Week 22 - The Moon is Shining

Hey y'all, it's been quite the week!

Monday:

We met with Ellen this morning. We were so nervous and decided to sing Nearer, My God, to Thee. She loved it and it brought the Spirit in. Then we read 1 Nephi 1 with her. She had a lot of good questions, but she is having a hard time understanding why we need The Book of Mormon. I asked her how long it would take her to read a 500 page book. She said, "A day, maybe a week or two." I then challenged her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray and ask God if it was true. She accepted. I know that as she starts a serious study of the Book of Mormon, she will feel the Spirit and come to know it is true. 

Tuesday:

When we showed up at district meeting, there were a bunch of cop cars and a fire truck. A mother had accidentally locked her baby in the car. We stood out there with the other sisters and watched them break into the car and get him out. He was covered in sweat and was screaming when they finally got him out. :( 

That evening, the lesson with Erica fell through, but we met her cousin and gave her a Book of Mormon. We got her number and will meet with her soon.  

Wednesday:

We went to Ellen's that morning, and as we sat there, we didn't feel like we should bring up the Book of Mormon. We just listened as she talked about all the pets she used to have: African bobcats, cougars, monkeys, etc. She absolutely loves animals. She says God has a polar bear and grizzly bear waiting for her in heaven. We went and saw Diane, who had surgery yesterday. She is alive and well! We watched President Nelson's talk on The Book of Mormon with her and Dysane. We love them so much. Then we had a return appointment with "Kid," the lady who got out of prison. She dropped us because she said their wasn't a voice inside of her saying to "shut up and listen" when we spoke to her. But, we asked the 13 year old girl, Raydha, if she was interested in learning more. We had seen her flipping through the Book of Mormon and reading it. We set a return appointment for Friday. Then we went to the Wright's for CJ's baptismal interview. We are planning his baptism for this Saturday. Our district leader met us there and had just driven back from Tallahassee, where he picked up a new missionary to train! The new missionary, Elder Thomas, plays the violin and fixed up Johnny's violin. We stopped by Erica's that evening. She wasn't home, but her mom was. She said she was interested in sitting in the next lesson because she has seen how the book we gave Erica is already changing her. We gave her a copy too!

Thursday:

Every Thursday, we have to drive a 6 hour round trip to Bristol for a meeting. I learned a lot about how the only thing we are in control of is our agency, and that is the only gift we can truly give to God. As a missionary, we face a lot of stresses, but we have to remember what we are in control of--knocking on doors, talking to people--and not worry about what can happen in response: doors being slammed in our faces or people bashing with us. I have more courage and motivation to talk with everyone! On our way home, we stopped by a referral. She wasn't home, but we met her sister, Chasity. She had a baby named Emily, so it was cool to connect with her and tell her that was my name too! We promised her that as she read the Book of Mormon, her grades for nursing school would improve and she would know exactly how to raise her daughter! Then we had dinner with the Foxes and played Skip-Bo with them. I was sooo close to winning! On the way there, we stopped by a historical site of a well on Damascus street (a lot of streets in the south are very biblical!)

Friday:

I felt a bit sick today, but we had a full day scheduled, so I went out anyways. We also got a text from our leaders that there was a hurricane headed our way! In the morning, we had a devotional at the senior center, and I played some songs for them on the violin.They loved it! Then we had a lesson with Ben. Rhoda took us to it, and we taught the Restoration. He felt the Spirit and realized the importance of reading The Book of Mormon. Rhoda loves coming out with us and wants to serve a mission. She shared such a powerful testimony of The Book of Mormon and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Then we went back for our lesson with Raydha, and three other kids were there: Gavin (9), Ashanti (12), and Janazsia (10). They loved listening to the Restoration and are excited to read The Book of Mormon. I was able to explain how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are separate beings as we taught the First Vision, and Ashantie said, "That makes sense because Jesus Christ is the the Son of God." After this lesson, Sister Palmer and I decided that we needed to focus on the youth of Brewton because they are a lot more open and sensitive to the truth. 

