June 1, 2015 (week 40 in Argentina)
Hey there guys, so today was a really
different P day for me. We went to the
beach and threw an American football around and played venticinco (25) with a
futbol. It was the first time I got to
feel sand in between my toes and it felt great! The last time I got to have that wonderful
feeling was before I left for my mission. I was staring at the water wanting to swim,
but that can wait for a little more! But
honestly it was so much fun to go to the beach and play sports with our whole
zone and then enjoy the day. I still
have some sand in my ears but it was totally worth it. Afterwards we went and got hotdogs from this
fake looking diner place and while we were eating our food some bees, as in
like 50 started swarming around us trying to get a sip of our coke, surprisingly
none of us ran, we just sat there without a problem, but I watched 5 bees drown
in my coke. That’s what you get for
beeing in my buzzness! Yes that was a pun! ja ja! The beach made me think a lot about how the
small things we take for granted that we have easy access too. I guess being a missionary just makes you more
appreciative of everything you had before: cars, naps, movie nights, cheesecake, you know
those things, but when you give up all those normal things and put your best
into helping people, the reward is so much better. But cheesecake does get pretty close too! ja
ja
So this week was pretty awesome as we have
been progressing with our investigator Magdalena Fernandez! She is the coolest old lady that you can ever
meet. She loves everything the church
offers and keeps telling us that it all makes sense, the problem is remembering
all the things she learns, she has a hard time with memory, but not to the
extremes like in 50 first dates. We invited her to be baptized and she was like
“Well why wouldn’t I be baptized?” Yeah,
she’s the bomb. We pass by her house a
lot because she lives on the way to the rest of our area and she normally says
hi to us or gives us sweet bread. Oh my
gosh I love the bread here. There is
Pasta Froli, torta frita, facturas and even alfajores. I’ll be bringing back a truck load of those
with me when I get back. But anyways
expect photos of baptisms from the 13th of June! She loves all the things about the church and
the members feel well with her and so do we! ja ja.
We also had a
new person come to the church named Rosa Flores; yes her name is rose flowers!
We were teaching in her house and her Daughter is very nice, but kept on saying
that Mormons only believe in Joseph Smith and only the Book of Mormon but we explained
all of that to her. We told her how the
Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and goes with the Bible to testify that He exists
and brings hope to people. We also
talked about how in the Bible talked about the Book of Mormon in Ezekiel 37:15
to 20
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one
stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his
companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick
of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
18 ¶And when the children of thy people shall
speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and
the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the
stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 ¶And the sticks whereon thou writest shall
be in thine hand before their eyes.
and how in the Book of Mormon talked about
the Bible in 1 Nephi 13: 20 to 25.
20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld
that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried
forth among them.
23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of
the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that
thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the
Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many
of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the
engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many;
nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto
the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.
24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me:
Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and
when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the
gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear
record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the
Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
Still sadly she was not convinced that the
Book of Mormon testifies of God. But her mother was and she was defending us
and the church because she knew that what she was feeling was the spirit. It was pretty crazy to sit there and listen to
them fight but we both were cheering in our heads when Rosa was saying that she
is going to church and it’s because she’s felt the spirit when we have taught
her. It was nuts! She came and enjoyed church and had a ton of
questions for us during class and it was great.
Also remember our converts Juan and Pedro? Well they are doing so well and Hermano Pedro
tells me how happy he is to be in the church of Jesus Christ and that Elder
Nava and I found him and baptized him! He’s
so happy and awesome! Hermano Juan is
blessing the sacrament now and we are preparing Hermano Pedro to say a prayer
in front of everyone! They are doing so
well it’s just awesome!
I hope that all is well back at home and also
a shout out to Collin, my cousin, who is getting ready to go on a mission to
Chile! Inevitably we will become rivals since Argentines don’t like Chilenos
and vice versa with Chilenos to Argentines! Se que puedes hacerlo primo loco mio! Suerte y
preparate bien en las escrituras y en el idioma de castillano! Vos sos Elder en
algunas meses!!! (You can do it
crazy cousin of mine! Luck and prepare yourself well in the Scriptures and in
the Spanish language! You're an Elder in some months) Ja ja!
Love all you guys and hope you all enjoy
reading my experiences as much as I love sharing them with you!
Con amor,
Elder Burke
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