?Como Andan?

Alex said this week was the funnest he's had thus far.  He got to butcher some chickens for a family and he said it was a blast!!  Honestly some of the pictures made me a little sick to my stomach (lol) but, I can see in the pictures that they had fun doing it!!  No worries... I didn't post the absolutely yucky ones! ;)  What can I say!??  He's doing amazing!

I talked with Brother Garcia again this week.  He reminded me of what a hard worker Alex is and that he never gives up when he's presented with a challenge!  The words he said touched my heart :)  I am so happy he is among good people and that they can see the things we've always known ;)  He also mentioned that their group is at 40 members and not 40 families.  They're working hard to build their branch.  Keep them in your prayers!!!

Love my boy <3

Barbarian's... Right??? ;)  He's such a nerd!

This is the first chicken they butchered.
The look on all of their faces makes me laugh.

?Como Andan?

Hello mi familia. So you'll never guess what I did this week!! It was pretty gnarly! But you'll read on during the letter about the events that went on this week. So how is everyone?? I don't have a lot of time to write again today because we have to go to the McDermit center at 2 again to play some more ball. I enjoy playing but I hope it isn't an every week thing. It cuts back on my time to be able to finish all my other stuff for preparation day. Anyhow, so this week was awesome! It was actually one of my favorite weeks on my mission. All of the California Fresno Mission is kicking into gear. We had a zone conference this past Thursday in Visalia and it was so powerful! The spirit was so strong there! I always am stoked when I hear that the Lord is hastening the work, but he is doing it in so many ways that I don't think I would have understood before my mission. I'm always stoked when I hear that we baptized over 1,000, and that we're 1 out 3 missions that's baptized over 1,000. The other 2 missions were Provo and Ogden I believe. But still! Pretty sweet right? We're not content though, we're still working really hard to get that same goal, our actual goal is 1,342 for this next year. So hope and pray that we'll continue forward with this goal, by doing the work the Lord's way!

Our investigators are doing pretty good! We actually got 1 or 2 this past week thanks to our members. One of them is named C. We taught her about the plan of salvation and families and she enjoyed it. She especially enjoyed it because we were able to do it in a members home. We have our two that are still progressing right now, Y. and K. We've been focusing on being a searcher when they read the scriptures and not just a reader. We know that if they "liken" the scriptures to themselves they'll be able to understand them more. So basically we're helping them to live the scriptures rather than read them. Other than our investigators we're still working on finishing the new member lessons. Some are wonderful, and then some are super hard due to the fact that some have hardened their hearts more than others. Those who have opened their hearts to us are those that have found new investigators for us. Like C., she was found in a recent converts house that we're finishing new member lessons with. So you see, the Lord is hastening his work HIS way! It's pretty cool. A quote that's shared all around our mission that's from Elder Bednar, says, "If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always gotten." and certainly things are changing and are more efficient in the Lord's work

So I can definitely say this week that my testimony of service increased! Along with that we had TONS of fun. The craziest and funnest service on my mission just happened this past week. The sisters in Tulare asked Elder Corona and I and the other Elders in Tulare to go and help out. This service was on Friday and Saturday for a less active/part member family who live out in the middle of nowhere on a chicken farm. We were able to be chicken butchers for a day!! We ran around and we caught the chickens threw them in the cage and took them over to the chicken slaughter and we decapitated their heads!!! We hung them upside down and cut them with the knives, we used the slaughter table, we did all sorts of things. At first I had a weak stomach but after a while I got used to it. We looked pretty barbaric doing it too hahaha. It was seriously one of the funnest times of my mission! I have pictures and I'll try and send some (but viewers discretion is advised haha). I would also be careful about who sees them as well :)

Well I told you my letter would be short. But I still have a little time so I might send some pictures. If you had any questions for me this week, I'm going to have to answer them next week, sorry about that! I love ya, and keep the faith! I'll print off your letters and remember to read them :)

Love Elder Horrocks

Mis Paisos (My countrymen)

You can tell he's getting busier in each letter.  The good thing is, he's enjoying every second of it!!  I love seeing his own progress...  He is growing in so many ways :)

I actually received a message from Brother Garcia on FaceBook last Monday.  I was confused and thought that he was maybe one of Elder Corona's family members from St. George because it said he was from St. George also, but he is actually the Spanish group leader in Tulare.  He said it was a pleasure to have Alex there and he was always happy.  He also thanked me for my willingness to be away from him for two years and that he was greatly missed from his last assignment.  Brother Garcia has been there for 5 months and moved from Saint George.  When he first got there, they only had about 3 families attending the group but now they have about 40 members that are constantly going.  He said that the stake president said he'll give the group 6 months to get ready to become a branch.  He also said that he knows Al can make a difference and that he will stay in touch here and there sending updates...  I feel so blessed to know that there are people out there that are watching out for my son and his well being.

