Hey y'all! So, I've been so excited for the weather to start cooling down. Now I want it to warm back up, and we haven't even reached November! Humid cold is not for me. My fingers and toes are constantly ice! This week I learned the power behind this scripture in 2 Nephi 26:33.
"For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."
No matter who we are, where we've come from, or what we've done, our loving Heavenly Father invites all of us to turn to His Son and be saved.
Monday:
We took pictures by the Brewton wall! There are some other cool buildings with murals on the side that I need to get pictures with!
Tuesday:
In district meeting, we learned about the importance of teaching simply. You know you really understand a topic when you can break it down and teach it so that a child can understand it. We also discussed how hard it is to get people to church because of the racism in Jay. About five years ago, a black man was shot in the back of the head and everyone still talks about it. One sister suggested to bring a black member to lessons with us so they can tell them that going to church isn't dangerous.
After district meeting, we tried contacting a referral, but our GPS led us to a blocked road with sandy roads full of giant water puddles going on each side. We wandered around a bit in the area before we were able to find our way out. But we passed by a construction worker three times, and I thought, "We should give that guy a Book of Mormon." We put in the other sister's information since it wasn't in our area, and I ran up to him and gave it to him. He was so surprised and said, "For me?" I felt so happy afterwards and knew God wanted him to have it. As we drove away, he smiled and waved at us.
That afternoon, we taught Maddie, who is very hard of hearing. I feel like I have to yell while teaching her, but the Spirit was still there and she listened to everything I said. Well, when we told her where church was, she said she didn't like Jay because her great-grandson had been shot and killed about five years ago. I sat there stunned, thinking "What are the odds?" We had found the great grandma of the guy shot and killed. We will probably have a hard time getting her to come to church.
Wednesday:
We went out this morning with a member of our branch, Tommie Richards, to a lesson with Ceola. She was referred to us over a month ago by her daughter and is very nice, but was a bit distant. When we brought Tommie, she opened right up and they were able to talk about a lot of racial issues we couldn't have related to since we are white. Many people in Brewton are black, and they don't want to come to church because it's by Jay. We took the sister's advice from district meeting and can see how much more success we'll have bringing members of the same race as our investigator to lessons. I just love seeing how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a world wide church, full of members of every race and culture. It is led by Jesus Christ through a prophet and all are welcome. You won't find that anywhere else.
Thursday:
We got to go to a trunk-or-treat in Milton, Florida to help out the other missionaries in our district. There were so many members. Sister Palmer and I have grown used to small branches, so we were both so amazed to see hundreds and hundreds of Mormons again!
Friday:
At the senior devotional this morning, we read the story in Matthew 19 about the rich, young ruler, and then watched Elder Lawrence's conference talk, "What Lack I Yet?" One of the seniors, Delray, absolutely loved it! The Spirit was strong, and she said, "I want to learn more about the Lord." It's amazing that even at the ripe old age of 92, she is still actively learning more about Christ. No matter how old you get, there is always something you can work on and improve.
Saturday:
We contacted a referral on the very edge of our area. He is a home-bound man that wants someone to come and talk about God with him. Overall he was very friendly, but it was an interesting encounter because he critiqued us on our "presentation" as we began teaching him the Restoration. Then he told Sister Palmer that he saw her horns and said I looked Amish. But we were invited to come back! That evening we tried to contact a referral we had been given. All the information we had was that they lived in the middle of Jay Rd (which is five miles long) and the house was brick with a tin roof. We knocked on a LOT of houses that evening. People don't know we will knock a whole street to find someone! ;)
Sunday:
I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about the role of prophets. The nice thing about serving in a branch is that there were only about 20 people there. Everyone said I did a great job. Afterwards, Johnny told me that as I spoke, there were bright lights behind me. He said there were angels up there with me and supporting me. The Wrights had been praying for me because they knew how nervous I was. What he doesn't realize is that he is one of the many angels that have blessed me on my mission.
Much love,
Sister Burnham
Southern Sayin's and Moments:
Instead of saying kids and grand-kids, people say youngins and grand-youngin's. It's so cute!
Johnny has devised a plan to "fatten" me up so he can eat me. He said he was saving an apple to put in my mouth for when he decides to roast me. On the bright side, after the talk I gave on Sunday, he said he has changed his mind and has decided to keep me after all!
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| The cotton fields are ripe! They are so pretty! |
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