Week 81 - Time and a Season

Howdy y'all! We got transfer news this morning and you'll never believe it! I'm being transferred to... Gilbert, AZ! Sister Bench is staying here in the Tally 4 ward, and she is taking Sister Bowman's place to be with Sister Moss. So there will only be one set of sisters in the ward! That's a blessing, for sure! I know it seems cliche, but the fact I'm going home this week doesn't feel real, and my whole mission is already beginning to feel like just a dream. It truly passed by in a blur. But isn't that what this life will feel like when we pass on to the next life? God's work continues to roll forward!

Also... I considered it, but I wasn't mean enough to just send you this scripture!

2 John 1:12 "Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full."

So I will also tell you about my week, but just know that I do have a lot to say than can be written. And I'm looking forward to seeing each of you again this week in Arizona and having a fullness of joy! 

Monday

Today was one of my favorite preparation days because we got to go to skate world... for free! I had forgotten how much I love skating. We went with the Tally 2 sisters and had a blast! A member picked us up for dinner and took us to a Tex-Mex place. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of a long chain of Mexican food this week! And just lots of food in general! 

Tuesday

Sister Bench and I trained in District Council on working with members and left a commitment to share more meaningful dinner appointment spiritual thoughts, leaving commitments that will strengthen their conversion to Christ. It's one way you can strengthen members and build their trust. Plus, as they feel the Spirit and joy of the gospel, they will want to spread it more, so you can get more referrals! For our closing song, we sang "Once There Was a Snowman" and at the end, our district leader had hand-made fluffy-fabric snowballs and threw them at us. Thus commenced an epic snowball fight! We went contacting at a park later that afternoon, and I felt strongly that we should talk to this young man staring off into the water. We were able to teach him the entire Restoration and invited him to pray. He asked us sincerely, "Have you ever felt God's presence before?" We were able to bear powerful testimony with him, and we prayed with him at the end. Right there in a public park on a bridge overlooking the lake. That evening, we had dinner with a less-active. I had just randomly called her from the ward roster when Sister Bench was sick, and she said she'd take us out to eat, which was awesome! And can you guess where she took us? To a Mexican Restaurant :)

Wednesday 

After an early lunch, we were just heading out to go contacting in a far away area, Woodville, when we get a text from a member asking if we can reschedule our lunch appointment from Friday to today. As in right then. So we agreed and had 2 lunches! After, we drove down to Woodville, the outskirt-sketchy part in our ward boundaries. Winding dirt roads, abandoned houses, unable to find addresses. Yup, reminded me of the first half of my mission! We had some miracle contacts with less-actives and a referral, which was super awesome! At first the referral, Shirley, wasn't super keen on us coming back, but after bearing powerful testimony, she softened and said we could come back, and also that she'd come to church! That evening, we had dinner with the Smiths. They are the coolest couple ever! And Sister Smith's dad works on desensitizing people with food allergies (people like me!). They took us to a hole-in-the-rock Mexican place to eat (third time's the charm), then they had to go shopping, so they bought us ice-cream too! It was so meant to be that I got to meet them.

Thursday

Best Thanksgiving ever! Such a blast! We went early to the Holdaways so I could help her cook some things that I could eat. And guess what?!?!?! We made mini pies for me to eat. They were so yummy and made me feel so special and happy. Then we played with her kids while we waited for the other ward members who had been invited to show up. Literally, most all of our favorite members came! And all of the food was amazing. Such a dream day. That evening for dinner (which was actually only a couple hours later), we went over to the Walkers and I somehow managed to cram more food inside of my poor little stomach.

Friday

We got to spend the day with the campus missionaries who serve on FAMU since their campus was closed down for the holidays. We decided to go to the mall to contact people while they were black-Friday shopping. We actually met some really cool people and had a blast! After we dropped them off home, we went to the park and contacted more people, teaching some people, giving away a copy of the Book of Mormon, and praying with another lady at the playground. Public prayer is a very common thing here in the South!

Saturday

This morning we were able to drive down to Panama City to attend a baptism for a lady Sister Bench taught. We have the best Zone Leaders who let us take their car to use up all of their miles so we wouldn't have to worry about going over this month. Not sure if that was missionary-legal... but it worked out! Plus, their car is waaay nicer than our Corolla. Sister Bench was so happy, so that made me happy! That evening we attended a baptism the other sisters in our ward had, and I was asked to sing a musical number and do a Spiritual thought during "intermission," so that was fun!

