Dear Mom and anyone else who is still around
after 18 months,
Thanks for everything! See you on the flip side!
~Hermana Burton
Thanks for everything! See you on the flip side!
~Hermana Burton
Monday, August 8, 2016
Monday, August 1, 2016
MX [Grinning Smiley Face Graphic] (Monday, August 1, 2016)
Dear Mom and all y'all,
Well, here we are! Let me share something cool that stood out to me on
Sunday in sacrament meeting. The speaker was talking about the temple
and how special it is to her, and she had a very powerful way of
explaining why we don't talk about what happens in the temple outside
of the temple. She talked about how it's sacred, not secret, and how
what happens inside is so beautiful and special and personal that she
wouldn't want to rob you of the experience of feeling it for yourself
by telling you everything that happens. I had never thought of it that
way, but it makes sense.
Reflecting back on my mission, I think the same could be said. Perhaps
some of you are waiting for something profound in this email because
next week is probably just going to say "see you on the flip side" or
something similar, and you might be expecting me to sum up all off the
beautiful experiences and lessons I've learned in these 18 months, but
it too is something very special and personal and I wouldn't want to
rob you of experiencing these feelings on your own! I could tell you
about the joy that comes from sharing the Gospel and living the basics
like keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, studying the scriptures, and
praying, or you could do those things and experience the joy for
yourself! You too can have missionary experiences, this very day if
you wish, and it would mean more to you than reading about mine. Of
course if you want to talk about it in about a week or so I'd be happy
to chat, but in the mean time I hope you all have a wonderful week and
find joy in the simple things. Lots of love!
~Hermana Burton
Well, here we are! Let me share something cool that stood out to me on
Sunday in sacrament meeting. The speaker was talking about the temple
and how special it is to her, and she had a very powerful way of
explaining why we don't talk about what happens in the temple outside
of the temple. She talked about how it's sacred, not secret, and how
what happens inside is so beautiful and special and personal that she
wouldn't want to rob you of the experience of feeling it for yourself
by telling you everything that happens. I had never thought of it that
way, but it makes sense.
Reflecting back on my mission, I think the same could be said. Perhaps
some of you are waiting for something profound in this email because
next week is probably just going to say "see you on the flip side" or
something similar, and you might be expecting me to sum up all off the
beautiful experiences and lessons I've learned in these 18 months, but
it too is something very special and personal and I wouldn't want to
rob you of experiencing these feelings on your own! I could tell you
about the joy that comes from sharing the Gospel and living the basics
like keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, studying the scriptures, and
praying, or you could do those things and experience the joy for
yourself! You too can have missionary experiences, this very day if
you wish, and it would mean more to you than reading about mine. Of
course if you want to talk about it in about a week or so I'd be happy
to chat, but in the mean time I hope you all have a wonderful week and
find joy in the simple things. Lots of love!
~Hermana Burton
Bulletin pictures
Bulletin pictures 2
Bulletin stuff
"It seems the more I learn about the
Gospel, the more simple my
testimony becomes. It really does all go back to the basics. God is
our Father and Jesus Chris is our Savior. They have a plan for us to
return to live with them and following Their plan is what brings us
the most happiness possible, in this life and the next. The more
people I met and tried to serve as a missionary, the more I realized
how simple our message is: God loves you. He wants you back. Pray
about it."
~Hermana Carol Burton
testimony becomes. It really does all go back to the basics. God is
our Father and Jesus Chris is our Savior. They have a plan for us to
return to live with them and following Their plan is what brings us
the most happiness possible, in this life and the next. The more
people I met and tried to serve as a missionary, the more I realized
how simple our message is: God loves you. He wants you back. Pray
about it."
~Hermana Carol Burton
Monday, July 25, 2016
Inventing the light bulb (Monday, July 25, 2016)
Dear
Mom and everyone else,
Not too much to report
this week, we have been spending a lot of time trying to find new people to
teach. Hence the Thomas Edison reference. After many attempts of trying to
invent the light bulb, he didn't consider all of his efforts a failure. In
essence, he said before he finally found out how it did work, he discovered
many ways that it didn't work. Well, we haven't found anyone who is
interested yet, but we have met many who are not interested. But you
know what, I don't consider our efforts a failure either. Not every door you
knock or every person you talk to on the street is ready for the Gospel, and
more often than not you have to talk to many of those before you find those who
have been prepared. I don't know what it going to happen to this area, but I
know that it's in Heavenly Father's hands and His are much more capable than
mine.
