Catch up!

***  I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd updated this blog!  I thought I was up to date... I guess time got away from me.  So here are the emails from the last month.***

5-2-11 Come to Christ!

Family,

I have good news and bed news. The good news is that I am doing well and loving life. The bad news is that I really don't feel like writing today... Sorry. I will try to get some good stuff down.

So. Jose Soto is awesome. whenever we teach him, he just soaks everything up. He understands so well and believes it. We read 2 Nephi with him, and when we got to verse 5, it says something like this, "If the Lamb of God, being holy, has need to be baptized, how much more need we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!" Before I even finished reading the verse, he interrupted and said "a lot!" We invited him to be baptized and he is thinking about it. He says he wants to read a little more from the Book of Mormon before deciding. But I an confident he will make the right decision and do it. I am excited for him. He did not come to church though. :( We are meking a big push for next week. He should be there.

We went by an investigator's house this week, and it turns out his kids had locked the keys in the car. He and a friend were trying to use wires to unlock it through the window. We got there and wanted to help. I took a wire and squeezed it through the door on the side of the car they were not on. I messed with it a little bit, and BAM! A minute or two later I had pulled up the lock and was in the car. I must say I was proud of myself. I will include a picture for your enjoyment.

We also have a returning inactive named Miguel Sosa. He is so sincere and is doing all he needs to have the fulness of the spirit in his life. But funny story about him- he was trying to give us directions to where he lived. He told us he lived on Park and "walwoo" street. We were quite confused, but tried our best to find it in my companion's GPS. We couldn't. We called back and had wim try to spell the street name. He spelled it Woolwok. We looked some more, and found it: Woolworth. It is quite hard for Spanish people to say apparently. But it was quite a quest trying to find "Walwoo" street.

I hope you are all well. Love you all.

-Elder Burnham

4-25-11 Good week

Family and All,

Hello again! It's cray to realize it's already been another week. They go fast. We are here in some library in Ralston emailing. We did laundry with at the Zone Leader's appartment this morning, and are now doing emails with them. The computers are nice. I brought my card reader to send some pictures home, but it turns out they have them built-in here. That works too.

What's happened of importance this last week....  Elder Jimenez went to a specialized training on Tuesday morning, so I did my studies with the Omaha North Elders. It was nice to spend time with them. On Friday, while we were walking, we say a lady with a flat tire. We helped her change it. It was fun. Elder Jimenez also worked in a mechanic shop. We enjoyed helping. Right as we finished, her husband drove up. He could have changed it but I guess we saved them a little bit of time. She ended up giving us a rosary (I think that's how it's spelled- the necklace things with the cross on them) for helping her. It was a nice gesture. Because it was Good Friday, there were a WHOLE bunch of proplr at the Catholic church. They had police cars in the surrounding blocks keeping traffic away. I guess it's kind of a big deal. Ha ha.

There is a missionary here named Elder Carius. He just got transfered to Logan, where I have served. I did not mention this last week, but when I was talking to him, I found out that his MTC companion was Sam Anderson!! That was a surprise. I told him that I knew him and they had been in our stake a long time.It's a small world.

We are going to have a mission-wide conference in May!! Our president told us that an Apostle, a member of the presidency of the 70, and another General Authority will be coming to our mission the 21st of May, each one will speak in one of the stakes around here on Sunday. It is really exciting. I will let you know more about it when I find out.

We are teaching a man named Jose Soto right now. He is awesome. They had been teaching him a little bit before I got here, and we taught him Saturday and Sunday. He is a really good investigator. He says that it only makes sense that Christ would keep guiding us with prophets and apostles, and he told us he believed Jesus Christ came to the Americas even before we read about it with him in the Book of Mormon! Some of his ideas are a little bit off, but he had the right idea. Saturday and Sunday were the first times his wife was there too, so we are now teaching both of them. She has- well, they both have- lots of questions, which is great! We answer them and it really gets them thinking. we are really trying to help get them to church this Sunday! At the end of the lesson, She said, "So, when are you coming back?" They love having us in their home and want to learn. Then they asked at what time church started. He turned to his wife and asked, "Do you want to go? Do you think we can make it?" I am excited to see them progress.

