to find, and both of us received the impression that we should go to a certain street...we were able to talk to several people there that seemed really interested. The best part was that we knew that that was where we were supposed to be at that time, for whatever reason. Another day we went to St. Helena, a little town in the far-away part of our area and were received into the home of a woman when we knocked on her door. She is amazing and definitely someone who is searching. And we found her because Heavenly Father knows her and loves her and He directs us his servants. That same day (actually right next door) we knocked on the door of a young boy who used to meet with the missionaries. He has since been in contact with us and asking us lots of questions...he's searching for truth too, as well as his cousin. Again, Heavenly Father helped us to be there in the right place at the right time to find them.

I'm so grateful for the blessing to be serving here in Napa, seeing and helping the area strengthen, and being a part of the miracles that are happening in our mission.

Also, I forgot to tell the family when I talked to you on Christmas that my mission president said to tell you hello and that he is grateful for the sacrifice you are making as I serve here in the mission. He said he'll take good care of me!!! And he is. 

Anyway, love you all so much! Enjoy making some goals to start the new year--remember that it is through the power of Christ that real change can come into our hearts and into our lives. I know that power is real and am so grateful to have it sustaining me as I serve here in Napa.

So much love,

Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear lovely family and friends,

Merry Christmas!! I am so grateful for all of you and your support and love! I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas Day as we commemorate the birth and life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I want to express my testimony that He lives. I know that He lived and died for us and gave everything so that we can find peace and joy here in this life and enjoy even greater happiness in the eternities in the presence of Him, Jesus Christ, and our Father in Heaven. I know They love us. I know that no matter what our failings are or how weak we feel, the grace Christ has provided through his atoning sacrifice is enough. It's enough to cover our sins, it's enough to lift us in all of our sorrows, and it's enough to heal us from every pain and disappointment that can come to us in this life. I've felt that healing power, that strength, and that grace. I've felt Christ's love and sustaining power even in the times of my deepest sadness, and I testify that He is always there for us.

Look to Him and live. That is the promise for all of us, and I know it is true. We can live more fully physically and spiritually, now and forever, if we put our faith and trust in Him.

This week in Napa has been wonderful. There has been a LOT of rain. Pouring! All night, all day, pretty much this whole weekend. The river yesterday was clear up close to overflowing. I haven't heard of any flooding in town, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some in the surrounding areas and I think it's a definite possibility if we get any more rain.

Last night we went as a group of missionaries and caroled downtown. (The rain had stopped.) It was a wonderful time to just be able to sing our testimonies of Christ and see the smile it brought to people's faces. It was kind of funny because a reporter from channel two came and we got filmed and one of the Elders was interviewed. She wanted to know mostly just what we thought of the weather because that's what her story was about. But anyway, maybe we were on TV! 

This is a wonderful place to be spending the Christmas season. Everyone is very friendly and so many of the members have invited us to come to their homes today and tomorrow. Tonight we're eating tamales with one of the families, so I'm excited for that because I LOVE tamales, and I love them! Also this weekend we made cookies and cards and went and caroled to some of the members of our congregation and other people we are teaching. It was neat to do that, to feel of their love and gratitude and to remember doing the same thing back at home during Christmastime. 

Well, I hope that you all find ways to make this a very special Christmas, to reach out and serve those who are around you and to make room in your heart to receive our King.

I love you all and appreciate the cards, letters, support, and prayers!!

Love,
Hermana Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a good week. I am so very grateful that Sister H was able to come to this area because she has connections from serving before around this area. It's awesome because it's helped us know better how we can find and teach and strengthen people in parts of our area that we weren't really focusing on before. 

Well, I am adjusting well I think to working with Sister H. I love the ideas and energy that she brings to the work here and the love that she has for the people we teach. With her, I am learning to see some things from a different angle. We work at a different pace and in a different way, but still it is with the same purpose and love for the Lord and for his children. I feel so blessed to receive her constant encouragement--she really has a gift of expressing love and support.

