My dear friends and wonderful family:

 

I hope that all of you enjoyed very much your Christmas. It was so good to get to see and talk to the family over Skype on Christmas day and share a wonderful few minutes together. Thank you for making it such a great time! I will remember it always as my favorite call home of my mission.

 

We had a magnificent weekend. Brandon was baptized on Saturday night, and his parents, sister, and A LOT of other family members came to support him. Three of his friends from high school were also in attendance. Everything went perfectly.

 

I could not get them to open on the computer I am using, but I have pictures and will be sending them at some point!

 

On Sunday Brandon was confirmed. After the meeting, Hermana Law and I met with Hermano Antonio Romero, Brandon, Juan Carlos and his friend Andres, the branch president and the president of the quorum of Elders in the branch. Hermano Romero received the Aaronic priesthood and was ordained to the office of Priest. I really loved and appreciate that Presidente Perez took the time to invite several of the people we are teaching who can soon receive the priesthood to see that ordinance take place. He took time as well to explain right beforehand about the significance of the priesthood and the blessings that it brings. What a great blessing it is that we have here on earth the power and authority to act in God's name.

 

I am so grateful for the priesthood holders who have blessed my life. That I could be baptized and confirmed by my father, be given blessings of healing and comfort in so many instances (by my dad, my brother, other family members, home teachers, friends, fellow missionaries), be set apart to serve in callings in the Church by my wonderful leaders, and participate in and receive other ordinances in the temple.

 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week as we welcome in the new year and determine to do better and give the Lord our best in this coming year.

 

Much love,

Hermana Brighton

Merry Christmas to my wonderful family and dear friends!

 

I hope you have all had a great week! It has warmed my heart to receive cards and gifts from so many of you. Thank you so much.

 

This week has been really great. Brandon is all ready for his baptism--he had his interview Friday, he and I performed at the branch Christmas party on Saturday (me on piano, him on violin), and on Sunday at church he told us that his dad had a good talk with him and has given his full support of his decision to be baptized.

 

We also continued to work with Juan Carlos and his family and also started teaching one of his friends. They were both at church this Sunday, as well as a young man who Sister Law and Sister Thompson talked to while we were on exchanges on Tuesday. Emilio. He is really awesome. He called Saturday to say he couldn't come to the party they'd invited him to, but he was able to come to sacrament meeting the next day. Sunday night, he called us when he started reading the Book of Mormon to confirm our plans for meeting with him this coming Thursday.

 

It is exciting to be a little part of helping people receive the gospel and the blessing made possible only through our Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives and loves us. I am so grateful to represent Him to those around me and to invite them to come to Him and know his love.

 

May you all find a way to make this Christmas day memorable and look for something special that you can give to Jesus on the day we remember that He has given us everything.

 

Much love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope you are all staying plenty warm and happy!

Things are going wonderfully in our area! This last week, the people that we are teaching had so much support from the members of the church. Tuesday, we taught the mother of a young man who lives here in Davis who was baptized about two years ago. We also taught Brandon with his member friend, and things are going great for him...he came to church this Sunday and is going to be performing violin at the branch Christmas party on Saturday. Wednesday, we visited a new family for the first time, an older couple, and one of the branch missionaries came with us (Brandon's aunt). Friday, she came with us again and even though the person we were supposed to see wasn't home, we went to see one of her friends that we had been teaching before but hadn't heard from in a while and taught her once again. On Saturday, the branch President visited one of our families, the Montes, with us, and then the branch Relief Society president visited them with us again the next day, on Sunday. They are a really sweet family, and the story of how we found them is really neat because it was "by accident." We were going to visit a different family but apparently had the wrong address. It was perfect, because we arrived at just the right time, on the day when she (the mom) had been feeling desperate. I know Heavenly Father places his servants (us!) where His children need them. What a sweet experience it is to be a part of this work and to realize when the Lord has used me and my companion as his instruments. And now, back to the list of ways members have been helping...Sunday, a family came all the way down to Davis from Woodland to pick up another family for church. Sunday evening, the branch president and his family invited Brandon over to spend time with their family all afternoon. He watched the video "The Testaments" and part of "The Best Two Years" with them. Then we got there for dinner and enjoyed that time together with all of them. It's very encouraging to see those relationships and a support system growing for Brandon along with his testimony.

