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