January 30th Letter

Yummy dessert

My favorite Chilean dish (don't know the name)

Taking a short cut

Hola hola!!!

This week has been long but good. We have been able to visit many less actives and see the fruits of our labor when one of our older grandpa who is very prideful and stopped attending church because the church lost his paperwork saying that he had the priesthood. After a few good very bold lessons we got him to commit to coming to church and it was so neat. He arrived with his wife and son with his family. He had a great big smile as people went up and hugged him. It was so neat to see. This moment strength my testimony of home and visiting teaching... Be obedient and take the time to visit your sisters and families that you have been assigned too. This people need our visit and need to feel the spirit that we have so strongly.
The other day we went to visit this hermano and while we were there, him and his friend and my companion and they began arguing about things in the bible for 30 mins. It was a very intense debate. I finally had the courage and strength to stop them and tell them I was sad that they had been debating for this long that our purpose as missionaries was to come by and visit our hermano because he was baptized. I then testified of our church and our prophet and the purpose of our work. I felt the spirit so strong, it felt so great to take a stand. I learned a lot from that lesson and how lucky we are to have the Holy Ghost in our lives. I challenge you all to take a stand when someone is talking bad about the church or another person. Be like Christ, be better than those people, be different and listen to the Holy Ghost.
I have been reading a lot of great talks in the Liahonas by president Monson and want you all to Google them because I know they will make your day!!!

Love you all very much!!
Hna Burnett

January 23rd Letter

HOLA HOLA!!!
Como estan familia? I hope everyone is enjoying a nice cold winter because I am dying here in  with this heat!! Can I just say that I am SO SO VERY GRATEFUL FOR WIND!!!!! Yes wind and shade!! Ah I think I would melt if I didn't have either of those!! My sector is going well me and my comp are pushing out lessons like no other we had 28 lessons again!! And 9 of our less actives showed up for church!! how awesome is that!! This area has been good , we are struggling to find investigators cause everyone is on vacation!! how lame is that ! who goes to the beach when its 34 C..  Anyways  We have meet a lot of new people that are less active and as we begin to talk with them they just pour out all their problems. Its amazing how many people trust us enough after 5 minutes to just share everything.  I know its the power of the Holy Ghost that we bring to their home is why they share everything with us. We have a mother and daughter that are suppose to get baptized this Saturday.. hopefully it will go through they didn't come yesterday..  We had a good FHE the other night with a less active and her niece who is our investigator. We talked about how important we are and then played Jenga and ate brownies. They loved jenga they thought it was soo cool. I never know how for grant I take the little things that we have in  states such as board games.. We had a great time  though and they are ready for another FHE. The youth here are struggling so bad and I have no more ideas on how to get them excited for church activities. Do you have any ideas? or FHE that we can do.
 My comp and I are doing great we are bonding well and she told me that my Spanish is growing and that she likes my English but only mine. hahaha I hope you all are great and took the challenge to read the BOM!!! Go to the ward activities. be involved with ward and the work of the lord and he will bless you all more each day!!!

p.s.
Did i mention I meet two girls last week that look just like Alexa and Michaela!! I just wanted to  give them a big hug and start chatting in English.. hahaha.  You´ll never guess what I ate last Monday!!! Sushi!! shrimp!! yep that's right hna Burnett eats sushi now!! yeah I didn't like that much.. sorry mom...

Christmas morning

Me with a mural in Central

Thiare and Rosie from Copayapu

The Bishop's family

Masso Castillo Familia from Copayapu

January 16th Letter

Hola Familia!
 Como estan?  Time has been flying by really fast here and I guess in the Philippines because Sister Gallagher is close to coming home!! How neat is that !! Oh and my little bro Bryon is off to the MTC how neat!! This gospel is so wonderful and full of blessings and surprises everywhere. 
    I am doing great here in my new sector Maray, its a pretty big size and very very hot!!  Yeah being a missionary during summer is no fun!! Thank goodness for shade and lots lots of wind. My Spanish is starting to click more thanks to my great Argentina comp I love understanding a lot more people !!!
 So we  had the privilege to go back to my old sector that they closed and visit our investigator Roberto. And he went to church and has been reading the BOM still and is waiting for baptism. He had to get married or change house and with in the same week he was able to find a new place to rent a room of a house with other single members and get a better job that is closer and pays more. !!!  I was so excited to hear this !! The Lord truly answers our prayers when we do our part and anything with God is possible!! So now he preparing with the elders to get baptized this weekend!! yay!!!  We had a lot of visits with our less active this week and  with  some of the members you  could see the pain and sorrow in their eyes. Its so sad that they fall away specially after recent baptisms of 1 year or less. They have this great gift of the Holy ghost with them and because they don't assist church they loose the strength of it .  We were able to get one little girl of 11yrs to come to church she has a nose piercing and wants more because  she doesn't have good friends. I think we can get her to change though and be involved again with time and lots of love. I challenge you all to do your visiting and home teaching and always be a friend to everyone. People fall away because they lack confidence and friends which I know you each can be a best friend to someone new.  Assist church every week and renew your covenants with the Lord and he will he bless you abundantly.

Ciudese mucho
Hna. Burnett

January 9th Letter

Hola Familia!

