Sister Burton Takes on Anaheim!: Week 67: "All the Lord cares about is trajectory!"

Hello to all! The past 10 days have been super awesome! This past week I hit my 15 month mark as a full-time missionary, and it's so hard to believe!

Things here have been great! Sister Thompson is soaring! She is so resilient and dedicated to this work. She's such an example to me! We are living up our last couple weeks of the transfer together!

We've been doing lots of "sifting" this week, trying to find the ELECT who are ready for our message! Like I've mentioned before, I just love getting to be on college campuses, talking with sooo many young adults! There were many moments this week where I had conversations with people who really have been searching for the truth and we were able to have such spirit-filled conversations! The best one I had was with Eric, at Santa Ana College. I stopped him as he was walking by. We got to talking and he said he's just recently started trying to find a religion. He recently lost his grandmother and was trying to heal from that wound. We swapped numbers and he said he would come to church! We were in touch over the next few days and he read the pamphlet and the beginning of the Book of Mormon. Well guess what?! Eric showed up to church..in a white shirt and tie! He LITERALLY looked like a member. We showed him around and introduced him to the Elders(so they could get his number and start teaching him). Eric was nervous, but LOVED Sacrament meeting! He said he felt peace! I'm eager to see where he goes with all of this! It just made my heart happy that he was able to search for the answers....in the right places!

HELEN: We had a breakthrough with her! We had a lesson last week and we were just following up about how her Book of Mormon reading and praying has been going. She then totally opened up to us about how this has been hard for her to start these religious habits, after so many years of being out of it. She has a lot of decisions to make right now about whether or not she's going to stay in the country and she has been overwhelmed with it all. But, she has found peace as she has come to church! This whole conversation was an answer to prayers and fasting! We are still trying to figure out what would be best for Helen. Age-wise she needs to be in a family ward, but we're trying to figure out if she'll be here long-term. For now, we're still teaching her! Helen is such a sweet person. We love her!
She got to attend the Temple Grounds Tour this past Saturday and she loved it! Cassity was able to come down with us too! I'm just so grateful to know so many wonderful people!

We also went on exchanges this week! I got to be a spanish missionary for a day with Hermana Ellsworth! I'm surprised at how much more I'm picking up on spanish words here and there. We even saw a drug deal going on in someone's garage...so that's great!
>>Also, Sister Thompson and I met some random guy who says he practices witchcraft....a modern day Harry Potter! Life as a missionary is never dull!

ELDER KLEBINGAT: On Monday, we literally had meetings all day with Elder Jorg Klebingat of the Seventy. He is a very straightforward German man who is not afraid to speak his mind! I actually came away with a headache because my brain was still trying to process all the information! He knows the most scriptures out of anyone else I've ever known. He talked a lot about pre-mortal life, our purpose, and the power of the Book of Mormon. I'll share a few good zingers with you, in addition to the one in my subject line:
-Assuming we want to be better, He(God) will never withhold a second chance.
-We are here to fulfill a pre-mortal covenant to gather Israel
-Coming to God is never a negotiation, it's a surrender.
-If you're looking for a church that is comfortable and easy, this ain't it!
-Your level of consecration on your mission will affect your life!

WOW, I could go on forever! Coming out of that meeting, I just felt pure FIRE! I came away with a stronger resolve to be bold and loving with everyone I meet! There is no time to mess around! People need to know this is the truth! I'm so grateful for the words of living servants of the Lord who help us come closer to Him. I'm looking for more that I can leave on the altar of my mission. I think each of us could do the same. What more can we give to the Lord in order to become more like Him?

Life is great! I love being a missionary! I love looking for the elect! That's the reason I'm here! I know this gospel is true!

I love you all! Thank you for all your love and support! Here are some pictures!(I'll hold off on a few, so I actually have pictures to send on Monday ;) )

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