JOY!!!

Hi world!!!!!!!!!

Sister Muench and I got to go to the temple with Mary Beth on Saturday to take out her endowment. Mary Beth is an angel. She is the most kind, loving, fun, humble, and SWEET heart I have had the blessed opportunity to know. Wow I am so grateful for her and her example of faith and enduring to the end and trusting in God. It was raining all week until the morning of her endowment. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. Sister Harper, my trainer who has now returned home from her mission, flew to Oakland so she could come. One of the missionaries that taught Mary Beth in Idaho came!! Mary's branch president, his wife, her home teacher, and his wife all came from Idaho! I can say this was one of the most sweet experiences I have ever had, not just on my mission, but in my life. My H E A R T. We were sitting in the PACKED endowment room holding hands and giggling just waiting for her to come in. She walked in with her escort in all white and she looked SO beautiful and clean. We waved and she almost screamed when she saw us haha. The session was wonderful. I watched her as she walked up to the veil. I said a prayer in my heart to my Father in Heaven of gratitude for Mary Beth and this sweet experience. I opened my eyes just as she entered the veil. I was suddenly FILLED with the purest joy. There has never been a more satisfactory feeling than seeing your investigator walk into the Celestial room. I was getting wave after wave of chills and my eyes were brimming with tears. This is what every missionary dreams of. This is the happiest and most rewarding experience that I am just having a hard time putting it into words. I walked into the celestial room and she gave me the biggest kiss haha I LOVE HER. She was just buzzing around talking to everyone and crying and laughing. I think she hugged me over 15 times. I couldn't even speak in that room. She kept looking at me with her big eyes and thanking me. MY HEART! I couldn't even respond! I didn't know what to say! The joy and peace that filled my heart in that room with her.... wow. I have experienced few things like it. What a blessing. What a miracle. What an opportunity! This makes every single door slammed in my face worth it. This makes every single hate-filled comment about how God doesn't exist worth it. This is a glimpse of true, eternal, lasting J O Y.

We had a wonderful week!!!! I absolutely LOVE being with Sister Muench. We are really really great friends. One blessing of the Visitors Center is that we are around each other all the time, so when Sister Muench became my companion, we were already close. I LOVE her. She is so excited to be in Berkeley and loves the sisters and the ward. We taught a lot of really great lessons this week. Busy busy busy! I am exhausted. and we havent even started exchanges yet! We have been reaching out to some less active members, which Sister Chiang and I didnt do too much of. All of our recent converts (David, Daniel, Oscar) are doing so well! They all spoke at the Why I Believe fireside. Sister Chiang got to face time in from Hong Kong so she could see!! Oscar gave a Book of Mormon to his friend. Daniel came to a lesson with us. He texted us afterwards and told us how neat it was to be "on the other side." Albert is reading the Book of Mormon and praying! His faith is growing! A girl named Madeline randomly came to church on Sunday and we had a lesson with her this week and added her as a new investigator. Wow she is great and I am excited to see her grow! Miracles are ahead!! I am happy, healthy, tired, and FULL of gratitude. In every single prayer I say I thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity I have to be His missionary.

We had one of our members bring a non member to church this week and we have another one bringing a non member next week!! YAY member missionary work!!

We have the best bishop. He said, "over my dead body will we make a ward mission plan and not stick to it or not ever bring it up again." I told him that he was the only bishop that has ever said that. He is so great. He is so centered on missionary work! He loves meeting everyone and including everyone and reaching out to the one. Wow.

We have a new great exhibit in the Visitors Center depicting the Savior's life. It is a photo of his birth, baptism, ministry, Atonement, etc. It is so powerful!! It is really neat to see photos (taken from Bible videos) instead of paintings. It really brings it to life.

I would love to share a sacred experience. I was reading the Book of Mormon and I read this verse:

"And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." 2 Neph 31:15

This is Heavenly Father speaking! There aren't very many times that we read His literal words in the scriptures and so I just felt the importance and desire to really study His words. I MEAN HELLO! It is Heavenly Father speaking to us!!!! He says two important things.

1. Jesus Christ's words are true.

2. If you endure to the end, you will be saved.

Wow. So I began to study "endure to the end."

One definition I love is found in Preach my Gospel:

"To remain true to the commandments of God despite temptation, opposition, and adversity throughout life."

I also loved these scriptures:

"And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end." Alma 38:2

"And we know that all men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God." D&C 20:29

As I studied, I was deeply filled with a strong desire to endure to the end. I can say, I would have never felt this without serving my mission. I can also say that I don't know if I have ever felt this pure, strong, sincere, deep, heartfelt desire before. The desire to endure to the end. I suddenly wanted it with every fiber of my being!!!! I decided then and there, in a little dim room in the Visitors Center next to Sister Muench, that I was going to endure to the end. Not because someone told me to or because my parents taught me to or because I am scared not to. I WANT to. With all my heart.

My mission has changed me. The Savior has changed me.

All my heart,

Sister Brinton