Coron, Palawan

So this week has been pretty great.. I live on a seclueded island! Coron and It's awesome! This place is beyond beautiful. I can't even begin to express how much I feel the spirit here and how nice the people are and just everything is so great. I LOVE PALAWAN!! Turns out we actually don't have any water, food, phones, or money... haha It's like real life survivor. It's been quite a crazy week that's for sure. A great and crazy week. I feel so blessed to be one of the first sisters here in Coron. 

In my Kabahay (apartment living.. whatever) It's me and Sister Fermin, my new companion!! And then Sister Jumbawi and Sister Vaka! hahah It is the best! Sister Fermin is from a place called Isabella, Philippines where they speak ilongo. She is the first missionary in her family has 6 siblings and 2 parents haha but honestly Sister Fermin is the nicest person on the face of this planet. I've never met someone nicer. She is so so so nice. I feel so blessed that I got her as my companion. Actually do you guys remember Sister Thatcher? My companion for a little in the MTC? Yeah Sister Fermin was her trainer soooo she's really good. I love her! She's way hardworking and bold and hilarious and we just get along really well... 

So some cool stories for this week... We have no money, no food, no water, and no phones.. It's honestly so cool living poor. hahaha you don't know the definition of poor until you literally have nothing (lets be honest I still don't know the definition of poor) I get to see what it is really like being here. We put all our money together for the week and we bought rice and bread and that is what we have aten for the last week.. haha it's awesome! We also have to fill up our water in buckets from a hose thing and then we shower with a pale and a bucket. I'm telling you all this place is awesome and a ONCE IN A LIFE TIME EXPERIENCE!!! The people here are so wonderful though. They are so nice and humble and are really into listening about the gospel. We actually don't have a ward here. It is just a branch, but we are going to turn it into a ward and it is going to be amazing! :) 

We actually have a baptism on March 5! A girl named Michelle is getting baptized so yay first sisters to have a baptism! So this week we just get to harvest (which is good considering I planted in my last area) but I'm really excited to have my first baptism. Not to mention Sister Anita in my last area Pina D is going to get baptized too! So it's a day of rejoicing!! :) I'm so excited. 

Coron is crazy but awesome! There is this place called Bakawan (Mom I sent you pictures) and it is literally of houses made on top of the water. It's nuts and to get there they put little wooden planks nailed into other plank coloms and then you just walk on them to get to the houses trying not to fall into the water... It's so sick!! They wobble and it is terrifying, but it is so cool. Ah man I just love this place. This morning we went on a hike to the top of this huge Mountain in Coron and wow the view was breath taking. I feel so blessed to be here in Coron, Palawan. It's hard and it's hot, but it is wonderful. May everyone count there many blessings. I love you all. I know the church is true and you do too. So be happy and have a great week!

sorry this is short.. the internet sucks so hopefully it'll be better next week.. don't expect anything to great. Just wait until April 2017 and i'll tell you all about it :)

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton 

TRANSFERS!!!

Family!!

Wow you wouldn't believe the week I have had. I have literally had the worlds best week ever. Ahhhhh okay so first off, I was in the hospital all Tuesday.. i'll go into a little detail about that, but don't worry I'm fine and second I had the opportunity to do interviews and area book checks on Thursday and I found out what is going to happen during transfers! Okay Im just gonna start typing really fast so excuse me for my mistakes, but i'm really excited :)))))

So first imma touch on the hospital for a little bit... So I have had really bad acne starting again which is weird considering i've been on acutaine twice now... So I talked to our nurse Sister Lemmon and she told me to go to St. Lukes hospital on tuesday to talk to a dermatologist, so of course I did. I got there and the dermatologist lady told me there might be something wrong with my ovaries.. she told me to go and do a ultrasound of them to make sure everything was in balance. Of course I was freaking out cuz I had no idea what was happening and all these people are trying to tell me in a different language and lets just say I was struggling. So then I go and do an ultrasound which im just going to understate it by saying it was EXTREMELY uncomfortable. After the ultrasound we had to wait a couple hours for the results. During this time the nurse tells me all the possible outcomes and says I might not be able to have kids. I was just like ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Worst fear right there. Anyway so I was freaking out thinking I'd never have kids and I am in the philippines learning that my worst fear just happened to me and my Mom wasn't with me. Honestly I was just dying. Then the results come back and I go back into the dermatologist to talk about it with her and guess what... everything is fine. I litterally have perfectly normal ovaries. Sooooo then I got medicine for acne and we wasted about 6 hours in the hospital on Tuesday. But whatever.. you live and you learn. Now I know I can still have kids tho so thats cool. hahaha

