MERRY CHRISTMAS

Family,

MERRY CHRISTMAS! It was so wonderful talking to you and seeing you. Sorry the connection kinda died, but it was great talking to you for as long as I could. That was my favorite Christmas present ever. 

This week is transfer week. We will find out what is happening tomorrow at District Meeting (a little different cuz in Palawan you find out on Monday, so patience...) I'm excited to see what will happen. Hopefully I won't transfer haha but ya just never know. 

Anyway it was wonderful to talk to you and to see your beautiful faces. Another Christmas on the mission and it was just as good as last year. This year was especially great because I got to do the thing that gives the most joy in the world... Give. I bought some simple inexpensive presents for the Mesa Family and on Christmas day (after talking to you) brought them to their house. They were so excited. Their face lit up and they were just so grateful. I really think my favorite thing in the whole world is giving people things. I just love it. I bought an individual gift for each of them and then a couple gifts for the whole family. I also brought a huge bag of some of the clothes I don't wear anymore and gave it to them. Wow their faces were priceless. I can't wait for one day when you get to meet them. I'll plan a time when we can all come to the Philippines and you can meet all my great people :)

Christmas night we also had the opportunity to go to our ward mission leaders house to eat dinner and that is where Sister Kumari also skyped. The food was great and she had a good time skyping as well, but my favorite part of the night was when we got to share a message of Christmas. We just followed the Spirit while sharing and we got on the topic of Joy and where our Joy comes from. We asked all of them where they get the most joy in their lives and the first thing they said was "family". 

We were on the subject of Jesus Christ, Joy, and Family for a while and the Father of our ward mission leader gave an amazing insight that I will never forget. He said something like this in Tagalog, "The greatest joy and happiness of Heavenly Father comes from families. Out of all his creations, worlds, skies, waters, creatures, all these things, his greatest creation is the creation of the family. So if his greatest joy comes from the family, of course our greatest joy comes from the family. As well as the whole purpose of our lives is to one day receive eternal life and become like our Heavenly Father. The only way we can do that is through the Atonement and through the family. The Atonement is for individuals, but it is for individuals in order for them to repent and become closer as a family. Stronger, closer, and obtain a greater relationship with their families. In order to enter the Celestial Kingdom we need to be in families."

As he was talking my whole heart was filled with joy and love. Knowing I had just talked to the people who bring the most joy to my life... my beautiful family. I am so grateful for you all. It's hard to be away from home during the Christmas season, but it is so worth it. I love being here in the Philippines and serving these great people. The meaning of JOY is who you need to put first in your lives. 

J- Jesus Christ

O- Others

Y- Yourself

I know that as we always serve the Lord, Jesus Christ, and others first, our own needs will be met. I'm so grateful for my fabulous family. I love you all with my whole heart. Thank you for being the best family in the world and for loving me even if i'm a bit different now. hahaha I think you are all wonderful and just think next time I see you it will be in the Salt Lake City airport in person :) haha what a crazy thought. I don't like it. So i'm gonna end it at that. I love you all. Keep being great examples and chose the right always. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

Ps. Random facts for you. My ankles/feet are permanently dirty from being here. Literally I try to scrub them all the time, but there is just permanent dirt. I also have permanent bruises on my legs from falling up the stairs on my birthday and they have never gone away... hahahaha anyway that's just some random knowledge for you all. LOVE YOU

14 MONTHS

Heyyy Fam,

Guess what? I GET TO TALK TO YOU IN LESS THAN 1 WEEK AND IM SO EXCITED!!! I can't even handle how excited I am to talk to you. As well as can you believe I will be turning 14 months on my mission this week? 4 months left.. ahhhhhh where in the world is the time going? It's so funny having Christmas here again in the Philippines. Last year, it was awesome, but I didn't know half of the things that were going on cuz I was brand new and just kinda was in awe all the time at the difference of America and the Philippines, but now i'm practically ancient in the mission and I can't even remember what America is like.. hahah but I AM SO EXCITED for Christmas this year. It is going to be so great.

I remember thinking last year that Christmas was really going to be terrible because of all the changes, but I remember absolutely loving it. So I am really excited to be able to serve the one and only Christ on His beautiful day. It's such a blessing to be a missionary at this time of my life. I feel so grateful for all the challenges and hardships that bring the blessings and the joys of missionary work. 

It's so funny just reminiscing back on my first couple of transfers here in the mission. I was just so bata and I didn't know what I was doing. haha I cried everyday because of the language and I really just struggled so hard. Now, I get to just kind of enjoy missionary work. I literally just get to teach and testify about Jesus Christ and His beautiful gospel everyday and help others come unto Him and accept Him in their lives. What a beautiful work this is. 

This week we have had some ups and downs, but things are really starting to look up. We had our Ward Christmas party on Saturday that was suppossed to start at 6:00pm. I don't know if you have ever heard of this, but it is called Filipino time. Filipino time just kinda means everything will start later than they say cuz nothing will ever start on time. So we were thinking it would maybe start at 6:30 or 6:45pm, just planning for the worst... BUT GUESS WHAT. Literally 15 investigators came to the party at 6:15pm and literally we maybe had 5 members there... ahhhh it was so rough so we just talked to them and tried to make them feel comfortable for like an hour and a half and then finally the party started at 8:00pm. Soooo that was a rough one on me... I always thinking im gaining more patience here on the mission, but I WILL NEVER get used to filipino time.

The Ward made up for it the next day though. They brought 3 referrals to church and it was awesome. :) So honestly the missionary work here just keeps going up and it's really exciting to say the least!!

We also found the two cutest little girls to teach who are from a part member family and they are just eating up the lessons. One of the little girls literally asked if she could have a "Mormon Bible" hahahaha so that is the picture bellow.

As well as I got to go on exchanges with Sister Zarbock. She is from Draper Utah and went to Corner Canyon and said she totally knew Jess :) So that was really fun. I love being with Americans. There are only 3 of us in the whole mission... hahaha they came in July and when I found out I started screaming so that was really cool. I really enjoyed exchanges with her ahaha she's really awesome and we just got on great. 

Anyway my week was really good and honestly I just feel blessed to be a missionary. The closer I get to going home the more I find myself praying to Heavenly Father to make the days slower and longer. I can't help but feel weird when I think that in just a short 4 months I will be headed back to America.. But I don't have to think about that for 4 more months so that's the great part :) I'm excited to continue onward in the most amazing journey of my life. I really love being a missionary. 

I feel so blessed to be able to serve Christ during this CHRISTmas season. He is the reason why and I can't even express the love I have for Jesus Christ. He gave his life, his death, his resurrection, his everything so that we can be happy now, and forever. I'm grateful to be able to celebrate his birth this Christmas season without all the fancy presents and things, but just with love and through spreading the word of His beautiful gospel. I love all of you with my whole heart and I invite you to remember why we really celebrate Christmas.

Thank you for being such a great example to me and for always supporting me and being there for me. I love you all and I will see you in a short 6 days :))))

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

Power, Spirit, Revelation, Inspiration.. I got it all

Dear Family,

This week has been sooooo good! First of all we had this thing called a Mission Tour this week and we got to have Elder Allen D. Haynie come and speak to us. He is part of the area Presidency here in the Philippines. He is such a cool guy. He had the Spirit with him so strongly, but he also has the best sense of Humor. 

Being a leader in the Mission I was able to attend MLC and he taught almost the whole thing. He talked about the way we can really change our mission to be "that" missionary who has "those" experiences that everyone talks about after their missions. He really got me so pumped up to just work and work and work until I die... (dying means go home pala) I literally was just so ready to get out and work and kill it. Then on Thursday we had our actual Mission Tour which involved all the Manila Mission Missionaries (besides Palawan) and we received even more inspiration for our areas and how to be the best missionaries and "Find Scattered Israel" It was just a really great conference and a really great week. 