This week is going to be a fun one. We have the mission Christmas devotional and party on Thursday and then the branch one on Saturday. We are hoping and working to have a lot of the people we are teaching there on Saturday to get to know the members and enjoy the celebration of Christmas with us.

It's a happy time and a happy work!

I love you all!

Have a great week.

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear wonderful family and friends,

I hope your December has gotten off to a great start! We have definitely been feeling the winter cold here. Just like in Houston, it's a humid cold that goes right through you. Coats, tights, and gloves have been keeping me warm enough! (Except for Friday night when it rained and my feet, including my shoes, got soaking wet!)

Transfers are again this week...the big surprise for me is that I am not changing area or companions!! I will still be working with Hermana L here in Davis. I am super excited for that. I love this area, and there is so much good going on here that I am so glad to be able to be a part of. It is also a huge blessing to be able to serve with Hermana Lfor a second transfer. We have developed a good balance in teaching, as well as a good relationship in general. I feel like we are really both committed to our improvement and our goals to achieve excellence, and we help each other to find those things that we can do better and to stay motivated and be grateful all the time.

What else? Brandon is getting ready to be baptized on the 28th of this month. He had talked to his parents before our lesson on Tuesday, and they were on board for him to get baptized. He didn't come to church yesterday, so we went over in the evening to see what happened. He had some things come up with his family, but we had a really great conversation about why coming to sacrament meeting every week matters so much. It was definitely a spiritual experience, and he made a personal commitment to make church attendance a priority. Lessons with him are always a wonderful, faith-building experience. 

Our mission is starting a pilot program to use family history to help us find people. We received training this last Saturday at the mission leadership council, and we will be training our zone this Friday to use the familysearch.org site and the "My Family" booklet as a way to introduce people to family history and the church. In the training on Saturday, Elder Richards of the seventy, who is in charge of the pilot, had us open our own family tree and look at documents from our ancestors. I looked at a death record of Tomas Bow Brighton, who, if you don't know, had a rather interesting death. He was a streetcar conductor in Salt Lake City and was shot by a man who held up the street car. Family history is exciting, and it brings a special spirit (even when you're reading about the violent end of your great great grandfather). I'm excited to use it more as a way to find people who are interested in learning about the restored gospel.

I hope you all have a fantastic week!! Stay warm.

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear family and friends,

Hi! I hope you all are doing great and that you enjoy this next week! Happy Thanksgiving!

We are looking forward to a great week.

Antonio R is all set for his baptism on Saturday. He had his interview this last Tuesday and is looking forward to the day. He took the entire day off work and everything. We taught him about the Priesthood on Sunday, and he says he would feel so blessed to be able to receive the power of God.

This week we started teaching a family, the Montes, that lives in our apartment complex. We knocked on their door by accident two weeks ago, looking for someone else. We prayed with them that night and then returned and taught them this week. They liked what we shared but aren't sure they want to keep learning because they are Catholic. They agreed to start reading the Book of Mormon, so we are praying they will let it touch their hearts!

We are also teaching another girl who has been going through a really rough time with her family and at school. It's been amazing to help her start rebuilding a relationship with God. She always asks us to pray for her and she prays so sincerely for help with her challenges and to be able to start over and leave her past behind.

These are just a few of the great things happening here in Davis.

I'm so grateful for my many blessings, including each one of them and each one of you!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

My dear family and friends,

 

Once upon a time there was a people who was always forgetting.

 

They felt good when they decided to choose good, and they were blessed for that. They had plenty to eat, comfortable places to live, and they even had very nice clothes to wear. On top of that, they saw miracles. God's hand was in their lives. But pretty soon, what they had was not enough. Some got proud, and some got greedy, and they forgot where they had come from. They forgot that good feeling and they forgot to keep choosing to be good.

 

Fortunately, God's hand was still in their lives. He blessed them with problems. Wars, droughts, lost jobs, little food. They remembered once again.

 

The cycle repeated.

 

It's the story of the Book of Mormon, and it's the story of me too. How grateful I am for leaders and friends and family members who continually stir me up to remembrance to help me not forgot the goodness of the Lord in my life.

