Birthday Week!

27 January - 2 February 2020

Perspective can turn a tough day or week into something sweet. I had a lot of hard things happen this week, but I was blessed to see so many small tender mercies that reminded me of my Heavenly Father's love and care. To top it off, I had an awesome birthday night!

Monday
I've had Harry Potter on my mind lately since I began planning a trip back to visit my mission and then to go to Harry Potter World... so surprise surprise... for FHE, we had an art night and I drew Lord Voldemort as "the scream" with my partner. It turned out pretty good--scary, actually.

Tuesday
I had a busy day, but I woke up this morning with the feeling to make dinner for a guy in the ward who had told me about a rough experience he was going through. I didn't know if it would be awkward since we don't know each other super well, but I decided that if it was a prompting, I would go through with it. I also got set apart today at the Provo City Center Temple to be an ordinance worker, and I'll start next Friday! After classes and work, I rushed to make a quick soup before my neuro review but no one was home when I went to drop it off. So I thought to myself, "Eh, forget the whole thing." But then later that night my roommate convinced me to follow through because it had been a prompting. He still wasn't home so I left it with his roommate. That evening was actually super fun because I went with two other people from the ward to the BYU Swing Dancing club night, and I actually danced with a lot of guys and enjoyed myself! I picked up on it pretty quick, and the guy in my ward even did a cool flip trick called the "can-opener" with me, which was pretty epic.

Wednesday
I got hired for a new job as a peer mentor for BYU Online! I will be helping to initiate a program for students who are failing their classes and will take an active part in reaching out to them and ensuring they receive any and all the help they need. Plus, with this new job comes a pay-raise to $14 an hour! What a huge financial blessing. The Lord is so good to me :) That night, I went with Kathrine to a Harry Potter party event and our house won overall! So we got free Creamery ice-cream coupons!

Thursday
I had a really cool experience this morning. When I woke up, I felt a bit anxious and had doubts creeping into my mind, but I fought them, recognizing they were lies. Then suddenly, all those negative feelings and insecurities were taken away, and I felt the presence of my Heavenly Father. I felt His love and warmth and knew He was so pleased with me. It was the best feeling in the entire world. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it completely filled and reassured me.

Friday
As birthdays start out, it wasn't the best. I ran out of breakfast foods and was so hungry, so I decided to go shopping before going to the temple. But then my car was making weird noises so I pulled over ot check the engine and called my dad who said to stop by AutoZone or somewhere. By the time all was said and done, nothing got fixed but I think it's alright. But then I had to go to work, so I didn't end up going to the temple, and I was still kind of hungry. I worked for a couple of hours and didn't eat lunch until almost 2pm. Then I had more homework to do, and then I went to code videos at a building on campus, but it wouldn't work for me, so I quit and went home to make a cake (that I thought I ruined, but then it turned out good). All in all, I was utterly exhausted and tired, but wanted to have a good evening. My favorite part was that the rink (upon my request) played Taylor Swift's song 22, so I got to skate around and dance to that, which was super fun. Then we had games at my house, and a really good number of people showed up, and there was lots of laughter and food. Kathrine was such a great friend and stayed behind to help clean up and talk.

Saturday
I went this morning to get my ice skates permanently mounted and sharpened at Shaun's place, then tried to do homework. It was actually such a nice day outside that I had trouble staying inside, so after taking a walk outside, I read from my textbook outside on the grass to soak up some sun. I didn't get super far in my reading, but I can at least tell you the difference between a cone and rod in the eye!

Sunday
I taught Sunday School today, and even though the projector stopped working half-way through, I just went with the flow (a skill I've really been learning to develop!) and Miranda said it was really good. I only made one funny joke: when the projector started having problems when I was trying to show a video of Nephi and his brothers, I said, "We need more Wi-Fi so we can have more Nephi." I was a bit nervous, but it turned out good overall and a lot of people shared insights. I didn't feel super well today, but I did fast! I also went to a meeting/dinner that was for set-apart ordinance workers at the church building tonight and got to hear a lot of cool things. It was reassuring to be blessed that the Lord would amplify the time I have and sharpen my mind to accomplish everything with school and work as I give up time to serve Him in the temple. I am so excited for the growth that awaits me this semester as I work in the temple.

Much love,
Emily Burnham

Some Sick Skates!

Howdy howdy! What a week! I had rough start to the week, then an amazing middle of the week, and then came down sick... quite the roller-coaster, I'd say!

