#Blessed

Our view from the Joseph Smith Memorial Building this morning.

I just wanted to share a sweet act of kindness that Uncle Craig did for the whole mission. We had a missionary leadership council today and we usually hold this meeting in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where we have tables, a projector, and microphones all set up. Since today was a holiday, everyone is off work so normally there wouldn't have been anyone to arrange this meeting for us. However, Uncle Craig take cares of a lot of the techy stuff so he heard about this and knew that I would be there, so he took half of his day off to come and set up and later take everything down. Ahh. He is the best. I was so grateful for his sacrifice!

Happy New Year! What a wonderful year of growth and experience it's been. I will forever remember 2016 as the year I was a full-time missionary and in the Lord's service.

This morning we had a mission leadership meeting.This meeting consists of the leaders of the mission accounting for goals set for the previous month, what they achieved, and setting new goals for the coming month. We listened to trainings on Christ-like leadership, companionship unity, how to extend direct invitations, how to better manage the online areabook app, and how to set inspired goals. I love this meeting because it is all about accounting for our goals and then setting new ones to improve. President Thomas S. Monson said, “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.”

 

We have been able to see a lot of success in the mission and a lot of it has to do with being accountable in all things. It's how we are able to constantly change for the better and not be stagnant. 

We have come to a close of the Christmas season. It is an even faster pace than what we're normally used to due to the visitor's centers being opened until 10pm rather than 9pm. The sisters have all worked really hard to teach of our unique message and to find prepared souls. Sister Eging and I had an incredible experience a couple days ago. We were walking across the square, headed back to the mission office, but we were stopped by a man who said he was with his cousin who wasn't a member of the church. His cousin, who I will call Mike, said that he was visiting from out of town, and that he had such a strong feeling that he came to Utah to find out something. He already started learning about the church before we met him and he felt that it was true. We taught him the Restoration and asked to touch to help him keep on learning. We had our first lesson over the phone yesterday. We set a specific time to call and he said that he was waiting for it. We invited him to say a prayer over the phone and he felt the Spirit strongly, and we did too. We also invited him to start meeting with the missionaries in his area and pray specifically for a day to be baptized. We were so grateful that we were able to meet him and be the ones to help him progress towards this important step in his life. He is an example of how the Lord prepares his children.

We found out more about Anna and she has been meeting with the missionaries for the past few months. She called into mormon.org wanting a Book of Mormon. We sent missionaries to her and ever since then she's been progressing. She is in her teens and a big influence has been her LDS friends in bringing her into the church. She is planning for baptism January 21st! Yay!

Sister Eging has been sick these past couple of days and there is rarely any time to rest--though Sister Risenmay and I teamed up on her yesterday to at least take a nap. She is coming down to the last week and a half of her mission and she is giving everything she has. It's such an example for me to see that even when she's tired and not feeling her best, she still gives what she can to this work. 

I know this is the Lord's true Church. He stands at the head. I'm so grateful for the "perfect brightness of hope" that the gospel brings. We have reason to rejoice and shout glad tidings every second of everyday. Challenges come as it is an essential part of God's plan. I am learning to be grateful for them. :)

Have a Happy New Year and God bless as you strive to achieve your worthy goals to be better!

xoxox,

Sister Butler

Tender Mercies

Christmas breakfast

Christmas Day 30 minute video chat! (I'm sorry I cut out Jason! I should've moved my face.)

Christmas time!

DISCLAIMER: those are all fake presents! Don't be fooled.

Mother Mary, aka Sister Ward

Singing "Were you There"

Angels and the shepherd

Hello!

Thank you to everyone who sent me a Christmas card! I absolutely loved them and felt so loved by receiving them. 

What a busy week it's been. On Monday we had a team of people from KSL (a Utah network) get footage of what the Temple Square Mission is like/how it works. It was pretty interesting--we'll see how it turns out in April when it will air.

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday we had Zone Conference from 9am-4pm. Talk about a spiritual feast! The topics were based off of Preach My Gospel chapter one, Our Purpose as missionaries, and the Atonement. President Risenmay has such power in teaching. He can teach about the Atonement in a way that expands my mind. It deepens my understanding just a little more about our Savior. A point that stands out to me is that we can't come to understand what the Atonement can do for us unless we experience pain and sorrow. They Savior has been where we have been before. He understands. He went through all the pain of the world alone, but we don't have to. I love Him for that.