I hope that each of you is having a wonderful holiday season. At a time when we exchange gifts, I've been thinking and learning a lot about the precious gifts that our Father in Heaven has given each of us. Not just physical gifts like our bodies and our homes and families but also spiritual gifts and talents that help us to serve him and those around us. He truly has blessed each one of us with very special abilities that I think a lot of times we don't even recognize. 

Also..as far as trials are going. Still so far so good. I keep praying for them. And still seeing way more blessings than challenges each day. 

Thanks for you love and encouragement and prayers!

Love,
Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful, wonderful week!

This new transfer has started off amazingly! It was hard to see Sister O. leave, but I am so grateful for this opportunity to work with Sister H. here in Napa. She is a wonderful companion, and I am learning so much from her already. She is a great example to me of expressing lots of love; working, teaching, and living in unity; being very open; and living every day joyfully. I love her so much. And I'm excited to be working with her and helping and loving her.

This week (before the weekend) was a bit slow with transfers and Sister O going home, but it was at the same time a miraculous and marvelous week. Cesario was baptized and confirmed! We were led by the Spirit to the places we needed to be at the times we needed to be there! We found new people to start teaching!

It is wonderful to see how the Chapel Hill Branch is becoming more unified. There were a LOT of members that attended the temple trip Saturday, and there is excitement among the members to share the gospel more and progress toward making and keeping temple covenants.

I am so grateful for the wonderful blessing it is to be serving here in the Santa Rosa Mission!!!!

This week, our zone leaders invited us to accept a challenge from Sister Alba to pray for trials. I'm doing it. So far, so good. I hope to see a lot of growth in myself and in those we're serving as I try to be grateful and learn from all of the challenges that Heavenly Father sees fit to bless me with. I trust Him to make of me the best missionary (and person) that I can be. That means I'm reminding myself often to not worry so much about trying to be what I think is the ideal but rather to depend in every moment on the promptings of the Spirit to direct me and teach me and the power of the Atonement to give me power to do His will, not mine. It's a peaceful way to live.

I know that Heavenly Father knows all of us perfectly. He knows our divine potential, and we can ask him to help us get there! He'll help us (even when it means sending us trials to help us learn and grow). He loves us!! More than we can understand.

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers, your love, and your support.

Love,
Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dearest Family and Friends,

 

I hope you are having a fantastic week.

 

This has been a great week for us. It was my last week with just Sister O., and my new companion, Sister H. will be coming to Napa today. Sister O. is actually going to also be coming back to stay with us for a few more days until her family comes to pick her up this weekend. This Friday at 7, Cesario is getting baptized! It will be neat for Sister O. to be there for it! It has been wonderful to see how he has made changes and worked to be ready to be baptized this week.

 

It's also been very rainy this week! Wow! Beautiful though, and everything is drying out now, I think.

 

Well, time is super short because of transfers today, but I am grateful for each of you and your support. Please keep me in your prayers--I know Heavenly Father hears and answers each of the prayers that we offer for ourselves and for others.

 

Love,

Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

Are you having a terrific day? I hope so. If not, take a moment to count your blessings...just think of 10 things you're grateful for before you continue reading.

Okay! Now I'm sure you're having a terrific day. 

This week for Thanksgiving we had posole (it's a soup with garbanzo beans) with shredded turkey. The family we ate with had prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal as well but the turkey wasn't cooked in time, so we ended up taking home turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and sweet potatoes. So I had my Thanksgiving on Friday for lunch while we were planning for our week. It was REALLY yummy. 

I am so grateful for the members of our branch who love and serve us so much. They are really wonderful.

This week we also got to talk to a lot of new people and found some people that we are starting to teach. It's been a really good week.

This week is my last week with Sister O.; I'll be getting a new companion next Tuesday. I am so grateful for what I have learned from her. She has taught me to pray more fervently, depend more on Heavenly Father, listen carefully, and, most of all, work HARD. I love her very much and have been so blessed to work with her.

I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father has seen fit to place so many wonderful people in my life to be my friends and examples. Thank you for what you have done to bless my life, even in the smallest ways.

