So They Brought Their Little Children and Set Them Down Upon the Ground Round About Him (3 Nephi 17:12)

My dearest family,

Things here in the mission are great as always. It was kind of a slow week because we had so many meetings and random stuff come up. 

We had district meeting, presidents interviews, and also a 9 week follow up training meeting for sister Nnah and all of the missionaries that came in with her. We went to the broadcast as well. 

Sister Nnah Must Be a Trusting Soul

Also, every few months sister Nnah has to do redo the braids in her hair, which takes hours to take them all out, and then hours to get them done again. With that and our studies it almost took a day. It was quite the project but we had fun. 

Is Sister Nnah Under There Somewhere?

We went on a couple of exchanges this week which was so much fun! I went back to Santa Ana 10 with sister Budge and they happened to have a big service project with the ward that day so I was able to see a lot of the members. It was fun to be there and see everyone! We also went on another exchange, but this time I stayed in my area.

We were doing our language study outside and a little group of six or seven kids came up to me to get stickers. Then they sat across from us on the bench and asked what we were reading. 

We showed them the Book of Mormon and they were surprised that we were reading in spanish and so they asked us to read to them (See 3 Nephi 17:11-25). They were silent as we read about when Christ came to the Americas and blessed the little children. We showed them pictures and they asked us questions about Christ. No wonder we are supposed to humble ourselves as the little children. They were so cute! I just love the little kids here. :)

She Loves the Kids

Lets see what else... ___________ got a calling on Sunday so that was exciting. They just forgot to tell her so it was kinda a surprise. It will be really good for her though. Hopefully they will give one to __________ soon too. She really wants to serve and help out in any way that she can.

Well thats about all of the exciting news for the week other then the crazy drug bust that we watched right outside of our apartment this morning while we were doing companionship study. Haha. Well, sorry I didn't have much to write today. Have a great week! Love you all! :)

Hermana Layton

Beatboxing with Sister Nnah

Hey fam!

First of all HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD! I hope you had a great one. I was thinking about you all day and how lucky I am to have the best dad in the world. I love you so soo much and am very grateful for your example. Thanks for all that you do. :)

Well, it's been another great week. I just love being a missionary! :) [The new convert] was confirmed yesterday in church and she looked very happy. [A current sister investigator] has been doing really well. She shared her testimony in gospel principles and was answering questions that investigators had. It is amazing to see how much she has changed already and how happy she is now. [Another investigator] also came to church again and he is still planning on getting baptized on the 30th of June. He is progressing really well. Its funny because he is already best friends with most of the ward since he talks so much. He is very social. We are hopefully having a family home evening with him and a family in our ward tonight so that should be good for him. 

Last night I was able to go back to Santa Ana 10 because one of sister Withams investigators was getting baptized. It was great to see everyone again! :) I miss that ward. I am grateful to be here in Fullerton though because I absolutely love the members here! It is probably my favorite ward out here on the mission. 

Yesterday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting which will probably be my last one on the mission. It was nice because they pretty much let my pick any topic I wanted. On Friday we had a Fathers day party and had a talent show. They asked us to do something and so we sang a hymn but added a little beatboxing thanks to sister Nnah. I will try to send the video, it was pretty funny. 

Anyways, sorry this is kind of short. I love you all so much! :) 

(With just over 3 weeks to go, the letters seem to be getting shorter. Next week we might get a paragraph, we'll see.)

~Hermana Layton

Referrals from Members Are So Powerful

Hello everyone!

It has been another great week here in Fullerton! __________ got baptized last night and the spirit was so strong. She had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. She said that she felt really good and she looked so happy. She was so nervous for her interview and the baptism but she did such a great job. _________ and her mom were wanting to wait to do the baptism until ________'s birthday in August but we had a very powerful lesson at the beginning of the week and they realized that she was ready now. I am so grateful for the guidance of the spirit and that ________ and her mom were both able to recognize it. She is so happy with the decision that she made. _______, came to the baptism but we have not been able to get him to come to church. He has opened up a lot since we started teaching him but when we talk about baptism he doesn't seem very excited. We will still be working with him though and praying that he will see the changes in _________ and ___________. They are great examples to him.

The members in this ward are so amazing. We have a member in the ward named Hermana Bautista and she is the most amazing member missionary I have ever met. She brings us around her neighborhood to everyone she knows so that we can share the gospel with them. When she doesn't know some of her neighbors she goes over there and gets to know them so that she can introduce us to them later. She doesn't have any fears at all about sharing the gospel. We have already gotten 12 member referrals from her and she said that she still has a lot of people that she wants to introduce us to. She is such a good missionary and an example to everyone. I know it's not always that easy to find friends to share the gospel with, but referrals from members are so powerful and I am just so grateful when the members understand that. Something that I have really learned out here is how to be a member missionary. Even though I might not be able to stay out here on the mission as long as I want, I know that I can still be a missionary once I get home. 

______ is still doing well. He came to church again on Sunday and loved it. He is still preparing to get baptized on the 30th of June and we are excited for him. He has been working on living the word of wisdom and said that he has felt a lot better as he has been doing it. He has already seen a difference and its been about a week. I am grateful to be teaching him. He was a referral from a member. I know they progress so much faster when they have that member support. We are also teaching a girl named _________. She is also a friend from a member in our ward (Thank you members!) and she's progressing really well. She has been coming to church for a couple of weeks now and really likes it. Her older sister is also talking lessons from the singles elders. Their parents are not really into it but are very willing to let their kids learn and choose what they want.

Well, thats about it for the week. I love the gospel so much! If everyone who reads this finds just one person to share the gospel with I know that there will be miracles. :) Have a great week everyone!

~Sister Layton

Staying in Fullerton

Hey fam!

This morning we had transfers. I will be staying here in Fullerton as my last area! I am super happy! Sister Budge went back to Santa Ana 10 (The city of Orange), and sister Witham came here with sister Nnah and I. Sister Witham is from Utah and she got out here a couple of transfers ago. I am excited for another great transfer!!!

Things here in Fullerton are great! __________ is doing really well and is very happy that her kids are both listening to us now. __________ came to church again. She loves the first meeting but not the second class as much because its hard for her to understand what's going on. She is more comfortable with english but her mom is way more comfortable with spanish. They want to go to the same ward so it makes it hard for her. We have also still been teaching __________ and he is actually really enjoying it. He still hasn't made it to church, but hopefully soon. He has opened up a lot and we are excited to keep working with him. We are also still teaching __________ and he is progressing really well. He finally committed to a baptism date For June 30th but seems a little bit nervous. He came to church again and loves it. He participates a lot in the classes. He also wanted to come see the baptism last night but his ride fell through and so he ended up getting there late. At least he was able to eat some food and talk with all of his new friends, so I think he had a good time. We also have just started teaching a lady named ________. She has loved the lessons so far and seems to be progressing really well. She came to church yesterday. She seemed to like it but said it was really long for her. She has visited a lot of different churches and likes learning about new ones. Hopefully all goes well with her.  

Lets see what else... I went on exchanges again this week with sister Rollins so that was fun. I am always learning so much from the sisters in the mission. I don't think I will be going on as many exchanges this transfer because they called a few more coordinating sisters since they are splitting the mission right when I leave. The few that got called will be moving to the Irvine mission next transfer. It is so crazy that the mission will be splitting! Anyways, I hope all is going well back home. Thanks for the emails and letters! Love you all! :)

Have a great week!!!!!!

~Hermana Layton