December 20, 2010.

Merry Christmas Everybody!!!!!

What a glorious time of year! I love Christmas and most of all I love my Savior. It has been a great week here in Kitchener. I have a new companion, Sister Rigby, and I love her! We laugh all day and have so much fun together. Sister Stanbrough is here as well. It is a college city so it is easier to talk to young single adults than in Brampton where there are a lot of older people too. The only challenges right now are exams and holidays...nobody is here! The majority of the population here is Chinese so we also have Chinese speaking Elders in our ward. It has been amazing to testify to many people about the power of prayer and the Book of Mormon. However, not many people are willing to listen with their busy lives. The scripture 3 Nephi 13:33 comes to mind: "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you!" As we put God first in our lives, we will receive strength and a greater capacity to accomplish the tasks of life. I love the Book of Mormon.

Church was great yesterday. It was the first time in my life I have ever been to a branch instead of a ward! It was pretty small but amazing. Sacrament meeting was so great and the Spirit was strong. There were talks about service and peace. I wish the spirit of Christmas could be present all year long. I am looking forward to getting to know the members here. We don't really have any investigators right now so we spend much of our time finding. We walk around the same loop everyday all day because it passes by two of the colleges. It is pretty cold, but I bundle up a lot (which might be why people don't talk to us - we look ridiculous! haha).

I went to a birthday party for a girl that we apparently were teaching but decided not to any more because she isn't progressing. She is from Burma but much of her family grew up in Thailand as well. There were loads of people there, all sitting on the ground all around the house and they did a sort of service that had songs and scriptures. It was all in another language and I had no clue what was going on haha. All I can say is I am so glad I am an english speaking missionary! Anyway, we ate food and left. There wasn't really a point to us being there, but oh well. I guess it was a cultural experience.

I love the prophet! I read his talk about gratitude in the general conference Ensign this morning. With this new year approaching, let us show our gratitude more, so it fills us. Showing gratitude to our Heavenly Father can change our hearts. I love you all. Have a very merry Christmas this week and remember to serve others. Show love to others. Remember what matters most!

Love,
Sister Barton :)

P.S. The library is closed next Monday, so I will be e-mailing on Tuesday :)

December 13, 2010.

Happy Winter Weather!

It's freezing here! Well, actually, below freezing! Today we have reached the low of the season in Brampton. It's -12 degrees C, which is about 10 degrees F, but walking around in the middle of the day, it is very cold! We drove home last night from the church in Etobicoke (about 30 minutes away from home) and the roads were so bad! We prayed and drove carefully. Luckily, much of missionary work is walking!

Neniker was confirmed yesterday! He is so great. I wrote down notes while he was receiving his blessing and gave them to him. After church, he also received the Aaronic priesthood! Sister Stanbrough, Sister Cheng, and I ran all around the church trying to find him so we could be there and when we finally found the room he was in, we looked in the window of the door and he was already being ordained :(. It's okay though. He was glowing when he came out. He came up to me and asked if I wanted him to baptize me with a big grin on his face, because he now has the priesthood power and authority of God to do so. I laughed pretty hard. He is very funny.

Last night was the big Mississauga Stake Fireside and I was so privileged to be a part of. It was recorded, so I am looking forward to watching it someday. It was wonderful. The whole fireside was musical numbers about the Savior and about Christmas. We ended with "O Holy Night" where I stood in the front with a microphone and did a solo for much of the song. I was laughing so hard after because one of the elders from the Toronto East Mission had me autograph his program for real. Everyone was asking me if I was professionally trained. Maybe being on a mission makes my voice better or something hahaha. It's the Spirit. It was a wonderful memory I will never forget. It's pretty rare to get that kind of opportunity on a mission, so I am very grateful.

The big news of the week is that transfer calls were yesterday and guess what?!?! First of all, Sister Cheng is going to her trainer, Sister Brandley (one of my MTC comps), in Burlington, but everyone here basically already knew that. And...Sister Stanbrough and I are moving to Kitchener YSA to triple with Sister Rigby! I have known about this for a week but haven't been allowed to tell anyone because President accidentally told me where we were going. Brampton YSA will be covered by the assistants to the president for the next five weeks until the next transfer, when two new sisters will be coming out, one from England and one from Zambia! Crazy, eh? I am excited. There is another sister coming out from Washington around February and another one from China in April.


