Sick and the Spirit

Well hello Family!                                                      September 30, 2013

Today is just a great day! :) I don’t know why, but I just feel more excited about life than usual! :) 

So, about my week!  We were able to do a regular session at the temple, last week, and that was just wonderful! I love the new video! :)  

   

So, Wednesday I woke up with a fabulous cold, and I couldn't breathe and I was pretty out of it, plus I had an awful kink in my neck, so that made things...really enjoyable.  But not really, I couldn’t turn my head without it hurting, so I was in pain and I couldn't breath, I was so foggy, but I was going to work!  So there we were, we studied, and then went to see a less active, we were only there for a little bit though, and then went and had lunch.  Then, we went to stop by a few potentials, and they weren't home, so we went to our car to pray to know what to do, and I thought of a  few people, but then I thought, "go take a nap."  And I said, “umm no, gotta work, I'm a missionary.”  So we talked with each other, and Sis. Putnam and Sis. Lang both didn’t really feel very strongly about anyone, so I mentioned the thought I'd had, and Sister Putnam was like, "ok lets go back to the apartment." I felt the spirit, but I just want you to know that I cried cause I had to go take a nap.  But it was much needed and I felt so much better afterwards! :)  So that was just a blessing! :)   And then the rest of the day was pretty low key, so I was able to recover, and really, I only had bad cold symptoms for 2 days, which was also a blessing! :)

   

So lets see...what else happened this week? I was sick Wednesday and Thursday, so both those days we didn’t do as much as we usually do, but that was ok.    We did go to choir, but I couldn't sing, so I watched and that was fun. :)   Friday we taught a lady named Jane, who is older, and really close to being homeless, so that is interesting, but she is a daughter of God, and really all of us need the gospel! :)

Then we did our weekly planning, and had dinner with our ward mission leader and his family.  We walked a lot, which is nothing new, and I'm glad to say that my body is getting more and more used to walking (oh the things that happen when you have a car full time for the first 6 1/2 months of your mission.  Oh dear, these are the problems with California ;) ).  But truly I feel so blessed to be serving here! :) It is truly right where I need to be, this is my mission, and I love it! Even on the hard days! :)

So also on Saturday, we went and saw a potential, Charlotte, she is this adorable black lady, and we all just love her! :)   It was a Spiritual lesson, so we hope that she will be interested in learning more! :)  Cause she is great!  And she is ready, she just doesn't know it yet!

And then we watched the relief society broadcast, which I LOVED!  And it just made me so excited for General Conference!  So I hope that you are getting ready  for conference, and I hope that you are planning to ask some questions so that you can receive some revelation! :)    I am so excited for it! :)   And yes, we'll be watching it at our stake center, so that will be fun as well!!! :)

  

I am so glad to hear that you are doing missionary work! It is different in all parts of the world, but even in Utah, there are people who don’t have the gospel, but who are searching for it.  We just have to be willing to open our months and share it with everyone, because we never know who is searching!  :) So keep praying, and I know that you will be guided to those who need the gospel!! :)   

Ooo, a package is fun! I decided that I don't want my maxi dress, haha, so yes, thanks for checking, it was pretty long, and I didn't wear heals, but I did always step on it, so for now, I don't want that.  As for anything else, treats,  ummm granola bars/rice krispies/snacks would be great, those are things I don’t always buy, but they are nice to have throughout the day.  Also,  umm if you can get it before tomorrow,  another refill of my prescription medicine (the nausea one) because we can get another refill before October (sorry just remembered)  and It will be great to have for when I need more! :) So that would be lovely! 

Sound's like things are going good at home!  And I am glad! :)  This week has been a good one for me as well!!  I hope that you enjoy conference! I hope that you are inspired! I hope that you know you can turn to the Lord at anytime, because I Know that he will answer our prayers! 

I love you!!!

Have a grand week!!!! :)

Love,            

Sister Taylor Burningham 

What a Week

September 24, 2013

Well, honestly, I don't even know where to begin!  This week has been a great one, and a long one, and a happy one!

