Letter #92

Hello hello!

This week was fantastic! Many of our investigators are starting to progress, and we were even able to set a couple baptismal dates! It has been amazing! These people that we have been working with recently are so prepared. It is so amazing how well God knows each and every one of his children.

I had one really cool experience this week that I will never forget. We were teaching a lesson when two ladies that I have never seen before came in and asked to speak with us for a second. I walked a couple feet away and my companion continued to chat with our investigator. It turns out that these two ladies were not members of the church but one of them had a son that was baptized a couple years ago. They recently moved to Indiana so we have not seen them for quite some time. Even though they were not members of the church, they knew that our church was a place that they could come for help. One of them had a daughter that just came to the untied states from china and has not been doing too well with the change. They told me that she is not very healthy and has been in the hospital for quite some time. They did not specify what exactly was going on but they asked if we would be willing to go there and visit her daughter. I agreed and set up an appointment for monday.

On monday, we met at our chapel in china town then went together in a taxi to the 14th street hospital. When we got there we noticed right away that this was not a normal hospital but a psychiatric ward. I had flash backs of reading the book "One Flew Over the Koo Koo's Nest" in high school and a feeling of uneasiness came over me. We went to the top floor of the hospital and waited out side a double bolted steal door for a security guard to come and unlock the door for us. When we went inside, this ladies daughter came around the corner screaming. She was mad that we were a few minutes late. Her mom told us to go stand off in the distance and wait for her to settle down. As we sat down on the cold blue leather couches many different patients continued to pass by us. They all had different problems. Some were alot more noticeable than others. My feeling of uneasiness turned into a feeling of peace and comfort as I tried to think about what Christ would do in this situation. I thought about all of the different accounts we have of Christs earthly ministry. He helped so many people and performed so many miracles. I pictured him just walking around this hospital, sitting down and talking with each of the patients. He would not load them up with all kind of medication that is hard to pronounce. He would simply love them and teach them principles of the gospel.

The mom came back and asked us to come sit with her daughter as she talked with the doctor. The doctor in my opinion seemed heartless. She was chinese luckily so she was able to communicate her points very clearly. She continued to tell this young lady that she was not normal and that she needed to take more medicine. Our new friends daughter really did not like medicine because of the way that it makes her feel. The doctor continued to tell her that she had to take it. I wanted so bad to shew this doctor away and simply have a conversation with this young lady trying my best to weave in as many principles of the gospel that I could. But, I don't think that would have been the best idea. The young lady ran away screaming in a temper tantrum. We asked the mother if we could have a few minutes just to talk with her but when she asked the daughter, her daughter was not up for it.

Me and elder huang left the chapel some what depressed as we thought about some of the things that had just happened. We both had the exact same experience. It is times like this, I realize that if everyone on this earth was trying to live a life like Christ did, it would be a much better place. As much as I wish it was like that, I am glad that it is not. It really helps me to realize how amazing Christ really was. The things that he did in his time on earth are incredible. I am so grateful for him and the sacrifice that he made for all of us.

Well I got to get going but I hope that you all have a great week! Thank you so much for all of the love and support that you all give to me, it really means so much!

Elder Barton

Letter #91

Hello Hello!

 

Well this was a great week. So many amazing things happened. I feel like every week of my mission just continues to get better and better. Even on the really hard weeks, you can always look back and say that you learned something.

Yesterday was my last zone conference with president smith. It was such an amazing meeting. President Smith opened up the meeting for questions. I always love these kind of meetings, because it is just amazing how the spirit with direct the conversation. Even though all of the questions were different, President Smith still managed to tie the whole meeting in to the theme of the holy ghost and the light of christ. I learned so many new things yesterday. I think that if I started to write them all down I would be sitting behind this computer all day long. But thing I took out of the meeting the most was for sure going by the spirit. I really hope that I am doing that exact thing with my investigators. I hope that each time they meet with us they feel enlightened.

