First P-day Email -- Life is Good

Email from Elder Houghton 12/27/19:

MTC 12/27/18

"Hey guys!! The mission life is great!!! This week has been crazy! Adjusting to it was quite overwhelming, but I am doing fine now! My district is the best and my comp. is freaking hilarious! I get a long with him very well. We don't get to go to the temple today because the temple is closed so hopefully we can go to the temple before I depart. 

Oh also MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Christmas was so amazing here!! Elder Bednar came and spoke on Christmas which was pretty dope. He gave a great talk. That's all I can say because it was so amazing haha!! Then that night.... Oh boy.... David Archuleta came and it was quite beautiful. He sang so good I cried myself to sleep that night.

Every night now we role play. My comp D&D and got a us into this thing where we act out a problem and the problem we are acting out is a zombie apocalypse.. Haha we are nerds. But you know its FUN!! 

Anyway, nothing much has been going on -- just classes and classes. The Spirit is so strong and I love this place so much. My comp Elder Wells and I have teaching this guy named R and when we first met him he was so scared to believe if the gospel is true so our first lesson me and my comp were planning it. We were planning it for about an hour, but we both had no idea what we were gonna teach him. Then me and my comp both had a prompting at the same time to not plan anything and listen to the Spirit. So we did, and then the lesson went so great and we got his feed back and he started getting closer to believing. 

The lesson we had yesterday, we talked about Jesus Christ and it went Sooo good. The Spirit was so strong. I love this gospel! It is the best! I love Jesus Christ and what he did for us. It's crazy to think that he felt so much pain for us so we can live with him and Heavenly Father and our families, anyways the gospel is true!! 

I love you guys thanks for all the love and support. 

Elder Houghton"

Elder Houghton and Elder Wells

Elder Houghton's MTC District

In his room

Some things don't change!

Elder Houghton by the famous MTC map! (I really hope he has another picture with his eyes open! Haha!)

Christmas Skype Call

Elder Houghton got to Skype us today for Christmas. Yay! It was a different Christmas without him here but we were so happy to get to see him and talk with him. He is loving life in the MTC! We got to meet his companion, Elder Wells. It's so great to hear that Max has such a great first companion! Max said that everyone in his District is awesome and he loves all his teachers. He's working hard and learning a lot. He's had the opportunity to teach investigators already. He is extremely happy and because of that, we are too! He got to visit with his brothers and sisters and little niece, Harper, who was a little confused as to why the tv was talking to her! (haha!) It was so great and we can't wait to hear more of his experiences as he continues to serve. We love you, Elder Houghton!!!!

And So The Journey Begins...

Well, today is the day. Max (Elder Houghton) entered the MTC to begin his two-year mission. Oh, what an emotional day! It is such a hard thing to say goodbye but I can't explain how happy we all are with Max's decision to serve. He will be missed here but we know there are amazing experiences awaiting him as he serves in the California Sacramento Mission.

We started the day off with his brothers and sisters (all except Jake who couldn't make it from Colorado) gathered together for a breakfast at home.

One last picture before leaving home.

We then drove over to the Provo Temple to hang out until it was time to go to the MTC. We took some pictures with our favorite missionary...

Then it was time to go...

We said our goodbyes with some tears and big hugs...

And off he went.

Then about an hour after we got home, we received this cute picture from our friends who work at the MTC (Thank you Melanie and Gerb!) with a message that he is excited to begin! 

First picture with his badge 

We also received an email from Max around the same time:  

"Hey guys! just want to let you know that i'm doing good! i already love it so much...the minute i got all situated i felt good this. I love it already. I think I will be able to email before christmas. My P-Days are going to be on Thursdays but I won't email tomorrow. Anyways,  love you guys so much!! 

Love,

Elder Houghton"

And so the journey begins... 

It's Official...He's now Elder Houghton

Max was set apart as a missionary tonight in our home by our stake president, President Gagon.  It was a beautiful night.  The whole stake presidency came (President Gagon, President Moore, and President Maw) along with Max's grandparents and brothers and sisters.

He was set apart by President Gagon with President Moore, President Maw, Max's dad (Lee Houghton), Max's Grandfathers (Harold Peterson and Dennis Houghton), and Max's brothers (Scott Houghton and Cole Houghton) assisting. So, it is now official. He is a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tomorrow he enters the Missionary Training Center (MTC) and begins his two-year mission. It is such a bittersweet experience. We all know he is doing what he needs to do and going where he needs to be but we will sure miss him at home! You will do a great job Elder Houghton!

Farewell Recap

This is Elder Houghton's Mom. Max (Elder Houghton) gave the best talk on the Love of Christ today in church. It was seriously one of the best mission farewell talks I've ever heard! It was on the perfect subject for him to speak on because Max is a great example of Christlike love. It was a beautiful talk and he had many people come to see him. There were extended family members, old family friends, friends from work, and friends from our old ward. It was like a big reunion! It was so great to see the love and support shown towards Max! Some came over to the house afterwards to visit some more with Max and it was just such a wonderful day! He is going to be such a great missionary!!!

Here's some pictures from his farewell: (If you have any pictures, let me know. I didn't get very many!)