Monday, May 4, 2015

Willits! (Monday, May 04, 2015)

Dear everyone,

This was a crazy week! We had transfers on Tuesday but then there was a Mission Leadership Conference the next day in Santa Rosa that my companion had to attend, so we ended up spending the night in Santa Rosa with some other sister missionaries and I spent Wednesday with them while my companion was in her meetings all day. It was a lot of fun, but kind of crazy because I didn't really know what was going on and I hadn't really had to chance to meet my companion and work with her. We finally made it to Willits Wednesday night and I met the amazing bishop of the ward here. The drive here was phenomenal too! Willits is the "Gateway to the Redwoods" and this area is breathtaking.The "drive-through tree" is in our area and we're going to go see it one of these P-days. Willits itself is quite small, but our area is huge and covers a lot of the others little towns too. The ward members are amazing here as well, and there is even a Brother and Sister Burton! It was fun to tease the other ward members and claim that I was their granddaughter, and they are so kind I almost believe myself that it's true. I'm a little sad that I don't live in Yolo county anymore, but now I get to drive a jeep! It's the only jeep in the mission and we definitely need it here as we do a lot of off-roading and driving on dirt roads in the mountains. There are also a lot of hippies here and everyone smokes marijuana, so we have a lot of work to do here. I already love it though and I'm excited to be here. My companion is fantastic and I'm so lucky to be working with her! Her name is Hermana Hamblin and she's from Eager, Arizona. I already know that we are going to do great things here in Willits.

One thing that will be difficult here is finding people to teach in Spanish because there aren't many here, but my companion and I are determined to find them and keep working on Spanish, even though we don't use it much with others besides ourselves. Because of all of the crazy stuff that happened this week, we didn't have the chance to teach too many lessons, but I have already learned so much from the ward members and even the people we meet on the street. This past week we met three guys from Afghanistan who are living and working here, and they have each served in the Army, and they are Muslim. They said they hardly ever agree with what the missionaries tell them, but that it's always important to listen and learn more and try to understand others. We're going to try and visit them sometime this week. When they first said they were Muslim, I was a little discouraged and wondered if it could ever even go anywhere. But thankfully this is God's work and we are all His children, regardless of our religious background. I know that He has the power to change a heart and that if they are ready to accept the Gospel, they will. Change is possible! This upcoming week is going to be more organized and normal (or as normal as it gets) and I am really looking forward to it.

And Happy Mother's Day to all of the incredible moms, I am so grateful for your influence! 

Lots of love, 
Hermana Burton


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