HOMECOMING

Sister Barton is coming home! We could not be more excited! Please join us for her homecoming on December 27 at 9:00. The chapel is located at: 2985 East Creek Road (8115 South) Cottonwood Heights, Utah **Please note this is a different chapel as her farewell. Hope to see you all there!

I Still Have a Week People!

There were about a million pits and peaks this week. The peaks outweigh the pits so I'm just going to talk about those!! Every second was spent doing something or running somewhere. There was no time to breathe! It all started with another 3 day exchange! This time with sister Stebar and smith! Sister smith loves to cook and sister Stebar loves to do hair and make up. They were appalled that I don't know how to do any of these things so they attempted to teach me...it was rough. I survived though! Luke's baptism was on Wednesday. He was glowing! His girlfriend, Alex, gave a talk about conversion. In her talk she talked about how taking the missionary lessons has strengthen her just as much. When Luke bore his testimony he talked a lot about being accepted for the first time. He grew up with a really rough family. The ward is pretty much the first family he has ever had. Before his confirmation he couldn't sit down because of how excited and nervous he was. I've loved watching him grow. Jicell a baptism required a road trip!! A group from the ward drove all the way up to casa grande. Jicell literally leaped out of the water. It was a little mermaid moments. She couldn't stop crying or giggling. I've never seen someone so happy in my entire life! He grandmother and mom haven't shown any interest in the church until her confirmation. We have been fasting and praying for Jicell's family for a while. Our prayers were answered. Jicell's grandma wants to start coming to church! MLC was also this week. President and Sister Passey nailed it. Again! Sister Passey gave a training about teaching the role of Jesus Christ. The spirit was really strong as we talked about john 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." We talked about scriptures that support this verse. How Christ gives us life and light in abundance. You could have cut the spirit with a butter knife. I was in heaven! Another peak of the week was getting to see my Arizona parents!! The Beals drove all the way to Tucson just for lunch! Their visit was exactly what I needed! Seeing them couldn't have happened at a better moment. They helped calm so many fears and worries. They have stuck with me my whole mission! I couldn't be more grateful for all of their love and support. Everyone keeps telling me I'm going home....it hasn't really hit me yet. Probably because there is still work to do and I'm not stopping until I get to the airport. Serving a mission is the best decision I have ever made. I've been in a panic the last few weeks because I don't feel ready to go home. I'm not a spitting image of what I want to be yet. A wise return missionary friend reminded me that my progress doesn't stop here! This new change will help me progress just as much if not more. It's finals week at the u of a so everyone is pretty much leaving next week as well. I've had to say goodbye to some friend and there will be lots more this week. I can't believe I have one week so ware this name tag out! I love being a missionary with all my heart. I bore my testimony on Sunday about how all the Lord has ever asked us to do is be obedient, work hard, and trust that he is going to bless us. I think sometimes we make it too complicated. I love my heavenly father and my savior. I love the Arizona Tucson Mission. The book of mormon is true. Joseph smith was a prophet. The priesthood authority is back on the earth. God loves us so much! It's that simple. Thanks for all the love!! I'll email you guys next Monday! You da bomb! Don't do anything fun until I see you! Somebodies gotta keep me busy when I get back... -Sister Barton

Nov. 23 Grateful in all things

Transfers calls were a little unexpected. I thought Sister Desautels and I would be together for a little bit longer...we kind of are but not really. I have been asked to be "an exchange missionary". That means I will technically keep all of my stuff at my apartment but I won't be there very often. We will be in a trio but I won't be spending very much time with them. President Passey has asked that I spend 90% of my time on exchanges with the Sisters in North, West, South, and central Tucson. Exchanges will be like 3 days long and I will pretty much be area hoping all transfer long. I have no clue how it's going to work. He didn't really give me a whole lot of instructions. I'm just supposed to figure it out and pray really hard. Staying in my area would be too simple I guess. I'm grateful for the opportunity to help train these sisters on a more personal level. Everything went really well this week! We are begging Jicell to slow down so that we won't run out of things to teach her! We started her up on personal progress this week and begged her to take her time doing it. She took the book and went to town! That night she called us freaking out about how much cute stuff pinterest and blogs have on personal progress. She is getting 5 other converts in the ward started. The bishop has now decided to call someone to be a personal progress teacher! Now what are we supposed to teach her!?!?! Luke set a date with us for December 2nd! Ever since he set the date that boy has gone a whole other level of on fire! Whatever he was holding back before is gone and he is ready to move forward! He couldn't stop smiling all week long. Thanksgiving couldn't come at a better time. Thanksgiving is just reminding me how important it is to slow down and remember to be grateful for what I've been given. I'm grateful for our investigators. I'm grateful for the friends that I have made here. I'm grateful for trials. They are necessary to grow. They help us to become better. I couldn't be more grateful for my mission. Thank you for everything. I love you so much! Mom- I hope you have the greatest birthday of all time. You deserve it! I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to have the greatest best friend of all time. Happy Thanksgiving! It's the best holiday of them all! All our ward members are going home for the holidays so this next week should be an interesting one.... -Sister Barton

Nov. 16 My Arizona Family

Sometimes I wish I could take a video of my week and send it home. That would make life so much easier. I don't remember what happened Monday through Thursday....but the best stuff started happening on Thursday so I'll start there. Exchanges!! This time I went up to Marana (north of Tucson) with sister hunt. She has been out for a grand total of 4 weeks so she was completely freaking out the whole day about having to make the decisions. It was fun to get lost a couple of times and to figure out how to help her be confident in lessons and in planning. She is a super shy still so it was pretty much a day of me teaching strangers. By the end of the day she was bearing her testimony at the end of lessons!! Small steps! She is a hard worker so we got a lot done! At the end of the night we went to ward coordination meeting and I got to help plan the missionary work part of the ward Christmas party! Being back in a family ward was weird but a ton of fun. My favorite part of exchanges is always reuniting with Sister Desautels. By the time we get home we both are ready to pass out! It's the best. Friday was a pit and a peak kind of a day. I received an email from a really good friend in New Mexico. She was baptized a few years ago and recently got married in the temple. Her email broke my heart as she told me things she is struggling with. It made me just wanna run to New Mexico and give that girl a hug and big bucket of ice cream. I asked the sisters over there to visit her so hopefully they can help her out. Friday night i got to Skype Ramon's baptism!!! We got to talk a little bit before his baptism. He was beaming!! I am so proud of him! Getting to see a lot of my New Mexico friends was heaven! Being able to see Ramon choose joy and enter the waters of baptism was a huge blessing. I was a little jealous that I couldn't be there during his baptism then I thought about how blessed I am to be able to have been part of his conversion and now be in Tucson for my current investigators. I wouldn't want it any other way. I know I'm where I need to be. Saturday was the top of the cake! Last Monday a less active woman from Rincon emailed me. She heard rumors that I was in Tucson and insisted that we meet up. We ended up meeting for breakfast Saturday morning. As soon as she walked into the cafe she spilled all the beans! I worked with her family for about 6 months. She was slow to make progress but we kept feeling the need to continue to see them. When I left the area the sisters didn't visit her anymore. Sister Youngblood started her story with explaining the hard time she has been having with her 11 year old son getting suspended. She was furious. As she drove to pick him up from school she said the first prayer she had said in months. Peace came over her as she picked him up and drove him home. For no reason at all she started planning a fhe lesson. (Never done FHE before) she announced to her family that FHE is officially mandatory. The next day she called the sisters. They are currently preparing her two kids for baptism. Sister Youngblood is living the word of wisdom for the first time since her baptism. The best part is....THEY WENT TO TO CHURCH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS!! In one week this woman has completely changed her life and her families life. I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day!! When we said goodbye, Sister Youngblood gave me the best compliment I've ever received. She told Sister Desautels that I wasn't her missionary. I am her sister. At the beginning of my mission I wanted so badly to be somebody's missionary. I don't care about that anymore. I would much rather be somebody's sister or somebody's friend. She was an answer to so many prayers. Saturday night I got to Skype Kenny's baptism in New Mexico. Remember him?? Once again, he was glowing and happy. Kenny has changed so much since we started working with him. Getting to talk to him and watching him bear his testimony after his baptism was priceless. You could tell he was scared to death to talk in front of everyone but it was impossible to not feel the spirit as he said what he believes. This email is getting super long so I'll stick with those stories. The biggest lesson learned this week was how perfect god's timing is. I think the hardest part of my mission has been accepting gods timing. I'm not the most patient of people and I like to have a plan. I would have loved to be there to go to church with the Youngblood family or to have said the opening prayer at the baptisms in New Mexico. But that's not where God wants me to be. He wants me right here at the u of a. I looked up right as I finished that sentence to find that Jicell had walked into the study room and started studying right in front of me. I know I needed to be here for her. I know I'm where God wants me to be. He has a plan that is so much better than my own. Thank you for all you do! I love you. -Sister Barton

