SUSIE: We had another fantastic lesson with Susie and our friend, Shannon, was able to come along! Susie is slowly trying to get her daily habits of reading and praying down, but she knows she needs to! We taught her the Plan of Salvation and in her closing prayer she mentioned, "This message gives so so much hope!" WOW Susie! BUT, we also found out she's not in the YSA age range: (We realized we needed to figure out her age, because we couldn't tell if she was just barely 30. So, we did it in a sly way). At the beginning, as we were introducing the Plan of Salvation, I said, "And this message answers questions that people of all ages have! For example, how old are you?" She replied "36"! 😮 She looks great for her age! Our hearts sunk a little bit, but the Elders in the family ward will take great care of her. We'll be having a pass off lesson with them this week! She said that she would be baptized, as she continues to learn for herself if these things are true! Wahoo!
EMILY: So we also found out that Emily doesn't ever stay in Orange at her grandma's; she really lives in Mission Viejo (which is in the Irvine mission). We had a few lessons with her this past week and the first one was a little all over the place, but as the week progressed, she did too! We could see positive changes within her already! There's still a ways to go, but it's all about the direction we're facing, right?! We'll have to pass her to the other YSA missionaries this week as well.
*On Saturday, I got to go on exchanges with Sister Nichols (my pal from the MTC days!) We got to spend the day in her area in Anaheim, while Sister Thompson was a superstar and led out our area for the day! Sister Nichols and I had quite the experience as we were out finding. We met soooo many bashers, one after the other. They were nice and semi short conversations, so it wasn't a waste of our time. I think it's hilarious when we don't even say a word, but then they say "I REALLY hope you find Jesus and the truth. Keep searching". They slyly try to tell us we're wrong without saying it flat out. The next guy, who used to be a Mormon, told us that the church is just a corporation that steals our tax dollars.(haha.) I had to laugh about that one! Even though we experienced a lot of rejection, we knew it was a trial that Heavenly Father was throwing at us, so we persevered and didn't let it get us down! We still had a blast finding and inviting all to come and see!
*Oh, here are a few random tidbits and funnies from the week. Last night, we were in a semi-sketchy part of Santa Ana, when this guy at the bus stop called out to us in Spanish. He started speaking in Spanglish and mentioned how he's been through a lot and how it was God that made our paths cross so we could share God's word with him. Such a tender moment! Best part about it? He had "tear" tattoo under his eye (for those of you who may not know, that means he's killed someone). Soooo, that was pretty cool!
We had another funny, that also happened in Santa Ana. We stopped this older gentleman on the sidewalk and started chatting. We then see this fairly psychotic speeding up on his bike and was saying "Hey hey hey!" and I moved out of the way just in time to not get smashed, but as he was riding on, he called out to me with a vulgar comment, and the sweet old man with his cane called out "YA BIG DUMBY!" (hahaha) Missionary life is never boring!
*So right now, we're in a major finding period, which is awesome! We are just craving to find female YSAs that are interested in learning more! We have the faith and the drive to get out there and find them! For the next 3ish weeks, the colleges around here are on their breaks before the Fall semester, so we're going to find in other ways!
Yesterday at church, Heavenly Father blessed us with a miracle! Helen, who has been visiting from Peru this Summer, has been attending our ward with her cousin. Helen isn't a member, so we asked her about a month ago if she'd like to learn and she said she learned in the past and wasn't interested. Well, yesterday, she said, "I have your number. I'll text you so we can set up a time so I can learn more." I was shocked! We have a lesson with her this week so we're excited to see how it goes!
*CASSITY: She is doing better than I could've ever imagined! We had our first lesson of her recent convert lessons this past week and you can visibly see how she's changed! She said she's felt so stable and calm AND the Stake President asked her to speak in Stake Conference in 2 weeks. She's ecstatic! She is also planning a road trip to Salt Lake to attend Conference in October. She got her temple recommend (which we're planning on going within the next 2 weeks!), and she received a calling!! Cassity is THRIVING and is LOVING everything! Each and everyday my love for her continues to grow. I love seeing people grow and change and become more like our Heavenly Father!
*Speaking of "change," that's something I've been pondering recently. During the Sacrament yesterday, my mind was just completely consumed by the word "CHANGE." How neat is it, that because of our Savior, we CAN change?! We don't have to be who we were yesterday and we can be someone new tomorrow! We have hope because we can change! As I've seen changes in myself, especially since I've been out here, and as I've been able to witness changes among those around me, I can't help but to feel so happy and full of gratitude for this wonderful gift!
Love you all! Keep being beacons of light!
Sister Burton
2500 N. Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706
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| Only in So Cal. |
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| Exchanges with Sister Nichols. |
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| Dental Hygiene at its finest. (You're welcome, Mom) |
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| Downtown Disney last P-Day! |
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| Going on to spread the gospel! |
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| Cassity and I have matching CTR rings. |
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| Mother/Daughter photo. Overlooking the smog of So Cal! |
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| Volunteering at the Women's Shelter. |
