Teaching in a Lottery Booth

November 16, 2015

Hopefully I can help maybe bring to light the miracle of the Plan of Salvation and its wonderful joy that it gives us.  It is pure truth and the power it gives to each man is to know that the effects of death cannot conquer them when they do indeed embrace Christ and his light.  To those who were in the bombings in France I send my condolences.  Just know for certain that we will all soon be able to see one another again, and it is by the grace, the mercy, and love of Christ our Redeemer.

This week has been filled with a lot of great finds in families!  We normally shoot to have 21 lessons with investigators and here in Corrientes it gets hard to get to 12.  But we got a wooping 18! With many new people to be teaching!  Oh, also Matias came to church and he cut his hair!  So he’s moving forward to recognizing his answer; if the message we share is true.  He is scheduled for the 28th of November so we are pumped for that.

Something that helps me understand to be patient with these people is that one day when we are all there before our Heavenly Father, I would imagine that we will see all the people we taught as missionaries there, already baptized and have made covenants with God to live with him.  We will probably see the small part we played in guiding people to accept the gospel in the way that was convincingly perfect and just for them.  The gospel of Jesus Christ will never change as we have faith, repentance, baptism, receiving of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  But it doesn’t mean that the way people accept this doctrine will always be the same formula as it was for us or others.  We are all unique, but at the same time one.  We constantly strive to do the right thing and be united in the cause, but that does not in any way erase our personal identity.  That’s why I love this gospel.  Never have I seen so many people who are different, be united.   And it’s only through true divine power given to men that is called the priesthood.  It’s made me more appreciative of all I have.

One of the news that we found was a woman named Adrianna.  She’s 23 years old and a psychology major.  She came to the open house way back in August and liked it.  But we could never find her.  Until one night we felt like trying her door again.  We went to where she supposedly lives and we were told that she lives on the other side in a different house on the same block.  What do you know?... we find her there and she is ready to hear more. She told us some things that were really funny to me as an observer from the outside.  She said that in our church she didn’t find crazy and less intelligent type people who cry, weep, and moan and do strange rituals that make you feel awkward.  But found normal, self-reliant and professional type people.  She tells us that our type of punctualization and professionalism in planning appointments is exceptional and she feels like she can be herself and expect to learn from us when we teach.  When we went to teach her again we had to do it where her sister works which is a lottery booth.  It was definitely different to be teaching in a lottery booth but we taught her, her sister, and her coworker who were all interested. Amazing! Maybe we should try teaching in a Bar next week and see what happens! ja ja  Na- Just Kidding.  But she is very lovely and we will see how her curiosity will bring her to know the truth.

Well I have passed the halfway mark in reading the Book of Mormon and it’s only been 16 days! The amount of doctrine I am trying to retain is hard day to day, but miraculously as our Mission President promised, we will have an increase in baptisms if we are focusing on teaching and reading the Book of Mormon, the keystone of our religion.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and I cannot find any other book that speaks plain truth in the most simplistic manner and that helps me be the person I wish to be. GO READ IT NOW.

Also the amount of sick calls that I am receiving somehow miraculously went up these past few days.  I am literally on the phone day and night talking to people and organizing hospital trips to the facilities that they need.  Obviously I have to have permission from President Franco and we have been talking quite a lot these past weeks. Ja ja.  Also if Hermana Franco is there she always shouts HI ELDER BURKE! ja ja.  They’re the best and if you come to the Resistencia, Argentina Mission you won’t be sorry.

Love all of you guys and love all the photos I can see of you.  You’re all growing up and I will get back home and be in shock probably to see all the changes in my friends, family, and coworkers.

Con afulaso de amor,

Elder Burke