FUNNIES:
We saw a few general authorities last week at the MTC because they were coming back and forth for the Mission Presidents' Seminar. We were sitting in our classroom one night and Elder Rasband walked right past. I freaked out a little inside. We then took a break later in class and walked out into the hall. We were told to wait in the bathroom because they were conducting a "tour," which means they don't want us to bother the General Authority. (haha). Some of our district got to say hello to him as he walked around our building. Super cool!
Last Sunday we were trying to get to dinner and were stopped because of another "tour." We planted ourselves outside the door so we could see who it was. None other than ELDER HOLLAND walks out. He looks over at our district and waves......so awesome!
Then, Sis. Brooks and I were studying on an upper floor on our last day in the MTC and we saw a security guy walk by....so we knew that someone important was following him. It was Elder Ballard!! He looked over at us and asked if we were teaching each other. He then approached us and we were starstruck. Pres Martino, president of the MTC, introduced us, because we obviously didn't know what to do. Elder Ballard shook our hands, asked where we were going, and thanked us for our service. We chatted with him for a minute and then he continued with his tour. It was so amazing though!
- I saw a lot of my friends from the Colony this past week! I was walking around campus on Saturday and saw Julia Blackham! I had been looking for her all week and I was happy to have finally found her! That same day, Sister Brooks and I were running across the street, back to the MTC and I heard someone yelling, "JOCELYN JOCELYN!" It took me longer than normal for THAT to register. I turned around and saw Francisco, Katrina, and Gina, (Colony friends) sitting in a car at the stoplight. I ran back and chatted with them for a second and then the light changed. It felt so good to know I have friends on the outside. (haha.)
FIRST WEEK IN THE FIELD:
We got up good and early Tuesday morning and loaded up our things to go to Salt Lake. It was bittersweet to say good-bye to our district. They're all going to be great in Anchorage and Florida!
I was blessed to be able to chat with Mom for awhile before we boarded the plane!
When we landed in Orange County, there were tons of Elders on their way home from their missions! We chatted with them for a bit and then headed to baggage claim. President and Sister Taggart were waiting for us!
We went to the Mission home for a few hours to do some training and interviews. I definitely felt like a deer in headlights. I felt so quiet and overwhelmed because I was finally here! It was sad to say good-bye to my MTC friends, but I'll see them at other events.
Lemme tell you about my trainer, Sister Greene. (Isn't her name fitting). She is a redhead from Manti, Utah and has been out for nearly 5 months. I was so happy President put the 2 redheads together! She is super fantastic! She is so kind, patient, and super helpful as I'm trying to navigate mission field life!
Our first area is the Acacia(uh-kay-shuh) Park ward( in Fullerton). By the way, the Fullerton zone has the ASL missionaries so they sign EVERYTHING! I already have a sign for my name! I'm STOKED to learn ASL here and there.
Fun fact: Sister Greene and I are "pink washing," which means we're both new to the area and this area used to have only Elders. It's definitely a learning opportunity for us both! But we know this field is white and ready to harvest, so
A few highlights:
-Riding in a Tesla!
Friday night we had dinner with the Dickens. They wanted to take us out to dinner so we met them at the church building for a ride. When we got into the parking lot, we saw an older couple(late 60s-early 70s) with sunglasses on, sitting in this nice Tesla. We slowly started to freak out. A TESLA!?!? We hopped in, and man does this car have gadgets and gizmos a plenty! Basically, it has its own Google maps, a rear camera that is on all the time, a reverse camera that helps you park, etc. BUT the best part, was when we got back to the church building after dinner. We shared a spiritual thought and had a prayer. Brother Dickens then
-Street Contacting:
Wow, the first day in Fullerton was a crazy one! We were given a list of less active members to contact. I felt really strongly about Kristi Budge. There happened to be quite a few other LA on that road. We carefully planned out who we wanted to see. As soon as we got out of the car, there were a few people placed in our path so we talked to them and shared a message. There is one thing I wish the MTC could've prepared me for a little better, street contacting. I just observed Sis. Greene because I wasn't sure how to best strike up conversations with people. We talked to a few people and then walked down the road to Kristi's house. A skateboarder passed and we said hello! He turned around and asked if we were Mormon. We told him we were. He hopped off his board and said that he was a Mormon too! He was baptized 2 years ago. He has hit a couple rough patches in recent months and he's trying to get his life back in order, We chatted with him about his story and everything. It was so neat! His name is Lewis. He just had so many motivational things to say, we were in awe.
We started walking again and came to a crosswalk. We saw a young man with a pun shirt that said, "how to pick up chicks" and it had a stick man picking up a baby chick. We told him we liked his shirt and he told us his Mom gave it to him. We got to the other side of the street and started talking with him. We asked him about religion and he didn't know much about Christ. His name is Miles and he said he was waiting for the bus and that it would be there in 20 mins. So, we taught him about the Restoration on the street corner. He was soaking it up and had great, clarifying questions. Towards the end of the lesson, we gave him the pamphlet and invited him to read it. In his words, he said he was "HYPED." We set an appointment with him for Friday evening. HE IS GOLDEN! It was so fantastic!!
