Hong Kong Week 3!

I can't believe i've been in Hong Kong for 3 weeks now and so much has happened yet time flies!

There was a Typhoon today so we couldn't go outside until now, 5pm, anyways being in Hong Kong is challenging but best experience ever! I love it here, and I am really relying completely on the Lord as I work, I know that this is His work, and I am really literally on a job-shadow seeing how my Father works, and it is truly the best to witness HIs hands and BE an extention of His hand to bless the lives of my brothers and sisters.

So much has happened but not a lot of time! As companionship we have decided to focus on how to really involve the members in our 3 wards to be introduced to their friends and everything, our corelation leader in Taipo ward, his wife and children are not members and we have been trying to reach them, but he wanted to take it slow and prepare his wife, then yesterday we asked if we could just have a simple lunch together just to get to know his family and he actually liked the idea and said he would think of a good time!! we were so excited and he was very grateful for us that we care about his family and are concerned for them. During our finding time--HongKong's security and privacy are pretty high and we are not allowed to door knock, so we are very limited when it comes to finding--we were able to run into some nice people that we are hoping would feel the spirit and desire more. Elsa is doing well, we taught her the first lesson and she liked it, she has started reading the book of mormon and she understands it, but she is still in the process of coming to a decision to ask God, because she feels her prayer wouldn't mean much if she hasn't even decided herself to ask God if He is pleased or not. She has family day on sundays so it is really hard to try to invite her to come to church, so we are just praying that she can feel the spirit so she can feel its importance.

So, yesterday President Chan, our mission president called my companion Sister Bingham and told her that he has prayed and feels that it would be suitable for her to be released early to go home at the end of this move, October 21st, in 3 weeks! It was a great shock to all of us because she has no reason to return home early because her release date was supposed to be in December 2nd and her school doesn't even start until January. We don't know why, but we have decided to trust President Chan and the Lord on this. So this means that I will be ending up with another trainer in the middle of my training, so weird, but I know that everything happens for a reason. I will really miss my trainer sister bingham, she has really helped me to adjust here in hong kong and she has done so great basically handling all 3 wards herself and all other responsibilities in addition to training me.

 I still don't understand most of Cantonese being spoken at me and people still mistake me for a chinese sister, but people Have told me that my language Has improved, which really encourages me, because it is so hard to see improvements in myself. Anyways, I have so much hope for the work here.

So the other day two of the elders from the other area was walking when a lady behind them told them she wanted to come to their church and learn more!, she is korean and so the elders gave us her number to have me bear my testimony in korean to her, I was so nervous but on the phone as I was able to talk to her and share what I felt about the gospel, she told me that she has never heard so much heart felt things in one conversation, and really wanted to learn more, she has been going to a korean christian church but has felt that something is still missing and then she saw the elders on the street and went after them. I am

just

very grateful to my lord.

He has called me to Hong Kong and I am so honored and privileged. THis is His work, yet He involves us His children to help eachother and reap the joy together, and to really grow,

I am really learning so much on my mission, I know that this really is a job-shadow to my Father's great work, and I am able to learn how He does it and I need to, because He wants all of us to become like Him and eventually we will be doing the same work as Gods ourselves. I know that we can gain these learnings and experiences with the Lord as we fulfill our church callings, and draw closer to Him through prayer and studying His words, and relying completely on Him in ALL things. The Lord wants us all of us to participate in His great work and so He gives us callings: as parents, family members, missionaries, church callings, etc. and especially our calling as visiting and home teachers, We can really experience this through fulfilling them. It's truly awesome!

So I hope that all of you back home are also drawing closer to Him through fulfilling each of your callings at this time :)

Always loves to each of you, and also prayers,

Leih Jimuih

p.s. We went to a chinese temple to look at last p-day this is a picture from it! 

p.p.s. for those that have been wondering, I have yet to run into Elder Wyatt, haha :)

p.p.p.s. we also went to a really old house in HOng Kong

Week 3 in Hong Kong Begins!

JouSan!

I can not believe it's only been 2 weeks in Hong Kong!!!

So much has happened while I have been here! I wish I have the time to tell you all about it,

But first of all I will explain the pictures, there's a picture Sister Bingham and I took with Heison on Tuesday! I knew since when I first met him that this day would come for sure! He all of a sudden that morning, after not having been in touch for almost 2 weeks, asked if he could come to church right then and there, we hurried up to the church and met him, and after asking some questions he finally told us that he wanted to change his life and that he knew how to do it, by going to church every sunday and keeping all the commandments so he can be baptized. :) :) :) He even agreed with us that he needs to form closer relationship with the Savior and not necessarily with the missionaries since one of the reasons why he and his girlfriend sort of lost interest in meeting with the missionaries was because of their favorite sister and elder being transferred away to another area. We as missionaries cannot always be there for our investigators, but I know that Christ can and that's what's most important, helping them form that close relationship with Christ.

Lately the past two weeks all the progressing investigators have stopped answering our calls and we just could not schedule to meet or even talk to them on the phone and it left us with lots of finding time,

it could have been very discouraging time but I knew that it was an opportunity for other work to be done. We met Elsa who have been wondering about what's the whole point of life is just waking up everymorning to work and do the same things everyday to just exist. We will be seeing her again tonight and I am excited! We also found some very neat people on streets that we are hoping will become progressing investigators. We also had the opportunity to visit less active members in the church (there are many many of them in Hong Kong) and had great experiences and saw some miracles there as well. We have also decided it would be a good idea to start up a Korean Class (in addition to the English classes they already have) and a Drawing class, upon my consent of course,, haha, we are just going to try it once for now and see how it goes, we made fliers for them and will hold those two classes in about a month, I am a bit nervous but I have decided to heed the counsels to utilize our talents and be creative in our finding. So we will see.

I have not yet heard anything about Zen Zeng yet, but I have confidence that by reading the Book of Mormon he will know it is true.

So Tuesday was Sister Cheung's birthday (she's a native Hong Kong sister and our roommate! :) The picture with us four roommates with cakes) So we celebrated it by having some cake with the whole zone. Tuesday was also our Zone's 24 hour companionship Exchanges, so I got to be Sister Darcey(blond sister in the picture)'s Companion for that 24 hours! We went to her area and taught an investigator Ms. Jang and had a great experience and I was able to learn about how things work out in Sister Darcey's companionship and was edified :)

Ah, I wish I have more time to talk about everything, but everything is going well here, I love Hong Kong, things may not be the perfect heaven but so is everywhere else in this fallen world, but there's so much beauty and goodness to notice and be grateful for all around us, I love my Heavenly Father and am grateful for all the things He has done for me!

