Todo bien en el CCM! (Tuesday, February 24, 2015)

Dear Mom, etc, 

And here we are again! My companion and I have decided that there are only 2 days in the week at the MTC: Sunday and Tuesday, and all of the other days just pass by in a blur. We did have an interesting highlight in the week though when the drinking fountain by our classroom exploded, and that was fun. My companion was pushing the button while I was filling my water bottle because my hands were full, but the water didn't quite get the memo when she let go, so it just kept on squirting. And squirting. About two feet into the air. The teacher came out to see what happened, smacked the drinking fountain, said "nope," and walked away. We had to get on a bus to go test out a mock room at the west campus, so I'm not ever sure how they fixed it. Our district seems to have that kind of luck though. I won't bother to go into detail about the orange juice that exploded in our room last week... I found out that my district is part of a pilot program that used elearn Spanish before coming to the MTC and now we have iPads while in the MTC. It turns out we're the only ones who are part of the program and I thought it was all normal for everybody. It's kind of cool to think about, and I think that's also one reason why I didn't report to the Mexico MTC, so I could be part of this program. I know that I'm supposed to be where I am and be with the people I am with. I love my district so much! We had "District Home Evening" (pretty much FHE because they're like a family) last night and the Spirit was so strong! We talked about the scriptures and what we learned in our personal studies and our favorite things about being a missionary. It was just us sitting in a circle in a classroom, without teachers or anyone else and I learned so much from them. My favorite thing about being a missionary is having constant reminders every day of the truly important things in life and always wanting to be better. I come closer to my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ each day and learn so much! I can't imagine how I never truly realized before just how phenomenal a blessing it is to have the Gospel in my life! I'm sorry this week's email is going to be short, but thank you all for your love and support! I realized that last week I accidentally mistyped my dear friend's name. It's Hermana Poirier, and her email is libbie.poirier@myldsmail.net. She is still a wonderful example to me and a witness that God really does know His children and cares about each one individually! 

Lots of love from Hermana Burton, I hope everything is going well!

My district!

(Still waiting for an intriguing subject title) (Tuesday, February 17, 2015)

Dear Mom and family,

Wow! Almost 2 weeks down! To be honest, I feel like I have already been here for 2 months. I heard a great description for how time works here at the MTC: "The days are weeks and the weeks are days." It's true. I can't believe how much I have already learned though. All during the week I think of all the wonderful experiences I've had that I want to write home about, and then Prep-day arrives and I don't even know where to start. Teaching lessons has been going really well, even though most of our investigators are our teachers playing roles of investigators from their missions or people they know. I have learned so many incredible lessons from it though. Even though it is role play and the situation isn't real, we as missionaries are still able to receive revelation for and bless the lives of the people we teach, even though they are already members of the church and understand the doctrines and principles better than we ourselves do. It's like the story of Jacob and Esau and receiving the birthright. Even though he "disguised" himself as his brother, you can't trick God into giving a blessing. Heavenly Father knew that it was meant for Jacob from the start. In the same way, you can't trick God into giving revelation. The Spirit is real in our lessons and it applies to their lives, and we are truly guided to know what to teach and what to say. 

Since time mushes so much here, I forget what has happened in this past week and what was the week before. We received MTC iPads this past Friday and it really has been a blessing. It has been a bit of a struggle for me finding the balance between using it and using real paper notes and printed scriptures, but I know that it is a blessing to have it and it will help so much. The area book where we keep track of lessons and investigators is celestial though, we are SO blessed to have it. I also have some pictures on the iPad that I'll send you in a different email. I know there was a lot more I wanted to tell you, but I can't seem to remember what it all was. There is a huge favor I would like to ask of you though. It has a bit of a long background story, but I'll try to stick to the Reader's Digest version. There is an Hermana in my zone (her name is Hermana Poirer) and she is my soul sister. I adore her so much already (even though I have only known her for such a short time) but she has changed my life. She has been a member of the Church for about a year and a half, and she has faced a lot of opposition in getting to where she is today. Her family did not approve of her baptism or decision to serve a mission. She is such an example to me and has given me so much perspective. I can't even properly explain how much I admire and appreciate her. I know that you are all busy and have a lot to do, but please take a small moment and send her an encouraging word whenever you can and let her know that she does have love and support and that she is already changing lives. Her email address is libbie.poirer@myldsmail.net. I know it is a lot to ask, but I know that she would be overjoyed to hear from you all. You are such examples to me, and I know that you can bless her life as well. I love you all dearly and I hope everything is going well.

