Sandwich! (Monday, November 23, 2015)

Dear Mom and everyone,

Well, life is unexpected! Found out Friday night that I am leaving Dixon tomorrow. And our mission president changed the way of doing transfers so now we don't know who our companions will be or even what area we are going to until the day of transfers, so I'm off into the unknown! It's really exciting this way though, and daunting at the same time, but I know that this mission is in good hands so I'm sure whatever happens will be great. I'll let you know my new address next week. I didn't expect to be leaving Dixon so soon after I just got here, but I am excited for another adventure to add to my mission "sandwich" so far (6 weeks in Winters, 6 months in Willits, 6 weeks in Dixon). So that's the fresh news of the day. 

As far as this week, something miraculous happened on Friday! There is a couple that we teach that has been meeting with missionaries for forever and a half, and it has been our goal to figure out where they are really at and what is holding them back, but it has been hard because the husband is a chatterbox and doesn't really let anyone else get a word in. We especially didn't know how his wife felt about any of it because we were never able to hear from her, and everyone always thought they were fine because they had been taught forever and had always let missionaries in, and the husband is one of those people who agrees with everything you say and seems to understand, but really it wasn't sinking in because he wasn't doing anything about it. So here's the miracle: he didn't talk during the lesson on Friday and we were finally able to talk to his wife and see where she is at! As it turns out, she has no understanding of the Restoration of the Gospel and Priesthood Authority and even why we were coming over. They thought missionaries just came over and talked about God and it was all great, but they never really understood that we expected them to act on the message and change as a result of it. So we're going to teach them the Restoration tonight, and I think after that the missionaries here are finally going to be able to either move forward with this couple or give them a break for a bit. I know it may not sound like such a miracle, but maybe the words of my companion will help you see how monumental it was: "God Himself probably came down during the lesson and clamped his hand around ______'s mouth so we could finally hear from his wife and know what to do with them." Miracle. 

Well, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone this week! I am grateful for God in the details of my life. Wherever I turn, I find that He is there and I know that He is there for you too. Please don't let your spiritual eyesight be blinded by worldly things. Love you!

~Hermana Burton

Adventures! (Monday, November 16, 2015)

Dear Mom and all y'all,

Tip of the week: when you leave your apartment in the mornings to go
jogging, don't lock the door! Chances are, the keys are still inside.
Which is exactly what happened on Saturday morning. We went out to go
jogging at 6:30 and I knew something was wrong as soon as I heard the
door click. I have a habit of turning the lock on the knob as I shut
the door, but I'm usually pretty good at making sure I don't do that
in the mornings. Well, not this time. I told my companion that I had
locked us out, but she said not to worry about it because we could get
in the back way. I wasn't sure how that was going to work because
we're on the second floor, but I was still pretty tired so I just went
with it and we left. Half an hour and sweaty later, we came back and
I realized what she was talking about. The people under us had a fence
around their little patio thing which was directly below our balcony,
so we were going to climb it and go in through the sliding door. Well
my companion climbed up and I had already climbed the fence and was
straddling the balcony when she told me that it was locked too. So we
climbed back down and went to find a manager. It was about 7:10 am
Saturday morning, and we discovered that their hours are 2-5 pm.
Monday-Friday. No such luck. Not knowing what else to do (and yes, we
did pray, and I was confident that Heavenly Father could unlock that
door and swing a miracle for us, but it wasn't in His plans for us
that day) so we walked to a member's home. They were pretty shocked to
see us in jogging clothes on their doorstep at 7:30 in the morning,
but they let us in and made us hot chocolate and breakfast to warm us
up. We borrowed their scriptures and read them on the couch while they
called a locksmith, and it was about 10:00 when we finally got back
into the apartment. Adventures. Moral of the story: I'm grateful for
nice people! And it was actually pretty fun to change up our normal
routine, even though it set a weird tone for the rest of the day. In
fact, that whole day was crazy but we won't go in to it. Let's just
say it also involved being trapped in a McDonald's for about two
hours.