He also had a training on the positive things that can come from social media and he challenges all of us to post one thing each week that will help spread the word of the gospel.  Whether it be a video or a quote or your favorite talk :) So start thinking about what you can do to help spread the word!!!  One a week!!

He is doing well :) :)

Playing around at a members home

Missionary tradition for year mark. Elder Corona burning his white shirt.

Mis Paisos (My countrymen)

Another week has flown by! Great things are happening for us left and right. We've seen good things, but the work with our investigators has become a little bit slower. That doesn't mean the Lord doesn't continue his work though, right now we've been asked strictly from the bishop in Tulare to focus on finishing the new member lessons. It's been good and a hassle at the same time, the members have helped us a little bit, but they've been busy with work, family, all those good things

 I actually had not realized until this week that our Spanish branch is actually a Spanish "group". It's so much smaller than a branch, I didn't even think that existed but it does! We've also only got about 5-6 priesthood holders so most of the group are women. This past Sunday we had our ward conference and businesses and such. The stake president was there and he talked about a powerful message! He really brought hope and faith into the branch. His name is President Christianson, he talked briefly about the growth of the Spanish group. He said that revelation comes in many different ways and that just recently he had a dream about the Tulare Spanish Group. In his dream he said he saw priesthood holders and the chapel was filled with men, and that in the course of 6 months or so they could become a branch again, and there would be missionaries serving from that branch... Now he's not the prophet or anything but he does receive revelation for our stake if needed. The people were so touched when they heard this! I heard originally that it would take about a year or so to bring it back to a branch, but the stake president said about half of that. Sweet!! After he finished his talk/testimony. Our Spanish group leader, Brother Garcia, was conducting and before he ended sacrament meeting he shared his testimony about that dream that President Christianson had. Brother Garcia said that he also had the same dream!! It was touching at the point, and the spirit was so strong. I love the Spanish culture, they receive revelation in the coolest ways.

Friday was a great day! We had a leadership training meeting for district leaders and zone leaders and I will say it was probably one of the best training's I've had on my mission thus far. Two guys named Brother Donaldson and Brother Tanner presided there. Brother Donaldson is from The District 2 video for missionary training if none of you knew that. They were both from the mission headquarters, but Brother Donaldson was a previous San Diego Mission President. He talked about how he hated Fresno (because we smashed all the other California missions and still do ;)) but NOW he loves us haha. They talked about us being the only mission in Cali to baptize over 1,000, and how soon the mission will be split and lose about 3 stakes. So that hinders our chances of baptizing 1,000, but they called us out and told us to repent if any of us thought it was impossible. They further went in to the training and gave us further inspiration of what we can do to plan better to hopefully reach our goal again. THE BIGGEST message I got from it was is that God is the master planner of our lives, if we choose to let him be. If we are doing the absolute best we can in our efforts on our missions and in life he'll make us happy and give us opportunity to reach our goals.

Those were the biggest two events of the week. The missionary work and progress of the people were teaching is still good. We've been constantly looking for investigators through members. Right now we have Yo. and K. and they're still doing good. We just got to get them to have a closer relationship with Heavenly Father, which they've been doing great with! But God will, in his own time, bring them to the waters of baptism... So they're the only 2 progressing investigators in our teaching pool. We think that one of our investigators named G. will see sooner progress with baptism here soon. She likes us and enjoys it when we come over. We've only been there twice for her daughter Jade who's already a member. G. has been seeing the growth in J. and is becoming more receptive to hearing our message... One thing or idea we've seen for new investigators from the training this past Friday was the usage of FACEBOOK!! Or any other social media for that matter! If you thought Zuckerberg or whatever his name is made facebook, you're all wrong haha. God made social media. The stats of facebook was that on average a person who posts something on facebook, 53,000 other people will see it. They also said that 2 billion of God's children are all connected through facebook, WOW! So they've asked us to ask our members to post at least one thing a week so that we might receive a referral from a member. Whether it's a Mormon message, bible video, anything that will make the work hasten... So a challenge back home is post at least one thing that you like and share it with friends :) these things were made for a reason.


Responsibilities as a district leader are getting better. I definitely learn a lot as I go, sometimes it's stressful but it's normal. I'm working on becoming a multiplier and helping the area and the missionaries in Tulare. Training's can be tough sometimes, they're not just like normal talks or anything. It's really giving prayerful consideration on how I can uplift and better my district. Aside all of that being a district leader is pretty fun!

So everything home is good still?? I'm happy to hear that! Sounds like you guys also had a ward conference and I'm just as excited for Justin. People are doing great back home! Sports sounds like sports for sure. Marz is doing good I hear and Weston is struggling? Dang, I'm sure they work hard too with the new coach and everything also, tell him to keep tearing it up and just play, he's a stud... Sports for me was good this past Monday! We went to McDermit Rec Center and played some basketball and a little dunk ball too. I saw Elder Moody and Charlie there. I'm glad I'm close by to see them, they've always been great friends. Elder Moody is going home March 25th! Dang that's crazy!!

