Sacramento - Week 65

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

COUNTDOWN: 45 DAYS

“Because of Him, I Can Do Double Duty”

April 21, 2014

Hello Everyone!

Well, it's that time again. Transfers! Sister Johnson is leaving to go to La Sierra (YES MY OLD AREA IN CARMICHAEL!) and I am so happy for her! I, meanwhile, am staying in Northland ward, but they are merging Northland and Ripon areas. So, the Assistants called to tell me that I will be put in charge of both areas and take on Sister O'Steen, who has been in Ripon with Sister Roberts, as my new (and final) companion. I am very excited to get a new area and keep my old one, but honestly a little bit intimidated with the task of merging two areas that are a distance apart and need lots of attention. Northland is booming, so she needs lots of love and time to see all of our investigators, and Ripon is in a bit of a lull, so she needs lots of love and time to find new investigators. How will we ever find time to both? I don't know, but God does, so everything will work out. He's good at His job, so that makes up for the fact that I am merely mediocre at mine. 

I hope everyone had a marvelous Easter! Ours was just wonderful. We had 6 investigators at church, and then went to the house we are currently in for lunch. Nothing is better than having a whole crowd of non-members voluntarily come into your house and not be able to leave without offending family! We got to share the Easter message "Because of Him" with them. If you haven't seen it, check it out. The message is for always, not just Easter.

We were able to bear testimony of the risen Savior, and of all that is possible in our lives and after this life because of Him. This morning, the Sister we are staying with told us how perfect it was for her family, and how touched they all told her they were after we had left. IS THE HOLY GHOST AWESOME OR WHAT! I am grateful everyday for the spirit, because He is what teaches and testifies, not me. 

Next, we dropped off dinner for the Dracula’s, one of our investigator families. The dad was in the hospital and the mom had been with him all day. We took them Easter dinner and candy for the kids. Harry Potter, the 10 year old, came to church by himself and he said he hadn't had anything for Easter that morning. Turns out he hadn't had breakfast either. He devoured my pack of "100 Calorie Chips Ahoy Crisps" and a pack of almonds, and was grateful, though irritated that I made him wait until after the sacrament. (flash forwards to parenting. How do they do it!) I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am. There has never been a question of whether or not breakfast will be there in the morning. The mom was so grateful when we stopped by with dinner. She looked exhausted and had the weight of a mom who can't give her children what she wants on her shoulders. I found comfort in knowing that Because of Him, because of our Savior's sacrifice, our burdens can be made light and miracles can happen. He who knows each sparrow is mindful of us, and will take care of us. 

We went to dinner at the Pimpernelle's. Brother Pimpernelle is less active. His wife, Sister Pimpernelle, is the most active person in the world. They are both lovely! They have a massive house out in the middle of nowhere that Sister Pimpernelle has decorated like an African safari, complete with statues of giraffes, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, and hippos spread across the lawn. It was way too much fun. Dinner wasn't quite ready when we arrived, so Sister Pimpernelle let me spend some quality time with her white baby grand. *insert me drooling a little bit here* It was gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!! Brother Pimpernelle just about died laughing when I played Dixie. What can I say, I know where my heart will always belong. Sister Johnson and I performed this beautiful arrangement of I Believe in Christ set to the music of Ave Maria. Perfect Easter Hymn. We shared the Because of Him message with them and their non-member friend and invited Sister Pimpernelle to bear her testimony. It was one of the most spiritual moments of my mission as she testified of the Savior's atonement and the difference it had made in her life. The atonement is what has helped her to stay active when it meant going to church by herself every Sunday. She is who she is, and we are who we are, because of Him. 

We had two more less active lessons after dinner. We shared the Because of Him message with them and challenged them to make a list that night of what they have because of Jesus Christ. It's been amazing to hear about their experiences. WE TRULY HAVE AND ARE EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF HIM. 

I am so grateful for my Savior. I'd be toast without Him. I couldn't do anything without Him, although He would probably say that I try too hard to do things without Him. I admit I forget a lot how much I need Him. Too busy being a Martha and not being a Mary, I guess. But every single day I am grateful for what He did for me, for you, for everyone! He is the answer to every problem, the light at the end of every tunnel, and the calm in every storm. When we let Him help us, we become better, are made stronger, and can do all things! 

Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 

Sister Burchett

Sacramento - Week 64

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

COUNTDOWN: 52 DAYS

“Hillbilly BBQ and a Baptism”

April 14, 2014

Hello one and all! 

Another week has come and gone and seriously just flown by. I don't know where it went! Sister Johnson and I have been so busy, and it is such a blessing. 

We have a baptism coming up this weekend! Mushu is getting baptized on Sunday night. I am so happy for him! His life story is completely ravaged with trials and crazy things any one of which I would think should be enough refiner's fire for one lifetime. He has such a strong testimony of the gospel and is one of the sweetest gentlest people I have ever met. Yesterday, he brought roses from his garden for our whole gospel principles class. I was looking at them on our table this morning and I just could not stop smiling. I love flowers. They always make me think of the scripture about considering the lilies of the field and how the Lord takes care of each one of us. 

We had dinner this week with a less active couple we found, the Dalmations. They asked us where we wanted to go for dinner, and I suggested this little hole in the wall BBQ joint I had seen while we were biking. It was called, "Billie Hill's Hillbilly BBQ". It was a blast! Throughout the course of an evening that was highlighted by ribs and fried snickers pie, we found out that Pongo and Perdita had joined the church in Hawaii. While there, they held Stake callings, were in bishoprics, and he was the high priest group leader. They moved here to California, and decided to just "take a break".

Insert the sound of Sister Burchett's heart breaking!!!!!!!!!!! It is my burning and solemn testimony that we can NEVER take a break from being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Keeping our covenants includes attending and being a full participator in church. I have seen the sad truth that if we are not moving towards the Lord, we are moving away from Him. There is no standing still, no sitting on the fence, and there are no breaks. Yes, it is hard. Yes, it is a sacrifice. But IT IS WORTH IT. We can never be complacent in our discipleship. Doing so allows the weeds of doubt and discouragement to grow in our garden of testimony. It causes our seedlings of faith and revelation to wilt so slowly and imperceptibly that one day we will wake up and find ourselves in a drought, and not know how we got there. Satan is way too good at his job for us to ever be satisfied. 

On a lighter note, we finally met Inspector Gadget from behind the big, black door!!!!!! We met him and his family for the first time in person last night and will be returning to teach them this week. Inspector Gadget still insists that he does not and will not believe in God, but he has a good spirit about him and I know the spirit can touch his heart and the heart of his family. 

This week we were asked to participate in a Relief Society Activity and teach a 20 minute presentation on springing into action spiritually. Sister Johnson and I talked about one of my favorite acronyms: CPR.

CPR stands for Church, Prayer, and Reading. These are the things that give our spirit life. It was a neat experience to hear the different testimonies of the sisters on how they are trying to improve themselves in each of these areas. It made me think so much of General Conference. How many speakers testified that these three basic things make all the difference? I know that they do! If we are attending our church meetings, praying, and reading our scriptures, we are building a wall of protection from the adversary and a firm foundation on the Savior. It doesn't mean life will be easy, trial free, and a lovely spring jaunt through meadows of clover, but it does mean that we will know where to turn when we need help. It means we will have a better understanding of how to access the Savior's atonement. 

I know the Savior lives! What a blessing we have to celebrate his glorious resurrection this Easter Sunday. May we never forget his atoning sacrifice for each and every one of us. I pray we will all better use this gift that was bought with the highest price for each of us. Happy Easter, have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Sister Burchett 

Sacramento - Week 63

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

COUNTDOWN: 59 DAYS

“A Tahitian Stole Our Bread”

April 7, 2014

Howdy Folks! 

First off, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! 21 is....pretty much the same as 20, except now, as my companion reminded me I'm out of "big birthdays" until I turn 30. And then, "You'll be REALLY over the hill." Thanks, Sister Johnson. It was the best birthday ever, mostly because I was so busy I forgot most of the day, just how I like it! And who gets to be so lucky as to have the prophet and apostles speak for her birthday? I truly am so blessed. Let's get to the recap of the week, shall we? 

