March 27, 2011.

Aloha!

How is everyone? I am doing well here. This week we had specialized training in Barrie on Wednesday and Thursday. It was kind of like the leadership conferences I have talked about in the past. We were taught from on high about how to help our investigators and how to become better missionaries. Missions are so great because they really do prepare you for the eternities. There will always be more to learn, but I am grateful for what I have learned am currently learning.

We taught a new investigator this week named Harjit. Her family is Sikh and she is from India. She wasn't able to come to church on Sunday but she is really great. She wants to learn about Jesus Christ and when we asked her if she would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized, she said "Yes, I'll follow." We didn't meet with Paige or Kelly last week but we will this week. Kelly came to church but there are a lot of issues going on with her family right now and it is making it difficult to teach.

General Conference is this week!!!!!!!!!!!! That is SO exciting! Do you want to know what else is way exciting?!?! I get to go to the temple this Friday for the first time since I've been on my mission in Canada! It has always worked out before that during temple trips, I was in areas too far away to go. I am so grateful for the temple, the Lord's House, the place of peace and rest. It means everything to me. I invite all of you who are able to go to the temple this week in preparation of hearing our beloved prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. I know that this will change your experience of watching General Conference.

I love you all and pray that you have a wonderful week. I am excited to hear about your favorite parts of conference, the temple, and your neat missionary experiences!

Love,

Sister Barton :)

March 21, 2011.

Happy Spring!!!!!

Is there sunshine in your soul today? :) Hehehe. There isn't sunshine here today. It is very foggy, but it is warming up a little bit. It's funny because now when it is about 10 degrees C, it feels like we should be wearing short-sleeved shirts. It's nice not to have to scrape the windows of the car. This was an interesting week. It doesn't seem like much happened, but it was still a fun week. Our two investigators, Kelly and Paige, were MIA. We couldn't get ahold of either of them all week, so we didn't teach them. We will continue to try to call and drop by. I don't know where Paige is, but Kelly had a death in the family, so she doesn't really want to talk to anyone right now. We'll see what happens.

Last night we had a mission president's fireside and President Brower spoke. It was so great. All of the missionaries sang the EFY medley "As Sisters In Zion/Army of Helaman" at the end. Before President Brower spoke, I sang a duet with an Elder in my district. It was really great. I am so thankful for all of the opportunities I have had to invite the Spirit through music on my mission. I want to continue to do so for the rest of my life (and eternity for that matter :D).

My companions and I were at the church next to the temple and we saw lots of people at the temple. Figuring it was a wedding, of course we drove over there to check it out (we're sisters, what do you expect? :D). In driving up to the temple, I gasped as I saw some of my favorite people ever - The Jenners from North Bay! It was so good to see them again! I love them all.

I read a great talk this morning called "O Ye That Embark" by President Henry B. Eyring from October 2008 General Conference. He says: "The more faithful service you give, the more the Lord asks of you...He increases our power to carry the heavier load...For Him to give you that increased power, you must go in service and faith to your outer limits." Sometimes we think that we will be able to rest from our callings someday. "When I'm not on a mission, I won't be as stressed out." "When I'm done with school, I will have a lot more time to do the things I want to do." Anyone who had gone through these two examples would disagree with both statements! That is the great thing about the "Lord's rest." The Lord's rest is not rest at all! Yes, it is rest from your troubles and sorrow. But when we are in the Lord's rest, we are VERY busy. There is much work to do in this life and the next. We do not rest from scripture study, prayer, church, or being obedient to His commandments. We do not take breaks from things necessary for our salvation. As President Eyring says "We will find joy in going wherever the Lord would have us serve." How grateful I am for the Lord's Church, which helps us to become who Father knows we can become. We have the opportunity to do the Lord's work so that we can truly be in the Lord's rest! Incredible :)

This week I am looking forward to traveling to Barrie (about 1 1/2 hours away) to go to specialized training with the Brampton and Barrie zones. This is like the Leadership Training I have had in the past, but a smaller group. I'm excited. Have a wonderful week and enjoy spring! I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Barton :)

March 14, 2011.

Good Morning!

