Week 51: FAWN-tastic week!

 There are some verses in Alma 26 that I've been pondering a lot lately about the blessings from being instruments in the Lord's hands. Verses 1-3 cause us to ponder, "Can ye tell?" I've recently been asking myself the same question. Could I have supposed to have seen such great blessings here in the mission field? Can I tell? Well, this week, again, baffled me because of all the wonderful blessings I have witnessed being a representative of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

MAEVE: We had another amazing lesson with her where we taught the Plan of Salvation. When we got to the end of the lesson, she was visibly upset. She was frustrated because this plan made SO much sense. It was happier and more positive than what she had ever learned previously. She said, "WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE? I wish I would've known this sooner!" Maeve is just so prepared and has been truly thirsting after this knowledge for a long time.
  Well, opposition in all things, right? Maeve texted us the next day and said that things didn't go over too well when she told her mom that she was investigating the church. Maeve has been going through some other personal challenges and her parents are just afraid she's making this rash decision and basically gave her an ultimatum to stop investigating or move out. And you know what Maeve said? She is going to continue her own investigation, live the gospel on her own, and when she moves out of her house at the end of the Summer (to Alabama for school) she's going to find a church nearby and go!
  Of course, we were so, so sad, but also so happy for how Maeve was handling the situation. It would've been so easy for her to completely cut ties and truly put her investigation on hold. But no. Maeve is better than that and is still seeking truth. Thank heavens for technology because we're still going to teach her over video chat! YAY! We also fasted especially for her yesterday! We know miracles can happen and that her mom's heart will soften!

FAWN: She referred herself to missionaries back in October. She was progressing really well up until the winter, when things got crazy! Anyways, she texted us this week and said that even though she hasn't been actively taught, she still has been thinking about all these things and wanted to meet again. Well, we had a super powerful lesson on Saturday. We read from the scriptures about baptism and receiving revelation and she admitted how it really all made sense now. At one point of the lesson, we just had complete silence, for nearly 2 minutes. The Spirit was tangible in that moment! We asked her if she was feeling it and she quickly nodded her head. One of the most spiritual moments I've had thus far on my mission. She also agreed to be baptized on June 24th!
  She came to church yesterday and LOVED it! She said that after our lesson, she read the whole book of 1 Nephi (which she didn't think was too much). Fawn is just on fire! We have another lesson with her tonight!

*Friday I got to go on exchanges with Hermana Ellsworth! We had multiple citas (appointments) and it was so fun! I picked up words here and there, but mostly just tried to listen. I did get to pray in Spanish, so that was fun! The spanish speaking people are so amazing! We even had tacos at a member's home for dinner and I LOVED it! We saw so many miracles that day. The best part of the day was when we were teaching the Plan of Salvation and when we taught about the Celestial kingdom, the investigator thought she'd be living IN the sun and be burning for eternity. Don't worry, we eventually clarified that!

*Also, I think I mentioned this 2 weeks ago, but I met this guy Marco who had questions about the after life and about seeing his Dad again. We had a really amazing conversation. Well, the Elders taught him this past week and he's preparing to be baptized June 24th too (wow, that's a popular date!). My heart is so full! I love seeing people embrace the gospel truths as their hearts are softened and prepared!

 This past week in one of our meetings, President Golden mentioned that a previous Mission President would tell each of the incoming missionaries to write, "Discouragement is not allowed!" in their handbooks. We talked about how discouragement weakens our faith as missionaries! I think the same applies to each of us, no matter where we are in our lives. Yes, we all face disappointments in life, that's inevitable. But as we're discouraged, or lose enthusiasm, that's when that truly affects our spirit. I encourage you, that when hard times come, "fresh courage take"! Turn to Heavenly Father in your times of despair! I know He will carry you, as He does me!

Love you all! Thanks for all of your encouragement! It means the world! Have a fantastic week!

Sister Burton
2500 N. Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706

Played GIANT Uno with some Sisters last week!

Got to go to Cafe Rio with Sister Green!!

We kill each other.

Exchanges with Hermana Elsworth

Heirloom for gaining the most investigators for the week!

MLC (Missionary Leadership Council)

Week 50: One ah-MAHSA-ing week

Hello friends and family,

Let me just start off by saying that this week is definitely on my top 10 list of favorite weeks of my mission, hands down.  We saw so, so, SO many tender mercies and blessings this week that we very rarely lifted our jaws off the floor. Let's start from the beginning...

