Sunday, July 13, 2014
July 13, 2014
Well it has been a pretty great week! Well there have been two experiences that make this week great. The first one is a potential investigator that we found. Her name is Leonie. We were just walking in town and talking to people on the streets when we met her. She was with her two daughters. We just talked to her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and specifically how families can be together forever. We asked if we could come to her house and share more of our message with her. She said we could come back the next day! But then we found out that her partner lives in Christchurch. So we aren't allowed to teach her. So we told her the sister missionaries would come around and share the exact same message. Well the sisters went around the next day and said that the appointment went very well and that she wanted to learn more. Now she is a new investigator for the sister missionaries and seems to have a lot of potential!
The next is a woman named Jacquie. We met her by accident on Wednesday night. So we had a missionary trade-offs night every Wednesday. We didn't have any appointments, so we just asked the Branch President who he would like us to visit of the less active members. He gave us the name and address of one family. So we went with one of the members that came to visit this house. We get to the house and it is dark, looks like nobody was home. So we starting walking back to the car. We got in the car and before we turned the car on, someone pulled up in front of the house, a woman got out of the car, then went inside. We then sat for a minute trying to decide what to do. We determined we should just do our job! So we went to the house, walked up to the door and just called out hello. She came to the door and invited us right in! I thought it was the member but it turns out that they had moved and this woman lived here with two of her kids. We got talking to her and she had some great questions about what we believe and the standards that we live by. We invited her to church and she said she would be happy to come to check it out. She doesn't have a car so we said we would organize a ride for her. We left her with a Book of Mormon, and a prayer. We went back on friday to introduce the Branch President to her, who would give her a ride. Then yesterday, she came to church! She enjoyed herself and really got along with the members. She even said that she was going to come back to church again next week! But again, she is a single mother, so we had to give her to the Sisters. But that is all good because it doesn't matter who does the teaching, it is another soul who is getting nourished and blessed by the Gospel! The member that came with us on that Wednesday night was assigned a talk yesterday. He shared this experience with the branch. It seemed to make people even more excited to have Jacquie at church. So I would certainly deem that experience a MIRACLE!!!!!
The next is a woman named Jacquie. We met her by accident on Wednesday night. So we had a missionary trade-offs night every Wednesday. We didn't have any appointments, so we just asked the Branch President who he would like us to visit of the less active members. He gave us the name and address of one family. So we went with one of the members that came to visit this house. We get to the house and it is dark, looks like nobody was home. So we starting walking back to the car. We got in the car and before we turned the car on, someone pulled up in front of the house, a woman got out of the car, then went inside. We then sat for a minute trying to decide what to do. We determined we should just do our job! So we went to the house, walked up to the door and just called out hello. She came to the door and invited us right in! I thought it was the member but it turns out that they had moved and this woman lived here with two of her kids. We got talking to her and she had some great questions about what we believe and the standards that we live by. We invited her to church and she said she would be happy to come to check it out. She doesn't have a car so we said we would organize a ride for her. We left her with a Book of Mormon, and a prayer. We went back on friday to introduce the Branch President to her, who would give her a ride. Then yesterday, she came to church! She enjoyed herself and really got along with the members. She even said that she was going to come back to church again next week! But again, she is a single mother, so we had to give her to the Sisters. But that is all good because it doesn't matter who does the teaching, it is another soul who is getting nourished and blessed by the Gospel! The member that came with us on that Wednesday night was assigned a talk yesterday. He shared this experience with the branch. It seemed to make people even more excited to have Jacquie at church. So I would certainly deem that experience a MIRACLE!!!!!
We also had Zone Conference this week. We were able to meet the mission president and his wife. President and Sister Hudson are great! We could feel their love for us and for the Savior immediately. We had a two hour meeting, then lunch, then interviews with President and his wife. They were just a little bit of a get to know you interview, so it was really fun. We met in Christchurch with the whole Zone, about 50-60 missionaries. It was a really great time. I think that President Hudson is going to be great for this mission!
Well that is about all this week. Hope things are going well for you all back home! Love you lots!
Love,
Well that is about all this week. Hope things are going well for you all back home! Love you lots!
Love,
Elder Burnham
July 6, 2014
Happy 4th of July!
Well I may be a little late with that one but it's the best I could do!
We had a sorta tough week this week. It was just hard to follow up and see our investigators. We had several appointments this week but it seemed they all fell through. So hopefully this next week will be better!
Well I may be a little late with that one but it's the best I could do!
We had a sorta tough week this week. It was just hard to follow up and see our investigators. We had several appointments this week but it seemed they all fell through. So hopefully this next week will be better!