Sister Cheng has been with us all week. She is from Hong Kong and graduated from BYU Hawaii just recently. She sort of knows English, but I don't understand lots of what she says hahaha. It is nice to have some reminders of things we learned at the MTC since she is so new. But yes, Kitchener will be super great. I'm excited to serve with Sister Rigby and to have Christmas there! All letters for this transfer can still be sent to the mission office, since I don't know how long I will be in Kitchener.

Well, that's about all I have today. I attached a picture we took at sports this morning with the Elders we play with each Monday morning. We just got some mission shirts made for each of us and they're awesome, especially the back, which says at the top "Wear the badge, hit the pavement!" Then has CTWM in grafitti lettering.


I also attached a picture of us with two of the elders from the Toronto East mission that we have been working with for the past transfer because they are in our ward. We've become great friends.

Have a wonderful week everyone! Be safe, don't freeze, and always remember the glorious birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. If not for Him, we would be lost forever. Think of Him as you prepare to celebrate his birth, life, and resurrection :) I love you all!

Love,

Sister Barton :)

December 6, 2010.

Week of MIRACLES!!!!!!!

I already know I don't have enough time to write everything I want to say, but I will just go for it! We started off the week with District Meeting, where I always learn so much from the Spirit. I am reminded of how I can be a better missionary and set new goals for how to apply the teachings. The picture here is only part of my district, but the senior couple wasn't able to go.

NENIKER GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!! WAHOO!!!!!! The baptism was SO amazing.

Neniker truly was prepared by Heavenly Father for this wonderful time in his life. Sister Stanbrough and I taught him almost everyday last week and often times just felt like we were shoving information into his brain. His interview was Saturday and he was baptized after church yesterday. The service went really well and I sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" with a few other people (Neniker requested it and it gave me a pretty good laugh because it is a Christmas song :D). I realized that I have sung at 4 baptisms so far since being in Brampton and I have been asked to sing a musical number for our church Christmas program in two weeks! I am so grateful that music has been a big part of my mission. There is more on that later in my e-mail. Back to Neniker. He is so great. The ward has really fellowshipped him lately. He sill be done with high school in January. He seems to have something in common with most of the ward members, whether is is break dancing, graphic design, etc. He is very happy and his spirit touches my heart. He has lots more to learn, but he has shown his faith by taking this step onto the path back to our Heavenly Father. It is just beginning for him. I like how the counselor in the bishopric put it when he welcomed Neniker into the ward. He said that for Neniker's whole life, he has been on a journey, and now he is on the path to eternal life! He will now prepare to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. I have felt the truthfulness of the scripture about the sons of Mosiah found in Mosiah 28:3 which says: "Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble." My heart is full this week because of Neniker :) He also came to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which was so good!

Another miracle of the week started after our lesson with Neniker on Friday night. I checked our voicemail on the way home and we had a message but no return phone number. A girl called, saying timidly "Hello, I found your card on the bus with your number on it. I felt like I should call. I need you to pray for me. I just came to this country from Jamaica and I am a Christian. It is really hard here and I don't know what to do. I just walked onto the bus and found your card, so it must be fate. I was hoping you would answer. I can't leave you this number, but I will call back another time." !!!!!!!! We had our whole district praying for us that she would call us back because we had no way to contact her. Saturday night, the phone rang and said "Private No." I picked it up and immediately knew it was her. I asked if she was the girl that left the message the night before and she started bawling in the phone. Her name is Michelle and she is here in Canada with her daughter, Kimberly. She is having a really hard time, but I'm not sure with what yet. I told her we have been praying for her and she started crying more. I told her we prayed that she would call us back and that we want to help her. I said we would love to meet her somewhere. She couldn't leave us that phone number, but she said she would call back today, Monday, sometime in the afternoon from school. My heart goes out to her. I know that the Gospel will heal her from whatever she went through or is going through now. The Savior heals all who will come unto Him in faith. I am looking forward to her phone call today.