Love you all!!!

Leih J.m.

p.s. Sister Bingham is not related to Elder Bingham :)

Starting week 2 in Hong Kong!

Hi Everyone!

So here in Hong Kong I am serving in 3 wards, because there aren't as many Sister missionaries as there are Elders, and it gets pretty busy :) My first week has been quite amazing, I love the people here, they all look so unhappy and I know this Gospel is what they need, and that our Savior Jesus Christ is who they need! I really need to lean on my Lord to find those that are ready.

So this past week has been hard in a rather unexpected way. I have come to realize how much Satan really doesn't want me here. I have been doing quite well with all the opposistions I have had so far since being on a mission, because I had my Lord and my Savior, and it must have really upset Satan because he finally pulled out a big gun I didn't think would hit me that way. Since my first day at Hong Kong I've had many mosquito attacks, I can deal with that, there are lots of little fruit flies in our kitchen, I choose to ignore them and do my business quickly, I comb a small bug out of my hair, freaked me out but got over it. There are big bees and bugs in this humid place I try my best to dodge them. I discover a live cocroach in my suitcase while unpacking-first time I ever felt home sick, turns out one of the bites wasn't mosquito and it turned my left foot into a big swollen foot, it's uncomfortable but doesn't stop me except for couple hours we spent to go see a doctor for it, it has lasted for basically all week and it's still swollen but it has gone down a lot, it's getting better, and finally last night I find 20+ little bugs in my hair and I am not sure if I got them all out completely, and for the first time I found myself wanting to go home. Bugs are my greatest fear in the world, I am not afraid of anything else really, but I am deathly scared of critters of all sizes. And nothing to this extreme has been happening to my companion or roommates, for some reason all these bug related difficulties have been happening to me all at once. After doing everything(prayer, watching conference, reading scripture, etc) to calm down, I finally received a priestood blessing from the elders, and I cannot believe, I have been aware of another strength with in me that is not my own, but right now I feel it stronger than ever. I no longer care, there's probably several bugs still in my hair, but I do not care, I no longer have fear. Satan cannot stop me, and the more I realize how much he doesn't want me here the more I am determined to stay. I know Lord has called me to Hong Kong for a specific purpose, I know I am supposed to be here. I know these people are my brothers and sisters and that the Lord has given me specific gifts and talents to bless the lives of people here right now specifically. And I know that with God I can do all things, I know I can overcome all fear, and I know He will not command me and call me to do things unless He prepares a way for me to accomplish it. I know I am supposed to be right here right now. And the Lord has given me so many blessings. I love Him with all my heart. I know that I am absolutely nothing without Him. I know I am incredably weak without Him. He is my strength, He is my all.

The date scratched on a rock in the picture I sent last week is the date they first dedicated Hong Kong Mission as it opened. The Lord has prepared the people here to receive the gospel, I believe it, I know it.

These pics are from my apt. window, beautiful!

lots of love

sister burningham

First Full Day at Hong Kong!!! Tolo Harbor!

Leih Hou everyone!

I am here in Hong Kong, We arrived Wednesday morning and today is Thursday and Thursday is going to be our P-day here in Hong Kong!

I am WAY excited!

First of all, the plane ride, it turns out I ended up sitting by Elder Bingham and Elder Denos in the Plane, so there wasn't any people to befriend and get to know and talk about the gospel, but I DID get to contact few people at the airport during our small layovers.

I met an elderly lady first and she was returning to Taiwan and spoke mandarin, so I invited one of the Manderin speaking Elder going to Hong Kong with us to help me talk to her, and it went great! She was very sweet and motherly, I gave her a mormon.org pass along card and invited her to find out more about our church, I hope that she is doing well.

I then met Stella at another airport, and she was so sweet and fantastic! She was also a mandarin speaker from Taiwan, but she had such great English so I got to talk to her and I love her! She was traveling to meet up with her friends in Hong Kong to have fun together, and we got to chat a lot. She has friends that are very religious and she finds peace and comfort from scriptures, so I told her about Joseph Smith, and how through him God has restored His church and how the Book of Mormon was translated by him through the power of God, I gave her a copy and invited her to read it herself, and that she can find out through prayer if it really is word of God. She was really inviting and she really appreciated my message, and she hoped that through reading and being able to develope her own relationship with God, she could have better things to talk about with her religious friends and be able to relate to them. I committed her to read the Book of Mormon and when she finds out that it is true, committed her to be baptised. She was so great, I want to keep in touch with her, and I even gave her contact info for after mission to keep in touch later :) I'm excited!

And then we finally arrived to Hong Kong and met our Mission President! He is really sweet, and very dedicated and humble yet strong. From a distance his physical traits reminded me of my uncle Mike Lee.

We had some orientation and headed out to our first finding activity and I was very excited to start talking to everyone! But then I soon found myself scaring(?) some people or getting weird looks trying to greet and talk to them, people here don't smile much, they look unhappy, it's sad, I guess people are usually like that everywhere in the world and in the city, but I think I have been noticing it more here in Hong Kong and during travelling. (Actually back at the airport when we landed in Hong Kong and stood in line for our bagage claim, these two men commented that I smile at everyone, haha, hopefully that wasn't too weird of a sight in Hong Kong. Granted, we did travel through the night, so I guess it is weird to be smiling and all excited, but I was, lol)

