Sister Sydney Burningham

This is THEE Elder Anderson, he was my zone leader in Chilhowee he went home last week, we're going to miss him here in Tennessee, he was incredible!



Mon, May 12, 2014 at 9:19 AM

Ripped Pants.

Hey Everybody,

Okay so the best thing happened last night after I skyped the family and we were finishing dinner.  We were all in the living room and Elder Sinks was catching one of the members in our ward from falling to the ground and when he bent down all the way he ripped his pants ALL THE WAY DOWN, I'm not kidding you it was the funniest thing, he just stood there forever not knowing what to do, he just laughed nervously and went to get his suit jacket to put around his waist to hide it.  Oh, I just had to tell you about that one, luckily he has a couple more suits so he'll be okay.

It has been a week. As for our area let me give you a few updates!  We have a part member family we are working with and the mom is not a member, she is getting baptized may 31st!  The kids aren't old enough to be baptized but they will be sealed to their kids and to each other in a year, so that's pretty exciting, I love attending baptisms and taking our investigators to them as well so they can feel the spirit that is there and desire that for themselves.  We are working on getting to know the area and ward members better, it's a work in progress because this is huge ward, but we'll get to know everyone someday!  We have a new companion, so now we are in a trio her name is Sister Roundy she is from Provo, Utah, yes yes I know another companion from Utah, it will make for easier reunions when we get home though, so that's exciting!  We are loving it though, we are already teaching in unity and this week we are really hoping to get some things going. 

I feel like each day I'm out here I learn so much and it's hard to put it all into words but this week I was really thinking about being grateful in our circumstances no matter what they may be.  Whether we are on a mission, at home and going to work/school, newly married, raising teenagers, or empty nesters, at each stage of life and no matter what is going on we can be grateful.  Reading President Uchtdorf's talk has really helped me to understand this.  There is always something to be grateful for, but because we are sons and daughters of God with the potential to become like him we should always strive for happiness and joy in our lives, regardless of what's going on. 

He says:

"In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise.  In pain, we can glory in Christ's Atonement.  In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of Heaven's embrace." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf. 

This has made me think of countless times in my life where when nothing else was constant, the Gospel was and is!  It is always constant, it never changes, and Heavenly Father never changes.  Happiness is living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I just don't think I ever really understood what submitting to His will and being happy in my circumstances could do but I am happy, I am excited for good things to come, I am hopeful, even though many times on my mission I have felt discouraged and bitter about circumstances, but that is not the way He intended it to be.  An eternal perspective is so critical to our happiness here in this world of shifting values and confusion, so this week I'm going to choose to be happy, being sad all the time is way more exhausting anyway.

I love you all, thank you for the love and support I hope your week is so happy, find the joy in every circumstance, there is always a new day and a better tomorrow.

Love,

Sister Burningham.

We just tried to take a cool picture that may be on an album cover or something because we're starting a band, after one of us learns how to play the guitar...