Sunday

I tried really hard today to take the sacrament with more thought and meaning, truly reflecting on where I was falling short and how I measured up to the Savior. As I had a deep and sincere conversation with my Heavenly Father, I felt spiritually rejuvenated, and the entire rest of church was so much more of a spiritual experience for me. That afternoon, we were able to help some people move and clean up. One was a referral from the FAMU sisters, and the other was a new family moving in. Service is always the best!

Spiritual Thought:  

"There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings. Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny."

-Grateful in Any Circumstances by Elder Uchtdorf 

Saying goodbye has always been hard for me. I don't like permanent change; it's hard. But I do know that it is what helps us grow. God says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4).  I have many bright and important "seasons" ahead of me, and I'm excited to see what God has in store. But I also look forward to the day when there are no endings, and I will get to be with all the ones I love for eternity. 

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Week 80 - Super Sick Saturday

Howdy all y'all! Hope y'all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's a great month to make a conscious effort to reflect on the blessings you recieve each day.

Monday

We went out shopping with Carly, a member, at the World Market. It had a lot of neat and silly things! Then she took us out for frozen yogurt and they had a dairy-free section (specifically for me, I know it!) We then went to our dinner appointment with the Ward Mission Leader's family. They are so fun. We got to help them make dinner, which was nutritious and tasty! I asked Brother Hart if he could give me a blessing after, and it was just what I needed in preparation for going home.

Tuesday

I got my bike fixed after district council, and we ran into the office elders there, which was cool! We then went down to the apartment complex where we had an appointment with a member. We had half an hour, so we decided to walk around (in the rain, of course) and find people to talk to. We ran into a man throwing some trash in the dumpster, and we walked quickly behind him, calling after him. She motioned for us to follow him up the stairs and into his apartment because he's "always down to talk about Jesus," but we told him we couldn't if there wasn't another female. He went up and left the door open in case we "changed our mind," then went inside. Sister Bench and I just looked at each other in confusion for a solid minute,  but then I pulled out a Restoration pamphlet and walked up by the door and looked inside. There was another man sitting on the couch, and I asked him if I could give him the pamphlet. He slowly walked over and took it without saying a word. He started looking through all the pictures. I asked him, "What do you know about Jesus?" He still didn't say a word, just looked at the picture of Christ on the front. Then he finally bore his love and testimony of the Savior as he started crying, and he went in for a hug (awkward), and then asked if we had anything else to give him. I had just happened to write my testimony in a Book of Mormon a few days earlier, so I grabbed it from my bag and gave it to him. Unfortunately he is moving to Atlanta, GA in a few days. What was extra cool about this experience, though, was that we realized we were in the wrong apartment complex. The member lived in the nicer ones across the street. 

The visit with the Turners was so fun! They are totally my people. He is going into psychology and counseling, so we had a nice talk about that. And after sharing a quote as a spiritual thought, he said that it would work perfectly in his talk on Sunday! 

Wednesday

I got to have my very last interview with my mission president this morning! It was 30 minutes long, and I was surprisingly really excited for it. President Smith reminds me of the Savior because he truly does know and care about each one of us missionaries individually. He feels like a good friend of mine. We just talked about my plans for after the mission and he answered any questions I had. We weekly planned and went out to visit some returning members. We attended mutual that evening and then decided to stop by Waseem's home. The whole family was home, and we were able to sit down and teach the Restoration! And can I just say... it is so hard to teach people that don't have a Christian background! Everything in the gospel can be tied back to Jesus Christ and His Atonement, yet they don't believe He died or was more than a prophet. It's good though because it is helping me learn to teach in new ways.

Thursday

Sister Bench woke up feeling sick, but luckily we had a pretty easy day planned. We went down to serve at the Ronald McDonald House (where I got a picture by the statue) and it was FREEZING outside. You just can't keep warm in the humid cold, I'm tellin' y'all! Then we went tracting in a random neighborhood that we were led to by the Spirit, and on the second door we knocked on, the lady let us in out of the cold, and we had a great discussion with her and her daughter. My new favorite question now is when people ask, "Are you the Mormons?" because then you can take the opportunity to explain that the nickname comes from a prophet who lived in the ancient Americas and compiled together records of the people's dealings with God there... and go on to explain what the Book of Mormon and Restoration is so smoothly! And what a miracle... while everyone else on that street was not interested, they were so friendly about it and actually smiled at us!

