Alivia Burnham: Missionary Days: The One with the Purple Sky

September 2, 2013

Querido Familia y Amigos,

Have I ever mentioned HOW BEAUTIFUL the sky is in Texas? It is purple. It is the most beautiful color I have ever seen. I just wanted to take a parrafito to give a shout out to the GORGEOUS Texas sky.

This week was a new adventure. We lost Sister Parry. :( Gooooooodbyeeeee (Sound of Music moment). It was very sad and hard to say goodbye to her . . . seriously hellllo tears and heartache, but Hna Koch and I are looking forward to taking over Gulf Bank. We have already had some interesting experiences.

Sometimes when you are a missionary you decide to get Chic-Fil-A after District Meeting. Sometimes people decide to get in fights in that said Chic-Fil-A. Sometimes one of these people has a gun. Sometimes you aren't allowed to leave the Chic-Fil-A because you might get shot. So . . . that happened.

Sorry this letter is going to be all over the place. But I just jotted down some notes throughout the week of things that I wanted to say, so the email is kind of like my notes – messy, out of order, and slightly illegible. Sorry!

I had a realization this week – I can speak Spanish! Not like "Wow, I’m fluent!" Yeah, not at all. But, I realized that I can teach; I can fully communicate my thoughts. I am not scared of it anymore. It is nothing short of a miracle for me . . . in my opinion. I know I probably won’t feel like this for much longer. Comfort shortly turns into complacency, and for anyone who knows me, they will know I am NOT a complacent person. But, I will relish in the feeling while it lasts!

Let me just tell ya’ll about E. E. E. E. This week Hna Koch and I got to teach E and it was one of the best lessons of my life. It was a life changing moment, for sure. And to be honest, he taught us more than Hna Koch and I taught him. He told us his story about finding God while he was in prison. It was the most beautiful story ever. He has been SO PREPARED for the gospel it in unreal. He said: "I have felt that God is preparing me for more than I am right now." I said, crying (because I cried through his whole story): "E, I know that God has been preparing you for this!" Hna Koch responded: "You said that Christ is always knocking on the door, waiting for us to open. Well, E, we are representatives of Jesus Christ and we are LITERALLY knocking on your door – but YOU have to be the one who chooses whether or not to open." MAN, he is so amazing you guys!!! I just love him so much!!! And he is going to get baptized and then get married to someone in the temple! Then, he is going to be that guy that every stake in the greater Houston area calls to be a speaker at Youth Conference because he has the COOLEST STORY KNOWN TO MAN! Did I mention that his son was born a week after he went into jail? And he was 16 at the time? Did I mention how he found God and even though the mother of his son (M and F's granddaughter) pressures him, he now KEEPS THE LAW OF CHASTITY? Does anyone know a recently released from jail thuggg with a girlfriend with whom he already has a child that keeps the law of chastity? I DO! Holy cow! That doesn’t happen you guys! Did I also mention that he has been into drugs, alcohol, sex (and rock and roll, haha, just kidding, just seemed to fit with the string) since he was NINE years old. You guys, you guys, let's all just take a step back and talk about how he is the COOLEST PERSON I HAVE EVER MET IN MY WHOLE LIFE. Also, cherry on top: We sign all of our texts "Hna Burnham y Koch" and he has started signing his texts "Hermano E". <3 I love this kid (by kid I mean adult who is several years older than I am.)

This week Hna Koch and I have been listening to the National Tribute to Joseph Smith CD (thanks Zack, love that part of the CD). Hna Koch has the whole CD on her iPod and our favorite song to listen to is "American Dreams" (you should probably pull it up on YouTube right now). We blast it and belt it at the top of our lungs. Every time I listen to it I just can’t understand why the world is so blind to things that are so miraculous. The chorus goes:

"’Cause somewhere there's a prophet, in a place they call Kirtland.” PEOPLE, there is a PROPHET of GOD living on the earth today! How is that not the greatest news you have EVER heard?

"And he is building a temple to worship our God." WE HAVE TEMPLES . . . ALL OVER THE EARTH.

"And I’m filled with new scripture, angels and heavenly things." WE HAVE MORE SCRIPTURE! And, we believe in miracles and angels.

This is a message of peace and good will! PEOPLE, THIS IS THE HAPPIEST THING ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET!

"My eyes filled with tears as Joseph reached out for my hand . . . and said, 'Welcome, my friend' . . . Now I know there's a prophet in the place we call Kirtland. And I am building a temple to worship my God. And I’m filled with new scripture, angels and heavenly things, wrapped up in American Dreams."

It is all true. It is a message that brings more joy than anything else in the world can. We have a living prophet. Aren’t we spoiled rotten? Gracias a Dios times a million + infinity.

Love you all,

Hna B

Here are some pictures that she sent home this week!