Yesterday was our big Christmas celebration! It started with sacrament meeting at 8am which consisted of musical numbers and beautiful talks by President and Sister Risenmay. Then we had a big pancake breakfast that one of our senior couples, Elder and Sister Spencer, took A LOT of time to prepare for. Elder Spencer says he has never made a batch of pancakes from flour he hadn't personally ground himself. So he took the time these last few weeks to grind enough flour for 160+ people. It was wonderful.

Then I got to skype my wonderful family! It was wonderful to see your faces and hear what you've been up to. Why does everyone have to grow up so fast? I loved the familiar noises of home too. :)

By the way, I forgot to mention we got LOADS of snow Christmas Eve night, so we trudged through it after the morning activities to return to our apartment and took a short nap (score!!). We came back to the square and had present time. Several wards, a stake, and a kind member prepared gifts for us. Everyone received a stocking, a Temple Square Mission sweatshirt, a backpack, water bottle, hats, and much more. We were very blessed!  

Then we had our Christmas program which Sister Eging and I were in charge of coordinating. It included musical numbers and Christmas stories and a short play of the Nativity story (see pictures)! All in all, it was a lovely day filled with the Spirit--and a little too much sugar I might add.

From 4pm on, we were back to our normal assignments. We met a lot of nonmembers on the Square and shared the gospel and our testimonies with them. 

Also, we had some time in the teaching center and I contacted an investigator another sister transferred to me. She responded by saying she has been loving meeting with the missionaries and is on date for baptism January 21st, my birthday! I was so surprised! There is no better Christmas present than that. We have a phone appointment this week so I'll share more details about her story next time.

The Lord is so good. I'm grateful to him for everything He's given me. He is willing to bless us more than we can handle sometimes, and that's how I feel right now. During this Christmas season, the schedule is demanding. We wake at 7am and go to bed 11:15pm every night but the Lord keeps us from falling over, that I know with my whole heart. Energy seems to come out of nowhere. When I got sick a couple weeks ago it only lasted a couple days, but I know that it was because of the priesthood blessing I received that I was able to continue on.

May the Lord's tender mercies be upon you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

1 Nephi 8:8--"And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."

xoxoxo,

Sister Butler

The Sustaining Power of The Atonement

This was at out home where we had Christmas dinner

Exchanges with these sweet sisters!

God bless America!

Hello everybody! What a week.

We went on exchanges with our zone leaders this last week. Sister Eging and I each went with one companionship for four different days. I learned so much from each exchange. A huge focus we have is to teach the Restoration in every contact we have with people. It brings the spirit so powerfully and we find that people are just thanking us for the message and giving us names of people to give a call and share the message with. 

It was a miracle I was able to get through this week though because I got sick, for the first time in my mission I might add. Note for grandma, I ran out of the echinacea herb but I went and bought some more the day the sickness was hitting, so I was too late to prevent it. The miracle of it all was that I was feeling awful for only two days, and then I got a blessing from president Risenmay and I started to feel better. This is the kind of sickness I felt that would have gone on for a week or two, but it didn't. I am completely better because of the power of God restored to the earth.

I have really felt the sustaining peace and strength of the Lord this week. Most days we are on the square at 9 am and don't get back to our apartment until 10:30 or later. I'm not saying this to complain but to recognize that the Lord has been giving us the strength needed to carry on. We've been preparing for zone conference this coming week, our Christmas program on Sunday and other odds and ends kind of things. It's a privilege to get to help the sisters and help the work move forward.

I have been teaching a young teenage girl who is investigating the church.  She's only met missionaries once, but she says she feels something when she reads the Book of Mormon. I invited her to read it daily and to continue to visit with the missionaries because that is how she will be able to gain an answer from God. It's amazing the power of the Spirit that the Book of Mormon brings into a person's life. I love it so much. I feel my testimony grow stronger and stronger of it daily.