We went to Rhoda and Johnny's to teach CJ, and they told us that his baptism had been postponed due to Hurricane Nate... CJ was so sad and disappointed. We had dinner there and I decided to try the ghost pepper sauce in my chili. Well, since my stomach is sensitive, it made me really sick. But after a while, I felt good enough to leave, so we stopped by Erica's. She wasn't home, but a friend name Chris came out and said he was interested in meeting with us. We set an appointment to visit him next Friday. Literally every time we stop by her house, we pick up a new investigator! Then we stopped by a gas station and I felt prompted to give two people copies of The Book of Mormon. They were very interested :)

Saturday:

Well, we had to be inside by 5pm because that night the hurricane was supposed to hit. I wasn't feeling well, so I mostly slept all day. I had a fever and was burning up. Well, we felt like we should go to the Wrights that afternoon when I felt a bit better and watch The Testaments with them. It was so cool to watch their reactions as they saw how The Book of Mormon worked together with the Bible, and they were both crying at the end when Christ came to the Americas. It was exactly what they needed. Also, Sister Palmer cleaned out our closet in preparation for the hurricane that didn't hit us...

Sunday:

Church was cancelled due to the hurricane that was supposed to head our way. Other than heavy rain during the night, nothing happened. No flooding, no destruction. But it was a blessing for me because I was sooo sick all day. Whenever I wasn't sleeping, I was watching church videos on our small DVD player. We don't have a large variety, so I watched the Restoration three times...

I know that The Book of Mormon is true, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's true, restored church here on earth. Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God, and we have a living prophet on earth today. A scripture that really spoke to me this week was in 1 John 3:2-3 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." I know we are children of God, and we will one day be perfected through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We can stand clean before our Heavenly Father and be just like Him. We can't imagine all God has in store for us, or what it will be like to be perfected, because we are imperfect. But as we have hope and faith, we will become pure.

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Funny Sayin's:

1. Rhoda told her husband: "Your shirt is short and the moon is shining!" when he bent down to grab something. 

2. With hurricanes, missionaries send a lot of fun hashtags and sayings. For hurricane Irma, the joke was "Irmapocolypse" and "I don't know about you, but Irma little disappointed by the hurricane."

With Hurricane Nate, we received a message with a #nastynate. This cracked Sister Palmer up because her dad's name is Nate. (And it is funny now how both of her parents' names have been used for hurricanes, because her mom's name is Katrina).

3. My companion says I look like the grinch--when he turns good at the end--when I'm super happy and smile really big. I still don't see it...

Week 21 - Potato Couch and Dead... Tired

Transfer news: I'm staying in Brewton with Sister Palmer!!!

As I've been pondering over this week, the scripture that I put on my mission plaque stuck out to me: Alma 29:9 "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy." I know I am called of God to do His work.

Monday:

We had another lesson with Ellen and Lola, where we were able to answer some questions and concerns. This was the most bold I've ever been in a lesson, keeping it on track and following up with the commitment we left. I had this feeling that we couldn't lose them, so every time the lesson would get off track, I brought it back. It was cool to see how bold you can be when you truly love them. However, Lola gave back her copy of The Book of Mormon and said she is too old to read and understand it, and isn't changing religions. We were still able to set a return appointment to come back with Rhoda and teach the Plan of Salvation to Ellen. That evening, we went over to the Wright's home. Johnny fixed up a violin for me! I had to tune it by ear using their keyboard, and then I was able to play some songs for them. It was a blast!

Tuesday:

At district meeting, I played the opening and closing hymns. Usually Sister Palmer plays, but since her hand was still swollen like a balloon from the wasp sting, I volunteered. And usually I hate playing in front of people! It's amazing to see the Lord working through me as I use my talents to bless others. He magnifies my talents so I can be of more service to Him--I truly an instrument in His hands :)

We contacted some referrals that afternoon and tracted into some homes. Well, we met some pretty strange people. One man kept cussing a lot and said he was interested in having multiple wives. Then we tracted into a Jehovah Witness lady who wouldn't give us referrals for people who needed a message of peace because "she was going to go visit them herself." 