One thing that I love that Elder Haynie does every time he speaks to people is when he shakes our hands he tries to personally get to know each one of us for a min or two. So on Thursday I was kinda sick, so I literally didn't have a voice.. I sounded like a man. So he's like talking to me and I tried to talk back, but man it was a struggle. Turns out he actually went to Bountiful High School... he's a little older than Dad, but maybe they know each other or something. idk, but he's cool. It was a really awesome conference. 

We also had a Sister named Anny stay with us from Palawan. She is an amazing person. Background on Anny. She is from Brookspoint Palawan which is like the bottom part (Narra Zone, only Elders serve there). She is a school teacher and she is so cool. She has always wanted to go on a mission and she just recently decided to submit her papers, but she needed to get all the check ups and medical things first. So she stayed with us and we took her to the hospital. She has an enlarged heart so they were thinking she could maybe just get on some medicine to control it and then she could go. As we went with her to the hospital on Friday we found out that she is going to have to have a lot more done to her than what was expected... 

She will come back in two weeks to get more tests and have more things done to her, but wow it was awesome to just have her stay with us for a couple of days. I really felt how much faith she had. She wants to serve so badly, yet her circumstances may not let her. The desire she has to serve the Lord is incredible. I feel so blessed I was able to meet and get to know her. 

I felt a little bad because on Saturday I couldn't even talk and my whole body hurt so I stayed inside to rest and drink water and take like 8 medication pills.. so that was a little rough, but i'm okay now. Sister Turner (the medical nurse) thinks that because I had Dengue every little sickness I get turns really big and kinda messes up my whole system. So i'm gonna have to be kinda careful. I'm doing great right now though!

I'm so excited to skype you on Christmas! 2 WEEKS AND I GET TO SEE YOU! I feel like it's been sooooo long! So i'm super excited. I'll think of some cool things to tell you, but maybe if you have any questions about anything write them down over these next two weeks and i'll answer them when we skype. :) 

This week was awesome though, throw out the sickness and boom this week was a perfect week. And to top it off we had fast and testimony sunday yesterday because we had stake conference the week before. Wow how powerful the testimonies were yesterday. I swear this whole week has just been a week of power and revelation and inspiration and greatness. 

I love you all and i'm grateful for all you do. Thank you for the package and thank you for you love. I am grateful I get to serve and I get to witness big, small, amazing, great, gentle, powerful miracles everyday here in the Philippines. I feel the Spirit everyday so strongly and I am just really grateful for these last couple of months I have to really give it my all. Keep being an example to everyone and share the light of Christ. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

Pictures... Sister Anny and I, Sister Anau sliced a lizard in half because it was all over the place in our room and I couldn't handle it (she was sweat'n so hard but she over powered the lizard), and my beautiful Christmas tree. 

Miracles on top of miracles

Family,

Hey so this Computer doesn't send pics.. so sorry for the sad news, but next week I will send you a bunch :) Anyway How are you all? Can you believe we have only 3 weeks until Christmas. The greatest time of the year and the time where I get to talk to all of you??? Ahhhh i'm so excited. 

So many things have happened this week. Man, it has been so busy. We had 2 exchanges this week meaning I left to work in the other sisters areas and man it is really hard on me sleeping in other people's beds. Wow.. I feel like a zombie. I haven't had a full good night of sleep in like 2 weeks.. and i'm starting to get sick just like all of you... Yay family unity. Nothing like Dengue, so nothing to stop me from working, just the normal cold sickness.. It's starting to get cold here so I sleep in like a ton of clothing, but the thing is.. the cold here is like the really hot over there... so i'm gonna die when I actually have to come home. haha 

My exchanges this week were really good. We have a lot of Visa waiters in our mission. So I was able to go with two visa waiters. One of them is waiting on her visa to serve in Germany! So that's super cool. I'm pretty sure she is the first Filipina serving in Germany. She's awesome! The other one is Sister Peralta. She is Sister Tekanene's companion. And guess where she is called to serve... The Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. Soooo wooooo she's gonna be going to Utah soon. She was supposed to leave on the 7th of December, but it got delayed so now she doesn't leave until January 2nd. But Mom, you have to make sure you visit her and give her a bunch of Filipino things... I will tell you more of the details when it is closer, but I want you to meet her because she is really cute. :) So anyway I love being a STL cuz I love going on exchanges IT IS SO FUN!  hahaha

I have some really awesome news as well. So last week we found that awesome family if you remember, the Mesa Family. We taught them again this week and they are literally my favorite people ever. We have a ton of investigators, but they are my favorite (you aren't supposed to have favorites but they are mine). We went and taught them for our last appointment and we taught the WHOLE family. So we taught The Restoration and wow the spirit was so strong. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had. As I was saying the first vision, with all of their eyes on me, I actually started to cry. The Spirit was so strong and my testimony just continues to grow as I talk about the Restoration of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for all that I have in my life and I am beyond grateful for Joseph Smith and his willingness to be the Prophet in this dispensation. I know in my whole being that he is a true Prophet of God.

The miracle on top of the miracle of the Mesa Family is Ronillio Mesa. Ronillio is the Father. Before we started to teach them we were talking to him and getting to know him and we found out HE IS A MEMBER. Apparently when he worked in one of the Provinces he was baptized and just hasn't been active for the last couple of years. So that's amazing! I just feel like Heavenly Father really placed the Mesa Family right in our path so we could find them and help them accept the gospel in their lives. It's so exciting and just confirms to me that Heavenly Father is "mindful of all people" (Alma 26:37). I'm so grateful for all my mission has to offer and for all the things we get to do as members and as missionaries to help build the kingdom of God here on the earth. 

I'm so excited for the Christmas season and to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by serving Him. The one gift I am constantly trying to give my Savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father is my soul and my agency because those are the only things that aren't yet his. So as we surrender our will to His, that is when we will be the happiest in our lives. I love you all and i'm excited to see you really soon :) Continue to chose the right, read the Book of Mormon, be happy and share your happiness with others by looking for opportunities to serve and help those around you who are struggling or may be lost. I love and appreciate all you do and all your support. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

In the Service of Your God

Family,

So this week has been crazy busy, but full of miracles. Wow the Lord is really pouring out blessing upon us right now. I'm really really getting to love this area. But before I tell you how great my week was... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TINA!! Hahaha Happy bday Mom, I hope you have the best birthday and go eat lots of cake and things :). You are a remarkable person and I feel so blessed to have you as a mother. Thank you for all you do. 

Also, Happy Thanksgiving.. (belated) 

My thanksgiving was one of a kind, thats for sure. I went on exchanges with Sister Bellen. It was a really awesome exchange and we had a lot of crazy experiences. She had a dinner appointment with one of the members so we went to their house and they had like 3 huge dogs who were so angry at us for some reason.. and wow the dogs here are insane. Man it took us 20 min just to get in their house. Then guess what I ate for thanksgiving dinner... SEAFOOD. My favorite... hahaha we had shrimp and fish and some weird vegetable stuff. I actually like seafood more now than I used to. I can actually eat it so that's one thing I can say I accomplished on my mission :)

We had a really cool experience of service this last week. So a little background of the Philippines.. There are poor people everywhere you go here. Like not poor like in Utah, but like poor as in they sleep in construction type blocks for a bed because they have nowhere to go. A lot of the people here literally have nothing. When I first got on my mission and saw these people all around it broke my heart every time. Especially when I heard we can't give them money because it isn't our money to give. So instead I just give them food whenever I have any.

