Sister Sydney Burningham

This is Bryan Hicks and Bro. Freestone, happiest day.  I love this man.

This is my girl Camryn Cupp.  She's a rockstar, also one of my heros, she gave a talk on Sunday, general co 
nference status.

Mon, Jan 27, 2014 at 11:29 AM

Dearest Family and Friends wherever you may be,

Good Afternoon!  This morning my companion Sister Weight got to go to Doctor Becker's office to get her cast removed, apparently her broken hand is healed!  It's a miracle.  They were running a couple of hours behind and we've got to still go practice our musical number for zone conference, things have just been the craziest.  It's a weird phenomenon.  I'm so tired.. like all the time.. but I'm so happy, so happy.  Sister Weight and I had a baptism in the Chilhowee ward on Saturday, Mr. Bryan Hicks got baptized.  I will send pictures, don't you worry.  He is the most amazing person, I know I talk about him so much lately but he is definitely our most progressing.  It's also like COLD, really COLD.  I'm told this week is supposed to be worse, the cold is worse out here, it's wet and humid but we're staying alive and hoping for that warm whether to come around someday in the near future. 

I also really just love the Kronick family with my whole soul.  Debbie, the wife is progressing, slowly but surely she just needs patience and love, and of course some outreach from the ward, which has been really great.  She gets invited to things and comes sometimes.  Joe just doesn't really want to do this without her, which makes sense so he hasn't been coming to church as much as we would like, but all in the Lord's time.  Colin Kronick, their son, the 27 year old, however is on fire.  My goodness he is getting his patriarchal blessing on Sunday, he has a new calling in the Scouts, which he is pumped about.  He's also going to the young single adult ward, which he isn't crazy about but he is getting used to it.  Colin is so close to the spirit and so submissive.  He knows what is right and he wants to do what is right.  I am so grateful for his goodness and willingness to continue to progress.  Last night we were talking about how he just wasn't progressing but he wanted to do something and he found it in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he always says this is how Christ would want it to be, he doesn't want us just standing still.  I'm always so amazed at his faith and his ability to follow the spirit so automatically, I'm not always perfect at that, so he gives me hope.  I just love them, and I can feel every time we go over there or pray for them that perfect love The Savior has for them.

I was thinking today about all the missionaries all over the world.  Each mission has it's challenges and each mission has it's strengths.  There are about seven from this ward serving and I know several in our family and from our home ward.  The faith of these Elders and Sisters out here inspires me to be better.  I have had the blessing of going on exchanges and interacting with so many more missionaries than I would've been able to otherwise and I just have to say, they all have parents and family and friends and loved ones back home, I know how much of a sacrifice it is especially to those who have little or no support, I have been so blessed and I can't say thank you enough for the prayers and love.

I am not a perfect missionary, or a perfect person.  I have weaknesses as we all do and there are several things that I have been working on this week, my conversion will be a process as is all of our conversions but I was talking with Colin last night and he said you always ask me how I know this is true and why I keep going in the gospel and he turned it around and asked me why I keep going, why I'm still a missionary.  I had to take a step back for awhile, I had never thought to ask those questions for myself and the only thing I could come up with is that I know it's true.  It's really hard to explain but I know in my heart this is right, this is real, and this is what matters.  There's a quote I love by Tad R. Callister from the book The Inevitable Apostasy and he says: "Some things we know not because we see them, or hear them, or even because they reason well, but because they feel right."

As we open our hearts up to the spirit it can testify of the truth, if we let go of bitterness and hostility and hurt we can be healed through the Savior and the Holy Ghost will be able to guide us and help us to know that we're on the right path and that this is the way home.

I know I say it every week but I love my mission, I am learning things he I couldn't learn any other way. 

Love you all sooooooooo very much.

Matthew 20:26-28 FAVORITE.

Sister Burningham

Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 9:57 AM

Love, Loved ones back home,

How is everyone doing?  I have heard from several of you through letters and emails and I'm really grateful for all of you and your love and support.  This week was really great.  We had a lot going on I will just update you on a few things.

So the great news for the week is that Brian Hicks is getting baptized on Saturday!  He is so amazing and prepared.  His comments and questions are like: "How can I receive or give priesthood blessings?"  He just knows he wants this.  He investigated the church a long time ago and he said the missionaries stopped coming because he wasn't acting on anything, and he understood why they left.  But he is at a point in his life now where he's ready to change, he needs purpose and guidance and he knows this is the way he'll receive that, being endowed with God's power to help him qualify for eternal life.  That's really all we want for everyone, eternal life. 

We have this Less-Active named Fran Turpin.  She is the sweetest and she just adopts people and has them over for holidays if they don't have family.  She met this young boy working at Lowe's a few years back and he used to always come over for Thanksgiving.  He got married and has a six month old baby.  Well Fran got a call Thursday morning that he had been killed overseas in Afganistan.  She was so torn apart, he meant the world to her and now she won't see him again in this life.  The most incredible thing happened though, Fran, although not having attended church in sixteen years said "I'm sort of mad and Heavenly Father knows why I'm mad and we've had these conversations before but I'll be at church tomorrow because I know it's where I'm supposed to be." Despite adversity which usually pulls people away from God and the church she is pushing through.  I spoke at church for the first time on my mission on Matthew 22:37-39 there are four things I felt like I really wanted to emphasize.  1. Love Yourself 2. Love Others 3. Love the Lord's Will 4. Love the Lord.  We weren't given topics but the High Council man who spoke after me spoke on similar things, I just am reassured over and over again that we are all on the same team.  That as we are compassionate  and serve others that we will find ourselves and we will become who Heavenly Father created us to be.

In John Chapter 11 Christ raises Lazarus from the dead.  I learned an important lesson from this story after reading a talk as well on it.  Christ could've done everything he asked the other people to do.  He could've moved the stone, and taken off the bandages and all the other things the people were able to do, but he allowed them to do it.  Christ teaches us how to fish, especially in the scriptures he asks us inspired questions to help us answer our own questions that we have in this life.  He is the perfect teacher.  It's another testimony to me that Christ asks us to do all that we can do and then he will take care of the rest.  Just like the only thing he did was raise Lazarus from the dead after the people did all they could and after their increase of faith and action. 

We have a responsibility as disciples of Christ we've made covenants and he has given us the sacred trust to minister to his people, as we do so we change.  I've seen it and I continue to see it in myself everyday.

I love my mission, I mean really it's the best decision Ive ever made.

I love you all! Until next week,

Sister Burningham

This is on exchanges with Sister Gotchy, she's cool, from Layton, UT actually.  There's actually a sign behind us you can kind of see it that says "Wash yo hands." it's my favorite, at Bishops house in the bathroom.