Week 72 - 1/2 Mission and Boiled Peanuts

Hello family, friends, and maybe a random stranger or two who happens across this email... This past week has been AMAZING! I've made it a goal to truly enjoy the little moments and notice blessings and miracles more. One answer to my prayer came in the form of Elder Bowen, a member of the 70, who came and spoke to us at our half-mission conference! Here are the six things he invited us to do:

1) Arise at 6:30 every day. (Not just wake-up, but be completely out of bed).

2) Plan for up to 30 minutes every day. (If you don't need it, don't take it. But don't use more time than that.)

3) Contact 30 people each day.

4) Teach 30 lessons "eyeball to eyeball" every week.

5) Feel and act upon the urgency to the work and our limited time to do it.

6) Develop quiet dignity. Step up to our divine callings and act accordingly.

These goals have made our trio companionship so much more unified and powerful. We have a vision and are working urgently to accomplish it!

Monday

We were able to teach Marti a lesson on tithing and fasting, and she told us that nothing can keep her from following God! Also, when we went to get our car washed, the man who owns the place let us do it for free because we are servants of the Lord! #blessings

Tuesday

We posted an add for a free Bible on Facebook, and we actually received quite a few responses! More than when we walked around downtown with a clipboard, and literally everyone we asked said, "I already have enough Bibles." Well, one guy did answer differently... he said he didn't need a Bible, but asked what blood type we were because he needed a kidney. Literally everyone we talked to today was rude or rejected us, but I took it all in stride because I know that along with the good days have to be bad days. However, we finished off the day with a huge tender mercy from the Lord. We had to drop off a vacuum to a recent convert, and while we were waiting for her to answer the door, we admired all of her beautiful shells she had outside. She told us we could each take one! She didn't care which one, and I looked through all of them and felt drawn to one of them... but I didn't know if I should take it. She said I could have it, so now I have the biggest shell ever! It made me so happy! I'm going to cherish it forever!!! She also sent us home with a bunch of food and drinks. Also, in our trio, we came up with the most epic handshake ever!

Wednesday

The lady who works at the food bank brought me some vegan mayonnaise! How sweet and thoughtful of her. We met with a couple from the ward for lunch, and they are so awesome. They truly love missionaries with all of their hearts! The only thing I could eat at the restaurant, though, was a salad. That afternoon, we taught the Plan of Salvation to Shandrell. She is such a deep thinker and had a lot of speculations that we had to reign back in. She seems very sincere and genuine!

Thursday

We got to drive together with the Daleville sisters to the half-mission conference! Now for some highlights from Elder Shayne Bowen. He said that we need to find leaders to convert into the church, not necessarily just going to the poorest areas where the people may be humble, but don't actually progress. The Lord's kingdom really needs to be built up right now, and if we focus on the people who live close to the church and spread out, then one day everyone can live across from the church. It's hard to keep recent converts who live 45 minutes away active! He also told us that if we truly knew who we were in pre-mortal life, and who we can become in the next life, we would never be tempted by Satan! It would be a joke! He said not to live beneath our privileges. God is willing to give us so much, and all we need to do is ask Him in faith, ready to act on His answer. Also, obedience brings power. He said that you can replace "chosen" with "obedient" in this scripture: "Many are called, but few are obedient." The more obedient we are to God, the more of His power we have in our life. (Funny how my quote from last week was about obedience...).

Friday

Contacting, crafting, and companionship inventory. We also taught Marti about the 10 Commandments and Law of Chastity! She loves this church with her whole heart and is so strong in the face of adversity. She has been so sick but is getting much better! Every single person we came into contact with, we testify to them. Even the old ladies at the crafting meeting that happens weekly in the library. Also, our dinner appointments keep cancelling, so I've been eating tamales for basically every meal. Good thing I brought them from my last area! 

Saturday

We have felt so much more power as we have stepped up our game and been more focused on using every second of God's time wisely. We went out to the local farmer's market this morning and talked to every single person that we saw, giving out some copies of The Book of Mormon! I felt so good inside because I had so many opportunities to bear my testimony. That afternoon, we spent two hours cleaning the house of a member who had a bad injury and can't get around anymore. It was fun, but I am now convinced that I don't want a ton of knick-knacks in the future because that will mean a lot of dusting! Tonight we had the ward peanut boil (or bowl, as these Southerners say). I ate sooooo many! And not even because I'm in love with them, but because that was all there really was for me for dinner, and we'd been out all day knocking doors and contacting. But I think they are growing on me! I'm like Goldilocks because some of them are too soft, some are too hard, but sometimes you find one that is just right! We also started teaching our English class tonight, and it was interesante.... Y'all, English is hard to teach! 

Sunday

We had such a busy and focused day, and so many miracles happened! The lady we are teaching, Marti, came to church today! She is on track to be baptized this Saturday, and we are so excited for her! A non-member came to church and we set up a time to meet with her. Then we went out contacting that afternoon and evening and met the coolest people! We pulled up next to this trailer in a trailer park to figure out where to go, and a little girl outside ran in to get her mom. She came out to see who was there, and when we talked with her, she was so prepared. I was able to testify that it was not a coincidence that God placed us in her path. She said she knew it wasn't a coincidence either. We gave her a Book of Mormon, set a return appointment, and asked for referrals. She pointed across the street to her neighbor. We went and met another lady who didn't appear quite interested at first, but we kept talking and being persistent, and she agreed to let us come back and share more! That evening, we dropped by the house of a 19 year-old recent convert who has been dodging us, and we were able to go in and teach him the Restoration and testify of God's love for him. He actually got a bit teary-eyed and I knew he felt the Spirit. I feel such a connection to him and am excited to get to re-teach the lessons. Plus, his other family members are not members of the church! We went back home and had 20 minutes until we had companionship study. We walked over to our neighbor's home, Calvin, and knocked on the door. Sisters have previously given him a Book of Mormon. We were very bold with him and asked if we could teach him. So right there on the porch, we taught him the Restoration.

Enjoy the little moments of life, and remember who you are. Don't live beneath your privileges!

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Sister's Conference Last Month

Week 71 - Undercover Hermanas

Howdy everyone! Thank you for the prayers this week! We've needed them because we all were sick this week. It first started with me, then it got passed to Sister Wilson, and now Sister Caldwell! The entire town of Marianna seems to have this virus too, so all the people we are teaching cancelled their appointments and missed church!

Monday

Pretty relaxing day. We got to throw around a football outside and play some games together, like "Spot-it." And I got to hear from all my family and friends, whom I love dearly!

Tuesday 

I got to meet our new district, and I'm super happy! We have some awesome missionaries in the district! We walked home from District Council and stopped by a potential's home, Denise. We were able to help serve her by cleaning up around her home, and then we asked if we could sit down and share a message with her. It was such a spiritual lesson and she opened up to us about why she hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon. We all bore such powerful testimonies to her, and we all cried. She seems a lot more committed now to read!

Wednesday

I wasn't feeling super well today, but I was so proud of myself for sticking the day out. We walked a lot to do service and contact people with interest. Nobody seemed interested, but we were showing the Lord that we are willing to work hard! And we made it home just before it started pouring rain... What a blessing! We did have a long conversation with one lady, and she seemed defensive at first, but I was able to ask her an inspired question that really changed the tone and brought the Spirit there.

Thursday

The lady we are teaching who is on date to be baptized has been sick, and it has been getting worse. We went over with two brothers in the ward to watch her receive a blessing, and she said she felt better right after. Okay, so, you might be wondering what the title of my email has to do with anything... Well, tonight we had the Spanish elders come down and meet with the Spanish members in our ward. They talked about if there was enough people to make a group or branch, and how they could start building up the Spanish people here so they could create a branch in the future. They also started talking about maybe having Spanish missionaries here in the future, and we all volunteered to be hermanas! Haha, so this meeting included a lot of speculation, and nothing talked about may happen, but we all determined to start studying some Spanish in our free time!

Friday

Our appointments cancelled due to everyone being sick, but it was a tender mercy because we were not feeling well either! Us being sick has kind of been a blessing in a way because it has allowed us more opportunities to serve and get to know one another better, so we have all become a lot closer!

Saturday

We finally finished weekly planning! Yup, it was one of those weeks. We went to do service for a member, but had some extra time beforehand. We contacted a random guy in a trailer park, and it did not go anywhere. It was super hot and we were anxious to start heading to the member's house. As we got in the car to drive away, I jinxed us because I said I was excited to go do service in a nice, cool home with A.C. But no. There was no A.C. None! And it was so hot in that house, and I was sweating and turning red as I sanded and painted the fire-place. Y'all, I might be a baby, but I need me some A.C. to survive down here in the South! On the bright side, she took us all out to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant :).

Sunday

The biggest miracle happened today! One of the Spanish members brought his Spanish co-worker to church. He is interested in attending an English class and learning more about our beliefs! So we are starting up an English class, and we will need to learn some Spanish speedy-quick to be able to teach this man! The Lord is definitely seeing our efforts and desires! #undercoverhermanas 

Spiritual Thought:

I am reading all of the April conference talks over again in preparation for conference coming up next month, and I came across this quote by C. S. Lewis, mentioned in Elder Renlund's talk, 

"[Mortals] say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. … The Blessed will say, ‘We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven.’"

I love that! Our sufferings truly are temporary, and they won't last forever. The day will come when you will never have another bloody nose or broken bone. You will never have a fever or a headache. But each of our agonies and sufferings we go through here will enable us to obtain even greater joy and gratitude in the next life. God not only turns our weaknesses into strengths, but He consecrates our pains into eternal glory. The time will soon come when all we are familiar with is Heaven, and this earth life is but a distant, vague memory. This life is too short not to enjoy every moment, even the hard ones. Press forward!

Quote of the Week:

"It's not about being right or wrong. It's about being obedient."

-A Sister Burnham Original

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Week 70 - Marianna Trio Madness

Howdy y'all! Where does time go? Today marks 16 months of me being a missionary! I know many of you are anxious to hear all about my new area and companions! Marianna is a giant area! We have a lot of out-skirt towns also in our area, which reminds me a bit of my time serving in Brewton, AL. It is so green and beautiful, super country. Sister Caldwell has been out for 7.5 months and is from Heber City, Utah. Sister Wilson has been out for 9 months and is from Sydney, Australia. So, now I will be pick up a Southern-Australian accent! ;) Being in a trio has its benefits and downsides, but I'm working hard to stay positive and work in unity with these two wonderful sisters. I'm already learning so much!

Me with my new companions! Sister Wilson on the left, Sister Caldwell on the right! 

Monday

We got to go teach Maurice in the hospital with a member. She was really disappointed to hear we had to push back her baptism date, but she is doing well and loves the ward! She was also devastated to hear that Sister Stites and I are leaving!!! But she's a trooper and has good member support here. The Lyles took us out to lunch to say goodbye. Man, I am going to miss them so much! They have been my rock here in Callaway, along with the Willmores who left last week! We went over to Bela's to make tamales! She is literally the best and has sacrificed so much for us missionaries. We went over and had dinner with the Lucas family! I love that family so much and will miss them!

Tuesday

Daisy picked us up for lunch after District Council and took us to Panera Bread. We then went straight to Amanda's to serve and help with some more packing & cleaning to help her move. It was so ironic to think we'd have to go home and do the same thing, only for ourselves. That evening, we had dinner with a family who made me the BEST gluten-free and vegan brownies! The Spirit put into my mind exactly what to share with the mom as a spiritual thought, and she really brightened up in excitement! We went with the senior couple to deliver food that members had donated to a non-member whose sister referred us to him. Then Bela came by in the evening and dropped off a cooler full of all the Mexican food she and made for me to take with me to my next area. Oh yeah!!!

Wednesday

Transfer day already? I still remember first getting Sister Stites as my companion and thinking we had a long while together. Nope, it flew by. And it's weird to think the amount of time I have left on my mission was the amount of time that just flew by. We made it to transfer spots safely after a rushed morning of finishing packing and cleaning. It was Sister Wilson's birthday today, and she got two new companions for it! We did some unpacking, studies, then headed off for volleyball with the youth and ward correlation after. 

Thursday
We walked down to the church this morning to meet a member who works there. We had some cool contacts along the way! Sister Wilson served on campus on Tallahasse and is literally the best at talking with everyone. She stopped a guy who was mowing his grass and walked right up to another guy by his car. At the church, we met Sister Jones, who taught us how to make paper cranes! She was impressed by origami skills :). The Liedys came by with some important supplies... like another bed and desk! #triolife Then they took us out for dinner.

Friday

We have a crafting activity every Friday morning with a group of ladies. Only one of them is a member. We worked on crafts that would prompt them to ask questions, like painting scriptures or working on a back cover for Sister Caldwell's Preach My Gospel! We had some great conversations and then went out to lunch with all of them. The member, Sister Sullivan, paid for us. That afternoon, she drove us to a far away area to have a lesson with a referral, Linda. We got to teach her the Restoration, and while she seemed a bit overwhelmed, she was excited to start reading The Book of Mormon. Sister Sullivan then took us out for dinner to Taco Bell! While there, Sister Wilson gave a lady in line a Book of Mormon after talking with her for a while. I have a lot to learn!

Saturday

Funny story... We stopped by to see a former investigator who had a baptismal date, but the missionaries lost contact with him. We were able to catch him home! We set up an appointment that evening at the church and he said at least four times he would see us at 5pm. Well, when 5pm rolled around, he didn't show. We waited for 25 minutes in case he was running late. We decided to drive to his home. We pulled up and no car was there, so we went back to the church in case he had left and was on his way there. Nope, the church parking lot was still empty. By this point, it was 5:45pm.  We decided to say a prayer to know what to do, and a few seconds after the prayer, we looked up and see his car driving down the road towards the church!!! He looked over at us, looked away, and kept driving by! That answered that question about his interest level...

Sunday

You never quite feel like you fully belong in an area until you meet the members on Sunday! We have some of the most missionary-minded members here who are willing to sacrifice so much of their time and money for us. It was so good to meet everyone at church. A member who saw we didn't have dinner invited us over for dinner. I'm so blessed because it just so happens that she has a spare violin laying around that she loaned me to play while I'm here!

I've been studying lately about the importance of being kind. Kind is such an overlooked and underappreciated word, kind of like "nice" or "fine." What does it mean to be kind? According to the dictionary, it is showing a tender and considerate nature. From my experience, it means considering other people's needs above your own, and then responding in a way to meet those needs, even if it's not the way you'd naturally want to respond. It is continuing to serve and love another person even when they don't respond kindly back to you. It is looking for ways to compliment others and uplift them. I've been working on being more kind in my responses to others, and I definitely have not been perfect at it, but it has been such a blessing. Someday I want to be as kind as Christ.

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Week 69 - Sliced and Burned

Howdy, y'all! Transfer news threw us for a loop this morning... Sister Stites and I are both leaving! Say what? She is going to Pensacola to be with Sister Hilton, and I am going to Marianna to be in a trio!!!  Two new sisters will be white-washing in. It's very bitter-sweet, but I am honestly excited for this new adventure! This week, I had been getting the feeling that I was leaving, so I was able to prepare myself in little ways all week long. 

MONDAY

We had another lesson with Maurice, and it was so refreshing to see how willing she is to sacrifice and give up for the Lord. When we taught her the Word of Wisdom, she immediately said that she was no longer drinking coffee and tea, even though she had just bought a big thing of sweet tea.

Sister Helton took us down to base and gave us a tour. She showed us what her husband will soon be flying (from a distance), a raptor! They are one of the most advanced aircrafts in the world! 

We got to have dinner with the Parks family, and she made us homemade orange chicken because I had asked for it! Yum!

TUESDAY 

We had a great District Council today because President Smith joined in through a conference call! So we actually stayed on topic and had a really good discussion. We went to visit some less active families, and then went down to meet a member on base to help her non-member friend clean because she is being transferred. She fed us dinner, too! She has her own food truck and makes yummy food! While we were cleaning, Sister Stites sliced her thumb on a really sharp blade, and I accidentally burned my hands with the oven cleaner spray. Then Sister Stites almost sliced her throat open with another blade. It was very dangerous! But we had a good time.

WEDNESDAY 

My brother reported to the MTC in Peru today! Now there are two Burnham missionaries. Watch out world! I will also get to see my family in exactly 3 months from today. We got to teach Maurice again with our Ward Mission leader, and she has been doing so well obeying the word of wisdom. We taught her about tithing and fasting, and she is so willing to give all that she has, however little, to the church! Her faith is so great! We cleaned and did service for a member who is moving, and had dinner with the Bounds family. We went with them to mutual, where we got to play some fun games with the young women.

THURSDAY 

Sister Stites started to get sick today with a cold, but she was a trooper and pushed through! We went to go see the Parks family again week, and it turned out to be good because her kids were driving her crazy! We shared a spiritual message with them and helped brighten up their day. Their little boy, Logan, loves us so much and did not want to let me go! We did some more cleaning for the member we were helping yesterday, and then we said goodbye to the Willmores in the evening. Sister Willmore sang us a song she wrote, and it was amazing! I will really miss them.

FRIDAY 

Sister Stites woke up feeling very terrible, so we had a very laid-back day. We went out to lunch with a member, and then Daisy picked us up and took us to another lesson with Maurice. We brought her herbal tea to help her overcome her desire to drink sweet tea, and she was so happy! We told her we had another gift for her, and then we pulled out a large print Book of Mormon. The face she made was priceless! She was so happy and kept hugging it! We should all love the Book of Mormon that much! I made both of us dinner and looked after Sister Stites for the rest of the day.

SATURDAY
Sister Stites was still not feeling well. We found out today that Maurice got put in the hospital for an asthma attack! And my stomach was hurting because I think one of the restaurant we ate at this past week had gluten. So it was a triple whammy of everyone not feeling well! We mustered up strength to go to service at the old folks home, and then went back down to the Air Force Base to help the same lady pack and clean some more.

SUNDAY 
It was sad that Maurice could not make it to church today because she was still in the hospital, but a lot of ward members were able to go and see her. After church, we were able to go and visit with her, and she really appreciated it. She said she knew we were coming! And she has been thinking a lot about her baptism and who she wants to do what. It is sad to think that neither Sister Stites or I will even be here for it, but maybe we can get permission to come back for it! We also visited Bela and helped start making tamales. She has spent hours making a recipe that I can eat, and even more hours cooking for us! Members sure like to fatten missionaries up! 

Spiritual Thought

1 Nephi 8:23

"And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost."

I had always read this verse as if the mist of darkness had forced the people off the path. In reality, they were holding onto the rod and had to make the decision to let go. What made them consciously let go? When a trial came over them, they did not have enough faith and hope that the rod would eventually lead them out of the darkness. Maybe they let go thinking that if they wandered off, they could find the light again on their own, and once they found the light they could maybe return back later to the rod. How often do we go through life, veering off the path to find our own solution instead of holding onto God's word? Do we have hope that no matter how dark our life seems to get, staying completely true to the gospel will lead us out of the darkness and into eternal light and joy? Faith in God and his plan is a choice we have to make every single day. And if you can make that small choice every morning, you are doing a lot more than you realize.

Love y'all! Press forward!

Much love, 
Sister Burnham 

Week 68 - Greedy, GREEDY Man!

Howdy family and friends! I realized that I need to hurry and pick up a Southern accent because I only have three months left to do so. I got a few Southern words and phrases down, but I was hoping for more! I have some sad news: the Willmores are being transferred to a ranch in Oklahoma! My heart is broken. Another senior couple that lives in our apartment complex is also soon being transferred. Callaway just won't be the same without them! Next Monday we will receive transfer news, and I might possibly find out where I will be spending the rest of my mission...

MONDAY

We had a great lesson with Maurice today! She had read a ton in the Book of Mormon and was able to explain the story to us in great detail. My favorite part was when she described Laban (which she pronounced as Lah-bon) as a greedy, greedy man! Her daughter was frying up some dinner and chimed in occasionally, asking questions about the Plan of Salvation.

TUESDAY

We had exchanges in Fort Walton today! I got to be with Sister Boyce, who I served around when I was first in Brewton, AL! I am the tallest sister in the mission, and she is the shortest, so we had always joked about being companions one day! We met up with some older ladies and line-danced with them. I kept up at first, but then they totally put me to shame! I had many opportunities to bear my testimony and enjoyed visiting a new area to see how they did missionary work there!

WEDNESDAY 
On our way home from exchanges, Sister Stites was hungry and wanted to stop by Burger King. I accidentally missed the turn, so we just decided to keep going on and find something else. After a long while, we finally found another Burger King! We went in and met a young man who was friendly. Sister Stites felt prompted to go back inside and give him a pass-along card when we left, and in return, he gave us some crowns to wear. We felt like royalty. So it was totally inspired that I missed the first Burger King, and not because I'm a bad driver!

THURSDAY

We helped Brother Harris set up social media accounts and hook-up his printer. Old people and technology don't seem to mix well! We had another lesson with Maurice, and we had planned on inviting her to be baptized during the lesson. Before we even started, she asks us, "When's my baptism day?" We had been thinking between the 8th or 15th of September, and the 8th happens to be her birthday, so when we decided on that day, she started crying. She is so happy and so excited to be baptized! We had our very last Bible Study that evening and it went great. Everyone has really enjoyed it! The only part I didn't enjoy was finding a live cockroach in the utensil drawer when we went to the kitchen for refreshments.

FRIDAY

How a lizard was on the Lord's errand today: As we were driving to a Bible referral's house, a lizard dropped out of nowhere onto the hood of our car. He was hanging on for dear life, and as we reached the highway, Sister Stites made me pull over to get it off. We got back into the car and continued our journey to contact the referral. No one was home, so we decided to write a quick note. Just as we were finishing the note, he pulled into his driveway. We were able to have a great conversation with him and give him a Book of Mormon in addition to the Bible he ordered.  We got his new number to come back for another visit and went on our merry way and surprise visited a member. Turns out they had just gotten home five minutes before we showed up. The wife had a super hard week, and the simple message we shared about forgiveness and Joseph Smith really touched her. As we were heading home, I realized that if we had not stopped for that 5 minutes to get the lizard off our car, we would  have just barley missed the referral getting home! As a result, we also would have missed the less-active family because we would have headed straight over there without delay, and all of our plans would have seemed to have fallen through. God truly is in the details of our lives and always sends help (sometimes in the form of lizards).

We also had a fun dinner with the Lucas family, where we scared them half to death with the "can-smashing-finger" object lesson!

SATURDAY
Like always, we had old-lady drama at bingo! And one of the residents, an old lady with dementia, kept trying to escape in her wheelchair. We went to teach Maurice, and she is progressing very well. I keep praying for her to continue to understand and soak in all the information! We also heart-attacked some members, and cleaned for an elderly lady. We had dinner with our ward mission leader. The love of the ward truly is growing toward missionaries! 

SUNDAY

Maurice loved church again! We were blessed to teach the gospel principles class last minute (welcome to the life of a missionary). We had a late lunch with some members, who generously gave us lots of food to take home. We went to a get-together to say goodbye to the senior missionaries, and I was asked to bless the refreshments. I said something along the lines of, "Please bless this food, if not to be healthy, to at least not harm our bodies." ALSO, Sister Stites keeps trying to play match-maker and set me up with people! *cue eye-rolling*

Spiritual Thought

Our prophet has said that good inspiration follows good information. And as we learn about someone and invest our time in them, we grow to love them. Lately, Sister Stites and I have felt prompted to learn more about the prophet Joseph Smith so we could have a fiery conviction about us when we testify of him. Our mission president has such a powerful testimony of Joseph Smith, and you can really tell he loves him a lot. He always says how excited he is to meet Joseph in the next life and thank him for all he has done. This has come about because of much study about him. The church has recently released a new book about him that can be found on the Gospel Library app under "Church History." It's called "Saints, Volume 1." It reads just like a story and really makes Joseph and his family real and relatable. I have felt my love and respect for the prophet of the Restoration increase as I've put the time into studying about his sincere and pure desires. I invite each of you to read it, and I promise that as you do so, your love for and testimony of Joseph Smith will blossom and grow. You will have a greater desire to share the Restoration, and like my companion, you will want to shout your testimony of him from the balcony to the world! Which yes, she actually did. And yes, people heard and gave her strange looks... 

Much love,

Sister Burnham