Nov. 2 We've Got The Power

There are very few times on my mission where I can distinctly remember feeling the spirit completely leave the room. Those are the lessons where me and my companion go speechless and just sit there waiting to figure out which one is going to close the lesson as fast as possible. This week we went over to finally meet a recent convert in the ward. She was baptized about 2 weeks before I got here. Nobody has seen her since her confirmation....no Bueno. We walked into her humble abode and due to the surroundings, we knew the spirit couldn't help us get through the lesson. It was the most awkward half hour of my life. After the lesson Sister Desautels and I were reflecting on what we could have done to help the situation. We talked about how we choose how much the spirit can influence us. Another recent convert that we've gotten really close to is tom. Tom was able to baptize his friend this week. Tom has been a member of the church for 2 months. He was glowing as he told us how proud he is to have the power to baptize Rudy. He has also found over 130 names to take to the temple in the last month. He is doing the new member lessons with he mindset of learning how to answer his friends questions about the gospel not his own. This guy is too perfect! It's crazy how big of a difference these two recent converts have used the power they've been recently given. We choose how much power we have. It's been hard to watch the first recent convert struggle to understand the potential that she could have if she just had the spirit with her and learned how to listen to that spirit. It's the same for all of us! We had an awesome miracle this week. Since we are in ysa our area is huge. It's from central Tucson all the way down to the boarder of Mexico. On Wednesday we had a pretty open schedule so we decided to go on a little trip south. The very first house we tried was a less active girl that nobody knows anything about. Her little sisters let us in!! (Miracle) when Sumy saw us at the door she burst into tears. We stood there awkwardly until she calmed down and explained that right when she heard the doorbell ring she had just finished the first prayer she had said in years. She had prayed for help to know what Heavenly Father wanted her to do. I LOVE THE SPIRIT!! It was a little tender mercy to know that we were right where we needed to be at just the right time. This week had some overwhelming and frustrating moments but so many tender mercies. It's the new joke that Jicell is our visiting teacher because she brings us treats to the lesson and then she pretty much teaches us when we tell her the topic. Best visiting teacher I've ever had!! Luke showed up to church wearing a tie with the temple on it this week. He finally got to stay all three hours and loved going to priesthood meeting. He works at a bagel shop and brings us all the left over bagels. Then he found out our obsession with pumpkin!! It's gone a little out of control from there! We also went on exchanges this week. This time I left the area and went with Sister Afemata. Everyone loves her just for the fact that is from Hawaii and then because of how fantastic she is. I learned a lot from her. The best part about being an slt is getting to learn from these sisters. I don't really know what else so say so goodbye! I love you all! Congrats Kenzie on the ring. I think all my friends are officially married or on a mission. Pictures 1. My main gals!! 2 of them are fresh rms the other 2 are future missionaries. I love them to death!

Oct. 19 Humble, Happy, and Completely covered in Sugar....

Times to repent. Last week I made this area sound like a breeze. False! We are still working as hard as we can. I was pretty humbled. This week was mid-terms which means every student in Tucson was glued to their laptops and not so much to their Book of Mormons. My first few days with Sister Desautels were super rough just because everyone was canceling on us. As the week went on we were able to actually teach people again! I'm not a fan of mid-terms -___-. We had a surprise MLC on Friday!! Lynn G. Robbins came and gave us a training about responsibility and accountability. It was pretty heavy and intense but I learned a lot. He talked about how every time we make an excuse for something not getting done, we lose control of the situation. There is no such thing as a valid excuse. The next day I read about when Mormon walks away from being the Nephites captain then 3 chapters later he repents and comes back. Same goes for us. There is never a good excuse to walk away from a responsibility god has given us. That includes no excuses to ever turn down a prompting! Like I said- it was pretty heavy!! At the end he read a few verses about how the salvation of souls is on our shoulders. We were all spiritually exhausted by the end of the 5 hour training!!! On a lighter note, the temple groundbreaking was this week!!! Tucson is finally getting a temple!!! I'm so stoked!! Elder Uchtdorf came and gave a talk about breaking ground in our own hearts and preparing ourselves for the temple. He also invited everyone to get baptized today so that they could go inside when the temple is ready. There were a ton of government people and religious leaders! Elder Uchtdorf is my favorite! The temple dedication helped me recharge and get pumped to work even harder than I've been working. I gotta give the next couple of months my all! One of the greatest parts of the week was the stake bbq. The ysa members were in charge of manning all the kids booths. Somehow we got signed up to help with the cotton candy. We were excited to help! A ton of students brought their friends and we were able to get some solid potentials (free food works every time). The only problem of the night was the wind....cotton candy and wind don't mix. Within a half hour we were all COVERED in sugar and loving every second of it. Jicell and Amorah were volunteering at the face painting and laughing at us while we were turning into blue and pink clouds of cotton. It was an amazing week full of miracles. I'm already starting to see how much Heavenly Father is willing to bless me not just during but after my mission. I feel so blessed to be serving at the u of a. These people are teaching me so much. They are some of the sassiest, most hilarious, ambitious, and inspiring friends I've been blessed to meet. There is nowhere else I'd rather be than serving these crazy young single adults!! Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts! I love you all from Tucson to New Mexico, to California, to France, to Toronto, to Japan, to SLC to Logan and back times 100,000,000. Pondering scripture: Mormon 8:12 -Sister Barton Ps. We taught Luke about fasting this week. When he was a Buddhist munk he hand to fast EVERYDAY!! We are talking breakfast only! He took the once a month idea pretty well.

Oct. 12 Hugs From The Homeless....

I think I hit my head and went to heaven. Once I was told that serving in a Tucson ysa ward is like summer vacation. I didn't understand that until this week. This can't be real life!! Everything is too perfect. Warning...I've possibly found my future roommates at U of A. There is a group of girls here that I've gotten pretty close to. Amorah is my main gal. She's actually from Layton but she's going to school here and studying exactly what I want to study. She's preparing for a mission and has spent a ton of time with us this week. Amorah is probably exactly what I want to be when I grow up. I love her so much. 2 of her best friends are recently returned missionaries. They both have kept missionary work as a huge focus since coming home. They have been answers to my prayers. The greatest miracle was Jicell! One of our investigators met Jicell in a chemistry class. They found out they both are investigating the church and Leah asked if she could hook Jicell up with missionaries. We met Jicell on Thursday. I feel like I've know this girl for way longer than 4 days! Her boyfriend introduced her to the church last winter. She's been going to church for months, has somehow been taking institute without anyone noticing, has read 1 Nephi, watched conference, studies out of the ensign, and knows the church is true. We taught her the restoration and plan of salvation this weekend. During the lessons we ask her questions to try to figure out how much she really knows. When we ask questions like- "What do you know about the priesthood?" She answers in jaw dropping ways like, "well there's Melchizedek and Aaronic.....I don't know what that means though." She talks like a Mormon she just has no clue what any of it means! She's soaking everything up like a sponge. That doesn't happen!! Nobody knows how she's gone this long without ever having met a missionary. After our first lesson to got out her phone she showed us how her screensaver is the picture that elder Uchtdorf talked about in his talk at the women's conference. It reminds her "to be more like Jesus Christ everyday." Funny story: The vehicle coordinator in our mission is strict. She demanded that we get our car checked so we drove to southern Tucson (ghetto) and handed over our keys. The dealerships waiting room had a tv so we decided to go to a nearby park to do our weekly planning. As soon as we got there we realized this park is home to many many people. Every 10 minutes or so, a new homeless person would ask us who we were, if we could help them be saved, give us an unexpected "respectful friendship side-hug", then walk away to take a nap leaving us stunned. After an hour or so a man delivered a huge box of bread to the table we were sitting at. I guess the table we were at was the "park's kitchen table". oops. I wish you all could have seen the priceless look on our faces every time a new toothless stranger gave us a side hug. Missionary bubbles are SO real. We left shortly after that laughing all the way home. This week wasn't perfect enough so Heavenly Father had to put a cherry on top. We had achieved/exceeded our weekly goals except for finding one more investigator. We walked into relief society and noticed our new freshman friend flagging us down as casually as possible. We sat next to her to find she had brought a friend from her dorm. Her friend was pretty confused about what everyone was talking about but she said she loved coming today and would be back next week. As soon as relief society was over we explained what we do as missionaries and set up an appointment to teach her about the restored gospel!! We could hardly believe it. That made 7 investigators at church!!! I'm sad to announce I'll be taking over the area after today. Sister Adams will be going to Sahuarita and I'll be here to man the fort. 2 weeks in this area to learn from Sister Adams wasn't enough. I honestly feel like Heavenly Father trusts me way more than I trust in myself. I love taking over areas but I'm sad to see her go. I'm grateful for all that Sister Adams has taught me. I don't think I've stopped laughing since I got here. She truly shines. Between running from appointment to appointment and getting lost almost everywhere we go, I'm so happy and loving my Tucson life. I feel so blessed to be a part of this great work! This area is unlike every other that I've served in. U of A students make great missionaries. This area is proof that when members are involved the sky is the limit. We all have a part to play. Thank you for all you guys do for me! Your prayers are very much felt! I love you :) sorry this email is all over the place. Ponderizing this week: D&C 59:8-9 Feel free to pray for: Luke, Jicell, Charlie, Leah, Lea, Matthew, and Mary. :) -Sister Barton Amorah :) I love her even if she makes us take selfies.