That's something that
really hit home to me this week. Some things quite frankly are not within the
grasp of our control, and I think a big part of life is learning to recognize
what things you can and cannot change and being able to let go of what you have
no control over and doing your best with what you can control. The agency of
others to make their own choices, the personalities (including strengths and
weaknesses) of those we work with, the weather, sometimes our bodies break
down, dealing with the mistakes and triumphs of those around us (such as
previous missionaries and leaders), etc. These are things that yes, can be
frustrating to deal with, but no, we don't have any control over them. To
realize that this week and let it go was like a weight being lifted off my
chest and being able to breathe again. Truly the only thing I can control is
myself and my attitude and how I react to these situations, and what a gift it
is that Heavenly Father has permitted us that freedom! We are agents to act,
not objects to be acted upon. With that being said, I'm happy! Even with all of
the tough circumstances and struggles, there are still many blessings to be
accounted for as well.
Well, have a great
week everyone!
~Hermana Burton
Monday, July 18, 2016
Another email in your inbox (Monday, July 18, 2016)
Dear
Mom and all y'all,
Pretty good week! The
best part of it was a lesson we had with the daughter of one of the members
here that I really admire. She is not a member of the church, but she has
talked with missionaries a lot in the past before but wasn't really interested
in learning more. We always saw her when we went to do a family night with her
family, but that was about as far as our communication really went. Well, my
companion and I decided to make the effort a while ago to reach out to her and
talk to her more, and we became friends with her. When we asked her if we could
start teaching her the missionary lessons, she said yes! She just had a baby
and he is adorable and I think something inside of her changed with that pretty
significant lifestyle change. She is a really great person and I'm really
excited that we got to know her. Her dad is a really great example and she
asked him to come pick her up and take her to church on Sunday, so it was a tender moment to see them walk
in together. She told us how much she has seen the Gospel bless her parents'
lives already, and I know that it is going to bless her life so much as
well.
As for the rest of the
week, we've been doing a lot of trying to find new people to teach and cleaning
up records. The slightly OCD part of me actually enjoys organizing things and
even though we don't see a lot of the results right now for the work we are
doing, I know it will bless the missionaries who come here in the future.
And as for me and my
companion, we're doing well. We're happy and healthy and doing our best to keep
working hard! I hope you're all doing well and having a great week!
~Hermana Burton
Monday, July 11, 2016
9 Pound Diapers (Monday, July 11, 2016)
Dear
Mom and anyone else who reads this,
Well, it's been
another week! Quite honestly speaking, it was kind of a "9 pound
diaper" week. Here's a quick summary of where the diaper analogy comes
from: Someone spoke at one of our meetings last week and shared the story of
his grandson who has a stuffed frog that he simply adores. When the little boy
throws you his frog, it means he trusts you. This little boy finally started to
trust one of the people who had moved into his house, and so he threw him the
frog. Then one time after his mother had changed a monumentally smelly diaper
(that must have weighed at least 9 pounds according to the storyteller), this
little boy instead of carrying it to the garbage can he turned around at
chucked it at the person who had gained his trust. After sharing this very
humorous story with us, the presenter suddenly got seriously, turned to the
audience, and said, "ARE YOU READY FOR WHEN LIFE THROWS A 9 POUND DIAPER
AT YOU? ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT AND ADAPT AND GET THE JOB DONE
ANYWAY?!"
Moral of the story,
life threw a couple of smelly 9 pound diapers at us this week. Some of them
were especially stinky and painful emotionally because they involved people
that I dearly love, but we're doing our best to handle it and do what Heavenly
Father needs us to do anyway. I know that everything will work out in the end
though, and I'm grateful for a few glimpses of sunlight that peeped through
during the week. One of them was a really tender lesson in which we were able
to testify to the young child of someone we were teaching that the Plan of
Salvation is real and that he really will see his loved ones again. I don't
think we ever give children enough credit for how much they truly understand
and feel. Another ray of sunshine was a family that came to church for the
first time in a very long time. Moments like those make the other ones more
bearable. Anywho, I'm looking forward to a new week and I have a feeling it's
going to be a good one! Hope everyone is doing well!
~Hermana Burton
Monday, July 4, 2016
Feliz 4 de julio!