I'm happy to hear everything at home is still good. I'm glad the Lord watches over them while I'm out... Well I have to head out but I will hear from ya'll next week?

Hola Familia!

He didn't have a lot of time to write last Monday and no pictures were sent.  He had some wonderful experiences tho.  His testimony continues to grow!!  I had to look up what the Holy Death Religion was.  I still don't know much about the religion but the statues ARE scary looking!  Good call on the blessings ;) Prayers to all those mentioned.

Enjoy!!


Hola Familia!

So I have super super duper short time to write because we have an activity in about an hour in Lindsey with our zone and a few other zones too. We're going to be playing basketball and football and doing other stuff at a place called McDermit in Lindsey, it's basically their recreational center. But how is everyone?? Another week just flown by right? This week has been hectic and busy. Elder Corona and I have been trying to organize so many things. Stake correlation, baptism records, other stuff past missionaries didn't do, a whole bunch of missionary stuff. It's been just a blast :). Thankfully it's all taken care of now and things are starting to come back to normal.

So the work in Tulare is doing great so far! It hasn't been like on fire or anything, but it's starting to become steady. I've heard stories in the past where it was great one year and then less busy the next, but it's just steady right now. What the bishopric and other ward councilmen have advised us to stay focused on recent converts and less actives still. Especially here in Tulare. Just a quick history background, there are about 41 baptisms that happened this past year and 27-30 of them haven't had new member lessons completed which isn't very good haha. So in Tulare we're at a point to focus ONLY on less actives and recent converts rather than our investigators. So all of the updates on how our investigators are doing will slowly start to become how our less actives and recent converts are doing. But we never know because usually we always find some pretty solid investigators and baptisms through our RC/LA's... We have about 4-5 investigators right now and 2 of them are solid. Yo. and K. (K. is Yo.'s son) are those two, and they've been coming to church numerous times. The only thing that's holding them back is Yo.'s boyfriend. She says she wants to wait for him to get back from Syria and that she doesn't feel like she's ready :/ as for K. he can be baptized but he has some social things (I can't be to explicit about them) but we're working gradually with them both. We still have G. and Ye, the two sisters. We've found out that G. might be a bit more solid than Ye. We finally contacted her this past week, and she told us that she was willing to hear the lessons and see what it's like. Her daughter J. is already baptized and G. has seen that she's always been a lot happier since then. She's got that influence!

There is one specific less active that could use your prayers. They're the M. family. Before Elder Corona and I came here the Father of the family used to be part of the Spanish branch presidency, or at least he helped conduct sacrament meetings. He was very strong and then I guess over time he just got anti'ed or fell away by things of the world. It was unfortunate for the branch because they were a very strong family and they were married in the temple and everything, and for some odd reason. I'm not sure exactly why he fell away but I've heard it was some things to do with the Restoration of the Church. I don't know, but we could use your prayers on their behalf because they're a great family... There are other RC/LA's of course, as I've already mentioned, but little by little they're coming back. We've got one that came back to church yesterday after he relapsed back into smoking after his baptism. His name is F. and he's a great kid, just has the wrong friends. But he hasn't smoked in 4-5 days or so since we've talked to him?? He's doing great!!

This week had a few cool/crazy events that happened. Elder Corona and I on Saturday went to a recent converts house to throw out her holy dead statue. Before she was baptized she used to be part of a holy dead religion and she asked us to throw it out for her because she was scared to do it. We threw it out in her back yard and her boyfriend lit it on fire haha, and then she asked us for a blessing after so that she could feel better, or so that she could feel comfortable in her house again and then we gave a blessing on the house. She felt a lot better :). Shortly after Sister Niumatalolo and Taula called us and asked us to go and give a blessing to one of their members, for Sister Taula, AND for the members home. So we went over there and gave them blessings and right about when we finished it was the end of the day. So it was a sweet day to end the day right? :) God needed us in different places at different times for the power of the PRIESTHOOD! It was definitely another testimony builder that God guides us and the Priesthood is real.

Because my time is short I'm gonna have to leave soon, I want to wish a everyone a great week! Know how much I love ya, and that I'm praying for you all the time! I'll print off your letters and read them later. Sorry this had to be super short!

Love, Elder Al

Feliz ano!! (Happy new year)

Alex had a great week and loves the new area he is in.  He gets to see everyone in Lindsay still because they are in his district.  I got a picture from Charlie last Monday :)  Alex was back in town and lookin' good!!  His new companion is from Mexico but lived and graduated in St. George and is apparently a shorty ;)  Alex should know EXACTLY how to deal with the shorties!!  LOL.  He's had to do it his whole life :)  The shorties rule!!!  (he knows it too) ;)

He's already got lots of work in Tulare...  I'm excited to see "The Preacher Man" go to work there.  It's contagious!!

