I'm alive! (Monday, May 5, 2016)

Hello Mother!

As you know, we had our temple trip yesterday but I had the stomach
flu so I wasn't able to get out of the apartment to send an email.
Things are better today though, even though I'm not fully recovered
yet. President Wright gave me permission to email you today, so mostly
I just wanted to send a quick note so you know that I'm still alive
and also to see what time I should skype on Sunday? Please respond
soon (:

[Sister Perez called on Wednesday to say Hermana Burton was ill and was not able to send an email, but she didn't want us to worry. She said she had taken her over some Pepto-Bismol and some allergy medicine. She also said she was from the Spanish Branch that Hermana Burton is assigned to, and that Hermana Burton's Spanish is very good.]

This was before getting sick (:

My sweet companion

The one of the far left is a member who was baptized a few years ago and is putting in his mission papers soon and the one right next to my companion was baptized in February and did baptisms for the first time yesterday. The two elders are my co-district leaders.

Exchanges with my favorite Spaniard

One of my favorite families from Winters came to Woodland to take me and my companion out to lunch

Sunday Schedule

Hermana Burton will be calling at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (4:00 Pacific Time) on Sunday. She will only have 40 minutes to talk to us. Dinner should be around 6:00. For scheduling further out, she thinks she will probably be coming home on August 9th, perhaps sometime in the early afternoon because the flight is not very long, but she does not know anything for sure.

Another week! (Monday, April 25, 2016)

Dear Mom and everyone else,

This week was so intense! Ups and downs, folks. You know how whenever
we are trying to change or be better, opposition hits and the
adversary attacks? And how if someone is preparing to be baptized and
take that important step, he works on them to try to stop them and get
them down? I think it's the same anytime something big or spiritual is
going to happen; Satan does his best to break you down and make you
lose hope. Our mission had the privilege of meeting with Elder David
A. Bednar last weekend and the week leading up to it was rocky and I
feel like opposition was almost insurmountable. But in the end it
didn't win because Elder Bednar came and lifted our spirits back up
and now we are ready and prepared to conquer whatever the world throws
at us! I have always supported and sustained President Thomas S.
Monson, the First Presidency, and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as
prophets, seers, and revelatory in our day but after being in the
presence of one of them I want to reaffirm my witness that I know
these men truly were called of God to lead and guide us! The Spirit
Elder Bednar carried with him was undeniable and I know that that kind
of spiritual power and truth that comes directly from God cannot be
faked.

One of my favorite things about visiting with Elder Bednar and
listening to him talk (he also came to our Stake Conference in
Woodland the next day) was how everything he said was very simple. He
didn't come and give brand new revelations or teach us things we never
could have even imagined; rather, he taught us simple truths we
already knew by the power of the Spirit and gave us the hope and
encouragement to keep going and to find our own answers to questions.
That's one thing that is so cool about the Gospel. We have prophets
and apostles to teach us what God wants us to know, but we can go
directly to the source and find out for ourselves as well. Heavenly
Father's plan is perfect and it provides for everything.

A lot of other things happened this week too, but I'll leave it at that
for now. Life is good and God is great! Hope you all have a great
week!

~Hermana Burton

PS- my email next week will be coming on Wednesday!

Thanks for the notes from everyone!

I ran out of time again, but I just wanted to say thanks for everyone
who sent a paragraph. It made my day to hear from everyone. Love you
all! I'll try to write a better letter next week.

Pictures from this week!

My buddy Ralph (Monday, April 18, 2016)

Dear Mom and ________,

Well, it's been another week! Life is crazy as usual and it's been a
week with ups and downs, but we could say the same about life in
general. Nothing in particular stands out from this week, but I found
a poem that I liked. It's by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

What is success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.

Another thing that stood out to me is a quote I heard: "We work to
live- we don't live to work." I've met so many people who are so
caught up in their busy lives and working and running around doing
errands that they don't have time for anything that's truly important.
When we remember the true reason why we even came to this earth, our
decisions and priorities shift. Once I had a companion who always
shared this pearl of wisdom whenever people complained about not
having enough time to keep commitments they make: "If you're too busy
to read your scriptures/pray/go to church, then you are busier than
God ever intended you to be." I might have already shared that with
you, but I think it's good to keep in mind. I hope you're all having a
great week!

~Hermana Burton

Back in the Woodhood (Monday, April 11, 2016)

Dear Mom and family,

I don't know if I mentioned this a year ago, but when I first came to
this area in Yolo county I almost DIED. The worst case of allergies I
have ever had in my entire life (which I suppose doesn't mean much
because I've never really had allergies before) but I really thought I
was a goner. It wasn't fun dealing with all of the coughing, sneezing,
and itchy eyes a year ago and it wasn't fun this week either. I'm not
sure what it is about this area of the world, but it's the only place
in the world that gives me allergies. So needless to say, the first
few days here weren't very pleasant. But I'm still alive so that's
great! And I learned that it's not worth it to spend lots of money on
allergy pills. Just eat a couple of Takis (it's like a spicy crunchy
rolled up chip thing) and you'll be able to breathe better and it
tastes great too! So that was a fun adventure but there is something
to be learned in every experience.

