La Ultima

 Family,

 

I am doing well. We had a good week. tomorrow are transfers. It is a strange feeling. I love you all .

 

-Elder Burnham

 

3 John 1:13-14

THE EMAIL....

 

Hey!!

 

I am happy, and I am doing well. Some good and cool things happened this week, but I am in absolutely no mood to write. BUT, if you ask me about his week when I get home, I will most definitely tell you about it. Here is a brief summary:

 

We found two new investigators who seems to have good potential: Daniel, and Griselda. Griselda has a daughter whose name is Jimena, a lit like my companion's last name.

 

We finally got in contact with Jose Soto again. We could not teach him a lesson, but we were able to talk a little bit and see how he was doing. If his work permits, we will teach him next weekend.

 

We had a member come on a team up with us and he ended up getting in a heated discussion with a very rude person on the street.

 

It rained a WHOLE BUNCH.

 

We were the answer to someone's prayer.

 

We walked all Friday because we had a "car fast" and could not use the mission vehicle. We almost got stranded 8 miles from home at 7:30 at night.

 

I love you all, and hope to see you soon!

 

-Elder Burnham

Don't Forget!

 

Family,

 

I had read and responded to all the emails in my inbox and all the other missionaries were still going, so I was going to go read some Spanish book in the labrary, but then I remembered I had not sent the mass email! It seems I am a bit forgetful today...

 

We had a Zone conference this week on Wednesday. It was good. We learned about working with members and how to best do it. The stake president from the Omaha Stake also spoke about keeping journals. It has helped me have the desire to have better and more frequent entries.

 

We found Jose Soto!! I told you about him before when I first got here to Omaha. We thought he moved to Denison and have been trying to call him a lot but he never answers. We called him yesterday and he answered! He is working during the week in Denison, but is here on the weekends. We are hoping to be able to teach him this week.

 

We have also started teaching Frankie. He is the 11-year-old brother of Fabiola (I believe I have talked about her before). He has come to Sacrament meeting twice and likes it. He wants to get baptized. The only holdup would be his parents. But if we get permission from them, it is a go. I will let you know how  it goes next week.

 

Love you all.

-Elder Burnham

Mid-June

 

Faithful Email Readers,

 

Hello! I hope this email finds you well. I am doing good here in good ol' Nebraska.

 

We had ward conference this week. The stake leaders came and it was good. The Stake president has had the calling for a few years, and did not speak any Spanish when he started. He has learned a lot, and in Sacrament meeting he bore his testimony in Spanish without any notes. It was powerful.

 

Last preparation day we went to the Zoo here with the Spanish missionaries from the North. It was a lot of fun. It was a little pricey, but worth it. I will send some pictures.

 

All the normal computers are busy, so they let us use the kids' ones. The chair I am sitting is rather small.

 

No investigators came to church this week, but Gustavo did again! We were excited about that. I hope he returns to full activity. He could even serve a mission.

 

There is a flooding problem here. I guess there has been a lot of melting snow and rain recently and they have started letting a lot of water out of dams up North. There has been a lot of sand bagging and such going on. I am sure you could hop on the internet and find out more than I know about it all in less than five minutes so I will not write any more on the subject. I'll let you do some research if you are curious.

 

We are planning on going to the Trail Center with Salvador this week to watch the Joseph Smith movie in Spanish. I am really excited. I will let you know how it goes.

 

Love you all! Until next week,

-Elder Burnham

Start of a new Transfer

Burnham Clan,

Thanks for all your emails and prayers. I appreciate them a lot. I am writing on Tuesday this week because the libraries were closed yesterday for Memorial day. This was transfer week. I guess I told you about that last week now that I think about it. I am staying with Elder Jimenez.

The work has gone well this week. Adriana and Salvador did not come to church last week, but Adriana got a new job so she can be free on Sundays. They should come on a regular basis now. I am really excited. She told us last night that his biggest hangup to getting baptized is Joseph Smith. She tells him he needs to pray about it to see if he really was a prophet. She wants a pamphlet about Joseph Smith so she can know more and then explain it to him. We are going to try to go to the Trail Center this week on Saturday and watch the Joseph Smith movie with him. We feel like that would really help him progress toward baptism.

We also found a new investigator named Ariel. I mentioned him last week. He is a really good investigator. We taught him twice and he read the chapter we left him from the Book of Mormon, and the one before it too! He took it to work to read it there. He drove himself to church and wore a red button-up shirt and tie. The ward really fellowshipped him and he told us he liked it and wants to come again next week. That is really promising. I hope to see him baptized before the end of the transfer. He could do it.

I hope you are all well! Have a great week.

-Elder Burnham

Omaha with Jimenez take two

Family,

Because this is transfer week, we have preparation day on Wednesday. We had an activity this morning so we are writing later. This morning, about 12 of us missionaries got together and played sand volleyball outside while it rained lightly. It was really fun. We threw a frisbee and football around too and grilled a little food. It was a lot of fun. Several of the missionaries in the zone are leaving so it was nice to see them again before transfers. I will be staying here in Omaha with Elder Jimenez. I am excited. I am also going to be a district leader again. It is going to be a good transfer. The work is picking up and the members are getting a lot more involved thanks to the bishop. Good things will happen here. In fact yesterday we found a promissing new investigator. His name is Ariel. One of our other investigators talked to some people she knew about the gospel and they seemed intersted so we swung by! I'll talk more about him next week.

