Week 34: Faith Hope Heidi

Well, I get to start out this week by talking about my wonderful zone...on President's day we went on a memorial hike for Heidi!  We hiked up the little Montanita and it felt really good. I wish I could have been at the race but from what I hear it was really great! On the hike I found a purple flower growing in a bunch of weeds. It brought me lots of joy! haha :) Hermana Morse also wore a purple shirt. Don't you just love companions? {The whole zone was going to wear purple shirts, but only one elder had a purple shirt!} I have definitely felt Heidi close to me this week.

This last week was incredible! We found 5 new investigators!! We didn't have a lot of time to work in our area because we had to be at two days of interviews with president with both of the Zones. But we decided that the Lord is helping us so much right now because we are doing the things that He asked us to do. When we are obedient and are where we need to be, God will do the rest! All of our new investigators came from referrals this week.

One of the new investigators, Byron, is so cool. He is from Guatemala and had a near death experience there. It kinda reminded me of Samuel the Lamanite. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and a gang came and shot him (thinking he was from a rival gang). He pleaded with God to keep him alive and promised him that he would do all that he asked. The man shot him several times (at least 8.. he showed us the scars). The man was pointing the gun at his chest each time, and was very close to him, but for some reason (which we quickly pointed out that it was God) the bullets went left or right, just barely grazing his arms. Byron was saved and because of this, he has decided to do all that God asks him to do. He accepted to be baptized and we are just soooo excited! tan emocionadas!!

We served at the armory this week and they just love the missionaries! They told us to "gather the forces together" so that we can help them on their big packing day this Wednesday. They are even calling it "Mormon Missionary Day". haha We are so excited and getting English and Spanish zones to join. Serving has opened so many doors! At the assisted living home, one of the workers (the one who always sends you pictures) told us that she wanted to go to church with us one day! Wow! There has been a big push in the mission to do 10 hours of service a week and we have been seeing miracles because of it!

Another cool story! We were out knocking doors and came across a man. He opened his door and came out on the doorstep. The first thing he said was, "Oh new ones? They changed you already?" We were pretty confused but then he told us that he had been meeting with the English missionaries. As we talked with him he told us that he had canceled his appointment with them that day.  I asked him why he thought Heavenly Father would send us to his door then. He thought for a while and then said, "To tell me that I need to keep going and keep learning, that this is the right path." I have thought a lot about that. Sometimes Heavenly Father sends us to people only to tell them to not give up. I will probably never see him again, but I'm glad that I was able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands in that moment.

I love you soooo much! I know the church is true. I know Heavenly Father loves me! And I know He loves you. :)

les amo con todo mi corazon,

Hermanita Buxton

Hermana McGlothin and Steele..we matched at interviews. haha

The cutest little girls ever. I was the queen, Angie was the dragon, and Abby was the princess. 

Karate Kid was filmed in my area!

Week 33: A Witness of God

Querida Familia mia,

Como están? Estoy muy feliz! :) 

I loved getting on my email and seeing pictures of you trying Pupusas! How were they?? I also ate pupupas this week with Obispo and his family. They were super delicious! :) I'm still excited to make them for you!

This week we got to see all of our wonderful hermanas. :) I love working with them and learning from them! They are such amazing missionaries. 

Some adventures from this week...

1) On a blitz in Sylmar with Hermana Figueroa and Berger, a contact prayed for us! It was so cute. We asked her if we could pray for her and then she said yes of course but I want to pray for you right now, people probably don't usually do that! So she said the cutest little prayer for us (and she was also moving her hands back and forth..haha) and then gave us juice. haha

2) I road a bike this week on an exchange with Hermana Escobar! It was so fun as always. I learned to really appreciate drivers who watch out for you. And the little dips in the sidewalk to cross the street! I also learned that on bike people contact you! Their area is small so people have started to recognize the missionaries and say hi to us! It was a really nice change. :) We also met some kids who showed us some hand games. They were very excited to teach us. We laughed so hard!

  

3) I went to Santa Clarita on an exchange with Hermana McGlothin! It was so fun to be there with her again. I didn't get to see any of my recent converts, or members, but I did get to see my three favorite girls! Marili, Yousely, and Rosie! We got there and they had a fruit fly invasion so we helped them get rid of the flies. Antonio had a blast pointing them out to Hna McGlothin. Look at his cute face! PS, thanks for the Valentine's day sunglasses! Hna Morse and I had fun with them.. but not as fun as Marili and Youcely! ;) While in Santa Clarita we followed up on a referral that Hna Francis and I got months ago of a family who is 7th day adventist. We knocked on the door and this time they invited us right in, they were even just watching a movie about Christ's life! They asked us questions about what we believe, offered a kneeling prayer at the end, and accepted them to come back this week! It was such an amazing miracle! I love to see the Lord's hand in all things. He is in charge of missionary work and He knows the right timing.