 

In my continual striving for improvement, I am learning to remember where I have come from and to see the hand of God in my life.

 

Thank you for the love and support from each of you.

 

Have a wonderful week!!!

 

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear friends and wonderful family,

I hope you all are doing great and having a wonderful week.

I have so much to be grateful for. This past week was incredible. We have seen miracles especially in working more with the members of the church here to help teach and fellowship. On Wednesday, a sister who hasn't come to church in a long time came to two lessons with us...she was so excited, and then afterward she told us she wants to start reading the Book of Mormon and she wants to come with us again. It was such a sweet experience, and the feelings aren't describable. Then this Saturday we had a Thanksgiving dinner, and about half of the people who came were nonmember friends and family that the members invited. It was awesome to just walk around and talk with so many new people! This week we will be teaching one of them, so that is exciting!

We have even more great plans and goals for this coming week. I'm so grateful that the Lord requires so much of us and then helps us achieve miracles when we put our faith in him. I have been grateful this week especially just for the blessing to be able to recognize so many moments when I had something wonderful to be grateful for.

I love you all!

Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear friends and family,

I hope you all are enjoying fall weather and lots of great experiences.

I am doing fantastic! The new transfer has started off very well, and great things are happening in our branch and in our area.

Antonio R. the man that called us a few weeks ago and has family in Puerta Vallerta, is doing wonderful! He fasted for his first time ever this Sunday, he is reading consistently from the Book of Mormon, and he is already making plans for his baptism. It is a joy to teach him and help him and to see how he has so much to desire to make his life right and draw near to God.

My faith is growing. My understanding of Jesus Christ's Atonement is increasing. I am so happy and happy to be sharing that with others.

This week the plan is to stretch, to work harder, to set and meet higher goals so that I can come closer to achieving the potential I have to bless my brothers and sisters. I'll report next week.

I love you all!

Hermana Brighton

Dearest family and friends,

Happy Halloween week! I hope you all are doing something fun! On Halloween we are having a zone meeting in the morning, so that is our celebration. Also, on Wednesday night there is a trunk-or-treating activity that we have invited several families to, so hopefully they will come and have a great time!! It is a combined activity with the English and Spanish congregations and has been planned by the youth. It seems very well put-together. 

Also, I bought a little pumpkin last week at the grocery store and then a lady that we were visiting gave us a big squash to take home, so almost without trying we have some fall decorations in our kitchen! They will be tasty to eat in a few weeks too!

This last week has been really good. Antonio, the man I wrote about last week, came to church again yesterday and is preparing to be baptized at the end of November. Also, we met a couple of times during the week with Elizabeth and Juan Carlos, the family we started teaching last Sunday night. He has told us now that he is pretty happy with his Apostolic Catholic faith, but he is glad to keep learning more from us and has no problem with Elizabeth continuing to learn and deciding for herself if she wants to be baptized. She is so excited about everything we have taught, and she has been reading the Book of Mormon and really likes it.

There have been some setbacks too in the lives of people we're teaching. Some real opposition and also some real sadness caused as consequences of not-so-good decisions. It's especially sad when you find out that someone you never would have expected has made serious mistakes. I know we are in all of their lives for a reason, and living the gospel will bring healing and peace to each of the people we're teaching regardless of their current challenges and circumstances.

Last but not least...transfers again this week. I am staying here in Davis and receiving a new companion, Hermana L. She is from Arizona, and was trained by Hermana H (the first sister that I trained) in Rohnert Park. She arrived partway through my last transfer there in Rohnert Park, so I have actually lived with her before. It's going to be great!!

I love you all!

Hermana Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

This was an awesome week. I shared a couple of miracles with my mission president in my letter to him this week. I want to share them with you too. It's in Spanish though...I'm sure you'll be able to figure out a translator for those of you who don't already understand Spanish. (:

Un milagro:

El miercoles, Antonio R. nos llamo. Le habiamos dado una tarjeta algunos dias antes, pero no habiamos hablado mucho porque el estaba con amigos que no quisieron escucharnos. Pues, resulta que su mama y su hermana son miembros de la iglesia en Mexico (y viven en el mismo area donde mi hermano esta sirviendo ahora!). Ellas han estado alentandole a encontrar la iglesia aqui. El sabado, ensenamos a el por primera vez. El domingo, el vino a la reunion sacramental y a las otras reuniones de la iglesia.