Dear Mom and ______________,
It was a pretty good week! We were actually able to see quite a few
people, so that was refreshing. We also have a member of our Branch
who is available to accompany us when we go visit people and she came
with us a few times this week and the week before, and it has made
such a difference. We've been able to see people who probably wouldn't
have let us in if they hadn't recognized her, and she has such a great
Spirit about her. Someone we are teaching also came to church again
for the first time in a few weeks, and that made my day! It's
interesting to me how such small and simple things can make a person
so happy. It truly does bring me joy to see people keep their
commitments and progress in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Honestly the
best thing anyone can do for a missionary to make them happy is just
live the Gospel and keep the commandments and do your best! That's all
we need really. Food every once in a while is nice too, but mostly we
just want people to be on the right path and doing what God wants them
to do. Speaking of which, I heard something profound the other day:
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just
sit there!" So true. Even if we're on the right path, we need to be
moving forward on it and progressing.
Another happy note from this week. My companion and I have been
collecting jokes (in English and Spanish) and it has made us so happy!
I think the funniest part is when we tell someone a joke and its the
first time they have heard it, we still laugh harder even though it's
about the fiftieth time we have heard it! Cracks me up. Here's one
from the nine year old son of the person we are teaching:
Have you ever eaten a clock before? Probably not, it's time consuming.
I about died when he told us that. They both came to church yesterday
and they were both singing the hymns! The dad speaks Spanish and the
son doesn't but they both came to church yesterday, and it was so cute
to hear the son trying to sing the hymns in Spanish and participate.
He did quite well in the meeting considering that he didn't understand
what was going on. This is also the little kid who knows that God
exists because we have trees and fresh air. I love children and their
innocence and purity. There's a reason why the scriptures teach us to
become as little children. On that note, check out the new Children's
narration bible videos! They are on lds.org and the Gospel Library app
in the videos section. They are great.
Well, happy Fourth and I hope you all have a great week! Love y'all!
~Hermana Burton
PS- We're still collecting, so send in your favorite jokes! Here's
another sampler for ya:
Por qué no se murió Lehi de hambre en el desierto? Porque vivía en una tienda!
It was a pretty good week! We were actually able to see quite a few
people, so that was refreshing. We also have a member of our Branch
who is available to accompany us when we go visit people and she came
with us a few times this week and the week before, and it has made
such a difference. We've been able to see people who probably wouldn't
have let us in if they hadn't recognized her, and she has such a great
Spirit about her. Someone we are teaching also came to church again
for the first time in a few weeks, and that made my day! It's
interesting to me how such small and simple things can make a person
so happy. It truly does bring me joy to see people keep their
commitments and progress in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Honestly the
best thing anyone can do for a missionary to make them happy is just
live the Gospel and keep the commandments and do your best! That's all
we need really. Food every once in a while is nice too, but mostly we
just want people to be on the right path and doing what God wants them
to do. Speaking of which, I heard something profound the other day:
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just
sit there!" So true. Even if we're on the right path, we need to be
moving forward on it and progressing.
Another happy note from this week. My companion and I have been
collecting jokes (in English and Spanish) and it has made us so happy!
I think the funniest part is when we tell someone a joke and its the
first time they have heard it, we still laugh harder even though it's
about the fiftieth time we have heard it! Cracks me up. Here's one
from the nine year old son of the person we are teaching:
Have you ever eaten a clock before? Probably not, it's time consuming.
I about died when he told us that. They both came to church yesterday
and they were both singing the hymns! The dad speaks Spanish and the
son doesn't but they both came to church yesterday, and it was so cute
to hear the son trying to sing the hymns in Spanish and participate.
He did quite well in the meeting considering that he didn't understand
what was going on. This is also the little kid who knows that God
exists because we have trees and fresh air. I love children and their
innocence and purity. There's a reason why the scriptures teach us to
become as little children. On that note, check out the new Children's
narration bible videos! They are on lds.org and the Gospel Library app
in the videos section. They are great.
Well, happy Fourth and I hope you all have a great week! Love y'all!
~Hermana Burton
PS- We're still collecting, so send in your favorite jokes! Here's
another sampler for ya:
Por qué no se murió Lehi de hambre en el desierto? Porque vivía en una tienda!
Monday, June 27, 2016
Adventures of Hermana Burton and Hermana Broyles in Woodland - Part 2!
