Weekly Letter -- 3.1.2016

Hello All!

This morning was wonderful!

We were able to have a final District Meeting in the School of the Prophets. We were all able to share our favorite verse about the Savior and bear testimony of Him. There are so many wonderful things that He has done and still does do for us. I am grateful for the time I had to ponder that this morning. 

The verses I chose to share was in John 14

 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

I love these verses so very much. They have come to mean so much to me in my life. I have come to know that Jesus Christ truly loves us. He never leaves us without comfort. There have been times on my mission that I felt I could not keep going, but it was at those times that I had to rely on the Savior and I was given strength and comfort. I have been able to feel the peace that comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that He suffered and bled for me. I know that He loves me. I feel it every day in Ohio. Nothing means more to me than that. 

I hope you all know how much I love you. Thank you for the support and the love that you have all shown me. There is truly nothing better in this life than dedicating your life do Heavenly Father. The scripture is true, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it". I have come to know who I am while serving a mission. I have come to know how important all of God's children are to Him. In the end, I don't feel like I gave up anything. Heavenly Father has blessed me so much while being out here. I am forever grateful for this opportunity!  

I love you all!

Have a blessed day!

Sister Eleena Burns

7800 Kirtland-Chardon Road

Kirtland, Ohio 44094

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRYSON AND JEANINE TODAY!!!!!

Tracting in the middle of nowhere on the most windy day of the year!
 But at least it was pretty!

Only the best place ever....​

With the coolest district ever....

Weekly Letter - 2.23.2016

Hello All!

Well, today has been strange. 

You spend your entire mission planning your days out and they normally go as planned....sure, it might be our backup plans, but at least we planned those, too. 

Today is not at all what we planned for. 

Last night we finished planning and all was well. Today we were supposed to be at Mission Leadership Council, but your plans changed drastically last night. 

My all time favorite missionary and her brand new companion were in a car accident lat night. They were life flighted to Cleveland Clinic and that's all we heard. 

The entire mission world paused. 

I cannot explain how lost we felt last night. We couldn't do anything. We didn't know what happened, how they were doing, or if they were even still alive. In times like this we often think of the worst possible outcome. We tried to push those thoughts away. I literally just read an article of the Sister Missionary in PA yesterday -- that wasn't helpful.

We all sat in our apartment in shock and silence for a while. But it was then that we did all that we could do -- we knelt down as sisters together and Sister Saunders offered the sweetest prayer I have ever heard.. She prayed for both sisters, for their families, for the doctors, for President and Sister Brown, for those involved. There is power in prayer and my testimony was strengthened of that last night. I have never felt God's love more for another person than I did at that time. There was an overwhelming Spirit that filled the room and I knew that Heavenly Father was watching over them. He loves His missionaries. There was and is great comfort and peace as we turned to the Lord and gave our will over to Him. 

They are doing okay. It's going to be a long road back to recovery, but the doctors say they should be alright.

This opened my eyes a bit. We are so blessed. You never know when, in a flash, your life is changed. Why do we ever complain? Why did I ever complain? The worst I have is an aching back, toe, leg, etc. Heavenly Father loves us so much. We do have trials, yes, but even through those hard times, we can and are strengthened through the power of the Atonement. The Lord never leaves us alone. He is always helping us along, even if He has to carry us at times. 

I know He loves us and I hope we all remember that. Count your blessings. They are everywhere. 

We're all doing alright. It's times like these that you draw closer to the Lord and rely on Him even more. That's what we're doing.     

 

Please keep them in your prayers. 

As for the rest of the work, it's going great. We had a lesson with Dante and were talking about The Book of Mormon when out of the blue he says, "Can I be baptized?" and continued asking more questions about what he has to do, etc. This is when a missionary pauses and has to think for a minute just to comprehend what he said. "Yes! Of course you can!". He hasn't been baptized and that's what he wants. It really did come out of nowhere, but hey, that's exciting! He's getting baptized next month! 

Well, know that I love you all! And I'm happy even with all of the sad. That's what happens when you keep God and the front of all that you're doing. =)

Have a blessed day!

Sister Eleena Burns

7800 Kirtland-Chardon Road

Kirtland, Ohio 44094

P.S. Sorry for all of they typos. 

P.p.p.s.s.s....yesterday was my 2 years through the temple mark...on 2.22....I was thinking of Kendra all day!! 

Morgan took us to the Cleveland Museum of Art last Preparation Day. It was so good!

                                            and all I did was take pictures of furniture.... classic.  

Harry and Ron....do you wanna play chess?

It's a Frank Lloyd Wright window. 

Exchanges with Sister Edwards. She is a powerhouse!

District Meeting/interviews with President and Sister Brown.

Brooke and Jeff! Brooke is a member and we're teaching Jeff. I love them! And that cute little baby is Ella. She is so adorable!!!

Bill! Also, it reached 70 degrees outside. =)

Uma and Patar! I just love this family!!!

Marika  and her kids. They are from the Solon ward, but her parents are in the Shaker ward, so I got to see them on Saturday!! Also.....Kendra (or anyone), do you know of a single man in his 40s who has a job, testimony, and teeth? Marika is looking. Haha.  

Alexis. Only my favorite!

Here she is, fellas! 

Just Kirtland. 

Weekly Letter -- 2.17.2016

Hello!!