Wednesday:

This morning, Rhoda came with us to teach Ellen. When we got to the three kingdoms of glory, I shared an analogy I had come up with: Those in this life who love working out and training to run marathons get to enjoy the blessings of a fit body and can do a lot. This is like those in the Celestial Kingdom who have strong desires to serve God and do all they can to follow Christ. Then there are the people who work out occasionally to keep in decent shape, and sometimes become super motivated to work out and get healthy... but this lasts for a week and they are back to being lazy. This is like people in the Terrestrial Kingdom, who had desires to do good things, but didn't fully commit and follow through with it. Then there are the couch potatoes, who really don't care about exercising and sit around all day. They are fat and unfit, and can't do much with their body, but that was their desire. They are content with it because they didn't want to put forth the work and would rather laze around all day. This is like those in the Telestial Kingdom who live in their sins. Well, the analogy was great and all, but Sister Palmer informed me afterwards that I had said, "And then there are the potato couches" instead of couch potatoes. They all tried so hard not to laugh and I didn't even realize my mistake until she told me afterwards! Well, that was just the start to me mixing up all my words! Later that day at Diane's house, she told us she was so nervous for her surgery next Tuesday. I said we would see her next Thursday if she wasn't dead. Her eyes widened and she looked freaked out. I hastily added, "Tired! Dead tired!" Whoops... 

We also met with a lady who had gotten out of jail a while back. She has a lot of tattoos and a tough exterior. She was freaked out that we knew her real name, Lora, because everyone else knows her as "Kid," which is her prison name. We didn't feel comfortable sharing who had given us her name as a referral, so we just said we had talked with a lot of people that day. So... then she asked if we knew her name because we had been down by the prison.  

Thursday:

I've always hated road trips, but I think they are growing on me, just a bit. We drove three hours to another part of our mission for the day, and I stayed productive by gluing cards together for an object lesson with CJ that evening. They had different aspects of the gospel written on them, like faith and repentance, for us to build a card house. I taped them to the dashboard to keep them still, and when we stopped for lunch, we saw a man peering into our car at them. He had a preacher vibe about him and said he liked our cards because it reminded him of a bible verse. We are definitely sharing the gospel in strange ways!

Friday:

Sister Palmer is a runner, so she decided to teach me the correct way to run (because I've apparently been running incorrectly my whole life). Now I actually enjoy running a lot more! We visited a man, Ben, in a wheelchair who requested to meet with missionaries. He has a lot of potential! Then we returned back and taught Lora and some children who are staying with her. Sister Palmer taught me a cool way to teach the Restoration using the pamphlet. She had learned it from a talk she read. You show them the pictures on each page of the pamphlet and ask them what they see. Their response helps you determine how much they already know about God and Christ, prophets, the Priesthood, and so forth. It also gets them more involved.

Saturday:

General Conference was amazing. I had so many questions that were answered because I had prayed and prepared for this special day. I loved Elder Holland's talk about not beating ourselves up over our mistakes. We live in a fallen, telestial world and cannot be perfect right now. I'm kind of a perfectionist with super high expectations for myself, so this hit home. I'm now working on having more patience with myself. Between sessions, Rhoda and Johnny took us out for lunch. I got a salad at Subway, and one of the workers decorated it beautifully and said to post a picture of it on twitter with a #subway. Well, this is the closest I can get to social media!

Sunday:

One cool thing Sister Palmer and I applied during general conference was listening to each talk with our investigator's needs in mind. As we did so, revelation came for what they need, and we were able to write down their name next to the talk that would help them. It was cool to see that afterwards, we had written down the same person for the same talks. That evening, we stopped by a bible referral that we received a week ago, but hadn't been able to contact. She was home! And she came outside and asked what we were doing as we were in the car praying, so I quickly had to end the prayer, and we jumped out of the car. She invited us inside, and we taught her the Restoration. She is so prepared and willing to learn more. We walked through the pamphlet with her, asking her what she saw. I enjoyed watching her eyes light up as she made connections and was taught by the Spirit. We really are just guides for them to learn from the Spirit. Instruments in the hand of God :)

If you missed any of the sessions of general conference, I invite you to go online and watch them. It is such a privilege to hear from God's apostles and to receive answers to our questions and concerns. They really do speak for Christ!

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Saying goodbye to Curtis and Rachel! They are moving this week :(

I love being a missionary and wearing a tag with Christ's name on it!

Week 20: Book of the Mormons

Hey y'all!

Over 20 weeks ago, I left for the MTC. It's crazy to think about how fast time passes when you are serving the Lord. This week has been crazy because we have practically been everywhere except here in Brewton! 

