June 6, 2011.

Dearest Family and Friends,

How are each of you? It has been a good week here in Burlington. I think Tuesday was the hottest day of my life haha. It wasn't actually THAT hot, but it was very humid. We almost asked a random person at their door if we could sit down on their bench or chair because we needed to rest. We pushed through and then had a dinner appointment so that was nice to cool off. It has been pretty nice weather since then. On Saturday night it was cold again and I had my jacket and a scarf on. It is pretty much the same weather as Utah, but more humid.

A few random things happened this week, but we didn't teach any investigators so there isn't much to report about that. Andris came to church yesterday but cancelled his appointment for this week again because he is busy all week. Don't you just love the gift of agency sometimes? Haha. Tami had to cancel her appointment last week because they were out of town. Hopefully we will be able to meet with her sometime this week. A new couple moved into our ward and the wife is not a member! Her husband just got his visa to Canada from Jamaica and was finally able to move here last week. He joined the church in Jamaica in August of last year and it was his wife's first time at church yesterday! We will be going to their house this week to give her some books so she can begin learning :) I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity. We had set up a few appointments with potential investigators last week but they all fell through. One of them, Mike, wasn't home, but there were a few guys outside drinking and they were pretty funny. One of them told me I look like I brush my teeth six times a day! I'll take that as a compliment. I guess I do brush them about three times a day :) Then the member we were with asked if I get hit on a lot. Funny.

Another random experience happened while we were leaving a house after knocking on the door. Don't laugh...I was just walking along and a bird flew out of the tree and hit me in the shoulder. Either the bird cannot aim or I am invisible. Anyway, apparently birds do not have bladder control or something, because after hitting me in a split second, he pooped down the side of my shirt! I must admit, it was pretty funny. I randomely had a rag with me in my bag because my frozen waterbottle was wrapped in it. Sister Yi helped me wipe my shirt off and we were on to the next house :) Only on a mission...

Saturday was full of miracles as we found four potential investigators and set up two appointments. We drove up to Waterdown, which is a little town outside of Burlington, to drop by a referral we had. The referral wasn't home, so we tracted his street. We talked to a man named outside and it was a neat experience. I told him what church we are from and he said "Good, I need help." I didn't know what he meant at first because he was trying to fix his lawn mower haha. After no other comments, I proceeded to tell him about why we were there and I realized that he really did need help - spiritually. He used to attend church but for no reason, he just stopped going. He told me I am very peaceful :) We set up an appointment to teach him this week. He was very open and it was so good to see the Lord's hand in this work. His next door neighbor was also interested to learn more. She didn't give us her phone number, but she was very interested to look at the website and we will plan on dropping by in a couple of weeks. Later that night, we were able to set up an appointment with a woman we briefly talked to at her door (she was having a family night :D) and then we talked to a great man from Guyana at the end of the street. After talking for a while, I asked if he would be interested to learn more and he said sometime in the future. I laughed and said "Next week is the future." He laughed. Sister Yi then said "Tomorrow is the future." She's a wise one :) Anyway, he gave us his number and we will call him "in the future," maybe next week.

While coming in to e-mail today, I didn't want to talk to anyone. I just figured we would talk to people later in the day. Then the Holy Ghost kindly reminded me that when I go through P-day focused on myself and don't share the gospel throughout the day, I am not happy. SO...right before coming into the library, I began talking to a lady who was getting something out of her trunk. Guess where she was from? Mainland China!!!!! WAHOO! Sister Yi hasn't really been able to talk to anyone from China since coming here because we either haven't met many or they wouldn't listen. Anyway, she was able to talk to this woman and tell her about the plan that God has for us (I guess that's what they talked about...I don't quite understand Mandarin yet - although I did learn how to count to ten last night :D). The woman said that she has met missionaries before but her husband is scared to believe in God because his cousin is in jail in China for his beliefs. It was so uplifting and great to talk to know that Sister Yi and I reached outside of ourselves to invite a daughter of God to come closer to Christ. We gave her a card with our phone number on it and I told her she was a daughter of God and He loves her :) It was a great experience. I know the angels around us smiled!

Have a great week and soak up the sun! Remember who you are and be kind to others. I love you all :)

Love,

Sister Barton