On Tuesday night we had such a wonderful experience serving. We went to get dinner by a shopping center and a mother probably around 35 years old was holding a little baby and they just looked horrible. They literally looked like they had just duggen through a pit of garbage (which a lot of people do here) Anyway she had a broken ankle and her baby she was holding had two swollen eyes with all this red stuff around them. She came up to us to ask for money. We decided to talk to this lady and get to know her a little bit. She didn't have a family, a job, schooling, or a home. She said she lived behind this old warehouse and her home is like a fort. She kept asking for money so she could buy some milk for her baby. Sorrow filled my whole soul when we were talking to her. I felt so sad for this cute little lady with such a bad situation. So we decided to walk away and buy her things in the grocery store. We bought just some simple stuff for her to make with some rice and bought her baby some milk. After we bought everything, we headed back to give it to her... but she was gone. We couldn't find her anywhere. So I prayed in my heart that we would find this lady in need so that she could have some food to get her through a couple days. Afterwards I was thinking where I would go if I was her and needed money. So we walked to a couple other restaurants and sure enough there she was. So we walked over to her and gave her the bag of groceries. 

The look on her face was priceless. She was so beyond grateful. All she said was maraming maraming salamat po. That's all she could say and she had tears in her eyes. Man, it was such a great experience. Looking back at my experience I just think in our eyes that was such a small thing. We literally just bought a couple cans of food and groceries for someone, but in her eyes it was a HUGE thing. She was so grateful. So I just think, if we can do acts of service like that always how great would the world be. Jesus Christ came to earth literally to serve us because he loves us. During the Christmas season is a great time to follow His example and serve selflessly. I read a quote the other day that said, "Christlike service is when you serve for the person, not for the reward" I really love serving, missionary service, regular service, whatever it is it is all great in the sight of others and in the sight of God. I'm grateful for the service I get to do and I invite all of you to continue to look for opportunities to serve others. 

Anyway,throughout the rest of the week we just worked and worked and worked some more. It paid off as well. We found this amazing family (picture bellow) They are the Mesa Family and we talked to them on Saturday and asked if we could teach them. So then and there we taught them about how the restored gospel will bless their family and about the beauty of temples. Ahh it was such a powerful lesson. Sister Vicky is the mother and she has 9 children. 4 are already married and live above her and 5 are still in their teens or younger. So when we taught we were able to teach almost all of her children so there was like 15 people in the house as we were teaching. It was such a powerful and spiritual experience. And just another testimony builder that it is so important to talk to everyone you see. Whether it is on the street, in a jeepnee, on a bus, or really just anywhere to talk to them. 

Then on Sunday, I was asked to give a talk and we had a lot of investigators show up and many members brought some friends. While the last speaker was talking we saw Sister Niu and Sister Anau (our kabahays) bringing some people into the chapel. I looked up and saw the Mesa family walk into church, they walked in with a smile and a willingness to act on the message they had heard. I literally was up on the stand with tears in my eyes. Oh how grateful I am for the Mesa Family. I am so blessed for the restored gospel and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. My whole heart was filled with joy when I saw them walking into church. We were able to have 11 investigators attend yesterday and its just a firm testimony to me that Heavenly Father does hear and answer prayers. One by one they are choosing to follow Jesus Christ and accept the gospel in their lives. The experiences I have on my mission are literally indescribable. It is so hard for me to explain how I felt and how much every little thing Heavenly Father does for me and for my people each and everyday means to me. 

Sorry for the long email... hopefully you didn't get bored, but I had a great week. I hope all of you have a great day and get ready for the most wonderful time of the year... CHRISTMAS! 4 weeks and then I get to talk to youuuuu :) I'm so grateful for you and for all you do. Thanks for being great examples to all. Keep choosing the right, reading the Book of Mormon, and smiling. I love you all.

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

13 Months

Familyyyyyy

So this'll probs be pretty short cuz we WENT TO THE TEMPLE TODAY!! That's why we have a different Pday... but it's awesome cuz WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE. Like holy what a blessing temples are especially when I am a missionary. I feel so extremely blessed. Not to mention it is the greatest Thanksgiving/Christmas/13 month present in the whole world. Right... can you believe i'm 13 months. In just a short 5 months i'll be at home with you all eating M&m's and things... hahaha but really time is flying and I can't handle it.

This week was honestly SOOOO hard tho. Like to be honest man it was so rough. I was just struggling so hard with changing and coming back to the city and everything. My new companions name is Sister Kumari, she is from India. She is so nice and so sweet and I really think we will do well together. It's a little bit of an adjustment going from Sister Holzworth (practically American) to Sister Kumari who is an indian. I felt so bad when I first saw her tho. She has been a STL for one transfer so i've seen her at MLC, but I just remember when I was in the MTC and saw people from India and I would make fun of the way they talked and I am just so mean talaga. But now i'm a lot better and don't do that type of stuff, cuz im mature. haha but it is cool that I have companions from all over the world.

On Thursday so the day after transfers, I honestly was dying I was like so emotional for some reason and just really couldn't handle all the changes that just happened so fast and I didn't really know where to turn. I was praying so hard and just trying my best to just adjust and feel comfortable, but it was so hard. So what happened... President Ostler called. Man, he always just knows the right time and the right things to say. He really helped me. I really felt kinda mad that he transferred me to be honest because at MLC he told Sister Holzworth he wasn't planning on transferring me. So we made all these plans for Christmas and all these things and then BOOM... i get transferred. It was a terrible feeling and I was so confused, but when President Ostler called he literally told me that the Lord NEEDED me to come to Mandaluyong with Sister Kumari. He told me he kept trying to ignore the promptings because he knew how much Sister Holzworth and I wanted to have a chance to actually WORK together... but he said to me, "I know that you trust me, and the reason you trust me is because I follow the Spirit. So I had to transfer you." 

So after my nice little chat with President Ostler I felt so much better. I prayed after and just got this huge feeling of peace and love and I know that I am supposed to be in this area.

And even though Thursday was a bit of a rough day we actually had a really good week. We taught this girl named Samantha (like 23 years old, one kid, probs not married) on the spot last week and she actually came to church on Sunday! We had 4 investigators and church and it was awesome. One of the members brought his friend and we taught her as well. Then, just yesterday we went back to Sister Samantha to teach her and she was with some friends and so I asked if we could teach all of them and they were SO interested. Our lesson went for so long cuz they just kept asking questions, like soul searching questions and it was so awesome. So I think we will have a lot of success in our area :) 

As hard as it was to leave Palawan and come here, I really think I'm going to like this place. I think that's the pattern with me. I come and go and I cry and I struggle, but in the end I really start to love the people and it's wonderful. 

Then I get transferred again....

hahaha but really that's kinda the pattern of my mission. I'm just grateful to be here in the Philippines Manila Mission with the wonderful mission President I have and with a beautiful temple (literally like 20 min away from my apartment:) ) I feel like the luckiest person ever! 

So happy week. happy day. and happy thanksgiving. Make sure to eat a lot of food for me and express how much gratitude you have towards me haha 

I love you all! Continue to read the Book of Mormon, choose the right, and pray with all your heart. Thank you for everything you do for me and for your wonderful letters. Sorry if I don't respond to some... time is limited. Know I read them all throughout the week and I'm so blessed to have all of you in my life.

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

Some random pics. The little dark indian is my companion :)

Ingat Palawan...

Dear Family,

So very sad news... i'm leaving Palawan. I just found out like an hour ago that I will be transferring on Wednesday. I'm super depressed about it cuz I REALLY wanted to be companions with Sister Holzworth during Christmas and I really wanted to help this area more... but "I'll go where he wants me to go" plus after 6 transfers on Palawan I guess it's about time that I go back to Manila. It'll be nice to actually have more civilization as well haha... so good bye to my little island home. 

