Hello family! July 14,
2014
This week was a
really, really good one. I feel so calm and so...just ready for
everything that is in store for me in the coming days! :) In regards to missionary work, we are still
working hard, and still trying to find solid investigators, but we did get a
lot of referrals from the Yale Ward, so hopefully we will be finding some more
people to teach, and to baptize! :)
Lets see... On
Wednesday I was on an exchange with Sister Carlson and Sister Chua. And just because of how Sister Carlson was
feeling, we ended up going to the mission home so Sister Carlson could talk to
Sister Orgill, and Sister Chua and I watched the extended (new) version of
Jonny Lingo, so that was exciting, and super odd to be watching a movie.
But it really was good. (Happy birthday kenna!)
All week I couldn't
really figure out what I was feeling, excited and anxious yes, and tired and
just I don't even know, it was a really weird week in that regard. But
Thursday started and after that, things were really good.
Thursday we had MLC
(Mission Leadership Council) and it was so good! We talked a lot about just going back to the
basics and helping the missionaries KNOW the basics, cause when they know the
basics, the work will improve even more! :) So that was really great, and
it was just an uplifting day. But as always, at the end, they have all
the departing missionaries bear their testimonies. And since December
I've watched as missionaries I've grown to love share their testimonies, and I
always would think, "no, that will never happen to me." Well it
did, and it was so odd. I was the last of the sisters to share my
testimony, and I started by saying how if someone had told me 2 years ago that
I would be nearly done with my mission, I really would have laughed and thought
they were joking. But I would not take back any day since that
moment. I've changed so much as a missionary. This is a gospel of
change. We can change everyday. We can choose at any moment to be
better, to be different. And oh how glorious that is! I shared how as we
turn to the Savior, we are changed, because it is because of Him that change is
possible, and I am so grateful for that! :) Then we sang God Be With You
Till We Meet Again. And I was fine, until the 3rd verse and I caught Sister
Orgill's eye, and she was crying, and so I started crying. But it was a
great moment, and I feel so blessed that I had the opportunity to have it.
We also finally got
our Cruze back on Thursday! I've been in a rental car since April, and it
was so good to have our actual car back! :) So I am so grateful for that!
Thursday and Friday
nights were super different, but super fun and exciting. The Nashville
Tribute Band came and had a concert. It was a great missionary
opportunity and so many members and nonmembers came and heard the music that
testifies of the restoration and our Savior. It was fun, and at the very
end they invited all the missionaries to come up and sing with them, and it was
a great experience that I will always remember! :) And fairly unique for a missionary, but hey,
it was still a great time! :)
Oh, so Friday after
companion study, I walked into our kitchen and got me some cheerios, and then
walked back to our table. But on my way back to the table, I'm still not really
sure what happened, but one second I was walking and the next moment I was
watching as my bowl of milk and cheerios spiraled to the ground. And then
I hit the ground. And then I started laughing my head off, and all 3 of
us were laughing as we cleaned up the mess. It really made for an
exciting moment! It was really funny though. :)
Saturday I was on an
exchange with Sister Ashton and Sister Hedrick, and that went well, but we were
all really tired. But we found a less active in our window, and then dropped
a Book of Mormon off to a member’s friend...and then we went to Laguna Niguel
because CATHERINE WAS BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the highlight of my
week.
It was such a special
baptism, she was just so ready, and it made me feel so happy to see this woman
that I've grown to love, to be accepting the gospel and coming closer to the
Savior. :) It was a miracle, and one of those moments that I'll
always remember.
I was talking to Sis
Christensen afterwards, and she was like, these next few weeks are just like
the cherry on top. (Not that I like cherries but, you know what I mean),
haha. But they really have been so far, and I just feel so grateful to be
a missionary and these next few weeks really will just be the perfect finish!
:)
Yesterday was good,
except I was having all those mixed up feelings again, and trying to figure out
all that I was feeling. In the afternoon Sister Chua received her
Patriarchal Blessing, and that just made me realize how much God loves each of
us and knows us all so personally! He really is in the details of our
lives! :) And we got a new investigator, but she is Chinese, and I have
no idea how to say her name, let alone spell it! But her daughter is a
member, and so is her husband, so lots of potential there!!
I also got a blessing
last night, and I feel a great sense of peace. I've done all that I was
supposed to up to this point, and I will continue to do that until the end.
One thing that was mentioned was that I would help investigators and members,
but especially other missionaries right now. And then I got here this
morning and my email from President Orgill talked about how a lot of my focus
should be on my companions and getting them ready to go out and do the work
when I'm gone. So it was just really interesting how that all fit
together, and I am looking forward to the many miracles that will happen in the
coming weeks. :)
I know I've been
talking a lot about coming home, ok well not a lot, but a bit. It has
been on my mind a lot, just because I want to do all that I can and all that I'm
supposed to before my time as a fulltime missionary ends. On Friday
night, at the concert, when we were all up onstage the band sang "The
Hardest Thing I've Ever Loved To Do" and I cried a little, and after President
Orgill said, "Sister Burningham, I saw you got a little emotional up
there." I said yes. And he said, "well why don't you just stay
forever?" And I said that I wished I could. But I know that
that isn't part of the plan that God has for me. But until I do come
home, I'll be working hard, and enjoying every moment. We'll keeping
finding, teaching baptizing and building the kingdom of God. For this is
His work, and we are just privileged to be a part of it. :) And what a
blessing that is! I love this gospel, I love that we have a Savior, Jesus
Christ, who always knows how we feel, and that we can turn to Him in all things
and He will give us all that we need. :)
Have a good
week! Do good things! J I love you!
Love,
Sister Taylor
Burningham
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Nashville Tribute Concert.JPG) |
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