The One About Prayer

March 10, 2014 

I have probably named an email this already, but it is a pretty important topic, so it can be duplicated. It is also played a HUGE role in my mission, so, another reason I do not mind duplicating it.  

First, can I just talk a little bit about Spanish? I have come to a [personal] conclusion about Spanish. People who serve in other countries become fluent quicker because they are totally immersed in another language. This causes them to develop a Spanish brain and an English brain. A side effect of this is, if not kept up well, they can lose their Spanish brain when once again immersed in English. People who serve in America, speaking Spanish, may not become as fluent as those who serve outside of the country. Of course there are the exceptions—people who learn the language really fast and well, but we are talking generals here. As a result of serving in America, speaking Spanish, you develop what I like to call "SbMrUaSiHn" where you think and talk in both languages at the same time. Some people refer to this as Spanglish. This has been the case with me. This "smushbrain" has caused me to say things such as "porcause" and pause because I can no longer think in any language. It is a common side effect to have long lapses of time where you can think in neither English nor Spanish. Upside of Spanish speaking in America, you have been forced to learn Spanish on your own, without the aid of immersion, being constantly surrounded by English; so, the Spanish that is learned is much harder to forget. That is the conclusion I came up with this week about Spanish.

We had the great experience this week of finding two new FAMILIES to teach. We love families! We had decided as a companionship to pray that we would be able to find a family to teach, but in true pattern with the blessings of the Lord, we received more than what we asked for! The Lord is so good to us!

 

In addition to that answer to prayer, this week there were several times when I was feeling rather sick. One time, after walking for several hours, I do believe I pulled a muscle of some sort. After walking for an hour I was finally like, "Hey, can we sit down and take a little breather?" We sat down and I said a little prayer in my heart that I would be able to make it the rest of the way home without the pain. I stood up and the pain was gone. It never returned! Then several other times during the week I was in situations where I just pleaded in my heart for the Lord to help me get through a lesson or meeting and I was IMMEDIATELY relieved of my sickness. I feel like one of those "Godpost" writers writing you about these things, but this is real life! They aren’t coincidences; they are answers to prayers! And again, in the true pattern of the Lord, I have felt the blessings tenfold what I have asked. I have found, with this sickness, that the days I am most sick are on Mondays, P-Days, days where I do not have to be out. The days where I have asked the Lord to get me through, the days when I have work to do, I can get up and go out with little to no problem. The Lord blesses us! He answers prays!

I was studying today in 1st Nephi, chapter 17, and verses 8-10 caught my attention:

8 “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.

 9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?

 10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.”

The Lord gave Nephi a commandment that he was not quite sure how to fulfill. So what did Nephi do? He prayed. How did he pray, I ask? Did he say "How do I do it?" No, he came up with a solution.  He realized the first step—he needed tools. He went to the Lord asking where to go find this type of material, so that he could make tools, after the manner he had been shown. He was specific.  Specific prayers receive specific answers.  

I love you all,

Hermana Burnham


The following I stole from Hermana Hoj's blog:

"Speaking of families...we took a little time this week to do some family history and I found some awesome stuff! I found the stories of the people mom told me about who knew Joseph Smith and kept reading more about them and on that line. There is some seriously amazing information in there! Some of them got their patriarchal blessings from Hyrum Smith, some were imprisoned for defending Joseph...whoo! Sooo cool!! Found out that one of our ancestors (I think his name is John Taylor) was one of the 20 men picked to be Joseph's bodyguard. And guess what? One of Hermana McOmber's relatives also was one of them. And then Hermana Burnham's relatives knew Joseph too, so we're thinking that they all knew each other! How cool that they were working together to help others come to Christ's church, and here the three of us are today doing the exact same thing. And again, SO COOL!!!!"