Secondly, Interviews and area book in Buendia went so well. We actually were the only companionship that got 100% in our area book so you could say we kind of rock. Then I had my interview with President Ostler and of course it was so great. He is such a neat man. I feel so blessed to have him as my Mission President. As we were almost done interviewing he asked me if I had any questions for him. Of course at this time I was kinda freaking out about transfers so I just asked him if he could give me any insights on what was maybe happening to me and Sister Tiongco. He just smiled and said, "Do you want me to tell you?" I said yes and he said "okay i'll tell you right now." Then he started telling me.. he said I'd be transferring and Sister Tiongco would stay in the Pina D area. He said Sister Tiongco was going to be and STL in our area. Then he told me that I would be transferring to Coron, Palawan, I wouldn't have a follow up trainer and I would be fresh starting the area. WOW. I was SO HAPPY!! Okay so you guys are probably like why is that so cool? LET ME TELL YOU. So first off it's palawan. Only 1/4 of our mission gets to go there because it's so little and far not a lot of missionaries get to go! So yay the Lord and President Ostler trust me enough to let me go there. Secondly, Sister's have actually never been in Coron. It has always been an Elders area. It is so isolated and kind of dangerous (but not too dangerous Mom, Don't worry) that they only ever sent Elders there... until now. So I'm kinda like legendary being one of the first sisters going to Coron. Ahhhh I'm so excited. It's going to be such an adventure. Lastly, I don't have a follow up trainer or anything like that. It's just a normal companionship fresh starting.. So that's terrifying but cool because It means the Lord trusts me enough and thinks that I can do it. I am so so so so beyond excited. I can't even begin to tell you. Also I'm gonna be so bomb at Tagalog once I come back to the mainland because in Coron no one speaks even some English or Taglish. They all speak straight Tagalog.. So that's gonna be rough in the beginning, but it will benefit me so much 6 months from now! YEAH IM PUMPED!!

So anyway that is what is happening to me during transfers. I don't know who my companion is yet, I find that out later on tomorrow. I think it'll be a really really great experience for me. I don't know if I can get mail in Palawan, but I got you and Courtney's cute valentines day cards so thank you so much for that. I honestly am so excited to go to Coron. I have said some goodbyes to the people in my area and honestly that has been heartbreaking. Especially considering Sister Anita, Sister Aida, and Sister Hyacinth and supposed to get baptized in March. It's crazy how much you can grow to love someone in just a short 12 months. I love the people in the Pina D area. I love my ward, I love my people, and I love Sister Tiongco. It will be sad to leave, but a new adventure awaits me and i'm sure I am going to love the people of Coron. I am just so happy and have so much love and joy for missionary work and for my people in the Philippines. 

Everyone always remember to be happy and always just enjoy life. Life is the greatest gift our Heavenly Father has given us. Enjoy life, be happy, and choose the right. I love you all and I promise you as you "counsel with the Lord" (Alma 37:37) each day you will do what is right and have a love that grows towards all people. I love you all more than you will ever know. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

What a week

Hello!!

Wow this week has been quite the week. I don't even know where to start. So much has happened. So many mixed emotions have come and gone this week. So i guess i'll start with the happy emotions first, okay?

So on Wednesday I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the STL's again! This week I had to lead my area and do all the planning and pretty much act like the trainer. So it was kinda stressful considering I still suck at the language, but it's fine. haha Anyway I went on exchanges with Sister Mabeza who is from the Philippines and is going home in one week! haha But she was so sick! Haha my trainer Sister Tiongco always told me Balut was bawal and I couldn't eat it so I just listened and was obedient and blah blah blah but NO SISTER MABEZA THE STL TOLD ME I COULD EAT BALUT!! So what did I do? Of course I ate Balut! :) It was absolutely disgusting. I cannot tell you how gross the soup/liquid crap was oh my gosh so so so so so gross. Then I open the actual egg. Start eating the yellow vainy stuff ew so gross, but actually the yellow stuff wasn't that bad... Then BAM there comes the little half almost born bird... BLAHHHH I was dying, but of course I'm in the philippines so i have to try it. I bite into it and OH MY GOSH. It was disgusting.I could literally taste the feathers like going down my throat ahhhh it was so gross.. haha but hey now I can say I've tried Balut :)

The next day (while still on exchanges) our water runs out. like in the morning so we can't shower, get fresh water, cook, nothing. We don't have water so we can't do anything... Hahah it was hilarious so not to mention it was like whatever degrees it is here... SO HOT and we have no water haha best experience ever... So us being the smart sisters we are. Call other sisters in our district and ask if they had water of course they did. So we took our towels and shampoo and all that good stuff and went to their apartment to shower. Anyway weird day, but it was fun walking 2 miles to take a shower and then walking back all wet and still having no water when we got home. Hahaha good experience.