Love my boy <3

Enjoy...

Weird binoculars I found

My new compa

Picture Charlie sent me (momma) :)

Feliz ano!! (Happy new year)

What a crazy week! Transfers are always a crazy thing because we have to get a lot of things prepared and ready for next transfer and all the while work at the same time. I've been chillen with my new companion Elder Corona. He's Mexican and he went to Snow Canyon High school in St. George. He graduated about the same year I did and has been on his mission for about a year now. His parents live in Mexico (I can't remember where exactly). We definitely are much a like! Just about as goofy as I am! So we make it pretty fun in Tulare. If I haven't mentioned yet, Tulare is about 10-15 minutes away from Lindsey so I still get to see Charlie, Elder Moody, and everybody else. I'm basically still in the same zone. I see all of them about every Monday and Tuesday for Preparation day and District Meetings. So It's great!!

Being a district leader isn't so bad I actually really enjoy it. I've had a lot of growth in one week, and I hope I can simply just do my best as a representative of Jesus Christ with little bit of a higher standard... I'm basically a normal missionary just with a bunch of more responsibilities. The responsibilities include things like me holding district meetings, accounting for missionaries and their work, baptism interviews for other missionaries in our district and other districts too (including Spanish), exchanges, leadership meetings, a lot of stuff. Basically I'm helping to build and sustain work and oversee proselyting efforts in Tulare. I have Elder Corona and I, Elder Enis and Elder Waine (Zone leaders, and Elder Waine is from England and has an awesome accent), and Sister Taula and Niumatalolo in my district. So my district isn't too big and they work really hard. Tomorrow I'm going to be holding my first district meeting so wish me luck!... Also I guess you could contribute by sending quotes to us. President Gelwix would always send us quotes and I enjoyed them. Activities, you can send those as well :) whatever works.

I love the people in Tulare just as much as I loved and still love the people in Lindsey! This past Sunday was a great opportunity to get to know everyone and listen to their testimonies. Elder Corona and I also did the same. It was funny because Elder Corona is a lot shorter than I am, he's about below my shoulder, and he goes up to bear his testimony and grabs the footstool instead of bishop lowering the podium for him hahahaha. He get's up there and says "Yes yes, I know I'm short" it was hilarious. He told me it's a tradition that his family has always done and so he does it every time he gets to a new area on fast and testimony meeting.... I guess the only downside is that we have our own car so the members don't pity us as much because we don't have to ride in the cold on bikes haha. So now we try and see if we can bring members with us in the car instead of them driving us around everywhere, or just go with them, either way... Right now we have 4 people who are potentials to be baptized here soon, I still don't know a lot of information about them yet. They are Yo. and K., G., and Ye. They all have specific and different issues, here and there and we're working really hard to help them repent because they're the most willing to change. Yo. is the mom of K. and they've been investigating the church because they know it's different, I'm not sure how long but they've been doing it for a while. G. should be baptized way sooner than when she wants to, if she wants to at all. Her daughter was baptized a couple months ago I believe and G.'s sister, E., is already a member, she enjoys having us over but she is probably a little hesitant to baptism right now. Ye. is E.'s, and G.'s sister too. So all three of them are sisters and two of them have potential to be baptized soon. From what I've seen it'll more likely be Ye. because she's keeping commitments and is progressing faster than the other. That's kind of the summary for investigators... Our biggest focus right now is finding through our members and recent converts less actives. If we continue planting and finding through them, they're going to make the difference bringing others to Christ.

Other than that there really hasn't been a whole lot that has happened other than transfers and work work work. We've had a lot of fix ups we've had to take care of. Baptism records were lost or were not turned in and so some missionaries are trying to turn in their records in order to bring more blessings to those recent converts. The last district leader that was here had a little bit of a struggle with that and so he basically left it to Elder Corona and I. Blaahhhhh it's been nuts! I've also been cleaning up after him too, he sure loves to leave his antiques and stuff.

I'm hearing good things back home :)  Weston's tough, I'm sure the basketball season will start looking up soon.  They are due for a win and whatever coach or the players ask of him I'm sure he'll do it, just tell him I said to keep his head held high and to put off anything else and just play! He'll tear it up. Marleigh is doing good too from what I've heard, tell her to keep it up for me.

I wish I had more time to say and write things but my time seems shorter every time I have to finish. So with that I love everyone of you and hope all is well at home. Stay true to the faith, and remember always that the Lord needs helping hands'

Love Elder Horrocks

P.s. I can't end without saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to my awesome Granny T, my cuz Buck, and little brother J.T.!! Happy birthday!! sorry it's a little late :)

Christmas, Surprise Birthday, Transfer Calls, and I'm a District Leader now

He's so amazing!  I have a wonderful son!!

