Dear Family and Friends,
I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE BEEN OUT 11 MONTHS TODAY!!! Where has time gone? This
has been quite an interesting week. Sister Lamont found out she has an eye
infection that is effecting her ability to do missionary work. She is gets
really tired throughout the day and often times has to take a break. Her
eye is still senistive to light and she always has a headache. It is also
effecting her thought process so she is thinking slower and rambles or
talks until she can reach a conclusion. This has made Walk and Talk August
really difficult, but we still try and do our best and I have seen some
miracles happen this week.
On Wednesday we were on exchanges. Sister Bogaert came to our area. We had
downtown street contacting that afternoon so we planned to walk and talk
our way through Shawnessy to the C-train station. On our way we had several
miracles and talked to several interesting people. As we were walking we
saw someone across the street, so we decided to go talk to him. He talked
to us for a while, but was pretty set in his beliefs, so we continuted
walking down the street. Because we changed what side of the street we were
on, we ran into another lady who was very open to talking with us. She
believes everyone needs Christ in their lives. We talked with her for a
good ten minutes. She wouldn't set up a time for us to come back or give us
her address, but she gave us her email so we could keep in contact with and
have more gospel discussions. Then we crossed the street to stop-by Bernard
and schedule a time for a lesson, but no body answered the door, so we
continued down the street. We stopped a man who had his headphones in. He
was confused at why we were talking to him, but was very open to listening.
He told us his beliefs, which aren't too far off from our beliefs, but he
was stubborn. He wanted us to teach him everything right there on the
street and was unwilling to schedule a return appointment. We got his phone
number though. We ended up talking to him for over an hour and were late to
meet our zone at the C-train station, but it was worth it. Although he
wasn't open to meeting with us again, we were just one of those seven
contacts Elder Switzer talked about. Then we went to Wendy's to warm up
because we were freezing from standing in the rain and ate lunch. There we
also talked to another lady is set in her beliefs, but she actually started
talking to us after she saw us pray for our food. It is really cool to see
people coming out of the wood works, even if we are only having gospel
conversations with them and it doesn't go any farther than that.
The rest of the week until Sunday wasn't too eventful. We went to set
appointments and did our weekly planning, but we couldn't do much because
of how Sister LaMont has been feeling. Yesterday was a good day though.
Bernard came to church and we were able to put him on date for September
9th. When I first came into the area, Sister LaMont wanted to drop him, but
she gave him one more chance and from there he started to progress. We made
an effort to have dailey contact with him and made bold promises about him
finding full time work after he is baptized. Since then he has been keeping
his commitments and talks about being baptized and becoming a member all
the time. We knew after the good experience he had at church yesterday that
we had to put him on date. It was a short lesson just on his doorstep
because Sister LaMont was exhausted and there wasn't another female home.
We were bold and persistent and it paid off. We reminded him of the promise
we made him once before and continued to promise him even more. He was
hesitant to say yes to the 9th because he might have found a job this week,
but we didn't give up and he said yes. That was a great miracle to see,
even when Sister LaMont has not been feeling very well.
I know I haven't sent a spiritual thought for a few weeks. I've ran out of
time the last few weeks. But here is one today, that I read this week in my
personal study of the Book of Mormon. As a misssion we have been reading it
with the purpose of learning more about "Miracles thru Faith." This is just
one thing that stood out to me. These scriptures come from Mosiah 4:2-3. At
this time in the Book of Mormon King Benjamin has been teaching the people
about the atonement of Jesus Christ. Then he pauses and looks around and
this is what he sees among the people:
*2 And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less
than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice,
saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may
receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we
believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and
all things; who shall come down among the children of men. *
*3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of
the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a
remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the
exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according
to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.*
It is a miracle through the faith of the people that they humbled
themsevles before god. They learned what they needed to as they had their
tents facing towards the temple. Because of this, they were blessed
exceedlingly. When we experience a change of heart like these people did,
it will lead us to come closer to Jesus Christ and to our Heavenly Father.
We need to all accept his will for us and stop being stubborn and focused
on our own personal desires. I know this gospel is true. The book of mormon
is the word of God. As we pray, read our scriptures, go to church, and keep
the covenants we have made, God will bless us more than we can comprehend.
I love this gospel so much! I'm so grateful I have the opportunity to share
it with thers around me. And I hope you all take an opportunity to share
the gospel to those around you too. Just like Elder Bednar talks about in
this talk:
https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/to-sweep-the-earth-as-with-a-flood?lang=eng
I love you all!!
