Sacramento - Week 36

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

“There’s No Ghetto in Carmichael”

September 30, 2013

Well hello there all you beautiful people! 

First, let me just clarify that although you may hear that there is no ghetto in Carmichael, I am here to tell you that there most definitely is. I've seen enough on my bike at night to know that there is one, and it's all mine! I love our little ghetto slice of California. It's funny because within that ghetto slice is a completely upper class suburban non-ghetto slice. But in the words of a country song "When the sun goes down...everything gets hotter. Everything gets hotter when the sun goes down."

Don't worry! We are perfectly safe and angels surround us and I just think it's wonderful. Sister Kagie on the other hand has requested never to go out at night again haha! I really do just love Carmichael. I've realized that your areas on your mission are like your kids. You love them all equally, but you love them for completely different reasons and in different ways. I'm grateful for the little piece of His vineyard that the Lord has given me to labor in. 

This week has, as always, been eventful so let's start at the beginning, which is actually the end....

I saw these Dinosaurs at the mall and I joked with Sister Loli
"look it's you!" because she is a mission dinosaur on her way
to extinction. So she grabbed an even bigger dinosaur and
thus this picture came to be. 

The end of my trainer's mission! I got to spend last Pday in East Sac with Sister Loli because all of the other Sisters in my zone were going to the temple. It was a tender mercy to be together and we just lived in denial the whole day. It was so much fun! The next morning we met her at the mission office to watch the new missionaries arrive and get their trainers and for me to pick up some things from Sister Loli. We sat on the back row of the chapel with our ukuleles and yelled "Choo hoo!" which is basically the Polynesian "Yee Haw!" for the new missionaries just like old times.

My posterity quilt! Smells like Sistah-hood!

Before she left, she gave me our posterity quilt. Sister Loli's trainer got it from her trainer, Sister Loli got it from her, and now it's passed on to me and we all sign it. So one day, I'll pass it on to one of my trainees. And that day comes quickly everyone. I hit my halfway mark on Wednesday. 9 months! Can you believe it? I can't. Where has the time gone? I feel like I just got here and that I'm still learning and don't know what I'm doing half the time. But then the Lord reminds me that I do know what's going on, and I am growing and changing, and that He is proud of me. And I get really emotional inside (because as y'all know I am usually incapable of crying) and I joke about having a mid-mission crisis. But really I'm doing great. The idea of counting down from here scares me a bit, because I'm not finished here yet. Thankfully, I still have 9 months to work. 

The mission office was filled with missionaries all exchanging companions and moving around, so we got to see so many of the missionaries I have had the privilege of serving with. My roommate, Sister Abbott, said her favorite part of the day was going up to people and saying, "Oh! You're Elder So and So!" and then when asked how she knew them saying "I live with Sister Burchett".

This explains why so many people came up to me and said, "Hey! You've been talking about me!" So I just explained that I love them all so much, how could I not brag about how amazing they are?! And it's true! Missionaries are the best thing since sliced bread. End of story :) 

I didn't actually finish Daddy Dave's, but Sister Acker did so  I stole her
bumper sticker. I didn't even try because it wasn't worth the possible
sickness for the rest of my "Farewell to Sister Loli Day". But if I'm ever in
East Sac, I'm totally doing it :)

I was outside with my companion waiting for the other Sisters to finish and playing my ukulele when a member came over to pick up some Elders. He asked me to play him a song, so in jest of the melancholy transfer mood, I played a jazzy rendition of "God Be With You Till We Meet Again". He loved it and gave me this beautiful hand painted mirror. He makes them! We chatted and I was once again grateful for members and for the gospel that brings us all together. I'm grateful to know that we are all family, and we are all working to get back home. "Till we meet at Jesus' feet", those are the most beautiful words to me! That's the goal. To be reunited again at our Savior's feet. That's why I don't believe in saying goodbye. It's not goodbye. It's just "Till then". 

The work is definitely progressing here! We have 5 people with baptismal dates for October. They all have their own challenges and things they are working through, but the goal is this upcoming month. They all have to come to church, which is an issue here in Carmichael. It’s hard because people will be so prepared, but they don't come to church and so they CAN'T get baptized. And they don't realize how important Church is to following Christ and keeping their covenants. Or worse, the do understand, they do want to come, and then all sorts of things happen that keep them from coming. But I have faith! President Hinckley said, "Tell the missionaries to have more faith and they'll have more success." So here's to you dear Brother Gordon, we are gonna have some mighty faith! 

We had an awesome miracle this week. I had been praying that we find the people we needed to find. Sometimes, it's hard being on a bike because I feel like we can't see as many people, even though there are definite blessings from biking. So I was praying that no matter what we would find who we needed to find. I say praying, but it was more like extra passionate pleading. The kind that sometimes I think makes God want to say "Ok, I get it. Calm down!"

My new planner. I did a nose collage, Sister Kagie did mouths,
and Sister Abbott did eyes. Weird, but fun!

So we were out riding our bikes and I saw a man and a woman walking down the street. I waved and said hello and smiled what I hoped was a winning smile! They just stared with weird looks, which happens a lot so I just kept smiling and then all of a sudden I hear from behind me "Wait! Are you from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?!"

I nearly crashed I slammed on my brakes so hard. Sister Kagie made sure I had stopped and then said, "Yes, we are!"

We started talking to them and it turns out that the man was a less active member who had moved here and didn't know anything about what ward he was in or where church was and he wanted to start coming back. He said he had been praying to see the missionaries but he hadn't seen any. "I was just confused at first because I saw your tag but you were a girl and I had never seen a girl missionary before!" We'll see them this week, and I am so grateful for Heavenly Father blessing them to be in our path and for us being ready for them. 

I think God was afraid I might miss Sister Loli, so he sent an invasion of Polynesians to church on Sunday. The Tongan family in our ward was blessing their baby so half the Ta'alofa ward from North Sac was there. They bore their testimonies and said how happy they were to be in the Paalangi ward (white people ward) and how it didn't matter what ward you went to because we are all one church. It was a tender mercy and spectacular. We had a whole slew of less actives at church as well! It was great to have them there and see them remember how much they love church and need the gospel. 

And finally....Happy Birthday to my awesome Mom! We are, for one time only, sharing a birthday. Her actual day of birth and my mission anniversary. How fun is that?! Momma, thanks for everything. You're just the best and a saint and if I say anymore I'll get all gooey inside and I'm way too tough for that so I will not. Love you! Eat cake for me and know that somewhere in the ghetto, your daughter rides her bike proud to share your DNA. 

General Conference is this upcoming weekend. Watch it, Take notes. Love it. Remember it. Pray for answers to question and then receive revelation. We get to listen to prophets and apostles of Almighty God. How lucky are we! Invite your home teaching and visiting teaching families to watch too! 

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(Read/Watch talks from General Conference here – LDS GeneralConference October 2013)

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This is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It's all true, and it's all amazing. I'll never cease to be astonished by our Heavenly Father and our Savior's love for each and every one of us. We are so incredibly blessed to have this gospel, so get out there and share it! 

Love, 

Sister Burchett