Happy General Conference (soon)! (Monday, September 28, 2015)

Dear Mom and all y'all,

If I had a dollar for every Monday that sneaks up on me, I would be really rich. Seriously though, time flies. This week was much better than last week, and the funny thing is that not much even happened! We just did missionary work and kept moving forward. My scripture studies have been especially enlightening this past week and I feel that I have learned a lot. 

Did I already tell you the story of the Chinese bamboo tree? Well if I didn't, here's the gist of it. (If I already did, well, you get to hear it again). They plant this tree and for five years they water and fertilize it, and each year nothing happens. Then sometime during the fifth year over a period of six weeks, the Chinese bamboo tree grows 90 feet! Here's the million-dollar question: Did it grow 90 feet in six weeks or did it grow 90 feet in five years? Obviously in five years, because if they had not kept watering it and fertilizing it during those years, it would not have grown at all. Sometimes when we pray and study our scriptures, it may seem like nothing is happening and we wonder where all of the marvelous spiritual growth is. Then we have those days where the heavens open and you can truly see God's hand in your life, but the moral of the story is the same: you didn't have all that growth in that one day, but over the time period while you kept moving forward and studying and praying each day. 

Exciting news for the week: we finished teaching the precious family everything that they need to know to be baptized and all that is left is the interview! They will be baptized on October 10 and they are definitely ready. It is truly incredible how wonderful they are and how much they teach us! I can already picture them being sealed to their little boys in the temple, and I am so grateful that they will get to be together forever. They were already asking when they can go and their 6 year-old is disappointed because he has to wait a few more years to be baptized (he wants to be baptized at the same time as his parents). I love this family so much! The Spirit is in their home and they remind me that life is good and God is great. He really is.

Well, I hope everyone has a great week and is looking forward to General Conference! 

Hermana Burton

Little friends!

 

The Three Amigas (las tres Hermanas Burton)

 

Oh, and I also cut my hair today...

 

Tracting!

 

I forgot to mention that we went to the Drive-Thru tree (it's in my area)

 

 

 

 

Service! (Monday, September 21, 2015)

Dear Mom and _______,

Another week has come and gone! It was kind of slow as far as missionary work and teaching is concerned because we spent a lot of time at the church helping sort clothes and items that were donated for the victims of the Valley Fire, but it was a lot of fun and I loved doing service. It was touching to see the community response and how many people were giving so much and wanting to help in any way they could. There is a lot of negative in the world, but there is also so much goodness. I'm glad for opportunities to see that, because sometimes it's hard to remember. 

These past few weeks have been a bit rough for me and for the area, but I have to keep reminding myself that "happiness is a choice, not a circumstance." There have been a lot of things to weigh me down and sometimes my heart just feels heavy, but I know that discouragement and those feelings don't come from our Heavenly Father. As many of you know, I have been here in my area for quite some time and during that time I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most wonderful people in the world. We have invited many people to come unto Christ and many have accepted the invitation, even with willingness to be baptized and make a promise to God that they will keep His commandments and stick with Him. Sadly though, real life comes back and the spiritual high and happiness start to die down, and people return to their former habits and forget about the promise they made. It is heartbreaking to watch because I know how happy they had become and the changes they had made, but everyone has the right to make their own choices and accept the consequences that follow and all I can do is invite them to come back unto Christ and keep loving them anyway. I truly love these people and I want them to be happy, but I know that I need to choose to be happy as well and not let others' choices drag me down too. It must be hard for Heavenly Father to watch us and we all make mistakes because He knows the better path and the way that will make us happier, but I am grateful that He still gives us the freedom to choose. 

I found a gem in the Book of Mormon that explains it better: "Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves- to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life" (2 Nephi 10:23). 

Anyway, I hope y'all have a great week and LOOK for excuses to be happy and cheer up your hearts! I know that we will all be able to find them, because God is good and He loves us. Until next time! 