Love,
Sister Barton
Pictures:
1.) Me in downtown Calgary on Wednesday at a "Consite"
2.) Lunch we had with a less active and the Sister Training leaders
Dear Friends and Family,
This has been a good, but interesting week for me. I have had a lot of new
experiences that have challenged me and helped me come out of my comfort
zone and just go talk to people. For example we went downtown street
contacting on wednesday. It was hard at first and I was a little nervous to
talk to people, but then I realized how simple it is and I was okay. We
also had some funny experiences, some for the sake of my companion I won't
share, but one I will. On Friday our toilet got clogged and we had no
plunger to unclog it, so it flooded over. That was gross! We found the few
towels we could and cleaned up all the water, then put them in the washer.
We then had to clean the whole bathroom, and Sister Lamont tried to unclog
our drain in the tub, but that didn't work either. She ended up breaking a
hanger trying to do it, because of how bad the clog is. The bathroom
smelled really bad for a few days afterwards and we didn't really feel
comfortable walking on the floor in bare feet, until today when we cleaned
it all again. Needless to say, we had a rought morning that day, but now we
have a plunger!
This past week we made a goal to see Bernard every day of the week. So
Monday night we had the members who we had dinner with give us a ride to
his house. We just shared a quick scripture about baptism for 2 Nephi 31,
then I invited him to be baptized. He really wants to be baptized. He wants
to become a member and have "responsibility" as he calls it. He sees
himself giving a talk and teaching the gospel. We saw him a couple more
times that week, but his lesson we had scheduled for friday where we were
going to invite him to be baptized on a specific date fell through. Then he
didn't come to church because he had company visiting from the states. We
are going to call him tonight and set up another appointment.
This week Sister Lamont got sick. She has something wrong with her eye,
maybe an eye infection. It gives her a headache and makes her really tired.
She doesn't want to stop working, but she needs to. She is starting to
consent to Heavenly Father's will and resting more. It is really hard for
her. She doesn't want to be trunky because she has very little time left of
her mission. She wants to work as hard as she can to the end. I hope she
gets feeling better soon.
I love this gospel so much, and I do want others to come unto it. I'm
grateful for all the knowledge and understanding I'm gaining about the
gospel as I go out and teach, but also as I read the BOM again. I'm so
grateful for my Mission President and Walk and Talk August. It is helping
me learn and understand a whole new thing about missionary work. I have
gained more knowledge about the gospel and God's plan as I've been studying
the BOM recently, and its amazing. I know that the Lord is hastening his
work. People are being prepared, and they are walking right out in front of
us. All we have to do is open our mouths and the spirit will give us what
we need. I love you all and thank you for your support!!!
Love, Sister Barton
On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 1:27 PM, Josie Barton <josie.barton@myldsmail.net>
wrote:
I'm sending pictures first so my companion can use her SD card reader to
send pictures too.
1. my zone and the south zone at zone conference
2. Sister Lamont and I borrowed the STL's bike to go for a bike ride last
p-day, we just got bikes so we can ride them too.
3. Sister Lamont and I
Dear Family and Friends,
I have had an exhausting week, that I'm still recovering from, but it has
been a great one. I love my new area here in Calgary in Shawnessy. I love
my new companion Sister Lamont. I'm so grateful for Walk and Talk August,
even though we haven't talked to as many people as we wish, we are trying
and are seeing miracles happening from it. As I'm reading the Book of
Mormon for Miracles by Faith, I can see how miracles are not always big
things, they are most times, very small. It is helping me recognize the
miracels more in my every day to day life. I'm so grateful for zone
conference that we had this week. I had so many spiritual experiences, it
left me exhausted for the next day. I just want to share with you some of
the miracles we have had this week.
So on Tuesday as we walked outside we found that we had flat tire on our
car. We couldn't believe it! We had just checked the tires the day before
for car inspections and they were all fine. We didn't know what to do so of
course we called Elder Trim (he's over all the cars in the mission) and he
told us to find some other missionaries in our zone to come help us. The
zone leaders and our district leader were almost there. So then whith
permission from Elder Trim and our zone leaders we called other Elders in
our zone. Canyon Creek Elders had to come back for a temple recommend so
they said they would come help us. While we waited for them, we decided to
start acting and doing what we could. We pulled the spare out of the car
and I started loosening the lugnuts. Then a man from our apartment complex
saw us and offered to help so we accepted. As he was changing the tire we
talked to him about the gospel and who we were. We asked him if he goes to
church. He said no, he's just too busy. But then he admitted that that
wasn't a good excuse. So we invited him to come sometime. I know that the
Lord placed us in his path so we could talk to him.