MAHSA: I met Mahsa last week at IVC. She has a strong belief in God, but doesn't know very much about Christ. She was eager to learn more about "the Jesus" and so we set up a lesson this past week and she CAME! We first started off with a church tour (since this was her first time ever in a church) and she loved it. My favorite part was when we went into the chapel and she asked about the hymnbooks. We decided to sing her "I Am a Child of God" and the Spirit was strong! After we finished, we asked her what she was feeling. She took a few moments and said, "I don't have any words. I've never felt this way before. It's a good feeling!" I was in AWE. Mahsa was feeling the Spirit! We then had a little lesson, reading from the Book of Mormon. You could see it in her eyes how excited she was to learn more about Christ. She had a family gathering come up or else she would've totally been there at church yesterday!  Mahsa is a truthseeker!

MAEVE: We received a referral recently and decided to give her a call. Well, often times I've found that referrals 9/10 are not really interested. Maeve is the 1/10! We called her and she was so excited, that we set up a lesson for Friday. Maeve has a lot of member friends from High School, one of them, Emily, is a member of our YSA ward. Emily was happy to have us in her home for the lesson. Let me just say, MAEVE IS SO COOL! She was throwing around the terms, "FHE, mutual, temple sealings", etc. One of the driest Mormons I've ever met. She told us she is obsessed with the church and has been interested in learning more because our beliefs align most closely with hers. She mentioned that she's excited to come to church (although it won't be for another 2 weeks). We texted her after the lesson; she said she hadn't felt the Spirit that strongly in a long time. Wow, Maeve is just golden. She also said she'll be baptized, as she begins to act on our message!

We also had some amazing encounters at college campuses this week! It's super fun talking to people from all different walks of life. I talked to a guy named Marco. He mentioned he was questioning what happens after this life, especially with the recent passing of his father. He started to cry, which made me start to tear up, and we had this amazing conversation on the Plan of Salvation and how it brings us comfort and peace!
 Another miracle was when we were actually walking back from the campus. Our paths literally crossed paths with a girl, Lily. She mentioned that she had been going through some hard times and knew that God placed our paths to meet on that day. We had a beautiful conversation with her and felt the Spirit so strongly as we talked with her. Even just these small interactions with people are tender mercies from the Lord!

TEMPLE GROUNDS TOUR: Saturday we got to take a good ole trip down to Newport Beach to the temple! We originally had several people slated to go, but many fell through. However, ANDRE, from 2 weeks ago, was able to come! The fact that he was able to make time in his busy schedule to be there shows that there is some improvement! The tour was wonderful! I just love being at the temple, if only on the grounds. The Spirit is SO STRONG there!

IRENE: Saturday evening, I witnessed the baptism of Irene! What a special day that was! I've never seen her more happy and excited! She truly was glowing and so prepared to make this next step towards becoming like our Savior! As soon as she got out of the water and the font was closed, we heard her yell, "I DID IT! I DID IT!" It's so true. It was a long process for Irene to get to this point, but the Spirit was so strong there and I was so happy I was able to witness it!

 My heart is full! I love this work! It was super great to talk to my parents yesterday as well! Being able to talk about the miracles that I've seen, brings me so much joy! There is no place I'd rather be than right here, right now.

THIS CHURCH IS TRUE! Christ lives today! And we have every reason to be happy and rejoice!

Love you all! Have a fantastic week!


Sister Burton
2500 N. Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706

Check out that watch tan!

Jen, one of my favs from La Habra!

The One and Only, Irene!

                          Sister Prentiss

 SAC

Dinner with Katie and Garrett!

 Service at the Ronald McDonald House!

My cute companion!

Sunburn!

Asked a spicy bold question on campus. Not many people know what it means to be baptized. 

My Korean name: Jo Serin, after my first name.

Irene was stoked to be baptized!

Mary gave us a ride to the temple. She's fantastic!

Mother's Day with my Parents!

The Days' son just got home from his mission. We helped them hang this sign. We love the Days!!!

                                   LOVE MY TRAINER 

Week 49: 11 Months!

11 MONTHS! Can you believe it?! I sure can't! I have been a full-time missionary for 11 months! I've learned so much during this time and I have had so many wonderful experiences while sharing what I love and know to be true. All I can say is: WOW. 
 
  This week was another wild and crazy week! Let's see if I can remember it all!

 On Tuesday I went to Anaheim to go on exchanges with SISTER ZUFELT! We've been dreaming of being companions ever since our days in the MTC and we got to be comps for 24 hours! It was so neat to reflect on how much we've grown since our time in the MTC. We had such a great day finding and going about the work, joyfully! A miracle of the day was finding a recent convert and his non-member daughter, home. ( apparently the Sisters haven't been able to catch him home since they've been in the area!) His daughter is preparing to be baptized soon! We got to talk with her and figure out some details for her baptism! Overall, it was a fantastic day! Sister Zufelt is awesome!