Otro milagro:

Ayer oramos cuando teniamos que decidir si ibamos a asistir a la charla fogonera de los jovenes o si debiamos trabajar en nuestra area y pasar por las personas que habiamos pensado visitar. Pues, decidimos regresar a Davis y trabajar y estabamos tan felices de que lo hicieramos. Porque la mama de una familia que habiamos planeado visitar estaba afuera cuando llegamos. Parecia casi como si estuviera esperandonos. Ella nos invito a pasar y empezamos a ensenarla. No habiamos dicho mucho cuando ella nos pregunto, "Cuando pasan por aqui otra vez? Pueden regresar manana?" Ella queria que regresaramos para ensenar a su esposo tambien en su dia de descanso. (Nos dijo que el ha estado leyendo el folleto de la Restauracion en su trabajo durante el almuerzo.) Fijamos la cita y seguimos ensenando a ella. Hablamos de las familias, de  los profetas y la autoridad de Dios, y de la importancia del bautismo. Ella explico a nosotras la importancia de ser bautizado por la debida autoridad para que sean quitados los pecados. Era increible. Quiere ser bautizada. Fue una de mis favoritas lecciones en toda mi mision. 

I am still so surprised by the fact that we have found a man whose family lives in the area where Elder Brighton is serving.

Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear family and dear friends,

I hope this letter (that isn't a letter) finds you well (whenever you happen to be reading it). 

The important things are simple. That is what I learned most of all in the zone conference that we had this last week with the mission president and his wife, his assistants, and about 70 other missionaries.

Some simple things that are important:

Telling people that you care about them.

Smiling.

Praying for others by name.

Praying about everything.

Listening.

Those are some things that have helped me this week to feel more of the love that Heavenly Father has for me and for others.

God is our Father. 

He loves us. He hears us. 

He answers us. He blesses us. 

There is sweet joy in simple things.

I love you all. 

Sincerely,

Hermana Brighton

Dear wonderful family and friends,

I hope each one of you is having a fantastic day!

On my mission I am learning that even if we have heard something over and over, even if we have changed the way we do it a dozen times, there is always something more we can learn and a better way things can be done.

After receiving some training in a meeting earlier last week, this last Friday we planned for this coming week in a way that was different than I have ever done.
We didn't just plan for what we are going to teach people this week. We didn't just plan for the appointments that we have. We planned every hour of the whole week, and we planned the details of how we will be in contact with each person we are teaching each day as well. We even planned backup plans. I am sure that many of the plans we made will need to be adjusted...in fact, that process has already started as we have set appointments with new people we've contacted in the last few days. But because we have made all of those plans, we have a concrete idea of how we can achieve our goals for this week. And because we were thinking more in advance than we often do, we were able to plan more effective ways to find people to teach and to use the precious time that we have.

Like I think I mentioned last week, things just keep getting better. This week we are having a zone conference, so something is sure to get shaken up and changed for the better once again.

The process of becoming an effective missionary is teaching me about the process of purification, sanctification, and perfection. It involves constant learning, deep humility, diligent effort, lots of repetition, some failure, and immense faith.  It is the process Heavenly Father uses to help us achieve what he has promised us...all that He has can be ours as we become all that He is.

Only through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is this process made possible. I know that power is real.

I love you all so much. And He loves you infinitely more.

Take care.

With love,

Hermana Brighton

Wonderful family and dear friends,

This last week was amazing.

There is so much happening in the work of salvation here in Davis, CA. On Wednesday, one of the members, Hermana R***o, whose calling is to be a branch missionary and help us with our work, took us to visit one of her friends. This friend has two little boys and lives at the end of a very long dirt road in the middle of a bunch of fields. I think they were tomato fields, but they have already been harvested. Anyway, she was very receptive to us and we are excited to keep teaching her. When we went back to see her on Saturday, again with Hermana R***o, she had other visitors there...but we think she'll be happy to have us back another day. The awesome thing was that when we went back with Hermana R***o to her house, she told her nephew who was there, "Hey, the Sisters are here to teach you about the plan of salvation." At first, he sort of ignored her, but we started talking to him a little bit more, and he really was interested in talking with us. We taught him and his little sister and we are excited to go teach these two teenagers again (and hopefully their dad as well, according to them) later on this week. 

