Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: Week 64: Baptism is the Gate.

Guess what?! It's the beginning of another transfer! That means that I'm half way done being trained by Sister Thompson!! We'll both be sticking around here in OHYSA for another 6 weeks! WOOT WOOT!

This week was full of exciting adventures and a few setbacks. But all of these things are important in our progression and can teach us valuable life lessons, such as: the Lord's hand is always in your day(no matter what happens), we're here to find those who are ready to make changes in their lives, and there is NO greater joy than seeing said people make marvelous changes in their lives and come closer to Heavenly Father :)

*After 2 great lessons with Ksemiya, we continued to keep in touch to follow up about her Book of Mormon reading, to which she wouldn't reply. When we tried to set something up for this past weekend, she kindly replied that she is too busy now and wished us luck on our missions. It's truly so sad when people FEEL the Spirit and are desiring truth, but then use their agency to choose another way. We love her and know that this experience was a positive thing for her and will prepare her to meet missionaries down the road.

*We also found out that our dear friend, Helen, is 32....so technically she isn't supposed to be in our ward. We're trying to figure out what ward would be best for her to attend. It broke our hearts, but we know she'll be better off with Spanish missionaries, since that's her first language!

*BUT on the flipside of these experiences, if you recall about 2 months ago, we did some service for a non-member Jenn, who is really close with a member Christina. Well, Jenn has been coming to activities the past few weeks and we were able to chat with her this past week and she said she'd love to take the lessons! So we're having a lesson this upcoming week with her! The Lord provides!

F I N D I N G M I R A C L E S & F U N N I E S

*We did tons of finding again this past week! We've been scouting out apartment complexes and areas around colleges where we would likely find YSAs. We've actually been able to get a lot of referrals for other missionaries, which is awesome! We've literally been seeing the Lord's hand in all of our work! It's funny how He'll lead you to precisely where you need to be and to who needs it. We saw miracles everyday as we were out and about sifting and finding those who are prepared! We met a few female YSAs, but none of them really showed too much interest...but that's not stoppin' us!

We had several members come out finding with us this past week, which is always great! Many of them reached out to US and wanted to come...and many of them want to come out again this week! I love the member involvement in this ward!

Of course there are always funny moments in finding, but the best one happened as we were walking past 2 teenage boys that had a camera. One of them turned and said, "Hey, do you want a picture?" A little skeptical as to what he would do with that picture on his camera, I said, "No. Do you want a Book of Mormon?," to which he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sure!". We then were able to have a great gospel conversation with them and indeed did give them copies of the Book of Mormon.

S T R A I T & N A R R O W

*MY HEART IS SO FULL! On Friday, Sister Brooks and I got to go to the temple with our freshly baptized Cassity!! We did a little family history work with her earlier this week and she was able to find a few names to take with her! It had been so long since I've done baptisms so it was so neat to be there with her, all dressed in white! The peace that fills the temple is indescribable! As I sat there, my Spirit was just screaming THIS IS TRUE! ALL OF IT! THIS GOSPEL, THE BOOK OF MORMON, EVERYTHING! It brought me so much peace and motivation to help others experience this same feeling. Cassity described how she felt in the temple as an "even-tempered feeling," something she hasn't felt in awhile! She loved being there and wants to go back again and again!

I even ran into some members from my previous ward in Yorba Linda! Small world!

*MAEVE GOT BAPTIZED! My dear friend Maeve was baptized on Saturday in good ole' Huntsville, Alabama! We got to video chat before the service and visit for a little bit. She was just so gung-ho and ready for this! She asked Sister Brooks and I to write up little talks and messages for the Sisters there to read at the baptism. I was honored! I was most definitely there in Spirit! My heart AGAIN was so full! I love Maeve and am so grateful to know her!

*Yesterday, we had the best Stake Conference I've ever attended! They had many short, powerful talks from various members of the Stake, and even a non-member who attends church regularly. All of the talks were focused around Christlike love and service. I haven't gotten to know the Orange Stake really well, but just by listening to the talks yesterday, I can tell there is so much love that the members have for each other. The non-member's talk was especially powerful! He shared a unique experience about how a priesthood blessing healed not only his body, but his soul and how he was forever touched by that! With his "outsider's perspective" he was so impressed by the morals and standards we have and encouraged us to keep doing so!

CASSITY also spoke! She shared her conversion story and how if it wasn't for the love of the people around her, she wouldn't be standing there, giving the talk! I'm not one who usually cries, but tears were most definitely flowing as she bore her testimony and her love for this gospel. She said, "I know that this gospel is true and that the Book of Mormon is the fullness of Christ's gospel". I LOST IT! There is nothing more powerful than seeing someone latch onto the gospel and run with it! She is so converted and has been such a blessing to watch grow these past few months!

I'm so spoiled to be able to watch these miracles happen! Missionary work in itself is a miracle! There are things that happen everyday, big and small, that are evidence of the Lord's presence in His work! Seeing Maeve and Cassity make these changes in their lives this past week made up for much of the heartache and sad moments we experienced with our other sisters this week.

I know this gospel is true, with all my heart! I'm truly becoming more and more converted with each passing day!

I love you all! Thank you for the continued support and prayers on my behalf! I can feel it!

Sister Burton

2500 N. Bristol St.

Santa Ana, CA 92706