Monday:

We were able to meet with Rhoda's sisters and mom. We taught them the Restoration, and during the entire lesson, Sister Palmer and I could feel the potential in the room. We were both so nervous because we knew we were teaching the elect of God. The anticipation and Spirit was so strong. Rhoda's sister Ellen sat on the edge of her seat and was so interested. When we started talking about The Book of Mormon, she asked us if she could have a copy! She is so excited to read and learn more with her sisters and mom. Their eyes are so bright with the light of Christ!

Tuesday:

We drove an hour to district meeting and had an amazing lesson on the authority we have as missionaries to promise specific blessings. We have the ability to discern their needs and leave them with commitments that will help them to exercise faith in Christ, repent, and lead towards baptism. Then we have the power to know exactly what God wants to promise them to help them along the path. 

We served that afternoon in a hot warehouse with barely any water, and I felt so tired afterwards! I think I might have had some heat exhaustion...

Wednesday:

We drove to Pensacola for interviews with President Smith for most of the day. While in the area, we were asked to see two less actives. One of them had holes in the floor of her house, which scared Sister Palmer because she hates snakes. She also had a 14 year old, tiny dog that was insane! Her bark sounded like a chicken. Then we went to visit the other lady. We opened the side gate that said "Beware of Dog" and walked all the way around past giant spiders, and then a giant Rottweiler dog ran out of the house right at Sister Palmer and scared her half to death. Then the owner came out so Sister Palmer decided to pet the dog. Turns out she was friendly! That evening, we went to a branch Lu'au. We had been asked to do some hula dancing, and since we both can't dance, we were dreading it. But tender mercies are real because we didn't have to hula dance after all! 

Thursday:

Today was a day for weekly planning and recent convert lessons! We met with the Nelsons, who are actually moving out of our area soon. Then we got to see Diane and Dysane. We read from the Book of Mormon and invited Dysane to be baptized. She said she isn't ready yet, but I know it's only a matter of time before she realizes that this is the path for her. Then we had dinner at Rhoda and Johnny's house. Rhoda made us a ton of Southern dishes, including lima-beans, peas, okra, and beans, dumplings, chicken and rice, and corn bread. I love spending time with them. Their house feels like a second home. 

Friday:

We left at 7:30am to drive to Bonifay, FL for a Sisters' Conference, and we arrived home around 6pm. It was amazing to see all of the sisters of the mission in one area. I got to see my trainer, and Sister Palmer got to see her trainer (who is actually my mission grandma because she trained Sister Wall too). I learned so much about de-stressing and being in a frame of mind where you are always focused on what others need to grow in the gospel. As you focus about others and how they feel about themselves, you don't have to worry about yourself at all, which leaves room for God to take care of you. This is when you can actually grow the most!

Saturday:

Wasn't the General Women's Session amazing? We drove with members to the stake center and had snacks before it started. It was so cool to witness how Diane and Rhoda loved everything that was said. I know they felt the Spirit and heard exactly what they needed. 

Sunday:

We taught the Restoration on a porch to a bunch of ladies. We drove by them, and I had waved. They all waved back. We kept driving by. A few blocks later, Sister Palmer pulled a sudden U-Turn and said we needed to go back and talk with them. They were so friendly and invited us to sit down. They were welcoming at first, but then the uncle came outside and sat in. He started bashing us, so I just bore my testimony and witness of the Book of Mormon and invited him to read it and pray about it for himself. That evening we had dinner with our branch president and his wife. Right beforehand, Sister Palmer got stung by a wasp and her hand started to swell! Hopefully it will heal fast in the next few days. Dinner was enjoyable. The branch president has two adorable little boys, and they truly are amazing examples of Christ. 

Prophesies being fulfilled in the South:

One of our recent converts calls The Book of Mormon "the book of the Mormons." It is so cute. Here in the South, people call it the Mormon Bible. They have a hard time understanding it is completely unrelated to the Bible and the events that take place in it. They literally think it's our own version of the Bible. We have a fun time explaining that to people! It's especially crazy when we introduce the Book of Mormon to people, and they quote 2 Nephi 29:6 about having a Bible and not needing another Bible. We truly are living in the last days, and prophesies are being fulfilled all around us! It just adds to my testimony that the Book of Mormon truly is the word of God. This book is miraculous proof that the heavens are open today. I know as we read it with real intent, we will come closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Much love,

Sister Burnham

We ate dinner at Rhoda and Johnny's house. We had some fine Southern style dishes! 

