Happy Memorial Day!!

Hello!

I hope all is well in the outside world! My world is going pretty good!

We had a pretty slow week, our investigators are dropping like flies, so we've been doing a lot of finding this week, with not much success, but it's okay! Sometimes I think God gives us weeks like these so we can be prepared to appreciate the awesome week He has planned ahead. So, this week is going to be reallyyyyy awesome!

Monday, we did normal P-day stuff, which is mostly just emails, grocery store, and sleep. But we mixed it up a little by also going to the Port of Allyn, and walking on the boardwalk, and getting some ice cream. That was fun!

That night we met some really interesting people while knocking doors. One guy talked to us for a while and told us about how he came to find God. He was in a cave in with his dad, and his dad died, but he didn't. He spent a lot of time feeling guilty and angry and drank a lot, but then he met this lady who talked to him and talked him through it and directed him to a church. He said he will read the Book of Mormon. He was a really great guy, one of those people who just smiles their way through life.

After him, we walked up a longgg road with a bunch of wood houses all the way along it and a huge garden and it was so pretty. This whole family of Born Again Christians live there and own 25 acres of land. I LOVE the idea of having a family farm. I think that would be so fun to live on all that land together. Anyways, one man close to the beginning of the road preached to us about how "so many Christians believe that we have to do certain things to be saved, but it's not true! We've been saved! Christ died on the cross and we don't have to do ANYTHING!" Then we over heard the kids ask the mom "Who are they?" and she said "They're missionaries. They are earning their salvation." Haha!

Then we kept walking up the road and met another lady who talked to us a bit and then looked at me and said "Do you have a testimony?" and I said yes, then she said "Tell me your testimony." So I started to bear my testimony of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ and she interrupted me and said "That's not a testimony! Let me tell you mine. In 1991, I had just had my 7th miscarriage when I heard a voice say, as clear as day, "You will conceive a son in 1992." I conceived a son in 1992 and he was born in 1993. That's a testimony. I will pray for you two that the Lord will allow you to have an experience with the Holy Spirit so you can gain your testimony." Haha!

I forget sometimes that other religions have different words for the same things we do. Or the same word means something else. Explaining the priesthood to people who have Priests, is weird. In Catholicism you have to give an apology, which means testimony, and doesn't mean you are apologizing for something. To Born Again Christians,  a testimony is an experience where the Holy Spirit talks to you I guess. And to us a testimony is what we believe.

Tuesday was a bit of a sad day. We had 3 set appointments, and every single one of them fell through. Even dinner fell through. We got to end the night with our meeting with Bishop Wing though. That is always fun. He's just one of those people who you could go to with any questions, and he would have an answer that you could trust. We always ask him for advice for specific problems we have with investigators.

Wednesday we had our district meeting and it was a really good training! But then it ended with our district leader saying "This week I challenge each of you to put someone on date! Who's 'tism (baptism) hungry?! I know I'm 'tism hungry!" etc, etc. With a few other words put in there that I don't totally love that elders use. So, I didn't really get pumped up like the rest of the elders did haha But I really enjoyed the training before that!

Thursday was Park Day. Which means we didn't use our car at all. It was a beautiful day and we walked a lot. I think we walked like 5 miles and I got a really good sunburn! All of our lessons for that day fell through also, except for James at night, but we had to kind of have a "break up" meeting with him, which was really sad. We got to a point where there is nothing more we can teach him if he won't come to church. And he completely understood that, so he said he would keep listening to the Book of Mormon and that maybe he would come to church one day. When that happens we will happily begin teaching him again!

Friday we did service at Zion's Camp. nothing toooo exciting happened besides that.

Saturday was full of disappointment haha. It was just one of those days where NO ONE was home. We tried to visit TONS of people. We called people, we texted, no success. But we did end the night well. We knocked on Stretch Island, which I didn't even know existed until recently. I found the place I'm going to live one day. It's a bit far from everything but it is an island, which means it has coast, but it is also covered in farmland!!!! It's so beautiful! It's quiet, all the people that live there are really nice, there are white wild flowers everywhere, and we saw a deer! One man said they have a lot of wildlife! Hopefully my future husband will be able to work from home or something. Or be rich so he can afford the gas to commute. Because Belfair already doesn't really have many job opportunities. Most men drive 30 minutes to get to the shipyard. But this is another 20 minutes from Belfair. I guess I don't need to worry about that right now though.