Next week I have the privilege and blessing of being part of a stake choir for a Christmas fireside. I had to get special permission from my mission president because it is for the Mississauga stake, which is in the east mission (remember, half of my ward is made up of the east mission and half of it is the west mission). I have a few solo parts and will be soloing in the finale of "O Holy Night." I was SO happy to get President's approval because I know how stressful programs to be, especially when half the choir doesn't show up until the day of the performance. I am so grateful for wholesome music which allows us to feel of Heavenly Father's love for us even more. This will be a wonderful program and I feel blessed to be able to serve.

Last, but definitely NOT least.....I found out this morning that I will be mini-TRAINING!!!!! Sister Chang, from Hong Kong flies in today! Transfers are not until next week, so until then, Sister Stanbrough and I will be training Sister Chang for this week! I don't know much about her, other than the fact that she doesn't really have the support of her family and must have an amazing testimony. I am so excited to meet today as we will have dinner at President Brower's house :) There are also three new elders from Ireland, Brazil, and and Utah! Lots of diversity coming in! This week is going to be full of fun, serving my companions, hard work, and miracles! I know there are more people prepared and ready, like Neniker. Well, transfers are next week and it is a huge mystery on what is going to happen to all of the sisters. Sister Chang could leave somewhere else after the week, or she could stay and I could train her, or I could leave, or....anything! You are all wonderful! Thank you! I love you all!

Love,

Sister Barton :)

(Before)

(After)

November 29, 2010.

Hello Loved Ones!

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? I hope everyone was safe and felt the joyful spirit of gratitude. I heard that there was a big storm in Utah. Right now I am grateful to be here in Canada where it hasn't even really snowed yet! Haha. Ironic. It snowed once this week but it didn't stay. It is very cold though. I'm pretty sure snow would make it warmer.



I feel a bit scattered because this morning after sports with the Elders, I left my planner at the church. I am never without it and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. Most of you probably know this about me - I am a very organized person. I usually write down
notes of what I am going to e-mail about, but since I don't have any, I will just write my thoughts, which is just as good!

Sister Stanbrough and I worked extra hard this week. We weren't really seeing much success, but our biggest miracle overrules all anyway haha. We taught Neniker on Friday night. We taught him about the first part of the Plan of Salvation. He already understood a bit of it from church last week. The best part of the lesson was at the end when I set him for BAPTISM! Wahoo! He has a baptismal date for THIS Sunday, December 5th. He is so amazing. He came to church yesterday and dressed up all nice for it. He has such a great spirit that is so friendly and warm. He smiles a lot. I think I said it in my last e-mail, but he is from St. Lucia. I forgot what language they speak. A ward member here said that they speak a language that is a mix of other languages. I'm not sure. I told him that when he is
baptized, he will be able to feel the Spirit and Heavenly Father's love for him. He said that would be neat because he was baptized as a baby and doesn't remember it at all. We have a lot more to teach him, but I know he will be ready. The situation is comparable to D&C 4
which says that "if ye have desires to serve, ye are called to the work." If ye have desires to come closer to Heavenly Father, ye are called to be baptized! Hey, it works! I love the scriptures. They are gems that I will always treasure!

Today is the last time I will see Sandra for a while because she is going to Mauritius to visit family for the month of December. She found a church there and will attend while she is gone. Get this - she got baptized three Sundays ago and the bishop is calling her to be
a co-teacher of our new french Gospel Principles class! Ha! She is so incredible. The class is mostly for a recent convert, Cesar (baptized two weeks before Sandra) who speaks mostly french and isn't learning much in the english class. Sandra will do very well as she works with another ward member who speaks french. We don't even have to sit with her anymore during church because she is friends with the whole ward already! I love her.

One of the highlights of my week was receiving a Christmas package from my brother and sister-in-law. The box was decorated all cute and said that I could open it on American Thanksgiving.