The Lord is aware of each one of us. He is showering blessings upon us that sometimes we don't even notice. I invite you all to look for those small and tender blessings that the Lord has given you. They are all around you!

Love you all! Have a very Merry Christmas!!

xoxox,

Sister Butler

P.S. I ran into G-ma and G-pa Jones, Eric, Morgan, Karli, and Amanda. It was fun seeing them! I was walking towards the North Visitor's Center for an assignment and I ran into Eric who later was able to lead everyone to where I was. I don't always run into everyone I know, so it was meant to be for God to work it out for us to meet! [See photo from previous post! :-)~K]

The Light of the Gospel

Savior of the World performance at the Conference Center!

Engebretsen cousins and my parents found Sister Butler on Temple Square after attending Savior of the World! (Karolyn)

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Christmas season! Temple Square is such an amazing place to be, people are coming to see the lights and we get to share with them about God's love for them and how God has shown that love by always calling prophets so that we know how to find light, peace, and eternal life.

Yesterday we had several meetings from the sun up to sun down. It started with Church at 8am (they pushed it back a half hour to better accommodate our Christmas schedule of going to bed at 11:15pm or 11:45pm), and then we went to a local sacrament meeting to speak with President and Sister Risenmay. Sister Eging and I taught the Restoration and invited people to pay attention to who the Spirit brought to mind of someone to share the gospel with. We also performed What Child is This, I was on the piano with Sister Eging and two other sister missionaries singing. The Spirit was so powerful in this meeting because of the power that comes from teaching our unique message. 

Once we got back to the square we had a meeting for the sisters who are in their last transfer to help them "sprint to the end". Right after that we had a meeting with the office staff. Then we got a few minutes to go on the square and have an amazing contact with a couple who are so committed to sharing the gospel. We shared the Restoration with them and they asked for ways that they can help introduce more about the church to their friends (sadly, that isn't a question I've heard a lot). We will be contacting a family member of theirs and hopefully start teaching her.

Sister Eging and I have an investigator who has set himself on date for January 7th! He has been through a long, personal journey, but he feels so good about this and knows it's true. Also, we shared with you about E. last week who we invited to be baptized and pray about a date. He wants to, he just needs to overcome a few things first. So we are helping create a plan, rely on his local missionaries for support, rely on us, and most importantly rely on God. His wife is a convert and her biggest hope is to be sealed in the temple with him. 

We were able to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert this past week, which was so beautiful! They had quite the personality as their guest artist. His name is Rolando Villazon and he's a professional opera singer from France. You know how they have words on a screen that they can read from, kind of like General Conference? Well he didn't follow his prompts at all! He was winging it. On one occasion he said the Lord's name in vain, and a few seconds later he realized what he just said in front of a bunch of LDS members and was like, "Uhhh, did I just say....oh no, sorry!" It was a wonderful concert all in all! 

Merry, merry Christmas! I love you all very much! 

xoxox,

Sister Butler

#LighttheWorld

What a busy week! I probably say that a lot, but I think this week wins them all. :) 

My new companion is Sister Eging from Virgina! We are both from neighboring states, so it's fun introducing ourselves to people. She loves health and fitness and she has a very witty personality. She is very positive and helps everyone to see the good. She also has an extremely powerful testimony. 

We were able to see many miracles with our time on the square and in the teaching center. We had an assignment at the map desk in the North Visitor's Center a couple nights ago and it was jammed pack with people. Amidst all the noise and busyness, a member couple came up to me with their nonmember friend wanting to give her a Book of Mormon. She said that she had been searching for a church to join. I was able to share with her the message of the Restoration and how she can know the truth of it. She looked happy and excited to read it. She also accepted the invitation to be baptized. We will be keeping in touch with her and following up. I feel that she is so prepared for the gospel. Sister Eging and I both agree that the time we are able to be on the square and in the teaching center are filled with miracles. The Lord is shedding blessings on us to find people to teach and baptize. Miracles!

