Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: Week 30: "Are you Nuns?"

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! What a beautiful time to be alive! Seriously, this week was absolutely amazing! Our week was packed full of lessons (which hardly ever happens)! We were able to get 4 new investigators, which is the most I've had in a week since I got here 3 months ago! The Lord is hastening His work!

*We finally got to have a lesson with that golden family, the Mohlers. We sat down with her and her 11 year old boys and taught the Restoration. She said she wants her boys to learn and then make the decision where they want to be baptized. She's definitely checking out the right church for that ;)

*We had another awesome lesson with Eleanor, the diehard Donny fan! She really opened up to us during that lesson and it was evident that she was able to trust us! She has been reading the Book of Mormon and has been retaining the information! She has 2 copies she reads from: one at work and one at home. She reads during her lunch break! SHE'S SO COOL! She loved the Plan of Salvation and is really understanding the gospel. We're excited to see her progression:)

*We were able to meet up with Josh, who we found a few weeks ago just walking the streets of Friendly Village. We sat down and actually had a lesson with him this time. He has a lot of background in the Bible and has a bit of a hard time accepting the fact of Living Prophets. He was a little under the weather, so we didn't get as far as we wanted, but we're supposed to see him tonight!

*We had ZONE CONFERENCE this week! Wahoo! I love Zone Conference. We actually went twice this week! On Wednesday, Sister Jensen and I got to help inspect the cars with Elder and Sister Tolley! It was super fun! We actually got to attend the Conference on Friday. WOW, we talked a lot about working with members and how amazing it truly is! I walked away with a greater desire and motivation to work more effectively with the ward members! We have such an outstanding ward here, so why not take advantage of it?! :)

*We got to go Caroling TWICE this week! Friday night we went with two other Sisters to carol to investigators in our area: Eleanor, Swati's family, the Mohler family, and one less active member! We even made some Rice Krispies to take over to them! It was so great to be able to sing and spread that Christmas cheer to our sweet friends! It's not everyday that it's socially acceptable to sing on people's doorsteps.
We also went Caroling with our District on Christmas Eve! We went caroling to some of their members and investigators! It's amazing how something so simple can REALLY brighten people's days!

*Random tidbit about the subject line. We went to the Macaroni Grill with some members the other night and towards the end of our dinner, the waitress stopped and asked, "Are you Nuns?" We told her we were missionaries and talked briefly about it. She said she's seen The Book of Mormon play (we told her the book is always better than the show....). She was SUPER sweet and chipper! We left her a Light the World card with a little note on it. Planting seeds wherever we can!

*OKAY, miracle of the week! Saturday we did a lot of finding and we weren't finding ANYONE home (we were thinking most people were either out of town or out shopping at the stores). We had a lesson in the afternoon so decided to do some finding in the area. We decided to stop by Terry's house, a former investigator. When I got into the area 3 months ago, I met her and she said she wasn't interested. But I had been thinking about her a lot and thought it would be great if we could at least share the Light the World video! We stopped by and she said that it wasn't a good time because she had just returned from the hospital. She said maybe another time!
WELL, Saturday night, the member who lives just around the corner and is good friends with Terry, texted us and said she gave Terry a Book of Mormon and she wants to meet with us! My jaw literally dropped TO THE FLOOR! BLESSINGS! Even though we weren't finding anyone home that day, we still pushed forward with faith and we followed the prompting to stop by Terry's! That whole situation was definitely led by the Spirit!

*CHRISTMAS! Wow, Christmas was awesome! I LOVED getting to talk to my family, even though it was short and hard to talk with everyone as much as I wanted to! It was definitely a highlight of my day and gave me the motivation to keep moving forward in my missionary work :) We also got to go to the Mission Home and visit with President and Sister Golden as well as other missionaries from our Zone. We then hopped around to a few different members homes that evening, since our original plans fell through.

*I finished the Book of Mormon again this past week! I've been reading The Book of Mormon continuously, probably since I was 11. Everytime I finish, I STILL take Moroni's invitation to pray to know if it's true. Even though I know it's true and I am in no way doubting it, I still like to pray about it. This time I felt something different. I just felt an overwhelming sense of peace and love. It might be because I'm a missionary, out here, trying to spread The Book of Mormon like a wildfire! My admiration and appreciation for that book has grown immensely since I've been out here! I LOVE the Book of Mormon! If you've never taken Moroni's promise, I encourage you to do it! If you haven't read The Book of Mormon in awhile, I encourage you to do it! And when you do, pray to know if it's true. I PROMISE that as you pray to know of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon, that you will also be able to gain a testimony of our Savior's love for you.

The Savior lives! Because He lives, we have so much hope, peace, and happiness in this life and in the life to come! What an exciting time to be alive!

Always, with love,
~Sister Burton