We had a pretty good Easter. I hope yours was good too. I love you all!
-Elder Burnham

 

4-18-11

First Week in Omaha

Family,

Hey! Hello from Omaha. We are in the Bellevue University computer lab emailing. They are pretty nice computers, but they do not have built-in card readers, so I will not send pictures this week. I will bring my small card reader and send some next week. It's not a big deal though because I don't have a good picture of me and my companion anyway. He is Elder Jimenez. His grandpa is from Mexico, which is where the name comes from, but no one in his family speaks Spanish anymore (except him) and he is as white as can be. But I am kind of jealous of him last name. Most people have trouble saying mine... But we get along real well. He has been out about 6 months, and speaks Spanish pretty well for that long (in my opinion). We are going to have a good transfer. We have also been talking to each other in Spanish a lot. My Spanish is going to progress a lot this transfer.

So my first day here (Thursday) was real good. After transfers (from 6:30 to 7:45ish) we all went to IHOP. There were about 30 missionaries. I guess it's kind of a tradition here. It was delicious. We then went to our apartment and I unpacked, and we did a little bit of tidying up. Elder Jimenez is a real clean guy, but his last two companions were not. So we have gotten the apartment nice 'n' clean since Thursday. Later that day, a guy just came up and talked to us, telling us that he really liked the Book of Mormon and had gone to church in Mexico a few times as a kid (about 40 years ago). He is about to move, but we got his phone number. Then later when we were tring to visit a referral, someone called out to us from across the street, "How you doin Elders?" it was a member family from the Ralston-La Vista ward. The mother and father both speak Spanish because of their missions. It turns out that they were already trying to fellowship this family we were trying to contact. It was awesome. The only thing is that the referral family is almost never there. We will try to get them though.

I am getting to know the area and all of the investigators. Our teaching pool is a little small, but we get a lot of referrals from the English missionaries in our areas, which is nice. We cover the area of nine different English areas. It is pretty intense. It can be difficult at times. We were going to go to the trail center on Saturday with some investigators, but they canceled. I was excited to go because I have not been since the beginning of my mission. They have some cool bronze sculptures of Christ there right now. But we did some service on Saturday morning. We helped a friend of a member move. The sister missionaries also helped a little bit, and will hopefully start teaching her. The member is from the Bellevue ward, but was cool. He also speaks Spanish so we can use him for team ups in the future. To thank us, he invited us to dinner that night. We also got some money from another member there to go buy lunch. We went to a small taco place called La Chiripa. We talked to two guys there and gave them copies of the Book of Mormon. One of them paid for us too! He seems kind of set in hes ways, but he was really nice. So we ended up not using the money we had gotten for lunch. It was like we got three meals in one day. :)

Two investigators came to church yesterday- Fabiola and Jorge. They want to get baptized, but need to get married first. They are waiting for a divorce to go through for him (with someone else) so they can do it. I am hopefull for them. The missionaries in the North are Elder Keel and Elder Orellana, both of which I have served with. It is nice to be around familiar faces. This ward has two sets of missionaries- one in the North and one in the South.

Things are going good here. I hope they go well for you too. Love you all!

-Elder Burnham

4-13-11

Family,

Transfers come and go again, and so do I. I only got six weeks here in Norfolk. We got the call last night saying that I was leaving. I was a little surprised, but I think Elder Bittner was more. I'm still not sure where I am going yet, but I will tell you later today when I find out.

I forgot to tell you last week that preparation day is on wednesday this week because of transfers. It was like this last time too but I was going to remind you. We had two district meetings since I wrote last, but that's the only thing really different this week. We continue to find new investigators and teach those we have. No one showed up for church Sunday, even though some people committed to come. I hope the people here choose to accept the gospel. I love them as God's children and want them to have the happiness that comes from keeping all the commandments. Sometimes I wish the people we talk to could know that. But they often don't. I hope I can really help some people  in my next area.

That's about all this week. I will write more next week and tell you about my new area.

-Elder Burnham

Conference

Family,

I loved General Conference. Wasn't it awesome? It has always been something I have looked forward to as a missionary. I loved all the talks, and enjoyed the spirit I felt there. I love how every apostle has their signature way of teaching. I was sad not to hear from Robert D Hales. He is a good one to listen to. We watched conference at the church for all 5 sessions. For one session, us missionaries were the only ones there. But we had a good turnout to the priesthood session. We invited several investigators to come and were very excited for them, but none came... It was disappointing.

Other than that, not a whole lot happened this week. We had difficulty getting ahold of several people, so we did not teach as much as normal. On Thursday we went to Sioux City for interviews. It was nice to see my mission president.

