Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: Week 10: When an investigator walks into El Pollo Loco...

Wow, its been so long! This email will probably be longer than normal, since its been a week and a half since I updated you on life! This past week and a half has been AWESOME! Things are really taking off here and I love it soooo much!

-Sister Durfee, is a 93(will be 94 in 2 months), year old woman in the ward. We went and visited with her on Monday and there is one word which describes her: SPRY! She moves so quickly around her house and she is so self sufficient. She bought her house in 1963 and it feels like you walked into the 60's as soon as you step inside. It's amazing! She keeps a flower garden and even gave us a little tour! We asked her how she stays so young and she said, "It's in my genes!". Lucky lady! It was such a fun visit!

-We caught a glimpse of the eclipse on Monday! While we were getting ready for our day, we looked outside and although the sun was shining, it looked gloomy and dark. I literally thought it was the start of the Second Coming. Sis. Greene went outside to look for clouds, but there were none! Then we realized it was the ECLIPSE! We quickly glanced at the sun ( I know, I know, we're not supposed to do that...) and saw the moon on the edge of the sun! Super amazing that we even saw it down here! Even though the edge of the moon was on the sun, it still made a significant difference in sunlight.

- On Sunday we talked to a man on the street and he associated Mormons with David Archuleta. He asked if we knew who David Archuleta was (of course we do....that's a given). This man told us he went to college with David's dad and that they're really close. He has been to many of David's tapings and knows the whole family. What are the odds of meeting someone in the streets of Fullerton that actually knows Archie?!

People

DONNA: We were able to see Donna last week, because we had to pick up those mangoes she has been meaning to give us. We sat down and talked with her for awhile. Finally, she TRULY opened up to us on why she has been having a hard time getting back into church. We were able to dig a little deeper with her and find her need! She's been wanting to go back to a church for a long time now, but she just has some things that have been bothering her. Now we know how we can help her. Donna keeps telling us, "I'll surprise you," in regards to coming to church. We hope she surprises us soon!

This finishes the sentence in the subject line. "...you whip around your vehicle going 40 MPH and run inside to talk to them". Here's the story. We were just driving down the road and I was looking around outside. As we passed El Pollo Loco, I noticed a black woman hobbling up the steps. I exclaimed, "I'm 99.9% sure that's Donna! Let's turn around!!" We quickly turned around and ran inside to see if it was her! And, IT WAS! We maneuvered through the crowd and I said, "Excuse me lady!" She looked up and then jumped back a few feet when she noticed it was us! She started laughing and laughing. What were the odds that we would just happen to notice her walking in there as we're driving by!? Donna said, "My sisters...." and just couldn't believe that we had stopped in to see her. We're hoping that she sees these encounters (our meeting her on the street almost 2 months ago while she had been praying for a church to attend and then Monday, when we just happened to see her going into El Pollo Loco) as answers to her prayers. We most definitely know these aren't coincidences. We know we're meant to have met Donna:)

RAMONA: Ramona is super amazing! We've only had a few encounters with her since we've been in the area (the Elders met her briefly a few months ago), but she has diligently come to church the past 2 weeks! She is experiencing a lot of trials in her life and really has just needed someone to talk to. Ramona has enjoyed our church, but it is very different from all the other churches she's been to. Sunday afternoon we went over and chatted with her. She opened up to us about how she is doing and some of the frustrations that she's been having recently. Ramona didn't understand why our church is different than the rest. We quickly slid into The Restoration (since Ramona doesn't usually allow substantial breaks, it's hard to teach principles). We then testified so strongly that if she turns to Christ for strength during her trials, He will not leave her comfortless (John 14:18,27). I could feel the Spirit so strongly at that point of the lesson. Ramona became more quiet and didn't interrupt as much as usual. We told her that this is Christ's true church and as she continues to make those sacrifices to come and learn more, she will be blessed as she goes through life's challenges. My eyes started to well up with tears, which is only the second time I remember this happening during a lesson. We prayed with her and the Spirit was even STRONGER! That lesson with Ramona was super awesome! Even though it's hard because He isn't physically here with us, the Lord can truly strengthen us and guide us through our trials. I KNOW He does!

EXCHANGE MIRACLE: I was on exchanges with Sister Johnson on Saturday, here in Acacia Park. We spent most of the day helping a family move, so we didn't have a lot of time to proselyte. However, we thought we would check up on a potential, Chris. We walked up and noticed a young man outside and asked him if Chris was home. He said he wasn't home, but that he would be sure and tell Chris we stopped by. This young man told us that Chris has mentioned us before and what our religion is. We introduced our message of the Restoration to him. His name is Josh. We invited him to read Moroni's promise at the end of the Introduction. We then asked Josh if that is something he would like to know for himself. He replied, "Honestly...yes." WE WERE SHOCKED! We left him with a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet. We also scheduled a return appointment for Sunday! The Lord truly does bless us to find those who are ready for the gospel, even if we have limited time to find them! We texted him earlier this week and asked if he started reading and he said, "YES!" He said he had school that day and needed to do his homework first! Ahhh, we're so excited to see where this goes with Josh!

This week was a good one! Pretty busy with lots of great things! This next week will be another great one. Monday's email probably won't be as long winded, since it's only 4 days from now, instead of 7!
Buuut, we got to go to the Newport Beach temple this morning and it was fantastic! Such a beautiful temple! I loved being there in the temple and feeling of God's love for me individually and for all of his children! I know that I am where I need to be at this moment in my life...right here in the California Anaheim mission :)

President Ucthdorf has said, "Don't give up. Seek God with all your heart. Exercise faith. Walk in righteousness." There's really nothing I can add to that! Keep doing those things that you should be! Similar to the words of Doug last week, God doesn't give up on you, so don't give up on Him!

Sending my love!

~~Sister Burton