Week 59 - Gator Lake

Howdy all y'all! The most stressful part of training a new missionary is the unrealistic expectations you sometimes place on yourself. I am working on that, though! I'm not perfect, but I am called of God specifically to train Sister Stites (though most often I feel like I am the one learning from her). We've had quite a few crazy adventures this week!!!

On Tuesday, Sister Stites said that she felt very strongly that we should go to a park and contact people there. So, we schedule it into our evening, and when we arrive, she looks over at me with a terrified look on her face and says, "Um, I don't actually want to do this anymore!" I gave her a playful squinty-eyed glare and said, "This was you're idea! Too bad, we're still going!" So we got out of the car and walked around the park. We talked with one lady walking around for exercise, and Sister Stites did great! She left her with a Book of Mormon! As they were finishing up talking, my eyes caught hold of a cute family up ahead of us, and I had this feeling we needed to talk with them. So we did. Turns out that the mom used to be Mormon but became less-active, but is super friendly with the church. She had recently moved here with her husband and little girl from Italy, and was so lonely. We talked with her (or should I say, she talked with us) for 45 minutes! It was pretty cool. And super hot and humid. Y'all, I've been so dehydrated! The senior couples were so inspired that evening to invite us over for watermelon, and without knowing we were lacking water, gave us a giant case of bottled water!

Wednesday... I have quite the story, y'all! We got to teach Jon Harris, our recent convert, and some other less-actives. That evening, we had a dinner appointment with an active member. We were able to share a very spiritual message with her afterwards. She was really feeling the Spirit and opening up to us. Then all of the sudden, her less-active, cynical son walks into the room and starts questioning everything we are saying. I don't know why, but I felt very strongly to speak up. In my companions' words, I sat straight up, looked him in the eye, and said, "We have the authority to call people to repentance." He looked taken aback for a second. I went on to exhort him to study his scriptures and pray everyday because he had nothing to lose. According to him, his life sucked, and it could only get better if he followed the Savior. It was one of those moments when I knew the Spirit had spoken through me, and I hope that was what he needed to hear (in the long run).

We had Zone Conference on Thursday! All of the senior missionaries were invited. I got to participate in the musical number and play the piano. I felt very impressed about the importance of keeping your fire burning as you testify to others. Always testify of principles that have personal relevance and meaning to you. When we got back home that evening, we found out that our AC wasn't working anymore...

On Friday, our AC was still broken, and boy was it getting HOT inside. We were finally able to get it fixed, but not before Sister Stites raided the freezer for some ice packs.

Saturday was super fun! First of all, I finally did it... after 13 months, my hair was in dire need of being cut. At the Methodist Community Breakfast, they have two hairdressers that cut the homeless people's hair. Well, I'm far away from home, so I count, right?! Plus we wanted to get on the good side of a potential investigator. So my hair got chopped. A little shorter than I wanted, but oh well. That evening, we drove down to St. Andrew's Park to have dinner with members. They took us out to Gator Lake and the beach after. Boy oh boy, did we see some gators!!! It was so exciting. One of them was right up by the shore, and a much bigger one was swimming further away. 

We had two families that moved in recently finally come to church! It was so good to see them there. I connected really well with one of the families, especially their little girl. She reminds me a bit of CJ from Brewton. I sat next to her and she would copy exactly what I was doing. We went over to a member's home for a late lunch (like, 3pm) and it was really good! They cooked a lot for us! But... we had a dinner appointment at 6pm with Bishop's family, only a few hours later. It all worked out though. We have been really trying to bond and connect with the ward, and have made plans to spend as much time with them as possible to let them know that we are truly here for them. 

This past week, Sister Stites and I have been studying about the signs of the Second Coming. With the revelations that President Nelson has given to us and his address to the youth, we really feel that the second coming is a lot sooner than any of us realize, and we need to step up our game to prepare. If you look around the world, the wicked are wicked enough to be destroyed. God is waiting for His Saints to step up their game and be prepared for when Christ comes again. Even among church members, He is sifting the wheat from the tares. What can each of y'all do to more fully prepare for when our Savior comes again? I testify that we will see Him soon, and when we see His face, we will realize that no sin is worth keeping us from His eternal presence. 

I really love y'all and am so grateful for the support you give me. Have a wonderful week!

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Bonus pics from Gator Lake:

Week 58 - Make Room for Hello

Happy Father's Day! I got to give a talk in sacrament meeting, and it went very well! Being a parent is a sacred assignment from God, and I compared it to training a new missionary. The way you teach and train them will influence the rest of their mission and life. This past week has been a little crazy, but I survived, and my new trainee is still alive. My new companion's name is Sister Stites, and she is from Payson, Utah. She has 11 older siblings! We have had lots of fun and laughter this week:

First of all, it was hard saying goodbye to Sister Strong. She has become one of my best friends, and I love her a lot! I'm grateful for every single person and friend I have met on my mission and the lasting influence they have had on me. Goodbyes are hard, but you still have to make room for "hellos." 