We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders this week. So I spent half of Thursday and all of Friday in Christchurch. It was pretty good. We did heaps of biking when we were on exchanges. It was kinda unfortunate because the reason we had to bike so far was because there was an appointment on the whole other side of their area. So we get to the appointment and it turns out the person was "sleeping" according to the rude partner who answered the door. So all that biking was for not much progress. But that's OK. It just helped build my appetite for our meal on Friday night. The Zone Leader, Elder Kxxx, learned how to make sloppy joes. So I had a real American meal on the fourth of July! It's funny because Elder Kxxxis from Scotland and never had sloppy joes until he got to the MTC, and he loved them. So now he makes them because he loves them! So that was good.
I also got to see the big city center. Well what used to be the big city center. Christchurch is, apparently, nothing what it used to be. They had a very bad earthquake a couple of years ago. The first was stronger than the second but did less damage because it was more of a "normal" earthquake where things shake back and forth. Well they had a second one that was not as strong but it was worse for damage. Pretty much the way this one hit was devastating. It was 2 km below the surface of the earth and I heard it described as "punching" straight up under the city. So essential all the buildings "jumped" up. But on the way "down", there was another "punch" straight up. They said it was like when you are on the trampoline and someone steals your bounce. You just collapse. Well that is what a few buildings did. They just fell. There were many deaths. But of the buildings that stood, nearly every building was damaged beyond the point of repair. So nearly all the city center was demolished. What used to be the bustling city center is nearly entirely abandoned. Only two skyscrapers are left standing, both in need of repairs. You can walk along and see the huge foundations of the multi-story buildings just sitting there. It is kinda haunting. They also had liquefaction and major flooding in parts of the town. There are entire streets of the city where the EQC (Earthquake Commission in change of helping rebuild they city) has red-zoned. Entire streets where the houses are all too damaged to live in. Yet through all this destruction, the people are still wicked haha you would think that would cause people to repent but heaps of people just got angry at God and reject religion even more. It is very sad. But I did enjoy my time there.
Well that is about all this week. Nothing too exciting. I am doing pretty well. I have gotten over my sickness so that is good. I can get back to working my hardest! It is still cold down here but the days are starting to get longer so I am happy about that! Hope all is well back home!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Love,
Elder Burnham
June 29, 2014
Hello Family!
Well another month has come and gone. Time just keeps on ticking. We had an alright week this last week. I actually caught a cold and was not feeling very well for a few days. Starting on Wednesday I had to slow it down a bit and then on Thursday, I just wouldn't/t do anything. I was coughing and had a congested nose all day. No good. After Thursday I slowly started to get better. Today I am still feeling a bit of the congestion but the coughing isn't nearly as bad. So I am getting better!
As far as the missionary work goes, we had a pretty great day yesterday! We were very excited because for this first time in my stay here, we had a couple of investigators come to church! They are two nine year old girls we are teaching. One is actually the niece of the other which is kinda funny. But the family has had a few members that were members of the church but no longer are. That is because they have been associated with the local chapter of a gang. In fact, the grandfather/father of these two girls is the president of the xxxxxxx. But he is really nice to us so it is all good! But they came to church yesterday with a few other of the kids who are not of baptismal age, along with the wife of the president. So we were really happy about that.
Yesterday, we also got our new mission president. It will be about two weeks before we meet him at our next zone conference but it is still exciting to have that change. Today was the first letter that we sent to President Hudson! Pretty exciting stuff. Well there was nothing really too momentous about the transition but perhaps something will happen in the coming weeks/months where the mission will take some strides forward!
Well I hope things are going well at home! It is still going well over here! I hope you all have a good week!
Love,
Love,
Elder Burnham
June 22, 2014
Well at least I hope it is on it's way out. We have just had the shortest day of the year so that should technically mean that the warmer weather is on it's way. But people tell us that usually July is the worst month for winter weather. Great. The Maori's also have a mid-winter celebration called Matariki. There aren't many Maori people down here so it wasn't really a big deal. But I think it is supposed to be their traditional New Year. Pretty cool.
Well this week went pretty well. The highlight of this week was on Wednesday night. We had received a referral from the Sisters of a family, the Mxxxx family, that was staying in Timaru that were former investigators. So we went to go visit them. We stopped by once and they were on their way out. Another time and they were just getting home. This time, they were home! So we went in their home and got to know them better. They are from the Philippines. They are very open to us. The father said that he thinks that you have to listen to all the different messages of each church because how can you know which one is true if you don't hear them all? So that was an open door for us. We set a return appointment for this week on Wednesday night again and they said that they would cook some dinner then we could have a lesson after. So I will be getting real Filipino food! My first time. Very exciting for us! It was the first new investigators we have gotten in a couple of weeks.
Overall we have had a good week. We are saying bye to President Kezerian through email today. It is his last week! On Sunday next week, we will have a new mission president. We are sad to see President Kezerian go, but also happy and excited for the new mission president, President Hudson. It will be interesting what kind of changes go on in the last year of my mission. I am sure things will change a bit.
