Week 70

June 5, 2017

"Read what the holiest inhabitant ever to live on this planet said about the necessity of certain ordinances, or you will see that he allowed for no exceptions, including himself." Neal A Maxwell

Hey everyone! 

This week was so full of miracles and I am so happy! 

So some follow up on the miracles from last week, our Puerto Rican twins are the best! We have gone back again and we brought a member that could speak Spanish to them! It was so wonderful to have the concepts click in their heads. We invited them to be baptized next month but they said no since their family is Catholic. It was a miracle though because they came to church!!! They loved it and so many people fellowshipped them because half the people in the branch served Spanish speaking missions haha it was great! They are the cutest, we will get a picture this week :) 

Also, we got to go back and teach the Muslim man again! He is so sweet, he gave us his old Quran that is English and Arabic so we can read it (we aren't really allowed to read it so...) but he is so nice. We taught him about the Restoration and he said a closing prayer in Arabic! He isn't sure about all this yet, which makes sense, it would be hard for him to join the church, but we will see where this goes! 

Our gospel knowledge friend had a giant exam this week and he's pre med so we couldn't meet with him but we have an appointment for this week! 

Also this week we were able to find a lot of people! There were a lot of people that we found who we were able to teach multiple roommates which was awesome. YSA!!! 

Also I had my second to last interview with the mission President this week. Wow I can't believe it's almost over already... 

he gave me some great advice and it was really helpful for going home. He is the funniest person though! haha I told him that I was worried about a few things and I said, "I just feel like I'm rebelling in my heart." He laughed and said, "Oh Sister Caton, that's just your personality!" Haha oh my. Then he said, "You're not rebellious, you're just spontaneous! I love that about you. Add a big dose of the spirit and you're quite a catch!" PRESIDENT I AM STILL A MISSIONARY! 

Haha but it was great. I sure love him. 

But life is good, I am still working hard and I'm not too trunky just yet! But I am now a little more excited to go home. 8 more weeks! Woah! 

I love y'all! Have a great week! 

Swinging on a swing at an apartment complex.

An amazing member we love! He bought us pizza. He is from Gambia! 

Gainesville Zone!

Today we went on a hike to Paynes Prairie with the Elders from Gainesville and Ocala! Good times, we saw SO MANY ALLIGATORS! 

Love, 

Sister Caton

Week 69

May 29, 2017

"When you teach a boy, you teach an individual, but when you teach a girl, you teach a whole generation.” -Unknown

Wow this week was amazing! We were able to find and teach so many new people! 

On Tuesday we were able to meet these twins who were from Puerto Rico and they were so open and nice to us. They let us right into their house! We taught them about the Book of Mormon and the authority and they were really interested and so we were able to come back Saturday and teach them again! They both had thought about it and one of them read the Pamphlet we left with them! They were so nice and we are really excited to come back and teach them again this week.

Another miracle was when we met this man when we were knocking and he was super willing to listen to us, even though he goes to one of the big churches around here. We taught the Restoration on his doorstep and he was blown away by all he didn't know and we were able to come back and teach him again, and he has SO MUCH gospel knowledge but wasn't trying to bash on us, he asked some amazing questions. He had even read some of the Book of Mormon before we came back! I am really excited to go back and see him, we are hoping to bring a super solid member with us to help him understand eveything. :) 

Then last night, we were knocking and we met this man who was Muslim and he was just so nice to us and polite. We prayed with him and taught him and he didn't really seem that interested so we kind of gave up. So we said a closing prayer with him and then I asked, "Hey, do you think I could see your prayer rug? I have never seen one." And he explained a few things to us about Islam that were so interesting and he was so happy to talk about it. Then he started talking about the Bible and how he isn't sure if it is the word of God or not. He said, "Most religions only have one book, but they are all different, why is that?" And we said, "Well, we don't just have one, we have the Book of Mormon also." And he said, "How can I know if it is truly from God or not?" We testified to him that the way he could know was by asking God. We read Moroni 10:4-5 to him and the spirit was so strong! He definitely felt it and he was amazed by that. We were able to set a return appointment and we're going to bring him a Book of Mormon in Arabic! It was such a great experience. 

This has been the busiest time on my mission. It is so different from everywhere else I have served and it is so great to teach people who are my age. I feel so blessed to not be lost, because it feels like everyone else is. Nobody seems to know what they believe or if God is real or there. Nobody here feels like God has answered their prayers or that they have ever really understood the scriptures even if they grew up in a church. It is amazing to testify to them that they can have a relationship with God and that they can learn how to be happy and gain direction in their lives! The most common thing that people ask us to pray for is peace or direction and it makes me so glad that I have those things! Life is so hard without the Gospel. 