Yum :)

A three generational picture! Sister Wall trained me, and Sister Richins trained her AND Sister Palmer. So, fun fact: I am currently companions with my mission aunt!

With Diane and Dysane! We are teaching Dysane, and Diane, her sister, is a recent convert. They are so sweet!

Zone Conference! We combined with the Mobile Zone last Saturday!

Week 19: Tender Mercies

Hey y'all! So this week was full of tough lessons, but many miracles. This week I've been studying about diligence and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. My companion is very fit and can work hard for long periods of time. She loves running marathons and biking in 150 mile races. I wish I was stronger and didn't have so many health concerns. This past week I felt like I was holding us back from working super hard because I have to stop to eat and rest throughout the day. Then I got called to repentance a lot. 

     1. God created my body. He knows my weaknesses, and He still put me with Sister Palmer for a reason. 

     2. Don't compare yourself to others! We are each on our own individual and unique path back to salvation. 

     3. Part of being diligent is not running faster than you have strength. Mosiah 4:27 "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."

     And the biggest blessing of all was that this week was seeing the miracle of us reaching our goal of seven new investigators. I got sick this week and felt like I slowed down the work. By the time Saturday came around, we had zero new investigators. But I decided to put full faith in Christ and expect miracles to happen that day. They sure did! By the time we came home that evening, we had seven new investigators! That was a confirmation from God that even if I can't work at as fast as a pace as I want to, He will not hold back any miracles or blessings when I put my faith and trust in Him.

A quick overview of my week:

Monday:

We tracted in the cold wind and rain for two hours because our appointments decided to fall through, and no one wanted to let us in! Lots of doors slammed in our face :). But then we had a tender mercy: we met with our investigator Alex (15 years old) and her mom let us come inside the house for the first time! Usually we have to sit outside on the porch. She is really softening towards missionaries and the gospel.

Tuesday: 

On our way to district meeting, we stopped to take pictures by the Florida sign. Sister Palmer decided to climb it! We also served at a foster care home, sorting clothes and supplies. That evening, we met with Johnny and Rhoda. Johnny has been too shy to pray out loud. We decided to talk about prayer, and Sister Palmer promised him that as he started praying out loud, his children would see his example and join the gospel. The Spirit was so strong. I also got to try boiled peanuts for the first time! A southern specialty. They were pretty good.

Me with Johnny. He is the cutest old man!

Wednesday: 

In the middle of the day, we were driving to an appointment, and didn't feel right about it. We pulled over into the nearest parking lot (happened to be a church, of course) and said a prayer. As we looked up, we saw the sign that said "Jesus is the Answer!" Well, our prayer was answered that day! We felt prompted to talk to as many people as possible in the next few hours before we had to go to a dinner appointment. We were able to meet a lot of potentials and gain referrals. That evening, we had dinner at a member's house. The soup was really, really good. That should have been the first clue that something was wrong. A while after dinner, my stomach started feeling weird. We went to a lesson with the Allen family, and the Lord sustained me through it because as soon as we left, I slumped over onto Sister Palmer and my stomach hurt SOOO bad. She drove me to get a priesthood blessing, and I felt slightly better afterwards, but was still very sick. The soup contained gluten (which must be why it tasted so darn good). 

Thursday: 

We weekly planned all day, but had such a wonderful experience that evening. We went to Rhoda and Johnny's home, and guess who offered the opening prayer? Johnny! After months of giving the missionaries a fit about praying, God had softened his heart. It was so sweet, and we couldn't help but smile. We also had dinner at the Foxes home, and because the mom had a rough day, she told us we were playing the card game Skip-Bo instead of having a lesson. It was a tender mercy for me because I still wasn't' feeling very well. 

Friday 

We had a devotional at the senior center. We watch a lot of Mormon Messages and sneak in Book of Mormon verses into the discussion! They truly love us coming and thank us every time for setting aside 18 months of our lives to bring people to Christ and to teach them every Fridaymorning. They are so sweet. We had dinner at another members house that night, and I completely forgot to let the lady know about my food allergies! I've been slightly out of it for the last few days and not feeling real well. I had some beef jerky and almonds in my bag, so I ate those while they ate the casserole dish. She felt bad even though it was my fault and said she'd start praying for my stomach so I can eat whatever I want. Her deaf nephew seems to like me a lot because I can sign with him (maybe a little too much).

