Week 30: Hasta Luego!

Token picture by the California Bear at the mall.

Well it's finally time to say goodbye to beautiful Santa Clarita.  We got transfer calls on Saturday and I am going to be leaving the area! I'm still going to be a sister training leader though, but I have no idea who my companion will be or where I'm going! It was so sad to say goodbye to everyone. Especially Peter and Rebecca. :( They are such wonderful children. I asked them to leave with me their final words and the both wrote me sticky notes and also told me that they are going to be missionaries just like me! haha it was so cute and it was such a wonderful reminder of why I'm here on a mission. I love being able to help others come to Christ! This week I just want to talk about all the wonderful people that I have met here in Santa Clarita. Part of my heart will always stay here. :)

Hermana Francis! My wonderful trainer. I can't even begin to describe how much I love her! I am so grateful for everything she has done for me. She is such a wonderful friend. She taught me to be confident and to go and do! Our time together was so special to me. We met and taught so many incredible people!

The Cavez Family. I loved getting to know them. Helping them come back to church and seeing their oldest son receive the priesthood and pass the sacrament was such a wonderful experience. And of course, helping Peter and Rebecca get baptized. Oh how I love those two! They are going to be such great missionaries someday. :)

The Corona Clan. We helped get them back to church and helped prepare Angel for baptism. This family has the cutest kids! And they are sticker crazy!

Jesus and Jose. They became such great friends! I'm so grateful to have gotten to know them and teach them about the gospel.

Danny and Brenda are just about the darlingest kids you'll meet. I'm so excited for them to get baptized soon!

Hermana Ganuza. She taught us how to make pupusas and was always our ride to the temple. I loved talking to her about all her gospel knowledge.

The Bran's. We ate with them every Sunday and they always helped us with our Spanish. ;)

Marili, Youcely, and Rosie! My girls :) I love them lots and can't wait to see what amazing things they do! I haven't said goodbye to them yet. I'm going to see them tonight.

The Soto Family. I'm going to miss them! It has been such a pleasure to work with them and help them get ready for baptism. I hope the missionaries keep helping them. We are going to eat with them tonight :)

And everyone else! I have loved getting to know the rama, investigators, the area, and even the random people we meet on the street. I am so grateful for all the experiences that I have had here. I'm so looking forward to more miracles and adventures in the transfers to come. :)

Today we got to do something super special! We went to North Hollywood to take the new hermanas out contacting for their very first time! What a wonderful enthusiasm new missionaries bring. I learned so much from my hour long companion Hermana Steele. She is so awesome!

I'm so excited to continue the work of the Lord somewhere else in the mission.. Even if the air is smoggy. ;)

The church is true! The gospel is real! Missionary work is filled with miracles everyday! I'm so grateful to share my testimony with everyone I meet. It makes mine grow every time. I love the mutual theme this year: “Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day” (D&C 4:2). Elder David L Beck said, "When you “embark in the service of God,” you’re joining the greatest journey ever. You’re helping God hasten His work, and it’s a great, joyful, and marvelous experience." I testify that that is true! It is great! It is joyful! And it is marvelous!

I love you so much! Keep sharing the gospel little by little. Great things come to pass that way. :)

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Buxton

Week 29: Mountains to Climb

Querida familia,

Hola! Que tal? Espero que todos estan bien. :)

This weeks highlights -

1) Teaching Peter Chavez. He is such a little missionary! I can't wait to see him grow a foot or 2 and go on a mission! ;) His testimony is growing so much! I think it's taller than he is!

2) Going to the Temple! Hermana Ganuza drove us to the session. I always love to talk to her because she is so strong in her testimony. She always teaches us something. This week was how to be a good mom or dad. And if you want to know what her secret is that she told us, it is just being a good example! When she said that, I just smiled and thought "yep that's exactly what makes a good parent.. I have two of those great examples!" I'm so grateful for my wonderful parents! I told her that I had often woken up in the morning and come down the stairs only to find my mom or dad reading the scriptures. She smiled so big! I love to see the Temple. It is so beautiful! And the Spirit that is felt there is so strong. I know that it is the House of the Lord. And the He loves us so much.

