News from the Frozen land of CANADA!. Sep 09. 2009

Its another Monday.. WAIT.. Its TUESDAY! yikes! Nothing was opened yesterday so we get a few hours to do shopping and emailing today.. YES YES!well- my mailbox has residents in it.. a sweet lil spider family living there.. they set up a web and all.. hhmm i thank the 'new comers' to all of you that havent written me.. i have to dust off the ol mail box to see the number on it anymore! YIKES!!! bbahahah.. well thank you Erica Lynn and Deidre who write me recently.. i LOVe the pictures you both sent!! thank you thank you!

Well.. this week.. hhmm.. not a ton has gone on.. we have been looking for investigators- working VERY hard on our contacting.. but we havent had any progressing investigators for a while.. this MUST and WLL change! UGH. things are going well though. I love it out here.. I love my companion- shes is hilarious and doesnt realize it. bahahha.. thats the best. its starting to get a bit chillier out and dark a lot earlier in the evening.. uh oh! WINTERpeg.. here i am!! Transfers are next Friday!! YIKES! thats SOO soon.. so next tues. ill see if i stay or go! HOpefully ill stay! I love the members and love the area!
So I didnt realize this.. but do me a favor- look at a map of Winnipeg.. k.. theres about 700,000 people.. then look outside of Winnipeg. ITS AN ISLAND!! ahha.. well as in its this decent sized city and the CLOSEST city is 2 hours away! ahhaha.. what in the world! I didnt realized it was so isolated here! I dont even know what to think about that! Its so beautiful here and the people are GREAT! they have a ton of culture! I love it.
Oh!! Heres an idea!! send tapes! Talk into tapes- have your kids talk into tapes and SEND them to me! I can send some back if youd like.. but id love to hear you and the kids!!
ALSO I have a challenge for EVERYONE.. I want to hear reports on this too!! 1. pray every morning AND night-thank God/Heavenly Father for yur blessings- ASK for what you need in life 2.read 3 minutes EVERYDAY.. THREE minutes from the Book Of Mormon and think- "how can I apply this to my life".. EVEN if you DONT believe in it, havent read it before, dont Think you understand it.. DO IT
I PROMISE that you will be able to apply the scriptures to your life and it will BRIGHTEN your day. I promise when you pray that you will be able to feel the Spirit/comfort/peace. Also you will be able to notice your blessings more. These are NOT hard things to do. They are GOOD for you. I know because I have done these and seen changes in my life..
I know when we do whats right we are blessed. I also know that when we do whats right Satan is working SO much harder on us. Please- work harder than he is. I promise you will be blessed. Please do the things that are right. you will have so much joy if you strive to do what is right and stay close to the Lord.
I read a scripture and would LOVe to share it.. 1 Nephi 8.12
This is when Lehi has a dream about the "Tree of Life" where the tree of life represents the Gospel of Jesus Christ. this scripture describes PERFECTLy how I view/feel about the Gospel..

"And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for i knew that is was desirable above all other fruit."

Please.. if you havent had a desire before, even if you think that this ISNT for you. please pray about it and read. i Promise that you will find answers to what you are looking for.. think of this way- if the purpose of the Church is to bring families closer together, Understand and Know who Christ is- what he has done for us, help us prepare for the future (life), help others and help ourselves become the BEST people we can be.. why wouldnt we want that? we are given commandments for US.. not for God.. they keep us and our families and our bodies safe.
I love you all and always have you in my thoughts and prayers!

Love Sister Horning



AAHH.. times up sorry this is short. i just want all of you to know that I KNOW this church is true. honestly- why else would i dedicate my time to be out here- be ssooo happy with life and have such a great outlook on life if it wasnt true?!

Sep 01, 2009 Crystal's Letter from Canada!

Why hello ya'll!! Heres the weekly update from your favorite sister Missionary! YES! so the weather is pretty nice here- its usually 24*C I dont know what that is in F but its pretty nice! and thank Heavenly Father- there is USUALLY a nice breeze! but my companion and I think it is SO funny because when its above 0- i SWEAR to you, you WILL see guys without shirts on all over! its so funny. they just walk around taking their shirts off.. ride bike, drive, run, take a stroll with their kids- shirtless... they act like were in Mexico.. i love it. We are still meeting really neat people and having a ton of fun with the ward! they are so sweet and I love them all!!