So, let's see.  I went on Exchanges last week, so that was fun!   I went with Sister Bingham to her area, and with her new companion that she is training, so that was exciting!   Let's see, we have also had choir, which is going well, but we missed it today cause of the temple (which was FABULOUS by the way!!!)  Loved it!!  It was great! :)   So I am grateful that we had the opportunity to go!  It has been awhile for me, so that was a great blessing! :)

  

Let's see. Oh, so on Friday we had a Sister’s conference. We went and were spiritually fed and then we got to go "shopping."  People from all over our mission donated clothes, so we were able to get a few new outfits.  Also we learned about make-up tips, sewing tips, and we also all made skirts.  It was just a great time, and a great day, and I'm pretty sure it was like Christmas.  We got lots of new clothes.  Not sure what I'll do when I get transferred again, but I have high hopes that that won't be happening for quite awhile! :) but we will see!! :)   So, that was Friday.  

And I think that one of the greatest days on my mission thus far was Saturday.   Remember Rich?  I taught him in San Clemente.  I met him my very first night, and I may or may not have questioned if he would ever get baptized. Remember how just before I left San Clememte, I told you how Rich said that he had wanted to get baptized.... Well friends and family,  Rich is now a Mormon.  He is married too! :)  It was such a wonderful experience.  Probably the most spiritual baptism yet.  There weren't many of us there, just his new wife, (Jenn, who is a member, and I just love her!)  Her parents (her dad baptized Rich) then one of her sisters, and her two kids.  Cole, Jenn's son, and then Waverly, Rich's daughter.   And one of her friends, and a lady who is a life long friend of Rich’s.   And then us.  He was excited, and well, he was just ready.  It was amazing to have known him for so long, and to truly see the change that came about him.  After he was baptized, you could just feel the spirit, he was clean, and you could feel it!   It was so amazing, simply because I did spend so much time in their home. I could feel the love that God has for them, and it is a love that I have had for them.   So, it was an amazing experience, and I am glad that I was able to be a part of it!! :)  So that was truly the highlight of my week, then with the Sister's Conference, and then the temple today.  It has been a good week!

So things are going well.  We are still teaching Grace and Mackey and Trinity!  They are doing great!  And it has just been wonderful to be a small part of their lives! :)  I love that part of being a missionary (ok, well I love a lot of parts) But especially that I have been able to meet so many people, to share my testimony with them and to see what the Lord can and has done for them! It is a blessing, and I absolutely love it! :) I just love being a missionary!!

Things sound like they are going great at home! :)  Busy with school, and sounds like there has been a flood of farewells, which is just crazy!! :)  And great!   The Lord truly is hastening his work, and that is just a miracle! :) 

So, my trio. Sister Lang and Sister Putnam. I love them dearly!  We are all always together, and we teach together, it is the same as if there were two of us, there are just 3 instead, and it has been a great time! :)  

Tell Chad and Kristi congrats!   Crazy how time is flying, how everyone is getting older, I feel like, cause for me, real life has stopped, so I sometimes feel like it should be stopped for everyone else as well, but it doesn't, but it is so good to hear about family, and all the great things that are happening!! :)

Irvine is good!  Still pretty warm!   We have the car Tuesday to Friday, and walk the rest of the time!   Which some days is good, others it is hot, but I am just remembering to be grateful that I am serving in such a beautiful and wonderful mission, that I am still in America, and that I do have a car part time! :)  Our area isn't too big, probably about... hmm lets see, about 3 or 4 miles long, about 1/2 a mile or a little bigger wide.  It actually isn't that big, and when we do walk, we normally stay closer to where we live, so we don't end up walking the whole area every day! :)

Ah dad, I remember going to that football game with you! :) ah, happy memories!  So many happy memories! And so many more in the years to come!  And I am just so grateful that I am able to hear from you each and every week!!:) Kenna, you look adorable!  You are looking so much more grown up. You are beautiful!  And mommy, thanks for keeping me updated! I love all of you so much! You are simply the greatest!! :)

I hope that you have a great week!   Things should be good here, just trying to find more investigators, teaching the ones that we already have and just smiling and laughing every moment, because we do have great reason to rejoice, because we have this wonderful gospel!! :)

I love you so much!