Then the next day I decided i was gonna try to make cake. So I tried it in the rice cooker and BAM! I MADE CAKE!! It only took about 7 times to cook in the rice cooker, but once it did it was actually really good. It was also Sister Tiongco's year mark so I just pretended like it was for that, but lets be honest, I just really wanted cake. :) So yay! great day cuz we got cake! 

That night we had a really great lesson with new investigators. This week since I had to lead the area and all the lessons and things It was kinda hard and I was kinda freaking out, but I did it :) The lesson was actually one of the most spiritual lessons i've had thus far on the mission. We literally talked about what I studied in personal study that morning. All I can say is the Lord really prepares me for what happens throughout my day. I feel so blessed to be able to be worthy to have the spirit with me always and to be able to listen to the promptings of the spirit. I can't express how much I love this work and how great our Heavenly Father is. I love being a missionary and being able to be a representative of Jesus Christ and being able to do His work each and every day.

Yesterday, on Valentines Day. We had 2 of our investigators come to church. Anita (85 years old) and Hyacinth (9 years old). Anita is the grumpiest but cutest old lady ive ever met man i love her. And Hyacinth just reminds me of Courtney so of course I love her. Also during sacrament the men gave all the women red roses for valentines day and it was just so cute. I love having cute investigators who are progressing and really seeking the truth. Sister Anita is supossed to be baptized on February 27th so lets pray that she will be :) I love people who accept the gospel in their lives and want to change. Agency is the best and worst thing on the mission. In Anita's case, It's the best. First baptism and many more to come :) I just love the people in the Philippines. Things slowly are getting better and better in the mission and I can't wait to see what is to come. Transfers are next week so I guess I will let you know what happens to me..

I love missionary work and I love this gospel. I honestly feel like I have been called to the best mission in the world. I got so lucky. I feel so blessed to know of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have so much knowledge of Jesus Christ and we can really bare witness of His divinity. Late Sunday evening my Mission President called me and told me about Sadie Wells. My heart aches for the Wells family. Sadie was an amazing person and she had such a beautiful spirit. My prayers go out to their family. I know that God has a purpose for everything he does. One of my favorite scriptures is Ecclesiastes 3:1. I know God has a purpose  and a perfect timing for everything. We just need to trust in Him and stay strong in the gospel. I love you all, I love this gospel, and I love this work. Stay happy, Stay strong, and Stay safe. Mahal Kita.

xoxo,

Sister Barton  

A little bit of Heaven

Fam!

Sorry this letter is gonna be a little short, but meaningful ;) haha I have had the worlds best week. We hit all of our goals and we are doing so good as a companionship. We are so honest and open with each other and things continue to get better and better every week. My favorite part about my companion is she is just chill (she doesn't talk too much) haha she's fine with just not talking and it's my favorite cuz people who talk to much get sooooo annoying haha. I love my trainer tho. It's crazy to think I am done with my training in just 2 short weeks. YAY!! My week hasn't been as exciting as it was last week, but it was still really good. 

First of all, because the little kids officially know WHO I AM!! haha they used to call me barbie at the beginning in december, then it changed to Elsa. I would walk any where and the kids would yell Elsa at me haha but now GUESS WHAT!!! They call me BARTON!! YES!! Hahah I love it. They see me and just yell Barton and then wave and ask me questions. I can finally kind of talk to them as well. Ahhhh kids are the greatest gift ever. They so far make my mission a happy good mission.

We also got to go on a temple tour on Saturday. We took a bunch of our investigators, recent converts, and less actives and took them to the temple. I charish every time we get to go to the temple. Even if we just get to see it, it is soooo good. We took one of our old lady investigators (for some reason old ladies really like us) but she came and she is the funniest lady ever. She can't hear very well so she yells everytime she talks and she NEVER smiles. Hahaha It is so funny to just watch her cuz she is just crazy. I love her tho. I'll send a picture and I'm sure you will be able to figure out which one she is.. hahaha but anyway back to how great the temple is...