Another amazing experience we had together was running into a recent convert from the San Jose Mission who was led to joining the church because of a Temple Square sister missionary. I talked a little about her story a while back. She was visiting again a couple days ago doing family history work and she was with her nonmember husband. He has been going to church with her and meeting with missionaries, but had not set a baptismal date. We were able to take him to see the new Joseph Smith's First Vision video and teach the Restoration. He has had special experiences already with the church, but just hasn't taken the next step to pray about a baptismal date. We invited him to pray about it and seek God's inspiration on January 7th. He accepted and we will be following up to see what his answer was. 

Last night we were able to go to the First Presidency's Christmas devotional which was so lovely. Wonderful speakers, and beautiful music by Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I loved what Elder Holmes said about how the Holy Ghost is such a desirable gift because he can help us change our hearts and receive the attributes of Christ. During this Christmas season we are focusing on lighting the world with the light of Christ through our testimonies and examples. We are trying to reflect the light that Christ gives us. I love what the Church has done on Mormon.org on giving us ideas about how we can serve the way Christ served. Go check it out! Today is "Jesus read the scriptures and so can you".

Merry Christmas and have a wonderful week! 

xoxoxo,

Sister Butler

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sister Butler at the Christus in the north visitor center on Temple Square.

Thanksgiving day in the home of local church members.

At the Church History museum!

Or as my investigator said, "Happy Turkey Day!" I can't remember hearing that one before, haha.

Sounds like you all had a lot of fun cooking away on Thanksgiving. I loved hearing about the different foods everyone prepared. I can't remember how we were able to cook the different dishes all at the same time in one kitchen, haha.

What a great week. We are all hyped up over here for the holidays. That means tons of people will be coming! The Missionary Department estimates that over 1 million people will be coming in the month of December! Crazy, huh! We received new schedules yesterday that include introducing the new Christmas initiative video, introducing the words of Christ at the Christus, Singing outside, and a few others. We are so excited! Everyone will be coming to see the lights, but we hope as well to help them turn even more to Christ this season.

Let me tell you about our Thanksgiving day! Sister Lawlor and I got to go to a members home from about 12-4. It's always so special to get to do that. Not being in a home very much really makes me recognize the beautiful spirit of a home with the priesthood. We went to the home of a senior couple who served as mission president in the Colorado Springs mission and they had their son with his wife and their two kids. The kids were at the mature age of 2 and 4. It reminded me so much of home. It also made me think about what the missionaries in our home go through when they try to share their spiritual message. It's always exciting with kids, I love it! 

We got back to the square around 4:30 pm and we had an hour and a half before the square would open again. We decided to go to the North Visitor Center to spend our time looking at some of the exhibits (surprisingly, we don't actually get to do that very much). On our walk there we ran into a Brazilian young lady who attends the University of Utah. Sister Lawlor and I both thought she was a member at first, but we later learned she didn't have a whole lot of religious background. She does believe in a higher power but she doesn't see God as a loving Father figure. It was so special to share that God loved her and wants the very best for her. We shared about the Restoration and The Book of Mormon and how she can know for herself and what blessings will come into her life. We are keeping in touch! I'll let you know how it goes!

Since today is our p-day and it is also Black Friday we decided to do some shopping. Not sure if that was a good or bad idea. :) The traffic has been awful, but we were able to find some good deals! Coming back to Temple Square there are CROWDS of people EVERYWHERE! 'Tis the season, eh?

I think that's all for now! I love you all! I guess it's okay to say Merry Christmas now!

xoxox,

Sister Butler

My Week in Pictures

We had a beautiful snow storm last night! Temple Square is even more gorgeous dressed in white.

On Tuesday night we got to see the production Savior of the World! There is nothing like this play to start off the Christmas season right. It always increases my testimony of the Savior. I read in 2 Nephi chapter 9 the next morning, which is all about the Atonement, and it was like honey to my heart. A thought that was impressed upon me while I was reading was that if we didn't have the Savior's infinite Atonement, we would forever be in the grasp of Satan, condemned to be as he is. But because of the Savior no sin can ever truly bind us, no suffering is ever too great. We are made free! I love the Savior. He is everyone's elder brother. Everything he ever did for us was out of love; he made it possible for us to return and live with him and Heavenly Father forever. Let's keep Him as our focus this season and always! #Lighttheworld

"But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever." 2 Nephi 9:18

xoxox, 

Sister Butler