We are working with a part-member family- Adrianna and Salvador. She is the member and just moved from Mexico a few months ago. She had not gone to church in quite a while, but still knew it was true. He has talked to missionaries in the bast and was very close to getting baptized, but didn't. He likes what we teach though. The thing that has been holding them both back in the past is that they usually work on Sunday, so they cannot come to church. But on Saturday she called us and said that she wasn't going to have to work, so whe wanted to come to church. Her husband is the only one that can drive and he had to work so she asked if we could find her a ride. A member agreed to take her and we told the member we would meet her at Adrianna's house. When we got there, Salvador was outside getting into the car. We thought that was kind of lame because he told us he would have to work at 7:30. We were going to wait for the member, but Salvador called us and asked us where the church was. We told him we were at his house and got out and talked to him. It turns out he had woken up, but did not want to go to work. His wife said, "Well let's go to church then!" He agreed! They found the church and came and loved it. Salvador was participating like mad in the gospel principles class and got to know a lot of members. At the end of church, he said, I think we'll come next week too. I am excited for them. I hope he decides to get baptized.

I am about out of time. BUT. Saturday, we had an awesome meeting! Elder Cristofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles, Steven E Snow of the presidency of the Seventy, Richard C. Edgely from the Presiding bishopric, Elder Cook of the Seventy, and our area Seventy, Elder Real all came and spoke to us. It was a two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting. Elder Cristofferson left it open for questions for about 45 minutes and they answered each one. It was a spirit filled meeting and we learned a lot. I know this is the true church, and that we are led by prophets and apostles that are led by Christ. I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Burnham

Another Parade (5-16-11)

Family,

It is already Monday again. It seems like I just wrote you. Last weeks email turned out to be long, but I am not sure if this one will be the same. I will send pictures though. They're about a thousand words each right?

There was another parade this week. This one was for Florence- a historical part of Omaha I think. We were in it as pioneers pushing handcarts. It was fun. We handed out a lot of cards and fliers to those watching the parade.

This Saturday an Apostle and some other General Authorities area coming to the mission. We are excited. I will tell more about it next week.

Yeah that's all I got today. Sorry.
Love you all. Have a tanfastic week.
-Elder Burnham

Mother's Day Aftermath

 

Family,

 

It was so nice to see you all yesterday! I like Skype. It is a cooler experience than just calling. I could see you well, but when my companion got on, I found out I could have made you bigger during my call. Oh well. I am glad you are all well.

 

So- just some random tidbits about this week. A few days ago, we went to go get gas. We pulled up and my companion went to start pumping. Then this guy came out of the building and stopped him. It turns out it was a full-service gas station. The man pumped our gas for us while we talked to him (he did not clean our windshield) and then we went inside and payed. I did not know gas stations like that existed anymore. I felt fancy. I also felt old-fashioned at the same time. It was unique feeling.

 

Jose Soto and his wife have fallen off the face of the earth. We have called them many times and stopped by but cannot seem to get ahold of them. It is a little disheartening. On Saturday we called and his wife answered and we invited them to church and a ward activity, but they did not come. We are going to keep stopping by when we can and hope for the best. Our area covers a lot of area. We go to Council Bluffs Iowa every other day or so, and that is where he lives. If you are corious about our area, you can look at a map- We have everything south of the I-80 and Council Bluffs. The North Elders have everything else.

 

Saturday we had a ward talent show and culture night. It was good. There were a few people who thought they had talents, but...  not so much. They did their best though. Although no investigators came, a less-active did. He has come to church for several weeks now. He is a good guy. It was enjoyable.

 

We got a referral from some Sister Missionaries a few days ago. However, the address we got from the office was bad. We went to the address the office told us and then called the Sisters because they were appartments and we had no appartment number. Ther told us we were in the wrong spot and the referral was actually three miles north of there. We were short on miled and time so we decided to try back the next day. This time we could not use my companion's GPS because we did not have the exact address- only the house number and a general location. It took us about 45 minutes to find. It was quite a search. We FINALLY found the house and breathed a sigh of relief. The Sisters had told us the guy was eager to have us over, but it turned out to be someone else who was not interested. It was a little frustrating, but we laugh about it now.

 

Oh so two weeks ago the normal pianist for Sacrament meeting was gone. Last minute the bishop asked if I played piano and if I could play for sacrament meeting. I agreed with the warning that I could only play the top hand if I did not know the song. That is what I did for three of the four. It was not the best, but it was better than not having music.

 

OH! I almost forgot. On Saturday there was a big party on 24th street (The hispanic part of town) for Cinco de Mayo!! There was a huge parade and big rides and food booths and stuff. It felt like the State Fair. The parade lasted about two hours. Ten of us missionaries got together and attacked the people watching with Finding Faith in Christ passalong cards. The missionary I was with and I handed out about 100 each. The other missionaries handed out lots too. Hopefully we get a lot of people calling in that we can go visit! There were a lot of people giving out fliers and things and a lot of them ender up on the ground or in the trash. But I did not see a single one of our cards in either one of those places. In fact I heard one father say to his son, reffering to our card, "No te la tires. Este es el Diosito." In English it was more or less, "Don't throw this one away. It's shows God." It was cool. I like the respect the hispanic people have for things of God.

 

I hope you all have a good week! Love you much.

 

-Elder Burnham

 

PS That turned out to be a long one. Hope you enjoyed reading it.