He had a wonderful Christmas and the Ashcraft family made it very memorable for them!!  Many thanks to them for opening their home to the Elder's and Sister's.  I know that my son had a great time and loved spending it with their family!

So this week he was transferred and made a District Leader in Turlare.  I have mixed feelings about it... I'm am SO excited for him and his new challenge but I am SO sad that he will be leaving Lindsay and all of the wonderful friends and people there!!  I know this will happen more than not on his mission but I really am super sad about this one!  What a great place for my son to experience some great times with great people on his mission.  I hope I get to visit there one day :)

I also want to publicly thank Charlie and all the others in Lindsay who helped pull of his surprise birthday party on Saturday!  They went ALL OUT and that means SOOOO much to this Momma who was sitting at home wishing she could make her sons 20th birthday special!!  No need for that tho ;) they were awesome!  Charlie got Alex good by shoving his face in his cake hahaha.  It looked like a brawl broke out afterward and there is a sister that goes running after them in the video!  Probably trying to stop the church from being covered in cake!!  LOL... He looked so happy!!  I cried (of course)!  I sent the pictures and video to my mom and she called me and then we cried again!  Man we miss him!!  But we wouldn't trade him being home for anything ;)

I made a collage of all the pictures because there were so many this week and make sure you watch the video, if you haven't already of course ;)  I'll also include Weston's duck pictures (the duck is mentioned in the letter) because they ARE pretty funny.  They named the duck Sean and played with him for a few hours.  BOYS!

He sounds so happy!  LOVE HIM!!

P.S.  The California Fresno Mission hit 1,000 baptisms!!  Their goal was to hit 1,000 before the end of the year and they did it ;) 1,001 if you count John! :)  Super cool!!!

Christmas Fun, John's Baptism, Charlie & Paul Building Snowmen, and Making Tamales 

Yosemite, Christmas Fun and Making Tamales with the Delgado's

Surprise Birthday Party

Surprise Birthday Party

Henrique, Sean the Duck, Troy, and Weston

Duck Lips hahaha

Christmas, Surprise Birthday, Transfer Calls, and I'm a District Leader now

Yes a lot has happened this week! I was super excited to be able to Skype you guys this past week! I sure miss seeing your guys faces but I know I'll see them again before I even know it. So a lot has happened this week. We went to Yosemite last Monday, I believe I already told you all that. We had another baptism yesterday for John and what a great guy he is! He's pretty hilarious. After he was baptized he comes up out of the water and says, "Oooohh it's nice, I'll stay in here!" he must of thought it was a hot tub or something. Charlie and our ward mission leader helped throw out a surprise birthday party for me. I was pretty impressed how well they kept it a secret from me! It was weird because there was a few people I heard that were going to "eat dinner" with us at the church, but I come to find out it was a surprise birthday. I ALSO got my face STUFFED!! Literally stuffed with cake. (For those of you who've already seen the video on Facebook you know what I'm talking about). I was getting ready to cut the cake and Charlie tells me "A Mexican tradition we always do is after you blow out the candles you take a bite out of the cake!" So I was like "Alright I guess I'll take a bite"... Man I should have known!! When I went to take a bite he shoved my head hard into the cake! We had our laughs for a little bit as I tried to run around with my eyes covered trying to get back at Charlie with some cake. It was a fun birthday! Probably one of the funnest birthdays I've had.
     Another Birthday surprise was transfer calls!! President Clark calls Elder Moody and I in the morning and we were with a member going to Angela and Angel's house. Usually when President calls people on transfer days it means they're going to get some kind of leadership position or training position. I had the phone when he called and I gave it to Elder Moody thinking he was going to get some kind of position. But then he told Elder Moody to hand the phone over to me and I was just thinking that maybe he was going to ask me to train or something. But he asked me to be District Leader in Turlare!! Turlare is about 10 minutes away from Lindsey so I'll still come by to do baptisms and hopefully, if I get permission, to go on exchanges with Elder Moody or something. But still... A DISTRICT LEADER?? I didn't ever see that coming! Especially for how short I've been out on my mission! When he told me I was going to be a district leader he said "You're going to learn how to be a bishop by being a district leader." Hahaha I guess that's true as far as missionary work is concerned... I'm a little bit bummed that I was just getting to know the members and everybody but I know the Lord's hand is in this and my will is submitted to his.
      Christmas day I got to Skype all of you of course and hang out with members and we got a bunch of stuff from them. Christmas Eve was pretty fun though! We played games all night and hung out. We also had a little nativity scene with their family. We just had the greatest time! We weren't able to teach very many people but we had fun with our members. Several of you asked for pictures and I will try as soon as possible, hopefully today to send them to you.
      As far as progressing investigators there's not a whole lot on our list now that they've all been baptized. Now we're back to planting seeds and looking for new investigators and working with less actives and recent converts. There are a few though that are progressing pretty well! N. D. is one of them still. She's having a hard time trying to trust herself that she can repent and be baptized. The more we talk to her the more we realize that she just needs to trust Heavenly Father and expect that she'll be happy, not necessarily that she'll have a crazy experience coming into the church, but that God will provide for her needs. We have a family called the V. family. They're all made up of 7 or 8 people. So if they can be baptized that would be awesome!! Right now we're just being their friends and little by little inviting them to come unto Christ. Mar. has been progressing but she has disappeared lately. We've went by her house 6 or 7 times this past week and she's not answered. We're hoping that either her or her parents will let us in cause she's super ready! M. is still a searcher, just looking for a spiritual experience, which eventually he'll get if he's looking sincerely. We've started talking the S. and J. again and said they would be baptized! We saw them a couple days ago on the streets and asked if we could come by and it worked out... As far as investigators are concerned that's basically all.