On Thursday, Hermano R**s, another family member of a member in our ward, told us that he wants to get baptized! He is a wonderful man...he has helped his wife to get active again in the church and the gospel, and his earnest desire to gain his own testimony and be an example and blessing for his children is inspiring. As he knelt and prayed with us on Thursday evening, I was just filled with so much admiration and love for him. That's what it feels like to be a part of the journey of one of Heavenly Father's children back to Him.

On Sunday, we found out that this young woman who has been coming to church every week with her grandma for four or five weeks is not even a member! I had no idea...she comes to everything. So it was easy to ask her, "hey, do you want to meet with us missionaries so you can learn more about the church and how to be a member?" She is excited about it!

We also started teaching a lot of other new people and families this week. We have so much to do that we find we hardly have time to be on Facebook and do all the work that is piling up for us there too. 

It's a privilege and a pleasure to be serving the Lord Jesus Christ at this time in this place. Things are going really, really well. And just getting better.

I love you all!

Have a wonderful week, and please take advantage of the opportunity to hear and hearken to the words of God for us right now in general conference this weekend! http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/general-conference-has-something-for-you-b?cid=HPTH092613099&lang=eng

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear family and friends,

There is plenty to tell you about this week!

It is hard to believe that I have been in Davis for only 5 days! Already so much has happened here. 

First off, about Davis. It's a college town. We cover the whole town. So far, we have spent most of our time in a few different apartment complexes and a trailer park. I've seen the college campus only from a distance. There are 3 members that live in Davis...we go to church in Woodland with the Spanish branch there. We live with another companionship of sisters. They cover the young single adults and the married students.

We do quite a bit of driving between Davis and Woodland because we have a lot of our dinners with members there and also all our church meetings. But we have most of our missionary meetings here in Davis because it is kind of a midway point with other missionaries who are serving farther out.

Next. My companion! Hermana Sarah C., from Los Angeles, CA. This is her 3rd transfer, like I think I mentioned last week. She is a great missionary...super happy, obedient, and hardworking. She is the youngest of six (three boys and three girls just like us), so she is like our Stacey. (: She really likes Life cereal, or at least that is what I thought when I saw 3 boxes of it on our counter when I arrived. Turns out that is what they had on sale at Grocery Outlet...a pack of 3 Life cereals. Anyway, she likes a good deal! She worked in take-out catering at BYU with Hermana B. (previous companion) last year. She is majoring in recreation management and has just one year left when she goes back to BYU.

Saturday we had a huge thunderstorm. It was funny to see people outside watching the rain come down and some even taking pictures. It was only slightly more severe than the thunderstorms we get in Houston. There was some pretty good hail for a little while though. And we got pretty wet!

I'm excited to be here and I'll be telling you more about the people that I've met and will be meeting here in Davis (and in Woodland).

Love you all!

Hermana Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been another amazing week. And it's been my last week here in Vallejo. On Wednesday I am headed to Davis. I'll be serving with Hermana C.. She came to the mission the same time as Hermana B (current companion), so this will be her third transfer. I'm excited! Davis is a college town...and I hear it is really good for biking, so hopefully I'll get to put my bicycle to use again!

The time here in Vallejo has gone by so fast. It seems weird to be leaving already! Hermana F. is staying here and getting a new companion and both Hermana B. and I are leaving.

An amazing thing that happened on Facebook this week: Gary A., from Santa Barbara, CA, friended Hermana F. on Tuesday. We started teaching him on Skype on Wednesday, and on Thursday he set the goal to be baptized on the 12th of October. He had met with missionaries before when he lived in Vallejo, so I think that is how/why he found us. It's been amazing to teach him, and this week he will start meeting with the missionaries in his area.

Incredible miracles are happening! Stay on the look-out!

Love,
Hermana Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope you all are having a wonderful day!