Thursday finally came and when I opened it, I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
There are lots of little wrapped presents inside with instructions on each one for when to open it. I was able to open two the day after Thanksgiving and again...died and went to heaven. One of the presents was a little stand-up felt Christmas tree with homemade ornaments that have pictures of my family on them.



Leave it to Sarah to be the most creative person in the world! I love my Christmas tree and my little stocking that used to be full of candy, but I ate it all! I am excited to open the rest of the presents, some which say "Sing 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and open on a snowy night in December" and "Open when in a gift and goodie giving mood." I love Christmas! Does
anyone have any fun plans for Christmas? Do tell! :)

I hope you have all had a wonderful week. I love you and am grateful for your love and support. This is the true Church with the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and with God's power and authority again on the earth. How blessed we are to be a part of it.

Love,
Sister Barton :)

November 22, 2010.

Happy American Thanksgiving Week!

Since I already had Thanksgiving here, I had to remind myself of when all of you have it there in America. I hope you all have fun plans and that you have a greater attitude of gratitude during this time of year. The lights are going up around the city of Brampton here and I am getting excited for Christmas. I realized a couple of days ago that I get to call both of my homes on Christmas and I was so happy. I am definitely looking forward to it.

This week seemed pretty un-interesting until about yesterday. First of all, Sandra was confirmed and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost in Church, which is the greatest gift in the world, so that was great. She is amazing. She speaks French and she translates in Sunday School for the boy that got baptized two weeks before her. He is from the Congo and when the elders taught him, they had a translater. Now Sandra tells him everything and she already knows so much about the Gospel. She loves her scriptures and reads a lot. We didn't have any investigators come to church because at the time we didn't really have any!

We taught a lesson last night to a boy named Jay who the previous sisters had taught a couple of times. He's not really an investigator though because I'm not really sure if he is actively seeking the truth. Anyway, we met him at Tim Hortons (the coffee shop here...yes, It's weird to teach in a coffee shop when we don't drink coffee, but it's basically just a fast food place haha). He had a friend named Loren with him. We ended up focusing more on Loren and gave him a Book of Mormon. We set up return appointments with each of them on different days. After the lesson, I checked our voicemail and the bishop had called us. He said that he had spoken to a bishop of another Brampton ward who said that there was an 18-year-old investigator who attended church. He was wondering why the investigator didn't attend the YSA ward or why the sisters aren't teaching him. The investigator is a boy named Neniker who Sister Stanbrough and I met last week. We taught him a couple of times and then passed him off to some elders because he is still in high school. It turns out that the bishops think it best for him to go to the YSA ward. Anyway...lots of details and maybe confusing, but long story short, we called the elders and took Neniker back hahaha. Woops! I felt bad, but I just really want to do what is best for Neniker. He is from St. Lucia and has been in Canada for two years. He attended all of church yesterday and also a baptism that was held after church! I am excited to teach him again this week.

I got a letter this week from Jenn, who got baptized in North Bay. She is amazing! I love the eternal frienships that are formed on missions. We will be great friends when I get home. Well, I hope all of you have a great week! Enjoy a yummy Thanksgiving dinner :) I am so grateful for each of you. I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is why I am who I am today. The Church and Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored, as it has been multiple times throughout time. It is the ONLY way to have lasting happiness and to be with our families forever. How grateful I am for that gift. I love my family - every single person. I have been blessed with a lot of family and they all brighten my life. Thanksgiving is a great way to start of the Christmas season! I love you all :)

Love,

Sister Barton :)

November 16, 2010.

Happy Tuesday!

