Christmas Time!!!

Family!!

How blessed I am to have you guys as my family! Annnnnnnd I got to talk to you on Christmas! Yay!! That made my whole life. You guys have no idea. Sorry if i'm weird... This week has been so good because of the fact that it was Christmas! I already told you guys a lot about what has happened throughout my mission and throughout the week, but i'll just expand on what Christmas is like here.

First off, It is honestly a party! Hahah Christmas here is so different and unique. Since it is super warm here everyone is just outside having fun and drinking and doing karaoke and things haha it's so fun! Christmas Eve was especially fun just because of the excitement knowing Christmas is the next day. Everyone was shopping and getting there stuff together and ahhh it was just fun. Everyone is out on the streets and roaming around and just happy (i don't know if it was because of the alcohol or because of the Christmas Season) haha but everyone was so merry and joyful haha It was wonderful. We taught quite a bit of lessons on Christmas Eve and it was hilarious because during every lesson we got fed. Like not just drinks and crackers or something, but like feasts... we had spaghetti, pizza, rice, all sorts of meats that I had no idea what they were, potatoes, and more meat and rice. It was so good and so fun just to be around these great people and there families. We ate at 4 different houses and the thing about Filipinos is they are very hospitable. They will not let you leave until you've had at least 3 plates full of food... It's great cuz yay food, but it's terrible when you have to do that 4 different times... hahah or when the food isn't what you expect when you put it into your mouth... haha It was such a good experience tho! It's weird I thought I was going to come to the Philippines and loose all this weight and get way skinny, but if anything its the opposite. Everyone loves "the white one" so they give me drinks and food all the time. Even when we are proselyting or just walking the streets, people will just come up to me and give me food or grab my hand and put it to their forehead (that's what they do here to show they respect the person).. usually you are just suppossed to do it to old people, but all the little kids do it to me haha it's funny. But yeah Christmas Eve was really good here. The night was so good because it was joyful and fun and the whole night was lit up with Christmas lights and people were lighting off fireworks, and wow it was just amazing. It was almost like walking around and feeling like you were at a festival or carnival or something, it was just so fun. Very different than the Christmas Eve I am used to in Utah, but not a bad kind of different, just different. 

Christmas tho was so so so so good. Obviously because I got to skype you guys! That made me so happy. I honestly can't express how happy I was when I saw your faces. Ahhhh it was just so good to see you and talk to you and realize that you guys are still real people. Honestly when I email I just feel like I'm talking to a computer or journal or something haha not actual people. So it's nice to know you guys are still alive haha :) but after that we ate more food from some members and went to more people to teach and ate some more food. The whole day was just full of teaching about Jesus Christ and eating. Haha it was so good. It was awesome getting my last gifts as well these last two days because like I said during skype, when I saw the christmas gift that said open on Christmas Eve I knew it had to be Pajamas. So when I opened it I was so excited. haha like who would've thought I would've been so excited to get pajamas, but I was! haha I was so happy. Then the next day on Christmas when I opened my last present and got a skirt ahhhhhh I was even more full of joy. So thank you so much family for sending me that Christmas package. It made my whole Christmas. I look forward to getting the letters you sent. I sent some letters to you guys, so hopefully you'll get them in the next couple of months haha. 

Anyway, that was my Christmas. It is really different being away from home and not being able to got to all the family parties and opening a bunch of gifts and things, but it's awesome being a missionary during the Christmas season. I'm happy I get to do it twice! haha I love you guys and I so much appreciate you all in my life. I'm so happy here. It's so hard and sometimes I get really discouraged, but I know that I am suppossed to be here serving the Lord. There are so many more things I want to say, but just remember to always say your prayers and read the Book of Mormon. It is so important to pray and to communicate to our Father in Heaven and share with him all the feelings we have everyday. He really cares for us and wants to know how we feel. And it is so so so important to read the Book of Mormon. I know it is true with my whole heart and I know by reading it, you can feel so happy and you can feel that peace that Jesus Christ is our savior and knows everything we are going through. All our thought all our trials and feelings he has experienced. So those our my words of wisdom for now haha I love you all so much. Do these two things and i promise you, you will receive so many blessings you had no idea you could receive. We are so lucky to have the gospel and to lean on it at all times to bless our life. I love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

 

CHRISTmas

Hello!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are all doing good. As for me, mission is honestly the hardest thing ive ever done in my life, but its also so good. Hard to explain unless you've done it yourself. haha I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to the temple this morning which was so good. I honestly gain so much strength through attending the temple. I love the temple. I am so blessed to have one in my mission. So yay for temples! haha as for the week... so much happens just in one day so it is really hard to share everything in one email that I have to write super fast. haha but i'll try my best to share with you what I am feeling and seeing.

