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."
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| 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.
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| 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
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| Stormy Weather |
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| We live right by a swamp! #swampsisters |
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