Have a very fantastic week!

Love,
Hermana Brighton

Dear wonderful family and friends,

Happy thanksgiving! This is going to be an awesome thanksgiving week. There is just so much thanksgiving to do--I don't think I've ever been so conscious of how blessed I am.  I truly have so much to be grateful, not the least of which is your support and encouragement. Thank you! 

I love that in Spanish, Thanksgiving Day is translated as Dia de Accion de Gracias. The day to put our thanks in action! I plan to do that this week--to make a bigger effort to express gratitude to those around me and especially to Heavenly Father for the great things that are around me.

Speaking of which, it is beautiful here in Napa right now. The trees have changed colors, with lots of reds and yellows, and there are leaves on the ground. Today is particularly beautiful. In the car this morning, we just rolled the windows down, and the breeze and the temperature were perfect.

A weird thing is that with the time change and winter it is getting dark now really early. Before five it starts getting kind of dusky and then it's completely dark and you can see the stars by about six o'clock. This makes doing any kind of knocking on doors after dinner a little hard--even when it's only six, it seems later to people because it's so dark. So we try to have appointments in the evening or go teach people we think will probably be home. (:

This weekend Katie got baptized! Her parents were there, so we got to meet them finally. Her aunt made her a really cute white dress for her confirmation, and she was really happy. Everything went really well. I got to play the piano for the opening and closing songs.

I also got to play the piano in sacrament meeting and relief society yesterday.  I'm so glad I can play. Thanks, Mom, for the encouragement to do piano lessons so many years. (:

Well, time is flying by. The days seem short, always with so much to do. This week we were blessed with a lot of opportunities to just talk to people who crossed our path and to introduce them to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and invite them to learn more. I love those little conversations, times when I see how Heavenly Father places those who are searching for answers right in our way.

I love you all and appreciate so much your prayers and encouragement! Take time this special holiday week to think about all the blessings that you have to be thankful for. Even and especially the little things! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

The sign reads "Captain Moroni Tree, 2.400 years old"  This is the district (group of missionaries) that Hermana Brighton is part of. They had a service project in the Redwoods. Dear Family and Friends, Hello! I hope that you all are doing fantastically. Thank you for your support, especially your prayers on my behalf. I have been so blessed and so happy in this week. Sister O. and I are working hard and seeing great miracles here in Napa. This Saturday, both Hisa and Max were baptized. It was wonderful to see how happy each of them was as they took this first step on the path to eternal happiness and joy. Almost all of Saturday was taken up with preparations for the baptism: we met Max to try on his white clothes in the morning, then we had to be back at the church to start filling the font at 3 pm. There was another baptism at 4:30, then Max was baptized at 5:30 and Hisa at 7. So we had a busy day!! With the extra time in the middle of the day, we were able to find a couple of people who we will be going back to teach later this week, and we also had time after Hisa's baptism to go and teach a couple of young boys who are members of the church but haven't been coming to church for a while. We read from the Book of Mormon with them about the miracle of the 2,060 young warriors whose faith and obedience preserved every single one of them from death. I love working hard in the service of the Lord all day, every day. It is such a blessing to be a missionary, and I am learning to look to the Lord in the times that are hard, for example when nobody is home and when people don't want to make the changes that would bless them so much. I've sent some pictures from the Missionary Training Center and from the camp the week before last. I'll also try to send pictures from the baptisms. Thank you again for your support and encouragement. I hope you all are enjoying your week and remembering the love and care that our Heavenly Father has for you in every moment. I know he gives each of us miracles every day as we ask for them in faith. When we look, we'll recognize those great blessings! Much love, Hermana Brighton

Hi!

Thank you for all the letters and prayers of support. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family and great friends who believe in me and remind me to keep doing my best!

This past week we had the opportunity to meet together as all of the missionaries in the Santa Rosa Mission at a camp and to learn how we can better serve the Lord and have more faith in the promises of the Lord. This is an exciting time for missionary work in this area because we have been promised by a servant of the Lord that we can increase the number of people that we help to come to Christ and enter into the covenant of baptism to 101 every month. That is a lot of people! But I know it will happen because I have already seen miracles that have brought us into the homes and hearts of people who are seeking the truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that we teach. We will also soon have 86 more missionaries serving in this area, so the work is really picking up.

