Las Palmas y Los Nuevos

February 29, 2016

Hey there from Argentina,

I hope we all don’t freak out at the shortness of my letter because I had a lot of other things to do for my P Day on the computer so I will try to get all the details. 

First off Elder Teves and I are here in Resistencia to play some basketball with our zone leaders. Yeah that was fun but it was sooooooo hooooot.  We died basically for the hour we were outside during the siesta.  But, like always when you sweat a ton, you feel so much better afterwards and you are appreciative of air conditioning always. 

Teves and I have been working on trying to find a lot of new people.  Yup it’s that classic “clap doors” type routine for the missionaries and introducing yourself at least 15 times in an hour or something, depends if people want to hear you or have time.  But we are finding a lot of people here and it’s pretty fun.  We will definitely have a good time. 

Teves is from Buenos Aires.  He has a great family who has some missionaries and also he has a great nack for teaching with examples, it’s really fun. He has the classic Buenos Aires accent and it also comes off Italiano, to be honest, so it’s really fun getting to learn how to talk like a true Argentine.  Since he is my step son I am teaching him the rest of what he needs know so that he is ready for the mission.  It’s hard to be a Step-Dad because they are used to one teaching method from their real father and then I come in to basically teach them something else, but still he is very hard working and loves to talk.

We had one of the greatest things ever to happen in my mission this week.  We had the Elder David A. Bednar in Buenos Aires and he was talking to all of South America South missions.  He didn’t give a prepared talk, he just basically asked what the elders and sisters learned in their studies and he helped us understand the important properties of hearing and feeling the Holy Ghost.  He is amazing and it was a huge moment of my life to really feel the spirit even though it was through a television screen.  Many missionaries made questions to him and they were many of the questions that I had or would want to ask an Apostle.  He blessed us with the ability to see the small miracles here in our mission.  The Holy Ghost gave me the biggest comfort when he answered the question: "While I am here, how can I help my family and friends to accept the gospel fully in their life?"  He said that by our absence from our families, we were already doing that.  I give my testimony that I know that Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet and that each of his counselors and apostles are called of God. 

We are doing our best to bring all unto Christ and the hardest part is that we can’t do all the work. We have to only have the spirit with us and share what we know to be true and hope that by our study, our preparation, and our sincere desire to love one another, we can bring people to feel the love that our Heavenly Father has for others and that they can open their hearts to receive that feeling.  We receive revelation and then after we act. 

I love all of you and hope that you are all safe and enjoying the cold because the heat as always... melts ya!  Chou Chou!!!

Elder Burke