Im STILL loving it here.. The Lord blesses us and EVERYONE for sure! he is soo good! we met a cute girl Randi that is SO excited about the church. we meet with her one Weds- and when we tracted into her i asked her right off the bat- "when you know these things are true willl you be baptised?" it was the first time id pulled that one- but i kept being prompted to say it.. shes quickly responded with "yeah im totally open to that! If this is right I willl".. i love it! shes so excited to learn and such a neat girl! i know well be friends post mish! haha..
I spoke in sacrament meeting on Sunday- haha. what i learned on my mission... so far... it was pretty good.. Ive learned so much though! I LOVE the scriptures and the gospel.. ill have to later share a bit of my talk.. i dnot have it on me nor do i have the time to type it..
But ive been setting goals and changing small things about me daily. i really really like it! the Lord shows us our weaknesses so we can turn them to strengths! Ether 12.27-->READ IT

I love the gospel. I know it is true. I know the Lord loves us- even if we dont love or believe in Him. He is always blessing us and wanting us to do whats right. He is always cheering us on! He still is willing to forgive us no matter what we do! How great is that!! I love reading the scriptures. i read them for at least a half hour a day. i totally study and fully take in everything they say. there is SO much in there- we just need to apply it to us! i LOVE it. I have also been reading Preach My Gospel and reading EVERYTHING in there.. all the scriptures and side notes.. ugh i love it all! we can be such better people by just following the Lord and what he asks of us. its amazing. i know more and more each day that Joseph Smith is a prophet.. that he loves us and went through SO much to give us the word of the Lord. He went through so much and paved a way for us so we dont have to go through such hard times! what an amazing man! I love this church- i know it is all true. If you think about it- the main and always reoccuring goal in our church is Build up yourself and your family. Be the best people we can be- lift up others. help and love others. be a better person and more prepared and self sufficient!!! NOT trying to get gain- for money, fame or anything else! i love it. what a great religion to be part of! I have seen people truly change themselves- ONLY for the better through the gospel. i know with my entire heart it is true and we can be our BEST selves if we listen and follow the teachings of the church. PRAY and find out for yourself if its true if you havent already. I PROMISE its much much easier and happier following the church than not. i know first hand. 2Nephi 4.16, 2Nephi 4.20
Read em! youll love it!
Well.. I better go soon. I have work to do!! Oh. ps- if anyone is thinking about Christmas since is SOO soon.. ahhaa... ive been thinking about what I want!! I want the individual-not combined scriptures (the BofM/PofGreat price/D&C combo is most important) Garments (meh.. mmaayybbee), and PICTURES!!!! k. write me- send me pictures and keep me updated on everything back at 'home' i love you all and miss you all!
PS- Emily Frame- keep me updated on your LIFE!
OH and if anyone has Hermana GRossbeck s address- please let me know!
PPS- where is BreaAnn?! tell her to email AND WRITE ME!! Happy Birthday Cierra and Deidre!! C-lest keep me updated on your baby situation!!!
Desi I know yours is just coming around the corner!!! Ppss- please send me a list of everyones birthdays! Love you love youZ!


Take care. I love you and will try to make things happen so my letters are more exciting! YIKES!
-love Sister Horning Eh.

Aug 24, 2009 Letter from THE Crystal!