I am learning more and more every day the importance of the simple things. Our Heavenly Father works in simple ways--the most important things we can do each day are some of the smallest things. Prayer. Studying the scriptures. When we talk to Him each day and let Him talk to us by reading the words He has given us, then no matter what trials or problems we have, we will have peace and the strength that we need. Missionary work is hard work--it's wonderful work. I'm grateful for the peace and strength Heavenly Father gives me each day as I turn to Him to help me do His great work and serve the people here in Napa. I love them. I love my companion, and I love the members of the church here who love us so much in return. I love our Heavenly Father, and I know that he knows and loves us perfectly.

Make today a fantastic day!! I love you!

Love,
Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear Family and dear friends,

 

Hello! I hope you all are doing fantastically!

 

I have had a pretty exciting week. Besides the fact that I have been learning a ton and preparing to be a much much better missionary than I could have imagined, I also had an interesting blessing-in-disguise experience:

 

On Tuesday playing soccer with my companions and some other hermanas, I rolled/sprained my ankle. I went to kick the ball at the same time as another sister coming the other direction and my ankle just kind of snapped in. I was down on the ground, literally crying, it was so surprising and painful. Still managed to remember the name of my ankle in Spanish to tell my companions what was wrong! So then they helped me to the trainer in the little building outside (where we were playing) and the sister who checked me out did a couple tests and said it might be fractured. So they had to get a van to come pick us up. My companions were excited about that. (: Then the doctor in the health clinic said it seemed fine and I was able to walk with a brace but no crutches the rest of the day. I received a priesthood blessing that evening, and since then I have had just a little soreness with some movements but have been able to walk without the brace. It's been a miraculously quick recovery! A really cool thing though is that I have to do rehabilitation to make sure that I strengthen the ankle to prevent future injuries. A trainer I talked to said most people don't take care of it and have a permanently weakened joint afterward. So I am really determined to do everything they''ve told me, and I can already tell that it is helping.

 

It reminds me of how we have to diligently work to strengthen our testimonies and our characters. When something bad happens, we can use it to actually build and become better. We can gain confidence. Cool huh?

 

Anyway, I love you all!!

 

Have a great week.

 

Love,

Hermana Brighton

To my wonderful family and friends:

 

I love you! Thank you for your prayers on my behalf and for the letters of support.

 

This first week and a half of training has been wonderful. Definitely haven't been bored! We have had a very irregular schedule because of General Conference the first weekend we were here. Definitely switched things up for a couple days! And it was so wonderful to hear the words or our prophets and leaders. As you can imagine, the Saturday morning session of conference was really awesome here. When President Monson announced that young men will now be eligible to serve a mission at age 18, and young women at 19, it got a little crazy. Well, not too crazy since it's the MTC and it was conference, but there were definitely a few cheers, and you could just feel the excitement and energy in the room. You could hear everyone whispering to each other about how awesome it was and who they knew who would now be serving missions very soon. And then that's what we were all talking about  for the entire weekend. I am so excited for this change. The Tuesday after General Conference, Elder Bednar came and talked to us and mentioned the change (we sustain him as an apostle and prophet--how awesome is it that we got to hear his commentary on the inspired decision to make this change?!). He said, "When I hear people pontificating about why the missionary ages have changed, it cracks me up!" He continued to explain that it's silly to guess this reason or that and said he'd give us two reasons for the change:

 

1.The Lord can do His own work.

2. He will hasten His work is his own time.

 

Wow.

 

Also, my teacher made a comment yesterday about how we will be the missionaries to train these incoming 18- and 19-year-old missionaries.What a great responsibility and blessing that will be.

