Here's the Lowdown.

It all started when I lost our cell phone.

As a missionary, you make about 20 calls a day on average, and receive about the same amount. So you can imagine life gets pretty difficult when you lose the phone. We tried everything, ripping the car apart, destroying our trailer, even driving 30 miles back to the home where we could have left it. No luck.

Back to that story later.

Elder West is my new companion, and we are REALLY getting along! He is quite sarcastic, so of course, we work together perfectly!

I'm really at a point in my mission where I am enjoying everything as it comes. Talking to people who cross us on the street and enjoying getting to know them, finding satisfaction in the lessons we teach and the changes people are making, and so much more!
I feel like time is going to start flying by now that I am coasting through life again, though. So I'm trying to keep God in mind the best that I can!

Isn't it annoying how easy it is to forget to pray and thank God for the little things when life is so good? Then when something difficult or bad happens we realize, oops, "shoulda been praying more!". So I'm not going to let that happen!

We are having great progress with the new families we have been teaching. Philip and Kara are awesome and Phil is going to be baptized soon, we are going to set a goal with him tonight! Phil and Aurelia, another couple, are both coming to church every Sunday, and are also super close to baptism! Yolanda is going to be baptized July 12th, too! And tons more coming up!

Anyways, we went out this week and just talked to anyone we came across. I was able to enjoy every day of it. Walking in the 100+ degree weather, through sandy wind and dry desert, isn't so bad when you are having a lot of fun at the same time!

Dallin's birthday is TODAY! I can't believe my brother is 18!!? Where did the time go? Love you Dallin, happy birthday!!!

Also, I got back in touch with a ton of people this week! Thomas also sent me a big box of chocolates from Finland! So S/O to all of you peeps out there who put up with me enough to write me!

A senior Navajo woman, Joanie Barton, who we usually give the sacrament on Sundays, passed away this morning. Just yesterday we went by to find her daughter crying because she was told that her mother's body was shutting down. She pleaded with us to give sister Barton a blessing, and we did. She was such a sweet, happy lady. It was so nice to talk with her and see her smile, even when every word took a huge effort as she struggled to get oxygen from the tubes in her nose. God bless Joanie Barton.

Later in the week, we were searching for the phone, literally driving past places we may have let it fall out of the car! We stumbled across a small hogan in an area we'd been to before, and knocked on the door just for fun! The man inside, named Elkin, used to go to church, and he agreed to being baptized right there! He also said his wife and her brothers were all members (one of whom we were already working with), and they all said they wanted to take the lessons and come back to church. They agreed to feed us on Tuesday, if we make the frybread. Also, Elkin is a SUPER good silversmith and he wants to teach us how! SCORE! Maybe God used my stupidity and forgetfulness so that I could lose the phone and while we looked for it we could find these guys ;)

Anyways, after talking to them, we drove to the LAST place we could think of, where it could have, by TINY chance, fallen out of my pocket and out of the car door.

We drove up to the little dirt field where we had parked the day before, and Elder West jokingly said "there it is!" just like he had several times that day. I just rolled my eyes but then something caught my eye.

"Look!" I yelled! And it was actually there! Just sitting in the dirt!

Let's just say this was a great week.
God is real and He is awesome.

I love my friends, family, and brother Jesus Christ.

I hope you all have a great week.
Love, Elder Hilton

 

It's coming along!

Grand Falls is as beautiful and dry as always...

After 2 days of searching, we pulled up in this dirt field, and the phone was sitting RIGHT THERE. 

Here is our beautiful trailer!

I kind of forgot what living in a house is like....

Rose McCabe came to visit me from Fort Defiance! It was a big surprise to see her at church!

This is Kary Grant, he is a legend and he moved today.

He's only 12 years old, but he acts like an 18-year-old teenager.
Also his family was the only white family in our area, so we said goodbye to that color for now!

A ton of Finnish chocolate I got from Thomas today!