Mon, Jan 11, 2016 2:48 pm 20 Pupusas for a 20 year old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMANA HOTH on JAN 9th!!!

Hey everyone!

Happy Birthday... to me! It was seriously such a joy to spend my Birthday here in Vancouver with my little star, Hermana Polanco. She is the cutest thing ever. And to start off the week, Hermana Flores invited us to learn how to make Pupusas, my favorite food ever. So to say the least, it was a fantastic Bday! I'm pretty sure I ate at least 20. I am so chubs. I am pretty sure that Hermana Polanco was way more excited about my Birthday than I was. I woke up to a million sticky notes all over the mirrors and walls. She sang "Mom, it's your Birthday" from Phineas and Ferb all day long...and also her favorite song "Squirrels in my pants". 

She decided to sing to me all day long...starting with morning exercises. She about dies from singing and running. Then she told me, "So my present to you today is I will tell you all of your best qualities." Throughout the day, she listed those to me. She is so special. It has been such a privilege to serve with one of my best friends! For lunch, the Sisters took us to DQ. I bet not very many people have had all of DQ sing to them on their Birthday.

DQ bday Grant, Hoth, Driscoll, Polancol

It was so sweet...we saw such a miracle come out of going to DQ. This lady, Roxanne, came up to us after we sang Happy Birthday and talked about how she new some sisters before. She was so sad that they stopped visiting her and her family! She is thrilled that the Sisters are going to start visiting her again! Miracles in Dairy Queen. Birthday Miracles.

HAPPY BDAY

Sis Polanco wrote this for language study I DIED:) 

President called the morning of my Birthday...I thought to wish me happy birthday...but we just discussed the area and the work. I couldn't tell him, it would have just been too awkward. So he called me 2 more times during the day to wish me happy birthday and talk. I am so blessed to be here serving with President and Sister Burt. They are such great examples at ministering to the one. 

Such a funny story that I forgot to tell last week. So our mission is really strict with the music we listen to...EFY and Motab..that's it. And so one day last week, I was feeling so guilty all day because I had a Taylor Swift song in my head. So at the end of the day, I just had to tell Hermana Polanco so I could get rid of my "guilt and shame". Haha. She asked me which Taylor Swift song..so I started humming it to her. She died laughing. Turns out that the song that I had in my head all day was an EFY song. You know when you have been on your mission for 11 months when you confuse EFY and Taylor Swift.

You're welcome world

So this week, we have come up with a new game plan for our ward. Our members are the ones that need so much of our attention. Our little ward is struggling and we want to make sure that they are learning the DOCTRINE at church and increasing their testimonies. We especially want to help them with their prayers. They just can't seem to pray in the way that God has commanded us. So we taught one of our members how to pray...without directing the Lord during the middle of the prayer. Only Heavenly Father. We were bold and very specific. And so the lesson was great and the member gave the closing prayer and it was like we didn't even teach the lesson. Sister Polanco fist-palmed her face during the prayer. Ha, so we have lots of work to do! 

So...transfer news is coming up this next week. I definitely feel like something will change. Sister Polanco feels the same way too. After nightly planning, she just looked so sad so I asked what was wrong. She said, "I just know you're going to leave. I am so homesick for you. I know! I'm Hoth-sick". We have been through so much together and it will be so heart-breaking to leave each other. I know that the Lord will bless us so much no matter where we go.

Our district

PUPUSAS

Sister Flores gave us hilarious shoes to cook in 

We love Hermana Flores

One of my favorite moments from this week happened when we were finding in Downtown. There is always quite a few homeless people on the sides of the road just sitting there waiting for people to help them. We always want to help them and often times we talk with them for a bit and leave them with a picture of Jesus. But what we saw this week, I will never forget. We saw a young mom with her two sons (probably 4 and 5) they were going to each and every homeless person and giving them a juice box and a sandwich. My heart melted at the charity this lady had. Not only was she being a Christ-like example to the world, but was teaching her sons such a valuable lesson. I pray that we can all be more like her. 

I want to close with this scripture. I started reading the Book of Mormon again, but this time in Spanish! I love the very first lesson we learn in the first verses of the Book of Mormon. Nephi first explains how he has "seen many affliction" in his days, but then the very next thing he says is that he is "highly favored of the Lord". I know that like Nephi, all of us have our own person challenges and trials. I also know that no matter how hard they may be, God loves us. We are highly favored of the Lord. God wants to bless us. It is my testimony that God knows us personally, that He loves us more than we can comprehend.

We had a miracle referral this week. La familia Vega...and they came to church! We are hoping to meet with them again...but they said we will have to wait till February! Lots of prayers for them!

Love,

Hermana Hoth                                                                                                                        P.S. I learned the history of why I'm called a gringo! That was a valuable lesson to learn.

SO PRETTY 

Mon, Jan 4, 2016 We are the light.