Isn't it crazy how life can just change in a blink of an eye and we just trust in the Lord and go with it, doing His will? Missions are constantly changing and I am officially going with my 9th companion in my 6th area... what a mission. The longest i've ever stayed in an area is 2 transfers... is that not the saddest thing you've ever heard, but I know the Lord has a plan for me and I just need to trust in Him and keep going. Man... it definitely isn't easy tho, but im excited. 

This week has actually been our best week yet and so I guess that doesn't make leaving any easier. We found another huge family and I really think they will get baptized on December 24th... so that's exciting. I will try to get a picture with them sometime today or tomorrow and send it to you next week so you can see them :) We also found a ton of new investigators and have just worked really hard to get some more investigators in this area and to find the true seekers. It's hard saying goodbye when honestly I feel like I didn't do much for this area. After having the companions that i've had and Dengue.. I honestly feel like I didn't change much in this area at all, but I just have to remember that what I did do and what I did give was enough for the Lord. 

One woman I want to share about with you quickly is Sister Gamale. She is such a woman of hope and faith. We visited her a couple times throughout the transfer, but have really focused on her this last week. She is so amazing and so strong. She has a husband who works for the government on and off as a rescue team member. He works when they need him and does other sideline jobs for money. As for Sister Gamale, she has 6 kids from the ages of 13 to 1 years old. So her kids are quite the handful. She is one of the less actives in our area, but she has the biggest desire to go to church and partake of the sacrament again, but she has no way of going to church because she has no money. I have actually never seen a member of the Church as poor as her. She has a small hut house that honestly looks like a tree house of some sort and her walls are made out of cardboard boxes. Seriously, so poor. So as they are trying to survive on the little money brother brings home while having six children to try and help feed, get to school, and do everything else they need to do as parents, they are just really really struggling. 

One thing that I absolutely love about this family though is their faith. We taught them about overcoming challenges and hard situations by always relying on the Lord and having a firm foundation, built on Jesus Christ. We shared Helaman 5:12 and Sister Gamale bore her simple but firm testimony about the truthfulness of this church. The simplicity but power of her testimony was indescribable. She is doing her best to be the best mother she can be. She gathers her family around each night and they read in the Book of Mormon and pray together. 

Sister Gamale is just one of the great members we have in the church. She may be less active right now, but I have no doubt in my mind that when she can go to church she will. We are really hoping the branch will be able to do something to help them out. But just this one Sister helped me really strengthen my testimony about being true to our faith always. No matter what circumstances we are in and no matter how hard our life is, to always do what we can to stay close to Jesus Christ.

Isn't amazing the experiences I get to have with the amazing Filipino people. They are all so amazing and I feel so blessed to be here serving. It's quite true what they say about Filipinos being the kindest most humble people in the World. I'm grateful for the time I have had to serve in Palawan. I will miss it, but I'm sure I will love my next area as much as I loved this one, I always do. Thank you for all you do for me. I love you all with my whole heart. Keep reading the Book of Mormon, choosing the right, and staying close to our Savior and our loving Heavenly Father.

Mahal ko kayo,
Sister Barton

Celebration

Dear Family,

I named this letter celebration cuz its finally time to CELEBRATE! I am up and going and working harder than ever, I have a great companion and we finally got to celebrate our 1 year mark, Kayli and Chris had their beautiful baby girl (I loved the pictures) and it's just been overall a celebration type week with the work and with the family back home. But seriously I am so grateful to be up and going again. We went to MLC this last week and it was amazing. We also had to drop off Sister Ortea (a 2 week part time missionary who was staying in our kabahay working with Sister Tekanene and Sister Gabriel) at the mission home on wednesday and President and Sister Ostler invited us to stay at the mission home for the night and guess what that means... HOT SHOWERS AND AIR CONDITIONING! So that was awesome! MLC was as good as ever and I even got to do my interview with President Ostler because I was sick when he came to Palawan. Man, life was great to me this last week. And to top it all off on the way back from Manila to Palawan we got Krispy Kremes and McDo to celebrate our year mark finally! hahha so I hope you like all our funny pictures... :) This week was so great.

Also after 2 weeks (feeling like 14 weeks) of not working WE WORKED. Man, it was such a great feeling. I'm kinda on house arrest during the day so I don't over do myself and get sick again.. but later in the afternoon we get to work everyday and it is amazing. We got to go finding this week and we had the coolest experience ever. The area we have right now is sooooo dead... so to brighten it up a bit we decided to walk around and just talk to everyone to see if they are interested in the beautiful message us missionaries have to offer. We decided to just roam around our area a bit and we came to this river place compound called Barangay San Miguel. It was really close to the church and many people lived down there where we decided to go. It was a really interesting place. As we were exploring we asked a man if there was a lot of housed down this certain alley way. He said yes there was many and we went ahead into the compound. We saw this lady and started to talk to her and she told us it was just a dead end... so that made us feel kinda dumb considering we had pretty much just walked into her house without an invitation, but the spirit lead us so I guess it was fine and polite and things. She then went inside her house and stoped talking to us and Sister Holzworth and I felt a little uncomfortable, but we just decided to stand there until she would let us teach her. So as we were standing there we were talking to some kids and just a bunch of people were down in this little dirty place and it was awesome. Then the lady came back and she agreed to hear our message. As we were teaching her just more and more people started to join. At first it was just her, then her sister, then her dad, then her two kids, then her sisters kids, then her brother.. and so on. By the time we were actually teaching we probably had around 15 people just listening. It was amazing. Turns out the compound was actually full of one big family. The parents have 7 kids and 18 grand kids so far. Ahhhh it was the best experience ever. They did have many many many mosquitos around their home and i almost had a panic attack, but I put on off lotion like it's no ones business, so I think i'll be fine :)

Seriously after not working for the longest time to have such an amazing experience of letting the Spirit direct us into finding such a great family who seems ready to accept the gospel was so great. I am so excited to see what happens to them. Not to mention we had some amazing lessons with Less Actives as well, through asking inspired questions. My testimony just continues to constantly grow as I teach and testify about this beautiful gospel every single day. I really love this work and I love being a missionary of the only true church on this earth. 

Sometimes its really hard to think I could be transferred next week, but at least I am giving it my all now that I can. I really hope and pray I will stay in this area for just one transfer longer so that I can help this area grow and see the work prosper more in Puerto Princesa. I'm so grateful for this work and honestly for just the ability to be up and walking and talking to all those who will listen. That's the best part about being a missionary. You get to talk to everyone and just talk about the gospel all the time. I love it! I really think this is the happiest time of my life. I am just so grateful and I can't wait to continue to have so many more experiences.

I love you all and I'm grateful for the support I receive from you every week! I love all of your emails and the updates on all of you. You are all wonderful and I encourage you to keep striving to be the way Christ was. Christmas is soon and in the Philippines it is here (It starts is September). I am so blessed to have you all in my life. Continue to read the Book of Mormon everyday and keep choosing the right! 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton  

Death of Dengue

Family,

IM BACK AND FREE FROM DENGUE! Man, being sick for 2 weeks literally killed me. For those of you who didn't know, I had this thing called Dengue Fever. Dengue Fever is a virus that is carried by mosquitoes and it is literally the worst thing ever. Some people call it the bone crushing virus... it was honestly so terrible. For the first week I was just lying in my bed honestly just trying to live. I would just cry and try to sleep so I couldn't feel pain. Honestly, it was the worst thing I've ever had in my entire life. I had to go to the hospital everyday and get my blood drawn so they could make sure I wasn't going to die with my platelet levels too low. Luckily i'm fine and doing better than ever.