Anyways, it was starting to get a bit sad, especially since people didn't want to talk, and when they did, either my voice was too soft or my tones were off, they didn't really understand me and also, I didn't understand them. It's difficult. But one thing I really came to understand and learn in the MTC is that the Lord does not send missionaries where the field isn't white. And that we're not here alone. This is the Lord's work. He is the gardener, the Lord of the Vinyard. He has already been taking care of the vinyard before He calls His servants for assistance. We are to obey His guidance and direction to help out with the work and harvest where He wants us to. I firmly believe this. I know that the Lord has already been preparing people here in Hong Kong and some are ready, some ARE Ready! The Lord wants us to find them and help them realize God's hands in their life, and we are to introduce them to the Lord. Whenever we come in contact with someone, we are not alone, we have all 3 beings, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, involved. And with them we will not fail. With thousands of people before us, we need to ask the Lord, who He has already prepared for us to find, and if we are worthy of that guidance, by already having been exactly obedient, having prepared ourselves spiritually, and have excercised our faith by first opening our mouths and approach people, the Lord will guide us, and that is what happened during that same finding activity i mentioned earlier. I came across a young adult named Zen Zeng. He is from Singapore and He is ALWAYs traveling. He has traveled all over the world. When we bore our testimony that we know that our message is true and that every event we talk about has really happened, he was interested and so I taught him of the Restoration. He needed to take pictures and we had to keep walking but he told me to keep talking while he was engaged in other activities saying that what I was saying was interesting. And he was a reader, and graciously accepted all the reading materials we had to give him (Including the Book of Mormon) and since he is always traveling to places, got his email address and he even said he will visit Salt Lake to find me to keep in touch when I told him I couldn't facebook during my mission. I have refered him today to the office and hopefully they can get him an online missionary. It would be great if anyone reading this can get an email address of an online missionary at the mtc! I am confident he will come to know God himself, because I have a testimony of the power in the Book of Mormon that a person will be nearer to God through abiding by the precepts taught in the book. :) I am very excited!

This morning they assigned us to our areas and trainers\

My trainer is Sister Bingham from Orem! And I will be in the Tolo Harbor Zone that covers 3 areas. We have 2 teaching appointments tonight, and I am very excited!

Anyways, P-days here are extremely busy, I understand now how hard it is to write letters, so I hope people reads my blog, because I wouldn't be able to write them individually much.

I love you all very very much and pray for you each, please turn to the Lord, and draw closer to Him, as I am and the people I am inviting here are, He is truly incredible and the best perfect friend,
Leih Jimuih

LAST WEEK at the MTC!!

This is my last P-day in MTC! AAih-Yah!

I've started packing today and my goodness I can't believe I'm gonna leave this place

I will be flying from salt lake, to sanfrancisco CA, to Taipe Taiwan, to Hong Kong

it's about 17 hours or something of flight

we leave on monday evening and arrive in hong kong on wednesday morning

I will probably have time to call my family on monday evening/night at the airport

Oh, And Saturday before Noon is my last mail distribution day! So please send whatever you mean to send before friday ish because monday is labor day and I will not receive the mail!

anyways,

last week one of our companionships in the district had a baptism and we even had some investigators attend, and I gave a talk about baptism in Cantonese at the service!! It was just a really fantastic experience!! I am SO HAPPY, it's truly a miracle to see people change their life and come to know the truth themselves and testify!!

So I have been thinking lately, that the word "together" is probably my favorite word, Everything about me, all my motivation, all my being is driven by the concept of "together". I love my family, and I love my friends, I like loving people, and there is just a pure true happiness living for someone else,

I want to be with the people I love, together with them forever, the people I met in this life mean so much to me, in the end, I want to see them and be able to live with them forever. And the only thing that provides that is our Heavenly Father's plan, it is only through living the gospel and keeping the commandments of God that we can be together with our loved ones, including our loving Heavenly Father and our Savior for ever for eternity.

I have left some very precious people to come out on a mission without any earthly friends beside me, but I did it because I want people to be able to hear about this gospel and have the chance to accept it, that everyone can be together with their family, with their dear loved ones forever through this gospel. And I know I have met some amzing people here in the MTC as well during the 10-12ish weeks, they are very precious to me and I want us to be together as well, and I know that through this mission I will continue to find people I love and care so much about, and want to be together with them too,

this gospel provides just that, this gospel, our Heavenly Father's plan provides a way for all of us to be with our precious people forever,

I am on my mission because I love my brother's and sisters, I am on my mission because I want to share with them this news that we can be together forever, that this life on earth isn't everything and that there's happiness waiting for us if we would accept the gospel and let the Lord change us into becoming the Godly beings that we all have the potential to become. Last sunday in relief society meeting at church we had a speaker, sister Lindley come and speak, and she is a very inspriational member missionary, from her I learned that we should never give up. If this gospel is important to me, and I love my friends, they should already know that this means a lot to me and is a huge part of my life, This gosple is what gives me direction in life. Because I have this relationship with my Father in Heaven, I can just put all my trust in Him and don't have to worry or stress, I only have to just go and do what He tells me to do and everyting works out. I would be absolutely nothing without Him, I would not be where I am without Him, my life is full of small and big miracles, and I want everyone else to have this stability, this testimony this relationship with Father and Heaven as well, so that They also may have peace in life and trust in God and feel fulfilment in life. If we truly know the value of this gospel, we would never stop inviting people, they need this, this is the whole point of life.

I can't wait to go out into the field, I can't wait to start talking to all the children of God that I will come across, I can' t wait to start sharing with people on the airports

I love you all so much, I hope all of you are coming closer to the Lord as I am, and as other people I am inviting are,

I hope you never lose faith,

Keep going, never give up, keep working hard, and I know you all will be so much more amazing by the time I see you again!

Leih Jimuih

2 Month Mark and Week 9 at the MTC!!

Leih Hou!!!

I got my haircut today!

The sisters get one free haircut during their stay at the MTC,

it comes to my neck, a bit below my chin, maybe I can send pictures soon the picture machine has been down lately,

But sister kelly said that my hair looked chic and that it really brightens my face, which is good i guess because I do want people to notice me so I can tell them why I am so happy in my life haha

Anyways, it's so crazy, I only have less than 2 week left until I fly out to Hong Kong!!!, we will leave before the sun comes out on monday morning on September 5, it's crazy how close it is!!

To be honest the reality hasn't really hit me yet, it's pretty weird here at the MTC, especially with the time,

I feel like I died in my old life and was born in the MTC again, and that I'm gonna be here the rest of my life and that people back home are kind of like a dream or my past life, it's really wierd, I must have just been here for so long haha, but it doesn't feel like I've been here 2 months and one day, it feels like I've been here my whole life, yet it also feels like that two months flew by, Our district has made a goal to sprint this last two weeks that we have so that we can be the best prepared we can be.

Anyways, I've just read my own journal entries from when I first got here, and in one entry, back in June 24 (wierd how far away that seems!!) I recorded my prayer, and part of it I asked the Lord: " Please polish me, prepare me as I humble myself and turn to thee, so that i can be most useful unto thee in this thy great work, thy glory. this is not a sacrifice at all, this is an ultimate privilege. I am so blessed x infinity."