 

Some other details about life here in the missionary training center: There are 7 hermanas and 5 elders in my district. Nobody I've talked to has ever seen a district with so many sisters in it! It's awesome. We have class six hours a day most days. The rest of the time is studying and eating. I love it. Also, there are exercise classes for sisters in the mornings that I've really enjoyed, and we have gym time during the day when my companions and I usually play volleyball. Oh yes, I have two companions again! Just like in Conroe! It's a great blessing, and we get along super, super well. We speak Spanish together, pray together, serve together, study together, and love each other so much! Couldn't be more blessed. I know that I am with these sisters for a reason. One's going to California, the other to Dallas (same mission where Eric waited for his visa!).

 

THank you again for you love and support! Que Dios les bendiga mucho.

 

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

 

You all are awesome. Thank you for your love and support.

 

I'm not sure what to write today. My heart is full, but my mind is a little empty! Let me just start by telling you all what I am thankful for right now:

 

I'm thankful for the people in Conroe who welcome us as missionaries into their homes to teach them, I'm thankful for members of the church in this area who work with us and feed us and encourage us and love us. I am thankful for my companions and their love and support and examples to me of how to love people and live and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the lessons we've taught that have been so difficult, for the times when people didn't want to open their hearts yet, because they helped me appreciate the miracle of seeing people (sometimes those same people!) have their hearts softened and their minds open to the words we're teaching. I'm so thankful for the Holy Ghost, who has given me words to say to help soften hearts. I'm thankful for the many, many answers to my many, many prayers that have sustained me and helped me see the hand of God in every hour of each day. I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord. Above all, I am thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and his willing sacrifice of everything on our behalf.

 

Well, I've remembered a couple of stories that you all might enjoy:

 

One: Hermana Edge and I were on our own last night while Hermana Coogan attended a baptismal service in another area. We were preparing to go talk to some people and hand out some flyers about the English class we're teaching, and so we'd opened the trunk to pull them out. When we closed the trunk, Hermana Edge looked at me with an "oh no!" expression. We'd locked the keys in the trunk! The car doors were locked and the phone was inside! Well, this was the first time Hermana Edge has ever locked herself out of a car, but she was amazingly calm. Just as calm as I was, and it was nothing new for me (can't tell you the number of times I've locked myself out or done something like unto it). Luckily, we had parked outside the home of a family we know, and the two boys (young adult and teenager) just happened to know how to "break in" with a coathanger. It took about forty minutes, but they rescued us!! What a blessing.

 

Two: This morning I killed a cockroach for Hermana Coogan. That's not the funny part. They funny part is that she was saying, "Oh, it's really big. It's a huge one!!" but after I got it, I saw that it was one of the smallest ones I've ever seen. When I told her, "Hey, look, it's a small one," she said, "No, it's big. It's just because you're from Texas." Yes, I guess everything is bigger in Texas, even the cockroaches!

 

Hope you all enjoyed that! I will add to my list that I am thankful for YOU! Have a fantastic week. I'll be home Thursday!

 

Sincerely, 

Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear wonderful family and friends!

 

Hope you all are having a fantastic day!!

 

First, thank you Mom, Ashley, Alex, Scott, and Stacey for leaving the signs and cupcakes at our apartment yesterday for my birthday! I was so surprised to see that there for me from you guys that I started crying a little bit. Happy crying, of course. It was weird to think that you had been right there just a little earlier in the day. (I forget how close to home I am most of the time; for the most part it feels like a very different world.) Wow, you guys are the best! I blew out the candles last night (no, I didn't make it in one breath, oops!) and my companions and I enjoyed cupcakes. I loved the designs you made with the frosting--those were awesome cupcakes!! Thanks too for the cookies! I'm guessing Alex made them? They are fantastic, and Hermana Coogan really,really loves chocolate chip cookies so that was awesome for her. She said to tell you thank you!! I'm also really grateful for the candy and for the fruit--I've been missing oranges a little bit! And the peach was perfect. I ate it for lunch today! Again, that was just awesome!! Thank you so so much.

