Last week in MTC.

Hello Everyone!

Today finishes week 2 in the MTC and I have had such a great week. It's going by fast and I leave a week from today. I already got my itinerary to leave next Wednesday, the 23rd, at 6:00 am for the Salt Lake Airport. I'm very excited. Thank you to everyone who sent me letters this week! It has been so great to read about what's going on at home.

I had a couple really great experiences that I will share. I am actually just going to type what I wrote in my journal so I can get the whole story in :) Thursday, June 10, I had a great experience that I will never forget. "My teacher, Brother Bunker taught us about learning to recognize the promptings of the Spirit. He powerfully said 'God WILL speak to you!' He continued to teach us about how the Apostles have the title of Elder. As a missionary, I too have the title of Elder. It means defender of the faith. This means I am an 'extended arm of the apostles.' With this calling, I am able to receive revelation for others. God knows my investigators better than I do and as long as I am obedient, He will tell me what they need. After discussing this, Brother Bunker explained the activity we would be doing next. He was going to pair us up with someone that we would share a message with in our District. We separated and had about 25 minutes to prepare. The point of this activity was to pray to receive revelation as to what to teach that specific person. The person I was to prepare for was Elder B. He often has obedience issues (mostly because of his companion) and I knew if I was going to share a message with him, that's what I would teach. However, this was not about what message I wanted to teach; it was about what Heavenly Father wanted Elder B. to hear through me. You can imagine the weight of this activity. We were asking God to give us inspiration right then as to what the other person really needed to hear. However, as a missionary, I have the authority to receive this inspiration. As Brother Bunker took me to my room (with my companions) and explained the assignment a little more, I wondered what God wanted me to teach. Elder B. had made a comment about someone teaching him obedience, but I wanted to be open to inspiration. While Brother Bunker was still in the room, the word 'faith' came to my mind. I thought it was really random and I didn't know how it possibly applied. I said a long, sincere prayer and waited for the feeling from the Spirit. The principle of faith remained in my mind. I began to study in Preach My Gospel about faith. What I leavned amazed me. I was inspired to tell Elder B. that if he will be faithful unto obedience, he will be endowed with power from on high! So the message was about having the faith to know that only when we are obedient can we have power. After about 25 minutes, we paired up with the Elder or Sister we had prepared for. Elder B. shared his message for me first. I was brought to tears as he began. his message for me was about faith! We had prepared and been inspired to teach each other the same topic although neither of us knew that's what the other person individually needed. His message for me was the exact one I needed at this point in my mission. He shared that I need to have faith and not fear. With my faith I will be able to do miracles. Earlier today, I made a goal to have faith and not fear. We learned about street contacting earlier and I had so much fear of man that it was hard to have faith in myself. Elder B. truly was inspired with what to teach me. He told me while he prepared his lesson that he was wishing someone else would teach him the same lesson because that's what he needed. Well, that's what I did! The power of revelation is real. God speaks to His children through the Holy Ghost. This was a sweet experience."

I will share one more experience from this week (Monday, June 14) that really touched me: "Today was absolutely wonderful. My companions and I taught Gloria for the second and last time this morning. We went in with a different approach than our previous teaching experiences. Instead of having a set lesson, we wrote down lots of questions. Our plan was to listen to Gloria, find out her needs, and let the Spirit guide our conversation. The results were incredible. Although she was a reall member just pretending to be an investigator, the Spirit manifested the truth of what we were teaching. I felt Gloria's heart begin to soften and change as the lesson progressed. As we got to the close of our lesson, Sister Brandley read a scripture and asked if Gloria would "prepare herself for baptism in three weeks." This was so incredibly real and I felt so much love for Gloria. She hesitated at first saying 'Wow, you sisters don't waste any time,' but then gave us her answer that she would aim for it. I was filled with joy. Then we asked her to pray. She didn't pray when we asked her in the first lesson. When she said she'd give it a try, I was so happy. Success! We helped God 'gather' one of His children back to Christ. After the prayer, Gloria broke character, asked where we were going, and shared the scripture Joshua 1:9. with us about being strong and having courage. I started to cry. We hugged and I told her how it had been wonderful to pray for her all week. She was my first 'investigator' and I will never forget her. The power of God is real and the Holy Ghost does teach and manifest truth. How grateful I am for this experience!"