Can you believe that we have already completed the first week of
2012!! crazy!!! So our roommates hermanas received a phone call Monday
and it was the assistants calling about transfers.... We then received
a phone call 30 minutes later which seemed like FOREVER!!!  So .... I
get to start my new 2012 journal with... my FIRST LATIN companion!!!
and .... in a NEW AREA!!! That's right!! Hermana Burnett is changing
cities for the FOURTH TIME !!! Watch out here I come the other side of
Copiapo!! The area I am in is called Maray( ma rye) with my new
companion Hna. Fernandez  is from Argentina and she DOESN'T  know ANY
English... Yep Im finally hitting the ground of total español baby!!
woohoo!!
 Hna. Fernandez has 16 months in the mission and I am her second
gringa comp.  So yeah we are going to be learning a lot about each
others culture. It has been really good so far. she a really good
teacher and always making noises to explain things.. Pres. Bruce told
me that he paired me with her to give her confidence because she
lacks. I said: oh no not again. But he told her: Burnett good shell
try taking leadership and is determined . She told him :yeah I can
tell. hahaha  hopefully its a good thing.  haha
  I'm doing good in  our new area its  HUGE!!!  It  has the Las Tomas
again which are the houses that are really poor and made out of
whatever . We have a hill, and most of our people live up there. So
hopefully I will get skinny. hahah. We have two investigators that are
going to get baptized this week a mother and daughter ,  I'm excited
for this. Our Bishop is  the son in law of my great Campos family from
my old ward !! He is great and young and has this big vision for the
ward and is calling a mission leader and then four other people to
help with the different type of investigators and menos activos!!!

We went and visit a less active husband of a member. In their yard
they had 4 little dogs and then we go inside and they have 12 CATS!!!
YES 12 cats.... ah it was horrible they were everywhere and all black
and White. I felt like I was in the movie 101 Dalmatians. ah I have no
idea how someone can have that many cats!!! ah!!!
Tell Bryon that I am sooooo very proud of him ¡!! I m glad to hear he
had the same reaction as me.. hahah  Brothers… Roland ,Dallen and
Hayden.. We need to talk!! You all need to start going to church with
those great church clothes you have and receive the tons of blessings
that are waiting for you in the heavens.. God  blesses people more
when they  keep their covenants and the commandments .. And why
haven't any of you written me… jerks jk… love you but want to hear
whats up…

This is all for now!!  I LOVE YOU ALL and am grateful for all your
prayers.. Lets start Reading the Book of Mormon together!! Right!!!

P.s. Lider ( walmart)  was full so I'm sitting in this very hot
internet place writing  on this dumb Little stool, with ants crawling
all over the desk. I'm glad they aren't the mean ones..
P.S.S.umm so my hair is turning red!!! yeah so everyone things I'm
Latin because all Latins want light colored hair, well until i speak
broken Spanish.. hahaha I'm so gringa.

January 2nd Letter

¡¡¡ HOLA FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!! 

 Can you all believe it that 2012 is here and I am in THE BEST MISSION IN THE WORLD!!! Woohoo!!  I get to spend 12 months in the greatest mission in Chile ANTOFAGASTA and i´m so excited to be here!! I hope that you all had a wonderful New Years Party!! I'm glad to hear you did the traditional pots and pans. Here they pack up bags or suitcase of things and run around the house to say good bye to their old life. So as we were on the balcony looking at the fireworks ah family ran pass us yelling " Feliz Año"!! how cute!!  The whole day we say "hola feliz año" and they said no not yet, cause a apparently its bad luck to say feliz año  on the 31st.. The streets were full of people on 31 but all the stores were closing and same with the next day . Central was like a ghost town!!!  This week has been a long week, however a very good week. We had a lot of lessons with investigators and menos activos  making 22 lessons!]!! finally ah!! but are struggling on getting them all to come to Church. I'm blaming this week on new years and that everyone was gone on vacation since its summer here. Which by the ways its been like 98 to 100 degree here!! ah Im melting!!  Its better then being cold.
   um so for 31 we got sucked into having a little lunch with hna Maria Araya. She a cute grandma in our ward that is living alone. So we went to visit her at 5 pm shared a lesson,sang two songs, had some juice and cookies and said a closing prayer. This would mean were ready to leave right? nope not this grandma, she ask if we want tea, my comp nice and says yes. I'm thinking its 96 degrees outside. Hna Maria then says here have some salad will you wait and then fries up some fish. hahaha this grandma is sneaky!! We then leave there at 7 to head to the bishops house to have empanadas with his wife and family. When we get there hna. Sissi is cooking chicken and rice. So what do missionaries do? eat again !! yep! Luckily they were small meals and not the normal almueroz size or I would've died. yep hna Burnett is getting a little chubby this sucks.!!! Luckily one of my New Years goals is to eat only one pan a day and to lose this holiday weight.
  I have enjoyed reading the  new testament (which is a goal by our president) i have learned a lot of great things about the Lord, his life and the wonderful characteristics he has. I have also really enjoyed reading the "Daughters in my Kingdom" the new RS book.  I have  found tons of uplifting stories that I am able to apply to my life here in the mission and for my future. I also have  found great things to share with our hermanas in the ward but didn't know how to translated it all and was really wanting the book in spanish.  So yesterday during RS what happens, the president hands out the books to all the hermanas and US!!! Yay!! I was so happy and surprised to see my prayer answered so fast!! I can{t wait to us this book in our lessons!! I love the work and am so excited to spend a the whole  year 2012 in the mission.  I'm learning to love my companion more and myself, thanks to the Lord !! Im excited for  cambios this week , I found out Tuesday night if I'm staying or leaving this area. I'm hoping for a new fun Latin comp so i can get better with the language. I love you all and hope that you all start this year with the goal to read the whole Book of Mormon!!! I know that as we do this as a family we will receive many blessing for our family!! Thanks for sending my cards mom!! I hope you are having a great time with Shalise!! Tell here hi. Congrats on your new calling mom! I know you will do great and that the other sisters will learn a lot from you!! take care!! oh and I want  3 emails from each of my brothers sometime this year okay!!!

Te amo,
su misionera Hermana Burnett

p.s. we have had 3 earthquakes and they are pretty strong . It's weird!