Emily Burnham: Week 11: Hunting for Gators

This week we have found a lot of new and potential investigators, Ann, Marian, and Ricky! We met these people as a result of not knowing where to go or what to do, but following the gentle promptings of the Spirit and tracting. The Lord has been blessing us with success and miracles as we put faith in him.

This was also our last week working with the refugee kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I love the names of the kids in the refugee class--anything from Queen to Iracoze! There was one 12 year old who was very flirtatious to all of us. He kept wrapping his arm around Sister Browning (a married woman with four children), Sister Wall, or me.

We had a lesson this week with Brady on Tuesday and Thursday evening. It's always an adventure! On Tuesday, we were driving home, and something randomly fell on Sister Wall. She yelled and flung it to the ground. Sister Hearn, the member driving us, turned on the front light and we discovered it was a frog! She started freaking out and her hands were shaking. She ordered Sister Wall not to take her eyes off of it. She said if it jumped on her, we'd all be dead because she'd probably crash the car in her fright. Then when we got to the parking lot, Sister Wall had to take her 12 Week book and fling it out of the car. Sister Hearn also bought me dairy-free ice cream for both lessons, and I was one happy camper! Brady is progressing very well and is excited for his baptism on August 13th. Also, the members at his lesson always crack me up. The Hearns call paper towel rolls "Hootie-Hoos" because you yell into them after they are empty. Also, Sister Hearn thought the reason I couldn't have eggs is because it is a type of dairy. We all started laughing and told her it wasn't. She looked at us in disbelief and a quick-witted 15 year old boy responded, "Cows don't lay eggs!"

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday. I met my new district leader, Elder Blamires, and found out he is from Queen Creek, Arizona, and his dad taught me in seminary for two years! The elders at zone conference are hilarious. The elders performed a bunch of skits, one of which was about hunting for Gators. They related hunting for alligators by asking locals where they are to using the members when finding new investi-gators. We are new in the area, but the members have been around awhile and know a lot about the people here. Then, later this week on Saturday, I SAW MY FIRST ALLIGATOR!!! I tried to throw pine cones to get it to move so I could get a better picture, but it wouldn't move. In the process, Sister Wall found she was standing in an ant pile and got bit all over and had an allergic reaction...

Sister Wall shared that a general authority encouraged them all to look in their studies for a reason we are here serving a mission each day. So, I started a journal to write a reason I am on my mission for that day. This week I learned that I am on a mission to come to know God even better, "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" (Mosiah 5:13). As we do this, we will one day have eternal life (John 17:3).

Sayings:

Stink Perty (when someone looks pretty)

He's a leaking faucet (An old man who took blood thinner and bled a lot from random cuts)

Much love,

Sister Burnham