Honestly, in Utah we take temples so much for granted. People drive for so long just to go to the temple and we live what.. 20 min away from the temple. Wow, Utah is amazing. I can't even begin to express how blessed we are to live in a place that knows the truth. I was telling Sister Tiongco how we can literally drive for just an hour and probably see like 6 temples. Wow. That is truly amazing. God is good. The temple is literally heaven on earth. I was reading about temples during personal study today and In a book I was reading it said, "How far is Heaven? I testify that in the holy temples it is not far at all. For it is in these sacred places that heaven and earth meet and our Heavenly Father gives His children His greatest blessings." Wow. How great is it that we have temples to literally make covenants necessary for exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. Not only for ourselves, but as well for those who have passed on and are waiting for us to do this amazing work for them. 

I testify that temples are the House of the Lord. I know that going to the temple can lift your burdens and bring you peace. In the temple the challenges and burdens you face each and everyday can be made light. God gave us temples to help us with our struggles. To bring understanding to the concerns we face in life. To help us deal with the challenges we face in life. God dwells in the Temples and  by entering worthily we can be right by Him. I know God lives. I know Jesus Christ lives. I know that temples are a place where we can go to get away from the world and just feel the spirit. I challenge all of you to go to the temple more. I know that by going to the temple you will feel the Spirit more in your life. We are so lucky to have so many temples where we live. Take advantage of them and GO. :) I love you all so much and I hope you have the best week of your lives. I'm doing great and I'm starting to communicate more and more with these wonderful people here in the Pina D area. Life is good and God is great. Say your prayers and read your scriptures :)

Love,

Sister Barton  

Double Digets

Kamusta!
Wow, IM IN MY 10th WEEK OF TRAINING!! We train for 12 weeks so I literally only have 3 weeks left and then BAM Im a regular missionary! :) and this week has been one of the best and funniest weeks of my mission so far. Many experiences happened and I can officially say I have embraced the Philippine culture. I have also tried new things to feel more like a Filipino haha. 

First off, I used what I like to call... "the paddle" haha people here in the Philippines don't use toliet paper they use.. i don't know what it is called haha I just call it the paddle and since I ran out of toliet paper this week I decided to try the paddle... I have no idea how to use it, but I tried and lets just say I had to change cuz I got myself all wet and yeahhh it just didn't work out.. Soooo imma just stick to toliet paper. 

I also rode in the trunk of a taxi for 4 hours... We went to the mission home to make cookies (SO GOOD) and to just have fun with some of the other sisters from the mission with Sister Ostler. It was so great we made actual homeade cookies and lets just say it was one of the best days cuz COOKIES!! haha but on the way home it was traffic time.. really bad traffic here in the Philippines so we we had 5 people in this little car plus the driver and for some reason they don't use seatbelts here.. probs just cuz everyone drives so slow so like why would you, but we were soooo squished so I just volunteered to sit in the trunk so everyone could have more room (no so I could have more room) anyway, So I climbed in this tiny little trunk and little did I know we were going to be stuck in the car for 4 hours... So I was just sitting in a trunk for 4 hours eating cookies haha It reminded me of the time I was sitting in the back on the way home from St. George with the donuts.. haha but anyway....

I also broke into our house this week... The sisters in our kabahay locked themselves our of their room and we couldn't like break down the door or anything cuz duh rental.. but instead I used a chair lift myself up to climb two stories to get to their outside window. Then I went through their screen and unlocked the door... hard to explain, but lets just say it was a adventure for sure as well as a work out haha but it was really funny for some reason they were going to call the zone leader to come and do it for them, but instead I just did it. I don't know why they would call the zone leaders. It was really fun! I felt like I was sneaking into someones window haha anyway weird story, and hard to explain but whatever.