Why hello heeeelllllllooo!!! (tune to the happy birthday primary song)-Here I am, one week older and wiser too- heres my letter... To you! So here it is- preperation day!! We are on PD2M today- of course that stands for Preperation Day 2tha Max! Meaning we need to CRUISE and get all our shoppping and etc.. done in a timely matter! and we did! it only took us 46$ 30 minutes and 4 items of food later to get us out of the grocery store! ahha.. but really. we are SO poor. Ive never had to TRULY "budget" my grocery money! and as we ALL know.. I LOVe to eat. and i love to eat a LOT of food.. Yeah. we thats cut down to PB&J sammys everyday, crackers and occassionally a candy bar here and there.. Im LIVING off of pb&j sammys- Thanks to mommy, I like em! Everything is SO expensive here- its outrageous! but meh, is all rrrriiggghhhtt..
> So this week was meh.. ok.. I was ill with this terrible pain in my stomach! I was folded over most of the day. Then the next couple days i was throwing up for no reason.. that was a good time.. and now my dear lips are skinless!! they are SSOO sore and red.. bless their lil hearts! I do NOT know what is wrong with me- im just a mess!! But my stomach pains, that Ive been having for the past few years- i was told by one of the Elders (who is a doctor), that its due to stress!!! WWWHHHAAATTT? to my shock- he said that I put too much pressure on myself and tend to work too hard and be too much of a 'perfectionist' . ahha i kind of laughed, but can see where he would get that idea from! ahha. SO he is so kind and would call me at night or when the pain was too unbearable and he would go through this relaxation exercise with me.. to put me to sleep and to help me not focus on the pain. they helped- for a bit. but bless his heart how kind of him! ssoo.. im getting better and pushing along!
> This week has been a 'sad day' for me and the work. I found myself not working or pushing as hard as i normally do- NOT good. but Im back on track and ready to share the best message ever with EVERYONE! Yyyaeeahh!
> We had Zone Conference this week- that was prettttttyyy fun! I saw one of my favorite missionaries- Elder Liechty- he is HILARIOUS and we are OUT OF CONTROL when we are together! well of course we are still dignified and all.. BUT we have a great time. so that was great! There is SO much to learn in those meetings- i LOVE it. I just wish i could remember everything so i could do much better at applying it!
> I LOVe my companion.. seriously. Sister Reynders is the perfect companion for me right now.. I was praying for her and the Lord surely knows what we need! We have such a great time together. we are quickly becoming great friends! I just love love love her!
> So we are teaching this lady and she KNOWS the church is true, KNOWS JS to be a prophet and the BofM to be true.. yet she doesnt want to get baptised! ugh its ssoo frusterating.. we are going to have to lay down the law and ask why not! well.. i did- she said she doesnt know enough.. well i gave her an amazing analogy- and she still said yeah that makes sense.. but i still want to know more.. well. *gulp*... *sigh* i dont know.. all i can do is pray! so we dont have a ton of investigators at this time.. just a few of them- but we are finding like crazy!!! we need to say something to truly spark enough interest for them to actually meet with us later! we have about.. hhmm.. 4 sisters that made appointments with us and totally ditched out. ugh if they only knew what they were missing out on!
> well.. I love the ward- they are all soo sweet and dear to me!! Bishop Wood is really great too! he is always interacting with the members and he participates in everything!! Such a good man!
> well.. thats about all the news I have for this week. I was ill so I saw more of my eyelids and the toliet than i did anything else. I hope you are all doing well!! I love you all! OH and DONT be scared to write!! wahahhaha..
>
> Take Care.
> Love- Sister Horning

Aug 18, 09 Sis Horning Letter!

Why hello hello one and all! Here I am, just having a grand ol' time in Winnipeg Eh! I LOVE it here! I love the ward- the singles are SO fun- its a pretty good sized ward, I think there are about 30 active members in the ward. I love it- they all come to all of the activities and are sssoo close! Its a good example! My companion Sister Reynders is HILARIOUS! We have just a good time together and teach really well as a companionship. I learn loads from her! I love street contacting the mostest!! Especially when we go downtown.. The downtown is really neat! They have so many interesting shops and so many people gathered. The style and culture is very strong. There are TONS of homeless people that just sit on the grass, play music, clean the car windows and other random things for money. I really like that about the people- most of them WORK for money- not just beg. I think that is really neat of them. They are my FAVORITE people to teach!! Sister Reynders makes fun of me because I talk to every 'less fortunate" person we see. They make me laugh so hard and they are almost always the most humble- so they listen and really enjoy the uplifting messages we share. The other day we were teaching 4 First Nation (similar to/same as Indians), and one of them was totally drunk and asking my companion to marry him- yeah we bolted shortly after- BUT the other 3 we were talking to really liked the stories from the BofM and I gave em a BofM and some passalong cards. They liked it.. We meet a lot of interesting people.. Weve only had hhmm.. like 5 or 6 people be REALLY rude and say rude things to us or just literally SLAM the door in our faces.. But we laugh and get a kick out of it.. so Its all good. We had one of our investigators Carmen, come to church with us! It was SUCH a blessing! We didnt see her before church started so we just went inside- I was praying the WHOLE time that she would show up and be able to hear the testimonies of the congrigation.. After sacrament meeting- there was Carmen!! Sitting on the couch outside the chapel doors! she said she heard the speakers andreally enjoyed them!! I was SSOO thankful for that! REWIND TO SACRAMENT- we had the congrigation speak b/c there was a YSA conference (18 stakes were invited and only 3 people outside our ward showed! SAD), so they just had sacrament meeting- everyone baring their testimonies.. THEN Elder Smith from the Quarm of the 70s.. The meeting was overflowing with the spirit! It was amazing! the Elders in the ward (elder Sainsbury and elder ShultZe) had 2 investigators come. One of them is a man from Africa named Harrison- he is really tall and SUPER skinny- the heart of a giant! he is totally humble and really really nice! The other mans name is Bernie- totally receptive, from Canada and reminds me (lookwise), of Shaun. They both LOVED the meeting- I asked them both how it went- Bernie-" I LOVED IT! I could feel the spirit the whole time! Youll see me here next week!" and Harrison "it was very good. I really liked hearing from the people".. Harrison actually got up and 'bore his testimony', he said that he was looking for God, that he was wanting to know what is true. So tender! i just bawled when I saw him cmoing towards the pulpit. that takes SSOO much courage to do that! Bless his heart!
The Lord works miracles every day! OOOHh. so Friday is was raining like crazy! We went out street contacting and it didnt seem too bad- until youre out there for HOURS on end! we still were able to teach in the rain and had 3 new investigators that day! we taught so many lessons I loved it!! The Lord blesses us- especially if we do what we are supposed to, have a good attitude about it- even when it seems tough. I kNOw we were blessed because of our cheerful attitudes!! we were singing any 'freetime' we didnt see people on the streets. OH! so Winnipeg MAY be the 8th largest city in Canada- but there is only like 700,000 people here! Its not big at all! we see people we taught all the time- as were walking down Broadway downtown. Its actually really neat seeing them- they ALWAYS have good things to say about us.. we do our best to be good to everyone and talk to everyone.. I love it here.. i KNOW this Gospel IS true! I know that the Lord loves all of us and always wants the best for us. I know that we can achieve a greater happiness if we rely on the Lord and truly know Him and Christ better. I have done a ton of research about the church while Ive been out here. ive also heard a lot of things- but I can tell you this- I have NEVER been SSOO happy and have such a feeling of WORTH while ive been out here.. I get rude people, doors slammed- rejection ALL day.. yet I have never felt better. There MUST be truth to that.. there MUST be someone watching over me- keeping me safe. i know that seeing people become uplifted when they have their questions about life answered is one of the most tender things I see. I love it here. I love the mission and I love the Gospel. If we do what we are asked- just like in the scriptures- we will learn and have a fullness of Joy. Thank you all for the love and support you all have shown me. I truly appreciate it. there is so much about this gospel i want to share- but not near enough time! I learn something new every day. I Learn more and more about God and His hand in my life- about Jesus Christ and His life and Atonement- I learn FIRST hand- not just through reading. I am so greatful for the examples you have all had in my life.. I am so glad to have the Gospel in my life and to be able to share the gospel.. to TOTALLY dedicate my time and 18 months of my Life to what has brought me the MOST joy i have ever felt.