I'll send pictures in just a second!!!  Have a great week!  Keep sharing the gospel online, and every chance you get!!!  I love you!!

Love,

Sister Taylor Burningham 

Hello

Hello Family! :)                                                                             September 16, 2013

How are you doing today?   On this fine Monday morning?  Things are going good here in Irvine! :)   We had 12 nonmembers in our ward yesterday, so that was really exciting!  And, dad, yesterday,  we got picked up by a member, and the wife was driving her husbands BMW, and M3 (no idea what that means, but he said that I had to say that when I told you) But, I rode in a BMW yesterday, so that was pretty exciting.  The things that you do when you don't have a car ;)   haha.

So, lets see. This week has been a pretty good one, pretty hot too.   So lets start at the beginning, last Tuesday was a really funny day.  We had a zone training, so no morning studies, which threw us all off. And then, we had a choir practice. Which was fun, but slightly embarrassing, we had to sing in front of everyone...ummm ya. Yay.  That was joyful.   And then the guy in charge told me that I'd never had professional training (uhhhh duh...I got invited to be in the choir...haha.) So that was joyous, and made me laugh.  But, the choir thing should be fun so I am really looking forward to that. :)

We started teaching Grace again, and so that is super exciting!  She wants to get baptized, and so that is great! And she was at church yesterday, and the only question she had was from Sunday School, about the plan of salvation, which we haven’t even taught her yet!  But she is excited to learn, and that is just so wonderful!!! :)

   

Hmmm, so that is Grace, what else happened this week... Oh, we had a potential investigator come to church and to a baptism on Saturday and yesterday.  So that was pretty great!   Let's see. Oh ya, we went to an interfaith event last Wednesday, and it was at our church, but very interesting. Very interesting to be able to feel the Spirit at times, and then not at other times.   So interesting how people have bits of the truth, but they don't have everything!  It is so great to be out here, being able to share with others the truth, and truly raise a warning voice, because there is so much wickedness in the world, but,  the Lord is real, and he does want all of his children to return to him!   And that is the most glorious part of the plan, that we are going to be able to return!! :)

It sounds like things are going good! :)  So that is great! :) Loved hearing about all the news, and I loved your dress Kenna, that is super cute!! :) You look so adorable!! :) I still can't believe that so many people I know are about to leave (or are leaving) for missions.  It is super, super crazy!!     It is so exciting to hear about everyone who is leaving, the Lord truly is hastening his work, and it is so wonderful to be a missionary at this time! :)    Wow, I can't believe that in Utah they are over 13 wards!!! That is crazy, sometimes I feel overwhelmed, and we are only over one ward!  That is crazy, but it just shows how different the work is in different parts of the world :)     But yes, advice to any future or current missionaries...love the people, love your companion, and the Lord will do the rest! :)   It is quite wonderful, but sometimes easier said than done. But it is doable.  :)  

  

Wow...Rachel, getting married on my birthday!   That is great! Tell her congrats!  :)   If you are able to get in contact with Katelyn I did get her letter, and I think I wrote back last week.  If I remember right...haha :)  It takes me a long time to write back to people, I have not a lot of time on pday, so I don’t write too many letters, there just seems to be more and more to do as my mission goes on, probably because it is becoming less about me, and more about everyone else!