I'm sad I missed out on Christmas back home. Sounds like everyone was having fun with Karaoke! Did you tell Brother and Sister Ashcraft about that?? They were asking me to sing and stuff!!

I'm happy to hear Mar and Wes are working hard in B-ball. Sounds like they're always doing good! Tell them to keep up the good work.... I also got Weston's email of the duck hahaha. I can't believe he took the duck inside of McDonald's. I would have laughed hysterically!!

Well that's kind of all I have for this week. Next week will be different because I'll be in Turlare now. But I hear good things over there. Keep the updates back home coming! I love you!!

Elder Horrocks

P.s. Thank you for the presents! I loved them all! Especially the CD'S, the books, and the new bag. It makes it a lot more convenient... Also this morning we got the call from president saying we reached past 1,000 baptisms for our mission!! That's the first time in mission history in Fresno. It was actually 1,001 haha gotta give credit for that last one. But the year is still not over yet. We may not get that goal next year. Since Modesto and 3 stakes in that area are leaving in July of next year. But we got the goal!

CHRISTMAS DAY SKYPING!! Oh... and Monday's letter ;)

Skype Day!!

I got to see my boy today!!!  YES I CRIED :'( and I still am!!  It was a little frustrating on both ends because either the internet was slow on our end, due to weather and too much usage, or possibly his end (he's mentioned before that the internet in Lindsay is slow and frustrating).  So it was probably a bit of both...

He was having a hard time hearing us and the delay was about 5 seconds behind.  I could tell he was bugged by it because there was a lot that we wanted to talk about and it took up time and made it difficult to communicate.  Soooooo we got a few questions in and laughed a little bit.  He told us a little about a baptism he had last week (his first time performing a baptism by the way!!).  There are definitely things that I will look into before the next time we Skype, but I will take what I did get and label it as AMAZING!!  Seeing my sons face again  *silent screaming inside*!!  I just wanted to kiss him and love him and snuggle for a minute!!  But instead we settle for a little chat, we sang him Happy Birthday (we both, well probably everyone, got a little teary eyed at that point) and we had family prayer again :)  Offered by The Preacher Man himself ;) which he did in Spanish (again we cried) and then we said goodbye..........

CAN YOU SAY OUCH?????  WOW!!! I did NOT want to tell him goodbye!  What a roller coaster I'm on!!! I'm so very blessed to have such an obedient son who has literally turned into such a wonderful man right before my eyes!  Or at least the eyes of those in California ;)  I miss him SOOOOO MUCH!  Yet I know this is exactly where Alex needs to be!  This is Alex's journey and it is what Alex will base the rest of his life experiences on.  He is learning so much about himself right now.  It may not be the journey of another person and that is OK.  It is his.  It is where he wants to be.  He isn't there because I told him to go or his seminary teacher or his coaches or his best friend.  He is there for him and that is why he will succeed!!  I LOVE HIM!!!  I MISS HIM!!! I AM SOOOOO PROUD!!!

P.S.  I'm counting down the days until mothers day!!!

At the airport.  Can't wait to hug him again!

His letter didn't come in on Monday as planned because they went to Yosemite to play on P-Day (ummmm, talk about FREAKING OUT!! I didn't know what was supposed to happen with Skype so I was a little nervous to say the least), but I got a few pictures from that day.  I will have to confess that I have been in Cahoots with Charlie (he's been mentioned in almost all of Alex's letters) in planning a little birthday party for Alex.  Every once in awhile he sends me pictures of Alex working and sometimes even having fun.  They warm my heart and ALWAYS make me cry!!  Tears of joy of course ;)... So we have it planned that on Saturday he is going to pick up a cake that I ordered for Alex and they are having a little surprise party for him!  Staying within all of the mission boundaries and guidelines of course!!!  I feel blessed that I have so many people looking out for him and I feel like Charlie is just an extension of my family (even tho I have never met him in person).  He is Alex's brother and therefore my other son ;) I'm excited to see how the party turns out!!  I told him to send LOTS of pictures!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONNY BOY!!!  Hope he has a wonderful 20th birthday!