Wow, that took us most of my time! I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve God and help bring His children to Him! Thank you for the wonderful lives you live :) May the Spirit be with you this week! I love you :)

Love,

Sister Barton

Hello Week 2!

Hello Everyone!

Today finishes week 2 in the MTC and I have had such a great week. It's going by fast and I leave a week from today. I already got my itinerary to leave next Wednesday, the 23rd, at 6:00 am for the Salt Lake Airport. I'm very excited. Thank you to everyone who sent me letters this week! It has been so great to read about what's going on at home.

I had a couple really great experiences that I will share. I am actually just going to type what I wrote in my journal so I can get the whole story in :) Thursday, June 10, I had a great experience that I will never forget. "My teacher, Brother Bunker taught us about learning to recognize the promptings of the Spirit. He powerfully said 'God WILL speak to you!' He continued to teach us about how the Apostles have the title of Elder. As a missionary, I too have the title of Elder. It means defender of the faith. This means I am an 'extended arm of the apostles.' With this calling, I am able to receive revelation for others. God knows my investigators better than I do and as long as I am obedient, He will tell me what they need. After discussing this, Brother Bunker explained the activity we would be doing next. He was going to pair us up with someone that we would share a message with in our District. We separated and had about 25 minutes to prepare. The point of this activity was to pray to receive revelation as to what to teach that specific person. The person I was to prepare for was Elder B. He often has obedience issues (mostly because of his companion) and I knew if I was going to share a message with him, that's what I would teach. However, this was not about what message I wanted to teach; it was about what Heavenly Father wanted Elder B. to hear through me. You can imagine the weight of this activity. We were asking God to give us inspiration right then as to what the other person really needed to hear. However, as a missionary, I have the authority to receive this inspiration. As Brother Bunker took me to my room (with my companions) and explained the assignment a little more, I wondered what God wanted me to teach. Elder B. had made a comment about someone teaching him obedience, but I wanted to be open to inspiration. While Brother Bunker was still in the room, the word 'faith' came to my mind. I thought it was really random and I didn't know how it possibly applied. I said a long, sincere prayer and waited for the feeling from the Spirit. The principle of faith remained in my mind. I began to study in Preach My Gospel about faith. What I leavned amazed me. I was inspired to tell Elder B. that if he will be faithful unto obedience, he will be endowed with power from on high! So the message was about having the faith to know that only when we are obedient can we have power. After about 25 minutes, we paired up with the Elder or Sister we had prepared for. Elder B. shared his message for me first. I was brought to tears as he began. his message for me was about faith! We had prepared and been inspired to teach each other the same topic although neither of us knew that's what the other person individually needed. His message for me was the exact one I needed at this point in my mission. He shared that I need to have faith and not fear. With my faith I will be able to do miracles. Earlier today, I made a goal to have faith and not fear. We learned about street contacting earlier and I had so much fear of man that it was hard to have faith in myself. Elder B. truly was inspired with what to teach me. He told me while he prepared his lesson that he was wishing someone else would teach him the same lesson because that's what he needed. Well, that's what I did! The power of revelation is real. God speaks to His children through the Holy Ghost. This was a sweet experience."

I will share one more experience from this week (Monday, June 14) that really touched me: "Today was absolutely wonderful. My companions and I taught Gloria for the second and last time this morning. We went in with a different approach than our previous teaching experiences. Instead of having a set lesson, we wrote down lots of questions. Our plan was to listen to Gloria, find out her needs, and let the Spirit guide our conversation. The results were incredible. Although she was a reall member just pretending to be an investigator, the Spirit manifested the truth of what we were teaching. I felt Gloria's heart begin to soften and change as the lesson progressed. As we got to the close of our lesson, Sister Brandley read a scripture and asked if Gloria would "prepare herself for baptism in three weeks." This was so incredibly real and I felt so much love for Gloria. She hesitated at first saying 'Wow, you sisters don't waste any time,' but then gave us her answer that she would aim for it. I was filled with joy. Then we asked her to pray. She didn't pray when we asked her in the first lesson. When she said she'd give it a try, I was so happy. Success! We helped God 'gather' one of His children back to Christ. After the prayer, Gloria broke character, asked where we were going, and shared the scripture Joshua 1:9. with us about being strong and having courage. I started to cry. We hugged and I told her how it had been wonderful to pray for her all week. She was my first 'investigator' and I will never forget her. The power of God is real and the Holy Ghost does teach and manifest truth. How grateful I am for this experience!"

