temples, covenants, canada, lovely green happiness! :)

The church is so true. it just is!:) This week has been super great and so much wonderfulness going on here in Ferndale. I will spare you guys all from the details and talk about the MAIN things going on.

1st! Jenifer is doing so well. This week we were able to teach her the word of wisdom and we were a little hesitant because she loves tea and drinks a little bit of coffee. After our lesson we left and received a couple text messages from her, telling us that she had throw all of her coffee, creamer, and tea away. WOW. AMAZING. she is getting so ready to be baptized on October 11th and then confirmed the next day which is really cool because that marks a year since I went through the temple. It will be a really significant day for her and I am so excited! Something that I have really loved is having this immediate love for her from the very beginning. I can just feel how much heavenly father really loves her and is so happy for her and the changes that she is making. Its cool to have a front row seat at watches people make changes in their lives. She told us the other day that she so wishes she would have just listened to the Elders before instead of just slamming the door on their faces. It just shows that none of their efforts were wasted and that in the right time Jennifer would be ready and prepared. She seems to be glowing and glowing the closer we get her to her baptism. CANT WAIT!

We are also teaching Debbie who is a lady that we were able to talk to on the street and she was more than willing to have us over to talk with her. We taught her about the Restoration and left her with a pamphlet to read and we came back for a return appointment and she had so many great questions and was so eager to be introduced to the book of Mormon. More to come on her later. 

 The women's conference was amazing!!! SO great. I love how it was all so centered on the temple and keeping our covenants. I got a lot out of it and a couple things that I was able to personally learn and take from it were...

-We are weak creatures with a beautiful future because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

-that we are to be consistent in ALL that we do.. that is something that I know I can improve on. 

oh and lack of time so much more.. but I did love that Uctdorf was able to touch on the fact that we have been given commandments and we are to follow them and that God really does know things that we just don't.

being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a journey and requires us to stretch and do things that we may not want to do, or maybe we feel like we just cant. But I know that we can and I know that they are possible. we have so much potential! its amazing. 

lastly. we went to CANADA today and I loved loved loved it. peach arch, the ocean and so much fun. I love so many little things about Washington. its beautiful. 

alright. you guys. love you to pieces.! 

I will end with a great scripture. 

ALMA 15:18

 I love this because it shows how we are to strengthen our companions in the lord. and to serve them. its true. that's all:) 

Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.

 love Sister Norton!

i love love love it here! ferndaleeeeeeeee

All is well all is well. We were able to have such a fantastic week and it was filled with miracles. I feel like i say that every week but every day is full of miracles no matter how big or how small. The Lords hand is defiantly in this work and that is what makes it so great. Sorry this is going to be short!

Tuesday we had a lesson with Jennifer and it was amazing. We were teaching her about the importance of the Book of Mormon which I have a testimony of. I love the Book of Mormon and every day that I read it I am able to gain so much from it. Seriously. It's almost like a new light goes on! I know that sounds so cheesy but it is so true. So as we were teaching, one thing led to the next and then she looked at us and said..."well what do I have to do to be a member?!" ha. WHAT!!! I hurried and pulled out my nifty missionary planner and then we were able to set her on date for baptism. She is so prepared to start a new life and I am just so thrilled for her and I feel so blessed to be able to work with people like her. She told us that she is just like a sponge and that she is wanting to learn and learn. I know that as we continue to work with her she will be able to be prepared to be baptized soon:) October 11th is the day and we are hoping that it all works out! 

Then... the strangest thing happened this week. We had interviews with President Bonham and we were in one of our break out sessions and I walked out of the room to grab something (this was on a Thursday during the middle of the day) and as I walked out.. I saw our investigator in the building. WHAT!? I looked at him and said.. "what are you doing here?" then he looked at me and said... Sister Norton... "what are you doing here?" I then said... ha. Nooooo,. what are you doing here... then he began to tell me and my companion how God led him here and then we was in a room full of missionaries and then we went back to being taught and then all of the sudden my investigator was getting taught on how to become a better missionary and missionaries were role playing on him and then he would give them feedback about what kind of missionaries Sister Davis and I are.. yep. it was just a little crazy and I couldn't believe it! but. it was a fun experience. 

Then last but not least another one of our investigators made it out to church this Sunday and said the coolest thing to me as the Sacrament was being passed... as she took the bread she turned to me and said... "that's the first time I've done that... it felt really cool" it was almost like a wave of emotion came over me when she said that. 

I love the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love being a missionary. I love Washington. and I love you all. 

Lets all try to be a little better at noticing others that may need a helping hand this week:) 

Love Sister Norton

when investigat​ors come to chruch.. ahlsdlfhal​fhdovnqosg​nosvino

"there's a difference between knowing the gospel and being converted"

  Crazy story. I was reading in the September ensign this morning and lo and  behold...... Scott Featherstone's name was in it talking about Lori his amazing wife and I looked at my companion and said.. "OH MY GOSH..  I KNOW THESE PEOPLE" it was super awesome! made me so happy!:) 

 

  We had a good, busy, tiring, very very eventful week! SO many miracles big and small and so many people that are accepting the gospel more and more. always looking and trying to find more people though:) My birthday was great... didn't really feel like a birthday but we did have cake and one of my investigators sang... when I saw sang he more like YELLED happy birthday to me. It was a very unforgettable and hilarious moment. I can't believe that I am 20! Weird.