Sunday was fun we had a really good Sacrament meeting. Belfair exploded overnight because our Chapel was FULL I have never ever ever seen so many people in our chapel. But with Memorial Day weekend it was very full.

We had a musical fireside at night, the missionaries from 3 stakes got together and had a choir. 6 of us sisters sang a musical number, and then all of the missionaries sang a few songs. Between the songs a few recent converts from the different stakes bore their testimonies. It was a really great fireside. It was also fun to see so many of the missionaries.

So, that's my week!

A few days ago I read Alma 17, and I am in my favorite chapters of the Book of Mormon right now, besides 3 Nephi, when Christ comes. I admire those missionaries, the sons of Mosiah and Alma the Younger. And Alma the Older, too. I look up to them all because if you pay attention, they have some realllyyyyy cool conversion stories. Anyways, I could go on and on about each of them. But in Alma 17, Alma and the Sons of Mosiah see each other for the first time in 14 years and they are all really excited because through the years and trials and temptations, they have remained follower's of Christ. Then it goes into detail about what they did to stay on the right path. They fasted, prayed, studied the scriptures in depth, they followed the commandments, they focused their eyes on God, and they had faith in Him. Even when they were nervous about going into scary territory, they prayed for comfort and God gave them peace. He promised them that He would make them instruments in His hands in bringing souls to salvation . With that promise it says their "hearts.. took courage to go forth." And I love that.

I definitely am always working on being more courageous. Because the opposite of faith is fear. In Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk from this past conference he said, "When we are paralyzed by fear of the future, [it] hinders our going forward in faith, trusting in God and His promises." Later he quotes Hugh W. Nibley who says, while talking about our duty to hold to our beliefs instead of accommodating the world, "You have to be willing to offend here, you have to be willing to take the risk. That's where the faith comes in... Our commitment is supposed to be a test, it's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to be impractical in the terms of this world."

There isn't time to be afraid. If we trust God, we'll be too busy following Him and His Son, to be fearful. There are things to be done, push past the fear and keep going. That's how we stay on the right path. We don't worry about what the world thinks. We just worry about what God wants of us, and we'll be fine. :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Warburton

PS. I didn't get a single conversion story this week. I'm not just looking for people who joined the church later in life. I want conversion stories from people who have been members their whole life. We are all converts. We are all still being converted. So, pleasseeee, send me your conversion story. :)

Pictures!!!

Allyn Bay, I look like I have red hair!

I forgot to tell this story....On planning day we decided to go look at the hood canal. Around lunch time, the tide goes WAY back and we decided to walk on it. It's VERY muddy and we actually sunk down to our knees sometimes haha. It was really fun, but dried out my feet so they hurt a little bit the next day.

Muddy Feet!

More Muddy Feet!

On the pier!

Seagull!

Sister Kramer!

Me!

On the pier!

I live in the prettiest place on the planet!

 

My desk after studies.

Stretch Island!

Another Week!

Hello Everyone! 

I think I am going to keep this email shorter. But, I always think that and it doesn't end up that way. 

Last Monday was my last day with Sister Harris. We had a really good time with our Zone. We played Settlers of Zarahemla (you can't get more Mormon than that.) We had a little bit of a mishap there, with one of the Elders trying to jump over 2 other elders and ending up hitting his head on the ground and bleeding a lot. It was funny until we saw the blood. Then it was a bit scary. But he's okay. We ended the transfer by having 2 family home evenings with two different families who are investigating the church. 

Transfer day was fun, we got all switched up, I got my companion, Sister Kramer and then we had the meeting. The Missionaries who were leaving gave their final testimonies and that was pretty cool. We also had some beautiful musical numbers. The new missionaries were also introduced. I got the car keys and I've been driving since then. I found out that I can drive pretty well. I thought it would be way scarier. But since then I've driven over 200 miles. Which is a pretty big amount. Right?... I made it out of Tacoma safely and everything. 

