Prayers Answered, Spirit Felt...and Maybe a Couple Bed Bugs

Hello all!

This week was wonderful! Last Wednesday I was able to speak with Dave, a military man who we met from chat on Mormon.org. During our first conversation on chat we talked about the love of Christ and how He forgives every person who comes to Him. Dave is retiring from the military after twenty years of service. Now that he's coming to the end of his career, he's realizing some of the orders he had to follow were not the best or happiest of orders. He talked about the horrible things he had to do that are required of him in those situations. War is not a pretty thing. He couldn't imagine how there is a God who would forgive him for his actions. 

I received Dave's information and have been able to talk with him twice over the phone since then. He is wonderful. He has such strong faith in God and he knows he wouldn't be alive without the protection and guidance of the Lord. It was such a tender moment to be able to testify of Christ's love for him. Christ died for him -- to remove the guilt he feels. Christ knows what he has been through and what is in his heart. Christ can remove the pain he feels and can help him find true happiness. The Spirit was so strong and we weren't even in the same room let alone the same state. 

I was able to answer questions about the Godhead and the trinity. Many times he said, "now that makes sense" or "I've studied this for years and that is the first time someone could explain that to me". It was wonderful. By studying and sharing the gospel, I have come to realize that the word of God is simple. Every single commandment is given to us that we "might have joy". As we study, we can see how every aspect of the gospel is designed to bring us closer to Christ and help us on the path to eternal life. 

I am so grateful for Dave and being able to discuss the gospel with him. I know that through Jesus Christ ALL mankind may be saved. We can ALL come to Him. No matter what we've done or who we think we are. Christ knows us inside and out. He knows what we need and what will make us happy. Not to have fun, but to be happy -- truly happy. Fun is just a short moment, but happiness is forever and God deals with forever. I can see pure happiness here. That's what we are all seeking to find and I am so glad I can help others find it through our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Happy moment number two....

Demetrius was this cute little boy from the start of my mission. Let's just say life in Utah is different from Ohio and we weren't aloud over to his home for a bit -- family issues had to be sorted out. Last District Meeting we made a prayer list of investigators, less active, or recent converts that were in need of some prayers. We added Demetrius to that list and the entire district would pray over the individuals. Only a few days later we were given the go ahead to call and see if we could stop by. Yes!!! We called Demetrius' mother who is not a member and she actually answered! Blessing. We have an appointment for next Thursday and I cannot wait for that! I've missed that little kid. I love seeing God's hand. When we are in need of things and we come to Heavenly Father in humble, earnest prayer, and He always answers. It might not be how we think He will respond, but He always answers. It goes back to the happiness thing. He knows what will make us happy and He is just waiting to give it to us. All we have to do is ask and have faith in Him. Simple as that.       

I am so grateful for the gospel and the influence it brings to the world. I know Heavenly Father loves all of His children. I know that. Always.

I've gotta run, but I love you all,

Sister Burns

P.S. we might have bed bugs.....NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Crossing my fingers we don't find one. 

Happy thought though....It hasn't snowed yet..... *knocks on the wooden desk*

Sad thought....I'm sick...again... No voice.

Sister Jensen and Sister Heckert!  

 

LAST WEEK OF TRAINING!!! =)

Men Are That They Might Have Joy

Hello World!

Not much time to write today, but this week has been a wonderful one. 

Best part.....I HAVE A NEW NEPHEW!!! I'm sure you all know that, but it's still exciting. Hello Thatcher! Your favorite aunt sure loves you. =) 

Okay, back to the mission.

Best part of the week here was testimony meeting on Sunday. 

Back story time.....

There is a recent convert, Connee, we visit with every week. She is amazing! She knows her Bible inside and out and cross references everything she hears from the Book of Mormon or other scripture and double checks for accuracy. Thus far, she hasn't come across anything that doesn't connect. She really makes me want to read the entire Bible front to back, which will happen before I come home. She is so strong and has such a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Second back story...