Oct. 5 The Big City

I have no idea what to say this week. It's been crazy. This institute is HUGE! They have as many institute teachers as we did members back in SIlver City. There are soooo many people here. My new companion is Sister Adams. She's from Logan, Utah. She's just finished her training and is still trying to figure out the area. We are pretty much figuring everything out together which makes things very interesting. I woke up Wednesday morning and the first thing Sister Adams said to me was, "I've never seen anyone fall asleep that fast!" Yes- falling asleep is one skill I've mastered on my mission. Between MLC and general conference, I've only had 3 days to meet a whole lot of people but from what I've seen the ward is mostly converts. They all seem to have the craziest conversion stories I've ever heard. Most of the people I've met so far have come from really hard family lives where their families hate mormons but they knew the truth so they got baptized and are enduring to the end! They are incredible examples to me. One of our investigators has had a baptismal date set for December 26th since January. Her mom asked her to wait one year until she could be baptized with her families support. She loved conference and loves everything about the church she has a count down to December and couldn't be more ready! We have had some pretty incredible miracles though. Our main progressing investigator is Luke. Pray for this man. He's incredible! He's been taught twice before I got here but this week we taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Book of Mormon. He didn't grow up in a religion and really didn't have any foundation when his girlfriend introduced him to the Sisters. This weekend he was able to watch conference. Right after conference. He asked us when he could get baptized. YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON THE PROPHET. He said he came to conference with questions just like we had asked him to do. All throughout conference he was able to check off his answers one my one. The spirit was really strong as he told us how happy he was that he had found the truth. We will be preparing to help Luke enter the waters of baptism these next few weeks :). I feel so blessed so have been able to walk into this area and be able to have met Luke! There are always a ton of people on campus. The U of A is known as the biggest party school in the nation. The students are very proud of that fact. We talk to everyone we can....sometimes it's rough. This week we met Matthew on a park bench. He was waiting for a friend when we started talking to him. We invited him to check out the institute. We got to teach him the restoration and testify of how we can all be forgiven for our sins because his Savior, Jesus Christ, died for him. He got really emotional and said, "I think you ladies need to teach me more." We get to start teaching Matthew more this week! I couldn't be more excited or grateful! I already know I'm going to love serving here. The people wear pants that are 7 sizes too small and most of them don't want the crazy mormon girls to talk to them but I know that I'm here for a reason. I'm grateful for Sister Adams. I'm already learning so much from her sweet spirit. This girl is so good at getting to know everyone and letting them know she's got their back. I know that this church is true. I know that we have a prophet on the earth today. I'm grateful that we were able to learn from inspired leaders this past weekend. I love general conference with all of my heart. Elder Christofferson said it too perfectly, "We do not strive for conversion to the Church but to Christ and his Gospel." He is the center of everything! As each speaker stood and bore their testimony I felt so at peace. I know this church is true. I know that Heavenly Father loves us. I know that with faith there can be no doubt and no fear in God's grand plan for us. Thank you for being amazing. I love you all :) My scripture of the week: Mosiah 7:33 -Sister Barton

Sept. 28 Early Goodbyes

I've never been very good at goodbyes. They are hard and awkward and emotional and just rough. After Christine's baptism President Passey pulled me aside and told me that I needed to pack my bags and get ready to serve at The university of Arizona's ysa ward. (I knew he drove to Mexico for more that just a nice drive and a baptism) we had kinda been warned that I might have to be transferred early but I had hopes of staying the whole transfer. The lord has other plans as usual! On Sunday I said all of my goodbyes. My heart broke a little more every time. I've never received so much love and appreciation than I did on Sunday. I love these people so much. I have inherited so many families here. Brother Lantz heard that I was leaving and wouldn't let me get away without a hug. It was a very emotional day! Yesterday really taught me that we have no idea how much small and simple things that we do can make a huge difference to someone. A less active ysa girl that we take to lessons wrote me a letter saying how every time so was lonely she would pray. Within 15 or so minutes her phone would ring with us inviting her to a lesson with us. We had no idea. I love how the spirit does its job. Let's talk about the week. On Tuesday we did exchanges. I left my companions to man the area while I went to Deming. Yup- Spanish mode. Having all three of us there was a really cool experience. I got to help the sisters work more in unity. It was fun to watch them teach in Spanish and feel the spirit even though I had no clue what was going on. Before exchanges I had been working on my testimony in Spanish. It's simple and probably sounds awful but I'm working on it! At the end of our first lesson the sisters were about to close when I interrupted and bore my very very simple testimony. The spirit was so strong as I struggled to remember how to say what I wanted to. It took everyone by surprise including myself. I owe the spirit big time for the help. I loved being able to be with Hermana Garcia and Hubert. They are incredible examples to me. Back in silver city we have been working a lot on getting less actives and investigators going on family history. Ramon and Christine have caught the family history bug!! It has been so fun to do so much family history with people this week. I am still completely addicted. At one point we ended up getting 5 or so people in on our lesson with Ramon at the institute because everyone else in the building wanted to learn to!! IT WAS THE GREATEST! I was in heaven. During our lunch breaks I've been teaching my companions what I know so that they can continue to help Ramon. It was even fun to watch my companions light up as Sister Reid found a family! The greatest peak of the whole week was Christine's baptism. The whole night was so fantastic. We had two non-members give the prayers(Avery and Kenny). Two returning less actives giving the talks (missy and brother Lantz). Brother call baptizing. And the young women doing a musical number. It was incredible to watch Christine glowing with joy the entire time. She said she felt "tingles" the entire time. She is truly converted to the gospel. We started teaching her the new member lessons. The first and last lesson I taught her was the plan of salvation. After we taught it this week she confessed that she had no clue what we were talking about the first time we taught that to her. She just knew that she needed to learn more. She knew that what we were saying was important. The spirit really is the real teach here. After the baptism I was talking to Christine. Ramon came up and congratulated her. He said she really helped him receive his confirmation. He'll be getting baptized October 17th. I couldn't be happier for him. Saying goodbye to him was really rough. It's been amazing to watch the atonement completely transform him. He made me promise that I'd come back and we'd all go to the temple!! He is so excited to get to the house of the lord. He's got ancestors ready to go. He's a miracle that I am so grateful for. He bore his testimony on Sunday. We were all a mess! He was so nervous. It was an incredible tender mercy before leaving. This area has a taught me so much about how powerful charity is. The key to missionary work is love. That's the secret ingredient. As soon as we figure out how to love the people around us we have the power to help people change their lives and come unto Christ. I love silver city New Mexico with all my soul. I feel truly changed by all the love that I have felt here. These people have taught me so much about who I am and who I want to become. I couldn't have asked for anything more. I'm leaving here a better person with no regrets. Wow sorry this letter is so long. It's been a big week! Thank you for all of your love and support. I love you. I love this restored gospel. I love heavenly fathers plan for us. I'm working on being submissive to his will. I know there are even more blessings and miracles ahead. I can't wait to see what the lord has in store for me. It's going to be pretty hard to top my 4 months in silver city with sister Reid. That goodbye is one that I will never be ready for!! - Sister Barton