Familia

So you're probably wondering why I didn't send a letter yesterday, but luckily I was able to have permission write a little bit this morning. The reason I wasn't able to write yesterday was because we went up to Yosemite national park yesterday and weren't able to make it back in time (I kind of knew we wouldn't because it's pretty far from Lindsey). But no worries! Cause now I have a little time to write.

So about Skype (this message goes to everyone) We will be Skyping at between 9-10 in the morning in California so that means between 10 or 11 over there in Utah. The person that is allowing us to Skype is the Ashcraft family. I gave them Mom's number (let dad know any details that will be going on when he calls) I couldn't remember dads phone number off the top of my head so I gave them Moms. THEY will be giving you THEIR Skype name for me to use , I don't know what their Skype name is but ASK them when they call. I'll be Skyping one for about 25-30 mins and then the other for about 25-30 minutes also (so just keep timing in mind if you have any questions)... I will also try to let you know about the news that went on this week during Skype and of course anything else you guys want to ask. As far as of anything that was of big news this week was Angela and Angel's baptism!! I got to baptize Angel and Elder Moody baptized Angela.

But I got to go. I have a district meeting in 30 minutes and I have to leave right now. But more details will be given during Skype.

I love you all so much!! Can't wait to see your faces
Love Elder Horrocks

P.S.  I'm sorry I wasn't able to write other family that sent letters of birthday and Christmas wishes. When you have the chance tell them all I said thank you and I love them much!!

Right at home in the snow

Alex in all his goofiness ;)

Heading to Yosemite

Yosemite

Again with the goofiness!!  hahaha

A little snowball action

Going to see investigators

It Feels Like FOR.E.VER!!!

Alex missed writing a letter one week because they had a temple day and they didn't have time to write.  Bummer for mom but he was doing his work so how can I be disappointed ;)...  

This letter was summing up two weeks in a row.  He's had such great experiences and times is flying for him!  I'm not going to lie.  I MISS HIM SOOOOO MUCH RIGHT NOW!!  Not just because it's Christmas but it's also almost his birthday!  It's so weird not having him here and no presents under the tree for him.  He told the people there about our Christmas Idol tradition and it hit me hard that he's not here :(  It's not going to be the same without his goofiness.  Tickets for the mixed emotional roller coaster please??? ;) Because  I've also never been more proud of my boy!!  

I'll be getting a letter from him tomorrow.  I'm sure he'll be sending Christmas love to everyone.  I'll try to get it posted before the holiday :)  He'll also be Skyping us on Christmas day!!  CAN YOU SAY E.X.C.I.T.E.D.?????  I cry every time I think about it :) I'll be setting up my Skype account tonight so I can be ready and waiting!!  WHOOP WHOOP!! Love and Miss him!  Merry Christmas!

Party after the Sister's baptism

Christmas Party

Packages Galore!!!
I think you've sent me enough?? All the other missionaries are getting jealous of me over here! 

Summing up two weeks before

So first off I'm real sorry I couldn't email on Thursday, we were at the temple and we got back in time but next thing we knew we had some other errands to run that pertained to missionary work. So we came and emailed real quick for about 15 mins or so and then headed out. I'm not sure how well I'll remember these past couple weeks that have flown by but I'll try my hardest to remember. 

Our investigators are doing really good! I've noticed more and more each day that success doesn't come measured off of how ever many baptisms you get, it's about following the guidance of the spirit everyday. We're always seeking to find the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father's SECOND greatest gift he has ever given us is the Holy Ghost. I've never realized so much, up until my mission, why it's so important that we have it. When we do this, THEN we baptize. This next up coming Sunday on the 21st we have two baptisms. Remember Angela? The random person we talked to on the street and invited her to church? She's being baptized along with her son! It's kind of cool how it turned out. She's always so appreciative of the love that we express towards her. We're also hoping to have at least one more on the same day and that's Mar. She just needs her parents permission and then she's golden. The next following Sunday on the 28th we have a guy named J., he told us yesterday that his answer was "yes" :) His wife, J., is already a member but is less active. She's getting back into the swing of things and is coming to church again. She supports J. every step of the way so we're fortunate to have her... N. D. is another investigator who should have been baptized a long long long time ago!! Her parents have been members for like 10 years now, and she still hasn't been baptized? She came and did a church tour with us just to kind of get a feel of the church again, because she's been to church before. Ever since then she's just been so much more open to us. I think in the past we've tried to force things on her but really what she needed was a little slower pace, and that we are friends a long the way. She's been more open to that kind of approach and she came to church yesterday and dinner with us at a members house. She's doing awesome! It's possible, at least from how open she's been with us, that she'll want to be baptized on the 28th... Je. will also be baptized on the 28th but she's a little iffy. We're kind of unsure about her but we'll see how she keeps progressing. 