Hermana Burton

What would you take? (Monday, September 14, 2015)

Dear Mom, friends, and family,

If you received a phone call right now and were told that you needed to evacuate your home and your city right now and you could only take one suitcase with you, what would you take? Knowing that you would probably never see the rest of your belongings again? It's an interesting question and really makes you think about what it important and what is not. This is what happened on Saturday to the sister missionaries serving in Middletown, a small town not too far from Willits. Hermana Burton and I went outside on Sunday to go to a meeting in the morning, and the sky was very ominous. The sun was red orange and you could hardly see it behind all of the thick smoke, and the sky was red and orange as well. We didn't have any idea about the fires until we got to our meeting where we found out that the wildfires had already wiped out a few small towns and that it was at 0% containment because they were focusing their efforts on evacuating the people. New meaning to the phrase "spread like wildfire." The sisters made it out safely, but they had to drive through a fiery golf course to get to a stable road and they are now down in Santa Rosa. 

Last week, someone cut a cable and most of Northern California was without phone and internet connections for a day. That also helped us see how much we rely on technology and how unprepared we are. We also didn't know about that event until after the fact, we simply assumed that our phone wasn't getting good reception. I'm grateful that these two events didn't occur at the same time because the sisters were warned and able to get out safely, but it's definitely food for thought. I guess what I'm trying to say is think about what is really important to you and ask yourself some meaningful questions, and then act on what you decide. I know it really made me think a lot more about the Savior and that even though I don't know when it will happen, I will have to stand before Him someday and be accountable for what I did with my life and what I valued as most important. I am grateful that we are dynamic and that we can change and move forward, continually progressing. Repentance is not the back-up plan; it is the plan. We all make mistakes, but we are still valuable in the eyes of our Heavenly Father and that is why He invested so much in us by providing us with a Savior so our failures would not be final. He loves you and He knows you, and He wants to help.

I don't intend for this to be an apocalyptic doomsday letter- I hope you can see it as a message of preparation, hope, and change. I love you all and hope you have a great week and stay safe!

Hermana Burton

Pictures!

The Hermanas Burton (Monday, September 07, 2015)

Dear Mom and great people,

Sorry again for the short email last time, last p-day was really crazy. Things are kind of back to normal now, Hermana Burton and I had an interesting week but hopefully this next week will be better. I was under the weather for a few days when we got back to Willits so we couldn't do much, but we had some great conversations and I was reminded why I love her so much! She is so great and I am excited for these next few weeks. Things have slowed down a bit in Willits and we aren't teaching as much anymore, but we are hopeful that we will be able to find people who are interested in making changes in their lives and coming closer to God. 

One hard thing this week was watching someone I really care about struggle through some tough decisions, and not being able to do anything about it. When it all comes down to it, everyone still has the right to choose and it is so hard because I knew which choice would make him happier in the long run, but I just had to watch and wait and see how he would use his right to make a choice. It was a very emotional evening during the lesson and I couldn't help but wonder if Heavenly Father gets that anxious as He is watching over us and waiting for us to make our decisions, even though He knows which is best and which one we will take. In the end things turned out okay and he is on his way to making the right choices, but the path in front of him will still be hard but I know it is the one that will bring the most joy and satisfaction in the end. 

This week I heard a cool parable about a person who carried two pots on his shoulder and went down to the stream each day to fetch water and bring it back up to the house. One of the pots was in perfect condition and sealed so well that it could carry 100% of the water put into it. On the other hand, the other pot was cracked and broken and by the time it got back up to the top of the hill each day it had lost 50% of the water. The poor pot was so discouraged and apologized to the carrier for not being able to carry as much water as the other. The carrier responded, "Next time we go down to the stream, look around you and notice the beautiful flowers by the wayside." The pot looked, but he wasn't comforted and again apologized to its carrier. He responded, "I knew your weaknesses and limitations when I picked you, so I planted seeds along your side of the path. After I finish getting the water, I come back down and pick flowers and they are the ones that adorn the Master's table each day." 

Let's face it, we all have problems and weaknesses and limitations. Heavenly Father knows about them though, and He has still found a way to provide beauty and happiness in our lives. We may seem small and weak, but He still manages to find a way to put us to work. There is a lot of work to do in the world, and I encourage all of you to "try a little harder to be a little better" and find ways to brighten up the world in your own way. Lots of love and best wishes for a great week!

Hermana Burton

Playing frisbee while weekly planning!