August 16, 2010.

Weekend of Miracles!!!!

Hello friends and family! How are you all? I miss you very much and hope you are all doing well. Just like in my last e-mail where I said there were many miracles on Thursday, there were just as many the rest of the weekend. Friday afternoon, Sister Lavatai and I taught our investigator Nancy. We commited her to baptism on September 4th!!!!!! It was HUGE! She is so sincere in her prayers and has a deep desire to grow closer to God. We taught her on Saturday about the Law of Chastity (she lives with her boyfriend of 11 years) and she commited to live it. She was also very excited to come to church. Well, yesterday morning it was quite stressful because almost everyone in the ward was out of town, so it was hard to find someone to pick Nancy up. We finally found a ward member who could go get her, and the girl who opened the door said that Nancy wasn't feeling well. By the way she was described, the girl at the door WAS Nancy. When people say on a mission you have your highest high's and lowest low's, this is what they mean. It was heart breaking that Nancy didn't come to church and didn't answer our phone calls. Sister Lavatai and I are teaching her tonight, so we will see what happened. Maybe she just got scared, especially since someone she didn't know was picking her up.

Saturday night I met someone tracting and had an amazing experience. Sister Lavatai and I had gone to drop by some potential investigators' homes after dinner but nobody answered. We started tracting a street and met a man named Mike. He was in his driveway. At first it seemed quite contentious because he didn't understand why we need the Book of Mormon if we have the Bible. We began to teach about priesthood authority and the restoration of many plain and precious truths that were lost after Christ died. This was probably one of the most memorable experiences so far on my mission, because I could see the change in Mike as we talked. His whole countenance changed. I know that he started to feel the Spirit and know that what we were saying was true. He asked questions and we had answers. He started to have a smile on his face that wouldn't go away. We gave him a Book of Mormon, the Restoration pamphlet, said a prayer with him, and set up an appointment for this week. My chest burned for about an hour after our visit. To see and feel someone's heart soften right before me was a miracle. It was a feeling I will never forget.

Yesterday Sister Lavatai and I drove out to Jenn's family cottage to have dinner with her and her mom. That is something unique to Ontario, or maybe Canada, I'm not sure. People have cottages and just stop working for a portion of the summer to go on vacation. Jenn's cottage is on the shore of Trout Lake. It was amazing! They have a dock with boats and canoes. Her grandparents' house is just up the hill next to her cottage. We ate a yummy dinner and then Sister Lavatai and I were able to sing a couple of hymns to Jenn, her mom, and her grandparents. It was great to spend some time in nature and be around all of God's beautiful creations. When we were saying goodbye to Jenn's grandparents, we hugged her grandma. Her grandpa hugged Sister Lavatai, then turned to me and told me he was giving me a "Good ol' Presbyterian hug." We were laughing so hard. How could we say no? Before we would have had the chance to tell him we can only shake his hand, he had us in a hug. It was really funny!

It's only Monday and I already have a busy week ahead! Being a missionary is exhausting! I think I am still tired from traveling back from Leadership Conference and getting back late. Feeling the Spirit is just tiring sometimes haha. But it is worth it. I am so grateful that I know my Father in Heaven loves me. He loves ALL of you and wants you to communicate to Him. I pray that you will all have a great week and know how much I love you!!!

Love,
Sister Barton