I just wrote part of my e-mail and it got deleted...gotta love computers :) Today is a great day. Don't you just love when you wake up happy, even at 5:15 in the morning? Sister Stanbrough and I got up early and went to the church to play soccer with all of the Elders. It was so much fun. Boys are very funny. I was laughing the whole time. Next week we are going to play volleyball, which I love. I feel that there is so much to tell and not enough time to tell it. I will do my best :)

Sandra got BAPTIZED on Sunday! It was so amazing. First of all, church was so great. Isaac, one of our investigators came to the ward for the first time and he learned so much. The Gospel Principles class was all about the Pre-Earth Life, which we haven't taught him yet. It was so great to spend a whole hour talking about who we are as children of God and to build that foundation for the rest of the Plan of Salvation. It was amazing. Sandra's baptism started after church was over. I sang an arrangement of "Come Ye Disconsolate" just before she was baptized and the Spirit was strong. As Sandra was getting dressed after she was baptized, she said that she felt like a new person. When we are baptized and when we take the sacrament each week, we really are starting over fresh and can repent of the things we did or failed to do before. This principle is essential. Sandra and Isaac both came to Family Home Evening (they should really change the name since we're in a Young Single Adult ward haha) last night where we watched an incredible movie on the life of President Thomas S. Monson, the current prophet. It's called "On the Lord's Errand," and if any of you haven't seen it, I highly suggest it. Our prophet really was called of God and was prepared throughout his life to serve as the leader of Christ's Church. How grateful I am for him!

Yesterday I had my first Zone Conference in the Brampton Zone and it was so great. All of the missionaries there truly were taught from on high. I learned so much about improving myself as a missionary and ultimately as a person. At first we talked about obedience. I love how my mission president said "80% Obedience does NOT equal 80% power!" It is so true. If we are mostly obedient, we don't necessarily have the Spirit with us most of the time. Christ has commanded us to be "perfect," and knowing that we would not be able to on our own, He atoned for those imperfections, IF and only if we come unto Him. I am going to strive this week to be exactly obedient. My mission president also emphasizes how "fun" it is to be obedient haha. I was reminded of what Sister Evanson and I wrote on our whiteboard in North Bay. We said "Obedience = Fun." It was kind of a joke, but it really is true. Life is SO much more rewarding when we follow Father's plan. It's a fact!

Well, I love you all! I am thankful for you. Strive to be obedient. Pray always. Serve your brothers and sisters. As Moroni says to his son Mormon in Moroni 8:3: "I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of His Holy Child, Jesus, that He, through His infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on His name to the end." I pray for you. I love you. Your Father in Heaven loves you. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Barton :)

November 8, 2010.

I survived my second week in Brampton!

It's been a great week. Sister Stanbrough taught lots of lessons and were able to find many new people to teach for this coming week. The best part of this coming week is knowing that on Sunday, Sandra will be BAPTIZED! Wahoo! She is so amazing. She even told us in a lesson earlier this week that she can see in her life how Heavenly Father has been preparing her to know the fullness of His truth. She loves coming to church and the ward has been really great at fellowshipping her. She is so sweet and always gives us treats at the end of our lessons. I'm excited to send pictures of her baptism next week.

We had a couple of lessons with a boy named Gideon. The first lesson was pretty rough because he was trying to prove us wrong using the Bible. In the second lesson, something amazing happened. Although Gideon would come up with a new question each time we would anser the previous one, he could not confound us. We spent the whole lesson testifying of truth. This isn't just a Gospel or a Plan of Salvation that we teach, it is something we know to be true. Nobody can deny the power of the Holy Ghost. I love Galations 5:22-23, which talks about the fruits of the Spirit, such as love, peace, long-suffering, joy, gentleness, etc. I don't have my Bible with me right now, but the last line of these verses says "Against such there is no law." There is no law on earth that can prevent one from feeling the Holy Ghost. Even in a country where there is no religious freedom, if one seeks God, they can find Him. No one can ever tell me that what I know is not true. I have felt it. I know it. I cannot deny it. The Holy Ghost can teach us all things if we will allow Him to. That is the key!

I read a really great talk that Sister Stanbrough has called "Why 1820?" It talks about why the Church of Jesus Christ began to be restored in the year 1820 and not before. I really love what the speaker said at the end of the talk, speaking about who we were before we came to this earth. He said "If you knew who you were before you got here, it would scare you. Do you know what that means? It means that we don't have the right to do all the dumb stuff that a lot of other young people in the world are doing? Why? Because we know too much. Why? Because we are here because we were somebody before we came here and the Lord has sent us here to accomplish some great task. And that task is to take and exhort the reality of the fact that the Gospel has been restored." We did not begin when we were born on this earth. We lived with Heavenly Father before and because we are His children, we have divine worth. You were somebody great among the hosts of heaven and because of that, You have a great responsibility on this earth. I cannot imagine what life would be like without the knowledge of the greater plan. That is why I am on a mission...to help people know who they truly are in God's eyes and the divine potential they have.