Dear family and friends,

I first want to talk about the testimony that I have gained this week about prophets and apostles. It all started when we had planned to teach the Restoration to the Sanchez family. We started off, and then we we got to "God reveals His gospel in every dispenstion", they had so many comments about the prophet and apostles. They said that they have so many friends who are members of the church post things on line every day against what the prophets and apostles have said. They post these things because they agree more with the world and believe that God should change His will. These members were so sad that their good friends were saying these things, they bore powerful testimony that the prophets are called of God. They have been given the priesthood power to speak and act in the name of God. So if God were here on the earth with us, He would be saying the exact same things. We are promised that if we follow the prophets, we will receive blessings. If we don't, we lose those blessings and distance ourselves from God. I have seen this on my mission. The world has definitely distanced itself from God and then continue to make that gap bigger and bigger. 

These members taught me that it is getting easier and easier to discern the followers of Christ from the world. We have a light and people can see it. 

SO PRETTY

During my studies this morning, that is all I could think about. (1Nephi 14:10)

It is so clear that we are either members of the church of God or members of the church of the devil. It is either the winning team or the losing team. There is no neutral. There is no in between. You MUST be on God's team and you MUST be playing. We know who will win. Now, it won't be easy to play with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, but we can do it. If we want to know how to be on God's team and play for His team...we must listen to the prophets. We must hearken to their words, which are actually the words of God (Amos 3:7). No matter how hard it might be or if you don't understand why, we must trust and follow. I pray that we may have the faith to listen to prophets, and then the humility and trust to act on what they say. We must be the light! We are the light!

So I am pretty sure Vancouver is the only place in the world that has snow on the ground without it even snowing. We wake up to white frost everywhere because of all the humidity and how cold it is! But it is finally snowing today...so fun to see how excited Sister Polanco is to see her first snow day and throw her first snow ball!!!:):)

Look at this bear we found...Sister Polanco is so tiny

And there's the little chubs

Well that's basically it for me this week! We are finding, finding, finding. Working hard with the members, loving the snow, following the Spirit, doing all we should do!:):) We know that God will bless us so much! I pray that all of you have such a great week! 

Love,

Hermana Hoth

Mon, Dec 28, 2015 Much Joy and Many Smiles

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

OUR SKYPE WITH EMILY WAS SO AWESOME!! 

BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!

Polanco & Hoth "the CHUBS"

Beans and platanos for days. One of the Chubs new nicknames is beans

As we walked to this house I said to sis. polanco..."voy a Narnia"....she DIED laughing so we had to take a picture

MY BABIES

Dear family and friends,

MERRY CHRISTMAS! And Happy New Year!!!:) I hope that each of you had such a spiritual Christmas and so much joy and many smiles. I know I did. It was such a privilege and a blessing to be on my mission, serving the Lord at this Christmas time! Christmas was different here in Vancouver. Vancouver changed for Christmas. Instead of hundreds of cars passing every minute..there were few people out on the streets. Hermana Polanco and I took special note of that because that meant that everyone was home with their families...finally. Instead of gray and rainy, the sun was shining and the radiant blue skies finally filled the heavens!

SERIOUSLY THE SKY HERE!

Christmas Eve Dinner with Del Castillo family

Hermana Hoth & Hermana Polanco with Del Castillo fam

Christmas!

Christmas...the members love us :)

Los Ninos...love the Ramirez kids

We had a full day of service and finding on Christmas. It was amazing to talk to people and share my Savior with them on this special day. There was a feeling of love and peace in the air. To be honest, I don't think I have ever had a Christmas quite like this one..and never will again. It was so special to be a representative of Jesus Christ...to do what He did with His life...minister, serve, and teach! He gave us His everything...and so I feel so blessed to be able to use this time to give Him my everything!

One of my favorite things that I've realized this Christmas is that Christmas isn't just the best time to think of our Savior...but our whole lives is the best time to think of the Savior. We have this whole life to learn of Him, become like Him, gain testimonies, and live according to those testimonies. This is our time to become perfected in Christ. I love that God sent His Son so we don't have to be perfect, but that through Him we can one day be perfect. This sacred time on my mission, I have felt so close to God. I have felt His love in great abundance.

This talk by Elder Christofferson has made such a difference in my life. I hope all of you will be able to apply it!

"Some years ago I heard a radio interview featuring Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Anglican archbishop in South Africa. He had just published a book with his daughter about the reconciliation that had taken place in South Africa following apartheid. Basically the book’s message is that there is good in all people. During the interview the host 

asked a perceptive, inspired question of Bishop Tutu: “Have you found that your  relationship to God has changed as you’ve grown older?” Bishop Tutu paused and  then said, “Yes. I am learning to shut up more in the presence of God.” He recalled  that when he prayed in his earlier years, he did so with a list of requests and  solicitudes. He would approach heaven with what he called “a kind of shopping list. But now, he said, “I think [I am] trying to grow in just being there. Like when you sit in front of afire in winter, you are just there in front of the fire, and you don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.”

I think that is a lovely metaphor—just sit with the Lord and let Him warm you like a fire in winter. You don’t have to be perfect or the greatest person who ever graced the earth or the best of anything to be with Him."I love this! I want to share two of the Christmas miracles we saw this week..one I was able to share with my sweet family on Christmas!