Sister Kramer is from American Fork, Utah. She's really pretty and tall. She's a really good missionary, she loves learning and studying her scriptures and she talks to everyone. We even pull over to talk to people walking on the side of the road. 

On Thursday we gave Tahuya another chance. I think this part of Tahuya is less sketchy then the other one we were in. There is Tahuya River Valley which is a neighborhood sort of place, that's the place that gives me the Heebie Jeebies. There is also a community around Maggie Lake. This area is a little sketchy, but I've been in way worse. We actually had quite a bit of success. We found 2 people that want to learn more about the gospel AND in one driveway, we found 91 cents. and 76 of that cents was pennies. So, in one drive way I found SEVENTY-SIX PENNIES. They were just sprinkled all over the place. I have now found $9.62 in change since arriving in Belfair. I'm going to need a bigger jar soon. 

The rest of the week was pretty normal. We knocked on doors, we taught, we found, we knocked on more doors, did some more teaching, street contacted, etc. 

It's fun. 

Something that I have been really thinking about this week is obedience. 

Sometimes God asks us to do things that don't make sense to us. Sometimes our leaders ask us to do things that don't make sense to us. But, obedience is an important thing to follow. I've always been a rule follower, probably more for fear of getting in trouble, but I've been realizing lately that blessings come from being obedient, as well as knowledge. 

Someone said, we need to be obedient, for the sake of being obedient, and then when we keep following the rules and the commandments, eventually we will be blessed and we will understand why we are being asked to do certain things. 

I don't know if that made any sense. And, it's definitely not something I am perfect at, but I am trying, and I am working hard to do what God asks of me. I know that I will be blessed for it. 

Also, here is a really good scripture that I just love.

Mosiah 2: 21-22

I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another -- I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you. 

I LOVE this. It just amazes me. God has created us, and is PRESERVING US FROM DAY TO DAY, LENDING US BREATH. All so that we can DO WHATEVER WE WANT  "according to our own will" and all He has asked of us is to keep His commandments. And His commandments are only there to bring us happiness and freedom. It amazes me and makes me want to work harder to keep His commandments. 

I hope that makes sense in word. It makes sense in my head. 

Anyways, I love you all and I hope life is treating you well!

Love,

Sister Warburton

Sorry, I have one last thing I forgot to put in my email.

I had the idea the other day to start collecting conversion stories. 

I think it would be really cool to have a collection of stories of how people came to know Christ, or to know this church is true, etc. Whatever your conversion story is, I want to hear it. 

So if you want to email me, or mail it to me, please do that. :) 

Lot's of love, 

Sister Warburton

Ahhhh. The genius elders. 

Our new zone. 

Grumpy toad

Me in my beautiful area. :) 

Sister Kramer

My pennies! :)

Sister Harris and Nolan Leinnaweber. Every time we come over they think we are there to play a game with them, so we finally gave in and found dinosaur bones for 15 minutes before the lesson.

Chris and Wyatt Leinnaweber. Ashley's husband and 6 year old. 

The Tacoma narrows bridge. 

TRANSFER THREE

I know that you are all holding your breath as to whether or not I am staying in Belfair or not (but probably not, because I bet my parents already posted on Facebook after I Skyped them yesterday...)

I am indeed staying in Belfair. Sadly, Sister Harris is not, but she's becoming a Sister Training Leader, which is like a promotion! My new companion's name is Sister Kramer. I'll meet her tomorrow. All I know about her is that she prefers Almond milk to regular milk. And that she has brown hair and blue eyes. So, she sounds like a keeper! I'll let you know more about her next week! 

I had a really good week this week. It started off with a really great lesson with the Leinnaweber family, and then we just continued to have really great lessons throughout the week with all of our investigators! It was such a nice change from the past few weeks when everyone has been busy, or sick, or out of town. We have 5 people on date for baptism the the next month or so, they just have a lot of things to work through but they have all said that they want to be baptized. So, that's really exciting. :) 

On Thursday we got to go to the Women's Correctional Facility again! I JUST LOVE THOSE LADIES! When we came in we heard a bunch of them say "Oh! The missionaries are back!" "Look! The missionaries!" We didn't have enough time to tell them everything I would have wanted to say, but that's okay. 

We talked about personal revelation and how God wants us to talk to Him and to go to Him with everything that we need and that He will answer us and bless us. Then they all shared experiences of times they have had prayers answered and their conversion stories. They all have had amazing experiences and they are trying so hard to change their ways and to figure out their purpose. One lady shared her testimony and said that Jeremiah 29:9-10 helped her to see how God is waiting for us and will bless us. For her, she needed to go into captivity to find freedom in Him. It was beautiful and another amazing and uplifting experience. 

If I could, I would dress up in a jumpsuit and wear my name tag and just serve a mission IN the prison. Just go around ministering to the women there and lifting them up. 

Sunday was a really great day also. Ashley Leinnaweber CAME TO CHURCH! And she stayed for ALL THREE HOURS. :) It was the best Sunday ever! During Sacrament meeting, there weren't any weird or crazy talks. They were fantastic talks. One lady gave a talk on having a Christ-Centered Home. And the thing that draws Ashley the most to our church is that her family can be together forever, that her family can be closer and happier and that her home can be a safe place. So that talk was absolutely perfect for her. Then in Sunday School, this was funny, the lesson was on baptism. Sister Harris and I started laughing and passed her the book open to the page we were on, and told her we didn't plan it to be like that. But that's what ended up happening! Isn't that amazing? Then Ashley opened up and had a lot of questions about baptism and answered some other questions and it was great. AND THEN in Relief Society, we talked about how the Book of Mormon is the Key Stone of our religion. Man, it was just so perfect. I was so glad. A lot of people came up and talked to Ashley, they were nice to her, they didn't judge her, they just loved her and it was great. I'm so excited for Ashley! 

ASHLEY!

After church, I Skyped my family! Which was great! I love my family. 

My cute family! 

When we were knocking doors, we met a lady, named Jeannie, who has NEVER met Mormon missionaries, which just doesn't happen too often.  We were grateful to be able to make the best first impression ever on her! :) She is cleaning out her aunt's (who just died) home and that house is FULL of history. She showed it to us and took us through all they OLD sheds full of old things that her uncle used to make things and carve. It was so fun to go around and look at all these things that are probably antiques.  She kept telling us to take whatever we wanted, she just wants to get rid of everything. So, I got an old blue jar, and Sister Harris walked out with a rusty hatchet, a rusty mole trap, and an old shaver. Haha. She was on cloud 9. 

It was just a really good week. I had a blast sharing my testimony with people. :) 

This week, I read one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. Alma 5. I love reading it because it is a good reminder to me of the covenants I have made with God. And of the blessings He has poured on me throughout my life. In verses 6 and 7 Alma asks "have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them?.... behold, he changed their hearts; yea he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word..." 

Comparing this to now: Do you remember when you were converted? Do you remember when you knew and understood for yourself what the Atonement means to you? Do you remember your parents and your ancestors? Do you remember the mercy and the love God has for you? Think of someone you know who has been in a deep sleep, who was awoken to God. Whose soul was illuminated by the light of the everlasting word. 

Has that happened to you? 

If you have experienced a change of heart, and if you have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, can you feel so now? (verse 26)

What are you doing to remember everything that God has done for you? Are you doing everything you can do to continue to be converted? To learn of God? To earn His blessings? 

Make sure you are always going forward and upward. Don't slack. Don't just plateau. Keep going up. :) 

Also, "to be Spiritually Minded Is Life Eternal." So SMILE. (2 Nephi 9:39)

I love you all. :) Have a wonderful week! 

Sister Warburton

Just hanging out in a dugout. 

This is the Waite family! Brother Waite is my ward mission leader. They, and Bishop Wing's family are my favorite families in the ward. 
​

Belfair

Dear Everyone,

This is my last, for sure week, in Belfair. On Saturday I will find out if I get to stay in this beautiful, full of character, wonderful land of Belfair. Or if I will be kicked out to a new place. If that happens, I'll be sad, so I would really appreciate any prayers that I get to stay here. :) 

 

Also, this is my last week of "training" Thank goodness.  I think missionaries forget that even though we are new to the mission field, we aren't really new to spiritual things or life in general. I am slightly tired of seeing sister missionaries and them saying "OHHH, Sister Warburton, how are you doing? Are you adjusting well? (after 3 months) Are you homesick?" No. I've been away from home for almost 2 years now thank you very much. And also, Just because I've only been here 3 months doesn't mean I never had a testimony before. If it didn't start until I got here then I wouldn't BE here. 

