Stand As A Witness

January 21, 2014

Hey family, so you were right, all the libraries were closed yesterday so we are emailing today.  And a little later than usual cause we had a lesson with Brian this morning.  And I don’t know how long this email will be, cause we have the same amount of time as usual but I am not feeling well at all today :( Don’t know what is wrong with me, haven't felt good since Sunday.  Stayed in on Sunday, took it easy yesterday and this morning I was  feeling fine, but then got feeling super sick again, so ya, probably gonna go sleep after this, but we'll see.  So that is a bummer! But, this week has been pretty good, other than getting sick, which is never ever fun!

So, lets see, well, last Tuesday Sister Cooper went home, so for the past week and still we have been serving with Sister Hedrick.  She is right now our companion, but we still don't know how permanent it will be.  Because of this we've been covering both our ward and her ward, so it has just been a big adventure trying to figure that all out!   :)  So that is exciting!

Wednesday we worked in both areas and we taught Ethan and Giselle, they are still doing great!  And we are still working hard to get them to baptism!  Then there is Ronnie, she had her interview on Saturday and so she will be getting baptized this Saturday.  We should see her tonight (unless of course I still feel like this, then we will figure something else out).  But we are excited for that, it has made our week so far busy as we are just trying to prepare for that!  :)

So last Friday we had some people from the Missionary Department come and we had a really big training.  It was supposed to be our Mission Leadership Council but they invited a lot of other missionaries, and we really talked about our purpose as a missionary; (to help people be baptized so that they can receive the Holy Ghost and experience the Atonement), and how we can effectively teach so that we can help get them to that point.  So it is still something that we are trying to implement and it should be great!  It really will change the rest of my mission, but it will take a lot of work, trying to teach even more simply and really in a way that will allow those we are teaching to participate more so that they can feel the Spirit more in their life! :)  It is going to be great, and I left that all day training feeling really pumped and excited about missionary work.

Then I went on an exchange on Saturday, and it was pretty exciting, just out doing missionary work!   And then on Saturday we sang at a stake conference adult session, and so that was also great.

On Sunday I woke up feeling pretty terrible, so we ended up staying home and not going to Stake Conference.  But we did go to dinner and to see the Wittkops, a family in our ward that we teach. 

Then it was Monday! Pday!   Which wasn't a super thrilling p-day, I still felt sick, but not as bad, we went shopping and then we went to San Clemente to give Sister Andersen a birthday present from Sister Hedrick, and then went to our Zone activity.  Then had dinner with members and saw a recent convert! :)   Then today we met with Brian, and that was a good lesson, and then had lunch and now we are here! :)

So my week was pretty busy, but my brain doesn't work super well right now, so I can't really remember everything that happened, but it was a good week, and we are all just getting used to being in a trio again and trying to figure out how to serve in 2 wards at once.  It is very different, but we are working on it, and so far it is running pretty smoothly.   Me and sister Hedrick take turns driving our different cars, so hopefully we will have lower miles at the end of the month ;)   

Hmmm, so today I was studying about baptism and how one of the covenants we make is to stand as witnesses.  And we were talking a little about this on Friday at our training about how as missionaries we represent Jesus Christ.  And I've really been trying to figure out how I will be able to more fully represent Him in all that I do, so that the people I see each day will have a greater desire to learn more and do more because they can see the Savior through me and all that I do.  I am, after all, called to represent Him, right now I bear my name, and also His, it is an amazing privilege and I love it! :)   So, I invite you to think of the ways that you can and do and could stand as a witness so that anyone who sees you, at anytime can recognize and see that there is something different about you, that they may be able to see Christ shining through you!! :)

Well it sounds like things are going great at home and I'm glad! Busy with Provo comp this week I am sure,   haha I think I will really enjoy going to bed at 10:30 instead of 2!   But, I'm sure it will be great, and Kenna, do great!! :)  It is really weird to think that last year at this time I was still home and just getting ready to help with Provo comp, it really doesn't feel like that was a year ago, I feel like it has gone by so quickly, and funny what Grandma said, but it is true, there will be just a few big things before summer rolls around, but I try not to think about that.  But I am getting to the point in my mission that every time someone asks me how long I've been out it always surprises me that I can now say 11 1/2 months.  It is really weird.  Soon I'll just start saying that I've been out for a long time.   Even though, for me at least, it doesn’t feel like it really has been all that long.  Hard and fun, but really not long as I look back.  Which I have been doing a little bit, just trying to see what has changed about me as I've been out, how I was before, and who I am now.  I'm different, but a good kind of different.  And I love it.  I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to grow in a way that I never expected, and that growing has come as I study the gospel everyday so that I can teach it to others so that they can have this wonderful gift that we have.  So the change didn't come all at once, but day by day, and I think that is how it is in real life.  Change comes daily and slowly, as we do the little things, but in the end it makes the world of difference.

I've also realized that as I'm around others so much (all the time), and I mean ALL THE TIME, which is great, but so different, I get to see others in a different way, but I also see myself in a different way.  And I am beginning to understand more about who I am and what God has in store for me! :)     So anyway, lots of good thoughts this week, must have had a little bit of time to think and learn, but it has been good!

So you asked how the work is going, always could be doing better, we are looking for more investigators right now, and really, we are just trying to find a balance with all the meetings I have, being in 2 wards, choir and then of course now, being sick, but hey, I am giving it my all.  But, my all and my best today will be different than my best tomorrow, but it will still be my best. :)   So, we are working, we are looking, we are getting to know the members, we are laughing at our mistakes, and trying harder the next minute to do better and be better.   

I love being a missionary, for a million different reasons.  And I know I say that a lot that "I love being a missionary" but I really do.   I loved dance in a million different ways, and now I love being a missionary, and I know that this is the greatest work that I could ever be doing right now, and I know that the time not only on missions, but in life, is so short, so I am trying to do better at really giving what I love everything I've got, so I can someday look back and know that there was nothing else I could have given, but that I surely did all that I could.    :)  

So, I hope you have a great week! Good luck at Provo Comp, I'll be cheering for you loud and proud here in Laguna beach! :)  

I love you!!!

Love,

Sister Taylor Burningham

Also, real quick I wanted to share a quote with you that I really enjoy.

"God knows that some of the greatest souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of history.  They are the blessed, humble souls who emulate the Saviors example and spend the days of their lives doing good"  -President Uchtdorf

I just love that!  So, go about doing good!!!

Love,

Sister Taylor Burningham

Us at the Temple

With the Ward Mission Leader and his family

Judy at her baptism