Hermana Rachel Buxton: December 2014

December 29, 2014

Week 26: The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!

Feliz Navidad a mi familia y a mis amigos!

This week we caroled lots as a district! It was so fun and the Spirit was so strong as we sang about the birth of our Savior. We sang every night leading up to Christmas and Christmas night as well. We saw so many miracles, and even if the people were not interested in learning more, the joy in their faces was plain to see! Christmas time as a missionary is the best. You get to see Heavenly Father work wonders in so many of our lives! Here are a few stories from cantando los loores!

1) We sang to two drunk men. (In Spanish we call it "bien boracho"). We started to sing "Noche de Luz" (Silent Night) and then one of the guys interrupted us and said, "wait I need to get my instrument" He then proceeded to bring his drum set out and pound the drums as we sang. Somehow drums and silent night just don't go very well together! haha.

2) We met a wonderful lady named Bella. We sang to her one song and then she came out with arms raised saying gracias gracias! And then hugged all of us, even the Elders! I felt bad for the elders who obviously felt very awkward, especially since they were twice her size. ;) She invited us in to eat tamales with her and her husband and we shared a little message with them. They were so cool and the bike elders are continuing to teach them!

3) We sang to another family and they gave us ponche! It is sorta like apple cider. It is really good and we were grateful for it to keep us warm as we were singing. Everyone is so nice here. Even if they live in the most humble circumstances, they give everything they have to help others. I feel so blessed everyday to be taken care of by such wonderful people! I definitely want to become more like them in that way- more giving and loving to other people.

4) The last house we sang to on Christmas day was the greatest miracle of the caroling blitzes! It was almost time for us to go home but we decided to sing to one more. They opened the door and just had the biggest smiles on their faces! The spirit was so strong and so we just kept singing to them! One of the women was crying and the grandfather had the biggest smile on his face the whole time! After we finished singing we asked about them. Turned out that they were all just visiting for the holidays from Guatemala! The people who actually lived there weren't home but we got to share who we were with this large family from Guatemala. We even shared the He is the Gift video with them on their iPad. The Spirit was so strong! I felt so happy! It confirmed to me the reason that I was here on a mission, to share the gospel and bring happiness to others! It was such a wonderful way to end my Christmas day. It is something that I will never forget and will probably tell my kids one day. ;) They all hugged us before we left and we all walked away just marveling at the experience. It was truly what Christmas is all about. Happiness and Love. I am so grateful that I get to share that as a missionary and I have realized that it is so easy to do just that, even when you aren't a full time missionary. People are united by our Heavenly Father's love, across languages, countries, cultures, and families. The gospel of Jesus Christ is truly amazing:)

We had a funny experience teaching Danny and Brenda this week about the Plan of Salvation. In our studies that morning, Hermana McGlothin and I role played the lesson. When we started talking about the three kingdoms of Glory in our role play, I said, hey terrestrial kinda sounds like T-rex. I know super random. haha But then in our actual lesson, Brenda said just that! Hermana McGlothin and I couldn't stop laughing. But we were grateful for an inspired role play. Heavenly Father truly knows each of us! haha

On Christmas Eve day, (haha) we served at the Senior Center! It was so fun! We wore the hats you sent mom (the seniors LOVED it). It was such a great way to spend Christmas. Serving always brings a smile to our face and helps our day go so much better! Joanna, the chef, asked us to sing a Christmas carol as well. I thought for a second and the Night acapella to all the seniors. They loved it and luckily a few of them joined in. haha Their boisterous voices made us smile!

Then came the best Christmas day ever! Skyping with my beautifully wonderful family was the greatest gift of all! :) Time went by way too fast but I loved being able to hear your voices and see your smiles at least just for a little while. I truly have the greatest family in the world! The Chavez family fed us tostadas for our Christmas lunch. It was super good :)

This weekend I also had a lot of fun going on an exchange with Hermana Rodriguez in Canoga Park. We had so much fun together on bike. It was super cold and it's true what they say, biking in a skirt is a little challenging. We biked 40 minutes uphill to our coordination meeting, only to have it canceled, and so biked all the way back. Hna Rodriguez was such a great example to me of diligence and having a good attitude. Instead of being frustrated about the situation, she was just happy to be a missionary. The first thing she said after the meeting got canceled was, "Alright then, lets get back to work!" So we hopped on our bikes and rode through the dark, singing songs back and forth. It was really fun. :)

Marili, Youcely, and Rosie are doing so well. They love the gospel and have the strongest testimonies ever. We gave them a "for the strength of youth" book and Marili LOVES it. :) Their mom doesn't want them to get baptized, and they cried when they told us. But we promised them that we would still come over and that they could still learn and get ready for baptism when they are ready for it. Marili was so distraught and told us how sad she was. "I just want to be 19 already so that I can go on a mission!" They are so great. I'm so sad that their mom isn't letting them get baptized yet, but I feel in my heart that they will be someday. And Marili is going to be the cutest little misionary ever!