Anyways. Sorry for that. That's my sass coming out. 

I'm just glad to be moving along to where people will hopefully stop calling me a greenie and a baby. 

This week was good. The weather has been beautiful. The sun has been out and we've been able to do a lot of service for people in their gardens. 

On Tuesday we went to quilting again. They had us do this pattern thing that I can't explain in words, and it was fun to sew. Sister Harris and I are hoping to both stay here another transfer and to be able to, together, make a whole quilt for charity! Wouldn't that be cool?

 

Also, on Tuesday while we were knocking doors, I found 49 cents. The selfish in me was really hoping to find one more penny so it could be an even 50 cents. (By the way, have I mentioned that finding coins is, in my belief, God's tender mercy to me?) Anyways, so I was hoping to find one more penny, but we finished knocking and we were nearing the end of the night, and I was about to lose hope, but then after visiting the very last person for the day, we were walking to our car and I looked down and there was a penny at my feet. I thought that was pretty amazing. God knows me and loves me. :) 

Something funny about Belfair. Taco Bell just opened up and it's the talk of the town. We now have Subway, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, AND Taco Bell. Haha. Most of the people here have never tried Chick Fil A. Isn't that amazing? I think that will be one of my first stops when I get home. 

Most of our investigators were still sick this week or busy or something, but we were able to meet a lot of cool people and to teach a few little lessons. 

One lady, Laura, I think I may have mentioned her last week? She's really nice and we had a good lesson with her. I feel bad though because I warned her that now that we've talked to her, Satan will try to keep her from progressing. He would make it hard for her to make it to church and to do other things. And he definitely did. Her son was sick and had to go to the hospital because he had an allergic reaction to the medicine. Then her daughter broke her finger in two places and had to go to the hospital also. Then she got sick and it's just been one thing after another. And she didn't make it to church. But that's okay. She's so sweet and willing to learn and I love answering her questions. 

For my spiritual thought I'm just going to share a little bit from a talk I've been studying this week. It's called "For When I Am Weak. Then Am I Strong" by Gerald Causse. It's all about turning our weaknesses into strengths. Which is something that I definitely need to continue to work on. 

It gives 4 principles:

 

1. Build on your strengths. Every one of us has been given an inheritance of gifts from God. We each have talents and abilities and we need to recognize that we have them and build on them. We have them for a reason and it's ridiculous to not use them.

 

2. Recognize your personal limitations. "God helps people like you and me, those who recognize their limits and the weakness of their condition and seek His help and guidance. Failing to recognize our limitations will block our progression. On the other hand, accepting them humbly lays the foundation for eternal progression."

 

3.Rely on the Lord. "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." Alma 26: 12

 

4. Qualify yourselves to receive the grace of the Savior. "Grace is Spiritual knowledge and power that changes how someone sees himself, increases his capacities, and magnifies his ability to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord." (Neil L. Anderson)  "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. Ether 12:27

Anyways, It's way better if you read the whole thing, but these are my favorite parts. I love the idea of turning our weaknesses into strengths. Through God, we can do that. It's a real thing. It's not just a fairytale that people pretend to do. I really have seen the changes in myself as I've turned to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and used that Grace to become someone better than I was before. If you could see the way I thought and the way I felt 5 years ago and could see the inside of my mind now. You would be amazed at the changes that God has made in me. 

I love this gospel. I love my Savior. I love being here and helping others. Now is the time to prepare ourselves to meet God. Not later, not yesterday, but now. And wouldn't you rather meet God as the VERY BEST YOU that you can be? 

I love you all! <3

 

Sister Warburton

 

Bleeding hearts. Aren't they pretty?

The Hood Canal.

Just a group of missionaries after zone conference. Elder Nelson (the blond) is one of them and a few others are missionaries from my district.

Sister Blatter and Sister Harris and I.