Here is that poem I promised a few weeks ago.

In the early morning light I read the scriptures and ponder.
As I think of all these prophets and men, my mind begins to wander.
I remember the people of Enoch. None were wicked, no, not one.
I reflect on Father Abraham willing to sacrifice even his son.
I read of noble Isaiah who saw Christ laid in a manger,
And About a good Samaritan who gave freely to save a stranger.
Then mighty Nephi comes to mind, who said he'd go and do,
And many righteous Nephites who were faithful through and through.
Two thousand sons of Helaman defended freedom with the sword.
The brother of Jared with his faith saw the finger of the Lord.
I meditate on these and others with their righteousness and purity,
Then I slowly realized that that's what the Lord expects of ME.

I'm not like them. I have not done all these good things,
And the thought of all the the things I lack stings.
I start to count my mistakes and sins and realize I am guilty.
With all of these impurities, my soul has become quite filthy.
Ashamed of my unworthiness, I shrink from the presence of the Lord.
The reality of truth is sharp and it cuts me as a sword.
O wretched man that I am! My heart grieveth.
My soul is exceedingly sorrowful- even unto death.
I am encompased about because of the many
Temptations and sins which do so easily beset me!
In my desperation I find hope in another-
A man of sorrow- my older brother.

O Jesus thou Son of God have mercy upon me!
Encircled about by chains of death, I yearn to be set free!
Take away my guilt! Eliminate my sorrow!
Help me carry on that I may live to see tomorrow.
With Christ's image in my mind, my shame begins to be lifted.
Despite all of my weaknesses, I know in whom I have trusted.
Just as Enos of Old, my guilt is swept away.
Darkness is replaced by light- the dawn of a new day.
I feel to sing the song of his redeeming love.
I have had a change of heart- a sacred gift from above.
Now with Enoch, Nephi, and Abraham, I eternally shall dwell.
Cleansed through the power of Christ, I know that all is well.

I love you all.

-Elder Burnham

Just another week

Family,

 

Well, this was basically just another week. We had a specialized training in Sioux City on Thursday. It was pretty nice. It was a meeting with just the missionaries in our zone- there are about 14 of us. The assistants to the president came too, along the mission president. We learned about the power of prayer in conversion and how to teach our investigators how to pray. It was a spirit filled meeting and it was nice to hear from our mission president.

 

We continue to teach severel investigators. Enrique is an investigator we have been working with for a while. He came to church several times, but then his wife cheated on him. It has been really difficult for him. He has started drinking a lot, but has started drinking less now. For quite a while he kept telling us there was nothing that could be done that could help him, and only time could make any difference. But this week he finally told us that he enjoys us coming over and teaching him- that it makes him know he is not alone. He has started reading the Book of Mormon on his own.

We are also teaching Pablo. We are trying to teach his wife too, but she isn't too interested. He expresses a desire to come to church and be baptized, but has not come to church yet. We want to get some members involved to help him make that step.

We have not taught Marcos this week but should next week.

 

We had a small fan in our appartment. I saw it and decided to take it apart. I have just the motor that can plug into the wall now. I might make a small car with it. We'll see. It's ben a fun little project.

 

We had some cake and ice cream with a member yesterday for my birthday. It was delicious.

 

Love you all!

-Elder Burnham

Last week of being last

 

Family,

I have been thinking a little bit, and I have come to a conclusion. It is this: I always write the email to you all after reading the individual emails, and writing to my mission president. I get kind of burned out. That is part of the reason I write short email (but not all of it). I have decided that I will write you first next time. Maybe that will get me to write more. We shall see.

We did not have any meetings this week- no Zone conference or District meeting. It was a little different.

I wrote a poem this week. It is kind of long. But when I finish editing it, I will type it out and send it to you guys. It should be next week, but no promises.

The weather has been nice.

It was a pretty slow week. Not much happened..... We have been working with several investigators, but not are progressing much.

That is pretty much our week. I hope yours was good!! And I hope you all have a good week starting today.

Love you all,
-Elder Burnham

2 weeks in one + pictures

 

 

I forgot to say- We got a new car- Chevy Malibu. It is nice. It only had 20 miles on it when I got in the first time.

 

Interesting road Kill- a bat. How does that happen?

 

We found a break off of the church here. We took pictures.

