The Adventures of Sister Walton: Hey! Thanks for the email!

We have seen strange things today!

I was super happy to see that Sister Ray let you know you wouldn't be hearing from us on monday, I was a little concerned you would get worried :P Ha sorry it took so long to write!! It's been a crazy week,

to say the least. But I got on to email as soon as we could fit it into our schedule!

I'm glad that the reunion was fun! I thought of you all on Memorial day, because I realized that was when the reunion was :P Ha but I'm glad it went well! Sounds like they'll all be a little older, taller, (it's debatable on how much 'wiser' they will get ;)) and it sounds like we are getting an addition! So fun :) Those little kiddos are hilarious.

Ehh I don't know what to tell you about the Visa stuff. It'll work out. :) I'm pretty good hanging out in Chicago for a while!

(About as much Brazil as we get in Chicago!)

Yeah, Sister Ouimette is from Highland! She also LOVES limes, avacado, and cilantro. SO MUCH. Feel free to send me your tomatillo salsa recipe-- there is a little Mexican market near our apartment that has some gorgeous fresh tomatillos we want to buy and use :)

Life in the mission in Belvidere is great! We had Charlie's baptism on Saturday. It was so awesome. But I felt like it wasn't my baptism at all- I don't feel like I really did anything to help it out... It's like I was in a marathon relay, and I had some team members run the whole race, and then ten feet from the finish line, they hand me the baton and I run it in the last three strides. That's how I feel with Charlie. I didn't really feel like I did anything other than carry it in. It was mostly the work and effort of the missionaries before me, and even more, it was the work of Charlie and Heavenly Father. I just happened to be there when the baptism was ready to happen. But it was still such a wonderful experience. Sister Ouimette and I taught him the day before his baptism, and didnt really get to visit with him again until Tuesday, but let me tell you- there was a night and day difference like I'd never seen it before.

Charlie's Dad, his Dad's Girlfriend, Charlie, Bro Holich

My whole life, people have mentioned the 'light' or the 'glow' people get because of the gospel. I'd never really seen it until Tuesday. When we visited Charlie, it was so different. He had that glow, that confidence, that peace and that inner happiness that only comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wow. It was incredible. I've loved having that experience with him, and am so grateful for his testimony and love for the Lord and the prophet Joseph Smith, and his testimony of the Book of Mormon. It's so great!!

Another huge part of our missionary work is meeting with and working with the less active members. I am amazed. My whole life, people have always told me to do the basics: reading the scriptures, praying, and going to church, etc... I never realized until this last week just how important that is... it's huge! Without those daily things, you aren't strengthening your faith and you start to fall away and forget the things that you have learned and felt. It's like that talk Uchtdorf gave a while ago with the plane analogy- if you start your journey even a half a degree off course, you will find yourselves miles off the mark before you even realize it. It's so true. And I am amazed at how much they forget. The Spirit ceases to strive with them, and before you know it, you've lost all of those treasured blessings and things that you have gained. I have several family members and friends back home who have fallen away from the church. I hope they are reading right now. I want them to know that I love them and think of them. I want to invite them to start reading their scriptures again, start praying again, and come back- you will be so surprised to recognize how much you have forgotten, and missed out on.

Well, I have met some pretty incredible people here. There's Charlie of course, and the most amazing lady ever named Brandy who I just adore. She's not a member yet, but has one of the strongest testimonies I have ever seen. She loves sharing the gospel, and has such fun stories to share :) I love her so much. I've had so many little experiences with so many people where I just think, 'if that's the only reason I've had to set aside going to Brazil for now, I'm just fine with that!'... and those little experiences have all built up. There are so many reasons why I'm here and I'm grateful for every single one :)

I've learned a lot on my mission. I thought the hardest thing to do would be to teach lessons. I was way wrong. We went on exchanges last Tuesday, and I went up to another part of the city with the Sister Trainer Leader and we went tracting. I was surprised how hard that is! Dang! But it was a good lesson to learn. I'm learning so many lessons.

Sundays are awesome as a missionary. Especially church :) My first Sunday here, Sister Ouimette

Hayley & Sister Ouimette

and I played piano for Primary because everyone else was out of town. She played the left hand and I played the right hand and we didn't embarass ourselves too bad :) It was so great! Then this past Sunday, the Branch Pres asked me to speak on conversion the night before, and so I whipped that together real quick, and then went straight to Gospel Principles where we taught on Covenants. We are always kept busy and I love it :) Oh and Mom and Dad, don't worry about a thing- the members take such good care of us :)

I love it here! It's awesome, and hard, and work, but I have learned so much and I am so grateful for the experiences I've had. I love my family and friends back home- tell the little cousins I say Hi!

Love Always

Sister Hayley Walton