3) We had a Blitz in our area! The whole district came together to help us find some new investigators in Val Verde. We divided up streets and we all worked hard for an hour and a half. It is so fun to work together with all the missionaries. I can feel the power of everyone helping. It helps us be more united and I'm so grateful for the work they did to help us. My favorite experience that I had was talking to an atheist about the restoration of the gospel. When we first started talking to her she had no hesitation in telling us that she was atheist and wasn't going to change! But that she respected our decision to go on a mission. I told her that we knew what her beliefs were but if it was okay if we shared a little of what we believed with her since that is why we came on a mission. She had no objection but was probably a little surprised by our persistence. We related to her the message of the Restoration and how Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Her interest was spiked when we told her that Christ told Joseph Smith that none of the Churches were true. But that Joseph was called to be a prophet and restore all the truths that Christ established while he was on the earth. The spirit was so strong and I know she felt it! We gave her a card and invited her to look at Mormon.org. She told us that she was going to look because she was interested to know what more we believed. But she quickly reminded us that she wasn't going to change. haha But I know that her spirit was touched by our message! I hope one day missionaries will pass by her house and her heart will be ready to receive the message entirely!

4) Zone Conference! President Hall introduced the new Mission Training Plan for 2015. It is called "Be a Preach My Gospel Missionary." I love the training plan! It is so inspired. It focuses on 6 different aspects of missionary work: Become, Study, Plan, Find, Teach, Baptize. Last year we had a focus on all of these except the "Become" section. I am so grateful that he added this part in the new training plan. We can only accomplish the rest if we become like our Savior. I hope to become more like my Savior by learning to teach as he taught. Elder Tad R. Callister said, "Jesus invited us to become like Him, and one of His great attributes is His ability to teach. He is the Master Teacher. To become like Him, we too need to become more loving and life-changing teachers, not only at church but also in our homes. To become like Him, we ought to have a burning desire in our hearts to teach as He taught."

5) We have two new members of our English class! It is slowly growing. Hopefully we can find more people to come this week!

6) I had an exchange with Hermana Vega and I went to Canyon Country. It was super fun! I loved that area so much. We talked to so many people. Hermana Vega truly fears no man! haha. We visited a less active family who is really struggling. It reminded me to always go to church. Going to church every Sunday brings the blessings and strength we need each week. It was hard to help them see that but I know it's true! So many of the things that the are struggling with would be helped or even dissolved if they would choose to attend church each week. Partaking of the Sacrament truly is a renewal for our soul!

7) We got a knock on our door from a member of the Valencia ward with a pie for us and a video message from the Linton family! It was so fun! Thank you so much. :) I can't believe how much everyone has grown! At first I thought it was Denali on the screen but then when I looked closer it was Whitney! It was such a fun surprise. The pie was so yummy. Thank you Linton Family for thinking of me. (And for your friend for making the delicious pie :)

8) We went hiking as a district yesterday. It was one of the hardest hikes I've ever done.. and I've done many. It was practically straight up the mountain. This morning in district meeting everyone was pretty sore and scraped up from the rocks. But the view was so fantastic at the top! It was super fun to see over the Santa Clarita Valley. It was clear and beautiful! And then I looked behind me at the San Fernando valley and could only see smog... looks like that's what I'm going to be breathing most of my mission! haha. It was such a fun day.

 Supposedly this is a waterfall. We really need rain :)

San Fernando Valley on the left, Santa Clarita Valley on the right.

The Santa Clarita Valley

 The San Fernando Valley...look at that smog!

District picture in front of the Santa Clarita Valley...our area!  Remember when our district was all hermanas? Now it's all elders! {The other set of hermanas were stuck at the mall, so they couldn't hike with us.}

Thanks for the Habit Burgers, Dad!

I love you all so much! I hope you have an amazing week. :)

Hasta luego!

Hermana Buxton

Week 28: Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning!

My dear family,

What a wonderful week in bright and sunny California! I wish I could send some sunshine to you through the mail because the weather you are having just sounds miserable. I don't know how I'm ever going to go back to actual winter again!

Spanish is coming so much easier to me. I can have actual conversations with people without thinking about every little detail! haha It is fun to surprise people by speaking to them in Spanish. One young man asked me how long I've been learning Spanish for and I said "por 6.." but he cut me off and finshed, "anos? que bueno tu espanol!" But I had to correct him and told him only 6 months. haha he was shocked! In that moment I realized that people don't normally learn other languages that fast... Heavenly Father truly sends blessings to us!

We watched the Mormon message "If Only You Knew" with one of our members and it was such a wonderful video. It truly reminded me of the most important things. Heavenly Father will help us accomplish all that he want us to accomplish.

I went on 2 exchanges this week. They were both so amazing. The first was with Hermana LaBanc. She is going home this transfer and it was so fun to ask her lots of questions and learn so much from her. She is also a military kid and so it was fun to be with her since we have a lot to relate to. Here is a little miracle: As we got on the exchange a former investigator, Maryra, texted us and asked us if we could help her pack for college. It is so amazing to me how the Lord works! He put two practically professional packers into the area at a time when she was going to need help. When we went to help her, it was very evident to us in the first glance that what she wanted to take and the space in her suitcase was going to be a problem. I felt like you mom every time I said, "Do you really need this? Do you really like this? Okay you have 5 other shirts that look exactly like this you only need one." haha Hermana LaBanc and I had lots of fun with that!