Janessa (Hermana Watts) came back with her family for a visit and surprised us at church. It was so fun seeing her!

I am so grateful for the gospel! I love the church so much. I know that it is true. I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much.

Love you!!

Hermana Buxton

Big thanks for the cute Christmas PJ's from Grandma and Grandpa Burnham! I love the pockets!

Who doesn't love cute fuzzy socks?????

Thanks for the wonderful cards from Uncle Matt and Aunt Amanda and my cute cousins!

Rachel gave us these awesome Cali shirts for Christmas!

December 23, 2014

Week 25: It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Well, T-3 days until I get to talk to the best family in the world! Words cannot even begin to describe the joy and excitement I have for Christmas day! :) All of the missionaries in our rama will be going to Chavez house to skype their families and have a Christmas lunch with them. Hermana Chavez is so excited to have all of us over! I'm so excited that I get to be with them as well. :)

This week I had to say goodbye to Hermana Francis. :( It was so hard to have to drive away from transfer meeting without her! It is going to be really weird to do missionary work without her BUT her missionary style has pretty much rubbed off on me. So many times I say something that she would have, or done things like she would. So she is always with me in heart ;) I'm so grateful for a wonderful trainer who became a wonderful friend of mine. :)

This transfer there is only two sets of Hermana training leaders. So Hermana McGlothin and I cover 2 zones. Even though Hna Rodriguez left for a new area, I'm still her hermana Training Leader! :) I'm so happy, I love her so much! All of the hermanas are training this transfer so it is going to be really fun to go on exchanges with them.

On Wednesday was Hna McGlothin's birthday! We celebrated by going to her birthday tradition - In-N-Out. There was a member there who came to talk to us. It's always fun when members say hi! We also served at the senior center on her birthday and everyone sang to her! It was really cute.

Peter and Rebecca are doing really well. They love us coming back to teach them the lessons. This week we went over the Plan of Salvation with them. Peter is so smart and remembered almost everything that we taught them before their baptism. Peter prayed that they would remember everything that we had taught them until they died. But then he said, "But I don't want to die soon, but if i do, I'll go to the spirit world so it's okay." It was super funny. Hna McGlothin and I tried not to laugh. But it made us happy that he understood God's plan for us.

This week we knocked on a former investigator's door - Mariana. She opened the door and said, "You're the LDS missionaries right? I haven't seen you in a long time. Come back at 6pm on Monday because I'd love to keep learning." We were a little shocked but quickly agreed and we are excited to go and meet with her tonight! That was a huge miracle!

We had our first coordination meeting with Hermano Portillo. It was my first meeting all in Spanish! It was really fun and I was super happy to understand and participate in the meeting. Hno Portillo talks super fast though so I had to really pay attention to what he was saying. He is full of energy for the work!

As a district this week we have been caroling in each other's areas. It has been so fun and so successful. It is amazing how much the spirit comes when we sing hymns. Everyone loved it and it made sharing the gospel that much easier. After we sang we would give them a card. When we caroled in our area, we found 3 new investigators! These three people let us in right then and there to teach them more. So many wonderful miracles!

We taught Marili and Rosie the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. They understood both lessons super well and committed to live both of them. Marili told us that she had given up coffee just a few weeks ago because she was noticing that it was giving her headaches. It is so cool how the Lord prepares people to accept and live his commandments. I love these girls so much! Marili told us that she knows the Church is true with all her heart, but her older sister is trying to persuade her that it isn't. It has been really hard for her but she says that if she knows it's right she has to keep learning about it despite what her sister says. Marili is so courageous! I look up to her so much!

This week we have talked about discovering, embracing, and sharing the gift as a district. Since this is the last email before Christmas, I thought I'd share a few more things on it. :)

There are so many ways that we can Discover the gift of Jesus Christ. I'm sure we all have different things that we are doing. But why do we need to discover Him? President Thomas S. Monson said, “By learning of Him, by believing in Him, by following Him, there is the capacity to become like Him. [Our] countenance can change; [our] heart can be softened; [our] step can be quickened; [our] outlook enhanced. Life becomes what it should become." I know that is true! I love the promise that as we learn of Him, we will become like Him.

