Week 39: When an Apostle comes to your mission...

  HELLO!

Wow, has another week seriously come and gone? I can't believe it!

 This week I was battling a cold for most of it, so that slowed us down significantly. But I'm feeling better now and ready to hit the ground running!
  Even though we didn't get to do as much work, we still witnessed some miracles!

*We had a breakthrough with an inactive member we've been working with for a few months. Her name is Darlene. She hasn't come to church since I've been here these past 6 months, but the Relief Society President wanted us to try and make regular visits to encourage her. This week, as we were going to the lesson, we weren't really sure if our visits were helping her or not. But, we knew we needed  to see her. We went in and talked about the Spirit and what we should do to have Him more in our lives. We showed a short video and she completely opened up about her struggles. It was amazing! We had been praying and wondering if anything we've been doing has been helping her. The Spirit truly prompted her to tell us a little bit more and now we better understand how we can help her. It's amazing how the Spirit works!

*We had a most AMAZING lesson with the Mohlers this week. We invited Bishop and his 12 year old son to come with us. Bishop, knows the family from years of baseball and his son has tons of classes with the twins. (Something we didn't realize when we invited them to the lesson.) Inspired!
  We always get so nervous to teach the Mohler family and afterwards, we realize we truly had nothing to worry about. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ with an emphasis on church and the Sacrament. The twins just GET IT! They are adorable and are so excited to be baptized. It was perfect to have Bishop there to testify, and for his son who just recently turned 12, to talk about the Sacrament! We were also able to get a better feel for where the mom is. It was amazing to hear how she and her husband had been recently talking about wanting to find a better church community. Well, they found it! The lesson really helped us to be able to see that she TOO is wanting to join. What an amazing family!

*Aaaaaand, the moment you've all been waiting for. Tuesday, President Golden told us that an apostle would be visiting us during the week: Elder Uchtdorf! Sister Jensen and I literally jumped around the apartment, screaming that we would get to meet him! Another surprising thing was that our WHOLE mission would be there (our mission has not ever all been together since I've been here, so this was huge!). We were told to keep it on the down low so that members or others wouldn't find out and try to crash the party.
  I fasted and prayed leading up to our Saturday conference with him. I came prepared with questions and concerns and BOY did he deliver. Elder Acosta, Weatherford T. Clayton, and Scott D. Whiting accompanied him. We were able to shake their hands and even got a picture taken with them. ( I was blessed to be standing right behind Elder Uchtdorf!) Hopefully, the picture will come soon!
  We sat at the feet of an apostle for 3 hours and it was the most beautiful experience I have ever had! TRULY, one I will never forget. I felt like he was speaking directly to me. If I could use one word to describe him it would be JOY! His message was so uplifting and hopeful.
 I literally took about 6 pages of notes, just from him. Here are a few of the highlights.

-THIS IS YOUR MISSION. Don't think, "Oh, I wish..." No. You were sent here for a reason.
-You are the extension of the Apostles work: spreading the gospel.
-ALWAYS feel like you're in the middle of your mission. Don't look forward to your release date.(which especially hit me since I'm nearing that point of my mission)
-2 things: Keep the commandments and trust in the Lord!
-There is 1 convert you need to have when you go home: YOU!
-If we are not joyful in the church, how will we attract any one to it?
-this is the one time in your life your name will be right next to the Savior's. Wear that badge with honor!

  One Elder asked a GREAT question, that I most definitely needed to hear. He asked, "How can we know that we're giving it our all?" As an occasional perfectionist, I was eager to hear Elder Uchtdorf's response. Here are some of the highlights of his response:
 -give your best and trust the Lord.
 -don't be overly concerned or too harsh.
 -at the end of the day say, "Lord, that's all I have."
 -present your work of the day to Him as a gift.

Wow, I could go on FOREVER about that sacred, special experience on Saturday. My mission has changed forever. My life has changed forever. Elder Uchtdorf could not have come at a better time. I needed to hear his inspiring words.
  I can't even explain the amount of joy and happiness I feel to be a missionary. I know this is the work of the Lord. When he said, so boldly pounding from the pulpit, "This.Is.Your.Mission," I got chills. I know I was called to Anaheim for a reason and I will be forever grateful to have served here.
  I want to end with something he said, that I think not only applies to a mission, but life in general too...and of course, it's aviation related:

 "The Lord promises a safe landing, but he doesn't promise a calm passage without any disturbance along the way."

Thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers. I couldn't do this without it! I love my Savior. I love my mission!


~Sister Burton

Ice Cream!

The coolest helmet I've ever seen!

Found the biggest Birds of Paradise trees!

New model!

 Got to serve at Mary's Kitchen this week!

Week 38: Spicy Bold

  One word: WOW.
 Honestly, the Lord just amazes me every single day! I'm not going to lie, at the beginning of the week, I didn't quite know what the Lord would have in store for this area this week, but it's so true that the Lord hastens His work in His timing (even if we're completely blindsided by it!) Just like I said last week, I knew the Lord had great things in store...

TUESDAY MIRACLE:  the best conflict in missionary work is when you have 2 separate places to be with 2 different investigators at the same time. We had a lesson slated with the Mohler family (the last time we taught them was before Christmas) and so we were pumped. We scheduled it during Book of Mormon class because we didn't think any of our investigators would come to the class anyway. WELL, we thought wrong. We received a text from none other than ADAM, saying that it sounded like fun and he would be there.
  We were floored. We called some other Sisters and they said they would go on a little exchange with us, so one of us could be at Book of Mormon class and the other at the lesson. We prayed about it and decided I would go to the class and Sister Jensen would go to the lesson.
  First off, Adam LOVED Book of Mormon class. We studied 1 Nephi 1, which is perfect for a new investigator. He participated, made some amazing comments, and really loved it! The YSA Elders were able to come too, so they could get to know Adam before we passed him off to them. Adam is just SO solid! I was so glad he was able to come! AND, he went to the YSA ward yesterday and LOVED it! Woohoo!
  As for the lesson with the Mohlers....THEIR FAMILY IS ON DATE FOR BAPTISM! Well, at least the 2 sons are...not entirely sure about the mom yet. With all the things that have been going on in their lives, we weren't planning to extend a baptismal date, but the Spirit had other plans. They're currently on date for March 24th! And we have another lesson this week so stay tuned for more of the Mohlers!!

WEDNESDAY: we got to go to Cal State Fullerton (back to my stomping grounds of Acacia Park). I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE getting to go to college campuses and talk with everyone. Not only does it remind me of college life at BYU, but I just get so excited to talk to people my age. We talked to this amazing girl, Breanna. She mentioned how she stays away from religion because there are so many and it gets confrontational (which led perfectly into the Restoration). I just felt such a deep connection with her, as I stated the First Vision and introduced the Book of Mormon. She said she wanted to learn more and would begin reading the Book of Mormon! AH, I hope the YSA Elders have success with her! That was the best conversation we had all day! She really is a truth seeker. I can't express how much I love getting to go out and tell people about gospel truths that mean so much to me!

ELEANOR:  Ok, we had ANOTHER powerful lesson with Eleanor. We were able to bring a member with us that also shares a loves for Donny Osmond and was a convert at a young age. This member is pretty quiet and reserved, so we weren't exactly sure how the lesson would go.
   But WOW, it was awesome! We taught her about prayer and how the Holy Ghost answers prayers (by reading 2 Nephi 32). She loves the Book of Mormon. She's almost done with 1 Nephi, but got a little confused in the Isaiah chapters (don't we all?) and so we were able to clear that up.
  We again boldly invited her to sincerely pray to know if these things are true as she reads them. She told us "of course!". She mentioned that whenever she is reading the Book of Mormon, she sees me and hears me asking her to pray to know if it's true. She basically bore her testimony of how she knows these things happened and she feels good. We helped her realize that's the Holy Ghost! The member, who didn't say much up until this point, bore a powerful 10 minute testimony on how she came to know these things are true. It was AMAZING! We're just trying to get Eleanor to church. She knows these things are true and just needs to keep walking into the dark with faith!

In other news....

*Last p-day we went to Downtown Disney, which is basically all the shopping and food places right before you enter the park. It was super fun! I have a picture overload from that!
*A Vietnamese member made Pho the other night and I got to try it for the first time! It was actually super delicious!
*We had another awesome lesson with "Sassy"(Maddison) yesterday! We taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ and 10 commandments. She's hoping to be baptized on March 17th, but still working out the details.
*SPICY BOLD: our companionship goal for the last 2 weeks of the transfer. Since these are probably my last 2 weeks in Yorba Linda, I just wanna give it my all. We wanna be spicy and bold with people, helping them understand our purpose and how much the restored gospel can help them!