1- We got on the bus Christmas day to make our way to the Sky train. I sat myself next to a girl who was sitting alone on the bus and asked her how she was. She immediately burst into tears. I comforted her and asked her what was wrong. She had no idea...she just felt completely sad and discouraged. I asked if I could say a prayer with her and she gladly agreed. That moment was so special for me as I prayed for Briana, even though she doesn't believe much in God, I know she felt His love and comfort that sunny Christmas day. When we got off the bus she gave me a huge hug and ran to grab another bus. I will always remember that moment and I pray that down the road she will too. I hope she remembers that she can turn to God and that she will pray to Him.

2- It was Christmas Eve and we felt so prompted to go to Holly street. So Hermana Polanco and I make our way over to Burnaby and start knocking doors. As we start, it just doesn't feel right. So we walk back the way we came remembering a house that we passed. On our way back, we felt prompted to go down a different street and knock on doors. We choose one house and just as Sister Polanco was knocking I said to her, "Sister, there is a latino family here." The door opens and we meet Kevin and Maria. They are from Honduras and invite us in to share a Christmas message. Maria's daughter walks out and I was like "HEY! I know you!!!!!" Her name is Mariela and one of my first exchanges in my mission I taught her with Sister Lewis and Williamson. Since then, she had moved with her two daughters in with her mom and brother, Kevin. It was such a testimony to me that God knows exactly where all of His children are. It was such a blessing to me that on Christmas Eve we were able to find a miracle as we followed the Spirit! We will be going back this week to teach them!!:):)

Canada Hats

Canada

CHRISTMAS

modeling the hats

The members here have been such angels. We have felt so loved and so blessed to serve them and be served by them!! They fed us and gave us so many presents...and the best of all they have loved us so much! I am grateful for all of you and for your prayers and love. I pray that you will all be able to look back at this year with joy in your hearts. I pray that you will be able to start this new year with a greater desire to serve and follow God. I know God lives and that His love is always there. I know that we can talk to our Father in Heaven through prayer! Please pray to Him! He wants to speak with you!                                      Love,   Hermana Hoth

Edwin and Hermana Flores

With Narda! Haha...Narda Flores seriously loves me! She is obsessed with "Hot". Haha. She was less active when I got here..and now (I think a lot of it has to do because of our friendship) she is completely active!

Hermana Hoth & Hermana Polanco

We got off the bus and they were handing out free chocolate at UBC. YESSSS!!

The little chubs after talking with the fam "I think I'm homesick"

Little Turkey

for harrison

for katie

At Nordstroms. aw yeah

SASSY

Always so windy and rainy

YAY!

Mon, Dec 21, 2015 A Christmas Testimony...A testimony of Christ!

Merry Christmas!

Just over 2,000 years ago, a Savior was born. He is the greatest gift ever given. Our Father loves us so much that He gave us this gift (John 3:16). It is a gift of love, of peace, of joy, of eternal life. Family and friends...my heart is so full as I have this opportunity to testify of my Savior and friend, Jesus Christ. I want all of you to take time...to make time...to think of our Savior Jesus Christ this Christmas season. He is the greatest gift we have ever received. It has been an honor for me to give the gift of Christ this year. That gift that was given to us so long ago...we are still giving it today. Everyday, I have the opportunity to introduce people, our brothers and sisters, to Jesus Christ. I get to testify of His birth, His life, His Atonement. I have the opportunity to give hope and peace in a world that seems to only offer sadness and confusion. I have the opportunity to give God's love. I have the chance to ask people, "Did you know that 2000 years ago, a Savior was born for you." For me? How? Why? This is truly the best Christmas I have ever had and probably will ever have because I get to give THE GIFT. It is my prayer that each one of you will not just spare of few minutes to think of Him or to read the Christmas story...but to make it all about it. We are celebrating the birth of our King! For this season...don't think about yourself...your life...your school...work. But, think of Him. Think of Him who gave everything for YOU. I promise that as you do this, you will be filled with love and light. You will be filled with gratitude. God has given us so much. Absolutely everything. May we give this time to Him.

Something that I have loved so much this Christmas season is reading 3 Nephi 11 with the families and less active members in the ward here. It is so powerful to read of our Savior and feel of His perfect love. I have learned so much from reading this chapter! I know that Christ ministers to us individually. He loves us individually. I pray that each of you will have the opportunity to read this chapter and reflect on what it means for you!!!

Last of all...I am so excited because this morning I finished The Book of Mormon for the first time while being on my mission. It has been so special to me. I would love to share my testimony! I testify with all my heart, soul, and mind that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is true, I have asked sincerely and humbly this day and now the Spirit is burning in my soul. It is true. It has comforted and healed me, especially as I have labored among God's children in Canada. It has testified boldly to me of God's ways and His love. It has brought the Spirit to the lessons I have taught and learned. I know Jesus Christ. He is my friend, my Savior, my Redeemer...and OH! He is wonderful! He ministers to me individually and loves and prayers for me individually. I know I am a part of His church. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God; he restored Christ's church through the power of God. God lives and is loving. So loving that He sent His only Begotten Son so all might live. I feel the Spirit burning in me that this is true. This is my witness and testimony that it is true. I cannot deny it. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Love,

Hermana Hoth