 

My companions have been very sweet to me today to help me celebrate my birthday! A dry erase note on the bathroom mirror, eating breakfast with me, getting peaches for me at the store, and we're going to go to a panaderia after this to get sweet bread because I haven't been yet. They are taking very good care of me (as they've been doing for this entire transfer). I sure love them. They are so awesome.

 

Well, I would like to tell you all about just one day from this week. It was a miraculous, awesome day. I'm going to basically just quote from my journal:

 

Saturday, 11 August 2012

 

Today was a marvelous day!

 

After reading during personal study the promise in 3 Nephi 18 that I will receive the good things I ask for in faith, I prayed that today we would be able to meet with every person we had planned for and then if there was an appointement that fell through it would be according to Heavenly Father's will and we would go where we needed to be. This prayer was answered. WE did have two of our hoped-for lessons fall through (although neither was a confirmed appointment), but we had much success in that time that we would have been teaching. We had our first lesson planned with [the woman I talked about last week] but had never been able to confirm the appointment with her because her phone has been out of commission. She was not home, so we left a note and went to try to contact some people who had been referred to us. There was one on fourth street with an address that didn't exist. So we knocked at the house with the closest street number. We woke up an older man who came out and talked to us. Turns out he and his wife are the only hispanics on the street. A little weird, since that means we have no idea where the person we were referred to actually lives, but what a blessing that we could meet him! We talked a little while and made plans to come back to teach him and his wife next week. After our other fallen-through lesson, we went to contact a man who lived very close by who'd been referred to us. His mother answered the door and told us he would be home later and named the time he should be back. We returned later after that time and met with him and his parents. He was referred by a friend he works with at Sonic. He met with missionaries about twenty years ago in Mexico when he was a teenager and seemed very excited for us to be there. We taught them about our purpose as missionaries and about prayer. One neat thing was that when we asked if they had any questions, his mother basically repeated back to us what we'd just explained. She really was listening and understanding! We invited him to come to church, and although circumstances make this week really tough if not impossible for him to come, he seemed positive about coming next week.

 

We also had a couple of especially great planned lessons today. We taught [two children we've been working with] about the Holy Ghost (again). [They have a pretty hard time paying attention and we have to keep teaching just a little at a time and reteaching things.] I sang them a primary song about the Holy Ghost and we played a game with a blindfold and someone whispering to try to help them understand how the Spirit speaks with a still small voice. I'm glad I've had a lifetime of those kinds of lessons with kids; otherwise it would be really frustrating to teach and not really be paid attention to! We also taught about the steps of the gospel to [a family who has been meeting with missionaries for a long time] and they said they will come to church tomorrow! It's been a while since they've gone. It is awesome to see them actually making changes in their lives to live what we're teaching them about! [Note: They did come to church yesterday!! I'm excited for them to keep learning a living the gospel more and more. I can tell they really want to have the peace and blessings that we've been teaching them about.]

 

Well, that was my journal entry. We had similar experiences yesterday too. I am so grateful to be here doing the Lord's work. It is truly a blessing to see the hand of the Lord working in the lives of His children. I know that He loves and watches over each one of us. He answers our prayers and helps us be the answers to other people's prayers. He'll do that for you too! 

 

Make your day a great day! I really appreciate all your love and prayers and support!

 

Sincerely,

Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear wonderful family and friends,

 

Hello! I hope you are having a fantastic day!

 

It has been another very fast week for me. And another wonderful one! 

 

I love doing Heavenly Father's work. I know that He truly loves all of us, His children, because I see miracles every day as He blesses us and the people around us. So many times, we know exactly where to go and what to say not because it was part of our plans or somebody called us to come over but because the Spirit whispers to our minds what we need to do or say. This happened just yesterday when we had just finished teaching one family and we had some time before we were supposed to be at our next appointment. As we were driving away, I remembered a woman that we had visited just once with. She hadn't been home when we came for our next appointment, and, to be honest, we just hadn't thought about her during our planning for the weekend. But as soon as I said her name, my companions both agreed that yes, we needed to go visit her. She was home, and we taught her a lesson about the steps of the gospel and talked with her about what she needs to do to get back on the path that leads to eternal life. She told us that she was so grateful that we had come by, that she had needed us right then.