    

Trio is still going good! I love these dear sweet sisters that I get to serve with at this time!   They are great, and we are able to talk and laugh and do the work together!   We are still working out how to teach in a trio, trying not to talk as much, so we can all help teach, and share our testimonies, but we are doing better and better each day.  So, yes, it is challenging, but it truly is a blessing and a great growing experience!! :)   

Our weather is still pretty hot, but that is ok, we are doing just fine.  The nights are getting cooler, and we try to avoid walking a lot at the hottest part of the day, so things are getting a bit cooler!  Which is nice.  It is also nice that it isn't too humid here in Irvine. :)

Hmmm so, I feel like my brain is a little scattered today, but really it has been a pretty good week, we have seen miracles, and I am truly enjoying being a missionary.   Though, it is so weird to me to be in the group of more experienced missionaries, and I've only been out 7 months. I still have so much to learn, and I hope many things to accomplish!  But, it has been a great experience so far, and I wouldn't change it for the world! :)

  

I am so grateful that nearly a year ago President Monson made the announcement that changed my life!  I feel so blessed to be able to be serving the Lord in this way, to be helping others come closer to the Lord.  Because He truly is the most important part of our lives, Him and our families! :)  I feel so blessed, and even on the hard (or hot) days, I feel His love, and I know that the things I share each day with others are true, and that truly, we have the good news of the gospel, so my question is, what are we doing to share that with the world?  :)  

I hope that all is going well! I hope that you are all still smiling and happy! I hope that life is treating you well, and that the Lord is carrying you in hard moments! :)    I hope that you keep doing good things!  And keep smiling! 

I'll send letters tomorrow! :)  I love love love love you!!! :)

Love,

Sister Taylor Burningham 

Look for the Happiness

Hello Family!! :)                                                                                   September 10, 2013

How are you doing???

I heard about the crazy weather, but I didn't know it was that crazy!!! But that really does sound like this past weekend was an adventure! But I am glad that all is well, that you are safe, and that things are drying up! :)   

Things are good here, this week has been a good one!  Lots of changes and new things though.  

Ok lets see where to start.  Hmm Mackey and Trinity.  So, we taught them on Tuesday and on Friday.  And on Tuesday, when we got there, Trinity said that she was already nearly done with First Nephi!  This twelve year old girl is just soaking up the gospel! It is a miracle!  It is amazing!! :)   So that was great.  So far, Mackey still wants to be baptized, but doesn’t without her husband, so that has been a little bit of a roadblock, but we are praying for him nearly all the time, and we will stop by tonight to see how they are doing! :)   We get to teach Grace this week, she previously disappeared, k well, not really, she just has been super, super busy! :)   But, we get to teach her on Wednesday, and I guess the Elders stopped by on Saturday and she told them that she was super excited about our appointment, so it should be good.  We will most likely be inviting her to be baptized!

Speaking of baptisms...3 weeks ago we learned about opening windows, and we did the next day, and met Lucia, at the park,  and we taught her, and have kept in contact with her.   And guess what!!! She was baptized yesterday!!  She called us and told us how happy she was! :)  So that was just an amazing thing to kind of be a part of! Miracles happen every single day!  All around the world!! The Lord is hastening his work! The elect are being found! :)    So, that was pretty great, even though we weren't able to go and see it, I am so grateful that the gospel is true everywhere!! :)

Hmm ok, so for the changes. For one, we started walking.  So, that is really different. But great, we are able to talk to more people, but I think once it cools down we will be able to talk to even more, but right now, there aren't many people out and about because it is still so hot.  So that was an adventure.  And our AC broke, again. But they fixed the motor, so we should be good!!!   And thank goodness, because it has been hot.   I'll be glad when we get the car again, but it will be fun to keep walking, and get to know the area better than we already do!!  Second thing that is different, I'm in a trio now.  And I'm not only training sister Putnam, I'm now training Sister Lang as well. She joined us here in Irvine on Saturday, from her first area that she had been in for just 6 weeks.  She was in a companionship that really was just too far gone to be saved, so we have her now, and that has been an adventure, training two people, but I feel that the Lord has prepared me, and that He really is holding me up, and giving me the words of direction to say, so that these sisters can be the Missionaries and the people that He intends for them to be.  :)   So, that is my week, new changes, but new opportunities.  I am learning so much from both of them, and I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity to grow in this way!!