There was one story that happened to me this last week that I thought was rather interesting. So about a week ago as I was street contacting a lady, a monk walked up. He asked me a few questions about our english class, took a card then was on his way. There are many monks in china town, I talk to them quite a bit, but I have never had one of them take a card! I thought that was kinda strange, but did not think to much of it. A few days later, I received a call from the same monk telling me that he would be attending english class the following day. That was the day my companion was teaching so I sat next to him through out the class to see if he needed any help. Half way through the class he looked down at my old beat up shoes, and asked what size I was. He then said that he had a pair of shoes at home that was just my size and insisted on giving them to me. As much as I tried to tell him that I was fine, he only pushed harder insisting on giving me this pair of shoes. The next day he came into english class with a plastic bag held at his hip. He reached in and gave me a pair of shoes that was indeed just my size. I was so grateful.

He also brought a friend with him that day. The both of them sat down with us after english class asking question after question about what we do and our basic beliefs. One of them even grabbed a book of mormon to take home with him to review and study. At the end of our conversation the both of them asked us if they could treat us to dinner. Knowing that the life of a monk was very similar to that of a missionary I was very hesitant. But, again their persistence overruled my hesitation. They took us to a vegetarian resturant in china town. (Monks are vegetarian) As we sat down at the table the waiter came with a big kettle of tea. As they prepared to pour me and my companion a glass, we had the opportunity to share with them the word of wisdom. They were so understanding and polite. The meal was fantastic. There were so many foods that I have never tried my whole life. Eating that made me think that being a vegetarian is not so bad after all.

I really dont know what will happen with my two knew monk friends. But, being able to plant the seed with these two individuals will be something that I will never forget. It was so great to get to know them and understand them better. Me and my companion left that appointment grinning from ear to ear. I am so grateful that heavenly father blessed me with that amazing opportunity.

The rest of the week was fantastic. I do not have one complaint. Our investigators are progressing at an incredible pace! We also had one lady just come back form china that we had taught previously. It was so good to see her again. We are meeting with her again tonight so I am very excited. We also had the opportunity to teach a lesson on speaker phone with one of our investigators that went out of state for the weekend. That was my first time doing that! The lesson went so well. He did his reading, and has been praying! He really enjoys everything that he is learning! We invited him to be baptized on the 8th of next month, and he accepted. We are so grateful for this huge blessing.

Well I sure do love all of you! I got some letters from the young women this week, and they made me so happy! It was so great to see how much you are all growing up! Thanks for the letters they really mean alot. I hope you have a good week!

Elder Barton!

Letter #90

Letter to just family today!

Brother Zhang Got Baptized!

The Snow's Found Elder Barton

Hello Hello!

Well these last few days have been very interesting! A few days ago we decided to use the oven... That was the start of this great story! After which some strange and very strong smell began to take over our apartment, then the whole building! It got so intense that the fire department had to come (aka the china town dragon fighters) and take care of the situation. Let me tell you these men do not mess around! I have never seen more tactical gear used in my life just to simply unplug an oven! But even after the oven had been unplugged and a few days later, the smell has not gone away! We were told by our mission president to go and sleep in the church last night! That was an adventure! We are not in a normal church building so we had to sneak past the front desk security! I am not going to lie it was exciting! We had to sit in the church with the lights off, not moving or talking so that no one would get suspicious! haha! We are hoping to have the situation resolved soon. Our mission president has given us the assignment of finding a new apartment! should be pretty interesting!

This week was full of incredible miracles. I am absolutely speechless. To start off Brother Zhang was baptized! It was such a great baptism. Although we did not meet with him long before his baptism, he really went through alot. I love the guy so much. Baptisms are so incredible. As Brother Zhang walked down into the baptismal font, I had a flash back of when we met him on the street. He walked by us with his head down, hair covering his face, and a cigarette clinched between his index and middle finger. He took a card, but did not give us much opportunity to talk with him. For some reason, this image was so powerful to think of as he walked into the font. He is a changed person. He carries himself with a confident, and glowing Ora. I am so grateful for him...he strengthened my testimony so much.