Another fun adventure, miracles happen! Sunday night we had planned to
visit some of our investigators and then look up some less-active
church members, and we had actually almost planned to do it the other
way around and look up the members first and then the investigators
later but in the end we decided to try the investigators first. Well,
no one was home so we pulled up a map to see if anyone lived in the
complex where our investigators live but weren't home, and we found
the name of a family who lived in the same complex who hasn't been to
church in a while. Well, another long story short, they needed us to
come by that night! We got to know them and the husband said the
opening prayer and told God that he felt that us coming by was a sign
that they needed to go back to church. So we told him, yep! God needs
you to come back, and you need it too! They are wonderful and we're
going to keep meeting with them and helping them on their journey back
church. God was definitely in the details and He put us in the right
place at the right time.

Well, I hope you all have a great week! If you pay attention, you will
notice that God is in the details of your life too. Look for Him! Love
you!

Hermana Burton

Fire! (A good kind this time) (Monday, November 9, 2015)

Dear Mom + _________,

Hello again! Another week. Wow. Well, we had a Zone Conference with our mission president this week and it was wonderful! I really love President and Sister Wright and I am so grateful for them and what they have done for our mission. The main theme of the meeting was about "being a missionary who is on fire" and revamping our enthusiasm for the work. It was very a timely message because I realized during the meeting how much my "fire" had dwindled and that I needed a pick-me-up to get me going strong again (and I'm still working on that). It was almost surprising and uncomfortable to realize how many things I had relaxed on and that I wasn't being as effective as I could be and as Heavenly Father wants me to be, and it was a bit of a wake-up call. Quite frankly it's a little embarrassing to admit, but then I just remembered a talk I read about not just putting our "best" foot forward, but putting both feet forward and being okay with not being perfect. So, newsflash: I am extremely not perfect and I sometimes (and by sometimes I mean often) make mistakes. However, I am incredibly grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who lifts us up when we fall and provides us with the tools we need to get up and get moving again instead of condemning us to the ground and leaving us to drown in our many mistakes. I hope all of you will be able to recognize that in your own lives as well and reach up and take the hand that is "always extended" toward you. 

As far as the missionary work goes here in Dixon, I am looking forward to this week because a lot of people we are teaching right now are on the fence between simply letting us come over and talk or actually listening and progressing, and this week we are going to try to find out which side they want to be on and then we will move forward from there or go out and spend more energy on finding people who are ready to progress and move forward. I've realized that there is a big difference between opening your door and opening your heart. Many people we find are willing to open the door and let us in, which is a great first step, but they aren't willing to open their hearts and let the Savior in to help them make changes and move forward in their eternal progression. The hard part is finding people who are willing to do both. But, I know they are there so we'll just keep pressing forward for now. 

Well, have a wonderful and productive week!

Hermana Burton

Well hello again! (Monday, November 2, 2015)

Dear Mom and ____________,

For some reason it felt like this last week was really short and that
I didn't have much else to say, but then I realized that it's because
I wrote last Wednesday! So it really was a short week since last time.
It was fun though because we got to do a lot of my favorite part about
missionary work! Service! Painting a bedroom, setting up yard
decorations, volunteering at a Halloween activity, etc. Fun stuff.

We also had to be home after dinner on Halloween night, so I used the
time to finish up reading Jesus the Christ. This 793 page highly
intellectual read is actually part of our approved missionary library,
but not many people actually read it! They don't know what they are
missing out on. I am so grateful that I actually picked it up and gave
it a try, because it was a very powerful experience. The life of Jesus
Christ really came to life for me and I felt like I was actually there
with Him. Things from the Bible that had never made sense to me before
were cleared up and now I better understand the background and
traditions of the time period so it makes more sense why certain
phrases were used and why certain events were so important. I know it
can seem like a daunting task, but I would recommend reading it to
anyone. Now that I know more about Jesus Christ, I feel like I even
know Him better as well. And that's really what life is all about, to
know the One True God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. There are a
lot of programs and activities and commandments and standards that so
many people associate with the church, but at the end of the day it
all comes back to the love that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father have
for us and how we can show our love to them.

Well, I can't really remember what else happened this week but I hope
that everyone has a wonderful, grateful, productive, and cheerful
week! Happy November!

Hermana Burton