First off, how amazing was General Conference?!!!! Some girls flip out for Bieber; I scream for Bednar. Some die for Prince Harry; I live for Elder Holland. There are those who swear by Tommy Hilfiger; I'd rather take Thomas Monson. I LOVE THESE CHURCH LEADERS! Every talk in conference was so inspiring and motivating and inspired. My notebook is full, and so is my heart. How blessed we are to have guidance from living prophets today. I especially loved the theme of standing up for what is right. The world is drifting (ok, plummeting, hurtling at violent speeds, and falling off a cliff) at rapid speeds from the doctrines of God, and we can't even hint that we are ok with it. We must stand strong, stand up, and stand for what is right. 

(Did you miss General Conference? Listen/watch it HERE)

We had at least 7 of our investigators at conference, and several more who were supposed to watch it at home who we are still following up with. What a blessing! The most interesting experience I had was with our investigator, Harry Potter. Harry is 10. He REALLY wanted to come to church, even though we explained that this Sunday was different and what conference was. He still wanted to come, and there is no way that I am going to tell someone not to come to church. So, Sister Johnson and I recruited the Primary President and came equipped with every conference activity for kids you can think of. During the second session, I basically entertained Harry. I remember thinking at one point, "Ok, I am so not getting anything out of this, and neither is he. Maybe we should just take the member and go outside and tell Book of Mormon stories. He'd get more out of that."

But then, Harry said, "What's a temple?"

Caught off guard I said, "What?"

Articulate, I know.

He said, "That apostle was talking about temples. What's a temple?"

So we talked about temples.

Later he asked, "So, can I be baptized? Where do you do it? Why?"

Even when his attention span was long gone and with 15 minutes left in the session he asked, "How much longer?" It was followed by, "Can I see where we get baptized now, or do I have to wait until Tuesday when I come to scouts?"

Reflecting on the whole experience, I can see the lesson that Heavenly Father was teaching me. He's good about that. He was teaching me that even the youngest children can benefit from General Conference and church in general. On my mission I have met many mothers who have gone less active because, "My kids aren't getting anything out of it, and I'm not either because I am dealing with them. We'll come back when they are older and can sit still."

Even though I spent my time listening to Harry Potter and not to what the speakers were saying, I still felt the spirit. I received revelation for myself and my investigators. I received answers for Harry, and He received answers too. It only strengthened my resolve that my children and I will ALWAYS go to church, no matter how hard it may seem. It made me think of an article a few Ensigns ago entitled, "On Sundays, we go to church". If we put forth the effort to be present, the Lord will bless us with His presence too. 

(Read it Here --> “On Sundays We Attend Church”)

This week I taught my first lesson to a door. Don't worry. There was someone on the other side of the door. I'm old, not senile. You see, on the other side of this big black door is a 15 year old named Inspector Gadget. His mom is a referral we have been trying to contact, but each time we go, Inspector Gadget yells that she isn't there and he's not allowed to open the door when his parents aren't home.

Yesterday, I decided I was through walking away from that silly black door. So when Inspector Gadget said, "She's not here. Come back later."

I said, "That's ok. I was hoping we could talk with you instead."

Inspector Gadget said, "I'm not opening the door."

I said, "That's ok. How was your week?"

Sister Johnson and I concluded that he was so startled, he actually responded, because he didn't know what else to do. We kept talking. We found out that he doesn't know if he believes in God. In fact he said, "I don't believe in anything."

He said he's never needed God. He's always just taken care of things on his own, and after telling us how not interested he was I asked, "Inspector Gadget, if we come back and teach your Mom, will you at least sit down and listen to what we have to say?"

Silence from the big black door.

After about 30 seconds, Sister Johnson said, "Inspector Gadget, are you there?"

From the big black door came, "Yes....I don't know....maybe. I'm really not that interested, but maybe...." T

hen, we told him that even if he felt like he didn't need God now, we knew that he had a loving Father in Heaven who would be there for him when he did. We said goodbye and left a note for his Mom. She texted us last night. We're going over this week. I can't wait to meet the boy behind the big black door!