The Lord's work is truly amazing.  The gospel is true!! :)  We have so many reasons to rejoice, the fact that God has a plan for us, that there is a purpose to everything we do, that God loves us! That we are His Children!  That the Book of Mormon is the word of God. That babies are so cute!   haha, even though I can't hold them for 11 more months, that is ok!   haha.  But, things are just great!!   And so, this week, I really want to challenge you to look for the little things.  Look for the happiness.  The world is growing ever and ever darker, we are going to need to be the examples, and the sources of light to all of those around us.  There are many even within the church that are slipping and sliding, and falling into the dark.  We need to help them.  And that starts with us.  So, this week, look for the happiness, and I can't wait to hear all about it in your letters and emails next week!! :)  So, this week has been good, I've been looking for the happiness.  And I just love how much God is in the details of our lives.  I am so blessed to be serving in Irvine, to have the companions that I do, the mission that I am in.  It truly is exactly what I needed, and I am sure that everyday for the rest of forever I will know why this was the mission that I was called to serve in.  :)

I hope that you have a great week!  Be that light for someone else, share your testimony, share a smile!  Be courageous and proud to know that you are a part of the church of God.   Share that, because the world needs it. :) 

And, yes, I'm a missionary, so I am inviting you, just as we do with the members here, to strengthen yourselves, then strengthen those around you! :)

I love you all, I hope that you have grand week, stay close to the Spirit, keep smiling! :)

I love you!

Love, 

Sister Taylor Burningham

P.S.  I can wear maxi skirts now, so I'd like my dress at some point. Also, for Christmas and birthday...if Mika Rose has any skirts that are similar to the pleated ones I got before, that would be great... one or two, size small.  Hmmm…also, modbe white and black shirts, like the black one Kenna and I both had, those would be great. (I won't need them till Christmas, but just some ideas)  New shirts would be grand, I'm getting bored.  I probably won't come home with a lot of the things that I brought, just because I wear it everyday. So, that's all I can think of now. I'm actually pretty set on journals, there was a composition notebook sale (they were 70 cents...) haha.  But, one thing that I would love from EVERYONE is pictures, either in a scrapbook, or just pictures from the year, since I haven't been there, that would give me great joy! :)   So, there are some ideas!

Have a great week! 

I love you all!

Hot and Humid

Well hello family!                                                                        September 3, 2013

This week has been pretty good, several miracles, and well, lots and lots of heat and humidity.  And it is really bad when your ac breaks and so...that was our adventure this week!    It got up to almost 100 degrees in our apartment before it got fixed, and we also spent the night in another sisters’ apartment while it was getting fixed.   So, that was an adventure! And the night before, we'd had about 6 fans that we borrowed from members. But it has been hot around here, so we are praying for cooler air!!! :)

  

So this week has been good, and pretty busy! We have been teaching a lot of new people, all of which I told you about in the letter I sent off today, but I'll share some highlights from this week! 

So, on Friday we taught a lady named Mackey, and her daughter Trinity.  They have been friends with members for quite a few years now, and Trinity even went to girl’s camp this past summer (she is 12). So we were teaching them the restoration, and right after we shared Joseph Smith’s experience, I felt prompted to invite them to be baptized.   So I did.  Mackey was a little bit shocked, but, she said yes, and then, Trinity raises her hand, with tears streaming down her face, and asks if she can be baptized too!  It was amazing!   Then they both asked what they needed to do to be able to be baptized! So that was a miracle, and we will be teaching them again this afternoon, so we are super stoked about that!!!

Also, Janis wants to get baptized, so we will be working with her as well!! :)

  

So, This week really has been wonderful!  It has been fun and hot. We've been teaching a lot, a lot of members, which is great practice, and well, my testimony gets strengthened nearly every single day! :)

This morning was great!   Why?  Because during personal study I was reading all about the Book of Mormon, and from the Book of Mormon! So, I needed to follow up on the challenge I gave you a few months ago, about reading the Book of Mormon with a question in mind, how is that going for you?!?! What experiences have you had!?