 This same investigator saw us walking that day and came up to us and screamed and scared us so bad that I almost slapped him just because it was my reaction. but I didn't. so no worries. September in Washington is super beautiful and perfect weather:)

some cool stories to update you all on. We were in a lesson this week with a couple of our investigators and we were reading in the Book of Mormon with them and one of their friends was in the living room watching t.v and as we started to read he muted it and listened it. so interesting and then we were having a discussion about how god answers our prayers and we said the closing prayer and we were about to leave when the guy walked up to us and shook our hands and began to tell us that he had a friend who served a mission and he was the coolest guy that he knows. This just goes to show that we are examples in EVERYTHING that we do. It was a really neat experience. 

another investigator that we are working with is Jennifer. She was raised in a family to be anti-Mormon so its a really interesting case and this week we had a lesson with her where she brought all the things that we needed to know to the surface and we were able to resolve her concerns and then we committed her to come to church and she came!  nothings can be compared to when you know someone is feeling the spirit and you know exactly what the lord needs them to hear and you are just a mouth piece. One of our members even bought her, her own quad with her name on it!:) she is great! 

everyone should go watch Elder Bednars talk on turning the trickle into a flood its super good and he gives so many good tips on sharing the gospel via the internet";) 

church is true. love love love you alllllllllllll

LOVE Sister Norton

C.A.N.I...transfersssss

Constant. And. Never-ending. Improvement.

oh and we are both staying in Ferndale:)

 You could say that has defiantly been Sister Davis's and my motto for the past couple weeks. We have it written everywhere in our apartment to remind us that we have always room to improve. I have learned so many valuable things so far on my mission but that has to be a big one. The fact that a loving Heavenly Father sees us so individually and loves us personally and sees our true potential and wants us so badly to return to live with him and we can as long as we continue to progress. I have learned that I am so inadequate for so many things but that's whats so great about the gospel..you always have room for improvement and the sooner you realize that the better things seem to go:) 

  It's really a neat and wonderful thing when you start to realize and understand more fully just how God works and how it is in His timing and not mine. We were able to find an investigator this past week. her name is Elizabeth and she was meeting with missionaries a couple years ago but had to suddenly move and then just lost complete contact with them, but then we received a referral from some elders and they told us to go see if she was interested. We went over to her house to only find that she wasnt home:( We had her number so we decided we would give her a call. She answered and told us to come back the next morning.. we were able to help her out with her yard and dug out alot of blackberry bushes which was challenging but rewarding. Then we sat down and had a wonderful discussion. She told us that the other day when we called right before that happened she had just prayed asking God what she should do and then her phone rang. WOW. It was so crazy to hear and as I sat there I just had to let it all sink in. Woah. I love being a missionary. I love serving and helping others and bringing them into the gospel. I know that God is aware of us and that this is truly His work.

Yesterday we had an amazing sacrament meeting where the cutest little boy got up to bear his testimony and he said. "wellll blessing are pretty much like stars.. there's almost too many for us to COUNT" it was neat how just a simple sentence from a 9 year old boy brought in the spirit so strongly in such a reverently way and the whole rest of the meeting was strong. 

also. funny things that happened.. we had to chase after a runaway dog.. that was fun.. one of our investigators rapped a bible song to us and everyone in F
erndale heard it.. ahahah a car pulled up to us and said.. HEY are your girls doing a bible study?! then the lady looked at her husband and said.. "honey.. their MORMON.. then he suddenly drove offf.. ahha sometimes you just have to laugh. sister davis and i tried to donate blood... and some lady thought we were in junior high.. OUCH. 

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that as we are obedient we will come to truly know God. I believe Christ. LOVE YOU ALLL!!! 

Love Sister Norton

Trust

Oh my good gracious. SO MUCH to say in so little of time. Ferndale is theeeee best and i love it up here. We had another fantastic week with so much to do and so many wonderful eventful things that occurred! Some things that crossed my mind this week.. I thought to myself as i was making my bed.. man life is so great! i have wanted to go on a mission for so long and here i am doing what i have always wanted to do!:) Another thing that Sister Davis and I were talking about were all of the SEEN and UNSEEN forces that we feel and have each and everyday. We KNOW with everything that we have help with all that we do. It's crazy to think that Heavenly Father just says alright you 2 nineteen year old girls.. GOOD LUCK! I feel his love for me, for the people, and for the work. I feel so honored and so privileged to be doing HIS work.

We had so much to do this week and we felt like we were just going and going... and finally one night when we got to bed we said to eachother... hey... Lets talk about our day and what happened... it was pretty funny because then we finally had time to talk as a companionship and go over what went well. It feels good to be so busy and to be on the Lords errand. It's a type of happiness that you cant get anywhere else and I really cant describe the feelings that you are able to have as a missionary.. I feel like i understand things a whole lot better and on a different level then i used to be able to. I love it here. LOVE IT. One of the days this week we had 2 dinners pretty much back to back.. one with a active family and then one with one of our investigators and we had about 30 minutes in between to go to an appointment and then to rush off to dinner again. lets just say that was a crazy great night! 

We had a really insightful lesson with on of our investigators this week.. she is reading from the Book of Mormon and loves it, and has had a problem with praying out loud and we were finally able to have her pray out loud with specific questions. I have such a strong testimony about this. I know that when we ask for specific things and are asking for truth we will be able to  gain truth and a better understanding of things:) The spirit works in many different ways but one thing that it always does is testify of truth. 

Im so grateful for the members here. They are so missionary minded and we are going to continue to work with them. When we bring members with us to lessons and they are able to bear testimony a different light goes off for the investigator and its really cool to see. Church will always be true. 

Last but not least. The Bishop feed us this week and it was delicious. FRESH CRAB.. SO GOOD. one of the elders hated it.. and it was hilarious.... but Sister Davis and i loved it. love you all!:) 

Love sister Norton:)