The Lord really does hear and answer all of our prayers. No wonder I felt so squeezed and pushed to my utmost limits for so long, I know that He is only helping me become better and grow. He is really preparing me and polishing me.

But despite how hard it is to be a missionary, i do not belive that i have ever felt so comfortable and so at peace as I have been ever since i came to the mtc and ever since i became a missionary. i really do love my life as a missionary. i get up without problem in the mornings and by the end of the day i am way exhausted but i am truly happyand feel so accomplished. I have this peace of mind, a mind free of cares, I am just really comfortable. I don't know if it;s only because we're at the mtc among other missionaries where the whole place is just filled with the spirit all the time, or if I can continue to have this feeling throughout my mission out in Hong Kon g and even through out the rest of my life, but I do know that i want to do a ll I can to continue to have this feeling of peace and comfort as long as and as often as i can.

god has such an interesting sense of humor, I have such an interesting father-daughter relationship with Him. He is my heavenly father and he has known me all my existance. and even when i was leaving further and further away from him lost in pain, sins and suffering, Heavenly Father still sought me out and when I finally found him again, I embraced him. I have really missed out a lot for those early years.

Right now, I am so happy to be on a mission, I want to help people, but i know without god i am helpless. With Him, he can use my best effort to help people in His own way, the best way, the most effective way

with His wisdom, none of my efforts are in vain, every little effort does help

I love my heavenly father

I know where I came from before this life,

I know who i am

I know where I am

I know I am where I should be

I know where I am going

I know where I want to go and be

I know how to get there

and right now, I have been given this opportunity to share what i know with my brothers and sisters and invite them to Christ, to be able to tell them about his good news, that they have a heavenly father who loves them, and everything about the gospel, and invite them to the right path back to our heavenly father.

Anyone can come to know this,

anyone and everyone, Everyone has the privilege to find out for themselves

I love you all so much, and I pray for you every day, I think of you and my heart goes out for you, and I can't wait to find more people I care about in this journey to serving in Hong Kong

May god be with you :)

Sister burningham

Week 8 at MTC

Leih Hou Ma!!

Mission is truly an emotional roller coaster that's more extreme than normal life! There's such high ups and such low downs almost every hour, sometimes every few minutes, but even admist all that there's this peace that is constant, something that keeps me stable and calm. By the time I write this email I am able to look over the past week and discover so much joy. I really do love being a missionary.

TRC was wonderful as usual, this time we had 3 young women and their leader(?) volunteer, and it was different but fun, it was almost like we were teaching a family! I always love TRC especially because of the comments and feedbacks we get, this time each young woman wrote that they had good time, and that they felt special, that they learned that all of our problems are Jesus Christ's problem, we can ask God anything and their faith grew in Jesus Christ because they knew He would never give up on us, and that seeing us reminded them of the importance of the missionary work. and All three of them has wrote that they are either considering or wanting to go on a mission someday, and to volunteer again!!

That really lifts me up :)

Yesterday teaching Soren was a bit hard, he really liked Sacrament and the talks, he really enjoyed that first half of the Church, but apparently the members weren't being very examplary during Sunday school and other meeting, sleeping and texting and boring teacher, he said. I was pretty sad to hear that, I know that the church is true, but its members are not perfect, we as members still need to strive to do our best to keep our commitments as well and strive to grow in the gospel, the whole point of enduring to the end. I look at all the commitments and lessons we are supposed to teach our investigators and it's quite a lot, and it's sad to realize some members don't even keep them, it's really sad. But I know that it's the Spirit that converts us not the members.

Our other investigator Yiu Yiu last week has agreed to be baptized, she didn't believe in God at all at first, but through meeting with us she told us last week that she believes in God and want to do His will. I love having this chance to witness people's faith grow.

On Sunday we had an amazing fireside about the sucess of missionary. The speaker said that missionary success shouldn't be measured by baptisms and people coming to christ, because that kind of events involve other people's choice and agency. Our faith and hard work can influence those choices but the determining factor is still upto the person to choose. But we can have success when we know that our efforts to accomplish the work of the Lord are pleasing to Him. We as missionaries need to have the attitude of "perhaps/might" to express our desired results. As missionaries, the Lord expects us to do our best and give our all to this work with out expecting any reward. The Lord has called us for a specific purpose, which purpose we may not know, but for that Purpose, He needs our best effort, and we just need to trust in that purpose as Prophet Abinadi had to. On our missions we are not guranteed that people will accept our message, just as Christ was not guranteed that people would follow Him because of His sacrifice, but we are guranteed the joy and Joy is determined by whether we are pleasing to the Lord. If there IS baptism and people Do come to Christ, than we need to be grateful to the Lord for allowing us to witness that miracle of conversion, and remember that this isn't how the Lord shows that He is pleased with us, If there's no baptism, it is normal and expected that we feel sorrow but we must Never lower our expectations and lose our faith, because there ARE people that the Lord Has prepared that He can introduce you to. We must always continue to do our best, and our success is measured by our commitment.

I find such clarity and comfort in that message. and I am SO grateful to be here serving the Lord. I have so much I yet want to share with all of you but there's just not enough time, but I love you so very much, and I am grateful that the Lord is blessing each of you during my absense, I thank Him for His mercy and perfect love

Loves forever,

Leih Ji muih

week 7 @ mtc

Leih Hou Everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful fast sunday, mine was amazing, I fasted with questions in mind and we had a mission conference on sunday and all talks, even in sacrament meeting and fireside later that night, were directed to my questions, there were even 2 of the same topics given out that added more emphasis to the answers to my questions it was such emotional experience to strengthen my testimony that Heavenly Father really listens to every little thing we say in our prayer and if something is important to you it's important to Him as well no matter how little you may think it might be to Him. anyways, yeah, amazing amazing fast sunday. I really needed it and was looking forward to it, my spirit was greatly starving, it really needed that spiritual feast that comes from fasting. I feel much stronger, I feel so strengthened, and I feel so much better.

