"In the Last Hour"

Hello my dear family and friends!

Another week has gone by! And this one way fast! We had three meetings in a row this week with Elder Bowen, he's the seventy assigned here in the Philippines. It was really really good but so tiring. My mind and spirit felt so exhausted after all was done along with the traveling. But I got to get to know my zone leaders a lot better and it's fun being a team with them...especially with my batch mate from the MTC. The mission is too fast. Haha But it was just amazing to learn who we really are and if we are living up to the potential, to that person we were before this life, and then we act accordingly to who we really are. It was amazing.

But I had two amazing experiences this week that I would like to share. One required a little bit of patience, diligence and some faith. So after all the meetings were said and done, we could finally go back to work! After a painfully long weekly planning...I will not miss those after the mission, but we were so excited to get out the door and got punted left and right...the whole day! But we kept a smile on our faces, talked to lots of people "so we wouldn't be unemployed" and asked ourselves, "Why did the Lord bring us here?" It was good up until the last appointment fell through...now really, why did the Lord bring us here? We're we getting something wrong...not listening to the Spirit? We felt confused for a moment and thoughts of retreat entered our minds, but we didn't give in and went to the neighbors and began talking to them...miraclously,they let us in. And even better they were looking for something more and were happy that we had stopped by, anxiously wanting to learn more. The Spirit testified to me that good things can still happen but in the Lord's timing. And if we put in our all, go the extra mile that things really do occur. So many times have I had things like that happen in the mission, that in that last hour of work, doors open or we really find those that are prepared. Don't give up at the last hour.

Another amazing thing I saw yesterday was with the other sisters. At church a man walked in at the end of sacrament and made his way to the back. Sister Kinikini and Sister Garcia talked to him once the meeting was over and the man confessed that he was on his way to Batangas pier to commit suicide. But as he got off the bus in Lipa and walked his way down the busy freeway on his way to Batangas...he had a feeling to go inside this church on the side of the busy freeway of Lipa...which happened to be ours. As he saw the name "Jesus Christ," he thought he should try once more for help. So he came in, felt the spirit and told the sisters that he felt directed here and knew he could get help. And he did, our bishop talked to him and then the sisters had an amazing plan of salvation lesson with him where he decided to go back home to his family, his poor situation and become a mormon. That's what he told the sisters. What an amazing testimony to me that God is so aware of each of his children. That man was clearly directed by the Holy Ghost and followed before something terrible almost happened. I don't know what will happen to him since he lives way out of our mission boundaries but I do know that the Savior was the answer to saving a man's life.

It's just amazing to see the Lord's hand in my life and in the life of others this past week... there's a great talk by President Erying called O Remember, Remember that is perfect about this. He says at the end..."Tonight, and tomorrow night, you might pray and ponder, asking the questions: Did God send a message that was just for me? Did I see His hand in my life or the lives of my children? I will do that. And then I will find a way to preserve that memory for the day that I, and those that I love, will need to remember how much God loves us and how much we need Him." I hope and pray that we can all see the miracles and blessing in our life everyday and maybe to write them down...to retain those precious memories of those happenings in our lives and others. I know that God is aware and that He does love us, no matter where we are, He is always there.

I love you all so much! Have a great week and see the miracles that are there everyday!

Mahal ko kayo!

Love, Sister Burnham