We had an amazing Stake Conference yesterday and lemme just say, the speakers were spicy and bold! One thing I liked in particular, was when one speaker shared the story from D&C 121 about Joseph Smith's experience in Carthage. Joseph was hoping the Lord would take His wrath out on the people who were persecuting him. But in verse 45 of that section, it says,
"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men"
  The speaker mentioned "Have you been offended by someone? Good. Then it allows you to expand your heart and learn how to forgive." Of course, he likened it to the Savior and His suffering, even though he was not guilty as charged. It was such a good way of applying that verse.
 
  We don't always know the Lord's will for us and sometimes it means suffering, even if we feel that it's unjust. The Lord always has a plan. Sometimes we must learn things from those experiences. For Joseph Smith, he was not saved from his death, but he was given comfort to endure and was promised blessings for that.
  We are the same. May we turn to the Lord in all things! Good or bad. He wants to hear from us. He can give us comfort to bear up our trials and He will NOT leave us comfortless!

 What an awesome week here in Yorba Linda! I'm excited to continue this work! I love it! Thank you all for the love, support, and prayers that you give on my behalf. It means the world to me!

Until next week,

~Sister Burton

Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney

These PALMS though...

Visited sweet Maria, who taught us a thing or two about knitting.

Back at college!

Sister Jensen got her ingrown toenail removed. She was stoked, to say the least!

My dear sweet trainer, Sister Greene, gave me a handmade "8 months" sign. Bless her ;)

Did some of our weekly planning at Nora's house.

Us with Maddison, yesterday!

Taco Tuesday!

Nora's dog, ZICO! We love him.

We dressed up as our Disney character spirit animals, Marlon and Dory.

Joe's!

Week 37: KIMMY GIBLER

  Hello,
 This week was a little challenging. Sister Jensen and I were battling some sleep deprivation, but we were able to push through and do our best! We didn't get to teach a ton this week, so much of our time was spent finding...and we didn't meet a ton of promising people this week. But you know what? I KNOW whenever there are weeks like this, it's just the Lord preparing you for an amazing upcoming week (and we've already made plans to meet with some awesome people this upcoming week, so we're pumped!)
  Here are some highlights from the week:

*We finally got our rumored SMARTPHONES! Lemme tell you, it felt so weird holding one of those things in my hand. Its been a long time. But we've already seen so many blessings coming from having that technology. We are able to connect with people faster and wherever we are (it doesn't just have to be where we have wifi). It's amazing how the leaders of the church trust us with this technology and see it as a tool in furthering the Lord's work in this day and age.

*On Wednesday, I got to go on exchanges with SWEET Sister Harrison! We spent the entire day finding in Brea Hills and it was AMAZING! Sister Harrison just has so much drive and we had so much fun doing it. We saw many great things come from all of the tracting. One of them, was finding Jody. As we were pulling away from a neighborhood, Sister Harrison stopped on the side of the road, in front of a house where a lady had just gotten home and was taking her groceries inside. Sister Harrison said they've already tracted the street and so I wasn't sure if she'd talked to that lady before. I felt prompted to get out and just see if she needed help. Jody was SO nice! We stood in her garage and talked for half an hour. She shared some Hindu books with us (post-mission literature...haha) and we got to talking. She just had such a LIGHT about her. We then in turn said WE had a book we wanted to share with her...The Book of Mormon! It was amazing to see how much she opened up during our conversation. As we talked about the Plan of Salvation, she realized how similar our beliefs were. She was eager to have us come back and talk with her more. I hope the Sisters are able to teach her! I was so glad we followed the first prompting and didn't delay!
  Oh, ALSO, KIMMY GIBLER(ya know, from Full House?!) The actress who plays Kimmy Gibler LIVES in Brea! As soon as Sister Harrison told me that, I HAD to go knock on her door. It was in the middle of the day...and there was no answer. I'm determined to go back there and talk to her someday. Seriously, my mind was blown that she lives in our mission!!(Also, our ward mission leader told us Chuck Norris lives in Anaheim Hills! We're going to try and find him too!)