Sept. 21 Pits and peaks- the Ultimate week

Hi everyone! > This week was a crazy roller coaster so I thought I'd do a "Pits and > Peaks" list. > > Peak: Found out that our investigator Kenny has a childhood best > friend, Steven, who was baptized in the YSA branch just last February. > And he's been helping us teach Kenny! We've been trying to talk Steven > into praying about a mission. He's such a good teach and has helped > Kenny so much already!! Hopefully this is helping both of them. Steven > didn't remain active very long after his baptism. This summer he's > come back, received the priesthood, gone to the temple, and now is > preparing to get his patriarchal blessing. He's so fun to teach and to > watch teach Kenny. Then you've got Kenny who is absolutely hilarious. > > Peak: One of my favorite old couples in the ward are the Rogers. They > remind me so much of grandma and grandpa Barton. We ate dinner at > their house this week. Brother Rogers calls us his granddaughters. He > is obsessed with giving us marriage advice. He offered to audit > anyone's bank account before we married them. Yikes!! At dinner he > found out Sister Tanner is brand new and felt the need to make sure > she's safe for the rest of her mission. We were talking about relief > society and quilt making when he suddenly turns to Sister Tanner and > states, "So, if you want to borrow my .9 MM for the rest of your > mission, you're more than welcome to." Hahaha we couldn't stop > laughing for the longest time. > > Peak: The Primary Program was on Sunday. And Avery participated. Pure > joy. Sister Reid , Christine, and sister Lantz couldn't stop crying. > > Pit: We dropped our miracle family with the mom and four girls because > they wouldn't make the commitment to come to church. :( it was so hard > to do but they still have their Book of Mormons and we just pray that > they keep reading! Dropping families is the worst. Nobody warned me > about that before I came out!! Brother Rogers asked us if they teach > us rejection in the mtc. Nope!! It's even harder when we have to drop > them. Now we need to find an even more miracle family!! > > Peak: Our investigator Christine finished the Book of Mormon. Now she > wants to read all of the Doctrine and Covenants and the Gospel > Principles manual. She radiates. She was determined to finish before > her baptism... She finished 10 days early. > > Pit/peak: we taught seminary this week! We had to leave out apartment > at 5:30 AM! Needless to say we weren't looking as put together as we > normally try....sleep is required if you want anything but pony tails. > I actually liked teaching seminary! I knew nothing about Genesis 13-15 > but we figured it out with lots of help from the spirit! We've got > some awesome youth in the stake. > > Ultimate Peak: We went to the temple this week!!!! The temple offers > so much peace. It helps us draw closer to our Heavenly Father and > receive revelation for our own lives. I'm so grateful for all the > covenants and blessings that it offers for us. There is no greater > place on earth than the temple. Our goal for our investigators is not > baptism, it's the temple. Baptism is just another step on that path. > One of my favorite things about the temple is that it helps us > remember who we are as children of God, and who we can become. It > motivates us to try a little harder and be a little better to reach > our full potential. We have the spirit to help us in our journey back > to Him. I got to give a training in zone meeting right before the > temple. Sister passey and then aps were there so it was super > intimidating but I trained about our purpose as missionaries and > making each commitment personal to us. If we are going to be bold in > our commitments then we better have a testimony of the commitments. > Our job is to cry repentance. We can't do that without extending > commitments with the spirit. D&C 15:6 "And now, behold, I say unto > you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be > to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto > me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen." > This is the greatest thing that I could be doing right now. That > brings me so much peace. I love this work. I love you all. Thank you > for everything. I can't wait for is next week. It will be full of > miracles, blessings, and always pits and peaks. > > > -Sister Barton

Sept. 14- Knee High to a Grosshopper

Dear friends and family, This week flew by (don't they all) and was a lot of fun. I love being in a trio, we have a great time together and probably laugh way too much! Sister Tanner fits into the family perfectly! It has been so awesome to see how much Sister Tanner has grown just in two weeks. She is a great example to us and the members love her! I think these two have gotten me rolling on the floor crying with laughter at least twice a day since the transfer started. She has this funny phrase that I had never heard of before. We were talking about how we've been raised with the Book of Mormon, and she said that she's been reading the Book of Mormon since she was knee high to a grasshopper. Hahah I guess that's common in Idaho. Who knows but she's always saying crazy things that we don't understand. This week we started teaching Aaron again!! He said we could come over and we taught him a simple lesson about the Atonement and the Book of Mormon. He said he would give reading the Book of Mormon another shot! We are excited. He has a great heart and we love teaching him, so hopefully that continues. We also taught Ramone this week about temples. We showed him the video of the phoenix temple that goes through all the rooms. The spirit was strong. At the end of the video he got teary-eyed and said that he really wanted to go there. He has changed so much in just 6ish weeks! He understands that the Holy Ghost is working in his life. He has such a great future ahead of him. We are also almost done teaching Christine all the lessons, she is flying through them like a champ. I was excited to report that she read the whole Book of Alma in 4 days but then we saw her in Walmart today and she was stoked to tell us she read Helaman last night when she couldn't sleep!!! Yes- all 16 chapters. Ever since she decided she was ready to be baptized she has caught fire! She has such a great spirit and sets a good example for her family. Every Sunday she is so proud to tell us that she woke everyone up and made sure they were ready for church at 11. I feel the Spirit so much when I'm around her! This week I've been thinking a lot about how the spirit doesn't just change peoples attitudes or life style. It literally changes their countenance. Ramone and Christine are literally glowing. They are so much happier than the first time we met them. That's one of my favorite parts about being a missionary- seeing the fire. The "greenie fire of missionaries", the convert fire, the member missionary work fire. Christine described this fire as a cleansing fire. I completely agree. This week we did exchanges! It was a little stressful for me because Sister Tanner and Sister Garcia stayed with me in Silver City while Sister Reid went to Deming. This normally isn't stressful but we didn't have very many appointments, one of my companions is a brand new baby and the other is from El Salvador and barely speaks English....Yeah it was a little rough. On top of it all I wasn't feeling at the top of my game. YIKES! We were able to see lots of miracles though. Sister Garcia is a convert to the church and was able to share her story with a few of our investigators. The accent might have been hard to understand but the spirit wasn't! That girl knows how to be bold and bring the spirit. I was grateful to get to learn from her. Having to preach the gospel in a second language really makes you have to teach simply and rely on the spirit. She's got that down! I am grateful for this week of ups and downs! I'm grateful to have two companions that understand and love me. We have battles all the time to serve each other more than the other. It sometimes gets a little competitive. I've learned to race to do the dishes and grab the groceries or one of my companions will beat me to it. They are too incredible. I'm learning so much from them everyday. I know that there is an exceeding amount of joy that's available to us in this life, and as long as we are diligent in doing the daily things that bring us close to the Spirit, then we can experience that joy. I have felt that joy so much this past week as I've watching the fire in my companions and investigators grow brighter and brighter until they truly shine. Thank you all for bringing so much joy into my life, I'm so blessed far more than I deserve, but I thank God every day that I have such wonderful people in my life. :) Thank you, have a wonderful week. -Sister Barton Brother Griswold wouldn't let us go another day without learning something about cars. The first lesson was painting. Next time is tires.

Kenny is absolutely hilarious. He describes the spirit as glitter being shaken up inside his heart! Proud mamas of a wnmu baby! Christine's the one in the floral. Brother and Sister Lantz and then Avery is the hilarious 8 year old that looks like he's 12. Ezekiel is a 5 year old Dennis the menace.

Sept. 7 Preaching the Gospel 3 by 3

I was a little intimidated to be in a trio but I'm pretty sure Sister > Tanner couldn't have come on a better week. Heavenly Father loves this > girl as do Sister Reid and I. She's a bit more put together than we > are so she keeps us in line. We are slowly bringing out her silly > self. Our lessons are full of lots of silences as we stare at her to > say something but she's getting the hang of it way faster than I did!! > I'm a proud mama. > > On Monday night we drove to Wilcox then Tuesday morning we drove to > Tucson to pick up cute Sister Tanner. It was so fun to see almost all > of my past companions and some mission buddies. I love these people!! > We drove home as fast as our tiwi (car monitor) would allow. We got > there just in time to grab a handful of food and run to a lesson with > Christine. She is flawless!! We got to teach her 3 times this week. We > had a lesson Saturday and forgot to warn her about testimony meeting. > We sent her a quick text Saturday night warning her that church would > be a little bit different this week. We got to 3rd ward sacrament > meeting a little late because only 5 members showed up to ysa which > means they needed a little more help (holiday weekends are rough). We > sat 2 rows behind Christine and the lantz's. Within 2 testimonies > sister Lantz and Christine we're bringing out the tissues. I watched > as Christine nodded her head more and more with every testimony. > > When the meeting ended we ran to them. Christine gave us huge hugs and > said "that was the most powerful thing I've ever felt." She told us > that brother Lantz had explained fasting to her and she had come to > church fasting for her answer. It came as clear as can be! Christine > is ready to be baptized and nothing is stopping her now! It really > strengthened my testimony of sincere fasting. I had prayed that > morning to receive help strengthening my testimony of fasting. > Heavenly Father works in incredible ways. > > I also had MLC this week. Sister Tanner and Reid dropped me off in > Wilcox Thursday night and sister Thomas and I drove to Tucson > together. You know your companions love you when they are willing to > drive 4 hours 2 days in a row just to pick you up and drop you off! > MLC was mostly about going digital with our area books. That means > we'll be spending a hardy chunk of time copying teaching records. > Woof!! The first time was at the end of a long day where we were > running from appointment to appointment. We didn't have time for a > dinner break so we grabbed some burritos to go and headed for Wilcox. > The burritos were SUPER spicy and we all were out of water so we spend > the whole ride breathing really hard but still eating because we were > starving. I couldn't stop laughing as our noses started to run and we > breathed as hard as we could. Moments like that are the greatest! I've > loved this week of adventures! > > All three of us are working our hardest and trying to be exactly > obedient. We are seeing answers to prayers left and right. I'm > grateful to be training. It's taken me back to the basics and reminded > me to be patient and slow down sometimes. I've never been good at > taking breathers. I'm working on it day by day. Thank you for all > you've done for me. Thank you for the prayers. They are much needed > and much appreciated. I love everything about missionary life. I love > my companions. I live my savior Jesus Christ and I know we can do all > things through him. Otherwise this work wouldn't be possible. Keep it > real in the 801. I love you from salt lake To silver city and back! > > -Sister Barton Love these girls! Silver city isn't going to know what to do with us! Sister Werner taught us how to make apple sauce! We spent Wednesday morning picking buckets and buckets of apples off her huge tree. Spicy burritos to go!! My mouth is still tingling The call family :) they are the best!

