I'm not even sure where to start! So much has happened in this week, it has seemed like a year. I am already loving the MTC and seeing miracles in my life. My companion and my district are really awesome and I'm looking forward to growing closer to them. My companion is Hermana Anderson from Herriman (sp?) Utah and she is really fun. It's ironic though, there are two sisters named Hermana Lewis and there is even another Hermana Burton in my district who is also going to Santa Rosa! I guess I shouldn't have just labeled all my stuff "Hermana Burton"... I don't think we're related though, she and her family are connected to the former Presiding Bishop and Linda K. Burton as well. It's funny though, every time I look across the room and see her I wonder why she stole my nametag. Speaking of my nametag, I LOVE it! We had a devotional and were able to watch a recorded MTC devotional from Elder Bednar as well (it's called "The Character of Christ", it is fantastic and I would highly recommend anyone to read/listen to it if they can find it) and both were exactly what I needed to hear. It was mostly telling me to get over myself and realize that serving a mission isn't about me and that I really am supposed to be going to Santa Rosa. One of the hardest things about the MTC at the beginning was hearing all of the awesome languages and seeing everyone with their nametags going to all the places where I wanted to go, but during the devotional when I truly realized that it's not about me I looked down and saw "Hermana Burton, La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Últimos Días" I KNEW in that moment that it was exactly what my was supposed to be written on my nametag and in that exact language. I even consider it a miracle because now I am able to not have feelings of jealousy when I look at and hear those languages. Spanish is coming along really well, let's just say I still believe in the gift of tongues. I really miss speaking Italian though, so sometimes I do anyway and my companion doesn't know if I'm speaking Spanish or Italian so she just looks at me funny. It's hard because I sometimes slip into Italian when teaching investigators too when my Spanish won't let me say what I want to. Speaking of investigators, that's another really cool thing! After we learned how to pray and testify, our teacher sent us out on the MTC campus to testify to at least three people. The first we found were missionaries as well so they just listened then walked away, then we saw a girl sitting at a table and went to tell her what we had just learned how to say. Turns out, she really spoke Spanish and was a legitimate investigator of the Church! After we found that out, we started really talking to her (in English interestingly enough) because we were curious why she was there, and we had a really interesting conversation with her! I was suddenly overwhelmed by love for her (even though I had never met her before) and I was able to tell her how much God loves her and I could tell that she felt it too. It was incredible and so out of the blue. We are teaching another "investigator" to learn how to teach, but even though it's a role play situation the Spirit is still so strong! We taught her how to pray and her first prayer was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. Another awesome experience happened with one of the people who works at the MTC and records our lessons with the investigators. After our lesson in Spanish, she invited us into her office and asked us to teach her a lesson in English. She told us about real problems and questions in her life (she is a member of the Church and prays and reads her scriptures every day), but we were still able to have the Spirit and receive answers and inspiration to help her know what to do. The Church is true. I have learned so much this week and I want to tell about every single thing, but I would never have enough time. The life of a missionary here feels normal and I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. Even the thought of doing something else seems weird. Well I had planned on writing a nice and organized letter, but I didn't have a lot of time and I was so excited to tell you about those experiences so it all just came out scrambled, but I love you all so much and I am so grateful for eternal families!
Until next time, lots of love from Hermana Burton
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