Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: 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