Monday
Mondays and Wednesdays are so long because I have work from 5am to 9am, basketball from 9 to 10am, and then class from 10am to noon! So I have to pack a lunch and snack/lunch! Then I go home and eat and study my scriptures and rest. But it is nice having the rest of the day to myself! This evening for Home Evening, we had a ward Amazing Race, and I drove around Provo with Miranda, Valerie, Emily Allen, and this other girl, looking for clues! Often times, my group made me get out and run ahead to fetch the clues! At the end, we met in a field by the temple and had tacos. It was super fun!

Tuesday
Work. Basketball. Readings and relaxing that afternoon. Then institute that evening. I really love the class we are going to, "Women in the Scriptures." We are in the Old Testament right now, and I love learning more in depth about women I never really knew much about. They all really seem to come alive!

Wednesday
After classes, I was talking to my mom about how I wished I had my ice-skates already. She said to follow up with the guy I ordered them from. I was a missionary, after all! I texted him, asking when they would be in, and he responded that they were there! I made plans to go see him that late afternoon. While I was waiting to go, I worked on Photoshop, manipulating heights of men for our research project. We are trying to test if women find taller men more attractive than shorter men. Then I went to get my skates, and the coolest thing ever happened. So, when I showed up, he asked if I was the one he had been talking to about the "buy-out" skates. He pulled out two boxes of skates--the ones I had originally ordered that came, and then another box that was just the boot of a skate. I tried both on, but was mentally leaning towards the one that already had the blade and was ready to go. But then he said if I liked the feel of the one without the blade, I should go with that one because it was a nicer quality boot and would last longer and be more supportive. He had gotten it on sale because they were trying to get the next model in, but it was originally $400! And then he said he also got a smokin' deal on a set of blades to go with them, so he'd sell me the set for $150 (what I would have spent for the other skates). The blades were $300 originally! So I got a $700 set-up for only $150, much better quality than I originally would have gotten! Plus, he adjusted the ankle and fit it so it didn't crush my bone, and he put the blades on after sharpening them for free! I felt so blessed! God is really watching out for me! I was so excited and wanted to try them out that night, but my friend Whitney called and said her hot-water was out, and if she could use my shower that evening. The next open-time to skate is Friday afternoon!

Thursday
After work and basketball this morning, I spent a few hours down at the library, working on manipulating photos some more for my class project. Learning how to use the basics of Photoshop in 9th grade has been invaluable!

Friday
Today was the highlight of my whole week! I got to go ice-skating in my new skates this afternoon, and Olivia (a friend from work) met up with me there! She had to leave early, but I stayed the whole time. While my skates hurt a bit and need to be broken in, they are so amazing! I can already do much better tricks in them and feel more confident that they will support me! That evening, I went to Sammy's birthday party, and she had a full-on BBQ for all her friends and family. There was so so so much food! And I could eat most of it! And I probably did eat most of it!! I was extremely stuffed by the end of the night :) I left early and drove with Kathrine over to the Bishop's home for movie night, where we watched The Greatest Showman. I forgot how many good songs are in that movie. It was only my second time seeing it.

Saturday
You know that feeling when you wake up sick? That was me this morning. It hit me out of the blue, but I had a sore throat and a stuffy nose. I guess I partied a bit too hard this weekend! I took it pretty easy today. I went to the temple with Valerie, but then stayed home and relaxed for the rest of the day. I tried to do some homework but came down with the worst headache after an hour and had to take a nap. I was so sad because I wanted to go ice-skating again SO BAD! But I wasn't feeling up to it physically and didn't want to make myself more sick.

Sunday
I was still feeling lousy today, so I took it easy. Besides going to church, the only other productive thing I did today was host a Come, Follow Me study group in the evening. Kathrine (from the ward) and Vincent (a friend from work) came, plus Valerie was there. After about 20 minutes of studying, I see this guy from the ward walking to the door... we had said he could come but didn't clarify what time, so he came at 7:30, even though we changed the time to 7pm. Yikes! I hurriedly told everyone to pretend that we were just starting, so they closed up their books and scriptures as I went to answer the door. We pulled it off... with a mild giggle-attack that left him wondering what was happening. Let's just say, I am a terrible actress! Also, I made the most epic birthday PowerPoint to send to Sister Stites, the missionary I trained. And Val made me stay up to play a game with her, even though I was so tired. I had already texted my boss that I was sick and wouldn't be able to go into work tomorrow morning.