Aug. 31 Pray always that ye shall not faint?

I can't begin to express how excited we are about this new transfer. > Our transfer phone call was expected but nobody predicted this one! > Sister Reid and I will be staying in Silver City and we pick up our > baby tomorrow morning! We'll be training in a trio!! PERFECTION TO THE > MAX! It took forever to figure out how to get 3 beds to fit into our > tiny bedroom but eventually we figured it out! Our apartment is > officially "baby/trio proofed" :). The joke of the branch is that the > sister missionaries are having a baby before anyone else. Everyone is > pretty excited to meet the new Sister. > > This week we went on exchanges. I love teaching with Sister Hubert and > learning from her. The biggest miracle of the exchange was talking to > a random woman on a bench. Sharae is a young mom that was actually > supposed to be set up to meet with elders a few months ago. It never > happened but she has wanted to learn more ever since. She thought she > had to be baptized before coming to church. Where do people get these > crazy ideas?!? She's super prepared and we can't wait to start > teaching her. > On exchanges we were also able to have a fantastic lesson with Mari > about the temple. She already knows about baptisms and all that but > this time we talked to her about D&C 95:8. Being endowed with power. > She is scared to death to stand alone without her families support. > It's neat to watch her eyes open on the fact that there are so many > unseen family members rooting her on. We started her up on genealogy > and she is so excited to take her moms name to the temple. > > On Friday we were about to start teaching the Lantz family about the > commandments. The. The spirit told is not to two seconds before > entering their mobile home. (I don't like it when that happens). We > walked in having no clue what to say. One thing I've learned is if you > don't know what to say you better testify about the atonement and our > savior, Jesus Christ. We read 2 Nephi 33 and testified of the > atonement. The spirit was powerful and we left with grateful hearts. > The atonement has never let me down!! Seeing that family at church is > always the best part of my week. After sacrament meeting Sister Lantz > gave me a huge hug and said that you. The meeting was on the temple > and Sister Lantz knows that the temple is exactly where her family is > finally headed. Pure joy!! > > Between old men slipping us "Emergency money" underneath the table at > breakfast, sister lundall repeatedly trying to train us how to be > wives, completely failing at jeopardy at ysa activities, testifying > over and over again about the atonement, rearranging our whole > apartment to fit another sister, and teaching sunbeams about being > thankful, it's been a fantastic week. I couldn't be more grateful for > another transfer here! > > I know I have more stories but I'm feeling too lazy to keep writing so > mom you can read my journal later! > > I know that the only reason I got through this week because of many > prayers and Devine help!! I always say I'm exhausted then another week > goes by and I'm shocked I haven't plopped over yet. Pray must be real > or something!!! I love this work! I love my Heavenly Father. I love > being a missionary! Thank you for everything! Keep it real in the 801 > :D I'm praying for ya'll. > > Sister Barton

Aug. 24 WE ARE HIS HANDS

Hello!! It's been a nice time in New Mexico this week! Lots of curve > balls, lots of lessons learned, and lots of humbling experiences.. > > Highlights of the week: > > As soon as we got to this area, 3 months ago, we started praying to > find a family of 12. Every day since then I've prayed and prayed for > this family. We were picturing 10 kids and 2 loving parents that > didn't know anything about the gospel but would be ready for truth. As > we taught the Lantz family this week, I looked around and counted 2 > less active grandparents, their 3 less active daughters, 3 nonmember > son-in-laws, and 6 nonmember grandchildren, and 1 nonmember > sister/aunt. I was truly humbled. The lesson was pretty much stadium > seating in this tiny Mobil home in the boonies of New Mexico. > Christine is going strong. She texts us everyday asking us questions > about the Isaiah chapters. Woof! Avery (one of the grandsons) loves > running home from school to learn more about the "Book of Norman". All > during church he gives up thumbs ups and takes all the credit for > waking his family up to get them to church. After sacrament meeting > Sister Lantz (grandma) got a little teary eyed as she thanked us for > helping her family. I love them with all my heart!!! > > Mari had been really struggling to progress. We played the guilt game > and wouldn't teach her the lessons we planned if she didn't read the > Book of Mormon on her own. She came into Friday night activity with > huge eyes repeatedly saying "I didn't see that coming. He really > chopped off this head?!?" We were pretty proud. She hasn't put the > book down since. On Saturday she was still struggling with recognizing > her answers if the Book of Mormon was true or not. She said she thinks > her fear of disappointing her anti-Mormon family by getting baptized. > All of a sudden the spirit hit us as we testified about her future > family and how the gospel will effect them. How standing alone right > now will lead to blessing so many more to come after her. Mari had a > breakthrough. The spirit was strong as she recognized that she knows > it's true and she's ready to be the example. We set a date with her > and it's been smooth sailing since :) > > During Sunday school a family in our ward received the news that their > house caught fire and everything was completely destroyed. That > evening we went to our dinner appointment to find the Bloomfield > family had opened their house to the family. During dinner the parents > were at the house with the fire Marshall. The doorbell was going nuts > the whole time! Members continually came over dropping off bags and > bags of clothes, toiletries, school supplies, shoes, money, food, etc. > We helped organize everything. When the schnedblies got back I > couldn't believe how strong and calm they were. Sister schnebly sobbed > as she found the donations waiting for her in the living room. This > family has just lost everything. Within 2 hours the ward had collected > over 1,200 dollars and SO MUCH MORE. They told us that everything was > gone except for one closet that had their temple clothes, passports, > vistas, and birth certificates. Somehow the closet was completely > untouched. Devine protection! > > This morning I read a talk called "you are his hands". Elder Uchtdorf > stated, "Christ did not just speak about love; He showed it each day > of His life. He did not remove Himself from the crowd. Being amidst > the people, Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost. He > didn’t just teach a class about reaching out in love and then delegate > the actual work to others. He not only taught but also showed us how > to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen > the feeble knees.” Christ knows how to minister to others perfectly. > When the Savior stretches out His hands, those He touches are uplifted > and become greater, stronger, and better people as a result. If we > are His hands, should we not do the same?" Watching the ward come > together to help the schnebly family was an incredible experience that > I am grateful for. They truly embody the character and love of Jesus > Christ. That's what this gospel is all about. It's about love. It's > about being his hands. > > As of this very second we have set 4 baptismal dates for next month. I > pray that I'll be able to stay here one more transfer to witness Mari, > Christine, yesenia, and Ramon choose joy and enter the waters of > baptism. I know that's not up to me but I feel blessed to have been > able to teach these 4 individuals about how much they are loved and > valued. We've been able to truly see miraculous conversions with each > of them. > > Thank you for all you do. I love you and am excited to hear about all > that's going on in the 801! I'm stoked we are getting another addition > to the Barton family. The boys are going to be even more outnumbered > :) congrats Michael and Rina! > > -Sister Barton

Aug. 17 #blessed

Family!!! Hola! Let me tell you about my fantastic week! Turn with me to doctrine and covenants 58:1-6. We tried really hard to be faithful in tribulation because that glory was desired! We worked super hard to serve the auxiliaries and find people to teach. It was nuts! I've never been so happy for a new school year to start before. All the young single adults are coming back, and our little YSA branch isn't so sad anymore. There are also investigators returning back to town, including Mari, who we have already taught a few times. She knows so much about the gospel and loves coming to church and different activities! She knows the gospel is true, she just needs to take that leap of faith and accept baptism. :) Her family isn't supportive and that's really rough on her. Pray for Mari! We got to teach the Lantz family the restoration twice this week. The first time was just with Christine and sister Lantz. At the end of the lesson brother Lantz brings in his nephews Kenny and Chance. The first thing Kenny said was, "Hey ladies what's the word you've got for us. We want to know all about it." We went back the next day and taught them! This time Christine pretty much taught them! Music to our ears! She has such a solid understanding of the gospel. She's the best! During the middle of that lesson sister Lantz grandson walked in and said "sorry I'm late! I ran home from school as fast as I could." He was beaming as he showed us his super old and broken bible. He was ready to learn! We have been trying to work with a recent convert family that are super less active. They went to church twice after getting baptized and haven't been back in a year. They keep telling us they will come and never do because on Sunday's somehow one of them is always sick. Time to bring out the big guns. On Saturday the relief society helped kill them with kindness. We got out our buckets and scrubbed down the house. No more getting sick! Seeing them walk into church on Sunday was priceless!!! Here comes the glory part :) On Sunday we left ysa branch council early to wake up the semi active students. We went from house to house knocking up a storm. It was awesome. Every time they opened the door wrapped like a burrito and completely confused. We asked them to get dressed and meet us at church. Mama Barton and Reid at their finest. By the time we got back to the institute the chapel was a little more populated with sleepy students. HEAVEN! We left ysa early to get to 3rd ward choir practice. Right as practice was ending we saw Sister Lantz walk in.....followed by Christine, Kenny, chance, her less active daughters, and 4 of her nonmember grandsons. THE HEAVENS OPENED!! They filled an entire row! I've never felt so much joy. We were still practicing so we couldn't go talk to them but we watched as everyone went up and talked to them. Sister Lantz was glowing! Choir finally ended. As we walked to sit by them our 5 year old friend Simon grabbed my arm and handed me 2 HUGE cookies. Nailed it! The speakers happen to be the stake mission leader and recently returning member. They talked about letting the light of Christ shine within us. YES. TOO BEAUTIFUL. This is what I call glory. Christine has committed to being baptized on September 26th. I can't wait to watch her continue to grow. This woman is so prepared to be part of the restored gospel. She's been searching her whole life for truth. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father led us to her. This week my testimony of obedience grew. Obedience brings blessings. It's that simple. If you want. Blessings then be obedient. God did make it complicated. I am so grateful to be serving with such an obedience companion. We have been able to see so many miracles in this "dead area" (no such thing). We love it here. I love everything about this quirky place. I feel so blessed to be here. Thank you so all ya'll do. I love you! -Sister Barton.