I feel like I have rambled on and on haha. These are just my thoughts of the week. Thank you for being the good people you are. You are all amazing! Have a fantastic week :)

Love you lots,
Sister Barton

P.S. Since I have Zone Conference next Monday, I won't be e-mailing until Tuesday, so look for my update then!

November 1, 2010.

Hello from the big city of Brampton!

Wow, what a week so far. White-washing an area is definitely a lot of work! Sister Stanbrough and I have hardly had time to make phone calls with everything we have to do. I'm not quite sure where to start, so I will just talk about our investigator Sandra first. The sisters before us were teaching Sandra for a few weeks. She is from an island in the Indian Ocean (starts with an M...don't know how to spell it). Sister Stanbrough and I have met with her twice and she came to church yesterday! She has a baptismal date for November 14! She is so great. She often worries and wonders if she should know more before making this big step. I assured her that Heavenly Father is pleased with her decision. It is a step of faith, but she will only gain a testimony of it if she takes it. I am excited to keep teaching her. We will see her again on Wednesday.

It was nice going to my ward for the first time. It is a unique ward because it is actually made up of two different cities, covering about a 45 minute area. There are two missionaries from the Toronto East mission that cover the Toronto side of the ward, and Sister S and I cover the Brampton side. So we travel out of our area for church! Yesterday after church, there were two baptisms for the East mission and I was so happy Sandra could attend. I sang with a few other people and we didn't even have time to practice! Then Sister S and I did a little presentation and shared our testimonies while the two people who got baptized were changing. It was a pretty hectic day. We got home a little before 6:00 pm and had to stay in the rest of the night because it was Halloween. Sister S carved a pumpkin and we ate a lot of candy. We have a whole pecan pie in the fridge that the senior couple missionaries gave us!

Something happens to me when I am in Brampton. All of the sudden, I am able to talk to everyone I see with no fear and the Spirit tells me what to say. It is really amazing. Heavenly Father is helping me to see how I have improved since I came out here. There are always challenges though and I will continue to learn each day. One of the hardest things right now is just that Sister S and I don't know anyone. We are learning the streets, but we don't know most of the members or the investigators right now. There is lots to learn here!

I was sad to say goodbye to Sister Evanson, but I am happy for her and her new companion. I met the new sister, Sister Hodgkin, when I slept at the mission home on Monday night. She is SO prepared and is already an amazing missionary. I hope to be able to serve with her someday. We really are so lucky to have such amazing sisters in this area.

Hmm...that's about all I can think of to write at the moment. My brain is still scattered and I can't exactly think straight yet haha. One funny thing happened on Saturday night. Our ward mission leader had called us earlier this week and told us that when we meet with him he usually feeds us (we meet at his fiance's house). He said he had to work on Saturday so we decided to meet at 7:30 pm. Well, I figured that since we were meeting so late, Sister S. and I should probably eat dinner. We went out to eat and filled up. When we got to the house for our meeting, there was a whole dinner on the table. I guess 7:30 pm isn't too late for dinner! So...I ate a whole other meal and could barely get it down. I know I eat a lot, but I was not prepared for that! Haha. Only on a mission...

Well, I hope you are all doing well! I can hardly believe it is already November. Christmas is almost here! I hear it's the greatest to have Christmas on a mission. It's a great season to celebrate even more fully the life of the Savior. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about Helaman 5:12, which talks about building our foundations on Jesus Christ. When everything else in life fails us, He will not. He is the way. The only way. I want to focus on always remembering Him this week. I love you all! Thank you for your support and for your love. It is so great to hear from many of you and I always look forward to it. Heavenly Father loves you :)

Love,

Sister Barton