Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: Week 60: "Satan is just the WORST!"

Another week has come and gone, yet miracles are happening everywhere we turn! HONESTLY, this week was super fantastic! Lemme start with updating you on a few of my friends....

CASSITY: We had 2 great lessons with her this week! She is just so pumped for her baptism! We had her try on a white jumpsuit and she was dancing around in it as she was checking herself out in the mirror! She commented how she didn't feel like she wanted to vomit or run away, so that's a good sign! She began making her assignments for her baptism and wow. I think that's really all I can say about her. WOW.
Yesterday before church, she asked if we could talk outside for a bit. Before I get into it, let me just say that this has not been an easy process for Cassity! She is very aware of her spiritual side and sometimes can get really worked up and make brash decisions at times. She pulled us aside and said she wanted to cancel her baptism. As she went on about all the reasons why, we just listened. I was praying so fervently on the inside that Heavenly Father would be able to guide our words in order to help her. Basically, Satan found out her biggest weakness and just decided to slam her with it this past weekend. As tears were streaming down her cheeks, tears began to well up in mine (which is a pretty rare occurrence, so you know it's real when I start to cry). I just expressed my love to her and it was a mini little sob fest for a minute. We heard the Sacrament hymn begin to play, so we told her to breathe and to really let Heavenly Father speak to her as we rushed into Sacrament meeting. Every testimony and talk that was given I couldn't help but think of Cassity! She was constantly crying the entire time.
Afterwards, she said, "Ok, I've come to my conclusion. This is 100% Satan! He's the worst!"(as she stomped her foot on the ground). She realized that all of the concerns and doubts she was having were NOT from Heavenly Father. She felt peace and comfort. I opened up to her and told her I even have that as a missionary sometimes, wondering if what I'm doing really does make a difference. Her response reaffirmed to me that it does (it was an answer to prayers, really). She said, "You ARE doing His work! This is important!" Again, she made me tear up!
The members reached out to her in love yesterday and helped her feel calm again. Cassity texted us this morning and said,
"Good morning,Sisters! I just wanted to drop in with some positive news and tell you the spirit is strong this morning! Thank you for helping me remember that this church is totally true!"
YES CASSITY, IT IS! I love Cassity with all my heart! I'm glad that she was able to overcome the negative and focus on the positive! She is such a beautiful human being!

MAEVE: We had a video chat lesson with her yesterday also including the Sisters in Alabama, Sister Brooks and her companion, and Haylie (a super cool member that is exceedingly close with Maeve). MAEVE GOT TO GO TO CHURCH YESTERDAY...for the first time! She even sent us some selfies to prove it ;) We had a little lesson focused around Moroni 7, which ended in us asking about baptism. She realized that if she doesn't set a date, that she'll probably keep postponing it. SO, she is shooting for August 18th!!! YAAAAAAY! I miss Maeve with all my heart, but I know she'll be able to grow leaps and bounds. I'm definitely planning a roadtrip in the near future to swing down to Alabama.

As for other random tidbits from the week, we did lots of finding at colleges and elsewhere. We just continue to meet amazing people each and every day. We had a great Zone Conference this week wherein we focused on prayer, church attendance, the Holy Ghost, and the Book of Mormon. I was reminded of how foundational each of these things are for anyone's testimony!(especially those who are just learning!) Those simple "primary answers" are TRUE!

Ok, I know this is getting lengthy, but I wanted to testify of the importance of the Lord's timing.....

*Friday we went out with Mary and did some finding. We were led to this street where a member lived. We knocked, no answer. But as we were walking away, we noticed a man getting out of his truck, so we went up and talked to him. He told of us some of the struggles that he is going through and how he really doesn't know much about Christ. Well, he opened up the bed of his truck and we sat down and taught him more about the Savior's Atonement. I felt the Spirit so strongly as we shared a message that is centered in hope and change, with someone who really needs it. It was the LORD'S TIMING that made that lesson possible.

*Saturday night, we decided to stop by this referrals house, Julie(the spanish YSA Sisters had been teaching her, but they passed her to us). Her family has also been taking the lessons from the family ward Elders. Well, literally as we pulled up, we noticed a woman walk out of the house and she was standing at the edge of the driveway. We walked up and greeted her and asked how she was doing(turns out it was Julie's mom). She replied, "Stressed.", to which we asked what was going on. She started bawling and mentioning all the family problems that have been happening recently and how her husband hasn't been too much help in all of that. A lot of responsibility had fallen on her shoulders and she was begging for peace. She said that earlier that day she had read from The Book of Mormon for the first time and she wasn't expecting any of this drama to happen. She tried going to her next door neighbors but they weren't home. She tried calling the police and they couldn't help..... then we showed up. It was the LORD'S TIMING. We stood there, all crying (again, it's weird for me to do that....). We prayed with her and just really listened. We testified that we KNEW we were sent there for her and to let her know that God is so aware of her and her trials. We called the Elders and they were able to come over right away to give her a blessing, which she said afterwards, helped her feel much better. We walked away from that experience with an even stronger testimony that Heavenly Father is literally in the details of our lives! That was probably one of the Top 10 most spiritual moments on my mission. I will never forget that.

I also wanted to testify of the LORD'S TIMING for my mission. I literally never wanted to serve and I would roll my eyes at the thought of it about 2 years ago. This past week, I took some time to reflect on the blessings I've seen from serving a mission. Instantly, names just started flowing, beginning with my very own Ginger Twin companion (Sister Greene), to all of the people I've met along the way.(members, non-members, fellow missionaries, strangers on the street that I'll probably never see again...etc.). Then it hit me. If I hadn't served a mission, I wouldn't have been blessed with all of these new friends! I've had countless experiences on my mission that have testified that the Lord's timing is real. I'm forever grateful that I heeded the Spirit's prompting to serve. I'm out here to serve and help others, but I feel like more than anything, all of these amazing Brothers and Sisters have helped ME. I'm so so very thankful for this time to be here in California among such amazing people! My heart is so full, I could go on forever!

I love you all! Thank you for all that YOU do! Honestly, I couldn't have done this without your support! I love this work! It's true! God loves you and is every watching over you!
P.S. Please pray for Cassity this week as she approaches her baptism on Saturday! The adversary works hard, but the people on the Lord's side work harder ;)

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