These Things I've Learned

Hello! Exciting news! 

This "P" day stands for Packing! Ah! The day has come and I'll be going home :) I've done a lot of pondering and Inspired by a poem President Boyd K. Packer wrote of his life, his physical and spiritual growth, from a talk given April 2013 General Conference titled "These Things I Know". I've done my own little writing and came up with...

My Mission: These Things I've learned

These are the things I've learned, experienced, and gained a testimony of being a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: 

LOVE! How to better express and give love for those I care about. I've also learned patience, a Christlike attribute which helps me to become more like CHRIST. I've learned to LAUGH! I've learned how to BE MYSELF around strangers and have CONFIDENCE in the person God has made me. I've learned to TRUST God. His plan is better than anything I could ever try to make myself. He knows each person and their situation, he knows how to help and bless everyone who reaches out to him. I've learned MIRACLES still happen. I've also learned how to ACCEPT people, their beliefs, and their agency. I've learned what it means to have a HUMBLE HEART. I'm learning to LET GO, let go of pride, let go of hurt, let go of the world and turn to CHRIST. I've learned so much more about Jesus Christ, who He is to me and why I depend on Him. I know He is the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world. I know HE LIVES. I've learned how to read and understand the SCRIPTURES. I've even sorta learned how to TEACH them to someone! I've learned TRUTH from the Book of Mormon and had many PRAYERS answered through it. I've learned that my weaknesses, which I thought I would never be able to overcome, they can be made STRONG through the ATONEMENT of Christ and I've experienced it! I've learned I CAN do hard things! And that I can do them through GOD who STRENGTHENS me everyday. I learned I can make it through the toughest of times and it will be OKAY! I've learned to trust in God's TIMING and everything will work out in the best possible way because there's no other being who LOVES more PERFECTLY than a loving Father in Heaven and his Son. These things I've learned are making me into the person Heavenly Father would have me be and I'm so grateful for it and this incredible experience I've had to dedicate myself as a MISSIONARY to Him! I'm grateful for a loving mission president and his wife and for the many things I've learned from them! I know the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fullness to the earth today. He loves and leads the church. I'm so grateful for it and my family! I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

I LOVE you ALL!! I'll see you soon!

If anyone would like to come :) My homecoming will be this Sunday, December 17th at 11pm in Saratoga Springs, Utah with a lunch at my house after! (email for addresses or look on FB event) I'm excited to see you all!! :)

~Sister Warburton (:

 



DECEMBER✨

It is DECEMBER! Ah!

Yesterday during sacrament meeting, it really stood out to me about what an amazing magical time of the year this is! Hearts really are softened and it's a time when the world (most of) focuses on the birth of our Savior and His life! There is so much more love and goodness! It really has been a joy to share #LightTheWorld! And to be serving as a missionary for the last 18 months! It feels like time has just slipped by and I'm still trying to find where I'm at (: I've loved every bit of it! Thank you for all the love and support!! I LOVE you all!!

~Sister Warburton (:

 



LIGHT THE WORLD

Happy Thanksgiving!! I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and all he gives us! We really are so blessed! 

What am I grateful for? See pictures below (:

After today it will officially be the Christmas season! Sister Cornell and I cannot contain our excitement we have for this time of year! The spirit of CHRISTmas is incredible and powerful! This year the church is doing #Light The World: 25 ways. 25 days. It's a way this season to reach out and SERVE! I remember the joy of sharing this last year as a missionary and I'm beyond excited to be sharing it again! I love this season of giving and I know it'll help each person feel the infinite power of the Savior's love! Especially in the crazy world today. I love Christmas and I LOVE the Savior! I'm going to serve him this Christmas to the best of my capabilities by making every bit count! I know He lives and LOVES each of us! He knows us and he's asked us to reach out to our fellow men to serve! When we do this we will feel happier and a greater peace. We can be the light of the world! 

I love you all!! Have an amazing Thanksgiving day!

~Sister Warburton (:

 

 I am incredibly grateful for Jesus Christ. His Love, Atonement, and Gospel on the earth today!

My Family! Their love and support and the knowledge that we are eternal!

I'm so grateful for my life! For who I am and who I'm becoming (:

 I'm grateful for Food! Especially these favorites!

I'm incredibly grateful to be a missionary! To teach and testify of love and truth! #roleplays

Grateful for Christmas lights! The spirit of Christmas is on its way! 

And I'm so grateful for YOU! Thank you for who you are! I Love you all!!

 



Once Upon A Week

Hahah. To tell the truth, it's been a rough week! But hey sometimes they happen :) it makes you stronger and it really helps to see the things that matter most and the tender mercies of the Lord! Our little miracles were found in scriptures, "He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." (Mosiah 16:9) also in a text, "Hello sisters, thank you for the story I enjoyed it thanks for sharing have a great evening cheers". Other little joys were the amount of puddles we got to splash through, a beautiful sunrise while running, Sister Cornell's cute quirks, Christmas music when we go in for the night, good news from family, and all the love and support we receive! God really is in the little details of our lives. He knows who we are and exactly what we need in each moment! He is a loving Heavenly Father and we are His children. 

This morning I read a talk from Dieter F. Uchtdorf called "Your Happliy Ever After", it's inspiring and enchanting! He talks about our lives being our own fairytales starting with our 'once upon a time' leading to a 'happily ever after' but in between there are the good and bad like opposition and adversity. Think about every story you've heard or read, there is always a great test of faith or courage before miracles and a happy ending can happen. "In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way. Our loving Heavenly Father has set us in a world filled with challenges and trials so that we, through opposition, can learn wisdom, become stronger, and experience joy."