Also this week was the first time I taught to word of wisdom to someone. We taught it on Wednesday to a less active who is really addicted to Alcohol. Like not just kinda like really really addicted. We taught it and not gonna lie we did really good and kinda funny cuz his wife was just sitting next to him pointing at him acting out like she is drinking alcohol and getting really drunk and we were just like stop lady, we already know he drinks.. haha so I guess that was actually really funny, but the rest of the lesson was actually really on point and I felt the spirit so much. He committed to living the word of wisdom and really I was just overcome with the spirit and I felt so happy. I was like YES this man is going to change his life and stop drinking! So we told him we would come back on Saturday to see how he is going and just show some support. So of course we return on Saturday to teach him and we knock on the door... no one comes. We knock again... nothing. Then his wife comes, opens the door, and BAM the man got so drunk he was passed out on his floor. So all I can say is yeah our area is really really progressing... and i'm still learning more and more patience everyday. 

So wanna know what I learned this week? Well of course you do otherwise you wouldn't keep reading this.. sorry it's so long, but I had a really good week. I learned everyone has the right to choose. Or in other words everyone has their own agency and really I can't do anything about theirs, but I can do something about mine. I can choose the right, I can choose to keep following Christ and keep the commandments. It's frustrating that we can't choose for other people, but at least we can choose for ourselves. I feel like this week I felt just a tiny bit of what God feels. He probably gets so frusterated with some of the choices we make each and everyday, but he still loves each one of us unconditionally. God is amazing and one of the greatest gifts He will ever and has given us is our agency. So lets use it to make Him proud, okay? Okay I love you all. I love my mission. I love my area and my investigators. I love the Philippines. I love my companion. I love my ward and I really love this gospel. The weeks just keep getting better and I can't express how much I love being a missionary. Sister Tiongco is doing better and everything is just getting good. I love it here and I am really happy. I hope you guys are doing great and choosing the right. I love you all. Have a great week.

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

3 MONTHS!!

Helloooooo Family!!

HOLLA cuz 3 Months down in the mission!! 15 More to go (not counting down or anything) haha just kidding I love my mission. It's hard, but it is so so so so good and so so so worth it. I love missionary work. Also thank you everyone for the Christmas cards! I got a ton this past week and wow I felt so much love even though its in the end of January I still felt the Christmas spirit and love and it was so good, SO THANK YOU!! This week has been a hard/crazy/messed up week, but you live and learn from every experience right...? haha well I have really had a great time experiencing this week.. 

A lot of this week I have studied about Adversity. Because the mission is so hard and sometimes I just wonder why things have to be so much harder than they really need to be... but I was reading True to the Faith and it said, "As part of Heavenly Father's plan of redemption, you experience adversity during mortality. Trials, disappointments, sadness, sickness, and heartache are a difficult part of life, but they can lead to spiritual growth, refinement, and progress as you turn to the Lord." Ahhhhh I love that. We teach people so much about the Plan of Salvation and why we have life here on Earth, to experience trials, joy, pain, sadness, happiness, every emotion. But I never really applied it to myself. We learn so much from the trials and challenges we have. This week was especially was hard because my companion Sister Tiongco has had a really hard time with being stressed out of her mind and It is affecting her physically. Her back aches everyday to the point where sometimes she can't even walk (definitely a trial).. so this week we actually stayed inside a lot for her to just rest and feel like she can regain herself to get back to work. 

It is really really really hard for me to sit in the house. This week especially I found myself getting a lot of anxiety. It's hard sitting inside a house instead of going out to work. I came here to be a missionary and help others and yet we just sat inside of a house all day everyday and it was really hard. I definitely feel like if I am learning one thing, it is patience. I'm learning patience in every form possible. It is so good for me though because I know that once I get home I will be a very patient person and you guys will like me even more than you already do ;) haha 

Another trial we have had this week is our area is so messed. I ended up going on exchanges for some of the days because I wanted to work so the STL's came to help with our area and lets just say Sister Vaka and I experienced weird things... I can't even explain what happened and what we felt, but it was weird... (that'll be a story for in 15 months) but anyway having all this adversity come our way this week was just hard, but I know that in the long run it will be a blessing. I really really love Mosiah 24:13-14. I'm not gonna quote it cuz it's kind of long, but it's really good so look it up.