It is very ironic that last week I addressed the topic of food miracles with you all. Because, this week, I experienced probably the biggest one I have experienced my whole entire mission. Our zone had set a goal of getting 20 baptismal dates and we decided that if we hit it, we would have a zone pizza party. Well with many incredible miracles, the goal was accomplished. Numbers do not determine the success of a missionary but when things like this happen, it is incredible evidence of the love and existence of our heavenly father. It is incredible how he will answer our righteous desires.

When the pizza man came this last Monday, we had the money prepared and ready to go. As we proceeded to hand the money to the pizza man, he told us that there was no need. He said that the bill had already been payed. We looked at the credit card number on the receipt and it did not match mine or elder huangs. The man wished us a nice day, then was on his way. We stood there dazed and confused as to what had just happened. We have no idea what happened but we are so grateful for this incredible tender mercy.

Well I love you all so much! Thank you for all of the great support that you all offer! I hope that you have a great week!

Elder Barton

Letter #88

Hello Hello!

Well this has been another fantastic week! We have been so blessed! Because of recent weather conditions, and our chapel getting new carpet, we have not had a chance to meet with many of the people that we had planned on. But I no matter how hard the days are heavenly father always find some way of making the work fun, or making us happy. He takes care of his missionaries so well. One of our rough days this last week, we had three separate individuals give us food! I have realized most of my biggest miracles on my mission involve food! Every time that we are getting close to the end of the month, and don’t have a lot of money heavenly father always provides some way for us to get food.

Despite the weather conditions, Brother Zhang still continued to meet with us. I must say, I have been so amazed by the faith of Brother Zhang. We taught him the word of wisdom this last week and found out that he had a very serious smoking problem. I shouldn’t say we found out, it was pretty obvious from the start. He would usually have to take a few "breaks" outside each time that he attended church. When we shared with him this commandment, he told us that he would usually smoke a pack or more per day. A pack of cigarettes will usually include some where around 20 cigarettes. He told us he had tried to quit many times, but had not had any success! But this time he really feels like he can do it.

We gave him a priesthood blessing to help start this challenging task. The spirit was so strong, after the blessing we all just seemed to know that he would be able to do it with no problem. The next day was Sunday, and he came to church. As soon as he walked in to door, we knew that something was wrong with him. He was sweating profusely, shaking, and his skin color appeared to be green. He told us that he had not smoked from the time that we gave him a blessing, and he was having a hard time. Luckily we had prepared a little present for him. We took one of his old boxes of cigarettes that was empty and filled it with scriptures. We even rolled up little pieces of paper and colored the tip yellow, then placed the scripture references inside of the hollow paper tube. So every time that he wanted to smoke he could pull out one the scriptures and read.

Yesterday, he came and met with us again. When he walked into the room, we could already see a change that had taken place. The green countenance had turned into a glow. Even the tone of his voice seemed to have changed. He pulled out his book of Mormon, and we were very surprised to see that he had almost read all of the scriptures we had given him. He bore his testimony to us of how the book of Mormon purely testifies of Christ. He only smoked one cigarette yesterday, and is planning on not smoking again. The book of Mormon is amazing. It really does have power to change people’s lives. Zhang is such a great example.

Street contacting this last week, I met an amazing person. I was very hesitant to contact him in Chinese because his skin was white. But, I noticed that many of his features, and actions resembled a Chinese person, so I decided to give it a try. It turns out he was Chinese, but due to a skin disease his skin and his hair turned completely white. As I talked to him for a little bit, he shared with me his life story. I have never heard such a sad one my whole entire life.

He is originally from Taiwan, but moved to Indonesia at a young age for work reasons. In Indonesia, he met his wife, had a great job as a college professor, and was making quite a bit of money. Everything in his life was going perfect. But then a mob came into one of the stores that he owned set it on fire, and took the life of his wife that was 4 months pregnant. They also injured him very badly. His chin was cut, and he was severely stabbed on his arms. I had no idea that life in Indonesia was so dangerous. Long story short, he came to America because life in Indonesia only made him think of this tragedy. His life in America has been no walk in the park. All of his money is gone, and he has nobody here to support him. He showed me a picture of him and his wife, and he used to look normal. With dark skin and dark hair. But he said that because of depression his skin and hair color has changed. I tried my best to share with him the plan of salvation, and assure him that he would see his family again. He grew quiet for a few moments, and then asked if I had a pamphlet that he could read. I gave him one, we said a quick prayer, and he was on his way.