NORFORK (3/7/11)

 

Family,

 

Time has been good here in Norfolk. But before going on, I must inform you of how to pronounce it. Here's the story:

When the people here applied to be a city, they wanted to be called North Fork. However, there was already a city named that. So they decided on Norfork. There was a mix up in the application process, and it came out Norfolk. But every on here just says Norfork anyway. It is a good city. We are working hard to find new investigators.

 

So I am liking it here. My companion is Elder Bittner. I will send a picture. I love him. We are gertting along well, and have many things in common. He is into drawing and writing. He also loves Settlers. He has it and we have played it a few times during lunch. I am writing a poem that I will probably send to you next week.

 

The weather has been really nice... untill today. It is snowing again and there may be up to 8 inches. :( I hope it doesn't snow much. But have fun with Spring break! I will be shovelling snow. Ha.

 

We had a regional stake conference here yesterday. It was televised and we listened to President Eyring, Bishop Burton, and Elder Cook. It was good.

 

There were a few more things I was going to say, but I forgort them. Next week.

 

Love ya.

-Elder Burnham

 

                                                 *                     *                     *

 

To Norfolk (3/2/11)

 

Family and all,

 

We got calls about transfers about an hour ago. I was a little surprised because what is happening is different that the things I was expecting. But I know it is from the Lord.

I will be going to Norfolk Nebraska, in the Sioux City Zone. It is about 25000 people, so it is back to a small town again. I guess I belong in small places. I was kind of hoping that I would get to serve in Omaha. It could still happen, but is less likely now. My companion will be Elder Bitner, who is an English missionary, but I will still be Spanish. I will not be district leader this transfer.

I have said my goodbys to the people here in Sioux City and will miss them all. But I will still be able to see them periodically.

That's basically it for this week. I will let you know next monday how Norfolk is.

 

I love you all. Have a good week.

-Elder Burnham

Typical Week

 

Family,

 

The work continues to go forth here in Sioux City. Rafael Flores should be baptized the 12th of March and is excited for his baptism. I am so excited to see this family be completed and a potential priesthood holder join the Sioux City Spanish group. He is a very good person and I want him to have the blessings of baptism.

 

Silvia has come 4 out of the last 5 Sundays.She likes it and plans to keep coming. She wants to get baptized, but has law of chastity problems (living with someone and not married). She wants to get married, but her boyfriend does not seem too fond of the idea. Bur I know that with the help of God, she can overcome this obstacle and be baptized.

 

Sioux City has been my favorite area so far, partly because I have actually spent time here. I love all the members and investigators. But I have been here a long time. It is starting to wear on me. I would be fine with a change. Transfers are in about 10 days. I think I am leaving. I an anxious to see where I go. Also, preparation day will be moved to Wednesday next week, so I will email you all then.

 

The weather has been awesome. I wore short sleeves for the first time this year. It ended up getting a little bit colder and I kind of regretted it but oh well. Sunday Morning it rained hard and hailed and it is snowing a little bit today but not much. Almost all of the snow here has melted, so I guess it is time to get a little more.

 

Well, I love you all, have a great week!!

 

-Elder Burnham

2/9

To all my Beloved Fans,

 

I have ten minutes to write a good email to you all. We'll see how it goes.

 

We had a District meeting on Thursday. I was recently called as a district leader again, so I was in charge. I miss not having to do much to prepare for them. We talked about gaining a testimony through prayer. I found some really good scriptures and I feel like we all learned in the meeting. We did an activity where we all went alone and prayed for 10-15 minutes asking what the Lord would have us do to improve. I recieved inspiration about how I could be a better, more spirit-driven missionary. The only other companionship im my district lives two hours away, so transportation is often an issue. But we organized rides with some other missionaries and they were ablt to get in here to Sioux City for it. I loko forward to getting to know the missionaries in my didtrict better.

 

We had two investigators come to church this week, for which I was very excited. One is Silvia Gonzales. I have talked about her a lot in the past. She is progressing nicely. The other was Rafael, the dad of a part-member family we have been working with. His wife and kind got baptised a year ago and are way solid. He is coming along too.

 

We cleaned this morning. It was interesting to see my companion clean. He was not taught the same way as I was. He "swept" the kitchen and got a nice little pile of stuff. I reswept after him and got a pile twice the size of the one he just had. But the apartment is clean now. Not everyone is super clean like I am. Thanks to the parents for teaching me good cleaning and organization skills.

 

Curses. I am out of time. I wanted to write more too. Next week. Love you all.

 

-Elder Burnham