 

I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is so wonderful to have a member of the Godhead with me at every moment to guide me, comfort me, remind me of things I've learned, help me feel God's love and peace, and testify of truth to me. I'm glad that this isn't a gift that I can have just while I'm a missionary but is instead a gift that I was able to receive after baptism and enjoy throughout my entire life. What a blessing! I'm so grateful for the constant companionship of the Spirit that has blessed and protected me so many times. This friend and guide is helping me to learn more and become better each and every day. I know that as we work to receive and listen to the Holy Ghost, every aspect of our lives is blessed.

 

Thank you so very much for your encouragement, prayers, and support! Have an awesome week!!

 

Sincerely,

Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear fantastic family and friends,

 

You all are amazing! I hope you are having a wonderful week.

 

 I know I've settled into the swing of things here because time has started to just fly! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting here in the library typing an email home, but in reality, a week has gone by. And it has been a wonderful week.

 

We have met and and talked with and served and taught so many people. We also had a zone conference this week--a meeting of lots and lots of missionaries where we were given instruction and encouragement and training by the mission president and other mission leaders. It was very uplifting.

 

One of the main talks was given by President Chappell, who is a counselor to the mission president. He spoke to us about something he called visualization and how we can use this technique to become better. I'm going to share the main points of his talk because it was so amazing, and I think that everyone can benefit.

 

1. Our subconcsious mind is more powerful than our conscious mind.

2. Our brain is a goal-seeking machine. When it is given a goal, it will work day and night to accomplish that goal.

3. Subconscious beliefs about ourselves determine or limit our actions, performance, successes, and failures. Our image of ourself is the goal our brain will work towards.

4. The human nervous system cannot distinguish between actual experiences and experiences that are imagined vividly and in detail. (He shared some supporting data from several scientific studies.)

5. Our Creator has given each of us the ability to change the beliefs we have about ourselves.

 

Basically, what we tell ourselves we are is what we are going to become. What we tell ourselves we can do is what we're going to be able to do.

 

One of my very favorite scriptures is in the Book of Mormon, in Ether 12:27. It is the words of Heavenly Father to us, and I'm going to paraphrase to make it more personal: If you come unto me, I will show you your weakness. I give you weakness so that you will be humble, and my grace is sufficient for you because if you humble yourself before me and have faith in me, I will make weak things become strong for you. I know that this promise from our Heavenly Father is true because I have experienced its fulfillment in my life. I know that because of His grace, we can access the power of the Atonement that our Savior Jesus Christ has made for us. Because of this, we don't need to ever tell ourselves that we aren't good enough or that we can't. Because of Jesus Christ, we can! And as we continually remind ourselves of this and program our brains to believe it and work toward becoming as He is, we will be blessed! I challenge you to try it out! Think of something you want to work on and pray about it daily. Remind yourself that you can do it, because you have Heavenly Father's help. I'm doing it now, with two specific goals, and I'll let you know how it goes. I'd love to hear how it goes for you too!

 

Have a great week! I'm so grateful for all of your support and encouragement.

 

Sincerely,

Hermana Alicia Brighton

Dear family and friends,

I hope that you are having a fantastic week! 

My time here in the Texas Houston Mission is flying by. We have been blessed this week with a lot of work to do and have had a busy schedule. Even when the schedule didn't go as we planned, there were so many times that we came to the right place at the right time to teach someone. 

We are teaching so many families and individuals! I am finally getting to really know and recognize and remember the people we are working with, and it is such a sweet experience. I know that Heavenly Father loves his children more than we even understand. He loves us missionaries working in his kingdom, He loves the people we meet and teach, He loves everybody. He loves you! Because he loves us, he lets us make our own decisions so that we can learn and grow and become more like He is. He prompts and asks and commands us, but He never forces. This is something we explain a lot to the people we are teaching, or trying to teach, because a lot of times they are afraid that we are going to force our beliefs on them. We don't ask them to take what we teach and blindly believe it--we ask them to listen with open hearts and minds and then to go to their Heavenly Father in prayer and ask if what we've taught it true. This ability to communicate with Heavenly Father one-on-one and receive answers directly from Him is such a great gift.