TRC was quite amazing as usual, starting last week,we are to teach the volunteers as themselves, so even if they are members we just get to know them and share an overview of a lesson and ask them to do things that will draw them closer to Christ all in Cantonese. We shared the message of the Restoration of Jesus Christ's Church, and asked her to pray about Joseph Smith to strenghten her testimony about him being the prophet of the Lord, we also challenged her to study the book of mormon daily and to write down her thoughts and ideas as she reads and how by writing she will receive answers to her questions. Afterwards we received the comment sheet, and it said that she felt really comfortable with us and that she learned that sometimes the answer to things is in a simple testimony of the Restoration, and that Her answer to her prayer(s) is that she needs to read the book of mormon. That feedback really brought peace to me, it's just really amazing what influence we have even to the members and that the gospel and the book of mormon really helps. And I want to add my testimony to that as well. By reading the book of mormon with questions, and praying and writing things down as I studied that book, I too learned so much, it has helped me become who I am today, it has changed my heart 180 degree from before I knew about the gospel, I am who I am today because of the gospel, more specifically because of the Book of Mormon, and even as a missionary, as servant of the Lord, it continues to help me, to answer my questions, and to lift me up. Book of Mormon is God's words, Book of Mormon is a book our own Father in Heaven prepared, wrote through His prophets, and broght forth to all of us through His prophet, all for us, It's written specifically to meet our needs. It helps us to receive answers to all our Questions in life, whatever questions it may be. "therefore feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do" 2Nephi chapter 32 verse 3 or 4, this scripture is true.

Yesterday we taught Soren again and we invited him to come to church this sunday and he said he would! It made my day! I know that the church is where we can feel the Spirit more and where the words of Christ is spoken and talked about, and I know that Soren needs this gospel and the spirit to help him know what direction he needs to take in his life to help others. I too, through the Gospel have found my direction in life. I was going to study Pharmacy in college, but Heavenly Father has directed my life to study Animation to help others. And I trust in Him, and I know as I rely on Him and work hard in the path that He has prepared for me, I WILL be able to help others to have joy and peace in this trying life.

We have a new solo Cantonese sister, Sister Mercado! We got a new Hong Kong Cantonese district last wednesday and the district is 3 people! our sister, and 2 elders, they are very focused in there work and are very good examples to us.

I cheer for them.

Time is up, I hope that everyone is doing well, and I hope you all remember that I love you, and that I think of you, and that I pray for you, I picture you smiling

Thank you for being in my life everyone :)

Loves forever,

Leih Ji muih

Week 6 at MTC

Leih Hou!!

We are now past our half point mark and it's both exciting and nerve racking!

I am still very excited to go out there to start finding people that God has been preparing, but I also need any help I could get with the language, but oh well, I know I will be as prepared as I can possibly be in the MTC by the time I leave, so,

Last TRC was pretty funny, Sister Kelly and I were assigned to a couple where the lady is non-member and doesn't really speak any english, but it turns out that her boyfriend is the volunteer that speaks Cantonese and the lady is Korean! She speaks little cantonese and some english, so I basically translated our lesson in Korean and I thought my brain would explode! Going from Cantonese to English to Korean and all combination,,,I did warn her though, that I found this gospel in the America and so I don't really know much gospel words in Korean, and did my best. I thought of my brother serving in Korea and kind of wished he'd be here for me haha, And then it turns out that she actually studied in a seminary as a minister or some sort in California and that was pretty interesting, I wonder what she thought about our message? We felt the Spirit though, my companion especially said when I spoke Korean she felt the spirit really strong, so I hope that that experience was faith strengthening for both of them. :)

It's funny, I guess I talk about TRC all the time in my emails huh? and it only happens once a week,

So I will tell you something exciting that happened yesterday,

we have been teaching this investigator named Soren, and yesterday for the first time he told us that he felt the spirit!!! We had him read this one verse in the Book of Mormon, Moroni 7 where it talks about how things of God inviteth man to do good, and how good things are of God. We shared that scripture with him because he wants to know if there really is God because if there is than he wants to have a direction and guidance in his life so that he can most effectively help people. I LOVE teaching Soren, he is so prepared and really wants to try out his faith, he is willing to try praying, try reading the book of mormon to find out for himself if God is real, and to learn to feel the spirit so that he can also converse with God. I love him.

We have a new solo sister move into our room on wednesday, Sister Soloai, she is from New Zealand going to Philipines Cabueno speaking like our previous roommates! Oh and I don't think I 've ever mentioned the two new sisters that moved into our room, sister Castleton and Sister Sneed going English speaking to Indiana mission! I love them a lot they are very sweet and want to be obedient, they give me strength.

Yesterday I visited the 3 Korean districts and asked them if they could do the temple work for the korean family names I have, they were willing so I gave them all names! It's exciting how many people on the other side from my family are getting their ordinances done in a week that is more than what my mom and dad could do in about a year! I Love' God's work, I love His plan, It's so perfect, so full of mercy and love, and I love that I can be a part of it, to witness it for myself His work going forth. I love love love This work!

And I love learning that really, all things in the gospel, all of God's will is all for our benefit. By turning our will to the Lord's, it only helps us become more like Him, it only helps us reach our full potential, His will is so selfless, it is all dedicated for our welfare. We just need to trust in Him as He trusts in us. God has so much faith in us. He gave us agency trusting that we will make our own choices to reach our full potential and return to Him. He has sent His son to suffer and die for us trusting that we would accept that sacrifice, that great gift. He really really has great faith in us. And I think that the reason we had to leave His presence to grow, is so that we can develope that faith as well, and I want my faith to grow stronger and stronger, I trust God, this is His work, which is to bring to pass OUR imortality and eternal life. He loves us so very much.

And I love you all back home. I know you are in God's care. I pray about you daily, I miss you, but I willingly chose and left so that I may bring others this knowledge as well. And I know that you are all having your own unique experiences in life. Turn to the Lord, pray to Him, trust Him, and He really will take care of you. I love you so much, :) I will see you all in short time though, like 2 years :)

Do well

Ga Yauh!!!!!

Ngoh Hou Ngoi Leih!

MONTH mark, Week 5 at MTC

LEIH HOU Channgoi ngohdeihge gatihng&pahngyau!

