Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: Week 33:The week everything fell through, except MIRACLES!

HEY everybody!
It's amazing how another week has already come and gone! The saying, "The days are long, but the weeks fly by," is SO true!
Our week started off a little slow, because Sister Jensen was still trying to kick her flu/plague thing. This week was also a little rough. It seemed like ALL of our plans fell through. We had a few nights when ALL of our lessons/plans fell through and nothing was really seeming right. Those days are probably some of the hardest, when you just don't feel super inspired to see any of the people that you had planned as back ups. BUT, as we pushed through the adversity, we saw so many miracles in the oddest places!

*On Tuesday night, while we were at the church for Book of Mormon class, the youth from the Anaheim 10th ward snagged us to come be the judges of their Cake Boss creations, all centered around stories of the Book of Mormon. Our job was to guess what they were! It was super fun! I attached a picture of my favorite one ;)

*President and Sister Golden came and visited our apartment, just to see where we lived and to be able to chat with us for a few minutes. It was awesome!

*We had the Newport Beach Temple grounds tour on Saturday! Friday night, Marriane and Sylvia cancelled. Our ride cancelled too! We were scrambling to find someone else who could take us. Nora was planning on going with Sister Palmer, but they had dinner plans afterwards and we didn't want to barge in on them. We were stressing all Saturday morning too! Our investigator was going and we wanted to be sure that we could be there! Thankfully, our ward mission leader's wife said she could take us! PHEW, lifesaver and an answer to prayers!
The tour was AWESOME! Honestly, after the stressful week we had, just being on the grounds of the temple calmed me down. There truly is such a special Spirit and peace there. Nora loved it! She just loves learning and having Sister Palmer there was PERFECT! They're like 2 peas in a pod!
Afterwards, Nora walked over to a table of church materials and picked up several pass along cards and even a Book of Mormon! We've not been sure if we should introduce that just yet, but now she has it and we're thinking to really sit down and start teaching her soon! She's really prepared!

*We've had some unique experiences finding members these past few weeks! First our "Jimmy" experience and then one this past week! We went to see a referral and learned that the lady who lives there is a member but her husband is not. Her name isn't on our ward list, so her records aren't here. She's been in the hospital for the past little bit down in Anaheim, so we asked her husband if she would like a blessing. We quickly called the Elders in Anaheim and they went to visit her that night! So neat! We'll be following up with them soon!

*We've been slowly starting to visit a part member family, the Earleys. He has been inactive since he was 9 and his wife and son are not members. Last week we invited him to a Family History activity on Saturday (since he LOVES family history) and he actually went! He was able to find his great-great grandfather, who he has been looking for for a long time! Brother Earleys' home teacher, Brother Hatch, was able to attend with him. Yesterday, Brother Hatch told us, "It's a miracle that you've been able to get in that door these past few weeks! He didn't use to let the Sisters in!" We stopped by again last night and he graciously let us in and his whole family sat down with us. We talked about the activity he went to and he said he just loved it! His son started asking us, "So when are we gonna talk about God?" Good question!(haha). We talked about God briefly and told him we'd talk more about Him next time. We haven't been sure if his family would be up to having the lessons, but I think our visit with them last night really answered our question!

*Yesterday at church was the "Sisters" show. We taught Gospel Principles on "Our Heavenly Family" and then had a small part in introducing the 2018 Youth Theme "Peace in Christ" for the youth! It was so uplifting and I loved getting to study for those things. This ward is simply amazing! Their comments and their testimonies blow me away!
Something the Bishop mentioned really resonated with me. He was talking about comparison and he said that the only person we should compare ourselves to is who we were yesterday, last week, or even a year ago.
I sat there and thought about where I was a year ago. I have learned and grown SO much during this past year. As I reflected on that, I realized that I'm doing a lot better than I think when I compare myself like that! I can't wait to see how much I can learn and grow during this year! By this time next year, I will have finished my mission and be back to "normal" life. I hope that I can continue to grow and improve as quickly as I am now!
I invite EACH of you to think of yourself a year ago. Where were you? What trials were you going through? Now think of yourself today. How did those things a year ago prepare you for today? Have you grown closer to your Heavenly Father since then? If you've even had the slightest improvement in the past year then you're doing the right thing! Keep it up! When we think about things in that light, we realize how much good we are actually doing :)

I hope you all have a most fantastic week! Transfer calls are this coming Saturday, so stay tuned to see if I'll be staying in Yorba Linda for another 6 weeks or if I'll be transferring to another area!

Love you all! Thank you for the continued support! MAKE today( and everyday) amazing!!

~Sister Burton