This last week has been an incredible one. We were able to start teaching four new people, including a really nice family and an older woman who is the mom/grandma of one of the families in the branch here in Vallejo. She comes to church with them frequently, but when we first got here, she did not want to talk to us at all. When we went over to their house, she would disappear to her bedroom. But now she feels comfortable with us and actually wants to talk to us. She is such a sweet lady.

Seeing people change is so rewarding. I feel so grateful to have been able to see so much change in people around me recently. I've been blessed to see the progression of my companions, and that has been amazing. Another wonderful example hit me yesterday, when two of the members that I had been teaching in Napa, who never came to church in the whole time I was there, were in sacrament meeting here in Vallejo.

It is a joy to be a servant of Jesus Christ! Even after so many months, I am still amazed by the love that I can feel for people that I hardly know. And by how willing so many people are to just open up to us and let us love and help them.

 Thank you for your prayers on behalf of me and my companions. We've been showered with miracles and blessings.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

P.S. I thought some of you might wonder how our schedule/the work has changed with the iPads. Right now, we have a three-hour "flex schedule"  where we are supposed to spend an hour each day transferring our written records to the digital device and then up to two additional hours sharing the gospel online. On Saturday, we received a lot of extra training on how to use Facebook more effectively, so I should have more details to share with you soon about how the online work is progressing! Already there are missionaries in the mission who are teaching people across the world. And pretty soon we are going to start teaching one of Hermana F.'s friends in Spain. It's amazing!

I've been told that some of the pictures that I have posted to the blog have not been viewable.  The following link should allow you to see most of the photos previously posted.

Hermana Brighton's Mission photos

Dear wonderful family and friends,

Each of you is wonderful. Whether you are my little sister, my parent, or my  friend, you are also my spiritual sibling and a child of our Heavenly Father. He has a plan for you. He loves you. I know it. If you're not sure, or if you ever feel like you've forgotten, ask Him!

I'm so grateful for the love that our Heavenly Father has for each one of us. I've been able to feel that love so much this week, especially through the love that I've been able to feel for those around me. My companions, people we taught, random people we talked to (even ones who didn't want to talk to us).

I think I forgot to tell you all last week that our mission is the first mission to receive the iPads. There have been a few tests of the devices in different zones and districts of missionaries, but we're the first entire mission to have them. Isn't that amazing? It really makes me think about how it's not an accident that I am here in this mission. Well, I already knew that and knew it from day one, but I also know that there is a reason that I'm specifically in a mission where I can use the Internet to preach the gospel to all the world. I am really excited to get it figured out. Here's the good part that I'm realizing more and more: I can help anyone. Anyone who has a Facebook account and needs to learn about or be reminded about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and how to live it so that they can receive all the blessings of Christ's atoning sacrifice. Who do you know that falls into that category? Let me know, and my companions and I will try and get in contact with them and start inviting and helping them to come to Christ. You can email me or (better) send me a message on Facebook. My facebook name is Hermana Alicia Brighton. (:

This next weekend we are going to be receiving some more training on how to use the iPads and the Internet more effectively. It's a really exciting time. I know this is Heavenly Father's work and it is hastening because He loves each one of His children with a love that is infinite and perfect. And I love you too, in my finite and imperfect way, but with my whole heart. (: Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear family and friends,

I hope that you all are doing wonderfully! I know with school starting it's a time of a lot of changes for a lot of us. This week was a time of HUGE changes for our mission. Literally, everything changed.

On Tuesday, we had a mission leadership conference and received...iPads. We took them home with us but had to keep them secret until the next day when the rest of the missionaries, including my companions, received them at the specialized training we had. It was a huge surprise!

So now all of our records are to be kept on the iPads...no more paper area book. And we are to use them for our studies and in lessons and also to teach lessons on Facebook and Skype. It's amazing!

Here is something even more amazing: we are now allowed to teach not just people who live in our area but anyone in any part of the world. 

I cannot even explain how I felt when they told us that on Tuesday. Literally the entire world has opened up. We can teach people on the other side of the world and help them prepare to meet with missionaries in their own areas. And we can seek out friends, acquaintances, anyone we know who might be receptive to the message of the gospel.