Thank you..
I love you all! Take care- and dont even worry- I pray for the family and KNOW that the sacrifices I make and hard times Ill go through these 18 months will for sure bless all the family. Read D&C 100.1 its when joseph and Sydney were away from the families. it says that the Lord will watch over them.. that is so true. you are all being watched over!

SEND LETTERS AND PICTURES! thanks Celeste and Rochelle and family for the letters! I will write ytou back now!
goota go!
-Sister Horning

Canada post from Sis. Horning Aug 11,09

SSOO Im in the Canada Winnipeg YSA area- I love it here! Its just the young single adult ward- ages 18-30. We go tracting and street contacting every day- i love it! I remember my first door- i was SSSOOO scared!! yikes! BUT im getting more used to it and we have already seen miracles- to me, when anyone is willing to listen to the message we have and interact- THAT alone is a miracle! ahah. its tiring but feels great when someone listens. we have taught 25 lessons in just 4 days! so we are CRUISING along. My companion is Sister Reynders (sounds like grinder without the g). She is sweet and i love her more and more every day! So today Is preparation day-we went shopping- everything is EXPENSIVE here! UGH...ssoo we played basketball and football... I accidently got 'tackled' by one of the elders- we were actually running towards the ball and didnt see eachother- i FLEW on my butt!! ahah it was pretty funny- but kind of hurt and he felt TERRIBLE. bless his heart! I love the gospel. I love Winnipeg and the people! I can hear myself already getting an accent- but its ok i like it! surprisingly (to me), we have only had one lady YELL at us for tracting to her door.. i just smiled, thanked her for her time and walked on. Heavenly Father bless HER heart! There was a blessing of a family that we tracted into yesterday.. THeir names are the Crumps. They are SO sweet- the dad is fromt eh west indies and the mother from philipeans. They have 3 kids and TONS of little dogs.. litterally.. TOns. i think like 6-9 of them! wow! so Sted (the dad), opened the door- and invited us to the back yard to talk to him and his family. we taught them about the Plan of salvation, book of mormon, Joseph smith- just kept on going for about 45 minutes. they were LOVING it. they had a lot of similar beliefs.. and sted said a couple months back missionaries dropped by a BOM but havent come back since-they call but thats it.. he said he believes it and reads it daily!! i should have just pulled out the ol' " give me 5 minutes, Ill get a priesthood holder and well baptise you in your pool" trick- but I wasnt thinking at the time.. hhmm. so they agreed to have the missionaries come over and continue teaching! Heavenly Father be with this familY!! so that was really nice to run into someone like that. a lot of people here believe in CHrist, but havent thought about life after death or the purpose of life or anything.. We have an appointment tonigth and its this sweet lady Joelle (shes 19) that we tracted into. I hope all goes well!.. Well.. things are really good and I LOVE it here.. te days are passing QUICKLY!
Thanks for keeping me updated on life.. please continue to do so! Take care and thank you again for EVERYTHING you do!
OH! heres my address the WHOLE time im in Canada-
Sister Crystal Horning
845 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M5
Canada

Sister Horning is in CANADA!!