My daughter, Sister Stites

On Tuesday evening, we set out with another set of sisters to drive up to Tallahassee to spend the night in preparation for our training meeting the next morning, at 7am. It was a great meeting, in which President Smith talked about how important training is. What we do will influence the new missionary for the rest of their lives! He went over expectations to be exactly obedient, diligent, patient, and full of charity. He also shared a quote with us from the Mission President's Handbook: "Choose only outstanding missionaries to serve as trainers." He looked at each of us and said, "Now what does that say that I think about each of you?" This assignment is very humbling, but I pray the Spirit will guide my words and help me prepare my trainee to love missionary work! Then we got to go to the chapel to meet our trainees! Sister Strong's trainee (Sister Miller) and my trainee were companions in the MTC! That was so cool to find out, because we had kind of joked about that happening. Also, Sister Miller is from Gilbert, AZ, and while I haven't met her before, she does look slightly familiar. 

Of course he takes the group photo when I'm not looking because I'm trying to figure out phone issues... :(

My phone died this week. It wouldn't plug in to charge or anything. And Sister Stites' phone wasn't unlocked, so it wouldn't read the SIM card. We had a stressful few days without any solid contact to the outside world or any of our planning apps. But we eventually got everything figured out! We stopped by a Verizon store, and they were no help. They sent us to the AT&T store, and they were super helpful. My testimony has definitely been reaffirmed that God answers prayers. 

I played the fiddle along with some old guys at the Saturday Methodist Community Breakfast and really impressed them. And I impressed myself, too! It was a lot of fun, and the people I play along with are really softening up. 

Miracle of the week: we had some plans fall through, so we knocked on the door of a male potential. A female answered, and I felt strongly to pretend we were there directly for her. As I testified to her, I knew she felt the Spirit and let us come in. We could tell she was very awkward and uncertain about what was going on, but that the Spirit was really working with her. Turns out her boyfriend is Mormon, but she doesn't know much about it. We were able to briefly testify and leave her with a Book of Mormon.

I've been studying a lot this week about desires. Alma 29:4 says that God "granted unto men according to their desires," whether it be good or evil. I know this is true. Throughout my mission, I've received many blessings that promised me that God would grant me the desires of my heart. And looking back on my mission, He truly has. Of course, it was all in His timing, not mine. I strongly desired to train a new missionary when I first came out on a mission. I hoped for it, thought about, etc. When it didn't happen the first 6 months, or even the first year, I kind of supressed those feelings. Now that it is actually happening, I've felt stressed and inadequate. But as God reminded me that it had been my desire, I have so much more gratitude for this calling to train a new missionary. Sister Stites is amazing and will do wonderful things! Think about the desires you have had in your life and reflect over which ones have been fulfilled. I promise you that God does grant us according to our desires, but the key is that it is always in His timing, and we better make sure that when He grants it to us, we still want it. 

Thank all y'all for your love and support! 

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Stormy Weather

We live right by a swamp! #swampsisters

Week 57 - Expecting to Expect

Howdy y'all! I am short on time again because technology really does not like me today! But, we received transfer news Sunday afternoon, which always means you are either training or going into a leadership position... I had a feeling I might be training a new sister this transfer because we have 11 new sisters coming in, and President Smith said to expect big changes. So yes, y'all, I will be training a brand-new, fresh from the MTC, missionary here in Callaway! I am so excited, but it is also bittersweet, because it means saying goodbye to my best friend, Sister Strong. She is absolutely amazing and has been such a tender mercy to me here. So, you can say I was expecting to expect (have a missionary-baby).

What I was NOT expecting, however, is that Sister Strong is white-wash training in President Smith's ward in Tallahassee!!! She will be in a new area, with a new companion, trying to figure everything out, with President watching over! Kind of stressful, but she is taking it well and is excited to get to know President Smith better! I'm so excited for her and know she will do wonderful.

We had a pretty crazy week! We went out with Sister Cook, a ward missionary, to go contact people at a park. We decided to go to the back of the park, right by the bay, instead of the playground. There we found a cute family that was taking pictures of the hermit crabs in the water. We started talking to the mom and found out that they were on vacation and this was their last activity before they were going to pack up and drive home the next day. We were able to share the Book of Mormon with her, and the Spirit was really strong when I shared 2 Nephi 25:26 with her. It had just popped into my head. She seems really interested and we hope that she read the Book of Mormon on the long drive home. I can really imagine their family joining the church one day soon! 

Sister Cook trying to share the Book of Mormon with the squirrels

We took a youth out with us to go and heart-attack some members, and she really enjoyed it! We know we were also able to touch a lot of people through that random act of service.