Another miracle happened on Saturaday as we decided we had nothing going on
the whole day that we were going to walk from our apartment to Somerset,
which took us two hours, then to walk out to Silverado which was another 30
minutes. We tried to talk to as many people as we could, but their wasn't a
lot of people outside and no one was home on the doors we knocked on. As we
were getting close to the entrance of Silverado some members stopped and
gave us a ride to their house where we were able to fill up our water
bottles and rest from the heat a little. They then offered to feed us
dinnner because we didn't have a dinner that night. We had a few hours
before dinner so we went out to tract and stop by some less-actives. On our
way to one house we got a call from a member who was in Silverado helping
his less-active son with some yard work. He was looking for Elders, but we
said we were probably the only missioinaries in Silverado, we would come
help. So we did in our skirts for about an hour. We found a new less active
that is not in the ward directory who has a non-member wife. They really
like us because we did service for them. We are hoping to start teaching
them on a more regular basis and do more service for them.
Well, those are just two of the miracles we have had this week, and they
have been amazing. We got Bernard to come to church and also picked up a
new investigator who said she is Muslim, but it doesn't look like she's
practicing, but the way she was dressed. She was willing to read the Book
of Mormon. When we meet with her this week we will find out more about her
background as a Muslim. I'm so grateful for Walk and Talk August. It is
pushing me out of my comfort zone and helping me learn and grow even more.
I love this gospel so much and am grateful I have the opportunity to share
it with all those around me. I'm grateful for the experiences I've had this
week, especially at zone conference and the temple.
Love Sister Barton
“There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an
elder [or sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him
to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children” (The Teachings of
Lorenzo Snow, comp. Clyde J. Williams [1984], 70).
Dear Friends and Family,
It's a new month and I have a new area and a new companion and new goals to
accomplish. I'm now serving in the Shawnessy ward in Calgary in the
Foothills stake. My new companion is Sister Lamont and she has been out on
her mission for 17 months and goes home at the end of this transfer.
As for new goals, my mission president is calling this month "WALK AND TALK
AUGUST." It is exactly what it sounds like. For the whole month of August
we are to walk everywhere but missionary meetings and talk to as many
people as possible so as a mission we can talk to 1 MILLION people this
whole month. That's a lot of people, but I know with God nothing is
impossible. It is hard and scary to talk to people, but miracles are
already happening because of it. We found a potential investigator named
Darlene by doing this. One day we were tracting out in Silverado and Sister
Lamont had to use the washroom. We were trying to find a member we knew
lived nearby, but we couldn't find them. However, we ran into a lady who
was outside and we just started talking to her. She let us inside so Sister
Lamont could use the wash room. Then we started talking to her, trying to
figure out if she was a member or not. She knew what the Book of Mormon was
and let me share a scripture from it which lead to another discussion. We
almost picked her up as a new investigator, but she wouldn't set up a
return appointment at that time, but she said we could stop by anytime we
were in the area. She has read the book of Mormon already and believes its
true. We are going to stop by again soon and hopefully pick her up as a new
investigator.
As for earlier this week, before transfers I burned a skirt with my last
companion Sister Connor. It's tradition as a missionary to do it at 9
months, or half way, but we didn't have time, so we did it for 10 months as
you can see in the picture. I had to say goodbye to a lot of people I
really love and an area I loved, but I love it here in Calgary already and
I'm learning so many great things!
For my spiritual thought I just want to share with you something I learned
from the Book of Mormon. Our mission president challenged us to read it
with the purpose or looking for "miracles by faith." It is a scripture that
comes from 1 Nephi 3:7, which you may recognize:
*And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do
the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth
no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for
them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.*
This Walk and Talk August may sound impossible to you. There are many
things in life that we are asked to do that may seem impossible, but I
know, with God, they are not impossible. As we put forth the effort and go
do something like Nephi does when he trusts God and goes to get the plates,
that God will bless us with miracles in our life. Faith is action. It is
not just belief, but belief that causes us to act. To get on our knees and
pray, to search and study our scriptures for answers, and to go talk to
that person walking down the street. I can promise you as you put your
faith into action and put forth effort that God is going to bless you with
miracles and answers in your life. I have seen it here on my mission and I
know I will continue to see it.
I love you all! Have a great week!
Love Sister Barton:)
Pictures:
1. 10 month skirt burn
2. I saw Sister Harris my trainer at transfers. She's a Sister Training
Leader now.
3. Me in the middle of provicianal park called Fish Creek in the middle of
Calgary that is right next the apartment I live in. (yes I'm living in an
apartment and not a member's basement).
4. Sister Lamont, my new companion and I.
5. An old car we saw while tracting