My strength and testimony has increased so much from the little trials I go through and even though the thought of future hardships terrify me, I know with faith in Christ everything will work out and I'll grow to become stronger, wiser, and happier!

Thank you for the prayers and love! 

I LOVE you!

Ps. I won't be emailing until Thanksgiving next week! (The holidays are so close!)

~Sister Warburton (:

 

PUDDLES

 We made cookies and decided to experiment... PANOOKIE

BABY COW

 

Bonus pictures she sent me:

 

And I got one sent to me from a member:

 

 



November Colors

Aww wow what a week! The chilliness is definitely coming and with the change in time it gets a lot darker a lot earlier! But we're surviving (: 

"How far is Heaven?​

​​​​​It’s not very far.​

​​​​​When you live close to God,​

​​​​​It’s right where you are." 

(President Thomas S Monson)

Sister Cornell made it to Dayton and she's seriously the SWEETEST! She's from American Fork, Ut. Has the best jokes and already we have a ton of fun! We've also seen some pretty awesome miracles! 

Not a super long email but I want to add my testimony of Joseph Smith and the restored gospel to the many testimonies out there. I've received a personal witness of the truth of his words and the teachings of Jesus Christ. It really brings me happiness! There is no other way to find true happiness but through the gospel of Jesus Christ and by studying the words of the prophets. One of my favorite things Joseph Smith says after the first vision is, "For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it". He went through a lot during his lifetime and his courage helps me as I'm out in the chilly weather trying to share what I know to be true! I'm so grateful for my mission and the incredible experience it's been! 

As I've been typing my testimony, I've felt overcome with an incredible love for this experience, for the people I've met, for the many testimonies I've seen and heard, and for the love of the Savior. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's church on the earth today. I know He lives and continues to lead and guide us! 

I'm so grateful for the love and support each week! Thank you so much! 

I love you!!

~Sister Warburton (:

 

Smile! Why? Because you're alive!

 It's November!!

 Life is good!

"Team work makes the dream work!" #DreamTeam 



Come What May and Love It!

I am the absolute worst about predicting for transfers! So here's what's happening for my LAST TRANSFER: I'm staying in Dayton and getting Sister Cornell! Sister Runs Through is going to Bend! This was so shocking! But she will do amazing work over in the land of Bend, Oregon! I'm grateful for and humbled by the opportunity I've had to be her first companion and introduce her to the exciting life of being a missionary! 

This past week was such a fun exciting week! We got to use Facebook! And I kinda freaked the whole time (still am)! I'm able to get on but to use it strictly for missionary work here in Dayton. It's been busy! We met some really cool people and set up lessons for this week! I'm excited for the work here and to be able to finish my mission here! I LOVE this place and I love the people here! I LOVE Oregon and I'm so grateful God sent me here to serve! I was reading this talk from general conference October 2008, "Come What May, and Love It" it was so good! "every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result." There are so many inspirational things from this talk including a part that talks about learning to laugh! A ton of the best memories come from something crazy, awkward, or silly happening that could go either negative or positive but what makes it such a good memory are the laughs! We had a few of those this last week (; It's because of the gospel that I feel I can feel happy! A positive attitude and the eternal perspective of God's plan for us helps carry us through those difficult times. I'm grateful for this knowledge of the plan of salvation and Christ's Atonement. It's because of Him I find peace through trials. I'm able to grow and become stronger because of Him. I know that He lives and because He does we have happiness and hope! 

I love you all! Thank you for the love and support! Getting on Facebook, I got to see a brief glimpse of that support and love! I had no idea anyone read my emails/blog posts! Thank you! Happy Halloween tomorrow!!

~Sister Warburton(:

"Come What May and Love It"

 Ended up joining a birthday party! 

 Facebook! It's been a while..

 Look who surprised me!! One Year after his baptism - it was so cool to see you Phil!

Sweet Wheels! 

 



Stay Dry

We are getting poured on with rain and blessings! There were a few days of it just pouring! We got soaked! (with water) but we also got a bunch of blessings showered on us! Overall it was a fun week! But gotta watch out for those puddles.. once you're wet getting dry isn't an option for a long while! Lesson learned!

One of my most favorite things of my mission is teaching kids! We teach a ton of children and teenagers here! They continually amaze me with how much love they have for Christ and how simple life is for them. We had the primary program yesterday (best Sunday of the year!) and it's incredible the amount of spirit that was there as they sang and shared their testimonies! I love those little ones so much! We will be walking around and a lot of those we run into are the youth and children here! 

I LOVE the focus of families in the church! No family is perfect. On a mission you hear and see different trials families go through but I've also seen an increase of love and strength that comes in those families. I'm so grateful for my family! I can't begin to describe to you my love I have for those I've left behind to serve a mission but because of this time away I've felt our relationships grow stronger! I love my family so much! Both related to me and family I've gained throughout life (: Thank you for the continual love and support! Thank you for who you are and the light you share! And if anything, remember that you do matter! You are here for a purpose. Heavenly Father has a plan for you, He loves you! And I LOVE YOU!

~Sister Warburton (:

#prepared 

 Sopping wet!

Pancake dinner with our sisters!