 We went to the local colleges a few times this week, which we usually do, but on Wednesday it was especially special. I approached a girl, whose name I later found out is Mahsa(from Iran). We began talking. She really didn't seem too interested in learning about Christianity, but I kept talking. Her heart seemed to soften and then she asked if we could sit down. (OF COURSE)! I talked about the Savior and a bit of the Plan of Salvation. She was EAGER to learn more! Mahsa wanted reading materials to study and to meet with us to "learn about the Jesus", so she said. I instantly felt a deep connection with her. We were probably friends in the pre-mortal life. Anyways, we are hoping to meet with her this week. Whether or not she is super serious about all this, I know that our paths were meant to cross.

  Ok. So Morgan, is the girl we taught last Sunday. Well, we had another lesson with her Wednesday and we got to bring a member with us. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she said she'd read parts of the Book of Mormon since our first visit. At the end of the lesson, she mentioned how she is really intrigued and wants to know if this is true, but doesn't really want to "settle down" right now. She really is a freebird and is enjoying the college life, but she isn't totally closed off. We know that there is still so much potential there, as she loves the Book of Mormon and wants to keep reading it, but doesn't want to commit to anything yet. We're hoping to continue to help her have spiritual experiences on her own so she can gain that witness for herself.

  Friday we had another exchange!  I stayed here in Irvine with Hermana Bello for the day! We had a day of service, but we still managed to do some finding. It was so cool to see her interact and speak with several different Spanish speakers. The gift of tounges is a real thing! The miracle of the day was towards the end of the evening. We were walking around an apartment complex and noticed a man on his balcony above us. We yelled out and started talking to him. He invited us to sit down with him and share more of our religion. His name is Arma and he's from Africa (super cool!) We were able to share our unique message and bear a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. He said he would try it out. We're planning to stop by this week and see! It was such a tender mercy getting to talk with him and bear testimony of this gospel! It's amazing how as a missionary, I'm able to connect with people from all around the world, right here in California! No matter how different we are, we are all Brothers and Sisters!

  On Saturday night, just as we were wrapping up our night, we were drawn to knock on this certain apartment. Well, the lady let us right in. They were in the middle of the small, Christian group meeting from the Saddleback church. They were just about to pray, so we joined. They eached prayed and then we prayed! They had such a light about them! They were so appreciative for what we do as missionaries and blessed us with added strength and protection! They were such a sweet group of people! Even though our beliefs are different, we can still be unified with love for God and love for others!

 Last night was so powerful! Brief rundown. There is this investigator, Andre. The Sisters have been working with him for months and he has been a tough case to crack! He is very passionate about his beliefs and often has very deep, philosophical thoughts that are hard to address. He is seeking truth, but its been a long process. ANYWAYS, I hadn't met him until last night. We quite frankly did not know what to teach him because we weren't totally sure if he was worth our time. We were able to have the lesson at a member's home because we knew the Spirit would be there! Well, let's just say that the Spirit was so tangible last night! The Spirit truly led us to talk about the things that needed to be talked about. Andre got along great with the Days and the conversation was a positive one, focused on God's love for His children. We went in unsure of what this lesson would bring and left with the Spirit, knowing that we can't drop him. For one reason or another, we still need to teach him. He even mentioned how the missionaries he talked to years ago gave up on him, but that these sisters have been persistent (which is fantastic that he noticed!) Wow, the Spirit truly leads and guides us. I'm so grateful for the Spirit!

 I apologize if you read this whole thing (I know it's long this week...) BUT, apparently La Habra is on fire right now! I received word that Irene (the lady who dropped us when I was there because she was offended, but wanted to have us back just before I left the area). Well, SHE'S GETTING BAPTIZED SATURDAY! Ahhhh, I'm so excited! Stay tuned for pictures!
 Several other friends in La Habra are on date, so I've got to get the low-down. But, wow, fantastic things are happening there!! It brings me so much joy!

Lastly, I've been thinking a lot about repentance this week. As a kid, I always felt that it was a doom and gloom kind of thing. But the more I've learned about the Savior, the more I've realized how HAPPY repentance is! What a blessing and gift to be able to have second, third, and fourth chances to try to be better?! Repentance is meant to be joyful! Be grateful that you have the opportunity to try again, because of our Savior and His gift to us!

LOVE YOU ALL! Thank you for the few of you who probably read all of this and stuck around til this point! Y'all are the best!

Love always,

Sister Burton
2500 N. Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706

On Point Orange County

Sister Zufelt

Hermana Bello. I introduced her to Panera Bread. Best decision ever!

Exchanges with Sister Zufelt.

On Point!

We met this precious little boy, Josue. Honestly, the best. He has a friend "Jocelyn" and when I told him that was my name, he freaked out!

Week 48: The fastest week ever!

Wow! Is it already Monday again?! Seriously, this week just FLEW by! We've been so busy and working really hard, which is awesome! There's always so much to do in this area, between tabling at colleges, attending YSA events, etc. We've been trying to figure out how to best handle this area and to make sure that we stay on top of everything! 
  We've really been trying to build up our teaching pool. We meet lots of people everyday, but it's finding the truth seekers that is the hardest part. We worked hard all week to find more people to teach and BOY were there miracles. But first let me start with a few highlights from the week!

*ZONE CONFERENCE: we had Zone Conference on Wednesday and it was so inspiring. We talked a lot about our success as a missionary, how to improve our teaching skills, how to help people keep their commitments, and how we can become more meek. I always come away feeling edified and with a renewed resolve to be a better missionary!

*SERVICE: the California Dental Association had a convention in Anaheim on Friday. They gave free dental services to people in the community. They asked a bunch of missionaries to come and help out there! It was a blast! We helped escort people around, getting to talk to people from all walks of life! It's amazing to still see good people in the world :)

*NO COINCIDENCES: on Friday we went to this complex, trying to find a referral the Elders had given us. As we were walking around, we started talking with everyone. Well, right as we were about to find the referral, a girl yells out, "Hey, do you ladies want some water?" Well, of course. I love water. We get to talking with her and this girl, Lexi, is a member! She invited us into her home and shared her story with us. She was baptized about 4 years ago, but felt really pressured into doing so. She got a lot of negative feedback from the members after she was baptized, so she stopped going to church. Ever since then, she has continued to pray and read her scriptures, in hopes to receive guidance from God on what to do with all of it. The thing that amazed me about her was that she didn't blame the church or the people for what happened. She has had 5 run-ins with missionaries in the past month and questioned if it was a sign from God (..of course it is!!). Anyways, we had such an amazing conversation with her and invited her to the YSA ward. She has such a light about her! Her resilience and determination, despite her circumstances is astounding. We walked out of there knowing we were sent to that complex to find her. And the crazy part?! She was not on our records. We asked the family ward and Lexi wasn't on their records either. If we wouldn't have run into her, we would've never found her otherwise. TENDER MERCY!

*MORGAN: the Elders tracted into a girl named Morgan, earlier this week. Well, we had an appointment with her and it fell through. We decided to stop by Sunday night to see if she was interested. First off, we faced some rejection yesterday afternoon and I immediately knew that God was preparing us for a miracle later.
  Ok, anyways, we knocked on her door and a bright, chipper girl answered, Morgan. She was in the middle of lots of stuff, nonetheless, she still invited us in. She currently attends Chapman University and has kind of lost her faith a little bit. We went in, taught her the Restoration and WOW. Even though we didn't prepare specifically for her that day, we know that the Spirit led us in that lesson. We really taught to her needs. When we asked questions all of her answers were evidence that she's seeking the truth! She grew up in Rochester, N.Y., so we taught her about Joseph Smith. She didn't realize that all of that happened so close to her home! The Spirit was strong! She gave such a sincere prayer, asking to know the truth. She even noted that she felt "something" when we offered the opening prayer. She is excited to read the Book of Mormon too!  We have another appointment with her Wednesday!!
  We walked out of there on cloud 9! The Lord truly blessed us! We had been working hard all week, doing what we could without really finding anyone new to teach, and Morgan was placed in our path! Ah-mazing!

  Sister Brooks and I have also been pondering how we've hit this point in our mission where we are just bold. BEING BOLD IS THE BEST. We ask people right away if they're interested or if they're willing to act on our message. At the beginning of my mission, I often thought I had to disguise our message in this pretty wrapping paper with a bow, in hopes that the person would be attracted to our message. But I've hit the point now where I don't want to waste my time with those who are not ready yet. My sands are running and I want to find those who are prepared and are willing to come closer to Christ!

 Love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and notes of encouragement. They mean the world to me❤

Until next month....

Sister Burton
2500 N. Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706

Bowling last p-day with Ryan! 

Lunch in the park!

Hair accessories.

In the words of Sister Brooks, we picked up some investi-taters!

Zone Conference with my precious companion.

CDA convention. Look at them pearly whites!