The first week was just straight up hell, but this last week I was just emotionally, physically, everything exhausted. So I have been resting and just trying to get back in the missionary mode. I was lucky because I started working just a little on Saturday and I was so happy. Man, not being able to work when your a missionary is like the worst thing ever. I was dying, but I worked and it was raining really hard and I was just like a fat kid with chocolate cake, I WAS SO HAPPY! :) So i'm doing so much better now. I'm still really tired and just trying to slowly get back into the missionary grove of things, but i'm doing really well.

Having Dengue, as awful of an experience as it was, I actually learned so much. I learned that Heavenly Father really loves me. He sent me so many people to look after me and take care of me. Wow, being sick so many people reached out at every opportunity to help lift me and make me feel better and it was amazing. It was so hard being sick not having mom around. Like SO HARD, but I had so many great people around me that it made it so much easier. As hard as life as a missionary is, when you are surrounded by people who love you, it is so much easier. 

I also learned how much my Savior loves me. The first week of Dengue my whole body was in so much pain. I can't even explain what it was like, but it hurt. I kept trying to think of things that just made me happy so I would stop thinking about how much  pain I was in. It was really cool tho because I think about the Atonement so much and I try to even understand a little bit. Being missionaries we do some of the same things Jesus Christ did in His mortal ministry. So we get a little taste of the Atonement in that way, but hardly ever have a felt the Atonement in a physical way. As I was laying in my bed struggling to even move my head because of the pain, I just felt an overwhelming feeling of my Saviors love. It was something I will never be able to explain, but if all I got out of having Dengue fever was being able to feel just a little tiny bit of something the Savior felt in the Garden of Gethsemane then it was worth it. 

The Death of Dengue is real and it was terrible, but now I am just that much more grateful for my health and for the ability to move without being in pain. Wow, it's crazy what can happen in just a snap of a finger. I'm so much more grateful now tho. Another thing I remember doing when I was in so much pain was just thanking Heavenly Father for eyes to see and ears that can hear. I was so grateful for the little things and I think that is one reason why we have trials and afflictions. In order to be grateful for the things we have, we need hardships. One great thing we have coming up (or you in America have coming up) is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to give gratitude so everyday starting Nov 1 until Thanksgiving write somewhere something you are grateful for and I will do the same. I'm extremely grateful for the past two weeks that I have really struggled and have had a really hard time so that I can have more gratitude. I'm so grateful for all the people who have helped me and have lent a helping hand. I'm so grateful for you and for your prayers and support. I can't even express how much that means to me. I'm just so grateful.

Thank you all for everything you do for me. Hopefully next week I will have heaps of stories to tell you about this great work. We are going to Manila on Wednesday to attend MLC and I'm so excited. The work continues and I get to continue with it. :) I love being a missionary. I love this gospel and I am so grateful for all my ancestors who sacrificed everything they had for this gospel. We are so blessed. So let's just count our many blessings and move forward in the work of the Lord. :) Reading the Book of Mormon, choosing the right, and being an example and light for all those around to see. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton  

PS. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I loved the pictures of you in your costumes! You looked great :) 

Letter from Sister Holzworth about the fever

Hi sister Barton's mum! It's sister Holzworth here! Sister Barton has written you all a letter which I think will be sent either today or possibly tomorrow! She is right now with one of our couple missionaries getting her blood checked! So I bet you have been quite worried about sister Barton! She has missed you so much this week! She said this was her first time of being quite sick and not having her mum there! I'm going to make sure she gets to email you sometime this week! She has been doing a lot better these past few days- the first 7 days of dengue are very painful. She was also vomitting so she was quite dehydrated. But on Monday the vomitting stopped and she has been able to eat and drink since Monday! So she has survived the first week, so hopefully by next Monday, she'll be back to normal! Or at least close hahah! I've been her "nurse" person this week hahaha we have gotten a whole lot closer- I know everything that has gone into her body and everything coming out haha its kind of weird! Everyday she gets her blood checked to see her how cells and platelets are doing and great news, yesterday they increased! With dengue, normally you lose a lot of platelets or blog cells... But yesterday, instead of dropping, they increased! This is very very good news and means within a week she should be back to being Sister Barton! She misses you, her mother, and also misses working ! She even tried to convince the other day to let her go out and teach one lesson! She is even crazier when she is sick! I know you're prayers mean the world to her! She loves you and your letter meant the world to her! You should hear from her again tomorrow or possibly Friday! 

Don't worry too much, she is doing a lot better! And we plan on celebrating your 1 year mark this week when she gets better! We even got her M&Ms because she said they are her favorite and I know she loves Halloween which will be next PDAY! 

And that's about it! It's sister Holzworth by the way hahaha fancy us being companions again! We were watching finding nemo yesterday which the Ostlers brought over and we were both laughing at the Australian accents because I sound so American right now! So even when she is sick, she laughs! She loves you and misses you Sister Barton !!! I'll always be here looking after her :) 

Love sister Holzworth xxx

Sick

I will write more to you next week about everything. I'm very lucky because I have wonderful people in my mission helping me out. I'm very fortunate. I'm pleased to say i'm feeling way better today than i did last week. What a coincidence. The week I turn 1 year is the week I get Dengue. Lucky me... It's still a bit of a struggle to eat and drink a ton, but i'm keeping things down and my body is fighting the virus now and it's great. I have learned a lot from getting this disease, one of the biggest things is even at the most painful moments of my whole life, I could feel the Savior helping me. It is remarkable to try to comprehend the Saviors love for each one of us. We are so blessed to have the knowledge we do. Wow. I love being a missionary. It's hard to be sick and not being able to do the Lord's work at this time, but hopefully by the end of this week I will be back at it, doing the work I love. Don't worry about me anymore tho cuz i'm doing great! I love my mission more than ever and i'm still going... very slowly, but im going. :) Dengue has nothing on me. haha but really I appreciate you all so much and I'm grateful for the love, support, and prayers you have given me. Thank you all. I love you with my whole heart.

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

Dengue Fever

Dear Sister Barton,
I enjoyed seeing your daughter last week for Mission Leadership Council. I will see her again on Monday when we fly to Palawan for interviews. She is still doing a wonderful job!
Unfortunately she has contracted dengue fever. She is the first missionary to get dengue during this season. Right now she is one miserable little girl!
Fortunately we have a very loving senior couple serving very close to her. They are taking her for her daily blood draws and taking care of her. Sister Holzworth and her apartment mates and all of the other missionaries are also there to help her.
We have had quite a bit of experience with dengue. She is currently experiencing up and down fevers, body aches, nausea and vomiting. The symptoms are very similar to having the flu but she will also probably get red rashes on her body for a week or two. The reason we do daily blood draws is to monitor her platelet count. The platelets always drop during the first week or two of the sickness and then start to climb back up to normal levels. We want to watch to make sure that they do not drop too low. If she gets very dehydrated we will probably put her in the hospital temporarily to get re-hydrated. We have had to do this with several missionaries. All of our missionaries have recovered completely and have served the rest of their missions very well. They just have to go through the misery of the first week or two.
We will give her lots of love when we see her on Monday. She is very precious to us.
Please let me know if there is anything you think would cheer her up. 
With love,
President Creg D. Ostler
Philippines Manila Mission

12 Months aka 1 Year

Family & Friends,

Sooooo this week on Friday I turn 1 year in the mission.... So that's insane to think that exactly one year ago I left my beautiful family and started this crazy, hard, wonderful, lonely, beautiful, exciting, emotional, spiritual, one of a kind, life changing, difficult, funny, amazing experience going on a mission. Honestly, deciding to go on a mission was the best decision I have made in my entire life. Without a mission I really think I would've turned out as a different person. Before my mission I loved the gospel and things, but I took so much for granted. Going on a mission and being here and concecrating myself to the Lord and his work has really changed my whole life. My mission will be the biggest U turn I make in my life for the better. To learn more about the gospel, serve others and not think about myself, and to really learn how to become more like the Savior and really know Him. 