I am so very grateful to be here on my mission! I LOVE being a missionary! This really is the best life I've ever had! I am SO happy here! This really is my dream life! If I was a milinare and could afford it, and am allowed to, I want to do this to the day I die! This is what I want to do for the rest of my life!
I know the opposition is strong here out on the mission, but I am stronger here, I have the Spirit with me constantly and just focusing on this work only has really given me great joy. I love Love LOVE my life here! I LOVE my district! I LOVE the people! And I'm also even falling in love with the language haha :) I am finding it quite surprisingly easier to be here in the MTC than my prior life, I think because I am able to be more focused here. I am able to be more aware of the hand of the Lord in every aspect of life and my confidence in Him has grown so much, I know He has forgiven me of my sins, and I know I am His daughter, I know He is pleased with me because I can feel His Spirit working through me. I have so much strength here because of Him. I am achieving all these almost impossible tasks because of Him. I can really do and achieve ANYTHING with his strength, I know that He is with me to help and support me Every step of the way, even in my preparations.
For example, my companion and I finally got sick (this sickness has been knocking each people in the district so far and it has finally reached us), and I needed to sleep during my language study and preparation times because of it. I had to translate and study the lesson on the Atonement on Saturday morning that we had a whole week to prepare for the TRC that night. We were fortunate enough to practice our principles of the whole Plan of Salvation Lesson to our teacher Sister Masterson that morning, and I had just barely finished translating the Atonement Principle and studied it a little bit before hand (and my brain was just shutting down during the study because I was still sick). But when we taught Sister Masterson, I felt the Spirit, I taught her as if she was someone I knew, someone I loved very much that didn't know of our Savior Jesus Chirst and the sacrifices He has made for us. And the words just came back into my memory and I was able to share that principle very close to how I wanted to share it in English about the Savior and His atonement. After teaching her the whole lesson all in Cantonese, she gave us feedbacks. She told us that it was the best and most simple and clear Jesus Christ and His Atonement principle, And the whole lesson that she has so far heard in her teaching, and that with few more polishing and adding some more questions, she would actually teach that lesson the way we just taught her right out in Hong Kong to real investigators! She really complemented us and it made me realize that God has really been with us, even in our preparation and practice. There is no way I could have done what I just did, but i know that this really is God'd work, and He helps us even in our process of preparation. The MTC really is the Lord's training center. God really does love each and one of His children. So much that not only does He prepare the people to hear His message of happiness and Salvation, but He also prepares His servants the Missionaries to learn to teach with His Spirit.

This truly is the Great and Marvelous Work. And I am so honored and privileged to be apart of it. The salvation of the souls of each one of God's children are all that matters to me. I really want to do my best, give my all, to invite people to come unto Jesus Christ. Because all that I am, Everything I have, Everything good I do, is all because I turned to my Savior Jesus Christ. Because I let myself turn to Him, He really has changed me to be who I am today, and I love myself. I would be absolutley be nothing without Him. I have no purpose in life without Him. Because of Him, families can be for ever, for eternity, we can be together with our loved ones and friends, everyone we care so much about for eternity, happiness without end! This life here on earth is not everything, it's not our only life here and I Know it, without a shadow of a doubt :) And all my desire is that I can really invite people to come unto Christ. It gives me the greatest joy when they do, because I know it would make them very happy and also our Savior very happy, I know He has given us everything, His entire earthly life for us, He suffered everything and paid the price of all of our sins for us on the Garden of Gathsemany (I can't spell), and he suffered on the cross and died for us so that we really can be forgiven and be cleansed from our mistakes and sins so that we can live with our perfect Heavenly Father who is clean and pure every whit for eternity. Jesus Christ has done Everything for us because He loves each one of us and His Father very much. And it brings Him great joy when we accept His ultimate gift of atonement.

Yesterday, the older Cantonese Speaking district flew out to Hong Kong (yes, including our beloved Sister Kiene), we miss them, but we are very excited for them. I know that they are awesome people and they are as prepared as they can be, I can't wait to hear about the joy that they are able to feel as they share what is so precious to them-the gospel, the time, the love-all for the people in Hong Kong. This is really truly an exciting work.

I hope everyone had a great Pioneers day! We sure did! No, no fireworks this time, but we had a great fireside where we sang the hymn, "Come come ye saints" so powerfully together. They lyrics apply to us as missionaries SO much! We, missionaries Are pioneers ourselves because we are pioneering what we have never done, and for some of us, what our family has never done. We do this because of our love for the Lord our God and for the people. For as long as I shall live, for as long as I am here on earth, I want to do my best to testify of my Savior Jesus Christ, His love, and bring all these people I love closer to Him.

The Provo temple is back up and running :) I have really missed it so much, and our beloved whole TEN Elders will be doing the temple work for my male ancestors :) They are excited to be apart of it.

Oh yeah, funny thing, our fire alarm went off this morning at 2am, it was quite the expirience. From this I learned that although I am a heavy sleeper, that fire alarm does wake me up and that I won't die when there's a disaster in our building haha

Anyways, I think my time is up, but I really love you so very much! I pray for you, often individually, I hope everyone is doing well, God be with you, and if you ever find the time, I would love to hear from you :)

We just had our one month anniversary since coming to MTC, it's quite an accomplishment! xD

Ngoh Hou Ngoi Leihdeih!!!

Sister Burningham~!

Week 4 at the MTC

Tue, Jul 19, 2011

Leih hou ma!!!!!!

How is everyone?

I am doing well!

I have been really really growing,

but let me just begin by telling you that I love love love TRC,

even though until we have done TRC on Saturday we're nervous and stressed preparing for it, I love the comforting feedbacks we get afterwards.

Last TRC it was said that all the investigators/volunteers understood everything we have said and have felt the spirit! And they were very impressed that we were already speaking Cantonese at that level in 3 and 1/2 weeks. And in my companionship we were able to get our investigator to pray with us and he said he would pray everyday! Even though we couldn't understand most of his Cantonese, we were still able to teach with spirit and were able to tell Him how much God loves him. I am grateful that this is God's work, because I know that without His spirit we would not be able to teach like that. Spirit really is everything in this work, and it really makes up the lack that we have in Cantonese. Lately I have realized that I've unconsciously been expecting to speak Cantonese in the level of language ability that I was able to achieve in 9-10 years in English. I shouldn't expect to reach that point of fluency in just 3-4 weeks now, that's just being a bit too hard on myself haha. The language is still hard, but I am at peace, even though I feel like the rest of other elders and my companion knows more Cantonese than I do, I am not frustrated anymore. I know I can trust God and learn at His pace. And I know that language isn't everything in teaching, the Spirit is more powerful. And I can feel Him whenever I testify, and I know how to do that in Cantonese, to bear simple testimony with all my heart.