Sounds like you all had a great week. Lots of work and travel and family visiting. The new house for Greg and Aurora looks great! A house like that here would be very very expensive! The cost of living in NZ is pretty high, my guess is just because it is an island. Thanks for the pictures, it looks like fun. I am a little jealous of the warm weather! Although the weather here has been unusually warm. We have had a few days in a row without any rain! On Saturday we did a bit of service and it was so sunny that I think I got sunburned! In the middle of winter!
Well that is about all for this week. Hope things keep going well. Love you all!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Well that is about all for this week. Hope things keep going well. Love you all!
Love,
Elder Burnham
June 15, 2014
Hello Family!
This week we offered to do some service at the Salvation Army Family Store. They were happy with us helping because only elderly women really volunteer there so they need some help with the more physical stuff. Unfortunately, we have to fill out all this paperwork and stuff. We have to get a police check done. I don't know if that is actually worth it or not but we will probably end up doing all that stuff so we can volunteer there maybe once a week or something.
Malo e leilei!
We got our transfer list today and my companion and I are both staying here! And because last transfer was only 4 weeks, this one is 8 weeks. That is to accommodate for the new Mission President coming in two weeks. So I will be here until at least August, probably longer. I say that because after this transfer, my companion is finished with his mission. So I will most likely be here for at least another transfer or two after that to get another missionary to know the area. I am happy to be staying here and at least I know (of speculate) more of what the next few months will be like. We have two moves in our District this week. One sister is going home and another sister is getting transferred out so we will have two new sisters and no new elders here.
We got our transfer list today and my companion and I are both staying here! And because last transfer was only 4 weeks, this one is 8 weeks. That is to accommodate for the new Mission President coming in two weeks. So I will be here until at least August, probably longer. I say that because after this transfer, my companion is finished with his mission. So I will most likely be here for at least another transfer or two after that to get another missionary to know the area. I am happy to be staying here and at least I know (of speculate) more of what the next few months will be like. We have two moves in our District this week. One sister is going home and another sister is getting transferred out so we will have two new sisters and no new elders here.
Well it was a pretty great week this week. We were able to spend more time in our own area this week, no exchanges. That was nice. We had a few lessons and even had a recently returned missionary to come with us to a few lessons. That was pretty cool. He is Tongan so he gets along with my companion fairly well. I try to follow the conversation from a few of the English sounding words that get thrown around but it's pretty hard. I don't mind though.
This week we offered to do some service at the Salvation Army Family Store. They were happy with us helping because only elderly women really volunteer there so they need some help with the more physical stuff. Unfortunately, we have to fill out all this paperwork and stuff. We have to get a police check done. I don't know if that is actually worth it or not but we will probably end up doing all that stuff so we can volunteer there maybe once a week or something.
We are still working hard to find new investigators. We have a couple of people that we are working with. The best ones for us is a family in Timaru. The parents and grandparents are almost all no longer members of the church, but they are encouraging the young ones to be involved. So we go once a week at teach an eight year old girl and a nine year old girl. Unfortunately they aren't coming to church, so we are going to offer for the Branch President or someone from Primary to pick up the children, Hopefully they can start coming to Church!
Well that is about it for the week, nothing too exciting. No stories of crazy animals or anything like that! I hope you all have a great week and happy father's day to Dad and Karl and Greg (BUT not until I get back!!!!)
Have a great week!
Love,
Love,
Elder Burnham
June 8, 2014
Dear Family,
Well another week has come and gone. This week we went on exchanges. I was with another missionary in the District in my area for a couple days. As a District Leader, I have to go on exchanges with each companionship of Elders in the District. Luckily for me, there is only one other set of Elders. For the exchange with the Zone Leaders, we went up to Christchurch. We were there for Thursday night, all Friday and Saturday morning. We had a Zone Conference on Friday morning, the last one with President and Sister Kezerian. That was a little bit sad for us missionaries, but we all knew it was coming. Christchurch is a pretty big place though. Definitely bigger than I have ever served before. I was with Elder Hxxxxx. He is a good missionary. He asks questions and stuff about you and makes you feel like he cares about you.
This week we got a bit of a reprimand from President Kezerian. Last month we had gone over on how many kilometers we are allowed for the month by about 450. Which is a lot. We just have to make sure we are using our bikes every day and if we go over this month, we are in big trouble! It is hard though because we want to go to the bigger city, Timaru, about every day. But we can't afford to do that with our mileage allotments. I guess we might have to figure out the bus schedule, if there is one!
It is getting colder here but I think it is about as bad as it gets. Today it is raining quite a bit. That is no good for me because the back fender/mud guard thing on my bike is broken so I have big mud splatters up the back of my rain coat. Just have to buy one as soon as I get the chance, hopefully today!