Sister Brown. Crazy, love her to death, Sister Brown. She joined the church a number of years ago, but fell away and has been coming back to church for the last year. We visit her often as well. LOVE HER!

Okay, back to today...

Connee's one year mark was the end of October and she planned on attending the temple on November 1st. We were so excited for her, but Satan really does try to drag you down when you step up and follow Christ. There were so many things that were backfiring on her the week before she went through. Clothes not fitting, temple recommend not signed correctly, she didn't have an escort....tons of little things like this.

Saturday came and everyone who was going was backing out and Connee was so stressed. (Massive pre-doing-something-very-good drama) We were afraid that Connee would decide not to go. Sister Brown was going to go with her after eleven years of not being back to the temple, but she forgot to reserve a seat and the session was full. We talked to both of them and it felt like pure chaos trying to help the situation smooth out. 

Anyway, Sister Brown felt like she needed to go with or without a reservation. Whew. 

Off they went, drama and all. 

Fast forward to Sacrament Meeting. (The AC was broken and wouldn't turn off, so it was FREEZING inside!)  Connee was the first person on the stand. She bore her testimony of the last month of her life. She talked about the blessings of the gospel. How she received her patriarchal blessing and how she knew without a doubt that God had led her to where she was and even through the times she felt like she was completely alone, God was ALWAYS there by her side. She sees that now. Before Sacrament Meeting Connee didn't really get the temple and wasn't too sure of it, but the Spirit was so strong and she KNEW afterward how it was the Lords house and how much closer she felt to Him after going. 

Sister Brown also shared her testimony. She talked about going to the temple and wasn't even sure if she could get in, but she went  anyway even if she could only wait for them while they were in the session. She knew she had to go back. When they arrived, there was a spot for her and she ended up being Connee's escort. It was the blind leading the blind, but she was so grateful to be back in that place. She talked about where she was a year ago. She had a broken leg and was stuck on the couch. There were these persistent Sister Missionaries who kept knocking on her door. She couldn't ever answer it, but looking back she was so grateful for the love those sisters showed her. After she could walk again, she stepped foot in a chapel after years of inactivity. 

Both of these Sisters testified of how grateful they were for missionary work and how they wouldn't be where they are today without it. I wasn't the sister's that originally taught Connee, nor was I a sister who helped Sister Brown come back to activity, but as they shared their testimonies, I realized how important missionary work is. It is not just about baptisms or numbers. It's about people. It's about people coming to know their Savior and become better people through Him. It's about people knowing who they are, who they want to become, and have the means to change. It's people knowing they are children of God and they are worth something. It's knowing that I can be the hands of the Lord and serve His children and help them endure to the end. This is the best work ever. 

I am so grateful for that moment as I sat on the bench in Sacrament Meeting. I am so grateful for this mission, for Ohio. There are so many wonderful people here that I have the chance to get to know and love. I am so grateful for my Savior and that I know that He loves me. I know He is always there for me and that He is always listening when I pray to Him. God wants all of His children to be happy and when we follow Him, that is exactly what happens. I see that every day here. "Men are that they might have joy". Yes, I am grateful for joy and I know that through Jesus Christ we can all find it. 

Okay, that was much longer than planned, but know that I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I am grateful to help bring that joy into the lives of others. Nothing is better. 

Don't forget that. 

I love you all!

Sister Burns   

The one and only Sister Brown! Ahh, she is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uma and her kids. LOVE THEM!! Her husband had to work. =(

"Patience, Iago"

Hello out there!

This week was wonderful! A learning week by far. 

I was asked to teach a Christlike attribute at District Meeting on Thursday. I felt like I should teach on patience, so I had been studying that all week. Why is patience a Christlike attribute? In every story about Christ He shows wonderful, perfect patience. Others would not listen or even try to understand, but He still showed patience. They would turn their backs on Him or try to prove Him wrong, but He still showed patience. He loved them always and they could care less. I am in awe at how perfect of an example He is to all of us. How often do we get frustrated with life? Co-workers, children, roommates, Utah drivers and constant construction (I had to), and especially with ourselves? I realized this week that there is so much joy and freedom in Christlike patience. Life is hard, but when we have that patience for others and let them grow and learn, as well as give ourselves the time we need to grow and learn, we will have such happiness through all the chaos of life.  