Saturday: 

We met Rhoda's family and got to know them. They are all so prepared and told us we can come back. That evening, we went to Flomaton for a few appointments we had. They ended up falling through, but that left lots of room for miracles to happen! We contacted a lot of referrals and tracted into a lot of prepared people. This was when we received seven new investigators! We met a lady named Selena, whose mother had just passed away the day before. We gave her a hug and she started crying and said we could come back. That evening, there was a porch fest down our street! It was the first one to take place in Alabama! We went to check it out because there were tons of people. We had no clue who to talk to. Sister Palmer turned to me and said, "What do you want to do?" I told her we were going to walk to the end of the street, talk to someone, and then go home. Those words definitely didn't come from me because I had no clue who we were going to talk to, but we just started walking. About 10 feet later, this man waved us over to come talk to him. He was a police chief (off duty because he was drinking) that lived down the street from us. We had a good discussion with him (for the most part) and will have to talk with him again sometime, preferably when he isn't drunk. Then Sister Palmer decided to buy frozen cheesecake while I talked to this lady. She looked super interested, but her husband waved us away. 

 Me with Rhoda. She is a recent convert and has such a strong testimony. 

Sunday: 

We road to church with Rhoda and Johnny, and afterwards they took us to see the Allen family. They were supposed to be there at church. We can feel how prepared they are, and we had a strong spiritual impression that we need to be very bold with them and let them know we represent Christ, and God wants them to come to church and learn more, but Satan is attacking them. We stopped by, but they weren't there. We will go back next week and have a very bold and loving conversation with them about God's purpose for them. We tried to contact a head quarter referral named Jennie that wanted a Bible, but apparently there house doesn't exist. In a crazy mix up of names, we met a lady named Jean who seemed interested, took a Book of Mormon, and said we can come back. Then we met another referral Catherine. We pulled up right when she was about to go inside, and she told us she was not in the mood to meet with us because her brother had just died. We gave her a hug and comforted her. 

Side note: Johnny prayed twice today! He really is progressing and everyone around him has noticed the change in him. 

Funny Quote of the week:

We had a high councilman come speak during sacrament. He said, "Are we latter-day saints, or are we latter-day ain'ts? (Excuse my English)." 

Life in the south is great! I'm surviving love-bug season and learning a lot that I otherwise wouldn't if God hadn't called me here. I think my grammar is getting worse, but I still haven't developed a southern accent; really disappointing, I know! I live in a brick house in Brewton and get to drive a red Rogue with 1600 miles a month. Our area sure is huge! I feel many more tender miracles coming in the future and feel so much potential in this area!

Much love,

Sister Burnham

 Sister Palmer stole cotton from a field and here is a picture of us with it. IT'S SO FLUFFY!

We got to see Brother Kelley's "toys." He is the Branch Mission Leader. He told us he found a way to flood the work with the Book of Mormon: throwing them out of airplanes! I don't think my mission president will be too thrilled ;)

Week 18: Hurricane Irma

Hey y'all! 

This past week has been full of anticipation and preparation for the coming of Hurricane Irma! We’ve had so many conference calls and weather updates! I don’t think I even knew exactly what a hurricane was before now. Besides some very high wind speed and rain, my area is safe from the hurricane!

One of the exciting things that happened this week was I finally got a new planner on Tuesday! I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s so hard to stay organized as a missionary without one! Sister Palmer and I came up with a new method to remember to ask for referrals. For every person we forget, we have to do push-ups the next morning. Well, we have definitely got a lot better at asking for referrals, but I've also gotten a lot stronger this past week! Side note: people give the craziest referrals... "There's this man named Piwi who lives down the road on the left after the brick house." That is so helpful...  "And I know this other lady on Glen Road who has a white house, a white car, and a white truck." We drove down that road very slowly and saw ten white houses. We think we might have found the one she was referring to, though! I've also learned how to use Family Search a lot more! We helped a recent convert try to find information for two hours. It was kind of like trying to solve a puzzle or mystery. I am really starting to feel the Spirit of Elijah on my mission as I testify to people that they have ancestors waiting for them to do their work.  

