How Great Shall Be Your Joy

Dear Family!                                                                                         July 21, 2104

Sounds like this week was a pretty good one, and I'm glad that things are going well! Be sure to have fun in St. George this weekend! :)

My week was good.  I love being a missionary!!

It was kinda funny actually, a lot of people seemed to be gone this week, so we had a lot of stop-by’s where no one was home, for hours on end, which reminded me a lot of San Clemente when I first got there.  But there was a big difference from then to now, then, I dreaded the days when no one was home, cause the time seemed to go by so slowly, and it was just so disappointing for no one to be home.  But this week, I was just happy, and so excited to go out and work, to be doing the things that I've grown to love, and sure, no one was home ,but we still saw many miracles throughout the week, and that always makes things great.

This week I had my last Zone Training Meeting, and it was a really good one.  I think all the missionaries are excited about again focusing on the basics of missionary work and seeing miracles happen as they do that! I know that I'm excited for that!

This week has been a slow one like I said, at least in Oak Creek.  Good things are happening in the Yale Ward though!  We got 2 new investigators, but I have no idea how to spell or say their names, so sometimes that makes things confusing!  But, that’s ok. :)  I'm glad that the work is progressing in the Yale Ward! :)

We got to go on splits with some of the young women in the Oak Creek Ward this week, and that was great!  They are so fun, and I think it's great that they want to come out with us and see what it is like to be a missionary! :) 

This week I've been thinking a lot about my mission.  There are days where I feel like I'll be a missionary forever, and I'm quite ok with that feeling.  But then there are other days where it hits me that my mission is ending.  This week has been harder for some reason, with other missionaries bringing it up, like on Saturday we were having our missionary correlation meeting with our new ward mission leader in the Yale Ward, and one of the elders was like, this is Sister Burningham, she goes home in 2 weeks.  And I was like, way to throw me under the bus.  So that is hard.  But on the other end, my end, I'm working hard, we go out everyday and try our hardest to find people to teach, and to help those we have already found progress in the gospel. :)

So I've been thinking a lot about missionary work, and life and well, I've really tried, and am trying to everyday just enjoy every moment, I’m trying to soak it all in.  And I guess that would be my advice to any brand new missionaries, or missionaries that have been missionaries for a while, it doesn't really matter, but just enjoy every single day.  Enjoy every moment, because you only get it once.  And I think that is true with life as well, just enjoy every moment and soak it all in, cause we only get to live once (at least here on earth).  But how much better would the world be if everyone was looking for the good, and trying to enjoy every moment that they had?  I think it would be pretty great.  But unfortunately, I don’t think we can get everyone in the world to agree, but I think it starts small, with us. :) So enjoy every moment!

Along with that, I was asked to speak in church yesterday, so I got to give a talk in Oak Creek.  And that was great.  My topic was the talk given by President Boyd K. Packer from the last conference about how we can be protected spiritually in the world today!  I was thinking about my own experiences with that, and I am so grateful for you mom and dad, for the parents that you are and how you really have helped me gain that spiritual foundation that I'll need to be protected against the things of this world! :) What a blessing! :)  So I was grateful for the opportunity.

The speaker after me talked about missionary work, and he shared D & C18:15-16

15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

How great shall be our joy as we do our part in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ!  How great shall be our joy!! I've tasted of that joy time and time again, daily as I've been a missionary!  And I know that it is true, what the scripture says...As we labor and do our part, our joy will be great, regardless of how many people come into the church because of us!  So that is what stuck out to me yesterday, the joy that comes as we share the gospel! :)

So not a whole lot about my week this week, but know that I love this gospel.  I am so grateful to be a representative of Jesus Christ right now, and that I get to go out and share with the people in California that there is a God, and He is their Father, and He loves them.  That Jesus Christ is our Savior, and because of Him, we are never alone, we are never lost, we can always have a way back!  And that is the message that we get to go out and share!  And I love it! :)

I hope you all have a good week!  I love you all so much!!! :)

Gonna keep working hard, but I can't wait to see you again! :)

Love,

Sister Taylor Burningham

Catherine's Baptism

My Nametag

At dinner a couple of weeks ago