Friday 

Happy Birthday to my dad! First thing we did this morning was make a run to Walmart to pick up some medicine for Sister Bench. She is only getting worse. We had a lunch appointment at Sister Reynolds' home with the other two sisters, and by divine design she made hot chicken soup, which was so good for Sister Bench's throat. The rest of the day, we mostly had to relax and take it easy.

Saturday

We didn't do much today (comp still sick) besides go to the Relief Society's Super Saturday crafting activity. I'd been so excited for it because I've inherited my mom's love for crafting, but it was kind of lame. Not a good turn out, not enough supplies for some of the crafts. My poor companion just sat there in the freezing cold gym, shivering the whole time. We went home and rested for the greater part of the afternoon and evening. I made my comp some hot broth for dinner :).

Sunday

Brother Turner gave a great talk, and he actually did use the quote we shared with him. He even gave us a shout-out, saying everyone should have us in their home . We had a combined 3rd hour discussing the new curriculum for this upcoming year, and I for one am so excited! I know these changes are coming from the Lord and will strengthen us and prepare us for when Christ comes again. We had dinner that evening with the Wrights and they said they'd have us over again before the transfer was over for dinner and they'd bring a non-member for us to share a lesson with. How sweet! I love their family, and their kids are so cute!

Funny moment of the week:

An old lady saw us buying pizza in the frozen section and invited us to have Thanksgiving Turkey with her! Little does she know we've already been invited to 4 dinners already!

Spiritual Thought:

You might be wondering what the quote was that was so good Brother Turner used it in his talk on Sunday... It was in a conference talk in October 2009 called, "The Love of God" by Elder Uchtdorf.

"My dear brothers and sisters, don’t get discouraged if you stumble at times. Don’t feel downcast or despair if you don’t feel worthy to be a disciple of Christ at all times. The first step to walking in righteousness is simply to try. We must try to believe. Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father, and do the things He asks of us. Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible—and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you."

It's a hard reality to face at times, but we are never going to do enough in this life to be worthy of salvation. In spite of all the good works we do, it is truly and simply by grace that we are saved (2 Nephi 25:23). However, what then is the point of doing anything if we can't save ourselves? Many people here in the South decieve themselves and say they are saved by faith alone. However, it is in the process of doing that we slowly become who God needs us to be. So just keep trying, no matter how often you fall short!

To really tie in the idea of doing and becoming, I recommend reading the conference talk, "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?" By Elder Lynn G. Robbins.

Much love,

Sister Burnham 

Week 79 - Spontaneous Speaker

Ahoy! Haha, I just wanted to say something different than "howdy" today. This past week was exactly what I needed to grow even more as a disciple of my Savior. I hit my 18 month mark on Saturday, and as I reflected back over my mission, I know there is no possible way I could have made it this far on my own. And so I know with all my heart that this is God's work, upheld by His mighty hand and angels. I've been lifted up and carried too many times to count. 

Monday

We got to tour the capital building today and check out the museum! We had dinner with a family that evening, and the husband had the best idea for members being more involved in missionary work! An entire family setting aside time each month to go out with the missionaries. If they don't have any friends to invite over, then they can go out finding as a family, and the kids can become more involved and excited about missionary work.

Tuesday

We had a fun object lesson in district council where we had to blow ping pong balls around an obstacle course (made up of hymn books) and race against the other team. Luckily for me, I was on Elder Stones' team and he was a pro! But we talked about how we all had different roles and parts we played in the activity, just like we do in real life with the people we meet and teach. We are all part of their story somewhere. It's comforting to know that I have helped more people than I can ever count or realize, simply because I won't be there to see the end of their journey. We had a lesson with Mary, the 87 year old we found. She committed to coming on a church tour! We then walked to dinner in the pouring rain (since we didn't have the car today) and the food was SOOO good. :) :) :) The best sweet and sour chicken ever!

Wednesday

We had a spontaneous lesson with Grace today! As we went to start the lesson, my mind went completely blank on what we had planned to teach her, but a chapter in the Book of Mormon came to mind, so we read Mosiah 18 with her. At first, I had no idea where to go with it as we read, but then a great conversation opened up about how she had prayed before to know if she should join the "Mormon" church but hadn't received an answer. We committed her to read the Book of Mormon and continue to pray for an answer. It turned out to be exactly what she needed. 

