The Trip to Resistencia

March 16, 215 (week 29 in Argentina)

Elder Burke, Mudrovich (Chile), Munoz (Colombia), Briceno (Honduras)

Hola mis amigos del otros lados del mundo!!! (Hello my friends from elsewhere in the world)

I am super happy here in Argentina as I’m experiencing the many new ways of how I can become a better person and how I can serve those around me.

Well, as in the title of this email, you can probably guess where I went this last week.  Yes I went back to Resistencia for a little bit.  Elder Stout needed to go to Cortoba and do some papers to become legal, and the process to do it takes a good while, as the trip is a 4 day trip, with the majority of your time spent inside a bus, but don’t worry these buses are really nice.  But Elder Stout went with another elder from an area in Resistencia, so they asked me to come to Resistencia for a couple of days so that they could work in their area.  So I packed my bags and spent four days in Resistencia with my Chileno friend Elder Mudrovich, he is so awesome and we had a ton of fun.

Elder Burke and Mudrovich

Elder Mudrovich is super white and is a descendant from the Ukraine, but his family grew up in Chile. He gets a lot of comments from other people who think that he is a gringo like the rest of us missionaries, yeah he hates it.  But, we worked in his area and I met a ton of people that are awesome; from a professional soccer player and his girlfriend to one of the converts of Elder Nava when he was in the area.  Everyone has their story of how they came to know of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how the missionaries helped them do that.  They absolutely love to tell their stories about how Christ changed their lives.

Cool story that happened while we were in the street was that this guy with his horse and cart were turning a corner and turned very sharply and fell into a sanja (it’s a moat for sewage for the houses here in Argentina.)  Elder Mudrovich and I ran to the rescue and helped him pull out his heavy cart with his horse.  After that he almost fought us because he was pretty drunk, and thought we only helped him so that he would pay us.  We talked to him and told him that as missionaries we go about doing good so that we may help those around us see that it is better to live a life of service than a life of selfishness.  He was pretty drunk and I’m already used to treating patients when they are under the influence, but it was pretty funny when he started talking to me and then just burying his face into my shoulder and then asking for help, but not when he is drunk, when he is sober.  Ha ha… so we got his directions and Elder Mudrovich will be seeing him soon.

Elder Burke, Mudrovich, Munoz, Briceno

With the elders in Resistencia I’ve come to know how good my Spanish has become.  I was with three native Spanish speakers with not one English speaker near me while I was in Resistencia, and I was totally fine.  We had a blast telling stories about our families, loved ones, and our best moments of the mission.  Elder Briceño is from Honduras and Elder Muños is from Colombia.  They cooked really good food for us one night and we had a blast with one another for the time I was in Resistencia.

I’ve come to see the differences in areas and how people as a group grow together in cultures and habits.  Many of the people in Resistencia have experienced the missionaries for a good while and there are more members who help their neighbors with whatever problems there may be, while in Corrientes it still needs work, but nonetheless the power of God can soften the hardest heart and help those who are willing to change for the better.   This gospel changes lives and many people ask me why I’m so happy here in Mendoza and I always tell them that “I’m living the gospel of Jesus Christ, my Savior lives, why shouldn’t I be happy?”

I love all of you and keep you all in my prayers.  If everyone will pray for the family of Hermana Scadlock that would help.  I don’t know all the details of what they posted to Facebook or announced, but please do send support to the Scadlock Family.  Just as Christ lives now, so will she in the future.

(Note: Sister Scadlock, who was serving in the same mission, passed away this last Wednesday from an E. Coli infection in Buenos Aires.  She lived in West Haven, Utah and started her mission in August 2014- she was in the group right behind Taylor.  He did not know her, but the whole mission is praying for her family)

Sister Scadlock

Con amor,  Elder Burke

Elder Burke and Elder Munoz