*Friday evening, Sister Jensen and I had a bit of a scare. I don't usually like sharing these experiences with everyone, but it strengthened my testimony on how the Holy Ghost TRULY does protect us and as we heed the first prompting, we will be protected.
  Friday night, we dropped by Marriane and Sylvia's. They answered the door hesitantly and said we scared them. As soon as we saw them, I knew something was off. I felt the Spirit pullback a little, but we cautiously entered. As soon as we walked in, we noticed Sylvia wasn't speaking very clearly and obviously showing signs of being heavily intoxicated (not her usual, soft spoken, chipper-self).
  Then it started. Marriane started talking about how Sylvia has been mistreating her (to save time, I'm not including these details, but to say the least, she was really laying into her). Sylvia tried to defend herself, but both their voices continued to escalate. I IMMEDIATELY knew that this was not a good situation. Marriane asked us what she should do. Of course, as missionaries, we are not supposed to get involved in family relationships and take sides.
  By this point, the Spirit was gone and I knew we had to get out of there. In these situations, common courtesy and manners go out the window (you kind of go into fight-or-flight mode). In the middle of the bickering and arguing, I stood up and said, "We don't need to be here right now. We'll come back another day when things are settled".
  As we walked towards the door, Marriane pleaded for us to help her. She asked us to pray. As Sister Jensen prayed, I felt a still, peaceful feeling. As soon as she ended her prayer, the fighting began again. Marriane told us so sharply, "You're not helping!!"
  I raised my voice above theirs and told them to pray to God and that we'd be praying for them too! We let ourselves out and Sylvia started to follow us out of the house, so we literally ran to our car and drove off as fast as we could, not knowing if she was following us.
  In these situations, it often takes us awhile to get the Spirit back fully. We were literally shaking and on edge. We spent the rest of the  evening, occupying our minds and trying to get the Spirit back, full force.
  Now, I'm not sure what this story sounds like to you ( it's a "you had to be there..." kind of a story). But after experiences like that (and I've had a handful on my mission so far) you truly realize the power the Holy Ghost has as a protector. After the fact, Sister Jensen mentioned having similar feelings while we were in their home. She said she was praying to know what to do to get us out of there and that's when I stood up and told them we were leaving. It was not a fun experience, but it helped me realize the importance of following the Spirit. Even if you think it might be awkward to just UP and leave, if the Spirit is prompting you, DO IT!
  It reminded me of a quote that my Dad always told me growing up:

 "At times the Spirit will tell you it's a harmless and innocent situation and at others you will be inspired to not walk away from the situation - but RUN!!!"

  I'm so grateful for the Holy Ghost! I know that the Holy Ghost watches over us and blesses us as we follow His still small voice. I invite you to consider the Holy Ghost's role in your life and what you could do to better listen to Him.

  I hope you all have an AMAZING week! I look forward to what the Lord has in store this upcoming week. I know it'll be GREAT!

~Sister Burton

P-Day at the Arboretum with the Sisters! 

Kimmy Giblers house! 

Sister Harrison!!

RIP slide phone.

 My birthplace: Acacia Park!

That golden line out there is the ocean and the "hill" on the right is Catalina Island! 

Some of the mansions in our area. Pictures just don't do them justice. 

Chocolate strawberries for V day!

Vogue. 

That is a NICE boulder...

Week 36: Right place at the right time.

HELLO EVERYBODY!
   Wow, another week has come and gone and we honestly saw SO many miracles! My cheeks hurt from smiling. We worked our tails off this week and saw so many wonderful things happen! We did lots of finding and quite a bit of teaching!
  As a missionary, you learn to roll with the punches when lessons/plans fall through. This week we realized that even though that happened a lot, we were still where we needed to be at the right time.


RANDOM FUNNIES/EXCITING THINGS/TENDER MERCIES:

*Monday night we met this guy named Erik! He's a YSA...so we'll eventually have to pass him off, but we had such a great conversation with him about God and religion. He was excited to sit down and talk more, but because his work schedule is nuts, we'll have to wait on that.
 
