Pictures

 Me in Elder Robb's puffer jacket.

 And a picture of a shirt I bought at the National Noodling Tournament!

 

I knocked your street, with no luck I may add!

  

I thought I would send some pictures. Elder Robb and I made some team shirts for Horseshoes.

New Trainee

Man, sounds like quite the week! I kind of want to see Jenni and Bud's house, but I don't want any kids in the shot. Well this Wednesday I will meet my trainee. Elder Haskell is going to Altus and opening a new area. That will probably be his last area. He has these last 2 transfers left. I'm kind of glad he is leaving, his trunkiness does not help anything! Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! One comp leaving, the other just coming in! I'm pretty dadgum nervous about training, but I'm also really excited..... I think. So if any of y'all have tips please send them my way, they will be much appreciated! So Mother, I have a few inquiries. Would it be possible for you to get some music collected and send it my way? Music is approved that is uplifting with good messages. I would really like that! Also I'm running low on stamps and I was curious to know if you might be able to send some? Last, but not least, Could you give me Sean's new address? So I've got some new info; the Mission Department has issued a no backpack rule. They claim they are unprofessional and make us targets. The rumor is shoulder/side bags will be approved, but no backpacks. Also, Ipads are coming in to our mission soon. This will be very interesting! I'm pretty excited about that. So I am serving around an Elder Sewel, from Loomis CA, great friends with the pilchers. Small world right? Also one of our AP's was Elder Fischer's Zone Leader in the MTC. Crazy right? Well this transfer will be "a whole new world" for me! Keep my trainee in your prayers, he is going to need them with dealing with me! I love you all sooo much. Hey before I wrap up, I am curious to know what has become of Freddy Lemmo? Has he gone back out? Anyway, I hope y'all are adjusting again. I love you guy and pray for you always!

Not a Second Wasted,

Elder Burnham (B2)

Huggin'

That was exhausting to just read! It sounds like y'all had a splendid couple of weeks! Im a little jealous, but not really! Well before I forget I want to share something I thought pretty interesting; it's from a John Bytheway talk. Our Great-Grandfathers called it the Holy Sabbath, our Grandfathers called it the Sabbath, our Fathers called it Sunday, and we call it the weekend. There is something terribly wrong with this isn't there? This just got me to thinkin' about how I keep/kept the Sabbath day holy. Anyway, so the two baptisms went smooth! I implemented Brianne's intermission thing with testimonies on 3x5 cards. She really appreciated it. So yeah my solo went well, meaning I didn't screw up. Then at the second baptism all 4 elders signed "When I am baptized." It shocked her and she began to cry. It was a very neat experience for me! Maybe ill film myself doing it and send it to y'all. This probably wont be my last experience with signing because I found out I will be staying in Pauls Valley. Pretty early to find out right? Well here is the big news..... I have been called to train! Crazy right? I received a phone call from the assistants right after the baptism and they said I will be training next transfer in Pauls Valley. I'm super duper nervous, but excited at the same time! I've only been out for 4 months for goodness sake! I got to thinkin' about this and how it would work out with Elders Burnham serving together and it might work out perfectly. Sean has about 2 transfers left if im not mistaken. Training is a 12 week program or 2 tansfers. This may be a blessing. It would work perfectly if granted. Sean would fill my trainee's position! It makes me all hyped to think it could be happening! Plus, we have found like 5 spanish families that would be perfect that Sean could teach. My hands are shaking! Im pretty excited to be a "father" hahaha. Hey mother i have a question for you; did you ever find out what was up with that SD card I sent home? Oh and one last thing, I hate the no hugging rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BLEH! So we met this young mother, she's probably 24, and we had been visiting with her husband. Well Friday night we knocked their home and was planning to teach them, but she said he was gone and she didnt know where. They had had an argument that turned south and she thought that might be the end of their marriage. Then she unloaded the big guns! She told us that her father, step-father, sister, grandfather, grandmother, and brother had all died and she had just beaten cancer and how she was diagnosed her junior year, so for prom, graduation senior pictures she had to wear a wig. Her son wasnt supposed to live more than a month, all these things, then out of the blue she asked "Can I hug you guys, y'all have something I need." BAM!!! Shotgun to the heart! I knew I couldn't do it but I wanted to help this woman out in any way. Luckily she went for Elder Haskell first and he stuck his hand out and dodged the hug, so it was easier for me, But dang I blame our family for being such a huggy family! We gave her a Plan of Salvation and Family proclamation pamphlet then prayed with her. The next night we went back and found out that both of them had read the proclamation an where on much better terms, had worked things out and are wanting to come to church and learn more! Im way excited for them! I lord truly works in mysterious ways! I love this work! I love the Plan of Salvation, and knowing I will see my family again! I love knowing true happiness and joy! I love my Father in Heaven, and His son Jesus Christ. I love the gospel! I love the Book of Mormon! Im excited and terrified to train, but I know it will help me grow! I know things happen in Heavenly Father's time and not our own, as frustrating as it may be, I know it s always what's best for us!

