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

MTC pictures - November 17, 2014

"I knew it and I knew that God knew it and I could not deny it."

Sawaadiikhaa!!! 

Crazy week! I wish I had time to tell you everything that happened because SO much happened. We hosted for the first time on Wednesday though! Which is when we go pick up new missionaries from the curb and "assist" them away from their families. haha. It's actually kind of depressing, but for the most part the missionaries are just excited! I hosted 3 new sisters in total. Two were English speaking and the other was Japanese speaking! They were so cool. This coming Wednesday we are hosting again and guess what?!?! We get new Thai's!! I can hardly believe that it's already time for Nong Thai's to come in. We are getting 9 new Elders, and only 1 new Sister! The sister is moving into our room so that should be fun. Sister Remington and I got released as STL's on Sunday and now Sister Belnap and Sister Johanson are the new STL's. They will do great. 

Language 

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The language is coming! Sister Remington and I don't have to make scripts for lessons anymore, and we hardly even bring anything but our scriptures and planner into lessons. TRC also went really well too! It just keeps getting better and better each week. I think it is exactly 3 weeks now until we leave for Thailand! So crazy! I feel like I am going to miss aspects of the MTC. It is honestly an incredible place. I had a great experience at the temple this morning. We did a session and just after it finished, we realized there was a khon Thai sister in the session! I went up to her after and started speaking Thai. She hardly spoke any English so I was really nervous, but I understood everything she said and I was actually able to have a conversation with her!! She has lived in Orem for 4 years, and before that she lived in Udon. She is so excited for me to go to Thailand and was asking where I would be serving. I told her I didn't know yet but that I hope I go Issan! It was such an amazing experience. She said she has gone to the Thai/Laos ward a couple times in Salt Lake and knows Bishop Walker a little, but other than we didn't have any mutual friends. I am just so amazed that I am actually learning this language to be honest with all of you. I feel so blessed to be called to serve in Thailand! 

Spiritual 

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On Wednesday during personal study I was having a really hard time focusing. I was sick almost this whole week and that made everything especially difficult. I was trying to capitalize on my time to read the Book of Mormon because I really want to finish it before I leave the MTC but my head would not stop aching. I felt dizzy and just exhausted. I took a break from reading and just sat in my desk. I stared at my study journal and then just starting writing about what I was feeling. Here's what I wrote: "I feel so sick right now. My body is failing me. I feel like every muscle and even my bones are weak. It's piercing me to the very soul." After I wrote that I just stared at it, I felt like I was collapsing within myself. Not only did studying seem impossible in that moment, but so did a mission. So did everything in life. As those thoughts entered my head, I realized how irrational they all were, but they wouldn't stop polluting my mind. I took the next line of my journal to simply write these four words. "Heavenly Father. Help me." What happened next astonished me. No I wasn't visited from an angel, no I wasn't instantly healed from my sickness. In fact, nothing in the worlds definition of astonishing happened at all. Instead, I just felt a warm feeling rush through my entire body. It started in my heart and flowed to the tip of my fingers and toes. All of a sudden I wasn't tired anymore, my head stopped hurting and I experienced ACTUAL physical and mental strength fill my body in that very instant. Something happened within me, that I couldn't make happen on my own. Now you could say something smart about how the physical nature of the human body caused that to happen spontaneously, but I know that is not true. There's no evidence to prove that God strengthened me in that moment, but I know He did. I share with Jospeh Smith's conviction after people tried to make him deny he had the First Vision. "I knew it and I knew that God knew it and I could not deny it." (JSH 1:25) Now my experience might seem insignificant to a lot of you in comparison to what Jospeh Smith claimed, but it doesn't detract from the principle being taught. I was very humbled this week. I realized human beings cannot physically fulfill the demands of a missionary lifestyle without help. The long hours, the mentally taxing work. You might be able to struggle for the first week or so trying to do it on your own, but after a while you will realize that 18 months of the exact same schedule with no days off is impossible to face alone. After the experience I had on Wednesday I came across this scripture in Alma 5:27-28 that stated it beautifully:

"27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins? 

28 Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if you are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life." 

I realized that it is ONLY through Christ and His enabling power of the Atonement that can cause us to have experiences like the one I had. And because it is ONLY through Christ, I have to strip myself of the pride in my heart that anything I do on this mission is because of me. Every good lesson, every clever thought. They have all been promptings from the Holy Ghost. I can claim nothing as my own, and so like Ammon (Alma 26:12) "I will not boast of myself but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things..." It is a privilege for me to be here at this MTC at this time in my life. Never has my purpose in life been so clear to me, and never has life been so fulfilling. Kradtai rak phraphuuchuayhairccd khccng kradtai. 