Heavenly Father truly is hastening his work! (D&C 88:73)

Love you all!!!

Hermana Brighton

Hi to my wonderful family and dear friends!

Thank you so much to each of you for your support and prayers and encouragement.

This week unfortunately has to be really quick because we had a last-minute doctor visit this afternoon that took up emailing time. Hermana B has been a bit sick; please keep her in your prayers.

On that note, I would ask that you really just pray for both of my companions. Adjusting to mission life hasn't been too easy for them and the past week has been one of trials as well as miracles. Thank you!

A wonderful miracle was that on exchanges this week, when I was in another area, my companions and one of the English sisters found two new people who want us to start teaching them! We also found two people for the English sisters to teach in their area. It was a fantastic day!!!

I know God loves us and that he is mindful and watchful of us.

Love you all!!!

Hermana Brighton

To my dear friends and wonderful family:

First, as always, I hope that you are having a fantastic day. And I hope that as you read this your day will get just a little bit better!

Now, some news:

Our new companion joined us here in Vallejo on Wednesday. Her name is Hermana F, and she is from southern Spain! So...her Spanish is perfect-she's teaching us a lot-and she is learning English. It has been awesome to hear about her experiences with missionary work--in her ward in Spain, they had 80+ convert baptisms last year. There are people getting baptized every weekend, and she said that most of them are friends and family members of the members. Wow! A little more about Hermana F: she has an older brother who served his mission in Scotland and a little brother who is 6 years old. She is studying piano and so is very musically inclined. She will turn 20 on Wednesday. (:

Now for the next chapter of Sergio, the man who calls us his angels. The last time we taught him, he told us that he has decided he wants to stick with his Catholic faith. He thanked us profusely for what we have done for him and said that we helped him so much. For now, we are not teaching him anymore. So heartbreaking, but he has definitely had a seed planted in his heart and hopefully he will nurture it and let it grow at some time in the future.

Finding and feeling the joy in the journey can be difficult at times when we do not see immediate results from our best efforts. I'm so blessed to have companions who are so supportive and filled with faith...a great miracle I see almost every day is how Heavenly Father blesses and inspires us to motivate and encourage one another. We lift each other up.

Okay, now I want to try to quickly give you all kind of an idea of what our work is like right now and how the days typically go. We study from 8 am to 12 pm. Then lunch and out the door at 1 pm. We are doing a lot of finding activities right now...trying to visit people who were taught in the past, talking to everyone, knocking on doors, looking for opportunities to serve. We are teaching several people but the last couple weeks has been a whole lot of cancelled appointments and not too much teaching. We are also trying to help several individuals and families who are currently less active in the church. This week we have a couple of family home evenings planned, one tonight with a family that we are teaching and another Thursday night with a less-active member--a sister who I actually taught before when I was in Napa. Almost every night, we have dinner with a family from the branch---they take really good care of us (: As you know, we have a car. I haven't used my bike at all yet here in Vallejo...current companion isn't too keen on riding a bicycle, so that's okay. Our area is pretty big, and actually it is comprised of a couple different sections, one in the north and another smaller one in the east. We have 1000 miles each month.

Let me know if you have any questions I can answer!!

I want to finish by just thanking you for your support. Thank you for your  letters and emails and cards and drawings. :) Thank you especially to all of you who pray continually on my behalf.

Have a wonderful week!

Much love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear Family and Friends,

Hope that your August has gotten off to a great start!!

So I cannot believe that we have once again come to the end of another six-week transfer. Sister B and I will be staying together in Vallejo...and we will also be getting a new companion. Another brand-new missionary who I will be training! I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here where I am and also to continue learning from Hermana B. It will be a challenge and a blessing to adjust once again to the dynamic of a threesome. We're ready for it!!

I know that Heavenly Father is blessing us and those we're teaching. This last week we saw our specific prayers answered as we plead for miracles on behalf of our investigators. Please keep praying for us!

Sorry that the email is short this week...

I love you all!

Sincerely,

Hermana Brighton

Dear Wonderful Family and Friends,

I hope that you have had a fantastic week! 

This was a really good week. I've learned and grown a lot. It's amazing how there is always more that I can learn...from the scriptures, from my companion, from the people we teach, from other missionaries and leaders. 