That evening, we went to mutual with the youth, and God blessed me with a tender mercy I needed so badly. I said "hi" to one of the young women leaders, and she started talking to me. And before I knew it, she was pouring out advice about things I'd been struggling with the past 3 weeks, even though she had no clue. It was a testament to me that God is so aware of me and He sent an angel to help me that night. I teared up to her surprise and gave her the biggest hug. Y'all, follow your Spiritual promptings to talk to people, even if you feel uncomfortable because you don't know them well or may not know if what you are saying is relevant. God works through us to bless His other children.

Thursday

I went on my last exchange today with Sister Paulk, and it was amazing! She was also able to give me great advice and comfort about things I was struggling with. God continuously places people in my path to help me through my trials and afflictions. I also got to see what the mission home looks like for the first time! I've had the address memorized before I ever arrived in Florida, and only 18 months later I get to actually see it! Haha :) We picked up a specially wrapped Book of Mormon to bring to a Pakistan man who was a referral from a member. We had the opportunity to teach him and his wife a bit about the Book of Mormon this evening along with prophets. They are very open to learning more and were so friendly!

Friday

We went with Carly (a member in the ward) to teach a man who we originally found by posting a free Bible advertisement on Facebook. His brother-in-law also sat in on the lesson. It's amazing how God is providing us with people to teach. That evening we tracted the street of a member with whom we had a dinner appointment scheduled. We met some strange people but the funniest moment of the week happened!!

We showed a man the picture of Jesus on our pass-along card and asked if he had seen it before. He responded, "Yes." Out of curiosity, I asked him where he had seen it. He said, "On my back," and then proceeded to turn around and lift up the back of his shirt to show us a giant tattoo he had of Jesus on the cross. It was so crazy and funny!

Saturday

Today officially marked me serving as a missionary for 18 months! I know for certain I would not have made it this far without my Savior as my support. This morning, we went down to contact in the Publix store parking lot. We talked to over 20 people, but none were very receptive. That afternoon we went biking and I was trying to shift my gears while biking up a steep hill, and I broke my bike! Fortunately, the man whose house we were by drove home and came out to help us fix it temporarily. He then let us inside to wash our greasy hands. He was so kind! And a member who was walking in the neighborhood came by with her truck, loaded our bikes in, then took us home! I was so grateful. 

That evening we went to a baptism that the other sisters serving in Tallahassee 4th Ward had. It was fun to see the great multitude of members and missionaries that came! When the ward mission leader was announcing the program for who would be speaking, he realized the first speaker wasn't there. He said the second speaker would go first, and then if the first speaker didn't show up in time, Sister Burnham would share her testimony about baptism! I definitely wasn't expecting that to come out of his mouth! And guess what? The first speaker never showed. But luckily I was prepared and the Spirit led me with what to say, and it ended up being exactly what the kids needed!

Sunday

We had a great gospel principles discussion, and a visitor from another ward was able to answer a question I had. God continues to place people in my path! I also shared how doing proxy baptisms in the temple can sound like a weird concept at first, but it truly is no different than the vicarious gift Christ gave us when He suffered for and in behalf of us in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. Each of us must choose to accept His sacrifice for us, just as those we do the work for in the temple must choose to accept it. In that way, we get to act like the Savior and save souls in a way they cannot save themselves. 

Tonight I felt a little frustrated about something, so I didn't feel like participating much in my companionship study. Sister Bench had asked me if we could study from Preach My Gospel together earlier because she wanted some ideas. But as we were going throughout our study, I was being prideful and not participating, just reading everything in a dejected way like I was feeling. When we got to reading a section of PMG, I decided to really humble myself and not let the circumstances keep me from having a great study and helping my companion learn more. So I pushed aside my worries and went back to the beginning of the section and pointed out all the things I loved about it. It really brought the Spirit and we shared the most wonderful thoughts with each other. It left me in a more positive mood, and as we said the closing prayer at the end of our study, it was the most sincere prayer I've said in a short minute, and I couldn't help but cry as I thanked my Heavenly Father for all the things my Savior went through for me. As I refocused my thoughts on my Savior and being grateful for Him, it put all of my worries and frustrations into perspective.

Be humble, don't stumble!

Much love,

Sister Burnham