Week 52 – Major Road Trip!

The time has finally come... my year mark is this Thursday! I cannot believe I have been a missionary for that long. Time does seem to go by quickly as you serve the Lord with a specific purpose. This past week has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Let's see if I can sum it up.

MONDAY 

We decided to take a road trip with the Milton Sisters to Brewton! We got to stop by and see all of the recent converts I got to work with, and I got to show them around the small town that has become a part of my heart. It was so fun for me and the elders to show them around. They loved every second of it and soaked everything in. To them, Brewton is still not a real place. We had a bonfire at the Wright's home, where we burned all of the pages in our area book. Good riddance! Then we roasted hot dogs over it! We had such a great time there, and it brought back so many memories.

Milton district at the Brewton wall. I really love them all!

TUESDAY 

We had district meeting today, and I realized how much I'm going to miss everyone. This has been one of my favorite districts so far! Afterwards, a couple in the ward took us out for lunch one last time to say goodbye. I will miss everyone so much. I'm so sad to be leaving. I wanted to say goodbye to lots of people, so Sister Scott bore with me and we visited just a few members that I have come to love so much. It was good closure. We had a service dinner down in Pensacola with the zone, and it was great to see all of the missionaries one last time.

Seeing Rhoda, Johnny, and CJ one last time. Love them!!!

Saying goodbye to Brother Tom...

...and Maddie

WEDNESDAY 

The day of transfers! I finished packing all morning, and my amazing companion, Sister Scott, cleaned the entire house! Then off to transfer spots! It was really hard to say goodbye and to leave everything behind, but I am excited for the adventures that lie in store. I got to ride the transfer van for a few hours with a bunch of other missionaries. Major road trip! I met my new companion, Sister Strong. She is amazing! I am so excited to be working with her. We already feel like instant friends and have a ton in common. I'm happy and grateful to get to be with her! We drove back that evening and had a dinner appointment with a very faithful man. Even though his wife is very against the church, he is remaining true because he said what God thinks is more important. Then we went to choir practice. The member in charge was very grateful that I could sing alto! 

Sister Strong

THURSDAY 

We have a nice gym to workout at. My apartment is so nice! Unfortunately, there is still a lot of area book left to do here. And I thought I had escaped that! Also, we are in a car-share with the Callaway Elders, so I will have to bike and walk for half of each week! I might be dreading it... just a tiny bit. Some prayers would be nice. There are a lot of challenges that lie ahead, but I know with the support of my companion and the Lord, I will be able to overcome them. We weekly planned (well, my companion did, and I tried to follow along ;) and did some service today at a thrift store. We don't have any investigators we are working with, so we just knocked doors and tried talking to people that evening. We got to meet one of the two senior couples serving in our ward. They all work out at the church ranch and love it! I'm excited to be able to work around senior missionaries!

FRIDAY

We finished making plans for the area this morning. Sister Strong is doing a great job leading everything out. She is already a pro, and is so understanding. We went finding all day, but only ran into some rude/creepy people. I'm working on not getting frustrated or annoyed when random people tell you that you have been endoctrinated into your religion and discredit everything you say. Hey, it's a part of missionary work, and the hard times help you understand on a a small level the mocking that Christ suffered. We got to have dinner with a recent convert, and she has been through so many things. I just have to remember on my hard days that everything is not as bad as it could be! 

SATURDAY 

We helped serve at the Methodist Community Breakfast. Sister Strong is a great violinist, so she plays along with the other musicians during the breakfast. She is trying to enlist me to help her out though... It's funny because after we clean everything up, we help set up for their church service the next morning. I don't know why I find that so funny and ironic! Later that day we had to figure out how to hand over the car to the Elders. They live 15 minutes away by car, 45 minutes by bike. So they biked and contacted people along the way to our apartment all day to get the car. I'm grateful they are willing to make sacrifices for us.

SUNDAY 

It was hard walking into church and not knowing everyone. Pace truly felt like family. I decided to try to love this ward as quickly as possible so I feel like I belong. I went around and said "hi" to everyone, and made sure to bear my testimony during sacrament meeting. There are some pretty amazing members here that I'm excited to get to know better. Since we didn't have the car, we had to walk an hour to go play bingo with seniors for service. Maybe my shoes are worn out from the past year because that much walking gave me blisters on the bottom of my feet! Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven, right? The old bingo ladies are so cute and loving. They gave me huge hugs and told me how grateful they were that I came and how special I am.

Remember the challenge I proposed a couple of weeks back? Well, this week I decided to study Alma 37:37. I've really needed to check my attitude towards the car-share and trust in the Lord. He knows I can do it, or He wouldn't have put me here. I've really strived to arise every morning with a heart full of thanks unto God. I know as I continue to look for the positive, no matter how exhausted or heartbroken I am, God will direct me for good. I'm so grateful for my companion. She has been my rock during this crazy past week. She truly is strong. I'm grateful for each one of you and your prayers. 

And Happy Mother's Day! I'm excited to talk to my family on Sunday! It's crazy to think I was skyping home from the MTC last Mother's Day. 

Much love,

Sister Burnham