4) On a blitz with Hermana Kurta and Vega in Canyon Country, we got to teach children on the side of the road about the Book of Mormon! One of them told us that he always wanted to know what thebook was. We went through the pictures in the front and told the stories. I just really love teaching children! 

5) We went to the bike elder's area in our district to help them find. We met two boys in their 20s and I asked them if they knew what a missionary does. They thought and said no, and then asked us to tell them. We went thought the missionary purpose. 1- invite others to come unto christ. We talked about their testimonies of Him. 2- faith. We asked them what faith is to them. 3- repentance. We asked if they knew how to repent and why we need to repent. 4- baptism by immersion and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We talked about how Jesus Christ was baptized and how we need to be baptized by the right authority. 5- enduring to the end. We told them that we invite others to come unto Christ by doing all of these things, and then enduring to the end, or following His teachings and commandments for the rest of their lives. It was such a cool experience. I know they felt the spirit! Right after that we talked to a man who was a preacher at another church. He wasn't that nice to us and tried to convince us that we were wrong. He asked if we would stake our eternal salvation on what we believe. Without any hesitation hna Morse and I said yes. We both bore our testimonies and left him with the invitation to watch general conference where he could see what our prophet, apostles, and church leaders teach us. He actually seemed pretty interested about that. Of that experience our District Leader told us to go to D&C 62:3 "blessed are ye, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven." 

I love being a missionary and getting to share my testimony every day. I truly get to be a "witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places." I am so grateful for the experiences I have had to defend the truth and share what I believe. 

I love you all so very much!

Con amor para siempre,

Hermana Rachel Buxton

 Sweet Treats from my family!

Fruit from the fruit stand in the valley. Yum!

We got pizza from my favorite pizza place in Santa Clarita-Toppers- for Valentine's Day after an exchange! 

Week 32: Operation Gratitude

Spring is finally here! First tree to blossom. PS this is the prettiest apartment complex.

Buenos dias!

Where do I start... this week has been filled with crazy and incredible things!

We had a zone activity last week and we played tennis! I was one happy missionary.. I haven't picked up a raquet in sooo long. No, I haven't forgotten how to play but boy have I lost those muscles in my hand and arm. I was so sore! It was so fun to play though! It was a little tender mercy from the Lord :)

Zone picture after playing tennis.

This week we showed Elena the Restoration video. Every time I watch it my testimony grows so much stronger! The Spirit can be felt every single time. Yo se que Jose Smith era un profeta! El fue llamado para restaurar la iglesia verdadera de Jesucristo a la tierra otra vez. Debido de la restauracion, tenemos todas las bendiciones del cielo. Tenemos el Templo, donde podamos ser sellados a nuestras familiares. Tenemos toda la plenitud del evangelio -- y se encuentra en El Libro de Mormon. Este evangelio me pongo feliz cada dia!

Anyway, we also taught Daniel, a recent convert who reminds me so much of Peter! They are about the same age and just reaffirmed the fact that I love teaching children. :)

We helped Carlos (recent convert) get started on his family history! It is so difficult to read Spanish is cursive... we were all struggling trying to look at the documents on familysearch.org. But we were at least able to find the place he is from in Guatemala! Family history is so cool! The websites and programs the church has to help us find our ancestry are inspired!

We served at the armory this week with operation gratitude - putting together care packages for those serving over seas in the military. I love serving at places like these! I guess I just have a special place in my heart for the military! ;) We also got to go to the assisted living home and walk Tarzan and Lucky. We love those spunky dogs! They asked us to play the piano and sing to them so we also did that. It was pretty fun. I didn't even realize how much I would play the piano on my mission! We got to talk to many of the residents there. A lot of them are suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's. But one of the old ladies there is so good at cross stitch. And she got on us about learning it one day. haha

 Lucky and Tarzan on their walk! Look how happy Lucky is!