Wednesday, we picked Scoponons (no clue how to spell it, but they are not normal grapes!) with our recent convert Diane for an hour. We also met with a lady named Ceola that afternoon, and we were 40min late coming from another lesson. She said she had almost given up hope that we were coming. She has a great knowledge of the bible and the gospel, so we gave her a Book of Mormon. She was very hesitant about it, and Sister Palmer felt like she should ask her about prophets. We were able to explain the Restoration and prophets, and she opened up a lot more.

On Thursday, we helped plant in Mary's garden. Sister Palmer had a great time hoeing. It was very straight, and she said it was because on the farm growing up, her dad would bury their rows and make them do it again if it was crooked. I got to sprinkle in all the seeds and bury them. The ones planted a week ago already popped up above ground. I was so surprised! I thought it was a miracle! Apparently it's because I'm from Arizona, the state where nothing really grows, and it takes forever. 

Friday we had exchanges with the sisters from Gulf Breeze. I left with Sister Fletcher Friday morning to go to Gulf Breeze, while Sister Palmer and Sister Sant stayed behind. It was cool being in a different area and seeing the bay. We contacted a few people and got a new investigator. For dinner, a member took us out to a Japanese Hibachi bar! It was super fun to watch the performance, and the best part was mine got made in the kitchen to avoid cross contamination, so my food was all ready at the same time and I got it sooner than everyone else. I ate while I watched him prepare everyone's food. Afterwards, we talked with the people sitting at the bar table with us. We explained what we did as missionaries, and I gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. She also told us how she was not happy with preachers because their last one had just got convicted of murder, and they found out his next victim he had planned to kill was going to be her son! Folks, these are the last days that are prophesied about in the last days! Crazy things go on, and a lot of people draw close to God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him! Late that evening at 10pm, we got the call that we weren't having zone conference on Monday because of Hurricane Irma, but that we were having it the very next morning at 10am, combined with another zone. The next 20 minutes was a crazy mess of phone calls trying to figure everything out. But their beds were very comfortable... I felt like I was the princess from "The Princess and the Pea" because they had so many mattresses and box springs.

Saturday! We left at 7:30am to drive to zone conference. I got to meet up with my trainer, Sister Wall and hear about how the people in Semmes are doing! I also got to see my MTC companion Sister Scott! It was a happy reunion. Sister Scott was so excited to see me, she almost tackled me with a hug. I love her so much! She told me lots of crazy stories... and said she had a dream the night before that I would be training next transfer in Brewton. Well, only three more weeks to see if her dream is accurate ;). In zone conference, we talked about the talk "Be Responsible" that was given at BYU. It was very good and taught me a lot more about justice and mercy. I love being surrounded by missionaries and being lifted up by their sweet spirits. That evening as we headed back to our area, Sister Palmer told me how they had found 10 new investigators on the exchange! Miracles always seem to happen on exchanges. I can definitely see how God is blessing us whenever we work hard and make sacrifices. That exchange used a lot of our miles, but it was definitely worth it. We are now teaching a family that is super interested in the message. There are 7 kids we are teaching and gave copies of The Book of Mormon to, along with their mom and uncle. They are excited to continue to learn more and read from it. They already see how this is going to bring their family closer together!

On Sunday, my companion and I had the privilege of speaking in sacrament meeting! I felt prompted to speak about the Restoration, which is what I had talked about in my last ward. Sister Palmer spoke on the enabling power of the Atonement. We also had a linger-longer after church! Everyone brought a ton of food, and members made sure there was food I could eat. It was great talking and getting to know everyone better. Plus we got sent home with a lot of food! Later that evening, we met up with a former investigator, DJ, who had texted us out of the blue and wanted to start meeting with us again. We started to teach the Plan of Salvation, but in the middle, he said he didn't believe in Joseph Smith, so we stopped and started teaching the Restoration to him. I have never been so bold and bore testimony so strongly in a lesson before. He was very irreverent in the way he talked about God and Sister Palmer got soooo frustrated with him. She stared him down and was very serious and kept asking the same question because he wouldn't answer it. We both talked about how weird we felt afterwards. Drugs had definitely messed with his mind, and we are praying to know what to do with him. I am grateful for a tough companion that watches out for me and protects me!