Explanation of email title this week: Last P-day we left our bread in the Spanish sisters' car. They were going to give it back to us on Thursday at our meeting, but had to leave early. They thought we would catch a ride with the other sisters, so left our bread on their car. We, however, were getting a ride with a member to an appointment.

So, the other sisters came out to their car and thought mana had fallen from heaven. They in turn gave our bread to Elders Smith and Mahaa. Through some detective work we pieced together this story, concluded the bread was lost, and laughed. Later that week, we got a miracle call from Elders Smith and Mahaa (from Tahiti). We listened to an ecstatic Elder Smith tell how he was asked to perform his first baptism. Then from the background we here Elder Mahaa say, "Hey, Northland! I have your bread! It's a miracle! I didn't eat it!"

After laughing hysterically we texted them to say they could keep it. They responded "This day just keep getting better!!!!!!!!!!!" And thus, a Tahitian inadvertently stole our bread. 

Other memorable moments from this week: A dog peed on me. That was a first. Luckily it was raining so I just let nature wash it away. A man stopped us on the street to say, "My grandpa wears your underpants! He goes on temple grounds and everything!"

I said, "Awesome, would you like to as well?!" He declined, but we gave him a pass along card. A Portuguese farrier told me I had beautiful eyes, and I got to talk cows with some owners of a dairy farm. In case you were wondering, the family owns two thousand head of Holstein. I told them when it comes to dairy cows, I'm partial to Jerseys. They too, accepted a pass along card. Isn't missionary work the best?! 

I know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us. He loves us enough that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for us. I know that through Jesus Christ all our imperfections can become perfect and all our losses can be made up. I know we have living prophets and apostles today. God lives and He speaks. Isn't it a miracle! 

Have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Sister Burchett 

Sacramento - Week 62

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

COUNTDOWN: 66 DAYS

“Aliens, Atlantians, and a Bit of Rain

March 31, 2014

Howdy y'all!

Another week has flown by. Sister Johnson and I are so busy that we can't even remember what happens to us. I love it. I did manage to be better at making notes for myself of the things I wanted to share this week so this letter will at least have content. I can't promise more than that. I'd say it should be uplifting and entertaining, but I tend to think I'm way more hilarious than I am, so we'll play it safe. :) 

We were biking down a busy street this week in the rain. It rained a good amount this week, and we tended to be damp wherever we went. It was great fun! As we biked, we saw a man up ahead of us. I love the moment when Sister Johnson and I realize we get to talk to another person. We look at each other, and smile and she (because her bike is normally in front) speeds up and yells, "Hello!" and I grab a Mormon.org card and swing in behind with a "We'd like to give you something!" It's like a beautifully choreographed danced.

So we start talking to this man and we invite him to church. He was SO excited and grateful that we stopped to talk to him. While we were finding out more of his religious background, his son came up and started talking to us too. We invited him to the Young Men's activity that night to play dodge ball. He and his older brother both came and had a great time! We found out that they family has 6 kids, two of which are sets of twins, ages 10 to 17. We are meeting with them this week and hoping to start teaching the whole family. It was another testimony builder for me that we cannot predict and should not judge who will be receptive to the gospel. This man was not the type of guy who you would look at normally and think, "He would make a great Mormon!" He was little rough looking, and a little dirty from walking, and missing a few teeth. His hands were worn and calloused from hard work and his clothes were torn. But the smile on his face when he saw that we had stopped to talk with him, THAT was what reminded me that we can't look at people for who they are, but for who they can become. We must see them the way that our Heavenly Father sees them. Before my mission I would have seen Brother Dracula and thought, "I'll go down a different street just to be safe." Now, I see him as my brother, who needs to know that he is loved by his Father in Heaven, and by me. 

We had another awesome experience this week with a part member family. We were planning the night before and I asked Sister Johnson what the story was with this particular family. She said they weren't particularly interested, but I really felt like we should stop by. We pulled up on our bikes and the family was outside. They were so happy to see us! We started talking and they were asking all kinds of questions about church. Turns out, their twin 4 year old girls have been asking to go to church. Then, out of the blue the mom asks her husband, "Corey, would you want to be baptized?"