Aug. 3 This is crunchy and this smells good!

It has been pretty chill these last seven days, but it ended with a fantastic miracle yesterday. We've started teaching a family of a mom and four girls (7,8,11,and 13 years old)! We haven't met the dad and they said he wasn't interested in participating but hopefully we can change that. :) Last Sunday were trying less actives in a little suburb/town that we hadn't been to yet. We went and tried this less active couple that we haven't met before and nobody knows who they are. We knocked and they weren't home. As we were about to move onto the next address we noticed there was a trailer back behind the house. Then we noticed this teenage girl peeking her head out the front door. We talked to her for a little bit and asked if we could come teach her family about Jesus Christ. She was like yeah, let me go ask my mom real quick! She came back a minute later and said her mom was cool with it, and that we should come back next Sunday. We went back yesterday half expecting them to not be there. (That happens a lot) As soon as we pulled up they were at the door ready to welcome us in!!!! We taught them about the restoration and they are excited to read the Book of Mormon. They said they had never even prayed as a family before! None of the girls had really been taught how to pray or who God is. Teaching them was sooooo fun! We already love them so much! They have never met with missionaries before and basically know little to nothing about religion, so we are starting from square one with them. :) We took a little trip to Tucson this week for leadership training. I have always loved road trips so the trip from Silver City to Tucson with Sister Reid is always a good time. A sleepover at the Passey's home is a cherry on top! I love Tucson. Being able to be part of MLC is the best! I feel so lucky to get to be trained once a month on how to be a better missionary by the leaders of our mission. I always leave MLC with a whole new fire. Ready to get back to the area and work that much harder! This week I've been focusing a lot on developing humility and patience. Patience in the Lord, in other missionaries, in the area, in our investigators, and in myself! Pretty much in every way! I came across a talk called Continue in Patience by Elder Uchtdorf (He's the bomb). "Patience in a process of perfection." I'm not really sure what that means yet but I'm going to figure it out! Patients is something that I've never really had a whole lot of so that's the goal this next month. If any of you have some extra personal study time I highly recommend that talk. It's super good. I am so grateful for YOU and all the support and love you show me. I could never be grateful enough for you people who have helped me through the ups and downs and motivated me to always try a little bit harder and be a little bit better. We came home from Tucson so find a jar of peanut butter and a candle on our doorstep! It was SUPER random but hey we appreciated it! We then opened our mailbox to find Sister Reid and I both had letters from our mamas. Somehow we are always getting spoiled around here. I am so grateful for everyone that has shown me so much support and love this past year. It's been an incredible adventure! Please stay safe and stay cool in this heat. Love, Sister Barton

July 27- Is it still wonderful to you??

This week was a little rough in the fact that a lot of our investigators have kind of dropped off the face of the planet and won't work out times to meet with us despite our numerous attempts. But we have two solid investigators that we met with a lot this week! The first is Yecenia, who is 9 years old and part of a family who are members but semi-less active. They are a family with five girls with one on the way, so the house is always crazy wild every time we go over there, but it is a lot of fun. They've been coming to church more and we hope that they can make it a lasting commitment. We also have a new investigator Ramone! He is a friend of a member in our YSA branch, and she's been bringing him to church! He has been really receptive to the lessons and enjoys reading the Book of Mormon! We are excited to see how he progresses. He's another one of those with a rough past that just wants to change to be better. He believes in God but doesn't know what to do with that faith. It's fun to watch him get excited about the gospel. This Sunday was pretty crazy. We walked into institute to find that we were teaching Sunday school. Right after our lesson we ran to catch the last our of third ward to find the relief society teacher didn't show up.....that means it's our job! During the opening hymn we read the talk "Is it still wonderful to you?". After the hymn I looked over to find Sister Reid had marked the exact same paragraphs. In the talk, bishop causse tells a story about a girl who walked to church when her car broke down. The women all agreed that it's important to get to church. We turned it around and asked if we would do the same thing for visiting teaching, for scripture study, for fhe, for service, for family history, for family dinner. Are we going out of our way to do the things that we have been asked to do?? The spirit really changed and the visiting teacher supervisor was cheering us on/pumping her fist in the back of the room! I love teaching! > I've got a few funny/random/awkward stories of the week I thought I'd > share. A little background info: I have made a goal to stay away from > sugar. At dinner appointments I'm always too full for dessert anyway. > Usually people don't get offended when I say I'm too full, sometimes I > ask to take it to go and let Sister Reid have it later. This week we > ate at this old single lady's house. After we finished eating, she > asked if we wanted strawberries for dessert. I, of course, said yes > because it is just strawberries, right? Well....this member fixes up > the bowls and it ends up being 2 strawberries on top of a Twinkie. She > tricked us! Go figure. Twinkies have always kinda freaked me out (no > expiration date. How is that possible?!?) I was debating what to do. > Lo and behold, the member has to go in the back room real quick to > grab something. I told you Heavenly Father answers prayers! As soon as > she left the room I started begging Sister Reid to eat my Twinkie. She > refused many times but after a few seconds she gave in. We heard the > member coming back right when we were in the process of sliding our > bowls across the huge table to each other. When Sister Reid got her > bowl full of twinkles back the member was half way in the room and so > she had to scarf it down one of the twinkies to hide the evidence > before the member returned. It was so hard to not burst into laughter. > > Next pretty funny story. Our relief society president and ward mission > leader and the cutest couple ever! He's a recent convert and they are > both just kind cooky. We had a meeting with them on Friday. Sister > Griswold was so excited to tell us about her brilliant missionary > idea.."I've decided we need to think of a way to tell people that the > FULL restored gospel is on the earth. People have some truth but we > have ALL TRUTH!!" She told us to think about some ideas on how to get > the word out and let them know....we spent the rest of the day quoting > sister griswold. Why didn't we think of that?!? Missionaries should > really start teaching people about the restoration...hmmmm > > A few fun facts about Silver City: there are many a times where there > is no house numbers on homes, and if there are, then they are > completely hidden or faded away. There are also usually no doorbells. > We have to debate which door is the front or the back on 90% of the > homes we knock on because they are mostly Mobil homes that are > sideways! A lot of businesses are closed random hours during the day, > and most of them aren't open on Mondays. I'm starting to think maybe > their sabbath day in on Mondays! This town is so weird. A lot of > people aren't used to Sister Missionaries. Somehow Sister Reid is > called elder at least 5 times a week. Her face every time is > priceless!!! I love the small little moments that make everything > great. We spent all of Friday night activity at the institute laughing > and laughing. These people are becoming my New Mexico family more and > more every day. :) > > I love this gospel. I love this quirky place. The church is true. The > Book of Mormon is the word of God. It's that simple. > > Thank you for all you do :) I love you. > > People keep saying they don't really know what to write me/what I want > to hear about-- I wanna hear about your missionary experiences, > pictures of my nieces, testimonies, brilliant words of encouragement > and advice, and miracles you saw in the week. Have a good week!! > > -Sister Barton