We embrace (in Spanish it is accept) the gift by understanding his divine role as our Savior. As we change and repent, and as we rely more deeply on His love and support, we will feel his Atonement more deeply in our lives. Linda K Burton said, "The enabling power of the Atonement . . . gives us power to continue on the strait and narrow path leading back to the presence of our Heavenly Father."

We can share the gift by simply being like our Savior and helping others along our way. President Monson said at the last conference, "May we follow the mandate to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." The best way that we can share the gift of the Savior's love, is by showing His love to those around us. This really struck me this week as I realized that sharing the gospel really is all about love! Sister Harriet Uchtdorf said, "You … are vibrant and enthusiastic beacons in an ever-darkening world as you show, through the way you live your lives, that the gospel is a joyful message."

So go and share the joy of the gospel! :) Share the love of Christ with everyone!

Feliz Navidad! Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador. El es la dadiva a todos nosotros. Con amor, podemos tocar las corazones a nuestras familiares y a nuestros amigos. Podemos sentir del Espiritu Santo cuando servimos a los demas. Amo a mi Padre Celestial y se que El nos ama tanto. Tenga una buena Navidad y recuerda de su gran regalo a nosotros. Estoy agradecida por el Plan de Salvacion, y que podemos regresar a nuestro Padre Celestial como una familia eterna.

Con amor siempre,

Hermana Buxton

"Feliz Navidad, prospero ano y felicidad!" :)

Cute Christmas Stockings!

A yummy take on Top Ramen!

December 15, 2014

Week 24: Christmas is Joy!

Hola familia bonita!

How are you this week? I'm so grateful for you all! I just wanted to start out with a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful sister Aubrey. :) You are such an amazing friend and sister to me. I wish I could have joined in the birthday celebration, but don't worry, I thought about you all day! Feliz cumpleanos mi amorcita!

Last week we had a flag football tournament as a zone. It was so fun! Luckily no one got hurt. :) They wanted me to be a team captain. I was captain of the white team. But when time came to make the first play, my team looked to me to say what to do and apparently my face pretty much told them that I had no idea what I was doing so one of the Elders took over. haha But it was really fun and I even made a touchdown for my team! woohoo!

We went over to Hermana Ganuza's house for dinner and her sister Ines was visiting from El Salvador. We got to teach her! Hna Ganuza is the only member in her family and I know she has been praying for her family to listen to the message for years. We are going to be teaching her until she goes back home in January. She has been so prepared to hear the message of the restored gospel. She is excited to continue meeting with missionaries when she returns.

So, sometimes contacting as a missionary can be a little adventurous! We pulled up to a red light and the car next to us was jamming to music really loud! Hna Francis rolled down her window and started singing along with them. They thought it was hilarious. Hna Francis yelled, "Can we give you a card?" right as the light turned green. So the lady in the passenger seat and Hna Francis had their arms out the window trying to pass the He is the Gift card as the cars were moving. She ended up getting it! Oh man it was super funny. We also went contacting around main street in Newhall. There were really pretty Christmas lights out!

We taught Rebecca, Peter, Angel, and his little sister Gaby this week. They are so cute! We asked them if God really does listen and answer our prayers. They said yes of course! When we asked what kinds of thing we can ask Heavenly Father, Angel immediately said, "We can ask him if Nephi really built the boat!" Rebecca said "Hey that's what I was going to say!" haha It was so funny. Other things they said: We could ask is if the scriptures are real and if Heavenly Father really loves us. I love these children so much. They are so smart and have such strong testimonies. I am so grateful that their parents are taking them church and teaching them the gospel in their homes again. So precious :)

We went to eat at Urbane Cafe. We ate there with the Greenwoods before we moved from California. It was so cool to be back there again! I took lots of pictures because I was so happy to be there!

When we went to volunteer at the Senior Center this week, they had a man playing the piano and singing Christmas songs. Hna Francis asked is she could sing a song with him (she has an AMAZING voice) since it was her last volunteer day. He and the audience liked it so much she sang the whole time! Everyone was asking me who she was. "She is a missionary!" One lady said "She's a missionary? Oh bless her heart!" Another lady was a little mad that Hna Francis hadn't sung before -"and now she is leaving us! We can't find a voice like that just anywhere!" It was so cool though because with her singing, we had such an opportunity to talk to the seniors about the gospel and give out He is the Gift cards.