I am so grateful that you have been able to recognize the Spirit more in your life while I have been gone.  I know that the Lord is blessing each of us as I am here serving.  It has been such an amazing experience so far, and really, I can't believe that I've been a missionary for almost 7 months now.  What a blessing, and man, time is just flying by!! :)  It has been wonderful so far!  :) I've loved every second.  :)   

So, This week is transfer week, and both sister Putnam and I will be staying since she is still training.   A lot of our zone is getting transferred, so it will be fun to be able to meet a lot of new missionaries in the coming weeks!   

I honestly can't believe that I've been in Irvine for 6 weeks already, I feel as though I just got here.  But the work is moving, and it has been a wonderful thing to be a part of!  And I truly hope that I will be able to serve here for a long time!

OH, also some news.  So more and more missionaries are coming out, so we are now doing a car share.   So starting this week, we'll only have the car Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays.  And we'll be walking a lot.  (Our area is probably the smallest in our mission).  So that will be oodles of fun!    We are excited and nervous for the change, and we hope that everything will work out, it will just be different at first, and we'll just keep praying for cooler weather! :)  So that's us.   I'm just crazy as usual, talking to anyone and everyone about the gospel, and planning how I'll be a member missionary when I get home.  Which is quite fun!

  

Oh, so yesterday, we were listening to some of Sister Putnam's CD's, and well, part of a song that was in our Hans Zimmer medley came on, and it just took me to my happy place, which was great!  Since we haven’t gotten mail yet since it is transfers today, so I was able to remember home a little bit! :)

RACHEL COVERT IS GETTING MARRIED>!???!?? FREAK!! Tell her I say congrats, and to send me a wedding announcement. I can't believe that she is engaged!?!?  That is very cool though! :)

  

It is weird to be thinking that school is starting, and I'm not going to school.  It is super weird to think that Karson, my little baby is going to be in first grade, and that Easton is going to be in preschool.  And Briggs is getting baptized?  However did I get so old? I just don't understand!!  But, I am grateful for the time on earth that we do have, and the experiences that we get to go through.   All have a purpose, and all truly do help us know that there is a God, and that there is a purpose to everything that we experience.   

I am so grateful for this gospel.  For Jesus Christ who is our Savior!    I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time! It is truly a blessing! :)   I love the gospel, and I love my Father in Heaven! I love serving him! :)  

I hope that you have a great week, I hope that things go well, and that you can find a dress for Kenna! Can't wait to see pictures! :)   I hope that you keep smiling, I hope that Labor Day was fun and that work and school continue to go well!! :)

I'll talk to you real soon!

I love you!!!!!

Love,

Sister Taylor Burningham 

p.s. Thanks for the medical info, and I know exactly where the doctor’s office is, it's in my area! I'll go there soon! :)  Thanks mommy! :)

I love you all! :)   Have a great week! 

And enjoy the pictures! :) (in the next email!) 

Ok, so there is an elder in my ward (that is serving with me) and his name is Elder McCullough...I think that is how you spell it.   But, he home taught Rachel Covert when he was at BYU, and he knows the guy she is engaged too, so just thought I'd tell you the random connections that happen, even while serving in California!   So, that’s that, if you see Rachel, and tell her congrats for me, you'll have to tell her that I know her old home teacher.   HaHa.  Crazy.  How am I this old?  How can I know people getting married?!?!?!?!

I love you! :) 

and Kenna and Daddy too! 

Crunching Leaves

Hello Family! :)                                                                             August 26, 2013

How are things going in good old Utah?   I hope that things are great, and honestly it is still super weird to think that Kenna is already back in school, and a senior?  Where did the summer (that I didn't have) go? haha.  But, things are going good here in Irvine!  :)   

This week was a little funny, not sure why, but it was just kind of a weird week, But, we were able to see the Spirit working a lot in our lives, in the way that we were able to teach some members the exact things that they were struggling with! So that was just a great reminder that God is in the details of our lives, that he knows each and everyone of us, He knows what we need, what we are going through and how exactly we can be helped.  And then, there are those little things called tender mercies that appear, and we are able to recognize that God does know us and that He is going to help us.  Always.  So we had some pretty Spiritual experiences this week, so those were great! :)

