September 22,
2014 (week 4 in Argentina)
Bueno,
So this week
was awesome and filled with different adventures of Elder Allen and me.
First off, we
have had the worst beds in the world (according to Elder Allen). He has been spending his whole 5 months here
in Fontana (Chaco) trying to get money for new beds. So, Monday we finally got them and they said
that they were going to bring them that night. No show. It wasn’t fun for us and we understood that
they weren’t really good with service, especially when we called them that
night. Lol. But, we got them the
next day! Whoohoo!
We had a President
of the Seventy (over all of south South America, Walter Gonzales). This man taught us many things; things that are now going to change the mission. First off he told us that we need to have the
faith to double all our numbers for baptism, retaining, and maintaining. We
have to take the number we are teaching and double it as our new goal! So, having 21 new people last week, we are
kind of like stretched - ha ha. But not
to worry! He also talked about the
importance of giving hope. Without hope
we can’t expect to help people or see people progress. So I have worked hard on just being kinder,
more helpful, and more loving in everything I do so that whenever someone talks
about me, I would hope that they would say "he gave me hope." I have felt that hope as the President of our Branch
told us this: "Missionaries are angels. They saved me from myself and made me happier,
and I’ll be honest elders, I haven’t been doing my duty as a branch president
very well, but since you have been trying your best and inviting the spirit, I
am reminded of my duty. I started
readying my scriptures early in the morning at 4 and I have more energy in the
day than before". We were shocked and so happy that he is
changing only for the better!
That’s what
Christ does for people. He gives them
hope. He gave me hope when I felt lost
and I know that whoever needs it and searches for it will find it.
There was a
huge storm! We were teaching and we knew
it was going to be a rainy day so I had my coat and boots and so did Elder Allen.
But when we were walking to a part
member’s house, BOOM! Lightning was no
joke, 15 feet from my face! Right there
on the street lamp close to us! The thunder was ringing in my ears and there
was a mom with her little girl in front of us. She was really scared but, she wasn’t crying. I told Elder Allen it was because she had two
missionaries right behind her. But then
it was a fire hose of rain from there! I
won’t lie, I wasn’t the first to offer my coat, but Elder Allen said I should
since mine was the water resistant one. I
did it without hesitation and was glad that Elder Allen reminded me that
helping others sometimes requires sacrifice. So I was soaked in the rain, as was Elder Allen,
but we escorted this mom and her littler girl to her house. So much rain, but after Elder Allen and I sang
hymns and were just total goofs. We were
happy because we had a purpose, one of love and happiness.
 |
| Elder Burke and Elder Smith at Zone Conference |
I gave a talk
yesterday (in church) and it was about how to help the missionaries. Basically,
I spoke about how everyone needs to do their scripture study, their prayers,
and their job to feel the spirit in their home. Without building this basic principle, no one
will want to help the missionaries. Because when you feel the spirit, you will
have love, and when you have love, you will want to help others no matter the
cost. They loved it and said my Spanish
has improved so much! éxito! ha ha
When you look
at how to be happier in this life, just do the simple things. Pray every day. Read the scriptures to your best ability. Go to church and serve others and you’ll be
happy!
I love all of
you and love the pictures you send of your adventures! Keep me updated!
Love,
Elder Burke
No comments:
Post a Comment