All of our other investigators are progressing but don't have any baptism dates yet, but they will one day!! Hopefully... Some of these come less actives and recent converts too. Something our mission president has advised us is to always work with the less actives and recent converts, not necessarily take the responsibilities of the home teachers or any of the other active members for them, but to simply "teach" the less actives and recent converts. We don't invite them to Church, we don't start new member lessons for them (unless nobody is assigned to do it) we just "teach" them. Or help them to know what it feels like to have the spirit in their lives. We're always teachers and that's how we find these other people. Less actives and recent converts just seem to always have a friend who has interest in the church. So we ask them for referrals and It makes finding people TEN times easier.... The other people are J. V., and M. J. V. we found through a member referral. He's pretty cool! His family is huge! We've taught them 2 or 3 times but are still kind of in their Catholic traditions. M. had a dream about the temple, and he continues having dreams. His dream of the temple was described like he was in front of the temple with a big water font, and a member telling him "Come, come M., this is where you need to be." Hahaha I thought it was sweet! But I don't think he quite understands it yet, even though it's a very blunt dream. Sometimes I just want to say "BE BAPTIZED! *cough cough". None the less, we're still working with him and helping him connect his dreams together... M. and T. are still around but they've kind of lost the recognition of why were actually there to teach them. So we see them maybe twice a week rather than everyday. T. hasn't made up her decision of leaving M. as far as we know. S. and J. have kind of fallen off the planet too. They're always constantly having to go do drug tests and programs in Porterville, so they're hardly ever home. All the others we haven't seen much either... It's like the Lord has given us a whole new set of people for Christmas. Of course because it's getting close to the end of the year, and we're SOOO close to reaching 1,000 baptisms we've sacrificed a lot, we've fasted a lot, prayed a lot, and so the Lord blesses us as we do so. 

Saturday the 13th was a HUUUGEEE Christmas party in Lindsay!! Some members were saying that's the most they've ever had come to the party. I think there's somewhere between 150 to 200 Tamales there? DANGGG! I think only 8 members cooked all of those too. And we had a Christmas program for the kids, a lot of our investigators came. I think that's what got J. to decide yes to baptism. Just the atmosphere and the people were welcoming and kind, it was a really good party. I could of had pictures but I didn't have my camera on me. Elder Moody did though so he'll send me some and I'll send them to you. 

Christmas really is the best during the mission! I love it! It's so cool to see the true meaning of Christmas every where I go. This month has been an experience for me that's helped me to appreciate the atonement more. I've seen it work on me here, and then in turn work on the people that we teach. I've had to "give" more of a portion of me to others, and then Heavenly Father blesses me and I receive more. I really have missed home during these times of the year, but I've become so much closer to our Savior and his gospel always seems to amaze me... 

As far as Christmas and what we're doing. I believe on Christmas eve we have to be in early at like 6 o clock at night. And then Christmas day we have talking to our families at a members home. We have a member that will let us skype, so we'll be skyping if that answers your questions :) I'm not sure what time, but I believe it will be around 9 or 10? So 10 or 11 in Utah. It doesn't really matter to me who's there and who isn't. I want family to be there for sure at least. Like Grandma, Guy and Carm, Joe and Wendy, who ever else is visting Roosevelt from our Fam or cousins, aunts, uncles, just all of them. As far as friends I guess Stephen and Haydo and Digger, just... WHOEVER haha. I asked President how long I could skype between you and Dad and he said about 25 to 30 mins each. So you for 25-30 and Dad for 25-30. (You're going to have to tell Dad that because I forgot to mention that to him)

I'm glad to hear that everything at home is good with the family. Sounds like Christmas will be sweet! Last night at my dinner we went around the room sharing a thing/tradition we always did for Christmas, I told them we do Karaoke so I'm definitely going to miss that!!  I'm sorry to hear everyone's sick :/ at least J.T. and Charleigh, hope they get feeling better. 

Mar and West kicking some trash in sports as usual. Hope basketball season is going good for them. Work hard! Tell West and Mar both to keep it up

Well that's all I've got familia. I hope I answered all of your questions. I got little time but if there's anything else that you need to ask let me know next Monday. I appreciate hearing letters from back home. I love and miss you all. Pray for our investigators that they'll come closer to Christ.

Feliz Navidad

Love Elder Horrocks