The day before District Meeting we were able to have interviews with President Vellinga. (These happen once every three months...and I have the best mission president ever! Just in case you were wondering) I gained the strongest testimony this week that Heavenly Father knows me. He knows what I need even before I know. He will constantly guide and direct me in my life and help me see His hand as He does so. As I was sitting in my interview, President asked me out of the blue how I was doing with patience. What! Inspiration! I just thought I was studying for a district meeting, but it turns out I was studying for much, much more. We talked about being patient with the work, patient with the Lord, and patient with myself. 

I don't know about you, but as a missionary it's so easy to get down on yourself for not being the best or even get frustrated with others for not doing what you think they should be doing. Yeah, those thoughts are not good and are not from God. The Devil is sure sneaky and likes to pull us down one negative thought at a time. I found this week, that as I study the life of the Savior and rely on Him, those thoughts go away and the Spirit rushes in. The Lord wants us to be happy and, through Him, we can and WILL find it. 

Things that make a missionary really happy:

- A recent convert asking how he can share the gospel with his co-worker because he wants him to feel the happiness that he feels now

- A convert going through the Temple for the first time and excited beyond belief

- Letters in the mail! (Thank you Diane and the Harts! Just to name two.)

- Members that take care of the missionaries and call them just to make sure they're doing alright

- During nightly planning both of us at the same time get the feeling to visit an elderly lady in the ward. It turns out she just had surgery and was really wanting visitors. God knows His children!

- Taking a group on tour and feeling the Spirit SO strong! 

- Being able to testify on the Book of Mormon and the truths it holds

- Being able to serve a family in the ward who really needs it and not knowing how much before going over to their home

- Being a line for a lady in the ward who needs support and friends to help her through very rough times

- 70 degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- New missionary name tag with "Historic Kirtland Visitors' Center" on it! Yeah, be jealous. 

- STAKE CONFERENCE!! Amazing talks, wonderful people. The work is going forward!

Things that don't make a missionary happy:

- MICE IN THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!! If anyone knows me, I'm terrified of mice. Yeah, there was a mouse in the kitchen. Old homes...not sure I'm okay with this. Haha

I love you all! Thank you for your love and support!

Sister Burns

 

MICE! It was sure hungry.

Pres. Vellinga

I Love to Read the Book of Mormon!

Hello all!

This week went by so fast! It's getting colder and I'm not liking that, but I'll survive! You know what's funny, without the news we really don't hear about things....Ebola? Yeah, we found out it was here like two days ago. Haha. Don't worry, Mom, we're all fine and dandy. 

We have a new investigator, Michael, and he's so great! He loves the Book of Mormon and the message in it. He's still reading and really interested in learning more. Our second lesson was such a spiritual moment. He talked about his faith in our Savior and how he relies so much on Him. My favorite part about serving a mission is meeting new people, teaching new people, and seeing the gospel change their lives. It's such a miracle. 

Meeting Michael was a miracle all on its own. We were stopping by his neighbor that we couldn't ever get a hold of. Ever. She was a referral from the Gladys Knight fireside. We stopped by her house again and he came out and sat on his front porch to let us know she wasn't home. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon and he asked us to come back with one. We said goodbye, turned around and before we walked down his driveway, he was gone. Vanished without a trace! Dun dun dun. Okay, but really, it was like he was there for a few moments and then he was gone! Just something funny, I guess. When we went back the first time he was so excited to read the book! We came back again with a member from the ward (member missionaries are the best!!) and read some of the Book of Mormon and discussed the Restoration of Christ's Gospel. Before we even asked for a return appointment, he was asking if we could meet again tomorrow. So great! He is so prepared for the gospel and you can see how much he wants it. We have a return appointment with him tonight, so we'll see what happens. 

