Thank you ALL for the videos, well-wishes, cards, calls/texts (from missionaries...) and love that you showed me on my birthday! It means the world :) Tuesday was awesome! Definitely the hottest birthday I've ever had (In the 90s)! We spent our morning painting public bathrooms (which is a lot more fun than it sounds), we got Pizookies from BJ's Grill and mmmm, are those things GOOD! Plus, people were nice and brought sweet treats to Book of Mormon class that night! What a great birthday it was, serving and sharing the gospel with others😊
Random Tidbits/Miracles/Tender Mercies
-Yesterday in the A10 ward, was the Primary Program! The kids were so, so cute and their sweet testimonies shined through their singing and smiles. I love Primary Programs!
-I saw my first Pennsylvania license plate the other day!! I never thought I'd see one while here in California! I was excited to see it, to say the least.
-Another cool thing is that on a really clear day (which is rare around here...) you can see the LA skyline! We've seen it twice this week, which is super cool! That's the closest I'll get to LA for the next 14 months!
-We've been really trying to "up" our "Finding" game and it's been SO fun! We had a few visits to an apartment complex and as we were walking, we saw a girl on a scooter who came right over to us and started talking. We instantly realized that we met her before at a different complex. Her name is Madison and she said she had just moved in. When we met her a month ago, we gave her a pass along card with a picture of Jesus on it. She remembered we were the ones who gave that to her and asked us for another picture! We shared more about Jesus Christ with her and she said she really wants to come to church, but her family is always busy. We invited her to the Trunk or Treat activity and gave her our card with the times of our church services. Even though we weren't able to set up a time to teach their family now, we know for a fact that it was no coincidence that we saw her AGAIN! We may have been planting seeds that will be harvested down the road.
-We had another lesson with Joshua this week! A member from the ward came with us and it was super great! We tried to teach him more about The Plan of Salvation, especially trying to teach to his needs. He really doesn't know how to read, which is a difficult obstacle to get around. However, we know that he is seeking! We're trying our best to help him feel the peace and hope of our message. We are working on ways to help him study from the Book of Mormon and begin coming to church. He's super awesome and we have faith that we met him for a reason. During our lesson with him, the topic of Satan came up and Joshua said, "If I ever met Satan, I would smack the horns right off of his head!" I died....Joshua is such a character, it's great!
-We've been trying a new approach for our dinner messages. We have been doing something called, "Power Hour." We invite the members to pray about where we should spend the next hour. We've had some great successes with this! After they pray, they point to an area in our book map and then we go there. This has resulted in tons of Quality Gospel Conversations(QGCs), which has been a big push in the mission recently. We haven't found any golden people yet, but we've seen some tender mercies! Friday night we received a referral from the YSA elders! Aikan, a 13 year old boy, who has scheduled a baptismal date! And last night, the Spanish Elders passed off 2 investigators to us! They feel they are both golden also! WOW, tender mercies, most definitely!!
The moment you've all been waiting for.....
THE JUAREZS' WERE BAPTIZED SATURDAY!!! My heart was so full! We had the services in the chapel and it was pretty full! There were so many family members, friends, and missionaries there to support them! The Spirit was very strong! The missionaries that originally taught them, over a year and a half ago, were able to be there and participate in the services! The Juarezs' truly have come such a long way! They asked Sister Greene's and my companionships to sing, "I Stand All Amazed." As soon as we stood up to sing, tears filled my eyes! Looking out at all the people there to support them warmed my heart. I looked at Robert and Diana and they were both crying....which made me cry even more! Not only has that been my favorite hymn, but now it's REALLY my favorite hymn! I'll never forget the looks on their faces as we sang that song!
They each shared their testimonies after the baptism and WOW, they are so solid! I'm so grateful to have gotten to know them and have even the smallest part in their story. I'm excited to see them go to the temple and to see what else the Lord has in store for them :)
I've been thinking a lot about faith recently. Faith is SO vital in anything we do in life! As we choose to have faith in Heavenly Father and His plans for us, we don't have to worry. In one of my favorite Brandon Heath songs, he says, "If you're gonna pray about it, why are you worrying? If you're going to worry about it, why are you praying? Just leave it in the hands of the Healer." As we learn to accept and act upon God's will, we can know that He will never lead us astray! We must always trust in HIM! I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father! Knowing we are each sons and daughters of God means the world! Never forget your divine worth! You are special to Him!
Hope you all have a FANTASTIC week!
Love,
~~Sister Burton
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| FEELIN 22! |
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| Sweet Sister Taylor made me a cake! |
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| Sherrill's face says it all! |
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| Best birthday banner EVER! Thanks fam! |
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| FREE Pizookie! |
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| THE JUAREZS |
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