We had our Christmas mission temple trip! It was so fun and so amazing. It was incredible to see how much power there was in the temple with so many missionaries!

We made canastas (cornucopias) with the rama this week for some less actives and recent converts. We had fun wrapping books and food! We sang Christmas carols at the end and all the members kept asking Hna Francis to play more and more! It was so fun to see the Christmas spirit envelope those that were there. When we give and do nice things for others, the spirit of Christmas is truly in our hearts! It reminds me of a quote that Tanner Hughes sent me this week: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior's doctrine of losing one's life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.” President David O Mckay

Hno Aranda was released as our ward mission leader so we had our last coordination meeting with him. He brought us lunch! I am going to really miss his entusiasm for the work. He was such a great leader and truly helped us in our missionary efforts. He truly cares about the members and our investigators. Our new ward mission leader is Hno Portillo. He is so excited to work with us and so I'm excited that he is going to work hard right along with us! He already made us a list of people in the rama we can go visit. haha

We also went to the Stake Christmas program. It was so incredible. They had a live orchestra and the choir sang so beautifully. We took Jesus and Jose. They loved it! It really felt like Christmas while we were there. :) Kirby Hayborne, from the RM and The Single's Ward, is in our stake and he was the narrator of the Christmas Program! It was so funny. I was freaking out just a little. He sounds and acts the same as his parts in the movies. hahahaha! The choir sang Joy to the World and I loved the rendition. At the end they sang "Joy" repeatedly. It just reminded me that Christmas really is all about Joy! "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Let joy into your hearts this Christmas. :)

Marili is a little missionary! She shared the He is the Gift in both English and Spanish on her facebook page! We were so proud of her :)

All three of us gave talks in church yesterday. It was about personal conversion. I based my talk after Elder Gavarret's from this last conference, "Yes, Lord, I Will Follow Thee." I have been thinking a lot about following Christ this week. How I can better walk in his footsteps and become a more Christ-like missionary. I loved his talk so much! He says, "The decision to “come unto me” and “follow me” is personal. When we accept this invitation, our level of commitment is raised, and it is then that we can “walk with Him.” This level establishes a closer relationship with the Savior—the fruit of our accepting the first invitation. . . “Come unto me,” “Follow me,” and “Walk with me” are invitations containing inherent power—for those who accept them—to transform your life and generate a change within you that will lead you to say, “[I] have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” I am so grateful for our Savior. I know through his redeeming love, we truly can be transformed and changed to become more converted and more like him. I am so glad that I get to say "Yes, Lord, I will follow thee" every day as a missionary. This next year I want to come to know my Savior better and become more like him.

Last but not least, this week Hna Francis goes home! She has been such an amazing trainer, companion, and friend to me. I love her so much! I am going to miss her but I am so excited to see all the great things she does when she returns home. She has made my mission so far, so special! :)

Merry Christmas! Lot of love from California :)

xoxo Hermana Rachel Buxton

Our English Class

December 9, 2014

Week 23: Milagros

This week has been full of miracles! Maybe it's from the Christmas Season, maybe it's from the 70 degree weather in December, or maybe it's just answered prayers, but whatever it was we saw milagros de lo alto! I am so grateful to be a missionary during this Christmas time, especially with the He is the Gift video. So many people have watched it! Millions of people's hearts have been touched. It is so amazing to me how the Lord is truly hastening His work.

The Soto Family: We went over the Restoration with them again this week. I asked them how they know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he restored the true church back to the earth. They all shared their testimonies! It was so cute. Of course my favorite was Valentina. "Si yo creo. porque me siento felicidad en la iglesia." I love children's testimonies so much because they are so simple. We can have testimonies just by going to church, singing, learning, and feeling the spirit there.

This week we shared the He is the Gift video with Marili and her family. Her brother-in-law, Josue, even watched it with us (after some persuading, haha). They loved it! Josue even participated and gave us his thoughts and impressions. He said we could teach him more about the Savior and Christmas next time we come over. Such a miracle! The girls (especially Rosie- Josue is her dad) were so excited! Also, miracle #2- Josue said that he talked to the girls and asked them if they were really serious about wanting to continue learning with us and going to church. They said yes and so Josue is letting them come to church!! YAY! Thank you to all who were praying for them to come. I know Heavenly Father answered our prayers! Youcely and Rosie were sick yesterday, but Marili came with us to church! We were all so happy! We even got to take her to the LA Temple Visitor's Center to see the lights and watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional with the rama. It was so much fun, and Marili loved it! We watched the devotional in Spanish and I was so happy because I understood almost everything. They were so good! I loved hearing their testimonies of the birth and mission of our Savior.