My challenge this week is to:

       - Read Helaman 8:14-15

       - Take the challenge given to "look upon the Son of God" and live.

       - Then, actually study to figure out what it means to do that.

If you want to e-mail me at:
katie.burbank@myldsmail.net with your insights on what it means to "look upon the Son of God and live", I would LOVE LOVE LOVE that! I love you all so much and pray for you everyday! 

Rakmaag,

Sister Burbank 

P.S. We are skyping Thailand tonight for TRC!! I am so excited! 

MTC pictures Nov 2014

The mission life is where it's at!!

Sawaadiikha!!

I am loving my life right now. You have no idea how happy I am to be on a mission and not in school! The mission life is where it's at!! This last week has been one of the hardest and best weeks of my life! As we continue to learn more and more Thai our lessons just keep getting better and better. Brother Yuen says that he doesn't even know what advice to give us because my khuu and I have already set the goals for everything we need to improve on. We are very efficient with that. As my understanding grows, my love for my mission just continues to increase. 

Language

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The language is still coming! I just keep getting better and better everyday! I finally translated Rowland's letter he sent me in Thai back in June when I opened my mission call. So I can actually read script now! I am not fast by any means, but we sing out of the Thai Hymn book everyday in class and every day it just gets faster and faster. I can hardly believe in. Funny story about Rowland's letter he sent me in June though. So as some of you know....my Thai nickname is kradtai, which means rabbit, because I'm pretty much a rabbit lets be honest. Anyway, in the letter Rowland wrote kaansiiasala khccng kradtai...., which translates directing to 'Sacrificing of rabbit....', referring to me and my sacrifice to go on a mission. Well my teacher, B. Chamberlain, didn't understand that my chxx len is kradtai, so he thought that someone was literally wanting to sacrifice a rabbit. I started laughing at him and explained and then he started laughing. It was one of those, you had to be there moments, but it honestly just made my day. ''It's the little things.'' As Sister Remington and I always say, because it's so true.

Spiritual

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Something that I had the opportunity of doing last Monday was memorize my purpose as a missionary in Thai. I hadn't up to this point and I realized that I should probably get on that. So last Monday I made a goal to have it completely memorized by the end of the day. That was a great accomplishment to me because I was feeling really off when class started on Monday evening and it just felt like I couldn't do anything right. I ended up just going into a room by myself (still in sight of my khuu...don't worry), and memorize the purpose. As I recited it over and over and over again, I started to realize exactly what I was saying, and how amazing it was that I was actually quoting our entire purpose as missionaries in Thai. In a language that I have barely been studying for a month. Not only was I quoting it, but I actually understood it with absolute clarity. I could feel of its truth, and it reminded me of the amazing power of the Holy Ghost. In D&C 8 verse 2 it says, ''Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.'' I realized how profound that scripture is. The Holy Ghost testifies straight to our soul. It can teach things that we as humans can't teach each other. I always know when I am feeling the Holy Ghost testify to me because it feels as if my heart is teaching me something my mind didn't know. It sounds far fetched in theory, and is impossible to explain, but when you have experienced it for yourself it becomes something you seek after. I decided to start reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning with that mind set since I came to the MTC, and EVERY SINGLE TIME, without fail, I have that experience. I start with a prayer, then I begin to read, and almost instantaneously I feel of the truth of everything I am reading. I learn something every time I study the Book of Mormon, and not just from the verses I read, but from the Holy Ghost testifying to me in thoughts.

Challenge of the Week....

       1. Write down a question you have about life or about God or about anything.

       2. Pray and ask God that exact question, and ask Him to help you receive an answer.

       3. Read a few chapters out of the Book of Mormon. (Ex. I love Alma 36 or 2 Nephi 31)

I promise you that if you do this. You will invite the Holy Ghost into your heart to testify of things you NEED to know. You will also feel of God's love for you, and begin to understand what true peace in this life feels like.

One last thought. I finally got the lyrics to ''Savior, Redeemer of My Soul'' and I just wanted to type them out because I love them so much. This is my testimony in a nutshell.

Savior, Redeemer of my soul,

Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,

Whose wondrous power hath raised me up.

And filled with sweet my bitter cup.

What tongue my gratitude can tell,

O gracious God of Israel. 

Never can I repay thee Lord,

But I can love thee.

Thy pure word

Hath it not been my one delight,

My joy by day, my dream by night?

Then let my lips proclaim it still,

And all my life reflect thy will. 