My second exchange was with Hermana Berger, and this is her first transfer in the mission! It was so fun to feel the energy of working with a new missionary. I think I've decided that my calling as a missionary is to work with and teach children. Heavenly Father keeps placing wonderful children and youth in my path! Here's a funny miracle on that exchange: We were walking around Newhall when we saw a group of children ranging anywhere between 5 and 11 playing in this patch of dirt. They were picking up rocks and putting them in empty water bottles (funny what is entertaining at that age). As we got near I said hi! and asked what they were doing. A cute little girl said, "Playing with the rocks." all matter of factly as if to say, 'What else would we be doing?' But we told them we were missionaries and that we represent Jesus Christ. We told them that he told lots of stories in the Bible and one of them had to do with rocks. (now we had their interest) And so we told them the story of the wise man and the foolish man. They really liked the story. I love the cute little spirit children bring! They are truly closer to heaven. Oh and mom! They loved the "I am a child of God" stickers that you sent. :) I was really grateful for the opportunity to remind myself that we need to always build our foundation on Christ. I love the scripture mastery verse found in Helaman 5:12 "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation . . . which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." 

I introduced Hermana Berger to her first elote...her response was..."I haven't lived until now!"

On Saturday, Angel got baptized! It was the best day! His little smile after he was baptized was so precious. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to help others come unto Christ. Someone spoke on baptism before he was baptized and I really liked the way they described part of the baptismal covenant. When we are baptized, we promise to take upon us the name of Christ - which means we will never be alone. I truly know that our Savior never leaves us alone. He is forever at our side!

Sunday night we watched the Restoration with Marili, Youcely, and Rosie (and her two little brothers Angel and Antonio). The spirit could be felt so strong in their home. After the video ended, everyone was silent for a few minutes, even the rowdy boys. All three of the girls told us how happy the video made them and that they know the Church is true. I bore my testimony to them and as I did, I felt my testimony grow even more. Joseph Smith really saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and they really did talk to him! He really was called to be a Prophet of God and restore the true Church of Jesus Christ back to the earth. I am so grateful that we get to enjoy all the blessings of the gospel in our lives today because of this wonderful event. Hermana McGlothin also bore her testimony and told them about her experience going to New York and seeing the Sacred Grove. Angel (who is only 6) responded, "I have this burning in my heart and I never even went to New York!" So cute and so profound! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has given us all the opportunity to learn for ourselves - have that spiritual witness - that these things are true. It reminds me of President Uchtdorf's talk from this last general conference, "Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth."  He says, "God Himself—the Lord of Hosts who knows all truth—has given His children the promise that they can know truth for themselves. . . .God cares about you. He will listen, and He will answer your personal questions. The answers to your prayers will come in His own way and in His own time, and therefore, you need to learn to listen to His voice. God wants you to find your way back to Him, and the Savior is the way. God wants you to learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, and experience the profound peace and joy that come from following the path of divine discipleship."

And so, this week I am grateful for my own testimony. I know that gaining a testimony comes over much time, many experiences, and lots of testing. I love how President Uchtdorf words it, "Let us acknowledge that most often gaining a testimony is not a task of a minute, an hour, or a day. It is not once and done. The process of gathering spiritual light is the quest of a lifetime. Your testimony of the living Son of God and His restored Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, may not come as quickly as you desire, but I promise you this: if you do your part, it will come. And it will be glorious."

I love you so much! I know that my Savior lives and loves me! And that he guides our church through a living prophet today, President Thomas S. Monson. Oh! And also, Missionary work is the best thing ever! :)

Con mucho amor y carino,

Hermana Buxton

My first attempt at making green salsa!  It was delicious!

Week 27: Feliz ano Nuevo!

I can't believe it's already a new year! This week has been CRAZY busy for us. We have had lots of meetings and we have been traveling to other Hermana's areas to help them out. So we haven't been able to work as much as we would have liked to in our area this week. Our numbers were the lowest they have ever been but as Preach My Gospel says, Success isn't determined by numbers! And our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, which was definitely the case this week, even if it was more with the missionaries than anyone else!