Week on my knees

Family!! What's been going on?!? > > I just decided it's time for some pit and peaks. > > Pit: we weren't able to teach very many investigator lessons this week > because they were either out of town, they have decided not to "choose > joy"/ aren't ready for the gospel of Jesus Christ or they randomly > decided to move to Arizona and Michigan! > > Peak: That means we did a whole lot of time to search for new people..... > > Peak: Saturday night we decided to try one last less active ysa girl > before going home. Her boyfriend, David, answered the door and said > she couldn't come to the door and that he was leaving. We walked him > to his car and found out he had met with missionaries a few years ago. > After a little bit of chit chat he let us show him the "because he > lives" video! We bore testimony and invited him again to learn more > but he said no. Then yesterday before our dinner appointment we > decided to try one more former investigator. We had tried a house a > few weeks ago but the ysa boy we were looking for wasn't home. We > knock on the door and guess who answer!!! David!!! We were all > shocked! After a few seconds he decided that running into us again > must be a sign and told us to come back Tuesday at noon. MIRACLE!! > Coincidence? I think not!! > > Peak: I've got the greatest companion! Sister Reid is really hard > working and knows exactly why she's here! She has so much charity for > the people we teach! I love learning from her. We are the best of > friends. This transfer has flown by WAY too fast. > > Peak: We did exchanges this week!! All went well in the Spanish world! > Learning from the other hermanas during exchanges is such a blessing! > At our dinner appointment the member gave us a bowl and scissors then > sent us to his garden. Meanwhile, he gave the elders all the supplies > for the meat and sent them to the chicken coop..yikes!! He didn't give > us any instruction just gave us tools and asked that dinner be ready > quick. He was hungry. We went to work and made a pretty decent meal. > He started eating and gave us some random thingy that looked like a > dog treat! Turns out it was deep fried pig skin!!!!!!! We each had a > few bites then after like 10 minutes he let us eat what we had > prepared. Everything was in Spanish so I had no clue what was > happening. At the end he told us about growing up in Ecuador with > nothing but deep fried pig skin to eat. He asked us to think about all > of our blessings and how much work it takes to provide for a family. > He's a farmer so pretty much 99% of what they eat started out as a > seed that he grew or an egg that he raised. It was one memorable > dinner. > > Peak: We walked out of ward council to find a less active man waiting > for us. We had visited him early in the week and taught his nonmember > grandson about the plan of salvation. Brother Franks had told us about > how he stopped going to church when his wife died. We invited him to > come to church with a knowledge that his home teacher had been > extending the same invitation for the past 3 years. Well, this week > Brother Franks had a change of heart. His grandson had somehow talked > his grandfather into coming to church! It was so fun to watch him > proudly take the sacrament and renew his baptism covenants for the > first time in 15 years. > > In the moment, this week was honestly really rough. By the time we got > home last night we were exhausted in every way! Even with our most > promising investigators dropping us I know that we were very blessed > this week!! The peaks greatly outnumber the heart break of losing some > investigators. I'm grateful for the pits that remind me to get on my > knees over and over and over again. I'm grateful for the peaks that > remind me how much we are loved. I'm grateful for the amazing work > that I get to be a part of. I'm grateful for deep fried pig skin that > Toby would have loved! I'm grateful for David, Brother Franks and the > missionaries that I get to learn from. I'm grateful for all of you. > Every prayer was very much felt this week! I love you! Have a good > week! > > -Sister Barton

July 6 America!

> This fourth if July was a bit different than the mtc one...The > beginning of the week was crazy with trying to fit a weeks worth of > appointments into 3 days. We were all over the place! Aaron is doing > super good! We discovered that his wife is really his fiancé which > means we are planning a wedding!!! Yay! Now is baptismal date is > actually his wedding date. They for sure didn't teach me this one in > the mtc!! His fiancé isn't necessarily our bbf yet but we are really > trying to kill her with kindness- prayers would be much appreciated. > > Another favorite family that we are teaching his Tino and Vanessa. > This people are hilarious! They were both raised as very strong > Christians. They love the bible and have an amazing foundation of > Jesus Christ. Elders have been teaching them off and on for about a > year but they never understood why baptism was so important. The first > time we met Vanessa asked us if they could just go to church for as > long as they want and never get baptized. Well...technically yes but > this week we taught me the plan of salvation.(still my favorite > lesson) We talked all about how families can be together forever when > we are baptized and then sealed with the priesthood. LIGHT BULB. They > instantly started asking questions like crazy. They are praying about > being baptized late August. Then a wedding the following year. It was > the greatest. The best part is we took the primary president with us. > Her husband isn't a member. On the drive to the lesson she was telling > us all about how she feels like a bad missionary because she doesn't > talk to her husband about the church. She doesn't want to cause any > tension or "make things awkward". At the end of the lesson she bore > her testimony and thanked Tino and Vanessa for being such great > examples. The whole drive back she could hardly stay still and focus > on driving. She was so excited/nervous/determined to be her husbands > missionary! It was the greatest/scariest car ride of my life!! > > Our trip to Tucson was so fun! Sister Reid went on exchanges and I > stayed at the passey's home with 7 other sisters. Thursday night we > had a sister leadership training. I love spending time and learning > from the passey's! Getting to spend time with sisters that I've served > with and grow close to was a pretty good perk as well :). Friday was > mlc. Saturday we were ready to feel American cute little city of New > Mexico! There was a parade and the ward had a little softball and bbq. > Saturday night we attempted to catch up on planning while listening to > fireworks through the trees! It was a week full of so many miracles > and blessings. I love being a New Mexican missionary :) this weird > little city is growing on me, hippies, gangsters, burritos, and all! > > > > Quote of the week- "The tree of life isn't a drive thru snack bar! > It's a continual feast. It's the source of everything worth having in > life!" -President Passey

June 29 5 second rule

> Having one less day between emailing made this week 2 seconds long. In > this area I feel like I always have the same thing to tell ya'll > about- Miracles and work!! That's my life right now and I couldn't be > happier. :) sister Reid promised to make her mom's famous pumpkin > pancakes for me this week so things literally couldn't be better in my > world! > > Our all-star investigator at the moment is Aaron! He has had a really > hard life and has just seen a lot of rough stuff. We got to teach him > a ton this week. The turning point was the plan of salvation. Aaron's > family is super important to him. He wants his 4 kids to grow up to be > good successful Christian people. He works so hard to provide the best > life in the world for them. As we taught him the plan of salvation he > kept saying things like- "I don't really believe in a heaven or hell. > I wish there was like a good, better, best kind of a thing." or "I > know after we die out bodies become part of the earth...but I haven't > figured out where our spirits go.." COULD HE BE ANY MORE PERFECT!?!? > At the end of the lesson Aaron talked about how he doesn't think he > can get to the highest kingdom because he has messed up too many > times. The spirit was incredible as we testified of the atoning > sacrifice of Jesus Christ. After that lesson Aaron started keeping his > commitments to read the Book of Mormon! He's committed to get married > to his fiancé before his baptism and he has completely given up > smoking! The atonement is real! We met him a week into the transfer > and he's already changing before our eyes. > > This week we also got to go on exchanges. I went into the Spanish > world again. I love Spanish exchanges because the culture is so much > friendlier and nicer than American culture. Even if they don't want to > listen they are still super nice! The hard part is figuring out what > they are saying! One day I will figure out Spanish. Kinda lost hope > but that's okay. I went to Deming with hermana Beatty. She has been > out for 2 months and was super nervous about taking over the area. It > was another successful exchange though. She was struggling with a few > things. I did my best to help. When President Passey told me I was > going to be an stl I was worried I wouldn't know what to say or how to > be a leader. My day with Hermana Beatty reminded me once again that I > just have to do my best and the spirit will do the rest. > > Spanish exchanges gave me an idea. I've decided to use the 5 second > rule in my life! Here's what that means. Every time that i get a > spiritual prompting I'm giving myself 5 seconds to act. While Hermana > Beatty was struggling a little bit to fully communicate in Spanish, I > sat there trying the think of something I could do to help. That's > when I decided to let the scriptures do the talking. All throughout > lessons I would have no clue what anyone was talking about. From the > second we got in the house i started to pray that i would be able to > share a scripture verse that would somehow answer a question the > person had. 5 SECOND RULE! Even if it meant cutting someone off, I > went for it the second someone stopped for a breath. IT WAS SOOOOOO > COOL! Every time the whole room would look at me like I was crazy. I'd > hold my breath and pray really hard that I wasn't throwing out some > random verse. As they read I watched faces light up and I knew the > spirit hard done it's job. I love the spirit! The whole hope and trust > thing just keeps coming up! Alma 26:12 > > This next week is full of back to back appointments. We spent every > free second at church asking people if they could come out with us to > certain lessons. The ward and branch are really starting to trust us > and recognize that there is work in our area! The miracles and > blessings just keep coming! I couldn't be more grateful. Alma 7:7-17 > we are spending Thursday and Friday at the Passey house for a sister > training leader training and Mlc. I'm pretty excited to go back to the > cactus for a quick trip! Plus president and sister Passey always have > something incredible to teach. Nobody knows how we are going to get > everything done the rest of the week though! It's going to be crazy > busy that's for sure! > > Have an amazing week! I love you all and am excited to hear that all > of you are living summer life up to the fullest! Keep it real in the > 801. > > Love, > > Your Silver City Sister.