I also learned this week that people make all of the difference.
Especially this cool elder, his name is elder julander! He is really
cool he also has a lot of snacks and jokes....😁 he is good with
technology too. Anyways, did I mention that there is also a sister
julander in this zone. I'm not sure how they are related yet but they
have the same name! We had our first district meeting this transfer on
Friday. It was pretty cool. Well yeah....🤓 hahahah that was just
elder julander so now it's back to me!

Back now. Sometimes I don't know what to write anymore about the week,
so Elder Julander offered to write it for me. I guess that's how his
week was. This week was pretty good by the end though, and I'm glad I
got to meet the people we are working with. They are some truly
wonderful people and I'm excited to get to know them better! Have a
great week!

~Hermana Burton

New companion!

Goodbye Sonoma :( (Monday, April 4,02016)

Dear Mom and everyone,

I only have time for a short email today because I've been busy and
packing, but as you can see from the subject line I've been
transferred. Even though I told my mission president I would be
willing to stay in Sonoma for another transfer even though I've been
here for three, actually I'd even be willing to stay here until the
end of my mission, but it looks like Heavenly Father has other plans
for me. Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving for Woodland. It's not
completely new because I have already served in Winters and Dixon
which are the only two other Hermana Areas in that zone and I've been
in Woodland several times. My new companion will be Hermana Garcia and
I will be the Sister Training Leader (it sounds a lot fancier than it
really is) for the zone. I know there are so many things that I
personally need to improve, but I loved Elder Holland's talk from
conference about moving forward and being patient with ourselves, even
when we make mistakes and things aren't as great as we would like them
to be. I adore Sonoma and I will miss it and the people here beyond
words, but I'm off to the next adventure now! Love you all!

Hermana Burton

New Address

I'll be in Woodland by tomorrow afternoon and I'll send you the address next week.

Just kidding, here's the address now:

575  Matmor Road #88
Woodland, CA 95776

Yep, only 4 months left. I'm not sure what happened to the last 14 . . . Where did they go?

Springtime means fresh starts and new life! (Monday, March 28, 2016)

Dear Mom and everyone else,

And speaking of fresh starts and new life, everything went well with the baptism on Saturday! It was a very spiritual experience for all involved, including the English ward members who couldn't understand Spanish and what was being said but they could feel the Spirit and recognize what a momentous occasion it was. Truly, it was beautiful. The person being baptized was the father in a family with a wife who was baptized 5 years ago in Mexico and an adorable 6 year-old daughter. The daughter said the most precious opening prayer and thanked Heavenly Father that her dad was getting baptized, and then his wife gave a short talk on baptism and what it has meant to her personally. The baptism went smoothly and I could feel the Spirit as he came up out of the water. Then, a ward member who is a very dear family friend to them gave a short talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost and almost couldn't make it through because she was so emotional and full of joy for him. It made me so happy to see their family united in the gospel and I'm excited for what will follow in the future. I really love the people here and I just feel grateful all the time that I get to be here and get to know them. This is the last week of the transfer and I'm really hoping that it's in God's plan to let me stay at least another 6 weeks, but I know that He knows what's best. 

I also had an interesting experience yesterday morning. I woke up from a horrible dream in which a family member whom I dearly love was dying and I was still heartbroken from the pain of it even when the dream was over and I woke up. And then the thought came to me, "But no matter what happens, it will be okay because that person will be resurrected. Because of Jesus Christ, we will all be resurrected." That was the very first waking thought I had, and it brought me peace. I sat up and said "Happy Easter!" to my companion, and she was still pretty groggy so all I got back was a crackly "What?" but I still remember the peace that thought brought back to me. Life is rough sometimes and things happen that we don't always understand, but Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. He has accounted for everything in His plan, including death, and I know that we will all be resurrected one day. That is a gift from God. Not a free gift, because it was paid for with a high price, including the best life this world has ever seen, but we don't have to pay that cost. We will all be resurrected, regardless of what kind of people we are. But whether or not we will be able to return to live in our Heavenly Father's presence, united eternally with our families, is another story. That one does depend on our actions and who we are. And that can be a daunting thought at times too, but in His providing for everything in the plan, mercy and forgiveness are also accounted for and they correspond with repentance. His plan is perfect and I hope we can all take a step back for a minute and think a little more deeply about His plan and our part in it and what we need to do. I love you all and I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Easter and took a moment to reflect on the sacrifice of the Savior of the world. Have a wonderful week!

~Hermana Burton

Also, I may or may not have become a ginger this week...

Happy Easter soon! (Monday, March 21, 2016)

Dear Mom and all y'all,

As usual I don't even know where to begin, but things are going well
here in Sonoma! An investigator will be baptized on Saturday and I'm
so excited for his adorable family. Their whole story is really
beautiful. As for working with the members, it's an emotional roller
coaster, but that's fine. Heavenly Father is in charge and He knows
what's up. I'm going to cheat and say once again that "a picture is
worth a thousand words" and I hope it's a great week for everyone!
Lots of love!

~Hermana Burton

1. This is my grandpa who I never got the chance to meet. But because
of the Atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I'll get to know
him someday! Check out the Easter video on FollowHim.mormon.org if you
haven't yet.
2. Where's Hermana Burton?
3. She had never had a top bun before. And ironically, both of our
matching shirts came from different companions we've had in the past.
4. Love sunny days!
5. One of the most amazing people in the whole world. And, she forgot
her green... We didn't pinch her though.