First off, thank you to all the youth in my ward!! I loved the cute messages you gave me! I got the letter last week at our mission christmas party! (which was the highlight of chrismas so far) haha but I honestly appreciate it so much! I love letters! Thank you thank you! And Mom, you are the cutest person ever. I love the present thing. Opening one everyday is the highlight of my day! Even if some of them are silly gifts, I LOVE THEM! So thanks!

It has been raining a lot the past couple of days, and when it rains here it really really rains. Like it'll rain for like 72 hrs. straight. I asked an Elder what the longest time is that it will just non stop rain and he said it can rain non stop for like 4 months straight. Are you kidding me?! haha that's freaking nuts. Just in the little 3 days that it rained the roads were flooding and houses were getting ruined and man the rain here is crazy! haha 

This week I really want to focus on the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my letter. I have been studying the Atonement just a little bit this past week, but I feel like i've deepened my knowledge greatly. A mission is a huge struggle. It is an emotional roller coaster. Somedays I feel like yes yes I love missionary work, I love being a missionary, I never want to leave, I love this!! Then the next day I am really struggling with everything that we do and with what is going on and it is just terrible. So to say a mission is hard is the biggest understatement that i have ever heard. It is so much more than hard. A mission is physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting. I can't even begin to express the hardships that come with serving a mission and i've only been out in the field for 3 weeks. Like oh my heck i have so much that awaits me. 

One thing that I absolutely love tho is something that Sister Coombs shared with me. (A sister in my district from Australia, we bond cuz she speaks English haha) but anyway she said God gives us hard time so we can find more joy. Obviously if he wants us to experience the fullest joy we can experience on earth he needs us to experience the fullness of hardships, pains, and trials. I love that. It's hard to feel like no one is listening and around to help you in your trials and afflictions, but I can truly testify to you that if you ever feel weak, sad, or discouraged in anything in life you can litterally just go in your room and kneel. Praying to our Heavenly Father to feel the comfort of Jesus's Christ is remarkable. Jesus Christ knows what each and everyone of us feel and so much more. We cannot comprehend what Jesus Christ went through and he went through it because he loves God and he loves each and everyone of us. He overcame not only physical, but spiritual death so that we can each return back to our loving Heavenly Father and one day be like him. I am so grateful for our savior Jesus Christ. It gives me so much comfort to know he is always with me. Every step I take as a missionary and just in life in general he is with me and will comfort me in times of need. I feel so humbled that someone would go what Jesus Christ went through for me. I love the song "I Stand All Amazed" It really shares how great our savior Jesus Christ is. So as we enjoy this happy holiday of Christmas lets always remember Jesus Christ and how his sweet mother Mary endured all the pains of persecution and sadness, but brought our amazing Reedemer Jesus Christ into this world. I love Christmas time and I love Christ. What better way to show Christ you love him during CHRISTmas, then to be serving him. And that's what I get to do everyday. Is share this beautiful gospel with the beautiful people of the Philippines. I love you all so much and I'm so excited to talk to my family on Friday (Thursday for you) lol. I LOVE YOU ALL AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Love,

Sister Barton

Tender Mercies of the Lord

Fam!

I love you all so much and I feel so blessed to have the support I have from all of you guys. MOM, THANK YOU so much for the Christmas package! I opened it today and it is the cutest thing ive ever seen so thank you thank you thank you. Also I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to a lot of your emails.. We have an hour and 20 min to email the president and everyone and it's no time at all So i'm really sorry if i don't have the time to respond. Know I print off a lot of the emails and read them and I truly am grateful for each and every email each of you write to me so thank you.

Man this week has been such an emotional roller coaster. I have up and down emotions and when Jensen said the  mission was going to be hard like yes it is HARD. I never would've dreamed a mission would be like this. This week especially was hard for me being that it is around Christmas time and we go to Christmas parties seeing all the people with their families having fun and I litterally can't even communicate with anyone because I don't know how to speak the language. It is so frusterating, but the Lord has shown me so many tender mercies this week. 

Monday was the first tender mercy that really touched me. We were working all night after a great Pday and I was dying because It was SO HOT and there was no water anywhere. I also had huge cuts on my feet from my shoes just because I haven't worn them in yet so my feet were aching. We sat down to rest by a water refill station, but had no money so we couldn't buy any water and It was just a really rough day, but the cutest old man came out from the water station and gave us two water bottles and sat down to talk to us. We were able to use that opportunity to not only recieve great water, but teach him. He was so receptive and wanted to know more about what we were saying so we told him we would come back and teach him. Wow, such a blessing. 

Thursday was the day I was really struggling with fitting in and I was feeling terrible about the Language. I was so sad and while proselyting was just trying to think positive and hold in my feelings. We had an appointment with a member and as we were teaching her again, I had no idea what was going on. Sister Tiongco told me to bear my testimony and I just started crying. I felt like such an idiot, but honestly I didn't care. I was so sick of not knowing what was going on all the time and I just honestly wanted to go home. The little old lady member was so cute and fed us and let us go on our way. I finally got myself together to go to the next appointment and in that appointment it was CRAZY. I spoke so much Tagalog and the investigators aknowledged me and told me how great I was especially for being out for only one week at the time. I felt so blessed and reasured the the Lord really is looking over me in everything I do. 

Friday was the next great time. Me and Sister Tiongco decided to OYM a ton of people that day and she said I had to start with everyone. I was so nervous considering I don't speak Tagalog, but the Lord was soooooo good to me. He helped me so much and I really started communicating with the people! I was able to OYM 30 people that day and a lot of them were so open and willing to accept us and the Gospel so now we have a ton of lessons this week! IM SO EXCITED!! Also Friday I realized that I am in the same area I went to when I did MTC Transfers in the Manila area. So the I realized OMG SISTER ELANIA IS IN THIS AREA!! So on Friday I told Sister Tiongco that we have to find her and literally baptize her because the feeling I had the first time we taught her was unreal. So we set out to find her. It took a long time because the Philippines is a very confusing place. Everything looks the same. haha but we were finally, after about an hour and a half of looking, able to find her food stand that she worked at. A little old lady was there and it was HER MOM! So we talked to her about who we are and what we are all about and they were all so receptive. The whole family lives over there so we are going to teach them this week. I've never been so excited in my life. I remember praying in the MTC about wanted to go back to the same area sister Elania was in and now that i'm back I am really wanting to teach her. Now I can. I know I have a purpose here and I know God has put me in the Pina D area for a reason. I love this work and I feel so blessed to be apart of it. This was honestly  such a testimony builder for me that revelation is real and that prayers can really be answered if you have that sincere heart and pure desire. I feel so blessed to be in this area and I know it was a huge tender mercy from the Lord. 

God has given me so many tender mercies this week and I feel so blessed. A mission is by far the hardest thing i've ever done in my life, but I can already see how it is blessing me. I hope you all know how important you are to me and how much I love each and everyone of you and how much I truly love and know this Gospel to be the true Gospel of Jesus Christ on this earth today. Thank you everyone for all your love and support and HOLLA cuz I get to talk to my beautiful family in a week and a half and I AM SO EXCITED!! I love you guys and I will talk to you soon! 

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

(Kels Bels that was for you...) Jokelang haha Im stupid okay... bye haha

Love you,

Sister Barton

First week In the Manila Mission!

Hello Family,

Oh my gosh I don't even know where to begin. I feel so humbled and blessed to be serving in the Philippines. I can't even begin to explain how amazing it is to know these people really need me here and they REALLY need God. I wish you guys were here just to see for yourselves what I'm doing and what it looks like. Poverty is an understatement. It is crazy, but I love it so much and I truly love these people. I don't even know where to begin so much has happened and I don't have a ton of time. Also sorry.. no pictures this week because I didn't take any lol we aren't aloud to take pictures while proselyting and I see why because these people have nothing if I whipped out my nice camera.. ahhhh just no. I'll probably secretly take some this week just so you guys can have a little glimps of what I am talking about! :)