This week was full of miracles and wonderful moments! 

As a Sister Training Leader in Kirtland we get to plan and present training meetings for the missionaries serving in at the Historic Kirtland Visitors' Center. This past Friday we decided to do a special training and utilize the N. K. Whitney Store. I wish I could take you all through the tour and let you feel the Spirit that is in that building, but I'll just have to try to explain it. We decided to do a silent tour of the store. We had scriptures and quotes throughout the entire store that focused on our purpose as missionaries and how we can be better servants for Jesus Christ. Sister Janairo and I were the last to go through the Spirit was so strong. There is something so amazing about that place.  

The questions and quotes we used were directed towards us missionaries, but it can apply to anyone really. So I wanted to share them all with you. 

Here they are....

________________________________________________________________________________

“Behold, I say unto thee . . . thou art called to GO TO THE OHIO.”

D&C 39: 14

________________________________________________________________________________

“We can become better acquainted with Heavenly Father through prayer.

Personal ministry can answer prayers. We can offer a daily prayer that

enlists the help of the Lord Jesus Christ as we ask:

‘Help me to be the answer to someone’s prayer today.’

The Lord consistently answers this prayer as we tune our eyes and ears

to discerning the needs of those around us.” 

SISTER BONNIE D. PARKIN

Think of a time when you have been the answer to someone’s

prayer or when someone has been the answer to yours. What does it mean to you that God

At times sends His answers through others — and especially through His missionaries?

________________________________________________________________________________

“Ministering involves extending charity

—that pure love of Christ—

to others,

one person at a time.

By doing so, we offer a kind, generous, peaceful, and pure heart. Opportunities to minister may come within the formal stewardship of a calling or assignment, or they may come as we spontaneously extend ourselves to someone in need.”

SISTER BONNIE D. PARKIN

________________________________________________________________________________

“Thy Strength is in me”

“Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION — HYMN 85

What can you accomplish with the Lord’s guidance and love?

________________________________________________________________________________

“[Wait] patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord . . . and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.”

D&C 98: 2

________________________________________________________________________________

“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

D&C 88: 63

________________________________________________________________________________

“Therefore,

sanctify yourselves

that your minds become

single to God,

and the days will come that you

shall see him;

for he will unveil his face unto you,

and it shall be

in his own time, & in his own way,

& according to his own will.”

D&C 88: 68

How can you be worthy to receive these sacred promises?

________________________________________________________________________________

“Be still and know that I am God.”

D&C 101: 16

________________________________________________________________________________

“The Prophet Joseph was in an adjoining room . . . and came in with that Revelation in his hand. Out of the twenty-two members that were there assembled, all used tobacco more or less, except two. Joseph read the Revelation and when they heard it

they all laid aside their pipes and use of tobacco”

Zebedee Coltrin — Site guide, page 66

Write down what you are willing to change to truly

dedicate and consecrate your mission to the Lord?

Will you live what you wrote?

________________________________________________________________________________

“I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Philippians 4: 13

________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry if they were too large to see, but I just felt like sharing. This place is so wonderful. There is a feeling here that makes us want to be better. I am so grateful to my call to serve in this wonderful place and I am grateful for the people I have been able to meet. Most importantly, I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to share my testimony every single day of my Savior. I know that He lives and I know that He loves every single one of us. There is nothing we can do that will make Heavenly Father stop loving us. His love is perfect and eternal. We can all throw our "pipes" away. We can change. We can choose to follow Jesus Christ and be a true disciple for Him. And the wonderful thing about it all, is that it's possible. We can change. We can be better. We can have our burdens lifted through Jesus Christ and we can see His light enter into our lives. No matter how dark it may seem -- there is no darkness too dark that Christ's light cannot overcome. All we have to do it allow Him in. 

I hope you know I love you all and I know that God loves you. 

Have a blessed day!

Sister Eleena Burns

7800 Kirtland-Chardon Road

Kirtland, Ohio 44094

Weekly Letter -- 2.8.2016

Hello!!!

I don't have much time today, but there were so many miracles this week!!!

Highlights: 

SETOYA AND HER FAMILY CAME TO CHURCH!!!! We've been teaching them for two months and they hadn't come to church once, but they came and she loved it. I'll have to tell you about testimony meeting one day. It was so interesting. Haha. 

From the hours of 5-6:30pm every single missionary in our mission is out finding people to teach. We had a mission wide fast this past Sunday to be able to find those that are ready...and this past week we found four new investigators just in one day and more throughout the week! Our entire mission is on a roll! 

Moral of the story: miracles happen every single day, all we have to do it press forward and put our faith in Heavenly Father. Even when something seems hard, the Lord can make it all possible! And fasting works. I'm excited to see what happens the rest of the month. 

This truly is the Lord's work. His hand is everywhere and there are so many good things. No matter how hard or bad things look, we "can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth" us! 

I hope you have the best week ever. I love you all so much!

Have a blessed day!

Sister Eleena Burns

Just Sister Janairo and I today. Hi from Kirtland!

I put in an address that ended up being four blocks away,
but this is where it wanted us to go. I'm thinking I need a new GPS. 

Exchanges with Sister Berry! Personal Study in the library. 

Sister Guinn and mine's last Community of Christ pancake breakfast. =(

Shaker District....Little sillies.