Hermana Burton

FOTOS:

One week down, and a lot more to go! (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)

Dear Mom and whoever else happens to read this,

I'm not even sure where to start! So much has happened in this week, it has seemed like a year. I am already loving the MTC and seeing miracles in my life. My companion and my district are really awesome and I'm looking forward to growing closer to them. My companion is Hermana Anderson from Herriman (sp?) Utah and she is really fun. It's ironic though, there are two sisters named Hermana Lewis and there is even another Hermana Burton in my district who is also going to Santa Rosa! I guess I shouldn't have just labeled all my stuff "Hermana Burton"... I don't think we're related though, she and her family are connected to the former Presiding Bishop and Linda K. Burton as well. It's funny though, every time I look across the room and see her I wonder why she stole my nametag. Speaking of my nametag, I LOVE it! We had a devotional and were able to watch a recorded MTC devotional from Elder Bednar as well (it's called "The Character of Christ", it is fantastic and I would highly recommend anyone to read/listen to it if they can find it) and both were exactly what I needed to hear. It was mostly telling me to get over myself and realize that serving a mission isn't about me and that I really am supposed to be going to Santa Rosa. One of the hardest things about the MTC at the beginning was hearing all of the awesome languages and seeing everyone with their nametags going to all the places where I wanted to go, but during the devotional when I truly realized that it's not about me I looked down and saw "Hermana Burton, La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Últimos Días" I KNEW in that moment that it was exactly what my was supposed to be written on my nametag and in that exact language. I even consider it a miracle because now I am able to not have feelings of jealousy when I look at and hear those languages. Spanish is coming along really well, let's just say I still believe in the gift of tongues. I really miss speaking Italian though, so sometimes I do anyway and my companion doesn't know if I'm speaking Spanish or Italian so she just looks at me funny. It's hard because I sometimes slip into Italian when teaching investigators too when my Spanish won't let me say what I want to. Speaking of investigators, that's another really cool thing! After we learned how to pray and testify, our teacher sent us out on the MTC campus to testify to at least three people. The first we found were missionaries as well so they just listened then walked away, then we saw a girl sitting at a table and went to tell her what we had just learned how to say. Turns out, she really spoke Spanish and was a legitimate investigator of the Church! After we found that out, we started really talking to her (in English interestingly enough) because we were curious why she was there, and we had a really interesting conversation with her! I was suddenly overwhelmed by love for her (even though I had never met her before) and I was able to tell her how much God loves her and I could tell that she felt it too. It was incredible and so out of the blue. We are teaching another "investigator" to learn how to teach, but even though it's a role play situation the Spirit is still so strong! We taught her how to pray and her first prayer was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. Another awesome experience happened with one of the people who works at the MTC and records our lessons with the investigators. After our lesson in Spanish, she invited us into her office and asked us to teach her a lesson in English. She told us about real problems and questions in her life (she is a member of the Church and prays and reads her scriptures every day), but we were still able to have the Spirit and receive answers and inspiration to help her know what to do. The Church is true. I have learned so much this week and I want to tell about every single thing, but I would never have enough time. The life of a missionary here feels normal and I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. Even the thought of doing something else seems weird. Well I had planned on writing a nice and organized letter, but I didn't have a lot of time and I was so excited to tell you about those experiences so it all just came out scrambled, but I love you all so much and I am so grateful for eternal families! 

Until next time, lots of love from Hermana Burton

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Dad,

Sometimes when I tell people that my father is a truck driver, they often respond by saying "Oh, so you must not see him very much then." I used to nod my head and agree. Then one day I thought, "Well, if it's true that I really don't see Dad that often, how is it that my memory bank is packed and spilling over the brim with memories of doing things with him?" 

There is quite a simple answer to that Dad, and it is one of my very favorite things about you. Whenever you are home, you make sure that we are always doing things as a family. Even if it is just a simple thing like driving to Brigham to get a Slurpee with the grandkids, you are always teaching me that family is the most important thing. Sometimes we just sit on the couch and watch The Andy Griffith Show (well, I should say that I watch The Andy Griffith Show and you "rest your eyes") but those are still some of my favorite memories. I am quite proud of the fact that while most other teenagers at school talk about the silly and superficial sitcoms they follow, I can happily reply that my favorite TV shows are Perry Mason, Hogan's Heroes, The Andy Griffith Show, Green Acres, and many other good-old classics. The saddest part is that they haven't even heard these titles, and I mean "saddest" as a reference to them because they don't know what they are missing out on. 

Another thing that sticks out is the memory of all the 5Ks I have been to in my life. I was about to say "5Ks that I have run in my life," but it's no secret that I haven't always enjoyed them and that I have most often participated a bit less-than enthusiastically. However, I realize now that those memories are always filled with various family members here and there and it's just another reminder to me of how important it is to be with the family. You are always working on ways to make us better people and live our lives in the best way that we can. 

I just realized that if I keep it up like this, I will never finish this letter because so many memories and other qualitites that I love about you keep popping into my head, but I wanted to finish with one of the most important things. I love that you love my mother. I have never doubted that for one second in my life. You are always serving her and planning some sneaky way to surprise her or do something kind for her, and I love participating in these little plots and seeing how happy you make her. Thank you both for being wonderful parents and teaching me the truths of the Gospel. I love you both dearly and I am very excited to see you in a little over a week!

Carol

   ...  