This last week was wonderful because we were able to go to MLC. Being missionaries and members we are true "followers of Christ" Moroni 7:47-48. We were able to really ponder and realize that what we do as missionaries is just a little glimpse of the work Jesus Christ did here on Earth. Then we watched this amazing video about the power of a missionary and why missionary work isn't easy. As Jeffery R. Holland stated, "Because Salvation is not easy" Wow that is a powerful video, if you guys can find it on LDS.org I would highly suggest you watch it because it is amazing. One thing that really impressed my mind was how perfect the Savior was. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we are constantly striving to magnify ourselves and become more like Christ. One thing President Ostler asked us was to describe Jesus Christ in 3 words. Then to chose one of the words your wrote down and try your best to acquire that attribute within yourself. It was such a spiritual, motivational MLC that I will never forget.

I love that all this work and effort I put into this mission is for Jesus Christ. Why am I here? Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. To help others realize that they can come to know Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Not just know about Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and for the decision I made to go on this mission. It has and forever will have changed my life.

One story, quote, poem thing I absolutely love and want to share with you is called, "The Fellowship of the Unashamed" By Bob Morehead as quoted by Elder Henry B. Eyring. It says, "I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, color-less dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear." 

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will do everything I can to be the person He wants me to be. I will be faithful and diligent until the end. When I come home in 6 months I will be able to say I gave everything. I love my mission with my whole heart. I'm ready for the trials, hardships, excitement, and beautiful times to come within these next 6 months. I love all of you with my whole soul and I love this gospel and my Savior and Redeemer with my whole soul. Continue to look up and stand up as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Thank you for all that you do. You are beautiful examples to me and I appreciate you all so much. So read the Book of Mormon with diligence, Pray with real intent, and Chose the Right everyday. Thank you for being you.

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

PS. When we went to Manila we also got to get SUBWAY. So that was so amazing! We bought selfie sticks too.. we are so white talaga and we thought the airplane pic in the back was gonna work out a lot better than it actually did sooooo... haha but going to Manila was really really good. I loved it. 

The Day Has Come

Family,

Hello to you all! This week has been absolutely fantastic wanna know why...? Because THE DAY HAS COME!!! I am officially companions with the one and only Sister Holzworth!!! Ahhhh I don't think you guys even understand how happy I am. After everything that has happened I am finally with my pre-mortal bff. My MTC companion. My cool ascent Australian.. Sister Holzworth. If you can't tell i'm just a tad bit excited!! We are going to have the best transfer ever. Like literally I think this transfer will be the best transfer of my mission. We just kinda get each other. We are like completely opposites, but the same in a lot of things as well. Ahhhh i'm just excited cuz I think this'll be a really good transfer. So that's the cool news of this week.

The other cool news is that my area got split so we also now have new Sister's in our branch, they took most of my progressing investigators... but that's alright, cuz we will work hard and find some more. Now we have 5 companionships in our stewardship, but it'll be fun cuz it just means some more exchanges and things. 

Some more really great news is that it was the most wonderful time of the year, CONFERENCE!! I got to watch general conference and it was in English and it was wonderful and I was really happy. So that was awesome.. Some highlights of Conference that I really liked (not really quoted cuz all I had was a notebook so my thoughts/ their words)

1. I loved how much they talked about missionaries and the importance of Member Missionary work. Living in Utah it's a little bit harder... so I invite you all to move out of Utah for 5 years and work with the missionaries everyday. Just kidding cuz you can't do that, but Jensen told me a cool experience of still being a member missionary so I like that, but just remember we are all missionaries even if we aren't wearing a missionary badge. Member's are lifetime missionaries. (Dallin H. Oaks 7 points were really good as well, especially the last one. "loosen their thumbs" hahaha so get at it Kels Bels because you are like social media queen)

2. We need to love everyone with our whole heart. No matter who they are. Skinny, Fat, Black, White, Short, Tall, Doesn't matter, everyone! I loved Robert D. Hales talk. One thing he says is something like, "Serving God's children will help us suffer less spiritually... Help them come converted by being filled with the Savior's love... We loved Him, because He loved us first.." That one was just really great.

3.The importance of understanding Prayer, Faith, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Plan of Salvation, and the need and importance of the Restoration. It is so important for us to study these things so when we all have the opportunity to share the gospel we are prepared. Ahhh I love being a missionary and I know you do to. Just gaining the knowledge I have gained has been awesome. I was talking to Sister Holzworth earlier this morning and she was like when I first met you, you knew nothing. haha I remember in the MTC I had told her I hadn't read the whole Book of Mormon cover to cover in my whole life. She was like "what the heck? are you serious and you were born in the covenant?" One thing was for sure, I didn't value the gospel nearly as much as I value it now. I don't think anyone even realizes how blessed we are to have the gospel and to be able to know the things we know through all the resources Heavenly Father gives us. Wow. And with a living Prophet on the earth we just receive that much more everyday. It is amazing. 

4. Lastly, all throughout conference we kept hearing many inspired talks about Repentance and the importance of being clean. No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. We are all unclean because we all make mistakes every single day. Big and Small. No matter what mistake it is or how big of a sin it is, it doesn't matter. It is still a sin. And a sin makes us unclean, so it is so important for all of us to repent every single day to feel peace in our lives and to know that we are clean and prepared for the day Jesus Christ comes again to the earth. (I really loved Dale G. Renlund's talk, SO GOOD)

But anyway those are just some good things I like during conference. I received so much revelation and it was absolutely amazing. Can you believe next conference I will only have 2 or 3 weeks and then I will be coming home... crazy how fast time is flying...! 

How blessed we are to have a living Prophet. To have the Book of Mormon. To have a perfect gospel, and the only true gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so blessed. I am trying my best everyday to live the way the Savior lived. I am trying my very hardest to work as he worked and be as he was. I am doing everything I can to be the best person I can. I have seen many things on my mission. Wonderful, marvelous, beautiful things and I am so grateful I get this chance for 18 months to be a full time missionary. I love you all and I invite you to continue to read the Book of Mormon, to chose the right, and to value the wonderful gospel we have. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

These are some pics of me with my cute friends in the area I gave to the new Sisters... 

Killing Off the Companions 1 by 1

Hello Family,

Well it looks like it's already time to email you again... but you guys are going to die when you hear about my week. i killed another one of my companions...

So just like Sister Laug Laug, Sister Greer headed to Manila this week so she could go to the MRC to get some help with some things she is going through. So at this time, i actually don't have a companion... so that's sad. But on Wednesday i will get a new companion so i'm just companionless for 1 week. 

This last week has been insane with everything that has been going on. On Thursday Sister Greer headed to Manila to go to the MRC because she has been sick for about 2 weeks now. She has had very bad anxiety her whole mission and honestly has just kind of had a rough start. So hopefully she will get better at the MRC. So then on Thursday i was companions with Sister Holzworth and Sister Rimando, but then another thing happened with one of the Sisters so we helped her while Sister Rimando (sister holzworth's companion) went with other sisters. So we had a crazy busy day on Thursday. 