Also, this week, our stake did a musical, about the parable of the ten virgins.  And it was AMAZING!!!   First off, I just love musicals!  Second, it was a great message!  All about how even though in our lives we are doing good things, we need to be constantly adding to our lamps, so that we will be ready when the Savior comes again.   So,  keep doing the things that bring you closer to God.  Read from the scriptures, pray-actually talk to God, he is, after all. our father!   Go to church, and I know that we have all heard these things before, but they really are so important!   We are at a day and age when we truly need to be doing all that we can, it is not the time to just be part way in the gospel, but it is a time that we need to be in it with our whole hearts! :)   So, that is what I got out of the musical!  They did it two nights, and we were able to go to both because we had investigators at both nights.    Patty, who was a former investigator that we picked up again, came on Thursday night and just LOVED it!  She cried, and we told her that was because of the Spirit, and so we are doing our weekly planning on Friday, and she called us, asking if she could go again that night, and asked if she could bring a friend.  Which she did!!! :) So that was super exciting! We weren't able to have a lesson with her this week though, but hopefully we will be able to teach her again soon!  

  

Also, Lucia, I may have told you her story before,  but after we had the mission conference about opening windows, we met Lucia, she doesn't live in our mission.  But she is being taught by sisters in her area.   She was in Irvine this past week, so we were able to teach her again, and even though it has been about two weeks since we met her, she is progressing so quickly!!!  (The elect will be ready!)   And she came to the "Ten Virgins" musical on Thursday... and best news I had heard all day...SHE IS GOING TO GET BAPTIZED!!! :)    Which is pretty grand!! :) And a miracle. She wants us to be there, so we will ask, but who knows.   But, she wants to be baptized! I still can't even believe it! :)   So that was a miracle!

We also went on exchanges this week.    Sister Bingham (the one who said hello in your letter last week)  is a Sister Training leader, and she came to my area with me while Sister Putnam went to work with Sister Bingham's companion.  We had a ball! :) It was great fun, and it just helped me realize that I am pretty hard on myself, but also that, I am doing good things, even though the success here isn't always evident right away.   So, we had a great time, we actually were able to teach an investigator (Alex) who we have not yet been able to teach, so that was great. Alex warmed up to us, but she is still pretty nervous about the missionaries.  She is going to be a junior this year in high school, but it was great to teach her, about how she can find out if this gospel is true for herself, so hopefully we'll be able to see her soon as well!  As for Audrey, she disappeared this week. We haven't been able to get a hold of her, but we'll keep trying, and praying for her! If anything, we got her introduced to something that will hopefully someday change her life! :) 

Also, on Saturday, our ward had a corn roast, which was pretty fun! And all the missionaries in our ward and in a ward in our stake helped get the corn ready.   And we just had a fun time talking with members, and getting to know them better! :) And eating corn of course!

So, it is pretty interesting, the weather here. Because during the day it is pretty hot, but slowly it is starting to cool down in the evenings.   Which has been nice.   Also, some of the leaves are changing, and falling, and I have discovered that I have a great love for crunching leaves. :)  So next time you’re outside, go crunch some leaves, and think of me. :)  I'm glad to hear that things are going well at home, with school starting, that will take a little bit of time to adjust, but I am glad things are going well so far! :)  

  

Dad, I know exactly how you feel (well sorta, you're a bishop, I'm a missionary).  But, in the way that I still feel brand new, and at times, I don’t know what I am doing, but I am learning to rely on the Lord.  But, it is still pretty surprising to me, when people are shocked to find out that I've only been out 6 1/2 months.    Which is just weird, cause I still feel like a new missionary in some ways, and in other ways, I don't.  But it has been interesting thing that I am experiencing.  And a sister said yesterday, "You're only 19??!!" so apparently I suddenly look older than I used too. ;)  haha.   Don't know what happened there... maybe my hair cut.   

Anyway, this week has been good!  And I am so grateful that things are going well, and that you are still trusting in the Lord, and that you are seeing different opportunities to share the gospel!  Take them!  We need to share what we have with the world!!!! :)

I love you all!   I hope that you have a great week!!! :)  

Love,

Sister Taylor Burningham 

Opening Windows

Hello dear family!!                                                           August 19, 2013

This week has been a great one, full of miracles and great experiences.

