Dear
Mom and _________,
I'm going to be honest
and admit that I don't remember much of what happened this week. It's all a
blur! The days and weeks and months all mesh together and then every Monday pops up and I can never remember what happened
this week, or if it was last week, or the week before, or... you get the point.
I realized yesterday that it's now March and I got to Sonoma at the end of
November. And it feels like I've only been here for a few weeks! Crazy
life.
Well, some highlights
of the week are that we have been continuing to meet with a family we have been
teaching and they are moving forward in the Gospel! It has been such a pleasure
to know them and see the hand of God in their lives. There is a mom and her
son, and a grandma who has been visiting from Mexico. The mom and son seemed
pretty open and willing to listen, but the grandma was pretty distant at first
and I wasn't sure how she felt about us coming over and the message we were
sharing. In my mind, I was thinking that the son and daughter will probably
listen and want to change but that she wouldn't because she is probably just
set in her ways and not willing to open her mind and heart. The first time we
went over, she wouldn't come into the living room to sit and talk with us and
she was sitting way back in the kitchen at a chair (she could still see us
because the rooms are open and connected) but she didn't want to come closer to
the couch, even though her daughter invited her to. Gradually throughout the
lesson though, she moved closer bit by bit and she finally came into the living
room area and sat in a chair in the corner, and then she came to the couch and
sat by her daughter and participated in the lesson. She was still really funny
though and kept asking us questions as if to make sure that we weren't teaching
crazy stuff and going against the Bible, and at the end of the lesson I still
just thought that she probably wouldn't want to change and that she was just
set in her own religion but that she probably would be mad at her daughter
if she decided to accept it.
Well as it turns out,
the next time we went over and asked if they had been reading the Book of
Mormon and praying, the mom said that she hadn't had the time but then the
grandma had been reading it every single night! Plot twist. We also stopped by
another time to drop something off for them and the grandma was the only one
home, but she told us to come in and she said she is going back to Mexico soon but
that she will look for missionaries and our church there. When we told her we
could send them to her if we knew her address, she went and immediately wrote
down her address for us. She even came to church on Sunday with her grandson (the mom wasn't feeling
well) and she said she enjoyed it and that even though she is a little bit
older, it's never too late. In Sunday school she expressed that she wished her whole family could be
there at the church and again that she is going to look for the church when she
goes home and that she'll come to church here in Sonoma every time she comes to
visit. I really love this woman. The more I get to know her, the more I see her
like my own abuelita and I am so happy I had the chance to meet her. It's an
evidence to me that only God knows the hearts of His children and who will or
will not accept His Gospel, and we cannot make assumptions. And it's never too
late! The Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses everyone, regardless of age, gender,
status, or anything else. It's true folks!
And other than this
great family, I can't remember much of what happened. It has been really rainy
and wet so that always puts a damper on things, but we can still have sunshine
in our souls! I hope you all have a great week and keep on smiling!
Hermana Burton
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