Sister Johnson and I nearly fell over. It was so completely out of the blue, and on top of that is our favorite question ever. He said, "Yeah, maybe."

She said, "You'd have to give a lot of stuff up."

He said, "Yeah, I couldn't chew tobacco anymore, right?"

And so we taught the Word of Wisdom. And they're coming to church. And we're going to start teaching them. When people are ready, they are ready. Our job is to make sure that when they are ready, we are there to guide them. 

(Want to know more? --> The Word of Wisdom)

Manteca Stake is exploding! We have about 20 people on date for baptism in the month of April. One of our investigators in our area who is on date wanted to get baptized on Christmas because it was Christ's birthday....so I suggested Easter instead (knowing that was actually closer to Christ's real birthday but we didn't go into that) and he agreed. So he is getting baptized April 20th! Exciting. 

Wasn't the General Women's Meeting just beautiful! So much good stuff! I can't wait for more guidance at General Conference this weekend! What an amazing privilege to hear from prophets, seers, and revelators. Are you ready? 

(Did you miss it? Listen/watch the General Women’s Meeting HERE )

And now, a funny story from this week (well, it's actually quite sad, but I have to laugh at it or else I get depressed for humanity). As a missionary, you meet many people with many different ideas on why we are here and the purpose of life. When left in the darkness without the restored gospel, it is frankly amazing the things that mankind comes up with to reason our existence.

This week we met two people with such out of this world views. One man told us that we were all created with aliens, and that aliens are actually the angels that God has sent to watch over us. They created Jesus, who was a superhuman, and are teaching and watching over us for God, who is the head alien and lives in a mothership where we can all live when we have been taught enough by the aliens.

Another woman told us that we are all the result of an experiment in energy levels being conducted by the Atlantians and other alien beings. People like Jesus Christ are "ascended masters" who have mastered the art of channeling good energy in love and peace. As we too channel or energy and work on our heart chakras, the Atlantians and other aliens can teach us until we reach the ultimate level of good energy, lift the whole planet into a state of world peace, and are absorbed by the ultimate energy source which is God.............yeah. Apparently, Mt' Shasta has very good energy because there is an inner-city of Aliens living underneath it. They all operate on a different dimension though, and that's why we can't see them.

HOW GRATEFUL I AM FOR THE RESTORED GOSPEL AND THE PLAN OF SALVATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, that's my life and my week. I hope all ya’ll’s is lovely and you have an amazing Conference Weekend! The gospel has been restored. There is a plan! We are God's children, and we can live with Him again!

Love, 

Sister Burchett

Sacramento - Week 61

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

COUNTDOWN: 73 DAYS

“Give ‘em Heaven!”

March 24, 2014

Hello everyone! 

It has been an AMAZING week in Northland Ward! Probably the busiest week of my mission and it was absolutely fantastic! We added 7 new investigators, 4 of which are from a family! 

The Weasley’s are a huge miracle. Mrs. Weasley’s husband is in prison and she has 6 kids, 4 of which are baptismal age. We had already added Mrs. Weasley as an investigator last week, but we added her older kids this week. They are all so excited to come to church! They don't have a car and when we invited them to church they said, "Of course we will be coming! How long will it take us to walk there?"

For the record, it would take them YEARS to walk to the chapel. It's kind of out in the boondocks.

We tried to explain that to them and said we would get them a ride. "Oh no," Mrs. Weasley said, "We don't want to be a burden. Just tell us when we need to leave and we will be there. It doesn't matter how far."

 I was so touched by her willingness to come to church. Most people we have to drag and pull and bribe and convince to come to church for the first time, but here was a family with kids ages 14, 13, 11, 8, 6, and 4, willing to walk, no matter how far, to be able to attend church as a family. Now THAT is faith. THAT is willingness to follow the Lord. I can't wait to meet with this sweet family again this week and teach them more about the gospel. 