We taught Danny and Brenda part of the Plan of Salvation. We taught them how to sing "I lived in Heaven." They love singing the primary songs! Danny has a pretty big stutter but when he sings he doesn't stutter at all. So he really likes learning by singing. Singing helps me feel the spirit so strong! Especially the primary songs. They teach powerful yet simple truths.

Jose has been really busy with finals and work this week, so we didn't get to visit him. But we saw Jesus! And he came to church as well. He is sharing the gospel with his friends and wants them to meet us. He keeps trying to get his friends to "stop by" while we are there, but he hasn't had any luck yet. haha

We also went on another exchange this week! Hna McGlothin and I stayed in our area with Hna Vega. We went to volunteer at the Gibbon's center again! They had just had a bunch of baby gibbons be born. They were so cute! We worked hard and saw so many miracles with the He is the Gift pass along cards. The people love them! They truly have such a wonderful spirit about them.

We also had Zone Conference this week. It was such a great and uplifting day. We talked a lot about learning through faith and personal conversion. Mosiah 4:3 says, "And they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exeeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ." I love that faith will bring us joy! President shared with us 3 things that we can do to receive personal conversion.

1) Have Faith. We can obtain faith by following the example of a righteous people in the book of Mormon. "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." Helaman 3:35

2) Repent. We can do this by yielding our will to the Lord. Those that "were converted unto the Lord . . . laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war." Alma 23:13

3) Keep Your Covenants. We should be doers and not hearers of the word only. "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:46-49

I love these scriptures. I especially love that we need to "dig deep" in our foundation. Build our faith upon our Savior and we cannot be shaken!

You have already heard me talk about He is the Gift but I love it so I'm going to talk about it again. :) Elder Bednar has said, "the work is hastening, are we going to keep pace?" I promise that if you take the He is the Gift initiative to heart you won't be left behind! Elder Holland said to "understand Christmas, not simply enjoy it." He is the Gift can help us do just that. So I have three questions for you:

What will you discover this Christmas?

How will you embrace it?

How will you share it?

To learn by faith we must act! It requires spiritual, mental, and physical exertion. Prayerfully think about these questions over the next few days and I promise you that you will find Christ in Christmas this year.

I am so grateful for the amazing Christmas miracles that we have seen this week. I am so grateful to be a missionary! I know the Church is true and Jesus Christ is our Savior.

I love you!

Con amor,

Hermana Buxton

December 2, 2014

Week 22: El Dia de Accion de Gracias

Hey guys!

How are you? I miss you so much!

This week has been so fun. We learned how to make Pupusas! It is an El Salvadorian dish. They are so delicious. It is one of my new favorite foods! Hermana Ganuza is a great teacher and we are going to try to make them for New Years. Hopefully I can master it so I can make them for you when I get home!

We have had 2 family home evenings with the Soto Family since I last wrote. Last monday Gaby gave the message! She did such a good job. She talked about love and shared her testimony with her kids. It was pretty cute. :) Then yesterday Anotnio Jr. gave the message and talked about morality. He found an article from the Liahona and shared his testimony on it. We were super impressed by how well he did. He even made his sister Gaby get involved in the lesson. He is going to be a great missionary someday!

This week we started teaching 2 kids from a less active/ part member family. Danny (11) and Brenda (8). They are so cute.

On Wednesday we served at the Senior Center again! We got to help out in the Kitchen. It was so fun to talk to the workers in spanish. I learned lots of new cooking and cleaning words. So it was pretty fun. The workers love that we can speak spanish! And I love being able to as well. It is pretty hard to learn. But I know that it is hard to see improvement in yourself. So I know I'm progressing more than I think!