We continued walking toward Kristi's house and saw some people standing outside. We chatted with them and they seemed very religious. We talked with a woman named Donna for awhile about God and she said she gets so confused with everything going on in the world. We invited her to pray to God and He would tell her what is true. Anyway, it turns out Donna lives near Kristi in the same apartment complex. Donna told us to wait in the lobby and she would get Kristi. We sat down and a woman named, Lorraine, came over and talked with us about God. She has the LONGEST fingernails ever. Pretty sure she could've been in Ripley's believe it or not. Then Donna brought Kristi down. We started talking with her and she said her name is Kristine and she has been attending the Baptist church for 10 years now. We looked at each other, so confused, because "Kristi" was supposedly a less active. We only had 10 minutes to talk to her because it was almost 9 pm. She said she was going in for surgery the following day, so we told her we would pray for her and come to visit her next week. We don't know if Donna got the wrong "Kristi" or what happened exactly. BUT, if we hadn't gone looking for Kristi, we wouldn't have run into alllll those wonderful people on the streets. The Lord definitely knows what He's doing, even if we have no idea what is happening.(haha)
-MILES:
Ok, ok. Sis. Greene and I were so pumped for our lesson with Miles. We kept talking about it all day! We had the lesson at the church, outside, since we didn't have any members that could come with us. Miles showed up looking all clean cut and ready to go. He was wearing a shirt with a picture of Batman riding some waves. Miles said it was another shirt his Mom had given him. (haha). His Mother has good taste in shirts.
Anyway, we started off with the questions he had. Miles said he was wondering about Hell and what happens after this life. PERFECT, because we planned on teaching him about the Plan of Salvation! We taught Miles the entire lesson, answering his questions as we went. Miles' questions were so soul searching and SUPER awesome! We talked a lot about Christ and asked Miles what he thought of Jesus Christ now. Miles said He sounds like a Hero and a good example. YES, MILES!
Miles said it's been freaky ever since he met us the other day...a good freaky! As we were talking and testifying, he said he would have questions in his head that he wanted to ask, but we answered them before he could even ask them. He kept calling it "FREAKY"(haha). The Spirit definitely led us in that lesson. I could feel it so strongly.
Miles said he wanted to be a good man and to help lead his future family, so they don't go to Hell. We invited him to be baptized on July 29th and he was a little nervous, because he didn't want to make "the holy waters dirty if he didn't know for sure if this is right". Miles said he really wants to keep learning more and seems so hungry for it. We taught him about the Holy Ghost and prayer and Miles said he would read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it's true. He said he would get baptized if he knows that God wants him to!
After the lesson, Sis. Greene and I went in the church and just jumped around for joy! MILES, MILES, MILES! He's so great! We kept asking, "where did this 18 year old boy come from?!" He's so ready. He has been feeling the Holy Ghost as we've talked with him. We're excited to see where this goes! Prayers for Miles that he will be able to know for himself that this is true! While we were teaching him, I truly felt the joy of missionary work. And that's why I'm here!
Side note: Miles didn't come to church because he had a family thing come up. Hopefully, next week.
-Whiting Ave Miracle
OK. Lemme tell you about a miracle that happened Sunday night. We tried to visit a ton of less active members and none of them where home. We got in the car and looked at our list and decided to call Roger Whiting, (since we didn't have an address). We called and at first Roger was confused, because the last time missionaries called him was a looong time ago and they were Elders. Roger said, "You called at just the right time. I need help. My girlfriend and I just had a falling out and I was about ready to give up. I want salvation. I'm 69 years old. Is there still time?" Our jaws DROPPED to the floor. It was funny because neither us of had any special prompting to call, but he was on our list for the day. We told Roger we could help and we'd love to come by and teach him. He told us he believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet, not a doubt in his mind now. He said all the stars aligned for him in that moment we called. IT WAS CRAZY! He told us he would call us the next day to set up an appointment. As soon as we hung up, we started jumping around in the car. We then looked up at the street sign where we were parked and it was "Whiting Ave". We were totally in AWE! (See picture). We have seen so many crazy miracles this week! And all in my first week!! Sister Greene asked, "Who ARE you??!"( haha). It most definitely will be a great time here in Acacia Park!
This week has certainly been an adjustment. I'm still trying to get used to everything. Hopefully as the weeks progress, I can comfortably settle into mission field life. I'm so grateful to have this knowledge of the gospel. What a light it truly is in my life.
LOVE YOU ALL! Until next Monday!
-- Sister Burton
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| Elder Rasband behind the tree. |
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| Elder Holland, waving. |
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| My zone of Sisters from the MTC. |
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| Meeting Sister Greene for the first time. |
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| California dusk. Can't get over the Palm trees. |
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| Loving these Palm trees! |
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| Whiting Ave. Miracle |
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