Pictures - 11/24/2014

"For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say"

Sawaadiikhaa!!! 

This week was so great! Just like always. We got our Nong Thai's on Wednesday!!! They are so awesome. Mostly from California and Utah, with the exception of one Elder from Kansas. They are such hard workers and are going to be great missionaries. We don't know too much about them yet since they have only been here a few days, but from what we have seen they are really cool. The one Sister, Sister Castell, is from Bountiful, UT, and is already graduated from college!! She is now living in our room and she is so great. She is a convert of a year and a half and she has such an amazing conversion story. She is going to be a great missionary for Thailand. It's pretty crazy though, because at first she got her call to Taiwan, but she got reassigned to Thailand, because she didn't have at least two years of seminary to get a visa in Taiwan. Apparently, it's a requirement for Taiwan to get a ministerial certificate, or whatever it's called. Who knew. We are all so excited for Thailand though! We get our flight plans on FRIDAY!! Also, Thanksgiving on Thursday this week, which means we have a General Authority coming! Can't wait. We are so close!! 

Language

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We are doing really great with the language! We are all a little worried because we leave so soon and we all still feel like there is so much more to learn but we know that most of the learning will come in Thailand. We are trying our hardest here though to learn as much as we possibly can. We have so many "investigators" now that we are teaching. When we first got here we only had one or two to focus on, but now we have 4 or 5. It doesn't seem like much, but not knowing the language and having to keep everything straight is the struggle. I absolutely love it though. Bearing my testimony and teaching in Thai is one of my favorite things now. I just love this language so much! We skype for TRC again tonight and I am SO excited! Last week was so much fun! It was kind of the struggle because the connection was bad and it was hard to hear, but we skyped with Sister Wanlapha who is from Sakon Nakhon (Rowland's last area). Right when we called her and Sister Remington and I showed up, she freaked out and kept saying: "jam khun!" and pointing at me. Then I realized that she was from Sakon Nakhon and realized why she kept saying she remembers me. It was so cool to talk to someone who is actually in Thailand, and who knew people I knew! I got so excited and just wanted to talk to her forever. She was the nicest person ever, and she told us about her experiences when she served her mission in Thailand. She is so awesome. I am excited to see who we skype tonight! 

Spiritual

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So I got called on to speak yesterday. I can't remember if I have explained how the Sacrament Meetings on Sunday work here or not, so I will just explain. Our branch is just our Zone, so all of the Elder's and Sister's from our Zone meet in a room for Sacrament Meeting with our branch presidency and their wives. We are all required to write a talk for Sunday and then after the Sacrament they call on 2 or 3 missionaries randomly to speak. I had dodged the bullet up until this week. I was so glad I got chosen this week though, because I got to speak on Recognizing the Spirit. It was such a cool experience because I didn't write my talk out word for word like I usually do. I actually trusted what we are promised in D&C 100:5-8 that "you shall not be confounded before men. For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say." I figured that if I was going to be speaking on recognizing the spirit, I better learn how to trust and recognize the spirit. So after my name was called to speak, and I walked up to the pulpit, I said a prayer in my heart and I trusted God. I can't tell you what I said because I do not remember. But I do remember the feeling of having the spirit work through me as I spoke. It was as if my heart was saying things my mind didn't know. It was the most amazing feeling and one of my favorite things about being here at the MTC. As missionaries we have the opportunity to bare our testimony of Christ so often, that we experience the Spirit working through us so much. Each and every time I receive a witness that what I am teaching is right. This is the true Church of Jesus Christ. If I didn't know that I would have left this mission a long time ago. The heartache, the exhaustion and the struggles, would NOT be worth it if this wasn't all true. 

In honor of Thanksgiving this week, my challenge is to write a friend or family member and thank them for something they have done for you in your life. THEN, bare your testimony about the Savior, Jesus Christ, and share with that person an experience you have had that led you to show thanks to the Savior.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! 

I love you all so much. 

Rakmaag,

Sister Burbank