We had a zone conference on Tuesday and learned all about how we need to have shorter lessons more frequently so that our investigators can feel the Spirit more in their lives, so we are teaching shorter lessons and just having a great time doing that!

We also have been finding people like crazy.  We have 3 new investigators as of last week, and well, how we found them was just amazing.   We opened a window (like I told you about last time).  And so we go to this park that we felt like we needed to be at, and we opened the door and I saw a man on a bench and then a girl sitting by the wall, and so I said to sister Putnam "the man or the girl?"  She said the girl, and we went over to her.  Her name is Audrey.  She's about 16 and she dances, and we taught her the first lesson, and we will be teaching her again tomorrow, and she is super excited to meet with us.   But as we were teaching her, I had this thought (which was obviously from the Spirit) but it was that "you were supposed to find her."  I had always wondered if there were specific people for me, that I would find and teach, and well, I found one.  Audrey.   And I am just so excited to share the gospel with her! :)  So, we taught Audrey, (sitting on the sidewalk at a park) and while we were there, a guy rode by on a bike, and we had to move out of the way for him.  But after we finished teaching her, we walked around the park, and talked to the man that we had seen on the bench, but he wasn't interested.  And then there was the guy that had ridden by during our lesson with Audrey.   And we introduced ourselves, and said that we share a message about the plan that God has for us, and asked if he would be interested.   And he said “yes” (2 in one hour, we were freaking out!)   And so we taught him the Plan of Salvation, and we are still trying to set up a time to go and see him, and well, we are excited for that too!! :)

The other new investigator that we have is Patty, she was a former investigator, and we met her a few weeks ago, but we weren't able to teach her.   And so, on Thursday night she called us and asked if we could come and help her make cupcakes.   Which we did, and she also gave us dinner (even though we told her we had already eaten-two dinners, one night, God helped me do that, cause I felt fine, but man, it was scary!  Haha)  But she is just a great woman, and she only has an issue with Joseph Smith, but other than that, she would be a great Mormon (she even raised her family in the way that we do cause she liked how her Mormon friend's families were!)  But she is great, and she adores us, which is just fun.  She is now my 3rd grandma, so its fun!

But, those were the highlights of my week, and I also got to go to San Clemente to see Rick get baptized, it was a beautiful baptism, and it was great to see everyone, and a lot of people said that I was missed, and it was kinda fun to see their faces when they saw me and hear them ask in  surprise "you’re back!?" haha, it was great! And I am just so grateful that I have such a small mission that I was able to go and see him get baptized, and hopefully in a few weeks I'll be back for when Rich gets baptized, cause yes my dear family, Rich is going to get baptized (he gets back from India this week, then in the next few weeks he and Jenn are getting marrried, and then he will get in white and get a little wet!!!!)  :)  Which was just happy news!  

So, this week was good, I have so much energy and I am just excited to be working!   I love that I chose to come out on a mission, I love that I am here in Irvine, and that the work is progressing!  The Lord truly is hastening his work, the time is different than it has ever been, and what a glorious time to be living in!  :) I am so grateful!

Crazy that school is already starting Kenna, it feels really weird to not be going back to school, and weird to think that in a year I’ll be going back. But I try not to think about that ;) not that I have oober amounts of time to do so anyway, I'm pretty busy, and I just love talking to people about the gospel, even homeless people who tell us that they are prophets (what? we are supposed to talk to everyone, so we open our mouths! They are all God's children!)   But, it truly is great! Truly is a blessing! And I am just happy! :)

I love you all! I hope you have a great week!  

Challenge for the week is to use social media (facebook, instagram, whatever else is new that you use) to share the gospel, one thing a day if you can.  A video, a quote, a picture. anything! Get the word out there, the world needs to know! :)

   

So, I love you dear family! I hope you have a great week!!! :)   

Love, 

Sister Taylor Burningham