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 

Going With The Flow

Family!!

So this week has been absolutely insane... My companion has been really sick for the last three weeks, like throwing up everything and headaches and just super bad stuff (pretty much just another Sister Vaka). So anyway we haven't worked a lot in our area in this last week and it's been a little rough, but i have been optimistic for the future... but that was a bad idea. So anyway this week we had MLC in Manila so we left on Wednesday had a really crazy day and ended up just sleeping in the Mission Home to go to MLC on thursday. MLC was soooo good like it always is, but in the middle of it my companion Sister Laug Laug was like dying and actually had to go up and rest in our room.. So then it was just me in the MLC, but i also got to see Sister Holzworth and wow was that the best thing of my whole entire life. Ahhhh i have missed her so much. it was so awesome to see her!! Anyway, then after MLC one of the Sister's in Sister Holzworth stewardship came over to talk to me. She is American and is from Virginia and she has just had a really hard time adjusting to the Philippines. Her trainer didn't really speak English, she had culture shock, and she just had been struggling emotionally, physically, just the whole thing. So i talked to her and it was really good. She is so cute and just such a sweet Sister.

 After that we ended up staying in the Mission Home until Friday so Sister Laug Laug could see a doctor and find out what is wrong with her.. i was suppossed to go back to Palawan on Friday night just alone, but i missed my flight cuz of traffic so that was sad.. but then after Sister Laug Laug's appointment President Ostler had decided to just have her stay in Manila for now and be apart of a different companionship. So i just had to stay in the Mission Home by myself friday night and catch a flight in the morning. Which wasn't all that bad considering they had GREAT food and i was with President and Sister Ostler, in this way nice house with Air Con and Hot water... so i'm not complaining or anything, but then on Friday as President Ostler and i were talking and we were thinking maybe Sister Greer could be my companion in Palwan. So he prayed and pondered about it on Friday night and then on Saturday he told me he thinks it would work and be a great idea.   

So on Saturday Sister Ostler and i went to the mission office to pick up Sister Greer and help her pack. Then we flew to Palwan and now Sister Greer is my companion. She is awesome! She just came into the field on August 24th and she is from Springfeild Virginia. So i'm really happy that i am now her companion. i feel like we are going to learn a lot together and from each other. it is a little bit harder because i am now training her (and she is a foreigner, but she is pretty good at Tagalog for just getting out of the MTC) and we are fresh starting the area because i have no idea where anything is.. we hardly worked because Sister Laug Laug was so sick, and now i am also a Sister Training Leader. So it's a little bit of stress, but it is okay because i am learning more than ever how to really, fully, completely, trust and rely on the Lord. 

The thing that is really kind of hard is i thought it was going to be a little easier fresh starting this area, but when i got home on Saturday and looked at the area book.. there is nothing. Let's just say either things got lost or someone didn't care to touch it in the last couple of months..So it is going to be a little bit harder than i expected, but it's okay because i know that the Lord is here for me and he will help me. We have a member in our area who knows most of the people so i think that will help a lot. i just have to try to get everything organized, do my part, try my best, and leave the rest to the Lord. Honestly i have been praying really hard for strength and help to be able to do everything that is required of me. i haven't felt really stressed. Every time i pray i have felt nothing but peace and love. Honestly, i think this is really an amazing experience for me because i have been relying on the Lord more than ever before and i can literally feel Him with me in every step of this work. So if training, fresh starting, and being a sister training leader is what it takes for me to really put all of my heart and all of my trust in the Lord than i am more than willing to do it. it's crazy how happy and calm i feel about everything right now. i don't feel stress i just feel happy and i really do feel confident in the Lord being right here with me in every phase of this work.i am so grateful to be here. i know it will be hard and i will have to constantly look to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for guidance and help, but that is how it is supposed to be. 

We have already seen miracles in our area and it has only been like three days. We were able to have a less active come to church on Sunday. After church and coordination meeting we went exploring a little in our area. i remembered one sister who was in our area who was a part member that Sister Laug Laug and i taught last week. As i tried to remember where she lived i had the impression to go down a certain street and ask for directions or to see if the person living there knew her. When we said "tao po" to the house an old lady came out and said she didn't know her. Then just as we were about to turn away and start down to another street, the man who was at church earlier comes out of the house! Then i was in complete shock, knowing that the Holy Ghost really lead us to this man.. Sadly we didn't have a third babae so we weren't able to teach, but we found where he lives. Wow.. it is just amazing to see how the Lord works. This experience just really showed me that the Lord really is here to lead us and guide us in His work and how important it really is to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

i am so excited for this transfer and i can't wait to see how much more i grow. i have learned so much on my mission and i continue to learn and grow everyday. This is going to be a real test of trust and faith on my part, but i know that with the Lord i can do anything. Thank you all for your prayers and your support. i love you all with my whole heart. Keep reading the Book of Mormon, CTR, and be happy. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

