"Come what may and love it": Chat? ...Who Would Have Thought?

Hello all!! So much to write with no time to write it all.

This week started off with a sore throat. NOOO!!! It turned into chills, headache, clogged and runny nose, cough, and I sound like a man. Oh the joys of the MTC where everyone gets sick!! It definitely added an extra challenge to training. I felt horrible talking to people and spreading the nastiness. Hopefully it goes away soon.

We got another companion! Her name is Sis. Johnston and she's from Virginia. She's serving in the Independence Visitors Center. We LOVE her. It was just Sis. Guinn and I since our entire district left on Tuesday. Now it's only the three of us.

On Wednesday we went to Temple Square! (Weird being so close to everyone!! At least in the MTC I feel like I'm in a different state. Ugh) We took a tour and was able to talk to the director of the visitors centers across the world. My excitement for the work we get to do increased ten fold! We have the great opportunity to meet with people from all over the world, send them to the missionaries in their area, and it the meantime, we get to form a friendship and teach them the gospel. That friendship gets to last forever. It doesn't matter if we get transferred or leave the mission all together, that relationship continues beyond baptism. Ahh, I love how it is set up now. Also, I'll be spending a great deal of my time in the Visitors' Center, but we will have an area and proselyting days. I cannot wait to get out there.

Best part of the week, by far, was chatting! Yep, we get to chat. If someone goes to Mormon.org and hits the chat, you talk to VC missionaries from around the world. We had some amazing experiences! Sis. Guinn and I first talked to a guy named Dave. He is an Atheist and was wondering how we share the gospel in areas like the Middle East. We get a lot of random questions, but they always seem to turn into amazing conversations. As we continued to talk, he asked about God and who we though He was. We shared our testimonies and when he had to leave we told him we would always be here to answer more. He seemed shocked that we would want to talk to "the enemy", but would love to learn more about our beliefs and get some answers. The way he talked about God, you could tell he was genuinely wanting to know. He gave us his contact information before we could even ask for it.

My favorite part about chatting is feeling Heavenly Father's love for His children. We can't see them or read their body language like you can in a normal lesson, but God sees their hearts. He knows what they need and what will help them grow closer to him. As we talked with Dave, I felt God's love for Him. We never once felt defensive when he asked some questions. We could tell how honest he was and I haven't felt that much joy towards someone I haven't met before. Chat is wonderful.

Yesterday we were able to chat with a girl from Northern WI. She was amazing!! She wants to be baptized more than anything and knows the gospel so well! She has never met with the missionaries and lives over an hour away from the closest meeting house, but she has studied the gospel on her own and knows that when she's 18, she's getting baptized. It was amazing feeling her spirit from all the way over here. The sad thing is that our computer crashed before we got her e-mail. But I know God loves her and is leading her to Him.

They have a mock VC in the MTC that we practice in. Kinda funny actually. The teachers have volunteers come in and we'll teach one for 15 minutes and then teach another and another right after. It's a bit different than a normal lesson. You don't get to know who is coming before and plan specifically for them. We have to pray and follow the guidance of the spirit even more closely. We prepare a lesson and follow the spirit. I'm amazed that, no matter who comes in, something from our preparation ties into what the visitor needs. Ahh, the gospel is wonderful. God wants to be closer to His children and He'll make it happen. D&C 68:6 has been my theme this week. God most definitely stands by His servants as they share His gospel.

Saturday evening we go back to Temple Square and go on a splits with a sister there (crossing my fingers and get to at least see Sister Snow!) and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such a surreal feeling being there as a missionary and not normal me.

I see Elder Bigger every Sunday, but we're never allowed to have our cameras during devotional. Here's to hoping it happens before I leave on Tuesday!

Love you all,

Sister Burns

PICTURES!