September 15

Okay this is going to be a quick email so I hope it makes sense! Thank you Aunt Carrie for the package! It made my day! I used the candy in an object lesson! It was perfect! The temple was amazing as expected! It was really different to go through as a missionary. Everywhere that I looked I pictured my investigators as the temple workers and it was just incredible to realize the goal isn't baptism. The goal is the temple and enduring to the end. The peace that I felt in the temple was much needed! I really didn't want to leave. I could have sat in there forever but we didn't. Being able to go to the temple every four months is a huge blessing! It makes the biggest difference in the world. So many questions were answered that I needed. After two hours of pure peace we went straight back to working hard! This week we found two new investigators! The first one in Jaime (no not Jamie it sounds like himai). He is barber in town and is really excited and ready to learn which makes us excited and ready to teach! His first lesson was really awesome. At the end he asked us how we knew that the Book of Mormon was true. We both bore our testimonies on our personal conversions and the spirit just flooded in. He was really taken back and said "Well then I guess I better start reading this book. Do you think I could get it done in like a week?" WHAT?!?!? I was so excited and sang as we raced the whole way home to obey curfew! A member of our ward is stopped us last week at church and asked us if we would help her study the old testament. Yeah teaching her really showed me how much I don't know! It was so hard to understand what was happening. Hosea goes way over my head! I have made it a goal to study more of the new testament so I can somehow figure out what is going on. One of my favorite miracles of the week was when we were trying to contact some of our referrals. This week we were given so many referrals which is a huge blessing. The woman that we went to go see wasn't home and I just had a thought that we needed to go visit Sister Chacon who lived around the corner. We road over there and was at the door before we were! She was crying really hard and said she wasn't in the mood for company. I ignored her, gave her a hug, and asked her what was going on. She explained to us that her alcoholic son was just taken by the cops and had threatened to take her life. We sat with her for about an hour until she stopped crying. This woman lost her son three years ago to drugs and was horrified that she would have to bury another son for the same reason. I was so grateful that we had gone over. As soon as we left we called the relief society president and the bishop. Yesterday at church she told us that we were her angels. We had a similar experience where we decided to text a member of our ward and let her know we love her and are thinking of her. Two hours later we got text saying she had been having an awful day and felt so alone. That simple text meant way more to her than we intended. I love being a missionary! Every Saturday night all the missionaries try to do a sports night where we invite investigators, less actives, and pretty much anyone to come play some softball with us. This week was the first week where we had a really good turn out! Two of our investigators came and one less active family came! It was so fun to hang out with them for fun and not for a lesson. I think it's important to show people that we are real humans too! I hate when people call Utah missionaries "the robots from the factory" NO! We are real! Other than that I'm having trouble thinking of more stories. The rest of the week was super busy with lessons, lots of biking, and planning. This next week is full of appointments so I'm really excited! The weeks that we actually have appointments ahead of time are always better! Being a missionary is a lot of hard work but I'm loving ever second! Thank you all for the support! I love you so much and am grateful for every single one of you! Ryan- I made Sister Rhodes laugh this week by using some of your interpretive dance moves. I hope that makes you proud! Favorite Scriptures of the week: Ether 4:7, James 2:18, John 12:46, D&C 6:21 :) -Sister Barton