Then for the last couple of days i have worked with Sister Tekanene and Sister Gabriel in both of our areas to be able to finally start working again. That was awesome. i also got to attended both branches. Branch 1 (my old branch) and Branch 2 (my new one) so that was really awesome cuz i got to see all my friends and stuff. :) 

Transfer day is on Wednesday and i haven't received a text or anything yet saying that i'm transferring so i'm thinking i'm gonna stay, hopefully! But really i love my area and i just really can't wait to work work work. My area has so much potential it just needs quite a bit of work, but once i get my new companion on Wednesday that's what we are going to do WORK. Work so hard until we can't stand anymore. haha i miss working like that.

it's crazy all the stories i've had so far on my mission. Man, i really really love being here and serving these people. After all the hardships and all the trials i've faced it just really goes to show we can't do anything without the help of Heavenly Father. One of my favorite scriptures is John 5:30. it says, "i can of my own self do nothing... i seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." As Jesus Christ says these words, it made me really think... Jesus Christ the most perfect individual to ever walk on this Earth says how he cannot do anything without the Father, it just really makes me think, how much more nothing are we. We are nothing and we can do nothing without the help of our loving Heavenly Father. Everyday i strive to seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent me here in the Philippines Manila Mission. A lot of the time on missions we want to do what we want to do, but that is wrong. i know that if i ever think that, i need to repent and really seek to know what the will is of Heavenly Father for me. i know that every opportunity, every trial, hardship, happy moment that has came to me in my mission is because that is the will of the Father for me. He knows me perfectly and He is giving me all these things to help me grow and help me be better. As hard as this mission has been, i have benefited so much from it. i grown more and more everyday. 

i really am trying to be like Jesus. Each and everyday. i learn of Him, i read of Him, i follow Him, and i try to be like Him. i'm excited for this next transfer to face whatever else Heavenly Father wants to give to me. i will forever be grateful for this wonderful opportunity i have to serve Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. i love this work. 

You are all amazing and i love each of you so much. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for the prayers. Thank you for the support. Basta, thanks for being you! Keep being great, read the Book of Mormon everyday and CTR. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

ps. i got stuck in the mud.. right before a big family home evening so i went into their house all muddy and that was gross..

pps. we also had a brown out (no electricity) at the church during sacrament, so everyone had to yell when sharing their testimonies hahaha classic.

ppps. i get to watch conference this saturday and sunday and i'mso excited so yay!! :) i hope all your emails don't ruin it for me... ;) joke lang

"Oh the Drama" -Sister Holzworth

Hi everyone,

Man has this week been INSANE. Literally that is the only way I can even kind of describe it. hahaha but on a positive side of the week I got all your wonderful letters for my birthday, so that was really nice. As well as I received a birthday package from the one and only ALS :) So thanks so so so much, I LOVE YOU AND I LOVE M&M's haha and I even got some happy half way ones... (they came a little late considering i'm now 11 months) but that was really good so thanks for that.

So we had a sister's activity and went island hopping so that was awesome! So i'll send some pics of that... sorry i'm wearing the same shirt from my last activities but I don't buy pday clothes often.. haha but anyway the rest of my week consist of zone conference which was indescribably amazing and then drama, drama, and more drama.

So Zone Conference was really amazing and spiritually uplifting and awesome, but they always ask me to sing in it and I don't think they understand that I don't know how to sing hahaha but they had Sister Greer and I sing Come thou Fount of Every Blessing and it was actually really solid. Like not gonna lie we did pretty well. So that was cool but the next day we had the weirdest, craziest, most dramatic thing that has ever happened as I have served as a Sister Training Leader. We go to these Sisters home. They were having some drama feeling like they weren't open enough to each other and they weren't having unity and all that stuff. So I call Sister Holzworth and I was like okay let's go and do a companionship inventory with them so they can learn how to open up with each other. So we headed over there to talk and say hi and do our duty.

It started off great. We told them the reason we were there and our purpose was to get them to open up so they could have unity as companions. So we started and one of the Sisters was so open saying everything that was bugging her and asked what she could fix to be a better companion and all those things, while the other sister couldn't have a care in the world of what her companion was even saying. She would get up and go to the bathroom or grab food or find anything else to do while we were trying to do this inventory with them. Honestly, it was the weirdest thing. So we finally got her to sit down and listen and then we asked her some questions on how she felt and how she thought her companionship was doing. All she kept saying was fine. It's fine. I'm fine. Fine, fine, fine. They are both English speakers so I was like, "okay, well define fine. Fine as in like we are doing great, i'm happy, i don't see a problem type fine, or like fine as in I wanna cry on the ground life is terrible time of fine." and she just said "Sister Barton you know what fine means. If you don't know what it means get a dictionary and look it up." So I was just kinda like okay... so much for trying to help you. Like what the heck. Then luckily I had Sister Holzworth there to back me up. She just started saying things like we were there to help them have better unity and because we love them and stuff so that she would not be so mean and just listen and open up to her companion. Then the Sister we were talking to kept rolling her eyes at Sister Holzworth.. At this point I was just kinda annoyed at the Sister cuz I was like what the heck.. are you serious?! So I was like, "Okay well obviously your not fine because you look like you are about to burst into tears, you keep rolling your eyes at sister holzworth and you just really don't seem fine." Then she didn't say anything. She got up. Went to her bedroom and laid on her bed. So after a short minute or two for me and Sister Holzworth to become chill and calm again and not freak out and want to yell at her, we walked into the room and calmly told her all we wanted to do was help her and her companion so that they could have unity in the work and move forward stronger than they were now. Then.. this lovely sister, wonderfully, awesome sister, decided to play a game. This 20 year old sister wanted to play the quiet game and she pretended like she couldn't hear anything Sister Holzworth and I were saying to her. 

Oh my gosh you guys... she ignored us for 3 HOURS!! There was no way we could just leave and say to her companion, "well you got this, we are done. See ya later" like there was no way we could do that... so Sister Holzworth was getting so so so angry hahaha she was getting so riled up because of the sister ignoring us. So she left the room and I just tried to talk to her. Oh my gosh I can't even explain how weird this whole experience was. She would just stare at me and then look away. It was like I wasn't even there, but she just kept on ignoring us. But I finally got her to talk just enough so that she would talk to Sister Ostler and get it all settled. 

Finally after she talked with Sister Ostler she started talking to us again and just said "well that was a waste of time and a fun game I got to play.." So that was a little bit messed up and Sister Holzworth and I were so angry afterwards. But you know what I learned from this experience... that everyone has hard times in their life. 

Literally that is what I learned. I remember being so angry that we helped her. I remember feeling like that was the biggest waste of the Lord's time when I could've been out working and helping people and helping my area that is really struggling right now. I remember showering that night (I receive revelation in the shower just fyi) but I was showering just so angry that we wasted so much time for a girl that obviously just had no respect and I sat there in the room with her for 1 hour by myself trying to get her to open or just talk to me and it was so rough and I just remember being so angry that we even went over there in the first place. But as I was in the shower I just got an overwhelming thought that just said, "You helped. She needed to hear what you said to her." And honestly after I got that thought my whole body and mind relaxed and I just felt a sense of peace come over my whole body. 

So I don't know why I shared that whole thing with you, I guess so you can know how crazy my life is right now, but I love it. I love everything about my mission. Even getting ignored for 3 hours.. I love it all. My companion Sister Greer is struggling a little bit more than usual and it has been a little bit rough this last week, but hopefully we can figure it out this next week and help her even more. I love Sister Greer though. It's really weird speaking English all the time and being with an American, but she is awesome. And I love love love being back together again with my half co sister training leader companion Sister Holzworth. I literally don't think I would be able to do this without her. So I am very grateful for her. 

So I guess no true joy comes if you don't have gratitude. I am grateful for my mission and for the crazy experiences I get to have every single day. I AM FILLED WITH GRATITUDE. This mission is like something I have never experienced before, but I love it with all my heart. And I love all of you with all my heart. Keep doing what is right and keep the commandments. Read the Book of Mormon, Chose the Right, and Be Happy.

Mahal Ko Kayo,

Sister Barton 

11 Months

Family,

Okayyyyyy... this is getting ridiculous. I'm getting SO OLD in the mission... like what the heck eleven months all ready? Ahhhh it's too much for me to handle. I don't wanna talk about it, so i'm not going to.