Sooooo Wednesday: Today was the day we left the MTC and went out to the field. It was heartbreaking saying goodbye to my MTC batch and just all the people in the MTC. It was so sad because you leave your family and kind of make a new family in the MTC and then you say bye to that family and make a new family in your mission. So it was sad, but I came on a mission to serve the people of the Philippines Manila Mission, not the people of the MTC. haha So i guess I should always keep that in mind. Anyway we woke up at 5am and the AP came to get us to take us to the Mission home. I had so many mixed emotions leaving the MTC. Mostly excited, but a lot of sad and terrifying emotions as well. It took about 45 min to get there cuz there is so much traffic here. We got to the mission home and wow there home is sooooo nice! I was shocked thinking it would be some rundown place. No It was beautiful. Haha I just wanted to stay at the mission home haha, but anyway we were recieving a bunch of papers and having meetings and things while each person interviewed with President Ostler. After a while, I was able to interview with him and I honestly love him. Just by the way he presents himself and talks personally to each and every missionary, you can truly tell he is a disciple of Christ. He is an amazing Man and I feel so blessed to have him as my mission president. I was feeling very scared in the Mission home to have to leave Sister Holzworth and go with a completely new person in a new place and learn a new language. Man I was freaking out, but It's all good, cuz I had President Ostler and he truly comforted me. I feel so blessed to have him as my Mission President. He helped strengthen me and made me feel so much better with the problems I have facing and will face. I was so emotional the whole time speaking to him. After the interview we were able to eat the best lunch of our lives haha but really! And then we got our new Companion assigned to us. I was freaking out all day for that moment, because I really just wanted a good trainer. I was so beyond blessed by God to get the trainer I got. Her name is Sister Tiongco. She is Filipino and is one of the sweetest people i've ever met. She is so humble, patient, faithful, and really hard working. I got so lucky to be able to have her be my trainer. She has been out for 9 months and was a convert to the church when she turned 11 years old. After I met her and we said our goodbyes to everyone we headed out to our zone Pina D. It took us 3 hours from the mission home to get to our apartment. In Utah it would take like 25-30 min, but the roads are so crazy here and there is so much traffic that it took so long. We reached the apartment and it is actually way nicer than I thought it was gonna be. It is still gross and in a very poverty area, but it is not that bad. I live with two Filipino's and one from idk India or something haha so I guess that a good way to get and embrace their culture with the language and food. I'm lucky tho because Sister Tiongco is actually really good at English. Also When we got to the mission home I GOT MY CHRISTMAS PACKAGE!! I'm waiting to open it on Dec 14, but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MOM!!! :))))

Thursday: I woke up from a terrible nights sleep lol, It is so hard to sleep because we are in the city and it is just SO LOUD. All you hear all night long is cars and horns and it is just super loud. But we got up and we do tons of study until 12pm then eat lunch and head out to teach/proselyte at 1pm. We are in a fresh area, which means both me and sister Tiongco are new to the area. It's hard both being new to the area especially with me training as well. Sister Tiongco studied the area book all morning, but when we went out we still got so lost. haha It was hilarious, but terrible. It is so hot here! I honestly feel like I'm going to die all the time from heat exahustion haha I drink SO much water! haha man this place is crazy. It's awesome tho! Later that night, we went to a less actives home and oh my gosh you guys would've died to see their house. It litterally was maybe the size of Courtney's room. There whole house. And they had 5 kids. So 7 people living all together in this tiny home and to get there we went through this tiny alley way like three feet wide full of trash, mud, and water. It was quite the experience. And once you got into their home I couldn't even stand up... Thats how low the celing was. I cannot express how blessed I feel to be who i am, know what i know about the gospel, and to live in America. I literally can't even express the emotions I feel here.

Friday: Today we studyed and did weekly planning all day... but when we finally went out we were walking down the street and the people here love White people. Haha so all the people love me and say hello and just try to get my attention! haha We were walking down this one street trying to find a less active members home and as we were walking a bunch of the little kids called me Elsa and would follow us around trying to ask me questions in Tagalog. haha they are so cute! I honestly love the kids the most here! They would grab my hair and touch my hands and wow I just kinda feel like a celebrity here. Which has its good and bad perks to it. But I truly do love the kids.