One thing people often ask us about, especially when we are contacting them for the first time, is how we learned to speak Spanish. They are usually surprised by how little time we have been speaking, and I've learned from my companions that this is a good opportunity for us to explain about our calling and purpose as missionaries. We get to explain that Heavenly Father wants all of his children to hear the gospel taught in their own language, and that we receive the gift of tongues to help us complete that purpose. This is such a blessing, and I am grateful that I am able to communicate the truths of the gospel to these wonderful people. I know that my Spanish still needs A LOT of work, and I have a really strong desire to understand more fully and speak more fluently.  However, my limitations are helping me learn. When I can't catch everything people are saying, I can still listen for the promptings of the Spirit to know what to say to them. 

I am grateful for your support, for your letters and your prayers on my behalf. It means a lot to have that encouragement. I also pray for you! Remember that you have the love and support not only of family and friends but also a Father in Heaven who loves you more than you know!

Sincerely,

Hermana Alicia Brighton

P.S. As per Alex's comment last week, I've refrained from using so many "wow"s in this letter. But they would definitely be applicable. (:

Dear family and friends,

 

You all are the best! Hope you are doing fantastic!

 

I am loving serving the people here in Conroe! They are wonderful. Almost everyone we have interacted with has just been so kind and friendly. The members of the Church here are so generous and loving. They take good care of us. They are involved in helping with our work, and they also feed us--plenty! Case in point: last night we ate at three different homes! Not a whole meal every time, but they always want to offer something. The congregation (a Spanish-speaking branch) is very small and also awesome! We are doing a lot of work with people who are members of the church but haven't been coming lately. It is really special to get the chance to talk with them about their concerns and problems and help them in all kinds of different ways. There is one family that just has trouble coming to church because the children have a hard time getting up so early (church starts at 8:30!), so we went to their apartment to help the kids with getting up and ready before church started. Wow! Meeting with these people has been wonderful because I have been blessed to be able to communicate with them in their own language and to feel Heavenly Father's love for them. Heavenly Father loves all of us so much! I know that he knows and cares about each of us and our struggles. Wow!

 

We say "Wow!" a lot here. I'm not sure why... Maybe I am picking it up from my companions, or maybe it is the culture, I don't know. Wow!

 

Speaking of my companions, they are wonderful! I love them so much, and I love them more every day! Hermana Coogan is a firecracker! She is incredibly energetic, positive, happy, and fun. She loves to have a good time in everything we do. She is also a very sincere and direct person. She's teaching me a lot about communicating well. Wow! Hermana Edge is also amazing! She is so perceptive, and I've really appreciated that. She always seems to just understand. Wow! What a gift. She is also a very happy, funny person. She is amazingly good-natured. I am so blessed to have these women as my friends and companions. They are helping me grow so much!

 

All in all, everything is great with me! I am blessed beyond measure to have this special opportunity to serve the Lord by helping his children here in Conroe to come unto Him. Wow, wow, wow!

 

Sincerely,

Hermana Brighton

Six-week mission

I've been given the wonderful opportunity to serve for six weeks as a missionary in the Houston area. I'll be gone July 12-August 23. My fantastic mom will post updates from me while I'm gone these few weeks, just like she'll do after I leave for California in October.

Introduction

Hello to my wonderful friends and dear family! I'll be using this blog to keep you all posted while I serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The title of this blog comes from modern scripture - section 18 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The passage refers to missionary work and the joy that comes from helping others to come to Christ.

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God...And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

I am so grateful for the call to be a missionary, for this opportunity to devote all of my time and energy to helping others come unto Christ. I know that our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, live and love us. I know that They have provided the way for us to be happy in this life and have joy through all eternity. I am excited to take this message to those who are looking for truth.

Thank you for reading this blog. I hope that as you do, you will not only enjoy reading about my adventures but also be uplifted and strengthened.