An update on the man who calls us his angels. We were finally able to teach him again this week! And we are going back again tomorrow. He was supposed to come to sacrament meeting yesterday but didn't make it. But the fact that he wanted to come was a big step! I'll continue to keep you posted :)

I just want to share this week my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love it. It really is my favorite book. Lately I have been trying to treasure it more, and one thing that I've done--it was a suggestion I heard from another missionary--is read just one verse each night right before I go to sleep. It's been amazing how much I've learned from one verse, a verse that I just randomly open up to. I'm grateful for the Spirit that I feel when I read the Book of Mormon, and I am grateful for the blessings of the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that it teaches.

I invite you all to read the Book of Mormon, if you haven't done it yet, and to treasure the words of the Book of Mormon more, no matter how many times you've read it before. I invite you, because it has helped me so much and I know it will help you too.

Much love,

Hermana Brighton

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your support and your prayers on my behalf. There are times when I really need it that I can feel that extra supporting strength. Thank you!!!

We had a pretty great week, with lots of teaching. We were able to have a couple of the young women come with us to teaching appointments this week, and that was really great! I think I've mentioned it, but it's so neat to see their excitement for the work. All of the members of the congregation here in Vallejo are super supportive of us. It's an amazing area.

So...an update on the man that found us on the street a few weeks ago who told us he believed we were angels. We haven't been able to teach him since that first Saturday! But we have been in contact with him...he is super busy working, working, working several jobs. But he said to us the last time we saw him that every time he talks to us he has a better day afterward. We keep praying for him and in time I know he's going to start the new life that he is looking for.

Thought I would share some pictures this week since I've neglected to send any for quite some time.

Enjoy!

I love you all.

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Hermana Brighton and Sonny   

  with a branch member and companions

           

Dear Friends and Family,

What a week! I hope that you all have been doing fantastic. This week has seemed really long and really short all at once. It's because so much happened. Wednesday, Hermana E left for Peru. We got up at about 2 am for her to be all ready to leave with a senior missionary couple who came and picked her up at about 3 am. Then Hermana B and I went back to bed for 3 hours. And woke up the next day feeling a little weird with only the two of us. We've adjusted now and it kind of seems like a long time ago that Hermana E was with us. Weird how that happens. Thursday we had a zone conference in Napa...so about forty missionaries with all the ones from Napa and Vallejo together. Napa is only about a half hour away, so it wasn't too much of a trip. Thursday night, we ate at a taco truck that belongs to one of the members. I had a really good burrito. It was my first time eating at a taco truck/stand on my mission, if you can believe that. For some reason, it seems to me that it would have been more common. Thursday there was also an activity for all the sisters from one of the English wards and from the Spanish branch. We went by because one of the members had told us she was bringing a friend she wanted us to meet...we waited a while, she didn't show up, then just as we were heading out, she showed up. Funny how things work out sometimes. Anyway, we did at least get to meet her, so that was one of many miracles for the week. Another great miracle was that another one of the young women in the branch has decided she wants to serve a mission. She came up to us yesterday and asked if she can go to lessons with us. It's exciting to see how the youth are getting excited to prepare for missions and be involved in missionary work now. I can definitely see why this area needed Hermanas. For lots of reasons, actually. For example, another miracle this week. Our plans had fallen through and we had a list of several people we could go try and see. I felt we should go by a particular woman, and when she got there she was so surprised to see SISTER missionaries and so happy. She broke down in tears and was talking about how sometimes you just need other girls to talk to about things...she lives with all men and according to the other missionaries, she hadn't been super receptive to the Elders who have come by in the past. Wow. Another miracle: we went by to see someone who I used to teach in Napa, a less active member who moved here to Vallejo at the end of the time I was in Napa. Anyway, her daughter in law who I had also met before was home and let us in and before we knew it we were cleaning her kitchen for her because she has a brand new baby and it's super hard and then we were teaching her about the Book of Mormon and she was talking about figuring out how to get to church.

It's awesome to be a part of the work of our Heavenly Father!

Hope you are having a great week and seeing your miracles too!

Love,

Hermana Brighton