Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: Week 24: Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever + ever.

Hey everybody! Another week has come and gone, and the Holidays are almost here! This week was a much better one! We've slowly (but surely) been settling into the area more. The weather here CAN'T BE BEAT! Seriously, SoCal is going to spoil me for the next year with this weather!

Here are some highlights of the week:

~ Ok, first off. I just want to go on a rant about how AWESOME this ward is! They truly are focused on "the one" and really want to work to help everyone feel the hope and light of Christ's love. We were able to meet with our amazing RS President this week and talk about things we can do to help the members and people that could use strengthening. She's basically the female Ward Missionary Leader. She served a mission, so she gets it. I always come away from those meetings hyped and ready to help people!

~Wednesday was AMAZING! We were able to talk to so many people! We had a lesson fall through in Friendly Village, but we decided to walk around because there were tons of people out. Sometimes it's hard to talk to people because when they see how you're dressed and the name tag you're wearing, they don't really want much to do with you. BUT sometimes you find those golden people who are nice and want to talk with you. We talked to a handful of Spanish people and it was SO fun to brush up on the few Spanish phrases I know. I haven't really used my Spanish since I served in Fullerton! The Spanish people were interested in learning more, so we passed their information along to the Spanish missionaries!

~This week, we had ZONE CONFERENCE! I always get so pumped to be instructed on how to be a better missionary! Best 7 hours EVER! We were also introduced to this year's Christmas initiative and I'm PUMPED! I hope and pray that people will have softer hearts at this time of year. We get to start using it on Black Friday. I'M SO EXCITED! Be ready for lots of Christmas posts on Facebook ;) This time we talked all about finding and how we should strive to have casual conversations with everyone and then relate it back to the gospel. We've really been practicing that and trying to perfect our skills. These past couple weeks, I've been really burned out from just street contacting for hours each day. President Golden talked about how all of our areas are different and we have to adapt to those areas. This is definitely an area where street contacting is challenging. Another awesome source of finding is working with members! That is KEY in this ward. Sister Evali and I are trying to get involved with the members and think about how we can strengthen them while also finding others (whether it's their family or friends) that might be interested in our message!
Another tender mercy of Zone Conference was getting to see Sister Greene again...even if only for like 5 minutes. Shoutout! :)

~On Saturday, we were invited to Peter Park's 30th Birthday bash! He is a sweet, sweet soul, who lives in our ward, but attends the YSA ward in Fullerton. He has been telling us for months about his birthday party and wanted us to mark it off on our dinner calendar. He had a taco truck and everything! We made an appearance and it made his day! He wanted ALL of the missionaries to come, but only 1 companionship was allowed to go...and he picked us! That was another highlight of our week!

~I'm a little more than half way done memorizing "The Living Christ"! I should achieve my goal of having it memorized by Christmas! As I recite these words everyday, my appreciation for the Savior grows and grows! If you haven't read The Living Christ in awhile, I recommend you go read it. Like, right now! I know that our Savior truly does love us! He descended below all things...ALL things! That means that no one is too far away to still feel the light and love of our Savior. He knows how we feel. As we continue to increase our faith in Him, we can be carried through our trials and challenges that seem helpless. Our trials are impossible for us to get through by ourselves. Are trials are POSSIBLE for us to get through WITH the Lord's help!

I love you all! I pray for you all daily! I hope that you can feel of Heavenly Father's love for you everyday! As you continue to look for those tender mercies each day, you will know that He is ever near!

~Sister Burton