June 23 We can't be afraid to shine

This week was insane!!!! Every transfer I've tried to work on a Christlike attribute. Sometimes I repeat the same one over and over again but that's okay! This transfer I picked hope. To me, hope and trust go and in hand. In order to exercise more hope we set super high goals this week!!! We planned on finding, teaching, and committing like never before! After we set goals we went to work! The lord didn't hold anything back!!! Blessings and miracles were being dumped on us left and right! We were barely able to stay awake to plan for the coming day. It was awesome! It all started when Michael (investigator) came to fhe. He has never had a positive social life so we were a little nervous about how it would go but after 10 minutes he was leading the whole branch in ultimate frisbee and making sure everyone else was included!! What?!? We were a little happy he got there right after we played "speed conversation" (speed dating isn't allowed at fhe). Michael has pretty much been in survival mode his whole life. We got rid of all of the temptations that he had with him. Then we had a lesson about the power of prayer. Michael has never really understood why people need to pray. We had him keep a rock in his shoe and pray every time he felt the rock move. We went by every day after that to make sure he was still praying. At first he said "Sisters, this thing was driving me crazy!" But he endured the annoyance. By the third day he started to change! He was completely sober for the first time since I've met him and by church on Sunday he said felt something new. I loved watching how a small and simple thing like prayer become so meaningful to him. It all started with a rock in his shoe! All weekend we were sprinting from lesson to lesson. This silver city 3rd ward was never had sisters so even less actives are hearing the roomer. The sisters have arrived. We finally have figured out where we are going and we've finally started to get to know people. We have a few new investigators that i couldn't be more excited to teach. For the ysa branch there are a ton of names with no faces since people are endlessly moving in and out each semester. As Heavenly Father has helped us find a handful of these lost sheep we have figured out how much people just want to be loved and missed. Each time we visit a less active we tell them about how missed they are. Every time without fail I see their faces light up! We've been killing them with kindness and trying our best to figure out what's keeping them away. We are loving these people like crazy! It's the best. It makes me wish I had done so much for in my ysa ward back home. Serving in ysa really keeps us on our toes! Yesterday we had a mission conference. Elder corbridge of the 70 came to train us on ways we can be more effective and consecrated missionaries. He talked all about how we can't be the best missionaries if we are afraid to shine. We have a light that is meant to be shared. It has to be shared. Every lesson that we teach needs to be centered around that atonement of our savior Jesus Christ. It all goes back to that. ALWAYS. Trainings and conferences always make me think of a million things that I want to do to be better. They always get me so pumped to go out and work. I've got 6 months to be a representative of Jesus Christ with nothing else in the way. The last year has been incredible. I'm determined to work even harder and be so much better! I know that's possible through the with the help on my savior. This tiny little city of Silver City, New Mexico has been beyond prepared to be harvested. I feel so blessed to be serving here. The best half hour of the whole week was skyping Sandy. She was baptized this Saturday. I got to skype her that morning. She shared with me her testimony and how happy she really is. One of my investigators had a tattoo that said "choose joy" that is what sandy was able to do. She choose to follow the example of Jesus Christ. She chose to shine. She decided to choose joy! Thank you for everything! I love you all. Don't forget to choose joy! -Sister Barton

A gagster named Elmo

I've got so much to talk about! Being in New Mexico has been an interesting experience. I honestly feel like I'm in a whole different mission. We are the first sisters that silver city has had in a while so the members were shocked when we showed up. We pretty much live on western New Mexico university campus which is fun. Nobody is really here because it's summer break but I'm hoping I'll still be here for the school year. I thought I was completely exhausted in my last area but this transfer is taking even more out of me! Pink washing and being an stl has proven to be a lot of work! The members here are incredible. We've spent a lot of time trying to get to know the recent converts. We had to stop asking people what the fun thing is to do around here is because everyone kept giving us the same response, "hmmmm drugs". Then we had to prepare ourselves for a story about the crazy life of parties until they found the church and completely changed their lives forever. It's pretty cool to hear such drastic conversion stories but it usually includes way too much info!!! Sister Reid's and I are working on our poker face! Tuesday was zone meeting so I gave a training on how we can help people keep commitments. We set some pretty high goals as a zone this transfer so we have to work extra hard to help people make and keep commitments. It's kinda essential! Some of the hermanas in the zone have been really struggling this week so almost every night I've tried to do daily nourishment with them and help them stay strong! Dad- I totally used your advice about how this work isn't meant to be frustrating. It's meant to be exhausting, hard, and stretching but not frustrating. If it's frustrating you're not relying on your Heavenly Father enough. That seemed to hit the sisters hard. Thanks dad :) you da bomb. The elders that were here before us left us with one investigator named Michael. He is a super awesome guy who really wants to be better! He's had a hard hard life and is just a super humble guy. He was nervous about sister missionaries at first but it's all good now. Michael came to church for the first time this week and loved it! Please keep him in your prayers! The ward has a handful of widows that the elders weren't able to go see so the bishop sent us over there first thing! We try to see at least one or two every couple of days. The sweet old ladies always get emotional when they find out sisters are in the ward because it means they can get visits. It's been so tender to see these old ladies get so excited to do scripture study because they haven't been able to go to church in a really long time. One woman makes temple cloths for the goal valley temple and was so proud to show is her work. We haven't had a free second since we got here. We are planning on getting their visiting teachers to go with us so that we can make a smooth transition to the ward helping them out. Everyone keeps handing us lists of people to go see! Between the old ladies, part member families, recent converts, Less actives, and a few referrals- we never stop running! I am so grateful! It's made pink washing so much easier! The bishop was called only 3 weeks ago. Before that he was the ward mission leader. I've decided every bishop should be a wml right before being a bishop! It's the best. This week we had a huge miracle. Well, we had lots of miracles but this was the cherry on top. The elders had street contacted into a man that lived in our area. His name is Elmo (pronounced almo). We went to try to find the house and could not find the street! We were searching for it with the help of the church wifi when the bishop just so happened to come by and was able to find it! We went over to Elmo's house to find the most intimidating gangster I've ever seen! This guy was awesome! I didn't know gangsters could be named Elmo but whatever! We started talking to him and he said he was super busy but we could come back next week. We asked if he had any friends that could use a message about Christ. He referred us over to his neighbor, Aaron. I've been working on the Christlike attribute of hope this transfer so sister Reid's looked at me and said, "You got hope Sister Barton?" We went over to talk to Aaron and found out he was raised catholic but has recently decided he's Christian. At first his friend did all the talking and said he had already been saved. We kinda ignored him and moved on to chatting with Aaron. He said he was busy then but we could come back the next evening. We taught him the restoration last night! He loves the principle of modern day prophets! Aaron and his wife are now investigating the church and have already begun reading the Book of Mormon as a family and have baptism dates! We couldn't believe it! It's amazing how the lord led us to this amazing young family! We pretty much get lost everywhere we go. I'm exhausted 99% of the time. People here are not always nice to us. Yet I've never been happier! This tiny little city is full of miracles and some amazing people! I love this work. Do I say that enough? I know this church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know we are all god's sons and daughters. Thank you all for everything you do. I love you :) have the greatest week ever! Don't forget about the little New Mexican missionary trying her best to scatter sunshine! -Sister Barton. Ps I believe a pretty fantastic woman is officially 22 as of yesterday! Remember when we would play house and we always said we were 22 years old?? We never really put together the fact that most 22 year olds don't have 5 kids but that was the prime age in our minds plus my lucky number! I hope you have the greatest birthday ever! Love you Sarah B!

June 9- Rincon to New Mexico

I've been transferred to the tiny little town of silver city New Mexico! We are pink washing which means once again I've kicked elders out and taking over! My companion is sister Reid! She's from Oklahoma and has been out for 4 1/2 months. She seems really chill and down to earth. I'm pretty excited about working with her for a little bit. More big news in that I'm the New Mexico sister training leader! I have no clue what that all entails but I got to go to MLC meeting on Friday and loved it! Being able to get training from president and sister passed once a month is going to be amazing! I have already set so many goals about how I can improve my efforts to serve the lord. I've got high hopes for this transfer. We are in charge of one family ward and a ysa branch (5 active members according to the elders). Saying goodbye to my Rincon family was a little rough. Last night I came home to an apartment full of sweet notes/hearts. I feel like the most spoiled missionary in the whole world. This past week has been amazing. We saw sandy almost every single day between lessons, relief society activities, and going to witness a baptism together. She is truly converted to the gospel that was by far one of the hardest goodbyes. Being able to watch sandy's light grow brighter and brighter each day has brought me so much joy! Our last lesson was about the temple. As we were able to teach sandy that she will be able to be sealed to her husband in a year the spirit flooded the room. It was one of the most spiritual lessons I've ever been a part of. It was incredible to get that confirmation that the sealing powers of the temple are real. The goal is not baptisms or getting people to come to church. The goal is helping people come until Christ and be receive eternal life with their Heavenly Father and with their family forever! Nothing could possibly replace that blessing. We don't have a whole lot of time today but I'm grateful for the people that I was able to get to know in Rincon. I love them so much. Every single person that I came across helped play a part of my conversion. Conversion isn't an event. It's a continual process. The atonement makes it possible for all of is to change and become better each and every day. Repenting daily is essential for growth. Without the atonement we would have nothing. I love knowing that God had given us so many opportunities to change and become better. I lobe this gospel. I love my savior. I love being a missionary. And I have a pretty good feeling that I'm going to love my little town of silver city New Mexico. It freaks me out that there is not a cactus in sight but we'll get through this! As hard as goodbyes were I'm really excited to be in this area. Have the greatest week ever! I love you! Sister Barton