Yesterday we ran into him again. He told us that he read the pamphlet and it brought him great comfort. He said the day that I ran into him was the exact day that his wives life was taken. The spirit was so strong. Unfortunately he had to get going very fast, and was leaving for Philly. He has no cell phone, or way we can contact him. But he said he would be back in a few weeks, and he would contact us. I believe that he will. I am so grateful that I could that information with him. I really hope it will help him.

Well I have got to get going. But thank you so much for all of the love and support! I love hearing from all of you!

Elder Barton

 

Letter #87

Hello Hello,

So this was a great week. We were extremely busy! We went to the Revlon Run-walk again. That was really cool! It is a fundraiser that is organized to help fight breast cancer. I guess it is supposably pretty famous. They only do it in Los Angles and here. The Missionaries are a huge part of this event! We helped people find where they needed to go and register if they had not yet had a chance. The coolest part of the whole thing was right after the race, we got to go count all of the money that was received. I have never seen so much money in my whole life! We got to go into this really nice hotel that is in the middle of time square, in a locked and secured room! It was pretty cool I felt like I was some sort of a secret agent. There were supposably a few movie stars that got up to give a speech but I had no idea who they were. I have not seen any of the movies that they have been in because I am too old! ( in my mission age)
The rest of the week went great as well. We found a guy named Zhang, who is really golden. He said that he previously went to another church but because they wanted to charge him a couple hundred dollars to be baptized he left. He didn't feel like that was right. I have taught very few people that think about things the way that he does. Whenever we teach him a new principal, you can almost see his mind digesting the information. Then after he thinks about it for a second, he will either ask a great question or tell us that he agrees. We have already met with him 3 times, and set a baptismal date with him for the 20th! I am so grateful! It is amazing to see how heavenly father prepared him to meet with us.
The longer that I do missionary work, the more I realize how small I am a part of it. I think when you first come into the mission field you are so excited to contribute your own talents and ideas, that you almost forget to involve heavenly father and the guidance he gives through the holy ghost. But as you continue to have the grace of christ make up for your weaknesses over and over again, you realize that in the end you are nothing but an instrument. I think every single person that I have found on my mission has been a result of the same process. I work really hard and find many people. But, due to different things many of the people that we find will move out of state or simply disappear. It is after I have almost been brought to tears, and I have given all that I am able, the miracle happens. The one person that has been prepared and ready finds us.  That is what makes a mission so special! This great piece of information is clearly laid out right in front of your face.
Hope you are all doing well! Thank you so much for all of the love and support, I can't even begin to say how much it means to me.
Elder Barton

Letter #86

Hello Hello!

This week was so great! Me and elder huang street contacted our butts off and I loved it! We found so many great people! I had two young men walk up to me and say that they did not believe in God because he is not fair. They said it does not make sense how when children die they go to hell. After they understood the plan of salvation, their eyes almost began to water and they insisted that they could leave their phone number so we could meet with them again. We also had one lady that approached us with black eyes and small cuts on her face. She told us that her husband had not been very nice to her recently. I have never felt so bad for a person my whole life. We testified of jesus christ and the comfort that his atonement brings us. It really seemed to help. I hope so bad that we will have an opportunity to meet with her soon. We are so blessed to be in such a great church that teaches us the importance of the family unit as well as ways that we can strengthen our family.  I also ran into a deaf chinese woman this week in china town! I was able to get her phone number and give her to the sign language elders! As you can see it was an amazing week! I love being a missionary!
Sorry not much time this week. We have to get going. But I sure do love you guys! Thank you for all of the great letters of support! They really mean so much to me! YOu are the best!
Elder Barton