This sure is God's work and it's amazing what happens when we let Him take the reins and be prepared to follow. That's how all of life is, not just a mission. We all can see His hands in our lives if we look, turn to Him and open our eyes. He's always there, we just sometimes try to walk by ourselves and that doesn't always end the best way it could. Our district leader invited us to write down the miracles we see everyday. That's what God does -- miracles. If we look for them, we can see them. Even if they're small, they're still miracles and blessings from God. Anyway, I'd love to invite you all to do the same. I promise you'll be able to see the little things or maybe even the big ones. 

Alexandria and her family. Love them!

Happy moment of the week! Our recent convert, Alexandria, bore her testimony at the Kirtland Fireside we hold each month. Ahh, it was wonderful! Her testimony was so powerful and so strong. She still has questions about the gospel and she is wanting to grow more (which is and will come), but that's normal. God wants us to follow Him and continue to learn and grow. That's exactly what she's doing and the Lord is blessing her so much! Just rely on the little seed of faith and look how it blooms into something beautiful!

I LOVE THE SENIOR MISSIONARIES!!! Elder and Sister Ramirez

We went to a choir fireside...it was interesting, but a nice break. Haha. Remind me to show you a video in a year and a half when I'm home.   

Okay, Heavenly Father loves you all...no matter what. I love you, too!!!

Sister Burns 

*cough* *cough* Christmas is in two months *cough* *cough*

"God hears and answers me when I pray in faith"

Hello!

This week we spent a lot of time at the doctors for Sister Harrison's leg, but all is well! It's not a fracture so she doesn't have to go home! Prayers and priesthood blessings work. One doctor said it was a fracture and then when we went to the next doctor it was gone. Blessings! 

Another blessing of this week: If we pray to God for help and it's doing His will, He will help you!

We are really lacking in the investigator pool right now and there's so much joy in teaching, so we made it our weekly goal to pray more earnestly for investigators. That morning we went to visit a lady and she wasn't home, but we felt like we should go visit another lady in the same apartment complex. As we knocked on the door we waited, and waited, and waited, and finally she came to the door right as we were about to leave. (There are a lot of retirement apartments in Mayfield and this is one of them.) As we talked with her we shared why we were there and she wants us to come back this week. Blessing and answer to prayers. We were pretty excited about that. 

As the day went on, things were just going great! Not a single appointment fell through (missionary miracle in itself). Earlier that day we had stopped by a referral from the Gladys Knight Fireside, but she wasn't home. Before we traveled back to Kirtland for the night we decided to try once more. We walked up her driveway and hear her yell that we were going up the wrong sidewalk (missionary heart currently sinking....rejection...ugh). As we got closer we told her we were looking for Kelli. It turns out there were members right across the street and she thought we were wanting them. When she found out why we were there and we were there for her she was so excited!! She welcomed us into her home (missionary heart FREAKING out with joy!!) and we shared with her the message of the Book of Mormon. I loved seeing the joy in her eyes as we talked about it. We are going back this week and I cannot wait to see what happens. She is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! Blessing and answer to prayers number 2! 

Days like that are what make missionary work all worth it. Sure it's hard, but the gospel is such a blessing and being able to share it with others...nothing else compares. I know that the gospel is a gospel of happiness. It's simple. People try to confuse it and make it difficult or weird. Sure, it can seem difficult to follow if you look at it that way, but when you look at it as a plan your Father in Heaven created for you so you can find happiness and grow, those other things don't matter. When you strive to follow Him, you'll see how easy it becomes. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it is there for us to grow closer to Christ and our Heavenly Father. I know that life is hard, but when we read that book we see life become more enjoyable and those difficult times become more easy to bear. I love being able to share this with others. I hope you all know how wonderful it is. God wants to bless us and when we choose to act for ourselves and follow Him we will see blessings pour out all around us! =) 

Not much time to write today, but I hope you all know how much I know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves each and everyone of us. I know He cares about what you're doing. If you don't feel like He's there, keep seeking Him. He's there waiting for you with outstretched arms. I promise you that.  