We had our last lesson with Ines this week and now she is back in El Salvador. We sent her information in so hopefully the missionaries there will take care of her. :)

We worked lots in our Hermana's areas this week. We went on lots of splits and it was fun to help them out in their finding this week. On one of the splits we contacted a guy who answered the door only in a towel.. which is now the second time that has happened to me. haha Hopefully the last! We also helped a companionship out in their weekly planning who were having trouble making decisions together and aren't too fond of each other. It just made me super grateful for the wonderful companion I have! Hermana McGlothin is the best - I'd probably fall apart without her! Life as a missionary is stressful, and then caring for other hermanas is tiresome as well. I love serving in this calling but President Hall had to remind me this week that I can't carry other people's burdens for them. The only one who can is the Savior! He is the only one who is cable and strong enough to carry the load. The Savior said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). I am so grateful for Jesus Christ! I know He lives and I know that He is the only way to truly find rest.

This week for New Years Hermana McGlothin and I made pupusas! And they actually turned out well! We want to continue perfecting the art of pupusa making though so that when I get back I can make you some good food from El Salvador. :) I love being on my mission here and tasting all the wonderful foods from every Spanish country! I'm extremely lucky that I get to take part in all the different cultures and traditions!

This week we had Missionary Leadership Counsel (MLC). Since it is a new year, we were talking and brainstorming ideas for our new Mission Training Plan for 2015. It is going to be so awesome! I am so excited to get it out to the rest of the missionaries once it has all the final touches by President. It's going to be called, "Be a Preach My Gospel Missionary." It focuses on multiple aspects of Preach My Gospel but the one that I really like is a category called "Become." We need to become the missionaries that the Lord would have us be (so in other words be the missionary that He would be). I am so excited to really internalize His attributes into my life in order to truly become who Christ would have me become. I'm so excited for the missionary work here in the Great California San Fernando mission! This year will be a year full of miracles!

Speaking of miracles, Angel Corona is finally going to get baptized this Saturday! I am so happy for him and his family! :) Pictures to come! :)

This week we also had Zone Training Meeting. As the sister training leaders we had to train along with the zone leaders. Since we are covering 2 zones right now, we could only go to one and decided to go to El Camino for ZTM. It went really well and I could see for the first time in a while how much my Spanish has been improving. I was able to train in Spanish and so that made me really happy! One part that we trained on was our purpose as missionaries. We had everyone stand and say our missionary purpose and most had forgotten in since the MTC! haha So we made them do it over again. But the words in our purpose are so powerful. "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." I love this and it always reminds me of the great and wonderful mission I have! I am so grateful to be a missionary and to share the gospel.

This week we taught Marili and Rosie! I know I say this every week but it's because I really mean it: I love those girls so much! We taught them about and read with them in the Book of Mormon. Then we watched a Mormon message from the youth about reading the book of Mormon. (It's called The Book of Mormon: Messages from Heaven) At the beginning, President Thomas S. Monson speaks and Rosie asked, "Wait who is that?" Marili responded, "Shhh it's the prophet! Listen!!!" My heart melted! Marili's testimony continues to grow stronger and stronger everyday! (PS she loves the For Strength of Youth pamphlet!)

The Soto Family has decided to read the Book of Mormon as a family every night, one chapter a day. Let's just say the smile on my face couldn't be wiped off after they told us their goal!

In other news, I dreamed in Spanish last night! I was teaching a family the Restoration. So I guess missionary work is getting to my very core. haha. I hope this family I dreamed about is real and that I can find them.. because they were super awesome. ;)

Also, Heavenly Father protected us this week! We were driving down the road when all of the sudden a car was driving toward us! It was dark and there were no street lights so it wasn't until the car was pretty close that we realized that it was in our lane! I pulled over into the shoulder and the car whizzed past us while the driver obnoxiously honked his horn. At first I thought I was going the wrong direction and then got scared! But I looked up at the stoplight and was indeed going in the right direction. I am just super grateful for the safety we had! And hopefully the car got back in the right lane....

Being a missionary is the GREATEST thing on earth! But even though it's the greatest, it's also the hardest! I'm growing and learning so much right now. I had an interview with President Hall this week. He is so great and truly loves and cares for all of his missionaries. He helped me to realize the eternal perspective. When we have that eternal perspective, we have hope. The prophet Moroni taught, “Whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4).  I realized that is why we need to attend the temple regularly, in order to be reminded of the eternal perspective and be filled with hope. When we understand the Plan of Salvation, that we really do have a Savior to help us return to live with our Heavenly Father, we can have hope. And so, this week I am filled with hope! And I hope you can find hope this week as well. ;)

I love you so very much! I love hearing all of your missionary experiences!

Recuerde que nuestro Padre Celestial nos ama tanto! Y que El tiene un Plan de felicidad y salvacion para todos. Es por medio de ese plan que podemos recibir la felicidad, la esperanza, y el amor.

Con amor,

Hermana Buxton