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