Saturday: After studying we went out to teach and ALL of our appointments weren't home.. SO ANNOYING. So we went to a members home the Artales family and I honestly had no idea what was going on the whole time. I couldn't understand what anyone was saying and I was feeling so discouraged. Honestly just wanted to pack up right then and there and go home. I kept thinking to myself, is this really worth it? But I decided to say a little prayer and keep saying to myself Courtney's moto: I can do hard things. After my prayer truly a miracle happened. We went OYMing and stopped to talk to a women named Sister Jenny. She was working at a nut stand, but anyway we just started talking with her, then introduced ourselves and asked if we could share a message. She said yes, so we just sat down right then and there and taught her. She told us she is catholic, but is open to religion. She also said she was seeking for truth so of course I was freaking out like OMG WE HAVE THE TRUTH FOR YOU!!! Hahah, but I was so happy with myself. I prayed, testified, and asked if she would pray to know the truthfullness of our message would she be baptized and she said YES!! haha We get to follow up with her next week to teach her more of the lessons and commit her to a baptismal date. This experience just really shows that God is wathcing over me and knows what im going through and knows how I feel. I am so blessed to know what I know and to be able to share It with the people of the Philippines. 

Sunday: Was church day which is always really good. This sunday was a little different tho, because It was fast sunday and we were new to the ward. Honestly fast sunday is so much more meaningful when you are on a mission or fast for an actual person or purpose. I challenge all of you next fast sunday to fast for an answer or person or purpose, and I promise you. Your answer will come. Fasting is truly amazing. I was able to have the opportunity to share my testimony to the Tagalog ward and say the closing prayer. It's crazy how much you can feel the spirit in church even when you don't have a clue as to what the people are saying. It is truly a testimony builder.

Monday: As for today ITS PDAY! Haha so I get to write you guys. We only have an hour tho and my trainer is super obedient (which is good, but kinda annoying) haha but mostly good. I can learn a lot from her. So I don't have a ton of time, but luckily I get to speak to you on Christmas! :) I also learned how to hand wash my clothes today so that was neat! We also got amazing news! We have a Christmas party on the 14 so I will be able to see everyone from my batch and we get to go to the temple on the 22nd. 

I feel so humbled to be a missionary and I love serving God. I promise you I am doing great even though this is definetly the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. The Lord is blessing me and you. Thank you for everything and the wonderful christmas package and just always being here for me. I love you all!!

Love, 

Sister Barton

Welcome Letter from her Mission President

THE CHURCH OF

JESUS CHRIST

OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

PHILIPPINES MANILA MISSION

P.O. BOX 1997

Makati Central Post Office

0714 Makati, Metro Manila

Philippines

4 December 2015

Dear Brother and Sister Barton,

Great news!  Your daughter arrived in the Philippines Manila Mission last Wednesday morning!  We picked up all the new missionaries at 6 AM from the Manila MTC.  Your missionary looks great!  Each of the missionaries expressed enthusiasm and excitement to begin their work.  We fed them well, trained them with all the health, financial, and mission things they needed to know to get started.  We also taught them how much Heavenly Father loves them and how He expects them to do their best, but that He is also a wise, loving Father. We showed a video of our one year old grandson, Ryan, learning to walk.  They saw how Ryan’s parents encouraged and cheered him on as he was taking his first steps.  We discussed how they were never upset with him if he wobbled or fell because they understood he was learning to do something new and that he would need practice to be able to do it well.  That is the same type of experience your missionary will be having.  We hope you will support and encourage her during this big transition time.  Help her realize it is natural to feel “wobbly”, but as she keeps trying, she will find her abilities growing until her confidence and enjoyment increases.  Soon, she will love the work and the people with all her heart.

We are so very grateful to you and your family for sharing your missionary with us and the wonderful people of Manila.  We hope that you will be able to enjoy the wonderful growth that your missionary will be experiencing during her mission. We encourage you to email her weekly and share the positive things happening in your family.  If you have serious concerns or worries about your missionary, do not hesitate to email or call us.  You can reach us via email at 2018209@ldschurch.org or by phone at 011632-836-4963.  We or our office staff would be glad to help you.

Your missionary has been given one of the best missionaries of our mission, Sister Tiongco, to be her trainer. They will be serving in the Pina District of the Manila Zone.  We expect great things from them. Please see the enclosed pictures for your enjoyment.  We love your daughter, and we again express our appreciation for your willingness to share her with us.  We will do all in our power to help her have a happy and successful experience here on her mission.  May Our Heavenly Father bless you and your family.

Sincerely,

Creg D. Ostler, President

Philippines Manila Mission