O'er-rule mine acts to serve thine ends,

Change frowning foes to smiling friends,

Chasten my soul 'till I shall be

In perfect harmony with thee.

Make me more worthy of thy love,

And fit me for the life above.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pslLsWRPaIk (I found this song on youtube. Listen to it while reading and following the words. It's more powerful that way. 
from Wade)

 

I am eternally indebted to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration, and that he was a virtuous man of God. He restored the true church, even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and it is the same church that Christ established during his mortal ministry. It is ONLY through Christ that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven. And I say this is the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all so much.

Rakmaag,

Sister Burbank

One thing we are certain of though, is that when you live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, amazing things happen.

Sawaadiikhaa!

This was the first week without the Phii Thai's and it was pretty weird to be honest. Quote of our whole MTC life though: "who done make me ruusxg these kwaamruusxg's." -Elder Riddings.

Most of you won't understand, but it doesn't matter. Just know that you really have to get creative when it comes to having fun here in the MTC. Elder Riddings is from Georgia and just barely got to Thailand. He is one of my favorite people! Follow his blog and it might give you some extra insight into the last few MTC weeks. http://elderridings.wordpress.com/ 

Anyways, this last week was pretty normal. As STL's, my khuu and I interview all Sisters in our zone so it was really cool to get to know move of the Cantos. There is only 9 of us Sisters in total, so we have gotten pretty close. I'll do updates now.

Language

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We have started learning script so that is fun to watch everyone struggle with it. I am so grateful I learned it before because I know what it feels like to not understand it at all. That sucks! I can't imagine having to feel like that on top of all the other stresses of being a missionary. So I am really just trying to help people in my district as much as I can because I know how hard it can be. Other than that we have just continued teaching our "investigators", who are really our teachers, it has been going well and they just keep complimenting Sister Remington and I for how unified we are. We work well together and the secret is we just really love each other. That is all it takes. We taught at TRC again this week, but Wiew didn't end up coming this week which was too bad. But it was still a really good experience. It's crazy to see how much more I can say in just the short weeks I have been hear. It's nothing compared to what I am going to have to know, but it is more than I ever thought I would know. So that is a blessing. I have a new teacher Brother Kaosucharit(sp?) who is khon Thai! He was Rowland's companion in Thailand for a while, and then I also have Brother Thrap as our teacher now, who was in Rowland's District in the MTC. They think it's so funny that I know him! Such a small world. 

Spiritual

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This has been an amazing week for Devotionals. Last Tuesday we had Sister Rosemary Wixom speak to us, the General Primary President, and she was awesome. She spoke the whole time about the Savior, Jesus Christ, and how our role as missionaries is to be a witness of Him. We had Devo Review with our districts after, and the Spirit was so strong, I can't remember a time that I have felt it that strong. Every single one of us got up and just bore our testimony about the Atonement and the Savior. It was incredibly powerful and I don't know if there is a way that I can accurately portray just how incredible it was. It's moments like those, that remind me why I am here on my mission. To not only watch the growth of those investigators, but watch the growth of all of us missionaries. We don't know what we are doing, to be completely honest with you. We are all 18-20 year olds. We haven't gone to school to be professional ministers. We are all just barely learning how to live on our own without our parents. One thing we are certain of though, is that when you live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, amazing things happen. Sister Hacking spoke at our Mission Conference yesterday and something she said really stuck with me. She said, "We are the message." I am not on a mission to go preach to people in Thailand about a way of life that I don't personally live myself. I am on my mission to show people the amazing benefits of living the gospel. All they have to do is look at my life and see how happy it has made me. But that isn't even the best part. The best part is that they don't have to take my word for it. That by reading the Book of Mormon and sincerely praying to God, they can know for themselves as well. As wholeheartedly as I do. Read the Introduction to the Book of Mormon. Especially the last two paragraphs. It explains exactly what I know, and exactly how I came to know what I know. There is no other reason I am on a mission than to share what those paragraphs talk about. In case you were curious.

On a more personal note, Wendy Nelson (Russell M. Nelson's wife) came to speak to us on Sunday for Devotional. It was incredibly inspiring and an answer to a lot of my prayers. I won't get into the details but I will share one quote I loved from it. The quote is some advice Henry B Eyring got when he was 13 years old:

"Someday when you know who you are, you will be sorry you didn't use your time better."

That really stuck out to me because sometimes its hard to focus here with all of us being friends now. But that quote reminded me that if I don't take advantage of my time now, I am going to regret it later. That doesn't mean I can't have fun though. We definitely still have a lot of that! 

I love you all and I am so grateful for your prayers.

Rakmaag,

Sister Burbank