Wow, that took us most of my time! I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve God and help bring His children to Him! Thank you for the wonderful lives you live :) May the Spirit be with you this week! I love you :)

Love,

Sister Barton

First Email from Sister Barton: Hello Hello!!!

I am on a MISSION! Wahoo!!!! I have been looking forward to P-day ALL week so I could write you. Well, it's been a long, good week! Liz, Sarah, and Julie dropped me off at the MTC and I was crying. Soon after, I was off to find my room and meeting lots of new people. I met my companions when I went to class. I am in a three-some with Sister Alger and Sister Brandley. Sister Alger and I had a class together a couple of semesters ago, so we already knew each other. She is from Milad, Idaho. Sister Brandley is from Vancouver, WA. They are both so wonderful and it has been fun to work with them. I will admit it is challenging at times; things are always harder when there are three people. My district consists of the three sisters and eight elders. Four of the elders are going to Toronto West with us and the other four are going to Seattle. I couldn't believe how close our district was after just a couple of days. There are a couple of people in our district that make it kind of challenging to be unified, but we pray together and try our best. You won't believe what happened the second day of class haha. Some of the elders were asking questions about the schedule and such and I just happened to know the answers because I had already read about it. They started calling me "Mom Barton!" Hahaha. I laughed along with them because I know they are just teasing me. I don't like to be referred to as a know-it-all, but it was pretty dang funny. They called me that until we all read in the white handbook that we shouldn't use nicknames. They still ask me whenever they have a question and I just laugh.

The first few days here in the MTC were pretty rough. I wasn't really homesick, but it was just hard spiritually. I went home feeling discouraged much of the time. Or else I would have a really good first half of the day and a bad last half. The past few days, however, have been much better and my spirits have been high. It started the day my companions and I had our first investigator at the TRC (Teaching Resource Center). Her name is Gloria. She "isn't a member" but her friend is and she is in need of some comfort. Her husband died about a year ago (in real life as well as in her role as an investigator). We brought her a message of God's love and that we know that she will be with her husband again. We teach her again on Monday. We also get a new investigator tomorrow. Her name is Audrey and she has a lot of LDS friends who are really happy. She wants to know more about why they are happy and what brings them joy. My companions and I have found joy in teaching and have felt the power of the Holy Ghost.

Gym time has been fun. My comps and I played frisbee with our district leader and his companion the other day and it was really fun. I'm always looking at the cars that drive by just in case I see someone hehe. My companions and I wake up at 6:00 am each morning to go to a gym class that isn't required. Sometimes I do the workout and sometimes I just read while they do it because I'm tired haha. Sounds like me, eh?

My shoes hurt SO bad the first few days. I had to use duct tape around my ankles and I got blisters. I think the leather is stretching out now though and they are much better. I really wish I had the pair that I took out of my backpack though. They would be nice to have. As far as I know I still don't have room for them though. Oh well :) Maybe I'll buy an inexpensive pair in Canada or something.

Our first Sunday here was fast Sunday and that was a little hard. We eat SO much here and I get so full. I don't think I've ever been hungry except when I first wake up. The food is delicious hahaha. I try and eat some healthy food, but all I can say is that it is a good thing I am only here three weeks.

I have found it to be SO fun to see people that I know here. I know a lot of teachers and have a lot of friends. Sister Crowther (Marsali from choir) lives two doors down from me and we see each other many times a day. She is my angel here :) Sister Haggard (McKenzie, old roommate) also lives down the hall and it is fun to chat with her sometimes too.

We had a devotional last night and Elder Hales came! It was absolutely incredible. He spoke all about obedience, sacricie, baptism, the Holy Ghost and light. It was very powerful. I loved when he said "There is nothing that you gave up of greater importance than what you will be doing for the next 18 months of your life." I know that to be true. I am called of God and am supposed to be here at this time to teach the people He has prepared for me to teach. He also said "When we have the fear of man, darkness comes upon us, and we do not share the light that is in us." I love apostles. They truly are men of God.

I hope you have a WONDERFUL day! I love you so much and can't wait to hear from you. You can write me letters, e-mail, and send DearElder letter. I LOVE YOU! May God be with you :)

Love,

Sister Barton :)