Another thing that has really helped me this week was working on the Christlike attribute of Faith (last few weeks I've been working on Obedience), And I tried to grow in that attribute by trying to be more grateful. Because lately, I have really been struggling with my confidence. But by recognizing more and more all the big and little blessings God has given me in my life, I was able to be more humbled, yet confident that my obedience did work and that God is pleased with me. Because I was able to recognize His blessings, I am more confident than ever that God is pleased with what I ask Him, because He grants me them. I Know He will grant unto me all my righteous desires, because I know I won't be asking for anything contrary to His will because my life is centered in Him and His work (Helaman 10:4-5). And another thing I have learned through Gratitude is recognizing how Jesus Christ's Atonement apply to Missionary work. It really is all out of love. Love is to sacrifice. Jesus Christ has lived and suffered and died for all of us. He wasn't promised that because of what He did, all of us would accept His Atonement and follow Him, but He still did it, because He loved each and one of us and wanted to do everything in His power to somehow help us all return to God. And as a missionary, we should think of it the same way. We are not gurranteed that people will listen to what we say, accept our message and our invitatione to Come unto Christ, but we do this out of love. We sacrifice being with our loved ones, time, our job/education, our savings, everything for the Children of God in this world who are far from the Lord. We do this because it is worth it because it is love. And no one may accept, but we know we have done our best, and it WILL benefit somebody even if it is just ourselves. Somebody will come closer to the Lord. D&C 10 worth of souls is great in the sight of God, and how great shall be your joy if you bring even one soul unto God :)

I am happy, and though it is hard work I am at peace. Christ has suffered and been treated the worst but He never complained, and I am definitely not grater than He. I have so much to be grateful for. I love you all so much, and I hope each and one of you are coming closer to the Lord as I am coming closer to Him :)

Thank you Ashley for your comment, it really means a lot what you said, my mom copied the comment and sent it in a letter for me :) Thank you thank you, I hope you are doing well, I love you

And thank you Emily for your comment too, you didn't even have to remind me of the game haha :)

Ngoh Ngoi Lei,

Sister Burningham

Week 3 in the MTC

Bastilan! (that's Cebuano,,,)

I can't believe it's already P-day!

this last week went by very very fast and it freaks me out a bit.

I only have about 8 weeks left and i don't know how i feel about how fast weeks go by here,,

Today we were on our challenge to speak only in Cantonese but I already failed by 7:45 this morning,,,,

sigh, but I'm going to speak as much cantonese during the day as I can anyways,

We had our first TRC (don't ask me what that stands for) where cantonese speaking voluntary people come and help us practice teaching lessons on them as if it was real. it was hard, we hardly understood what they were saying back to us in cantonese, but I felt better afterwards, because most of them were returned missionaries from Hong Kong themselves and they told our teacher that they were impressed at our language skill that we were able to achieve in 2 and 1/2 weeks, apparently our teachers have been pushing us quite hard. That gives me a bit of comfort knowing that I'm not way behind in learning cantonese, but I am still working hard because we only have about 8ish more weeks of help and training here before we are thrown out in hong kong.

I made my first "phone call" appointment in cantonese with one of our investigators and it went pretty well, I was able to understand the person enough to schedule them at 12:45pm on friday, I was proud of myself for understanding that, but of course there were lots of other things that flew over my head.

So our roommates, Sister Shaw and Sister Apina left to report to Philippines (Cebuano speaking) yesterday and we miss them, our room feels pretty empty with just 3 people in 6 people capacity.

I am more and more loving my district. We are all so different and unique, but I feel like we are a family now, I feel like I have 10 brothers haha, I love them very much, and I can see so much potential in each of them. We are getting better at focusing and working hard, our improvements makes me happy.

I am so grateful to be out here. In class, we watched a clip of Elder Holland's talk that he gave in MTC devotional some years ago, and I have never seen him so passionate and so all over the place as he was in the clip before, his chastisement was strong, but not hurtful, but very effective, and his testimony is perhaps even more powerful and amazing than the general conference ones! He is so incredible, and when he expresses his love, we just feel so loved even though he doesn't even know us personally. He talked about how this our first mission opportunity is the best thing we ever had a chance to do and the hardest thing we have ever done, yet we will never ever be able to experience this again, because nothing is like the first mission. He talked about how serving our Father in Heaven requires THE Best, our best, we are participating in salvation of human soul, and we need to be voluntarily, lovingly, humbly, be willing to do God's will whose work this is. And I know what he told us is true. This really is the best thing ever. This really is my dream life, more than how I dreamed it. I am 24/7 living just for the cause of this work, to invite as many children of God as we can to come unto our Lord Jesus Christ. And you have no idea how happy I am even though it is so difficult, challenging and very demanding and exhausting. I know God is with me, I am so surprised at how much I am able to get done, well, not really, because I knew God would be with me to help me, it's just that I am really seeing it happen first hand. I love this quote: "The Lord is in the detail of our lives, He has no distracting hobby", Our Lord loves us. Jesus Christ, He loves us, and He can help us, He HAS helped us, and He Will continue to help us and love us as long as we let Him,
And I love Him, and serving Him here is my greatest joy and honor. I am so grateful that I am worthy enough to be His instrument. I am so honored that God has entrusted us with this responsibility to extend invitations to His precious children in Hong Kong. He has prepared the people there, the field is white ready to harvest, we need to grow in our trust and faith to let Him introduce us to those that are ready for the Gospel.

Ngoh Ngoi Leih,

Leih Jimuih

MTC Week 2 Jul 5, 2011

Hi everyone! how was everyone's 4th of July?

ours was fabulous! we actually were allowed to go outside within the mtc grounds to see the fireworks from the byu stadium of fire or something on July 2nd Saturday!

we had a special program and then free icecream bar and then special permission to do that!

We didn't end up going to bed until 11:30 or so that night though, so we were dead tired on sunday, but sundays are always really peaceful and restful and relaxing and nice, so it wasn't too bad,

My district is improving and we're uniting more, we had a devotional review and when everyone shared their thoughts all of a sudden I felt even closer to them, and one of our teacher was having a struggle in her class at byu and we were able to have an experience of witnessing our power to help people by helping our teacher, it was really amazing.

I am utilizing my gym time well here, if I do say so myself, playing game of 4 squares, and I am lifting a 20 pound weight 30 times straight everyday, running on the eliptical? thing for 10 minutes, doing stretches to work on my flexibility, and some sit ups, all of that everyday. I am lifting weights because I cannot do any push ups, so I am thinking that if I have more strength in my arms, I might be able to push myself up better. It's intimidating and quite embarrasing to go lift my little weight in the middle of all these hard core Elders though, haha.

