It is quite the motivation to keep carrying on this great work no matter how much rejection we face. There are those out here that are prepared, and the only way to find them is to keep trudging forward!
Monday:
Well, all our appointments dropped through, so we tracted for a bit and then ended up over at the Wrights. Their house always feels like home. There is a tender mercy for each hard day.
Tuesday:
We took pictures at the beautiful cotton fields on the way to district meeting! I also got a piece that had dropped on the ground for a souvenir :)
In honor of it being Halloween, I decided to dress up as my companion, which consisted of stealing her name-tag, wearing blue, and doing my hair in a bun with a braid in front, since that's how she does her hair most days.
That afternoon, we went to a senior living place in Jay, FL. I brought my violin and we played and sang for them for an hour. They absolutely loved it! They were all so happy, and the Spirit was so strong there, especially as one nurse cried because her patient, an elderly woman with dementia, was singing along to the hymns. She couldn't remember much of anything, but she could remember every word to the songs about Christ.
Wednesday:
Rhoda took us to see a male investigator that the missionaries haven't been able to see since before I got here. As we pulled up, we ran into a less active and his girlfriend, an investigator. It was such a miracle because we hadn't been able to get into contact with them either!
Later that day, we had planned to tract a street a Bible referral lived on, which happened to be the street the Wright's son lived on. They pulled up while we were walking by, and little Kenna ran out of the car and called after us, "My friends, come here!" We were able to talk with them for a bit. I love how innocent and receptive to truth little children are!
Thursday:
We spent the day in an area called Flomaton. We had about four or five set appointments, and every single one fell through. It doesn't seem like any of the other areas besides Brewton is prepared for the gospel right now.
Friday:
We were tracting in an apartment complex, and we see a lady sitting on some steps. We start walking towards her. She must have known we were coming to talk to her because she quickly gathers up all the things on her lap, jumps up, and starts speed-walking away. In her haste to escape us, she had dropped her phone under the steps, so I picked it up and called after her. She wouldn't turn around or look at me until I said, "Is this yours?" I held up the phone, and she turned around and was surprised when she saw me holding it. She walked back, grabbed it, then hurried away again. It was pretty strange.
Saturday:
This morning we picked up Sister Richards for another lesson with Ceola. We read from the Book of Mormon, and she enjoyed it. She saw the story of Nephi killing Laban and putting on his clothes as similar to David and Goliath. Afterwards, she let us serve in her yard! We put on some pants and raked up her back yard. I must have been doing something wrong because I got a blister on my hand through the glove! Afterwards, we were talking with Sister Richards, and she asked about Diane. We said she is okay, but hasn't been able to come to church because of her shoulder surgery. As we dropped her off, she said, "Maybe I'll text her and see if she wants to ride with me." I said, "That would be an answer to her prayers!"
Sunday:
Sacrament meeting was so special. A ton of recent converts and less actives bore their testimonies today. CJ got up and said in a very serious tone, "It's daylight savings." Then he talked about some things he was learning in primary, like "It's good to say 'I'm sorry.'" He then ended it with a thumbs up to everyone and sat back down. This inspired a few of the other little kids to want to get up there. He is already an amazing missionary and example! Diane shared about praying to find a ride to church, and then Sister Richards texting her if she wanted a ride. Well, that morning, she arrived an hour early because she forgot it was daylight savings! At church, there were a few members who said they wanted to take us to meet some people who were interested. We are seeing the Lord blessing us for our perseverance by having branch members reach out to us with people to visit and see! This is truly His work, and He will provide a way.
After church, we went over to Diane's house and we were able to teach her 9 year-old granddaughter the Restoration. We had to teach it very simply because she wasn't very familiar with the Bible or Christ's earth life.
Much love,
Sister Burnham
Funny moments of the week:
1. I left a message on the phone of a less active, and sometimes I panic about what to say when I leave messages... so I wasn't sure how to end it, and I caught myself starting to say, "We say these--" and then frantically hit the END CALL button. I was about to close the call with, "We say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." My companion laughed hysterically at me.
2. You know how no one really wanted to talk to us this week? We know they feel the Spirit when we talk to them, and they get really scared. I told Sister Palmer, "We need to find people who like pain because the truth hurts!" But really, people don't like to feel the Spirit telling them when they are doing something wrong, so sometimes they try to avoid us. The truthfulness of the gospel does require a lot of change and sacrifice, and it is very hard, but so worth it!
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