 What Tarzan does after his walks. He can't even make it a few steps into the door! haha

cross stitch (amazing)

We had Mission Leadership Counsel this week. I always learn so much! But my favorite thing was when Sister Hall said, "The best way to receive a testimony of the Atonement is by reading the Book of Mormon." So go read it! There are so many stories from people like you and me who were changed and given hope because of the atonement. We can learn so much from them! Have I mentioned how much I love the Book of Mormon? Because it's a lot!

Our hermanas of the San Fernando Zone (we had Zone training meeting with them this week.)

Members have been teaching us some tongue twisters! (traba lenguas). They are pretty fun to try!

I can't even begin to tell you how many people we talk to on the street who either have family who are members of the church or who have seen missionaries out in their home countries. It always amazes me.. Missionaries are working together from all around the world! Those missionaries probably had no idea that they were being noticed but they were! Moral of the story.. keep being examples of the believers! People REALLY do notice. And it makes all the difference when missionaries meet them on the side of the street!

Just want to end with a dicho de unas de las viejitas aca: "no hay jovenes sin amor, ni viejos sin dolor." haha unfortunately it doesn't rhyme in English but it means "there aren't any youth without love, nor elderly without pain." yeah... it sounds better in Spanish. haha

I love you so much! The Church is true. :)

Love,

Hermana Buxton

Elder Max Alley is the companion of one of the elders serving from this stake! Small world!

Most dogs bark at missionaries and try to bite them (must be the tag) but this little puppy became our friend! If only we could have talked to his owner... {Rachel has always been a dog whisperer.}

 Blitz in Hna Rodriguez y Escobar's area.

Week 31: In A Little Place Called Reseda

{We talked to the guy behind me right after we took this picture!}

I am now in a little place called Reseda. And I am so excited to be here! I miss my recent converts like crazy and I feel like I'm in a whole new world (practically a new country) but I love every minute of it! I love meeting people from all around the world speaking who knows how many languages. This is really a melting pot of culture and people. I love it! Here are a few pictures of our apartment. 

My new companion is Hermana Morse. I absolutely love her! We are so excited for this transfer. It is filled with so many amazing things! We planned out all of our exchanges and meetings and realized that we are going to be super busy. But busy as a missionary is the best!

I have already met so many great people...

Carlos is a recent convert who has probably the biggest heart and strongest testimony I have ever seen! He just got baptized in January and is already doing family history work and going to the temple. He wants to go on a mission and that makes me so happy.

Gem is a new investigator who is my same age! We love her. We have just taught her about the restoration so far but she had such great questions and really desires to know the truth.

Lucky and Tarzan... they are the dogs that we walk every week for service! I'll try to get a picture with them next time. We volunteer at a nursing home and help out with games and activities (mostly puzzles and coloring with those who have Alzheimer's) and walk some resident's dogs. I forgot how much I loved to go on walks with Jack. And just walks in general. I mean we go on "walks" everyday but it's always with the mission of talking with everyone we see! But it was nice to take a leisurely walk around the block with the old dogs.

Elena - She is just the cutest. She truly wants to understand the Book of Mormon. She reads the same chapter multiple times until she understands. I'm excited to continue to get to know her and help her progress in the gospel!

Los Miembros del Barrio - They are so kind and caring! And they LOVE missionary work! We were able to have a member present at almost all of our lessons! They welcomed me into the ward and I can already feel their love for me. Maybe it's just because I play the piano.. haha. I'm the pianist for almost everything. But it doesn't help too much because they just sing whatever tune they please. It is pretty funny!

El Distrito - They are the best. Seriously! I'm so excited for this transfer. All the missionaries have a huge desire to serve and do their best. We are definitely going to see miracles daily.

Speaking of miracles.. We met a wonderful lady named Elvia and 2 of her kids on mom's birthday. We taught them the restoration and invited them to be baptized and they said YES! The spirit was so strong and we feel so blessed to be able to get to teach them!! :)

We had a Sister Training Leader training this week (Have I mentioned yet how excited I am to work with Hermana Morse??) and it was so fun. You're right mom, the name is super long. Apparently Sister Hall agrees with you because she told us if they are going to make the name that long, they might as well make it "Awesome Sisters of Coolness." So there you have it. I think I like that title better. ;)

I am so grateful to be a missionary. I love serving the Lord. I know that we teach so many people but I feel like I learn more from them then they ever could from us. My testimony grows every day!

I love you so much!

con carino y amor,

Hermana Buxton

PS- Thanks for the Valentine's Day package! The decorations are already up and we may have eaten all the rice crispy treats already. ;)

My newly decorated planner!