September 25, 2017

Hey everyone!! 

This week has been so great! I am learning so much! We've had a lot of exciting experiences this week, first we had Elder Cornish come and speak to us! He's a member of the Seventy, so we had a zone conference where he came and spoke to us. It was really cool hearing from him. One of the things he shared with us is a story of a farm boy and his mom. (I don't remember everything exacct, but this is pretty close) :) They had one cow that would give them milk and that would provide the means they needed for food. One day the boy heard a wise man was going to be in town and he wanted to go ask him how they can be happier and have more to eat. The wise man decided to come and help the boy and his mom. He said what have you been doing for food? They said they've been using the milk from their cow and that was it. So the wise man went and took their cow, and pushed it off a cliff. He said he would return in 10 years to see how they are doing and if they are happy. When he came back 10 years later he asked someone in the village who lived in that big house by the cliff. The man said a happy young boy and his mother. The moral of this story is to change the way we think. The farm boy and his mom thought the cow was the only thing keeping them alive and they relied on it way too much. The wise man helped them by getting rid of the cow so that they would have to work in other ways to get food. I really like this story because it helped me think of the things I do and how I can maybe kill one of my cows and start thinking differently. Another thing we did with Elder Cornish is he asked all the missionaries in our area to bring an investigator to the mission home for a fireside that he was going to give. We were able to have our investigator Tammy come with us and it was amazing!! He spoke directly to all of the investigators and helped answer their questions and help them understand why we are all members of the church. It was so cool! One of the things he said is, "If you notice, everywhere you go around the world are church is the same. Why is that? It's because we all made the same covenant with our Father in Heaven when we were baptized." I loved this, because it's true. Because we have all made the same promise with God, we are all working to keep that promise and that is why we trust other members of the church all around the world. It was a really cool way to look at it and to help explain to those who are learning about the church. 

Also, the Women's Conference was amazing! If you didn't get a chance to watch or listen to it, do it! I loved all of the talks, like Sister Eubank who said we need to Be Righteous, Be Articulate, Be Different, and Be Distinct. Also when President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said that we should remember Lehi's dream and focus on staying on the right path and holding the rod. So many great things! :) 

Another thing we did this week was exhanges! I got to go with Sister Hansen to the YSA ward and spend a day with her in that area. It was super fun meeting the people they are teaching. They also live by Target! I'm pretty sure that's the only Target in Arkansas haha so that was exciting to see :) We also had interviews with our mission president which was great. Also, Sister T and I joined our ward choir which was fun, reminded me of home being in the choir again :) 

Funny story.. We were on our way home one night, end of the day, and we decided to get the mail before we pulled all the way in. Since I'm in the passenger seat I got the mail. It was night time so it was very dark and I reached in and grabbed a package. It was for sister Tillotson and it was a weird round package and there was this paper thing holding it closed so I reached in again and felt this rubber thing and I grabbed it thinking it was like a rubber band that was supposed to be keeping the package closed. I was wrong. I turned to put it in the car and sister T started freaking out and said, "Sister Burton!! That's a snake!!" IT WAS A SNAKE! haha it was so funny! At first I was like no it's not! Then I thought it was fake, cause we live at a house where there's a bunch of little kids, but nope. It was a real little green snake. Luckily it was dead, but it was so weird!! We were not expecting that at all. We figured out that we are definitley in Arkansas now. :) 

The things we have learned this week are to kill our cows, how to share are message with others, and to NEVER stick our hands in the mailbox at night.

Thank you so much everyone for all your love and support! I am loving being a missionary and it's definitely an amazing adventure. I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love and miss you all so much! The church is true no matter where you are :) 

Love, Sister Burton 

Exchanges with Sister Hansen. Zane you will be proud, I taught her the mormon possey thing which is what we're doing in the picture.

​This is cute Elaine, the 8 year old we are teaching. We taught the Plan of Salvation with chalk. So much fun! 

The snake!

Sister Tillotson and I.

Foot picture for Nana :)