Another miracle that happened this week, happened on a little street called "Merced". We were on a neighboring street contacting a potential. We street contacted some men playing dominoes on their front porch. They were blaring, "Sweet Home Alabama", so of course I had to compliment them on their song choice. After chatting with us for a few minutes and making it very clear that they weren't interested (because they were Catholic....we baptize Catholics too!) one man said, "You should try Merced. They'll be nice to you there."

So off we went.

We decided we would contact everyone on Merced. The first group of people we came to was a Hispanic family having a HUGE fiesta in their front yard. I contacted a few of the teenagers who were playing football in the street.

Not interested.

Next we passed a man tearing apart a garage. We started contacting him and turns out he was from Rockwall! So we started talking about Texas, about his family, about religion, and how he met his wife, and we find out that his wife was from Utah, and he thinks she was baptized as a kid. They now have two little boys and are looking for a church. We asked if we could send the missionaries by in his area and he was so excited! We got all of his information and sent his referral to the Elders in Modesto. If we had never gone down Merced, we never would have found him. Miracles. 

The title of the email is a quote from one of the members of the Stake Presidency here. We had a welcome dinner at his house and after the closing prayer he yelled, "Give 'em Heaven! It's much better than giving them the other place." It's become our new slogan. 

Funny story for the week: For Pday we played soccer aka futbol with a bunch of the Spanish missionaries investigators. I know it is really surprising to those who know me, but soccer really isn't my sport. So I was out there doing my best to not be in the way, when Sister Roberts yelled, "Come on Sister Burchett! You're from Texas! Show 'em how they do it there."

To which I replied, "Um....we play the other kind of football there!"

The Spanish missionaries got my pun. Sister Roberts didn't. That's ok. God thinks I'm funny. 

Hope y'all have a wonderful week. Look for miracles, play some futbol, and if a Catholic man tells you to go for a walk down a certain street, I highly recommend it.

Love, 

Sister Burchett

Sacramento - Week 59/60

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

COUNTDOWN: 80 Days

“City of Lard”

March 17, 2014

Hello! 

Sorry for the lack of letter last week! The day got away from us with transfers and at about 9 o'clock I was sitting on my bed starting to pack and thinking, "I have forgotten something....what is it."

Then, Sister Zenger yells "WE DIDN'T EMAIL HOME! OUR PARENTS ARE GOING TO DIE!"

The good news is I have heard from you so I think that means everyone survived. And with that....the transfer news! 

I have been transferred to the Northland Ward in Manteca, California. Manteca means "lard" in Spanish. Contrary to such an interesting name, it is a beautiful place and I love it here! There are SO many people to talk to and teach, and I love being a bike missionary again. 

Tuesday I got to go to the temple and see many old mission buddies and the Doolittle’s. It was so great to be together again. I feel like I have this amazing collection of adopted family spread over Northern California. What an amazing blessing! I wish I could shrink everyone down and carry them around with me always. It would make member present lessons a breeze! 

I got to Manteca on Wednesday. My companion's name is Sister Johnson. She is waiting on her visa to Brazil. She's from Denver, Colorado, and I adore her! We are having lots of fun. Currently, we are wearing matching green skirts for Saint Patrick's Day, along with green necklaces that the member we live with gave us. The people in the family history center loved it. 

Manteca is a pretty diverse place. We have a section of the ward that is newer housing developments, areas that are more humble, areas that are like little Mexico, and areas that are huge sections of farmland. Manteca has lots of orchards and specializes in growing almonds. We rode down Main Street the other day, and I was in heaven loving the adorable historic downtown with shops and restaurants and the Manteca Moose Lodge. Those of you that know my love of Moose will know how much I appreciated that. 

We are teaching a bunch of people and we found 3 new investigators this week that seem super prepared. We have been having a great time street contacting. We have met a lot of interesting people. I'll show you some of the movie reels in heaven. We can laugh together. And then those people (who by that time will be baptized) will say, "Oh my goodness! I SAID that!" And we shall all rejoice that the atonement is real and the gospel is true. 

Sorry this is so short! I've got some scholarships to finish and I have to plan my classes for the fall...I wonder if they have "Adjusting to Normal Life: A crash course in reality for newly returned missionaries" ? 

Love y'all!!!! 

Sister Burchett