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.