Are y'all still alive?

Dear Mom and family,

It hasn't been that long since that last time I wrote, and almost nothing has happened since then. I have been home by myself a lot in the past couple days and I had been hoping to use the time well to catch up on things that I was behind on and to get a lot done, but actually I wasn't very productive. I have also been a bit sick lately, which didn't help my lethargic mood either. However, I plan on going to bed early tonight and waking up and getting a fresh start bright and early tomorrow morning. Anyway, I haven't heard from you guys in a while so I was just wondering how everybody was doing. Hope everything is well and I will be seeing many of you quite soon!

Carolina

     ...   

Miracoli!

I apologize for not writing for a while, and I know I should try to catch y'all up on what has been going on, but this week I wanted to share a story. It's actually a really long and ugly story, but I'll try to cut down the details. *Spoiler Alert* It has a happy ending. Even though it doesn't seem like it should. Actually I will probably cut out most of the story because it's really not worth re-hashing and the ending is the very best part, but I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I was supposed to board a plane on Monday morning to finally visit Rome, which I have been wanting to see all year. I was so excited for this moment and I had been looking forward to it all week. For the past few weeks, actually. However, something came up and Sunday night I found myself not finishing packing and not preparing to depart the next morning. This is where I will cut out most of the story, because it's the long and ugly part, but there are some details that are important. In the end, the decision to not go was my own because it seemed to be causing so many problems and there were other factors involved, most of which occured that very day. At one point during the day, I found myself praying and begging God to help me understand what to do because I felt sick and confused inside. Asking if I should just call the whole thing off or continue with my efforts, and of course in my heart I was hoping and hoping and hoping and almost expecting for the answer to be to continue. And this is where the "thy will, not mine" part comes in. 

Sometimes God says no. 

However, this is also where the miracle comes in. It was okay. I expected to be disappointed and angry, but the only thing I felt was a calm in my stomach to have finished and cleaned up the matter. I still really want to see Rome, and I still feel like someday I will have that opportunity, but my biggest regret in the whole situation was that the money Mom and Dad had payed for the ticket had been wasted and not the fact that I wasn't able to go to Rome. I thought that maybe the calm would go away after a little while and I kept expecting myself to be mad about it the more I thought about it, but that's not what happened. Many people knew that I was supposed to leave on Monday and seeing that I was still here caused many to ask about the story and wonder what happened, but even telling them about it didn't bring bitter feelings. It was almost funny in a way, watching them react when they heard the story and calmly watching them get angry about it, even though it happened to me. To me that is the miracle. I know that God knows what is best for us, and sometimes He tells us no. It could be because it is not the right thing or the right time, but whatever the reason may be, I know that He has a reason for it. But I also know that when we listen to Him, He makes is easier for us to accept His will and He takes the bitterness out of disappointments. 

Even though I still haven't been to Rome or Venice or the other areas in Italy that I wanted to see, I am still very grateful to have had this chance to be here in Sicily. I have made incredible friendships and learned one million and one things. Every single one of you has helped me get here and I am so grateful to you for that. One of the most important things I have learned this year is how much I truly love my family and how important you all are to me. Sometimes I want to take a picture of the Italians' faces when I tell them how many siblings/nieces/nephews I have, but I wouldn't trade any of you for anything. I love you all dearly and I am excited to see you soon! 

Carolina

    ... 

Buona Festa della Mamma!

Cara Madre,

I've been putting this off almost all day today because I didn't know how or where to start and I wanted it to be just perfect for you, but I can't put it off any longer because I just need to tell you how much I love you! It's been over 8 months since I've personally "stepped into your office" and we've had a chat, so now I'm asking you to step into mine for a minute so I can tell you some pretty darn important things.

1) I love you. Ti voglio un mondo di bene. Je t'adore. I could probably google it in a bunch of other languages but it doesn't change the meaning. I love you, Mom. 

2) I look up to you. And not just because you're almost 4 inches taller than me. I remember watching the movie about President Hinckley in which he is called "a giant among men." Well mother, you are a giant among women. I can't even begin to list all of the reasons why because they are so numerous, but the fact that you're probably not even home from church yet because you're still across the street picking up flowers for all the neighbors and other mothers in the ward who weren't there should help explain what I'm trying to say. You always put everyone else before you even think to think about yourself and your selflessness amazes me every day. 

3) I miss you. I'm sorry I was half-asleep in the airport the day I left and that I didn't give you a proper goodbye and a proper hug, but I am looking forward to June 28 when I can make that up to you. Brace yourself. 

4) Thank you. For everything. 

There are so many other things that I want to say but I know it's going to be time for your Sunday "mid-morning nap" soon so I'll try to keep it short and let you enjoy a peaceful day. I'm a bit far away so I can't do anything about the clean house, but everyday I try to follow your example and become a "wonderful children" that you would like me to be. 

Carol

   ...

PS- I know this picture is a bit blurry, but it's the best one I had with me.