I know we have trials for a reason. I know we go through things we wouldn't necessarily choose to go through whether it is Missionary Work, School, Work, or just life in general. I know that if we look unto the Lord always and do what he would have us do in times of need he will "lift us up." All we need to do is trust in him with our whole hearts and our whole souls. In True to the Faith it talks about have Faith in your trials, Finding the Joy and Peace in trials, and Trusting in God and His son Jesus Christ during your trials and afflictions. I've really strived to understand what it means to "Trust in God" I've come up that trusting in God simply means giving him everything and knowing everything that happens to you, everything that comes your way is for a reason. He knows you better than you know yourself and He knows what you need at every time in your life. I love love love that I have someone to turn to at all times. It used to be my Mom, every time something would go wrong or bad in my life I would call my Mom and talk to her. Now, that isn't an option, I can't just call my Mom and express all my feelings to her. Instead I have to turn to the Lord. That is why I love praying. Missionaries pray SO MUCH. haha I love it though, especially my night prayers. I just get to unwind and tell the Lord everything that happened that day and He comforts me. 

I love this gospel and I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church established on Earth today. I love knowing the truth and I love teaching the truth everyday. This Mission is stretching me and tossing and turning me in ways I never thought I could, but it is so good. Being on a Mission is the best thing in the world. I love you guys so much. I'm so grateful to have you all in my life. Thank you for being the best example to me. 

Love you all so much,

Sister Barton

Slowly but Surely

Happy Day Fam!

IM IMPROVING!!! Yes yes yes! Slowly, but surely I am improving. First off, I have made it through a whole transfer! I didn't realize how stressful transfer day is for some people. For me, nothing changed... I am still in training for another Transfer with Sister Tiongco as my companion (thank goodness cuz she's so good) I'm so blessed to have her as my trainer.

 Anyway I'm slowly improving tho. This week we had the opportunity to teach a Sister named Sister Wenng. We OYMed her and just taught her right then and there. We started off with a song and a prayer like we always do. We were teaching on the street just siting on little benches and as we started singing a bunch of little girls came and gathered around us. Then when we told them we were going to say a prayer they all sat down, folded their arms, and closed their eyes. It was the cutest thing. It reminded me of the way Jesus must have felt when he was with all the little kids teaching them and loving them. It was honestly one of the highlights of my whole week was just being able to pray with these cute little kids. I love the kids here. As we got more into the lesson we were teaching just about our purpose and expectations and things. When it was my turn to talk and share some insights on who we are as missionaries, I started talking and It just came out in Tagalog. I literally said everything I wanted to say in Tagalog. I don't know how it happened, but it did and it was wonderful. I know it was the spirit. it was CRAZY. I can't wait until I am fluent in this language and that happens every lesson. I felt so blessed to be able to have the spirit work through me like that. Wow, I can't even describe the emotions I was feeling during that time. 

Another experience I want to share is with a Family we met on Monday and taught the following day. We went to teach them and they are the cutest family. There is Sister Chana Hernandez the mother who has 3 kids. Vence (18), Venmore (14), and Veneza (16). The husband works abroad in the UK. They have had a really rough life in the past and they are so thankful for God in their life. They are Catholic, but are looking for the truth (YES) and they are a very studious family. Anyway one of my goals on my mission is to always have the spirit with me and have people feel that when they meet me. They will just get that feeling of the Spirit. As we went inside the Hernandez Families home we were getting to know them and just building the relationship of trust. We asked Sister Chana why she let us inter her home to teach her and her family. Sister Chana said that when she met us she just got a feeling that we were there to help her and her family. She said we just had a warmth about us that she doesn't feel very often. As Sister Chana Hernandez was talking I had tears in my eyes. She was describing the Spirit. When Sister Hernandez met us she felt the Spirit. I have never felt such a deep emotion in my life. When she was describing how we made her feel I just kept getting an overwhelming confirmation about how real the Holy Ghost is. I had it with me. It made her feel all the feeling she expressed through me. Wow. It really just solidifies to me how real this gospel is, how amazing it is, and how through the power of the Holy Ghost it can change lives. My goal is just to always live worthily to have the Spirit dwell with me. Missionaries are nothing without the Holy Ghost. I realized this week the Holy Ghost is the true teacher and comforter. 

So much happens every week I continue to just have my faith build and build everyday through my experiences. I wish I had all day to email and share everything I experience everyday, but obedience sooooo.. haha but know that I love missionary work and I love being apart of this Gospel. Thank you everyone for all the support and love you show me. Continue to do the things you do and be the best examples you can be to the world. Everyone says missionaries are weird when they get home and it's true. They are. It's because they aren't of the world anymore. That's what makes them so different. I can't wait to be weird when I come home because It means I'm not apart of the World. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we should all strive to be in the world, but not of the world. Be examples to all of those around you. I love you all and hope you all have the greatest week. Remember God loves you and so do I.

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton