What a great week! I love Sister Bench! She is super easy-going and chill. She is from Draper, Utah. The ward here is amazing as well, and our ward mission leader is on fire! Also, I got to hear from two apostles and other church leaders. I also found out that many of the people I taught in Brewton have been baptized or are on date to be baptized!!! How exciting! And... I get to officially be a Tallahassee Lassie, even if for only 6 weeks ;)
Monday
We spent our P-day in the cute city of Troy, AL. We went out for dinner with the sister training leaders and had one last hoorah since we were leaving in the morning .
Tuesday
We had district council with the missionaries in Dothan, and I got to share my study insight about prayer with the entire mission. We drove down to Marianna to pack up all of our stuff and clean everything. It was sooo hot. No power equals no A.C. But we survived! And God sent a tender mercy our way. Everett, a recent convert, and his girlfriend, stopped by our house that afternoon to say goodbye! He was sad we were leaving. They are so sweet! We also got to say goodbye to some ward members that evening, but then had to make it home quick-as-lightnin' because there was a 7pm curfew since it was pitch black outside without street lights. We didn't think our Mission President would be happy to hear we ended up in jail... so we made it home just a couple minutes shy of 7pm :).
Wednesday
A kind member helped us transport all of our stuff to transfer spots, since there was no way we could fit all our stuff in our small car. My companions jumped on the van and left, but I stayed there all day, waiting for the van to circle back around the mission to take us to Tallahassee. I was able to mingle a lot with other missionaries and write in my journal. That evening, Sister Bench and I arrived in Tallahassee. We didn't have a car (we will have to share it with the other set of sisters serving in Tallahassee 4th ward), so the sister training leaders there drove us home. We had zero food, no transportation, and it was super late by this point. The zone leaders stopped by with dinner for us. It was so thoughtful! Our apartment is super nice and even has a piano!
Thursday
We carpooled with the other sisters to go grocery shopping in the morning, and then tagged along to different service projects throughout the day. We got to help load up a semi with supplies to be sent off to hurricane victims. I love our church and stand in awe by how organized and giving it is. Surely it is led by our Savior, Jesus Christ! Our ward mission leader also had a dinner appointment lined up for us, so we got to meet the Bates. We had a really spiritual lesson with them afterwards about the Plan of Salvation. Always remember to see the bigger picture! Don't get caught up in the small details of life.
Friday
We biked at least 5 miles today. In case you didn't know, Tallahassee isn't very flat, so we had our work cut out for us! But it was cool to see how the Lord placed people in our path to talk to. We also met a lot of creepy people that just wanted to bash us, but I didn't let it bother me. For a short while, all we will be doing is straight contacting and trying to find God's elect since we don't have anyone to teach.
Saturday
We cancelled going to do hurricane service with a member down in another area today, which we felt bad about. But we also felt like we needed to stay in Tallahassee. We walked everywhere today (my comp was sick of biking up hills) and we met a lot of cool people! And some not so cool people... like a legitimate modern-day Sherem! If you read Jacob 7, you'll literally know how that encounter went... only I didn't ask for him to be smitten with a sign... I just politely excused us away from the situation. One of the last people we talked to was Catalina. She was out walking her dog and we started sharing our beliefs. At first she was skeptical and questioning why we need a prophet, or "someone to stand in the way between us and God," but as we bore testimony, she softened and wanted to hear more. We taught her the Restoration right there on the side of the road and set up a time to come back. She wanted to pray with us and said she could see how sincere we were about what we believe. I know I felt the Spirit so powerfully as I testified. He was giving me the exact words she needed to hear! Maybe she is the reason we needed to stay here instead of going to serve all day.
That evening, we met down at the Stake Center to hear from President Oaks, Elder Bednar, and some other church leaders (Sister Bingham, Elder Carter, Elder Bowen, and Bishop Waddell), plus all of their spouses. Y'all, the apostles are hilarious! They had everyone laughing and smiling. It was very much needed, and I heard exactly what I needed to hear. Bishop Waddell talked about how our trials and challenges here on earth prepare us for eternity. President Oaks said that God allows us to go through hard times so He can see us remain faithful through it, and to be grateful for the faith the Lord has in us. Sister Oaks told us that in our deepest and darkest moments, angels are with us.
Sunday
We dropped the other sisters off for a service project (we weren't invited...) and went to church. It was so good to finally meet the ward! Well, as many as were there. A lot of people are still gone or helping with hurricane clean-up. Everyone is so friendly and willing to help and feed us. We went finding all afternoon and I noticed the few people we passed by due to being in a car and cringed on the inside. There are definitely pros and cons to a car! But we met lots of nice people and had a miracle contact. We had a feeling to try a member, but they weren't home. We knocked 5 doors around and got nothing. We started walking away, but I was like, "No, we had to have been led here for a reason!" So I marched back to the door we left off on, and it had loud rap music coming from it. I knocked hard anyway, and we met Vivian, who accepted the Book of Mormon and a return appointment! That evening we went to stake choir practice and practiced pieces from Handle's Messiah. The Spirit was so strong.
Funny quote from Elder Oaks:
"I'd rather be called "LDS" than "LSD!"
Spiritual Thought
The idea of eternity keeps pressing upon my mind. I know we won't fully comprehend it in this life, but I take comfort in knowing that one day, I will have a perfect understanding of how each of my trials and afflictions helped me on my path back to Heavenly Father. I will appreciate each one and know them for the blessings they are. But that's a long ways away, and for now I just need a bit of eternal perspective and hope, and a lot of grace, to carry me through to that point.
Much love,
Sister Burnham
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