Ps. My companion, Sister Greer also makes american food all the time and she is really good at it and it's awesome so that's cool :)

PPs. Sorry i can't do capitalized i's on this computer.. haha

Constantly Changing

Dear Family,

Yet again we had transfers this last week and i'm so sad to say.. I transferred, BUT I am still on Palawan so that's awesome! I thought for sure I'd get put back in the Mainland. I am now in Puerto Princesa Branch 2. I was in Branch 1, but now I transfered to a different area with a different branch, but it is really close. I am still a Sister Training Leader and my companion is Sister Laug Laug. She was the Sister Training leader with me last transfer, but instead of kabahay STL's she is my companion now so that's cool. It has been a little rought transition for me though because I really put my whole heart and soul in working in Branch 1 and honestly it was really really hard the first transfer because we had no one. No investigators, nothing. But now in Branch 1 we were going to have Janella take her leap of faith into the waters of baptism in 2 weeks in September as well as Sister Susan and Stacy and Laarni.. ahhh there are just so many we helped prepare and now I have to  leave them all and I feel like right now that is the story of my life in the mission. I am what you call a planter. I plant the people and then get transferred right before they are harvested. It honestly has been really really hard for me to leave the people of Branch 1 as well. I got so close to all of them and now i'm still close to the area, but in a completely different branch and everything... so it's been a little tough, but im sure i'm going to love Branch 2 just as much as i loved branch 1.

 It's going to be a little bit harder tho because our area is huge, we have hardly any investigators, and I have to memorize the area soon so we can go on exchanges and I can know where to go  in our area. Not to mention we got two more sisters on Palawan so the stress is real, same with the drama. But honestly I'm learning a lot and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here. Can you believe it 10 months and I am in my 5th area. hahah It's awesome. I have also been on Palawan ever since I got done with my training. So I think I'll be here forever which is fine with me because I LOVE PALAWAN. 

As this transfer has happened and as I have struggled to adapt to a new branch and a new area it really made me think about change. One thing I like that mom said to me in her email is, "One thing about a mission, it is constantly changing and teaches you to adapt to your circumstances constantly." It's so true, being on a mission everything is constantly changing. One thing I really noticed on my mission is that as soon as I get comfortable, with my branch, my people, my companion, etc.. I get transferred. The Lord wants us to change. He wants us to grow and to become better and the only way we can do that is if we stretch and adapt to our circumstances. It is really hard for me to move to different areas with different people all the time because i really grow to love them. Like honestly if someone would of asked me before my mission if I ever thought I would've loved these people as much as I do I honestly never would've thought I would. But I do, I love my people. They are so sweet and kind and each member, investigator, less active, or even the random friends we make on the street have a special place in my heart and it is so hard to say goodbye... luckily I am still close and get to see them often. I also will be able to attend the baptism of Janella on September 17 :) So I am so excited for that! 

So as hard as change is, I really know that it is for our benefit. I have prayed really hard these last couple of days to understand the reason for me leaving my area and starting new again. Every single area I have been in I have known that I have been in that area with my certain companion for a specific reason. I love knowing that Heavenly Father is mindful of each one of his children and he wants each one of us to be happy, but he also wants each one of us to change and to grow.

I'm so excited for this next adventure. I know this transfer will be hard, but I know that with the Lord's help and guidance I can do anything. I am blessed to be a missionary. I love this work and I love being out here in Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines. I know this work changes lives for the better and I know that it has is constantly changing mine as well. I love you all. Continue onward and upward on the path of righteousness. Read the Book of Mormon, Chose the Right, and be happy. 

Mahal ko kayo,

Sister Barton

Ps these are some pics of my bdayyyy aka BEST BDAY EVER!! :) 

Pss Also something cool for you to know is Elder Lopez (an elder from my batch) is now my new district leader which is cool and Sister Holzworth is a Sister Training Leader now as well which means.. I GET TO SEE HER THIS WEEK AT MLC IN MANILA!! I haven't seen her since December so lets just say i'm a little bit excited. Anyway I love you all. Have a great week cuz I always do!