Training

What a week! The weather has been PERFECT all week. Makes it so much easier to wake up and run and tract. I love being outside. It heals the soul.

I got a call on Wednesday morning from President Frandsen to train a new missionary! I was humbled. I am so so so excited. I can't wait! I love her already. I have been praying for her already. I have no idea who she is but I will find out on Wednesday! I can't wait to be with a companion who is fresh from the MTC ready to work! I am going to help her LOVE the area and the people and the Visitors Center and studies and tracting and everything I love. It seems like I got to the mission YESTERDAY. I can't believe it has already been 9 months. What. I hope I can rely on the Lord to be the best trainer I can be. My trainer taught me so much and changed the course of my mission. I hope I can do the same!! I am grateful that the Lord trusts me. I am far from perfect. But I am perfectly willing to rely on Him and work hard and be obedient and see miracles. New missionaries brings miracles, I'm sure of it.

Earnest is doing great! He came to church again and SOBBED the whole time. He said that he felt the Spirit so strong!

We found a new investigator named Joseph. We had our first lesson with him this week. We walked in and he goes, "Yeah I found the Joseph Smith movie online and watched it. It was great!" He also had read the pamphlet we gave him 26 times. It was all wrinkled and marked up. We taught him the Restoration and he was SO into it. After I recited the first vision, he had tears in his eyes and said, "wow." He asked awesome questions and loved every bit of everything we were telling him. At the end, we invited him to read the intro to the Book of Mormon and pray to ask God if it is true. He looked us right in the eyes and said, "I need to read that Book, don't I. You know what? I am going to have this book read by our next visit." AAHH We didnt even know what to say. None of this has ever happened to me on my mission!!! He ran to the kitchen to get his calendar he was so excited to set up another meeting with us. THEN we taught him how to pray. He really liked the idea of speaking from your heart instead of a recited prayer. This is so second nature to me, like DUH. But some people don't even knoooooow that they can pray to God about their problems!!! That they can talk to Him when they are sad or happy or nervous. ugh. Prayer is so precious and sacred and wonderful. My love for it grows daily. He said a beautiful kneeling prayer.

The less actives that we have been working with are coming to church so that is WONDERFUL to see the fruits of our labors. They are so so grateful for the missionaries.

I got to see Gaby at the Why I Believe fireside. It was soo wonderful to see her and hear her testimony. She is going strong. She spoke of her love for the Book of Mormon and the peace and clarity the gospel brings. She quit her job so she is going back to church. It is just the most beautiful thing to see and hear someone you found and taught and watched grow bear their testimony of the Savior!! My heart was just racing with joy, my eyes brimming with tears. She was so full of light and the Spirit up there.
Sister Taylor goes home TOMORROW! CRAZY! I am so grateful that I was able to spend a transfer with her here in Oakland. I love her dearly. We have SO much in common and she has become one of my very best friends. I am going from one end of the spectrum to the other with companions: a companion going home and a companion straight out of the MTC! It should be a hard, wonderful, beautiful, sad, happy, exciting, weird CHANGE! Welcome to missionary life. Welcome to growth. Welcome to becoming more like the Savior.

The sacrament hymn touched my heart this week, as I am a missionary and was called to train:

Thy Will, O Lord, Be Done

1. When in the wondrous realms above
Our Savior had been called upon
To save our world of sin by love,
He said, "Thy will, O Lord, be done."
2. The King of Kings left worlds of light,
Became the meek and lowly One;
In brightest day or darkest night,
He said, "Thy will, O Lord, be done."
3. No crown of thorns, no cruel cross
Could make our great Redeemer shun.
He counted his own will but naught,
And said, "Thy will, O Lord, be done."
4. We take the bread and cup this day
In mem'ry of the sinless One,
And pray for strength, that we may say,
As he, "Thy will, O Lord, be done."

I want to be more like the Savior. I want to follow His example and count my own will but naught and say, "Thy will, O Lord, be done." I want to accept the Lord's will on hard days as well as easy days. I want to be humble and submissive. He is helping me. He will help all of us. He showed us the path we should follow and is guiding us along it.

I love you. I miss you. Pray on. Smile. Just make it to Sunday.

I can't thank you enough for taking care of my family while I'm gone. I miss them so much my heart aches.

XO
Sister Brinton