WOW, what another great week here in OHYSA! The week flew by, but the miracles and memories stuck around!
MAEVE: We had a great lesson with her before Institute on Tuesday (and she stayed for institute again!). When she leaves the house, she tells her parents that she's going to a friend's to watch a movie, so she has to squeeze her friend in after our lessons! I mean, whatever excuse can get her to the lessons ;) A super awesome member, Haylie, (who clicks really well with Maeve) invited her out to dinner with us Friday to Souplantation (which is a most delicious buffet complete with the most beautiful salad bar I've ever laid eyes on). Anyway, afterwards we went to the church and had another great lesson! Maeve just soaks up these lessons and is so gung-ho!
We had a "Testaments" movie night with her before attending a baptism in Anaheim on Saturday. She enjoyed the cheesy, spiritual movie, but was a little freaked out about the baptism. The reality of the newness of joining a different church hit her. She can sometimes get worked up and anxious about things, but she is strong and knows that it's just something new and she'll be a-ok!
She leaves for Alabama on the 3rd and her mom is out of town most of this week, so we'll be finishing the lessons with her so after she gets settled down there, she is free to get baptized! Woo hoo! When we brought up baptism to see where she was at with all of it, she responded with one of the reasons she wants to be baptized. "Well, I'm not able to save my bookmarks or highlights on the app since I'm not a member so.... ." We all died! Maeve is so special and we're BFFs! Love her!!
CASSITY: We had probably 1 of the top 10 most spiritual lessons EVER the other night! We were able to have a lesson in a member's home (Stephanie). We finally were able to teach Cassity the entirety of the Restoration. First off, right from the beginning the Spirit was very present. Cassity commented on how her meditation journey is so closely related to her religious journey and how she sees so many similarities. After explaining the First Vision, Cassity laughed. She said, "It's funny that you say that because today in our meditation we had to envision a big beam of light over our head, that was brighter than the sun, and it illuminated all of its surroundings and we could feel it throughout our entire body." I'm pretty sure our jaws dropped. After that, the Spirit really dialed up! Stephanie opened up about her conversion, Sister Brooks and I were so close to tears and Cassity said she had never felt so much peace and was overflowing with tears. She knows that this is the path she wants! Cassity has a lot of anxieties and fears, but she has slowly become more confident and sure of this path! She has faced a little bit of flack for being associated with the church (which has been one of her biggest fears), but she is coming SO far! YAY Cassity!
Random tidbits:
*We launched our Member Missionary Challenge (complete with a super cheesy launch video that we missionaries and a member made together). We have a 500 piece puzzle that we're trying to complete by the beginning of August. The way they can earn pieces is by sharing the gospel and inviting others to "come and see." We taught Relief Society about it yesterday and they were SO pumped! We put in a lot of preparation for it this week. Sister Brooks and I had to put the entire puzzle together so we could number the back and... really tried our patience, but we did it!). Stay tuned for how the challenge turns out!
*Random miracle: I met this randon guy, Eddie, at IVC 2 weeks ago. He didn't seem too interested, but we hit him up anyway. He said he wanted to come check out the church. We set up a chapel tour for Saturday with the Elders and EDDIE CAME! We found him, sitting out on the lawn, waiting for us when we got there. He hasn't been to church in awhile, so he wanted to check ours out! THEN, he came to all 3 hours of church yesterday too! He said he felt very calm and that the services felt really good! We came to find out that he lives in Riverside (which is about a 1-2 drive away and way out of our mission) What dedication! We'll see if he's truly interested in learning more! The Elders are going to be meeting with him later this week! Wahoo!
Spiritual Note:
We attended a YSA fireside last night with a man, Nathan Ogden. He was involved in a skiing accident 16 years ago and is paralyzed from the chest down. He had such a phenomenal story, where he mentioned that as soon as he found his purpose in life and decided to live, that things got better. Not easier, but better! He talked about how each of us have excuses in our lives that either put us on a pedestal above others or that tear us down. He told us to write down our excuse and get rid of it! We need to find our purpose and be driven by that! I was so inspired! Turning inward and looking for the excuse we tend to use to lower our potential or our standards and then discarding it can be such a powerful thing! I was able to do that for myself and I invite YOU to do the same! Heavenly Father has so much in store for you! Don't let excuses get in the way of what you were sent here to do!
I LOVE being a missionary! I love this area! I love the people! I'm beyond blessed to be here! I'm excited for another week!
Love you all! Thanks for your constant support!
Sister Burton
2500 N. Bristol St.
Santa
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| We found this cool mushroom-like cozy seat at this super nice complex. |
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| Our set-up for the member challenge. |
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| Went tabling at SCC with the Sisters. |
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| NADIA, Superstar member! |
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| Dinner with Haylie and Maeve. |
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| Puzzle mode and the finished product! I love this picture! |
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