This week we had Zone Conference and I got to see all my mission friends which was really fun. The group going home this transfer had to go up and bear their departing testimonies, and it was the strangest experience since next time it will be me. I can't believe it has gone by so fast! 

Well, 10 more weeks left yo. :) see you in 70 days! 

Love,

Sister Caton

                                                           At Santa Fe College

                              Florida: where behind the apartment complexes are jungles. 

                                 Happy Birthday selfie for the mission presidents wife!

Week 68

May 22, 2017

"“Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a
Christlike person treats others. Kindness should permeate all of our
words and actions at work, at school, at church, and especially in our
homes." -Joseph B Wirthlin

This week was great! We found a lot of people to teach and we got 3
members out with us this week and found 12 more investigators!
We met these 2 amazing guys this week where we were so tired and we
hadn't found anyone all day long, then we knocked on this door. The
guys answered and they were SO SHOCKED. They asked if we were Mormon
missionaries, and we said yes and they said, "No way, we were
literally talking about the Book of Mormon 10 minutes ago!!!" So we
taught them and they were so amazing, they asked so many questions! We
are so excited to see them again.

We went knocking with a returned missionary today named Jonesy:

 We had such a fun time and we taught a lot of people!

 Transfers came and went and we were all the same haha but this is our District pic:

 Our district is awesome!

 We have been doing good and the YSA is a great place. Our branch is small but we love each other!

We'll have a great week y'all!

Love,

Sister Caton

Week 67

May15, 2017

"When you cannot do what you have always done, then you only do what matters most.” -Robert D Hales

Well this week was great!  We had some amazing miracles and we were able to find plenty of people to teach!  We also got some dinner from members for the first time ever! Haha 

Sister Ridenour and I are having a good time being companions, and now we aren't getting transferred! I don't think she'll be my last companion but we are having a great time together. 

She cut my hair this week and gave me bangs! We are excited! 

Before:

After:

Also this week our lovely Chinese investigator came to church!!! 

We were so excited. We couldn't understand too much but we could understand the spirit! And he really LOVED church! He told everyone, "see you later!" Because he wants to come back! 

And it was so fun to talk to my family on Mother's Day! I was happy to see everyone. 

I got this nice selfie with Kiara! 

Haha I miss them all! 

Well I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,

Sister Caton

Week 66

May 8, 2016

"Time is one of the blessings we are given." -Neal A Maxwell

Oh my goodness, the days keep flying by don't they? It seems like it was just yesterday I got to Gainesville and now it's the end of the transfer. And today, I have exactly 3 months left on my mission.  Isn't that crazy? I fly home August 8th. 2 transfers left. I am going to make the most of them!!! 

This week was a great week. We had so many miracles! 

This week when we were knocking we met these 2 guys from China and they were really interested since neither of them had been raised religious and they wanted to know more about God. We taught them that God was their Heavenly Father who loved them and they had so many amazing questions! We invited them to pray and one of them said his first prayer! Then we got to go back and see them again and they were so excited to see us! We taught them the Plan of Salvation and they loved it and had more amazing questions. Then the other one said his first prayer ever! They were simple and beautiful prayers. It is such a miraculous experience to teach people who have never learned anything about God before. They are such great people and we can't wait to see where they go! 

Also this week, we got back into contact with one of our favorite investigators. He is having a hard time but we finally met with him and he came to the YSA devotional last night! He is a great guy with lots of questions. We hope he gets baptized. He took a pic with us! 

 Aw man he's the best. 

Also this week, our recent convert had a medical emergency and he's okay now but couldn't come to church and it was scary since he's so solid and amazing. Please keep him in your prayers! He needs all the help he can get with that. 

We had a tradeoff this week also with the Sister Training Leaders. It was so weird since this was my first tradeoff since being an STL and I felt like I should be conducting it haha but it was a nice experience. We found 3 new amazing people to teach that day! 

We also got to have interviews with the mission President this week and it was so wonderful. I love our mission President. He is such a great man and he helps us all so much! 

Something funny that happened this week was that we got a phone call and it was one of our old investigators who had run into the Elders and so decided to call us, with the Elders on speakerphone! Haha we were so confused and they were all 3 talking and we could not figure out for the life of us who had called (since she told us she wasn't interested) but it was hilarious! We laughed about that one for a while. 

Well I hope y'all have a great week! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life! 

Love,

Sister Caton