What a great week! I don't know where to begin. I will begin with talking about my investigators. We taught Paige twice this week. She is progressing well, but we still don't have her set for baptism. She is reading the Book of Mormon consistently now and learning a lot. We have a new investigator, named Kelly, who we started teaching this week. She came to church with her recent convert brother Chris last Sunday and that is where we met her. We have taught her twice and she came to Stake Conference yesterday. She is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In her second lesson, she opened up a bit more and it was amazing. She told us that after we left the first time, she tried praying. Not believing in God, this was quite strange to her. She said that she just felt good and kept saying "God is God." We watched "Finding Faith in Christ" with her during our second lesson and she said that she felt really good while watching it. Sister Worley sat with Kelly at Stake Conference and Kelly said that she feels that this is true! It is so incredible to watch someone gain a testimony of truth through the Holy Ghost instead of trying to do it through intillect. Kelly is set for baptism on April 10th! We are really excited to teach her tomorrow night.

You will see some pictures here of our little present for President Brower. We saw this tie in the dollar store and knew that we had to buy it for President Brower. He laughed so hard when we gave it to him and promised to wear it on Thursday for the Leadership Conference in Kitchener. I am really excited.





Stake Conference was so incredible this weekend. The theme was Mosiah 4:16, about succoring (helping) those who stand in need of succor. There were wonderful talks about helping lift those in need. Here was one of my favorite things that was said by a recently returned missionary: "In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ paved the path to happiness; if you are not happy, what path are you on?" I also loved a talk given by Sister Barber, the Stake Patriarch's wife. She spoke about temples and said that "we need to find our way back to the temple so that we can find our way back to God." I had many insights from the Spirit, one during a talk by Sister Dalziel. She spoke about how President Monson called for senior couple missionaries over five times in the last six months. Honestly, I never really wanted to go on a senior couple mission because I didn't want to leave my family and grandkids. For the first time ever, I can say that I will serve a mission later in my life. The sacrifice of doing so is small compared to the blessings received for my posterity and myself. I love the senior missionaries in my mission so much. They are all incredible examples and are so strong. There is no better way to live than in the service of my Father :)

I will leave you all with an amazing quote. I don't know if I've shared it before, but it is one of my favorites. Heber J. Grant said "The unbelief of all the world cannot change a truth." This is especially true on a mission. Truth is unchanging. It is constant. The truth is that there is a God. He loves us. His Son, Jesus Christ died for us. He is the way. "He is the Light and the Life of the world; yeah, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death" (Mosiah 16:9). I love my Savior. Thank you for your testimonies and being the wonderful people that you are! Have a wonderful week!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Sister Barton

March 7, 2011.

Hello Hello :)

How was your first week of March? It was great here in B-town. I hit my nine month mark this week! It has been so much fun being in a triple. Sister Worley is so funny and also an amazing missionary. She is so understanding and loving. I'm grateful for my companions. We went to that interfaith conference that I mentioned in my last e-mail. Honestly, we didn't really do much. Most of the women there were Muslim and it was neat to talk to some of them. They are all beautiful. Some of them took Book of Mormons and there is a YSA age girl who wants to come to church! We heard different views about marriage from Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There was good food after too (of course I would mention that!). It was a neat experience.

Paige came to church again this week! We taught her last week and the lesson went really well. The Spirit was present in the room. We tried to set her for a date for baptism, but she said no. Her fellowshipper later told us that it scared her when we did that. It's hard to know how to help people sometimes and resolve their concerns. We will be teaching her tonight before Family Home Evening. We met six of the sister missionaries from the other mission before church and it was fun to see the sisters we could possibly serve with in the future, when the missions combine in July!

Hmm...this is probably my shortest e-mail ever. We have been working closely with President Brower this week to get help for a friend, so that has taken up the majority of our time. I am excited to work hard this week and find more people to teach. Oh yeah, I had stake choir practice last night and it was really fun. We are singing some great songs and it makes me so happy to be in a choir again. It is probably the best church choir I have ever heard. I played football for sports again this morning. I caught the winning touchdown pass from clear across the gym (the person throwing it was actually on the BYU football team before his mission). It was pretty neat. I have been reading the Ensign each month and it has been really rewarding. I find that so many of the articles are writting for me :). There are great lessons to learn from our leaders in the Church. I am so grateful for a prophet on the earth today and for the guidance and counsel we receive from God through them. Revelation has not ceased. Our Father has loads of knowledge to give us if we will but listen! I am looking forward to General Conference in a few weeks!

Have a wonderful week :) Know that I love you all so much. Keep strengthening your faith and your relationships. Choose to be happy! I am grateful for my Savior who has provided the way for us all to return to our Father.

Love,

Sister Barton :)