Los Altos California!

My new companion is Sister Staley

Hello family!

So transfers were this past Tuesday and I said goodbye to Livermore and hello to Sunnyvale/Santa Clara. I am loving this area and the people. We cover two wards, one of them being Samoan, and it is never a dull moment. I love it that way. There are so many people in this area that we are teaching, it is so fun.

So my new companion is Sister Staley (stay-lee). She is fresh to the mission; she's been out about 7 weeks and she is what I would call "pre-trained". She has been so good at introducing me to the area, to the members, and to the investigators. We have been going-going-going since I got here, which has been awesome! I love staying busy.

So much has happened this week. Ever since Tuesday we have been having lessons with less actives, recent converts, and investigators. We had a long list of potential investigators in our area book and we've been going through making phone calls and making visits. It's been fun.

This past Saturday was the adult session of the Los Altos Stake Conference. It was great! Something I didn't know though was that Uncle Mitch and Aunt Rosemary live in this stake. They actually live in an area that my area covers, haha. So here's how the story went. Uncle Mitch and Aunt Rosemary went up to the podium area after the conference to ask President Mella if they could get permission to see me up in Livermore, because that is where they heard I was serving. President said, "She's here." They were like, "Yea, we know she's in the mission, but can we go visit her?". President Mella, "No, she's here tonight. She's right back there!" So I was standing towards the back of the chapel with my back to the stage. I randomly decided to turn around and there was president Mella making big hand motions towards Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Mitch. Haha, I was so surprised! It was great seeing them!

On Sunday was the general session of Stake Conference and it was amazing!!!!!! Every single person who spoke just hit it out of the park. They all shared awesome personal experiences and related principles of the gospel to it. It was definitely spiritually enriching. After stake conference we attended the Samoan ward. I just love these people. They are so loving and welcoming. After the sacrament I was invited by the bishopric to bear my testimony. Surprise!! Haha, I was nervous at first, but then the Spirit brought peace and calm. :)

So during church I noticed a fellow Temple Square sister in the congregation. She finished her mission a couple months ago. She was in my same district back in the fall. It was so random seeing her. She lives in Tonga but she was visiting family here in California. Just happened to go to the same ward that I'm serving in. Haha!

In closing, I would like to share some thoughts that the stake patriarch shared yesterday. He said he was interviewing a young man preparing to get his patriarchal blessing. He asked him what he likes to do and the young man answered he liked playing sports. Then the patriarch asked if there was a difference between playing in the game or watching on the sidelines. Obviously the young man said yes. His point was that God is not on the sidelines watching us, he is IN the game with us helping us each step of the way. In the book of Abraham 2:8 it says, "My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee." I know that to be true!

I love you all! You're in my prayers.
Love,
Sister Butler