Dear Mom and family and friends and anyone else
who reads this,
Well as you can see, Hermana Broyles and I will be staying together
for another transfer here in Woodland! I'm really excited. I'm getting
such great vibes. Seriously it's going to be the best transfer yet.
Bonus, my little hermanita Sister Julander is also staying in the same
zone! I don't even know how what else to say. I just feel happy today,
not because of anything in particular, but I just feel happy. Even as
I write this I'm humming "Tengo Gozo en Mi Alma Hoy."
Cool story. The other day my companion and I went out to Knight's
Landing (or in other words the middle of nowhere) to visit someone who
the other English missionaries found and couldn't communicate with
because she was Hispanic and due to some bad directions and a faulty
address, we got lost for quite some time and we may or may not have
left the boundaries of the mission (unknowingly of course). It was
extremely hot and we didn't even know what was going on, so finally I
just pulled the car over so we could get out and walk to try to find
the address. We walked into this trailer park and were walking towards
the other end to try to find the address when from behind we heard
someone say "Are you sister missionaries? I can tell by the way you
walk." There was a man who happened to glance out his window right as
we walked by and without even seeing our name tags he could tell who
we were. He and his girlfriend has just moved into the trailer we
walked by and he is familiar with missionaries and wants to meet. He
said he knew that we were there to talk to him in that moment.
Afterwards, we finally found the address we had been originally
looking for (2 hours after we started out) and she straight up wasn't
interested. I know that Heavenly Father had other plans for us being
there. We gave their information to the English missionaries and I
don't know what's going to happen with them, but it really doesn't
matter because I know that they needed us in that moment and that's
enough for me.
Also, we've made some progress in the past few days with the members
and establishing a relationship with them that will enable us to work
more closely together, and I'm super stoked for that. Missionary work
is not very effective if the missionaries are the only ones doing it.
We try and we have good intentions, but we simply can't do it on our
own.
Something else happened this week which was good, but I can't remember
it right now so well just leave it at things are going well and I'm
happy and excited about next transfer. Hope everyone is doing well!
Lots of love!
~Hermana Burton
Well as you can see, Hermana Broyles and I will be staying together
for another transfer here in Woodland! I'm really excited. I'm getting
such great vibes. Seriously it's going to be the best transfer yet.
Bonus, my little hermanita Sister Julander is also staying in the same
zone! I don't even know how what else to say. I just feel happy today,
not because of anything in particular, but I just feel happy. Even as
I write this I'm humming "Tengo Gozo en Mi Alma Hoy."
Cool story. The other day my companion and I went out to Knight's
Landing (or in other words the middle of nowhere) to visit someone who
the other English missionaries found and couldn't communicate with
because she was Hispanic and due to some bad directions and a faulty
address, we got lost for quite some time and we may or may not have
left the boundaries of the mission (unknowingly of course). It was
extremely hot and we didn't even know what was going on, so finally I
just pulled the car over so we could get out and walk to try to find
the address. We walked into this trailer park and were walking towards
the other end to try to find the address when from behind we heard
someone say "Are you sister missionaries? I can tell by the way you
walk." There was a man who happened to glance out his window right as
we walked by and without even seeing our name tags he could tell who
we were. He and his girlfriend has just moved into the trailer we
walked by and he is familiar with missionaries and wants to meet. He
said he knew that we were there to talk to him in that moment.
Afterwards, we finally found the address we had been originally
looking for (2 hours after we started out) and she straight up wasn't
interested. I know that Heavenly Father had other plans for us being
there. We gave their information to the English missionaries and I
don't know what's going to happen with them, but it really doesn't
matter because I know that they needed us in that moment and that's
enough for me.
Also, we've made some progress in the past few days with the members
and establishing a relationship with them that will enable us to work
more closely together, and I'm super stoked for that. Missionary work
is not very effective if the missionaries are the only ones doing it.
We try and we have good intentions, but we simply can't do it on our
own.
Something else happened this week which was good, but I can't remember
it right now so well just leave it at things are going well and I'm
happy and excited about next transfer. Hope everyone is doing well!
Lots of love!
~Hermana Burton
Pictures!
Sweet companion. Twice. Mi hermanita Sister
Julander! I also may or
may not have cut her hair today. And yes, that's the first time I've
ever cut anyone's hair. But you know me, I'm always down for an
adventure!
may not have cut her hair today. And yes, that's the first time I've
ever cut anyone's hair. But you know me, I'm always down for an
adventure!
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