Love you all, 

Sister Burns

                                                         Just a picture I took. I love the Fall here! So pretty!

                                                           After a long day of work! Two new investigators! 

Walk as Christ -- Challenge accepted!

General Conference!!

I have never loved it as much as I did while being a missionary. It applies so differently when you're out here serving and when you're prayed for! (Yeah, coolest thing ever!) I love the power of faith and what God can do if you give it to Him. 

Favorite talk: 

President Monson's talk from the Sunday morning session. This talk hit me differently than I think most people took it. He discussed the difference between walking where Christ walked and walking as Christ walked. There are so many wonderful things that Christ did, and He wants us to learn from His example and follow Him. That's the gospel -- follow Christ's example and be happy. How simple is that? Are we serving enough? Loving enough? Praying enough? Are we going through our trials and always looking toward our Heavenly Father enough? We can ALL be better at these things. 

The point that came across my mind was what am I doing? I am in Kirtland. Christ was here, Joseph Smith walked here, Parley P. Pratt walked here, Joel Hills Johnson walked here (had to throw that one in!), so many saints lived the gospel here and I talk about that everyday on tour. What am I doing with this knowledge? Am I more excited to walk where they walked or walk as they walked? I am amazed at the stories of the saints and what they gave up for the gospel. My mind focused on what I'm giving or should be giving to the gospel. God knows all of His children and He notices when we reach out to help another person, obey the prophets, or say no to a temptation and He blesses us for that. Just a little something that came across my mind. It makes me view Kirtland differently and how I can learn from the past to be better now.    

Sunday morning session we watched at Patar and Uma's home. I loved it! Patar loves the gospel! He is still learning, but he wouldn't take his eyes off the TV. He had so many questions for us afterwards and He even started to sing with us doing the congregation hymn. (He's from Indonesia and hardly knows the hymns or English for that matter. Favorite moment of the day!) They were talking about going to visit Palmyra next summer and how exciting it will be to go to the temple there. We didn't even bring it up. I love seeing the desire to progress in the gospel and further their covenants with the Lord. You can see how the Spirit flows through them and fills their home. Uma always cooks for us, too! She's from Thailand and makes yummy Thai food. Thank heavens she holds off on all of the hot spices! I'd die. Haha. But I love Thai food. Yumm. 

Story time! Uma made divine dark hot chocolate (if anyone knows me, I'm slightly obsessed...) and she sent us with to-go cups full after Conference. I walked out and had no free hands so I placed the cup between my teeth thinking it would stay there long enough to dig through my purse and find the keys... fail. The cup dropped and splattered everywhere! Thank goodness we were already outside. I now have one stained cardigan and no hot chocolate. Yes, laugh and call me blonde. You're doing that anyway, I just know it! I'm now accepting replacement cardigans of any color and/or money donations to fill the WICINC fund. (Winter is coming and I need cardigans)   

We had so many member meals this week...and there were no worms! Whew! I love the members! We watched the last session with the Christensen's. They have a little girl who is four and reminds me so much of Bailey. It made watching conference feel more at home. And I had her tell me every time they said Jesus Christ....which was all the time! Overall, conference reminded me of the blessing of the Savior. He is our Lord and loves each and every one of us no matter what. He is there for us always and we just need to turn to Him. The gospel is so simple and easy if we just ignore the doubts in our heads and study His words. We will be able to see that and as we do, pure happiness comes. Missions are so hard, but I see that every day as I strive to study and learn more. Yep, the gospel is wonderful, Christ is wonderful, and Heavenly Father is, too. 

Oh! Sis. Harrison fractured (maybe) her ankle and shin! We're waiting for another doctor to look at her x-rays. Hopefully it's nothing too bad. =/

Have a great week! I love you all. 

