Dear Mom and ______,
Well, to break the suspense, I'm in
Sonoma! My new companion is Hermana Figueroa and she is great. There is a lot
of work to be done here, but I'm excited for it! Because of the holidays and
everything else that's been going on with meetings and stuff last week, I
haven't met most of the people we teach yet but we're going to try to see them
this week and I am sure I am just going to love them.
The spirit of Christmas is already in
the air here and people are kind to us when we talk to them! A new Christmas
initiative just came out called "A Savior is Born" and it's truly
inspirational. Watch the video if you haven't seen it yet! Sometimes I feel
like a sister missionary on Temple Square because we go to the plaza where
there are Christmas lights up and people walking around and we talk to them and
share the video and Christmas pass-along cards with them. It's a lot of fun!
I've discovered that I'm much happier as a missionary when I am outside and
visiting with people. Sometimes it's hard in the mornings because it's so cold
outside and I'm already tired from sitting and doing studies for hours that I
don't want to move, but then we bundle up and actually go outside and it
rejuvenates me and makes me so happy! It's official. I can never have a desk
job. Anyway, I've been surprised by how cold it actually gets here. For some
reason I thought it would never be cold in California, but it's has been in the
30s lately.
Interesting experience this week. The
other night while we were out walking, a crazy woman started talking to us and
saying all sorts of weird stuff (it made me feel like I was in Willits again!)
and it soon became clear that she had a mental disability. It broke my heart
because she is now living in the streets and involved with drugs and being used
inappropriately and dealing with past and present abuse. She was freezing and
standing by the street when we came by so she started talking to us and we said
a prayer with her and tried to share a little uplifting message, but it just
wasn't computing upstairs. In the end we just had to walk away, but I gave her
my gloves because I wanted to help her in someway and nothing we could say
would sink in and help her. It was a really interesting experience and made me
think a lot. I know God is aware of her and that He has a plan and I'm just
grateful that He will be the final judge someday of her actions and level of
accountability. So yeah, that happened this week.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed
Thanksgiving! Check out christmas.mormon.org if
you haven't yet, it's pretty nifty. Lots of love from Sonoma!
~Hermana Burton
Also, here is my new address:
Hermana Carol Burton
888 W. Verano Ave.
Sonoma, CA 95476
Ha nacido un Salvador!
Plaza with Christmas lights!
A Savior is born!
Me and Hermana Figueroa
Quick question. Did Grandpa go to UC Davis?
That's cool if he did, Dixon was
really close to Davis and I was there
quite a bit and I've been by the campus a ton of times.
quite a bit and I've been by the campus a ton of times.
[Kathryn’s reply to Carol’s question]
Grandma says he graduated in the
second graduating class of their new veterinary school. DVM degree.
[Carol’s response]
Cool beans! It's fun to learn more
about him.
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