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