Behind Closed Doors Feb. 23

Family! How's everything going? Everything in the 520 is going great. This week has been full of many tender mercies and miracles. On Saturday night we had an appointment cancel and none of our backups were available so we decided to try some potential investigators from our area book. We picked a random house that was close to where we already were. All that we knew is it was a girl named Kristina that the Elders had given a Book of Mormon to 6 months earlier. We fulled up to the house and were a little hesitant to knock because the lawn was completely covered in Catholic st. Statues and crosses. We knocked anyway and found a man that looked like santa clause. We asked if Kristina lived there. Suddenly there was a young woman inviting us in an asking us what took us so long....ugh. Apparently she was told that we were going to be sent in a few days not a few months. Whoops. Kristina was born in Russia (nobody knows why we teach so few Americans) and is just incredible. Her family is all very Catholic but she says she has always considered herself a Christian. We taught her about the restoration. She was taken back a little bit but was excited to learn more. It was another reminder that you never know who is behind the door until you try it. Next miracles! AJ and Ronaldo came to church! Ronaldo is the one from the Philipeans. He is the sweetest man in the world. In Sunday school we went around and introduced ourselves. When it came time for him the introduce himself her spent a good 10 minutes telling the class how the messages that we have shared with him have been a source of peace, hope, and joy for him. He was glowing by the end of church. He was terrified to come to church because he was embarrassed by his really heavy accent. Of course, every speaker in sacrament also had a pretty heavy accent from somewhere different. They all gave talks about reaching the potential that God wants you to have. It was amazing to see how Heavenly Father knew exactly what Ronaldo needed. Then in the next ward AJ came. This was his second time in Sacrament and first time in all three hours. In a lesson earlier this week AJ told us that if God tells him the church is true then he will be baptized. We invited him to come to church with a specific question in mind and see if it is answered. Put God to the test. We told him to keep it to himself so he knows we didn't do anything to make it happen. Every speaker in sacrament talked about Faith and the power that can have if we let it. The spirit was so strong! Before AJ left we asked him about his question. He didn't say much but told us that he had a lot to think about! I cannot wait for his next lesson this week! About half way through the week we went to visit a less active family. The father wasn't home and we had only briefly met the Mother before. We knew that she was very friendly and the sweetest lady. We both felt strongly that we needed to share a mormon message with her called "Wrong Roads". As soon as the video was over the Sister started to cry. She told all about things that she was struggling with. Things that I could never imagine having to endure. Because of these trials she no longer believed that God exists. She explained that if she was a daughter of God she wouldn't have to go through all of those hard things. I've been thinking about her so much ever since we left her home. I think the adversary's favorite thing to do is make people forget that they are children of God. As soon as someone forgets that they lose sight of their worth, their potential, and their purpose. They lose everything! All that this woman has had to endure is because of the people around her. It has nothing to do with God not being there. It gave me a whole new perspective of why the two plans in heaven were hard to choose from. Agency is the reason we have trials. Not the lack of God. I hope more people would realize this. I am grateful for this Gospel. I'm grateful for the peace and purpose that is brings to my life. I love sharing this message with others. I love knowing that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that if we trust in the spirit we will never be lead astray. Listening is the hard part. I love you all and am very grateful for you. The amount of support and love that I receive from home is overwhelming. Thank you. I hope you all have the greatest week ever and never forget how special your Heavenly Father knows that you are. -Sister Barton

A woman that we visit has a pet pig. Is sleeps in between her and her husband every night. His name is moo and he almost attacked me on while taking the picture. I bent down to get all cuddly and close......he thought I was trying to steal his lucky charms...kinda ironic