*Wednesday we had ZONE CONFERENCE! We talked a lot about how we can better fulfill our purpose as missionaries, how we can have more humility, and many other things. I always come away edified and ready to be an even better missionary!
  Also, that evening as we were out knocking doors, we happened to run into 2 members! What are the odds?! One of them was in our records, but the other one attends a different ward, so we had no idea they lived there. It was just too funny that we would randomly tract into them.

*Thursday we had District Finding in our area! We prayerfully selected some streets in a neighborhood and all of our district members took a street and knocked the doors. We personally weren't finding many interested people. We got to the end of our street and decided to go another one. We only had a few minutes left, so we chose a couple houses to knock. The LAST door we knocked on, a guy named Kirk answered. At first, he didn't seem interested, but I just kept talking (definitely the Spirit taking over because I wasn't sure what else to say). He accepted a Book of Mormon, said he would read it, and that we could come back! WHAT?! Seriously, the LAST door we knocked on and he actually listened! TENDER MERCY!
  Other district members also found a few people that might be interested, so we'll try them all soon!

*Saturday was absolutely amazing! We had lessons set and they all fell through. We went out finding and no one was home. We decided to go visit Wanda in her care facility in Fullerton. We've been visiting her husband, Kevin (who isn't a member. Remember, the guy we randomly ran into too?) Anyway, we walked by the front of the facility and none other than KEVIN  was just getting ready to leave. When he saw us, he decided to come back in with us. Wanda was in much better condition compared to the last time we saw her, although she still can't talk. It was so sweet, watching Kevin take care of her and realizing how much love they have for each other, even when physical disabilities have taken over. He asked us to offer a prayer and expressed his deepest gratitude that we would come to visit his wife. He said he enjoys it when we stop by and talk with him, too! Even though he doesn't consider himself a religious guy, he has really been opening up.
  ALSO, we had a BOMB impromptu lesson with Adam (the kid that saw us getting out of our car about a month ago, and asked if we had anything he could have.) He had the most AMAZING story of how he's come to know God. He only recently started getting involved in religion. We taught him the Restoration and he GETS IT! He'll probably be passed off to YSA soon, BUT we're so happy we've been able to teach him. He is so solid and is excited to learn more!
  Also had dinner with Nora at a member's home and were able to see where she's at with the church. She says she LOVES the friendship from everyone and even said Sister Jensen and I are her adopted daughters! Anyway, she said she's felt things, but she really wants to know for herself. The conversation really helped us better understand where she is coming from. We'll have to start off slow by having spiritual thoughts and visits with her.

*SUNDAY was another great day! As we went into Sacrament meeting, one of the members pulled us aside and told us her 10 year old granddaughter, Maddison,(who attends fairly regularly) is finally ready to be baptized. She asked if we could come over later that day and teach her. Um, YES! We had a cool little lesson with her and she has such a light about her.
  We also had a cool visit with the part-member family, the Earley's. They ALL sat in and we shared a video that opened up some questions about the Plan of Salvation. It was so awesome and the family looks forward to our visits. We hope to continue to help things progress along!

Wow, honestly, this week was amazing! We were both willing to put in the work and we saw the Lord's hand guiding us every step of the way. Even when things fell through and we weren't sure what to do, we always seemed to end up in the right place at the right time.
  Sorry for this extensive email, I just had SO MUCH TO SAY! I'll end with a brief testimony.

 At zone conference, Sister Golden talked about humility and how each of us missionaries must have a portion of humility, to give up our lives for 18-24 months, to serve the Lord. I've been thinking about that the past few days (especially with my 8 month mark coming up this week) and realized that yes, I did put some things on hold, but NOTHING compares to the sacrifices the Lord has made on my behalf. Thinking of all that He has done for me, this "sacrifice" is not much. This is the very, very least I could ever do for Him. I love being a missionary and getting to share this message with those who are prepared! TRULY this has brought me the MOST joy I've ever had in my entire life.
 
Share the light! Stand out! The world needs to share more goodness! Be an example!

Love you all!

~Sister Burton

P.S. we've vowed to take more pictures, so get ready for an overload!

Candid picture with our sweet Nancy, a returning member!

We went and let Zico out one day. (Nora's dog)

High School Musical anyone?

Adam and Erik, 2 of our most promising YSA people!

All the Sisters in the Zone, with Sister Golden.

Somebody gave us some cake.

Super cool tracting picture. 

A member's gazebo in a treehouse!

We do facemasks...often.