So I still really love it here in the MTC, I am actually struggling somewhat with the language though. Cantonese is so hard that it sometimes makes me cry. It's just that I have so much in my heart that I want to express that I have all these things I want to share to our investigators, but I feel stuck with the few words and phrases I know in Cantonese. I have also thought about how I'm always having to learn to express myself in new ways, like trying to speak Korean more because no one knew Japanese, and then to learn English in America, and now that I can finally maturely(?) express myself about what I feel and what I know in English, I am called to learn to express and share in Cantonese, it frustrates me a bit. I really want to share this message that has brought so much blessings into my life, but I need to start over it feels like. I also don't feel like I have a base, a foundation of who I am, not having an actual solid language. But because of this gospel, I know this. I know that I am a child of God, and that He is my Heavenly Father, and He is constant, and always there for me, He never changes and loves me completely. He is the only unchanging thing in my life. I can only trust Him, to depend on Him, to trust Him with my all, because I can't do this without Him. Without Him I can not possibly learn this so called 2nd hardest language in the world in like 11ish weeks. Without God I have nothing, all that I have now, God has given them to me, my dear family, a new father on earth, true friends that care about me, education to reach my potential, happiness, peace, and a heart full of love. I have hope because I have God. I can only rely on Him, I am going to master the language of the Spirit. I am going to make the most of this 9ish weeks I have left, I don't feel that it's enough, but I trust the Lord that that is just the time that Lord Knows I need. I am tired, but I have a fire within me, I know what I'm about to share with the people in Hong kong is true, with all my heart, I have no single doubt, it is my absolute knowledge, and I know this is where I need to be right now. I am going to work HARD. extra hard. And I am doing my best here.

I left some things behind coming here, including people I grately care about and miss, but I know that they are in the Lord's care, there is no one else on earth that could take better care of my precious things than the Lord, because those people are also very precious to the Lord. I love Him, He is my best friend, I tell Him everything and if I listen, He tells me everything I need to know as well. I am so grateful to have found Him when I did, I am grateful for who I am and who I am becoming. I love you. Ngoh Ngoi Leih!!

Leih Jimuih

Jun 28

FIRST WEEK AT THE MTC!!!

Leih Hou Leih Hou everyone!! :)

Tuesdays are my P-days and I have 30 minutes to write my emails so we'll see how much I can cram in!

I am loving the MTC SO MUCH!!!

I am very happy here and I know this is where I need to be right now!

Learning Cantonese is exhausting and hard, but fun, it's like we're singing more than talking, and I'm learning a lot, I enjoy the language,

We have devotionals every tuesdays and a fireside every sundays, but last week we had a special devotional on Thursday where Elder Bednar spoke! He talked about how to be a Preach-My-Gospel-Missionary and it was very encouraging and strengthening talk, I love him very much. And last week was apparently a crazy week for the MTC, because they held the training for all the newly called mission presidents, and so the Prophet and his apostles all came too! I didn't get to see any of them except for at the devotional I saw some of them with Elder Bednar.

I love the Spirit so much here, I can feel it so constantly, and I feel so clean and pure, I am very happy and I am not distracted or depressed at all, except for in class our district can get loud and crazy that we've been struggling with, but we've been doing our best to be better, more reverent and unified, at least for me, I prayed for my district, especially this one elder that drives me a bit crazy, I prayed for unity and reverence, and hopefully things will turn out better. Apparently we are the largest district since for long in the MTC, 12 of us are squished into this tiny classroom which I guess is why we've been struggling a bit. But other than that, things are just great, I have a great companions Sister Kelly (she kind of looks like Becky Heumann from Brighton 1st Ward), and Sister Kiene (pronounced like Keenee) who was a solo sister in the older district until Sister Kelly and I arrived here on wednesday. We are the only sisters in our zone.

Food is good, it's like the Cannon Center at BYU, except I was starting to get a bit discouraged with the food until finally last night for dinner they served Spaghetti!!! I was looking for pasta this whole time whenever we went to eat! haha

Adjusting to MTC schedule wasn't too bad to my surprise, I really feel supported and strengthened here it's incredible.

I have been growing and learning a lot here, my testimony is also growing as well, In thePreach My Gospel, page 17 it says " For you to grow in the gospel and stay on the path that leads to eternal life, you need to develop a habit of gospel study." And that is really true. In life, we can't stay in one spot, we are either growing and progressing towards our full potential, or digressing, forgetting what we have learned, it is important that we continue to grow because otherwise we will only go backwards.

If we want to grow, the habit of scripture study is the best. Because scriptures are God's words, and that's where personal revelations come, it's most effective tool to growth than any other worldly philosophies and helpful tips, if we turn to the Lord, He will teach us, read that section if you have access, I recommand it :)

I have given my 18 months to the Lord, and I know that the time I have now is not mine, it is the Lord's, and I can't waste it, I need to make the most of it.

This time isn't about me, it's about Lord's work and the people I have been called to serve. And that motivates me through the learning of Cantonese and all the work I do here. I really honestly just want to go out there now and start inviting people to come unto Christ, in whom there is hope and eternal happiness, but I know I'm not ready, I need to learn this language, and I'm going to do it because I love the people there, I really want them to have this happiness that I have been able to find. And for them, for the Lord, I can do anything.

Only 5 min left! I hope to write more next week! I will write to my personal messages to my parents now, I love you all!!!!

Leih Jimuih (my chinese name! sounds very close to Burningham! Leih Sister)

p.s. remember you can write me on dearelder.comdearelder.com if you hkave time ;)

A color comic experiment!

This is for my Graphic Novel Appreciation class,

we were to find a place that we have visited and have a photo or sketch documentation to, and appropriate that place into a scene in one of our stories' world.

We are to make a fully-realized three-panel style example, and while we don't need to push any sort of plot or narrative, at least one panel needs text. We are to show a taste of what our finished comic will look like in terms of style and execution.

This is my first time trying out this digital painting thing on Photoshop and was happy with how it turned out! It was difficult and time consuming, but fun enough that I would love to do more of it!

The story and the characters are all my original work. Please do not copy, even though basically nothing about it is explained or told here.

For the place, I used a photo of a Deaf/Blind School I used to intern in, for reference. Maybe I'll post the original photo reference later.