We were able to teach two cute little recent converts from the other area, Linda (9) and Kimberly (8). They are adorable! We retaught them the 1st lesson. When we got to the part about the book of Mormon, Kimberly said, "Hermanas I don't know if Heavenly Father really answered my prayer to know if it was true." We told her that Heavenly Father answers prayers really quietly. He usually talks to us in our hearts by good feelings. He has a helper called the Holy Ghost who helps you know that the book of Mormon is true. He will tell you, when you are really quiet after saying your prayer, through the Holy Ghost. She was so excited to pray and wanted to pray right then! So we all knelt down and Kimberly prayed. She was so cute. After her prayer, she kept her arms folded and eyes closed for a few minutes. I was really impressed! I asked her what she was feeling. she said, "Well, I was listening really hard, just like you told me. And I heard my heart beating super fast!!" It was so cute. I asked her if Heavenly Father answered her. She said Yes! The Book of Mormon is true! OH MY. I just love little children! It seems like Heavenly Father keeps putting them in our path. They are so close to him and ready to believe in Him.

We ate with the Corona Family this week. We are getting Angel ready for baptism again! Hopefully he will be able to be baptized in January! Funny story, Gaby is 6 and she just loves the Hermanas. She always says she wants to be us when she grows up. It is cute. Anyway she found out that our first names weren't hermana this week. She gasped and said, "You've been lying to me this whole time??"

A member brought us a frozen Lasagna for Thanksgiving.. haha. Luckily a family in the English ward signed up to feed us from the other area. So we got a traditional dinner. They even gave us our own pumpkin pie! We had been given pumpkin pie everyday that week so we were pretty sick of it. So we decided to stop by the mission home and give it to the Halls! President and Sister Hall surprised us by actually looking normal and casual. All we have ever seen President wear is a suit and tie. We love the Halls! They are the greatest family ever. :) I am so grateful for them.

We had a really cool contact this week! Her name was Mia. She was from Malasia. She had had missionaries come by before and even had her Book of Mormon sitting on her book shelf! It was really cool to talk to her. Especially to know that Heavenly Father is in charge of the missionary work. Even if the efforts of one missionary don't seem to have any impact, they aren't forgotten. Heavenly Father always cares for his children and leads the gospel to their lives again and again. So never give up on missionary work!!

I went on an exchange this week! I got to stay in Santa Clarita with Hermana Francis and Hermana Herrera! It was so fun. We worked hard and got to talk to many people about the gospel.

We were finally able to teach Jose again! Jesus was visiting his dad so we didn't get to see him. But Jose is doing well. He has decided he doesn't want to get baptized until he turns 30 since that is when Jesus Christ started his ministry. So we are trying to figure out how to help him understand that he should be baptized a lot sooner than that. ;)

We ate dinner with a Japanese lady from the English ward- sister Alghreen. Her conversion story is incredible! She told us that she had never heard about Jesus Christ until she moved to the United States. All her childhood she looked at the stars and was searching for God. She didn't know where to look though. She didn't even know what He would be like, but she believed that He was out there. Then many years later in the US her neighbors (who were mormon) told her that the had a missionary from Japan serving in their ward. He was missing Japanese food and they asked her if she would be willing to make some japanese food and have dinner together. She was so excited! The missionaries ended up teaching them and she was baptized a month later. She said it wasn't hard to understand Jesus Christ or Heavenly Father because somewhere deep inside she felt as if she had already known them all along. It was such an incredible story! I was almost in tears. haha Yep missions make you cry a lot. ;)

A Crazy thing that happened. Well, one of the members fed us Cream Cheese for dessert. It was about the size of a scoop of icecream. It had a little jam and nuts on top. But that was really hard to eat. Poor Hermana McGlothin was having a really hard time. haha

Hermano Bran's parents are in town from Guatemala for the next month. They brought us Guatemalan candies. They were delicious! Especially the coconut kind. They are so cute!

On Sunday, Relief Society and the Priesthood were all combined for 5th sunday. They had the converts in the branch share there testimonies. Gaby shared hers! It was so cute and I loved hearing her talk about what she believes in. Her testimony grows and grows everyday.

Yesterday we had Missionary Leadership Counsel. It was so good and I learned a lot about how to be a better leader for the Hermanas. Something that president shared was that Christ knows us perfectly and infinitely. He knows our potential. He knows how amazing we will become! Doctrine and Covenants 78:17 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours." I loved this. I especially love where he says to be of good cheer. I know he really will lead us along. I know that he is on my right hand and on my left, and his Spirit is in my heart, and that his angels are round about me. D&C 84:88

He loves his missionaries so much! He helps us in everything we do. I know this is truly his work. I am so grateful to be apart of it!

I love you!!!

Love,

Hermana Buxton

PS: Check out christmas.mormon.org and watch "He is the Gift." Remember Him during this Christmas Season. #CompartelaDavida