Going heart-attacking with Hannah

Adventure of the week:

We convinced Sister Lyle to come out with us Friday night to another church's "revival." You know the stereotype of the pulpit-pounding, fire and brimstone preachers?  Those aren't exaggerated... The topic of the preacher's sermon was "five reasons I don't want anyone to go to Hell." After about an hour of shouting at us about that over loud speakers and pounding his fist, he started talking about how we need to accept Jesus Christ in order to be saved. He also said that we need to repent. "Repentance is a change of heart..." (Yes, the first true thing we heard!) "but not of action." (and... he ruined it ...). Finally the senior sister we were with said that we should go, and as we were walking away, we heard the preacher tell everyone to stand up and raise your hand if you are 100% sure you have been saved and were going to heaven. I was glad we left before that. That sermon was crazy. We left feeling beat up and like we had been yelled at for an hour. It really increased my appreciation for the Spirit that is felt in our church building, and for a Prophet that keeps doctrine pure and has the steps we need to take to make it back to our loving Heavenly Father. I never knew I took so many gospel truths for granted! If you want to increase your testimony of this church, go out and visit other churches!

 

With Elder and Sister Lyle

Miracle of the week: So, my phone hasn't been working properly all week. I just found out it has a virus on it or something. Anyways, we had set aside time to go finish inputting the area book so the new missionary won't be stuck with it. Well, my phone didn't want to cooperate. I decided to kneel down with my companion and pray. After that, my phone worked! Just long enough for me to finish putting in my stack... and now it isn't working anymore. God is a God of miracles, and I'm so grateful for Him everyday. Plus, we FINALLY finished the area book!!! Y'all don't know how amazing that truly is!

I know this gospel is true, and is lead by a Prophet called of God. I know that God will give me the strength to make it through the crazy week ahead. I know everything will work out as I trust fully in Him. My number one goal is to love my new trainee and help her be excited about missionary work!

Much love,

Sister Burnham

With Brother Harris and Elder Lyle in Bro Harris' beautiful garden!

The service project at the ranch last week

Week 56 - Church Ranch & Mexico Beach

Howdy y'all! We are short on emailing time because we had an adventurous day! So I'll quickly summarize the highlights, but let my pictures do most of the talking!

We taught our new investigator, Kimmi, the Restoration in her humble home on Wednesday. The lesson felt more like a conversation than a presentation  (as it should be, but not always is). She really grasped onto the concept of living prophets today. It is amazing to see that the Lord has prepared someone for us after much after much hardwork and prayer. I really felt the spirit lead my words as I testified to her. The lesson really connected with her, and she is so excited to read the Book of Mormon!

Saturday was a day full of service! Went to the Methodist community breakfast that morning, and were able to see our investigator Kimmi! We then went to a service project with the young single adults out at the ranch. After some hard shoveling, we had lunch together and played games. Then afterwards we went to play bingo with the seniors. They love them some good bingo!

Sunday was a spiritually rejuvenating day. I really loved the testimony meeting because every single member bore testimony about missionary work and how we had influenced or helped them out. They recognize our light and our spirit that we bring into their homes. It is so amazing to see how the attitude in the ward is changing towards missionaries. They are truly softening! Partaking of the sacrament was also a humbling experience. I made it a goal to truly prepare myself to partake of it thoughtfully, and combined with the power and sanctification that comes with fasting, I feel spiritually re-energized! When we partake of the sacrament weekly with sincere, broken hearts, we recieve the Spiritual strength to endure each moment, to the end of our life.

We were able to go to the church Ranch located Wewahitchka today! It was amazing to learn more about the different ways the church earns money and is so self-sufficient! You could definitely feel the spirit on the ranch. It was a powerful moment to look around at how amazing everything was run and to realize that all of this was done for the Lord, by His organization and guidance.

I absolutely loved President Nelson's devotional to the youth. It was so inspiring to learn more about the gathering of Israel and what our part in it is! It really helped me to realize that this is our life misson, THE most important work ever. Because it is the work of salvation, of bringing others unto Christ. I had been wondering what my purpose after the misson could be, since it can't be the exact same as it is now, and this devotional answered my question. I made a commitment to myself that after my mission, I will always make the gospel a priority, and do things each day and week that further God's work. That will matter in the eternities. What things are you doing each day that will matter 10 thousand years from now? I challenge you to do at least one thing each and every day that will matter in the eternities, whether it be family history attending the temple, simple service, learning something new, going out with missionaries, or building relationships.

Much love, 

Sister Burnham 

@ Mexico Beach. There were so many shells!
You could just scoop up handfuls from the water!

The "10 Commandments" listed at the church ranch...so funny!

My first time trying clams!

Some Southern sayings clarified! Y'all would be
surprised by how many of these I actually say now ;)