One lesson I really learned this week was that I need to have confidence in Christ—not in myself or in others. As I've pondered how I can do this, I've been studying about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and about the nature of Christ. He is perfect and can do all things. His words will all be fulfilled, because He cannot lie. Therefore, no matter how inadequate I feel, I can trust that everything will work out because of Him. Often times I put myself down, saying "I can't do that; I'm not talented enough." But I'm really starting to trust the statement in Philippians 4:13. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Of myself, I cannot do a lot of things. But I'm starting to have more confidence that I really can do all things with Christ's strength. 

Fun fact: we are now teaching a CJ, a DJ, a KJ, and a TJ! This will be fun :)

Much love,

Sister Burnham

Sleeping like Princess and the Pea

Sister Scott and I, reunited at last :)

With my companion, Sister Palmer

Got to see my trainer again, Sister Wall

Week 17 - "Souls to Satan"

Hey y'all! 

This week has been quite the adventure. On Tuesday, we had district meeting in Florida! It's so cool how often I get to drive past the state line! They plant a line of palm trees by the border since that's what Florida is known for, even though you won't find them around very often. Afterwards, we had a service project planned, but because of all the rain (from tropical storm Harvey), it was cancelled. And we had forgotten to plan backups! We drove to the side of the highway, praying and pondering about what to do. As Sister Palmer looked on the GPS to see who was nearby, I saw three or four houses on the side of the highway. I said we should tract them. We walked along the highway to save miles because we were already over our limit... As we were walking, a truck driver passed us and pulled around to ask us if we were broken down and needed help. I walked up and said, "No, we are good! We are actually missionaries and would love to share this with you!" Then I handed him a pass-along card. We met one elderly lady who had a Book of Mormon from her husband that passed away, and we were able to talk to her for an hour! She was so friendly and invited us back anytime. A few houses later, we gave a Book of Mormon to a young lady that sounded interested. It was so cool to see the result of following the Spirit and finding those who have been prepared.

On Wednesday, we taught Sandra again. She said she gave her chicken Pineapple a bath! We taught her the Plan of Salvation, and she said it made way more sense than anything else she had ever learned! She was very excited and had read 10 pages in the Book of Mormon. She is definitely very prepared. Members took us out for lunch and dinner! 

On Thursday, after a long morning of weekly planning, we taught a nine-year-old named CJ the Gospel of Jesus Christ using cups. He has a very short attention span, so we have to get creative with his lessons! That evening, we taught the Nelsons the plan of salvation using cutouts that spelled "love." They absolutely loved it! ;) It helped them remember to focus on the bigger picture. While we were there, Curtis said, "We decided to give our souls to Satan." I gave him the strangest look and he said with a laugh, "The sole of our foot!" He also compared Satan to a drug dealer--he hands out misery to take people down with him. 

This Friday morning, after the devotional with the cute elderly people at the senior center, they invited us to stay after for lunch. They said all the food had already been blessed! Unfortunately, I couldn't actually eat any of it because of my food allergies, and when the cooks found out, they prepared a beautiful plate of fruit for me to eat. They are so sweet! We went to the Fox family that night for dinner, family home evening, and service. Christy loves football, so she taught us an entire lesson about faith and football. People here sure love their football! We worked out in the garden and Sister Palmer destroyed a MASSIVE ant-pile covering a plant and got bit a ton. 

We rode bikes a lot on Saturday and a nice couple gave us some ice cold water when we ran out. Southern hospitality is a real thing!

On Sunday, I attempted to go without food and almost passed out during a lesson because my blood sugar got too low. I started slumping forward and the lady we were teaching noticed and got me some water. I've met so many new and kind people here. I have definitely felt Heavenly's Father love for me so much this week. I relied on the Atonement of Jesus Christ so much this week to pull through. I know the enabling power of Christ's Atonement is real, and that it can heal physical sickness and fatigue as we turn our thoughts in gratitude to God. God has a plan for each one of us, and I know I am exactly where He needs me to be!

Pictures of me and Sister Wall with Kennedie and her siblings. This was taken a week before her baptism & before I was transferred.

What a musical week! Johnny is quite the collector of musical instruments and showed them to us to try out :)