Not a Second Wasted,

Elder Burnham (B2)

First Baptism

Well, to answer some questions. I probably wont be helping out too much more with the tornado cleanup unless our branch gets assigned to help. The missionary army is starting to take a step back and focus more on the work again. Which we are happy and sad about, it was nice to take off my tie every once in a while. We are glad to get back in the swing of things. We have a baptism next Saturday with a part member family. The husband is a member and the wife isn't. But on Saturday she will be! :) We are pretty excited. This will be my first baptism on the mission. I'm stoked! I'm a little jealous of Ca Adv. It sounded fun. I'm glad to hear about Jessica, who still hasn't written me! :( and sad to hear about Freddy! That kid is going to be a stud missionary. He will be serving with President Taylor's son. Well I'm rushing this letter because our Zone is having a training p-day down in Ardmore so I don't have much time. But I love you all so much! Thank you for all the wonderful things you do for me!

Not a Second Wasted.

 

Starving and Serving

Ok, so as of now we are not heavily involved. I have not attended church here in Pauls Valley yet. We have been up every week doing clean up. We have a shortened sacrament and then go to work. It's really weird to pass the Sacrament in jeans and a yellow helping hands shirt. But I guess the attire isn't quite as important as the actual ordinance. We did not stay over night, we would drive home each night. We were only about an hour away so it wasn't too bad. 

 

Yes I can give you our address:

202 W. Chapel Ridge #322

Pauls Valley, OK 73075

Well I can't really answer the question about the food yet. I haven't eaten too often here. We are either out working, serving, or up doing relief. The branch here is sad. The dinners here are pretty sparse. We have been fed once by a lady who only speaks spanish, so that was an awkward dinner. We ate and she stared at us and we could not communicate. But I entertained her with my little spanish knowledge, like Gordo, Guapo, Feo, Machismo, and anything else that came to mind. She made some bomb authentic Quesadillas! I don't know if I'm losing weight from service, I hope so. I have been working out a lot, more than I ever did back home so if I'm hefty I'm going to claim muscle mass ;) Oh boy I'm so thankful for being raised in a fun-loving humorous family. It is real easy for me to gain trust with practically anyone. I can get lots of people to open up and tell me deep, dark secrets/concerns. Which in turn helps us find out how to teach people, not lessons. Most people don't like tracting but I like it because you get to meet so many new diverse people and learn how the Atonement can apply to them. It's wonderful!

Oh man Elder Haskell is interesting. He is an older Elder. He is 22 and has only 2 transfers left, so it is a strong possibility I will kill him. He is seriously thinking of going into law-enforcement and is one deaf man, worse than Dad! It drives me insane!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha. He is from..... yup you guessed it, UTAH! South Jordan. We teach well together, but I've noticed some common sense/social skills lacking so I have been learning patience and Charity. I realize my own lackings when I'm with my companion and it helps me become a better missionary, I think, so I think this companionship will be a very educational one. Well here in Pauls Valley our focus is more rescue than anything else, but we have a baptismal date that is super solid for the 29th! I'm really excited for her! Well that's all I can think of as of now. I love y'all so much! Take care.

Not a Second Wasted

Elder Burnham

Pauls Valley

Yes all is well here on the great planes of OK. We have even more opportunity to serve and provide relief. It was nice being able to take off the tie and put on jeans and go get all dirty and scummy! Physical labor is one of the big things I have strangely been missing. I have found a whole new kind of tired recently. Its wonderful. So I don't think you ever told me what Sara was doing going to g-mas & g-pas for a little while. Is she meeting you guys when you come from Michigan? This summer sounds quite jam packed! Good, it will keep you out of trouble ;) I really do hope and pray Elders Burnham will be companions. Like Sean said, if you have any strings to pull that would be pretty amazing! But prayer will definitely be involved! So I am in a new area, Pauls Valley. This area has a reputation and not a good one. Elder Haskell and I either are being punished or are being trusted. We have been sent in as the clean-up crew. The previous Elders weren't the most obedient. We are in a branch and with what little exposure they had to the missionaries it wasn't good. We have been working on trust and the misconception on how missionaries really operate. We have a less active branch mission leader who hasn't been seen for a few transfers now, and so the work is going to be revolutionized here! hahaha. Pauls Valley could be golden! We have already found some great people. But we have had to back off because of some legal issues they are going through. Its a change moving from a ward where we were doing lots of finding and teaching, to a branch where the focus is retention, rescue, and families. There isn't much wiggle room either. There are 6 missionaries in this little branch. But that's OK. I'm grateful fort the opportunity to be serving here and to help the work move forward! It might not be as easy as Ada but I think it will be more educational and rewarding! Not to mention memorable ;) Well I love you all. Take care and continue praying for the victims of the tornadoes. Before I forget, I'm going to need Sean's new address.

Not a Second Wasted

Elder Burnham

Tornado Damage

Mormon helping hands

Flipped vehicles are piled up outside the heavily damaged Moore Medical Center on May 20, 2013

Aerial View of Damage on Moore Oaklahoma