Sister Burns

88,000 strong!

P.S. President changed our music, so we can only listen to Sacrament Meeting appropriate music (hymns and MoTab) and nothing from the Youth LDS page or EFY music. Help would be appreciated in this area since we have around two CDs we can listen to now. Haha

After a LONG day of exchanges. Sis. Mertlich. LOVE HER!!! She heads home in two weeks. =(

Wrapping trees with lights! Christmas is coming soon!!!!

Blessings!

Hello! 

I feel like I just was writing last weeks e-mail....time is a crazy thing. 

Elder Teh visited our mission this past week. We are just getting blessed right and left here! The conference was wonderful! I have never had more excitement or motivation to do more as a missionary and help the work move forward. I am so blessed to be a part of this mission at this time. It's such a testimony to me that God knows each and every one of His children and He guides us to where we need to be if we follow Him. It's amazing. When I look back over my life and especially the last year and a half, I can see God's hand in everything and I can see how it all led up to me serving here at this time. 

I don't know how many of you know why I'm serving....quick story. I knew a mission was always an option, but I never felt like I should or that I even had a desire to leave everything behind and go. So...Graduation came and went and my life went on, too. It wasn't exactly going in any direction I thought it would or that I wanted it to go. (Marriage...nope. Funny how God has a better and bigger plan than we do for ourselves). As I thought about life over the last year, I would pray to have a desire to go and nothing would ever come from it, so I just ignored the mission thing and found other ways to grow in the gospel. As I continued on in life I had the strongest desire to go through the temple...so I did. Best place in the world. Everyone should go. Because of the temple I felt so much closer to Heavenly Father and the Spirit (vital for life). One night (I wasn't even thinking about a mission) the Spirit hit me so strong and I KNEW that I had to go. Through every fiber of my being, I knew I needed to. I still didn't want to, but I knew that if I followed Christ and gave up my life to serve Him, my desires for my life would come back to me even better than I could ever imagine. That's how God works. =) So, now I'm here and I can see that God leads us to places we never thought possible. I could have stayed at home and been perfectly fine. There would have been amazing things that would have happened and God still would have been there...He's always there. But I know that because I'm following the plan He so powerfully showed that I should follow, I will and currently am being blessed.

 

This is how Heavenly Father works in all of our lives. We are all at different stages, we all need different things, and our stories are not all the same. But there is one underlying theme to all of our stories...as we follow Heavenly Father and strive to do our best, we can look back and see God's hands in our lives. It might take years to see...things that happened while I was a teenager and younger are playing into me serving...but we can ALWAYS see His hand. He loves each and every one of us. That is His entire reason for sending us here. He wants to help us be happy and He wants to pour out blessings to us...He is always pouring blessings out and we can always see them if we open our eyes and hearts and look. (Read President Uchtdorf's talk from last Saturday's Women's Conference. Illustrates exactly what I'm talking about)  

Okay, massive tangent. Pretty much, I just realized again that I'm supposed to be here and God will place people in our lives to help us see His plan. Elder Teh helped me see that again. I can't wait to see what happens over the next...few ish....months.      

On a happy note, Alexandria and Kayla (they were baptized the Sunday before I got to the area) finally got confirmed on Sunday. I love seeing the difference already! There were so many bad things that happened over the last month and they were having such a hard time, so church didn't happen. As they walked through the doors on Sunday you could feel a difference. They received the Holy Ghost and already there are so many blessings from that. Medical things that are not as bad as they thought, happiness in their home, peace on their street (they live in a not-so-great part of town). I love seeing the blessings all around us. Alexandria and Kayla see it too. They're going on the ward temple trip on the 18th and I can't wait to hear how it goes. If only we could go with them.... oh well. 

Okay, that was not what I was planning to writing this week, but there you go. 

I love you all! 

Sister Burns

(Ps, The leaves are amazing here! I will be taking pictures when there isn't as much green left. Gorgeous!)