Why hello there lil familY! I say "hello" from the great white north! KALUKA KOOKA KOOKA LLUU!!! The flight was great! it was really short- and today was awesome! I woke up at 3 to get my bags packed and ready. I talked to a lady Pam at the airport- talked about her family and gave her a 'how to strengthen families' passalong card. she was really sweet. I ALSO talked to this guy david that works at the airline- he said his dauther just got back from his mission.. then he said he needed to reprint the sisters boarding passes. He comes back to me like 10 minutes later and tells me to have a great day.. i look- and he upgraded us to first class!! what a lil cutie!! so that was really cool. I talked to this guy in line and hes like "oh so youre going to try to convert Canada huh?" my response- "yep.. and you!".. ahah i love this work and im seriously talking to EVERYONE.. I havent fully approached the gospel to everyone- but i tell them who I am, why im going to Canada and explain a bit about the church. everyone else in my district loves it- they all think im nuts. I love it here- were getting all the paper work and such done.. so here is my address:
SIster Crystal Horning
845 Shaftesbury Boulevard
WInnipeg, MB R3P 0M5
Canada
Make sure you ALWAYS use that address!! thats where all mail goes to!

Im doing great- working hard and loving it! I meet my companion tomorrow! Im so excited!- THe mission President and his wife are SO cute and super sweet. I better be on my way! Send me letters and/or emails!! please give me all the family members my address and GIVE ME their physical and email addresses AND numbers.. Erica- please put this email on my web page and make sure to include that i DO NOT have anyones email or physical addresses!! THank you all for all your love and support. I love you adn pray for you!!!

-SIster HOrning

MTC Experience!

K. please put this online for everyone.. So the MTC is amazing! I truly love it. I love my companion Sister Marble. SHe is a convert of 2 years and has a beautiful testimony. I KNOW the Lord truly has a plan for each of us and he puts people, situations and EVERYTHING in place so we can grow and learn. I feel the spirit EVERY hour. it gets really tiring- but its amazing. We study the gospel and learn about it for 16 hours a day!! Its a ton but ssooo interesting and amazing! I love everyone in my district- they are.. Sister Marble from NV, Sister Broderick-UTah, Sister Drake-NC, Elder Bertram-Australia, Elder Felix-Utah, Elder Gandolph-NC, Elder Christensen- Idaho, Elder Liechty-Utah.. They are all SSOOO fun and we seriously LOVE eachother. its amazing how close we grow after being with eachother for only 8 days--- weeeellll 16 hours aday i guess we better be close!! The Elders are SO respectful of us sisters. I love it- when we play sports like volleyball or softball, the elders are always so willing to let us have 3rd and 4th chances to bat, serve or pitch the ball. They are such sweet elders. They all have super stong testimonies of the gospel and are a wonderful example to me. Its CRAZY to think that they are only 19 years old!!! They will change lives for sure. The MTC is such a great place! Imiss everyone so much- but honestly i Rarely think about that! ahha.. if im not studying, scarfing down food, im sleeping or showering- and still thinking about scriptures, hymns and what the investigators are doing! I literally dont have time to think about anything else! I LLLOOOVEE it though! It keeps me on task. I love my teachers- Brother Nardone, Sister Reed and Brother Juregensmier. They all do such a wonderful job and are totally lead by the spirit. THank you all for your love and support. Dont be afraid to email me and write me! you can always write me and send packages to me at the MTC at Sister Crystal Gail Horning, Winnipeg Canada mission #225, 2005 N 900 E, Provo Utah 84064. OR you can write me at dearelder.com and just put in my information!! If you want to email- that works as weel throughout my whole mission- as far as i know.. I can write you back on Thurs.(preperation days).. crystalgail@myldsmail.net Now i gotta make like a baby and head out of this mother! HA!. I love and miss you all. Please send pictures!!! that would be the biggest help EVER. and Celeste- please send that book to my MTC address- its more expensive to send stuff to Canada! - Love Sister Horning