Week 4

Dear family and friends,

Day 5:
My companion and I have been walking through the desert for days. We're completely out of food and have to rely on cacti for water. We've been stranded out here where the only covering from the sun is our ties which we use for scarves. We did meet a few enthusiastic people that we talked to, but they only turned out to be hallucinations from the desert heat..... We will survive....

Nope, I'm actually sitting in an air conditioned room right now! 

Hello everyone! This first week has been so crazy. I got here on Wednesday, after waking up at 3:00 in the morning, catching a bus, then a train, then another train, then a plane, then a car. We arrived in Vegas and it was HOT (surprise!) and we met our mission president and his wife, grabbed our luggage and ran out the door keeping our eyes fixed on the floor! (Vegas airport.....) Thus the adventure began!

After a brief orientation at the mission home, we went to meet our companions. Mine is Elder Lieb, from Texas. He's a great guy with a low, really quiet voice. Sometimes I have to pretend I heard what he said and nod and agree because it's really hard to hear him. But he's really great and helpful. Kinda a dork too haha. We get along just fine though! We went to work right away, visiting a few members and trying to start the work up. There's lots to be done. I'm on the very northern border of Henderson, next to Vegas. Our ward is called the South Valley Ranch Ward. It's pretty small, honestly, and everyone, I mean EVERYONE is the same. By that I mean that almost everyone in our ward is a young couple, recently married, with 1 or two kids and another one on the way, going to medical school here, with a little dog to complete the picture. It's almost cookie-cutter hilarious how that's the same with everyone. There's 4 or 5 gated communities that make up the community.

I'll tell you what, this week has been quite the change. I wasn't prepared for quite what it was and honestly it was a little scary at first. We're out biking every day (my lower body is SORE) and it's hot! The Lord has been so merciful to me though and we've had cloud cover and rain at different points in the day every day. I'm so grateful for that. 

I've spent SO much time this week praying. I've had to rely so much on the Lord because me as a 18 year old kid from Colorado can't do this by myself. I've poured my heart to Him so much and He has answered me with peace and miracles every single day. I have a firm testimony that He is always with us and that if we ask for it, the Holy Ghost can be our constant companion and help us feel that peace and love when we need it. I couldn't do this without it. I've thought a lot about a verse in the Book of Mormon. 1 Nephi 3:7 says "...I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men save He shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the things which He commandeth them." This work requires a lot of faith. Most people don't want to listen to the message we have to share with them and it makes me so sad and often discouraged. It's taken a lot of my faith to just simply go out and work when the situation tells me that no one wants to listen. But I know that God makes the way possible so that we can accomplish the things he asks us to do. So I get out every day, put my head down, and work. I will go and do the things which he has asked me to because I know he will provide a way. I have a firm testimony of that. It takes faith and trials, but He will provide. Pray for the people here, that we can find those who need to hear our message. 

I love your emails. I'm so so sorry, I won't be able to respond to most of them. There's just no time. But I will write as many as I can. Please write me real letters too so I can have your snail mail addresses. God be with you! 

Elder Matt Norton

Nevada Las Vegas Mission

9270 S Maryland Pkwy

Las Vegas, NV 89123