Anyway, my week was absolutely fantastic, crazy, but fantastic.. why? BECAUSE JANELLA GOT BAPTIZED AND I GOT TO SEE!!! Ahhhh On Saturday Janella walked into the waters of baptism and made a beautiful sacred covenant with God. And it was just that, beautiful. Last week I received a text from President Ostler that said I had permission to attend her baptism and I was jumping up and down for joy because I was so excited. I have really tried to be exactly obedient on my mission and I have tried my very hardest to do the best I can, but yet I am the planter. I plant the best people in the world and work and work and work on helping them and then right as they are about to get baptized... BOOM I get transferred. This time, even tho I got transferred I was able to attend and see how happy and filled with faith Janella was on Saturday. Ahhh she is such a special person and I really love her so much. So that was a really really neat experience.

This last week has been crazy trying to figure everything out with working, to planning and coordinating with Sister Holzworth for meetings, to helping the other sisters, as well as helping my companion. Man so much stress.. But over these last months if there is one thing I have learned it is that I AM NOT ALONE. I have learned more than ever in my whole life that I need to completely trust in the Lord in everything I do. If anyone would've asked me if I thought within 10, well I guess 11 now, months of my mission I would be able to train a foreigner who doesn't know how to speak Tagalog and be a Sister Training Leader at the same time, I would've laughed in their face, or I would've fallen on the ground and started crying, but I NEVER would've thought I could do this. Really, if you think about it, I can't. I can't do any of this. But, if the Lord and the Spirit is with me, I can. Because I can do anything the Lord wants me to. I can do it with His divine help.

I remember when I first got into the MTC. A bunch of the missionaries were writing down weaknesses that they wanted the teachers to help them with before they got out to the field. Things like, learning more of preach my gospel, or knowing the scriptures better, or being better at Tagalog, etc. For me, what I wrote down, was my weakness was having faith, completely and utterly trusting in the Lord in all things. When we talked with our teachers one on one we shared with them what we can do to make our weakness become a strength. I remember just crying to my teacher telling her I had such little faith and I really don't know how to make it stronger. I remember her asking me when the last time was that I really showed my faith. I told her when I came on this mission. I said when I left my family and actually got on the plane, that is was the first time I think I really showed Heavenly Father I had faith. 

Now, as I look back on these last 11 months. I really am so different. The fact that I had such little trust and such little faith in Heavenly Father is really sad, but I can honestly say now, my weakness has become a strength. I think that if anyone asked me to take on any challenge I could do it, with the Lord by my side at all times. Without the Lord, we are nothing. We can do nothing. If we think we can become more without Him we are so far off, we need to repent and rely on Him ALWAYS. He is the Lord. He is our Savior. He is our Master. He is here for us always to lift, guide, and help us in all things. 

I love this work. I love how much I have changed and how much this gospel can really make you stronger. To think how much I have grown in these last 11 months is incredibly INSANE. I love it. I wouldn't change any part of these last 11 months for anything. I have learned so much and I can't wait to continue to learn and continue to become the person Heavenly Father wants me to be. 

As hard as it is we just gotta keep on keeping on. haha I love you all and I appreciate your love and support to me so much. Continue onward and Trust and Faith and the Lord will always help you. Thank you for everything. Continue to CTR and be happy always. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

Ps. pics of Sister Janella and me, also with Sister Greer and Sister Tekanene

Pss. The other pic is of us doing our service. They cut their plants with a Macheti? Idk how to spell that, but I totally cut my finger bad soooo that was cool. hahaha I LOVE THE PHILIPPINES.

The Right Path

Family!!

So I have some really big news... again. Before that, I just want to say thank you for the Birthday gifts! Mom, I loved my bday package and you are the greatest person. To all my cute cousins, thanks for all the cute notes. I loved it. I haven't gotten cards and stuff yet, because they accidentally took those to the Narra zone.. So I won't be getting letters and things until next week at Zone Conference.. lame, but what can ya do? haha So thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all. 

Now for the big news... So this week has been crazy in my stewardship (which was kinda rough considering I was the only STL to figure it all out) but lets just say a companionship in my stewardship really DID NOT get along too well.. so needless to say there was an emergency transfer and now I have a co partner who is not my companion, but is my co Sister Training Leader. Thank goodness.. It's way too big of a job to do alone, but guess who my co Sister Training Leader is... SISTER HOLZWORTH!!! Right? haha who would've thought I would've been with her again?! Ahhhh it's so funny cuz after going what.. 10 months without seeing her, now I am going to see her like every other day so that's awesome! :) I'm so happy, you guys have no idea! hahaha so that's the news for this week. I swear I have a new companion or new news every week... haha but hopefully it'll stop at least for 3 weeks until the actual transfer.

This week has been great, crazy, dramatic, busy, but great. It's so awesome to be with a foreigner. It's so weird, but it's awesome! She like get's what i'm saying and can understand things before I have to tell her and it's so cool. It's also neat cuz I getta look at what I was like when I first came out to the mission field. Like of course I was a lot different than her, but in some things quite the same. It's so cool to see how much you grow on a mission. Even when it comes to people. When I first came on my mission I HATED to OYM (open your mouth) and talk to people on the street and things, but now I literally have no fear. It's incredible. It doesn't make any sense to fear the people you are trying to help save. I love training and helping her understand some of the things that took me a long time to figure out. 

We had so many incredible experiences and miracles this week. Including our new investigator who is such a seeker of the gospel came to church as well as one of our long time less actives. She even brought her non member father to come to church with her. Wow, the Lord really gives a lot of blessings to those who try their best to do what is right.

I am really trying my very hardest to do everything I can to be a full time missionary. We always say we are, but I really want to be one. Full time, not just here and there or sometimes, but always. With my words, actions, and thoughts. Always in the missionary mode. I was thinking a lot this week on how important it is for us members of the church to really endure to the end. We need to be constantly evaluating ourselves to see where we are in life. And continue to walk in faith on the straight and narrow pathway. 

One scripture I was thinking of a lot this week was the scripture in the New Testament. When Jesus tells them to hold to the plow and not look back. How we need to follow him and not wait for the "right time" and not wait for when we are so lost to come back, but now. 

As we were riding in a tricycle the other day, our driver kept looking back. I think he thought something was behind him so he continued looking back and then would glance and the road again then look back again and he did this for a good 10 min. Every time he would like back we would swerve and it was so annoying. Then the other day I was writing some goals down for our area. I was trying to look at the area book and board at the same time while I was writing and then when I looked down at the paper my writing was all crooked. As these few examples happened over the week it made me think about our lives. If we are always looking back (or at worldly things) and our eyes aren't fully focused on the Savior, we will be going crooked. We will not be on the straight and narrow path, but we will be swerving and having a hard time. So I guess my point is, we can't look back and assume to go straight. We have to have "an eye single to the glory of God" and do everything we can to keep moving forward, keep going straight, and walk on the straight and narrow path of righteousness. It is straight and it is narrow and if we look back, even a glimpse we will fall and we will get lost. 

I know it is so important for us to always look at ourselves and evaluate how we are doing. Not judge others for their imperfections, but look towards ourselves and try to be better. I know we need to endure to the end to receive eternal life. As we help ourselves and help others we will feel the blessings come into our lives and we will feel that happiness the gospel brings to us. 

I love every minute of my mission. I'm grateful for what I have learned and for what I still continue learn each and everyday. I pray for all of you everyday and I love you all with my whole heart. Continue living the gospel and help others if they seem to struggle. Read the Book of Mormon, CTR, and be happy while doing it. Thanks for all you do and for the love you give me every Monday haha 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton