I know the Holy Ghost speaks to each one of us individually and gently. As we strive to listen, so many miracles will happen. They may seem like a coincidence, but I know it is by divine design. So many miracles happened this week because of small promptings we had from the Spirit and from sincere and heartfelt prayer:
2 Nephi 33:4 "And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people."
Monday:
After the beach, we had a lesson with our investigator Alex. She is so sweet and her testimony of the Book of Mormon is growing. Last Monday at the beach feels like a dream. Maybe I'll get to serve in that area one day! But I am so grateful to be in Brewton, because so many miracles happened this week.
Tuesday:
Today was a strange day. After district meeting, we drove to a super far part of our area and tracted a new complex that was being built. I realized how overly optimistic and hopeful I am for people. I really want to give them every opportunity to accept the gospel because I love it so much. We parked in the lawn of a man, and as we approached his door, he was sitting outside. He looked so dark and angry. He asked us to walk away. I asked if he was at least interested in family history. He again told us to walk away. As we moved on to another house, Sister Palmer had a distinct impression that we needed to go back and move our car. We drove away and parked at a nearby member's house. Then we met an old man who was friendly, and then another man who was so arrogant and prideful. I didn't catch on at first, but Sister Palmer said that the way he was leaning on his door and looking down at us was very condescending. Then as we offered him a Book of Mormon, he said, "Well, I'll take the book because you walked all the way up here." We had a nice evening with the Wrights, teaching them more about temples.
Wednesday:
Funny story: most of our plans today fell through. An investigator dropped us, we taught a lady with dementia the Restoration (she agreed with everything we said at least!), and got barked at by angry dogs. I didn't let this get me down though. We went to another set appointment, and the lady wasn't there, so we decided to try a boy I had given a Book of Mormon to last week. He wasn't home. His neighbor was a former investigator we had tried multiple times, but no answer. Even when we heard people home. We decided, "Eh, let's just try her again. Why not?" Well, She has a camera at the front door, so we maneuvered our bags so she wouldn't see who we were and turned away from the camera when we knocked. The friendliest mom opened the door, saw we were missionaries, and invited us right in. She started apologizing for not having us over for dinner, and about how much she loves missionaries. She told us about all the service she did for the elders in the past, and that if we ever needed anything, to come on over. She has two adorable kids, 8 and 9, and they are all huge Harry Potter fans! It was such a tender mercy, and I knew we were led there by God.
Thursday:
I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday and woke up in a ton of pain. But that didn't stop us from going out and teaching. As Sister Palmer always says, if you are having a hard day, that means some amazing miracle is going to happen because Satan doesn't want you out and about. It's true. We had the most spiritual lesson with Dysane. I testified so boldly and lovingly, and I knew she felt the Spirit so strong. We are slowly making progress with her!
Friday:
We had a devotional with the seniors at the senior center, and I played them some hymns on the violin that Johnny is loaning me. They love it so much. Then we stopped by Ellen's shop on our way to visit the Wrights. She is doing very well. Then we had a lesson on prayer with the Wrights. I had felt prompted during my personal study that morning to share something from Preach My Gospel about the proper language of prayer. When I did, Rhoda said that she had just been wondering about that a few days ago. It was amazing to see how God leads my studies to help those we teach.
Scary moment of the night: we went to visit a less active member, and as we pulled into the trailer park, Sister Palmer pointed at the one next to the family and said never to knock on the door. It was her nonmember son who was obsessed with death and had threatened to kill his family before. As we said a prayer before going to visit the less active family, I felt a dark presence in the middle of the prayer, and knew that if I looked up, I would see him in the doorway staring at us. Well, right when I ended the prayer, I looked straight up at the door, and saw a large silhouette of a man. Staring right at us. It totally freaked me out. He wanted to know who was parking in front of his place, and I called back in an unnaturally high pitched voice, "The missionaries!" Then we quickly walked to the other trailer and everything was fine.
Saturday:
There is an area in our zone, Perdido, that doesn't have a car. Our whole zone had a "Perdido appreciation day," where we couldn't use our car. Sister Palmer and I had planned to go to a distant part of our area that day, but decided to change our plans so we could honor this idea that seemed silly at first. We walked around that day in Brewton and talked to everyone that we saw. We found a family at the park and people sitting on their porches that all became new investigators. One lady walked out her front door when she saw us walk by and gave us a big hug. She took a Book of Mormon and said we needed to come back and teach her. We're not sure if she's all there in the head, but she was so sweet!
Well, we had walked all day and then went back home to refill water and eat a snack. I was so tired, but we felt we needed to go back out, so we did. We walked to another park and found a group of teenagers, one of which was named Courtney. As soon as I saw her, she looked so familiar, like she reminded me of someone. Her eyes were so bright and I felt her divine potential. It turns out she is actually the cousin of a recent convert that moved away from our area. She said she would love to come to church with us but didn't have a ride. We got her number and asked the Wrights if they could give her a ride. That night, my feet were so sore, but it was so worth it. We walked 11 miles and found 11 new investigators--one for each mile we walked. I thought that was cool, especially since I really didn't want to walk all day at first.
Sunday:
This morning, we went with the Wrights to pick Courtney up, and she came to church and loved it. One awkward moment that happened was that a member bore his testimony about polygamy in his talk! Of all the days, we had an investigator there! It was fine though; she didn't ask us any questions about it, and she loved how small the branch was. It felt like one big family to her. She felt so welcome and peaceful. After Relief Society, she asked if she could hang out with us. We were like, "Yes, of course!" So we drove back to the member's house and taught her the Restoration, and she cried and cried. The Spirit was so strong. We set a baptism date, and she is looking forward to coming to church next Sunday. It was so cool to see just how prepared she was and how perfect the timing was of finding her. We really connected with her and know God sent us to her that day.
After our lesson with Courtney, we had a return appointment with a lady we had met yesterday, Centoria. She has six adorable children. We were able to teach her the Restoration, and four of her little ones sat in. Of course, in the middle of the first vision, the baby started screaming. We waited as she calmed him down and then continued. She said she would read the Book of Mormon and that we could come back next Sunday!
This area is so prepared. The Lord continues to place people in our path, and all I have to do is stay humble, obedient, and work hard. The rest is up to the Lord. I know sacrifice brings forth great blessings. No sacrifice is too great in the eternal scope of things! I am so privileged to be serving in this area and meeting God's elect. I love them so much--sometimes I wonder if my heart is big enough for all of the love I feel for these people I am meeting. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world!
Much love,
Sister Burnham
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