Being a district leader isn't as bad as I thought it would be. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to that assignment when I saw the transfer list. But now, I see it as an opportunity to help the other missionaries. I still don't really like telling people what they need to do but as long as it is out of love, then I guess it is ok!
Well not much is new this week. It is the last full week of this transfer. This one is shorter, only four weeks, compared to the normal six. So we will have news of any shifts next week. I certainly don't expect to go anywhere and my companion says he has a weird feeling he might. Well I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Elder Burnham
June 2, 2014
Hello family!
Well I am emailing today instead of yesterday because yesterday was a public holiday! It was the Queen's Birthday! Nothing too exciting going on except no work and lots of sales at the stores. But unfortunately for us, even though it was P-day, we couldn't get to the shops because we can't use the car and all the stores are in Timaru. So yesterday was pretty boring.
But we had a pretty good week last week. I made it through my first District Meeting as a District Leader. It wasn't that bad I guess. Just had to do what I have seen other DL's do. Nothing too exciting happened last week though. We did some colunteering at the Salvation Army Store, that was pretty fun. A lot of moving rubbish out into the "skip" (a.k.a. dumpster, kiwis have weird words for things...). We did some more service with helping a member of the ward move and helping another member mow his lawns. I am pretty sure it was the longest and largest lawn I have even mowed. It took AGES to do. And it was a little wet, so that didn't help much. So yeah we get to do a lot of service here in Temuka and Timaru. Our branch has quite a few older people. On Sunday, one of the younger families, the father of which is the Elder's Quorum President, was gone. So they asked me to help them to do the tithing and fast offerings with the computer. I wasn't sure if that was normal protocol, but I wasn't gonna tell the Branch President "no" so I did. Funny how they all relied on me to help out with that. I guess it is preparing me for when I follow in Dad's footsteps and get called as a ward clerk some day!
Well that is about all for the week. Oh just one more quick story. This week, we went to the house of a member that the Branch President asked us to go to. There was a sheep just hanging out around the property. It was a fairly large property. Well we are walking up the drive to the door and the sheep is running alongside us. We knock a couple times and there was no answer. So we decide to leave. As we are leaving, the sheep charges me and head butts me in the leg! What the heck!?!?! Then it continued to threaten the same thing so I just hopped on my bike in hopes to outrun it and it was running along side me! Crazy sheep! Well that's all for the week! Love you all!!!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Hey Mom!
It is for sure colder down here but not a whole lot. We get frost almost ever morning. But it melts away by 10 when we leave the flat. We may get snow but probably only once. Or we may not get it at all. Because we are on the plains, it isn't quite as cold as the mountains that we can see. It would almost be like Utah Valley here, except the whole thing is basically sea level and the mountains aren't quite as close. We cover a branch. Geographically it is a pretty large area. I would say it is about an hour and a half drive from one side of the area to the other. I am not entirely sure though, we don't go to one of the towns that is technically in our area. Something must have happened there but the area is closed now.
Well I am emailing today instead of yesterday because yesterday was a public holiday! It was the Queen's Birthday! Nothing too exciting going on except no work and lots of sales at the stores. But unfortunately for us, even though it was P-day, we couldn't get to the shops because we can't use the car and all the stores are in Timaru. So yesterday was pretty boring.
But we had a pretty good week last week. I made it through my first District Meeting as a District Leader. It wasn't that bad I guess. Just had to do what I have seen other DL's do. Nothing too exciting happened last week though. We did some colunteering at the Salvation Army Store, that was pretty fun. A lot of moving rubbish out into the "skip" (a.k.a. dumpster, kiwis have weird words for things...). We did some more service with helping a member of the ward move and helping another member mow his lawns. I am pretty sure it was the longest and largest lawn I have even mowed. It took AGES to do. And it was a little wet, so that didn't help much. So yeah we get to do a lot of service here in Temuka and Timaru. Our branch has quite a few older people. On Sunday, one of the younger families, the father of which is the Elder's Quorum President, was gone. So they asked me to help them to do the tithing and fast offerings with the computer. I wasn't sure if that was normal protocol, but I wasn't gonna tell the Branch President "no" so I did. Funny how they all relied on me to help out with that. I guess it is preparing me for when I follow in Dad's footsteps and get called as a ward clerk some day!
This next week we are going on TWO exchanges. Crazy. It was the only time we could exchange with the other Elders in the District and also the Zone Leaders. So we are going up to Christchurch for a couple days later on this week. We will also have a Zone Conference while we are up there, the last one with President Kezerian!
Well that is about all for the week. Oh just one more quick story. This week, we went to the house of a member that the Branch President asked us to go to. There was a sheep just hanging out around the property. It was a fairly large property. Well we are walking up the drive to the door and the sheep is running alongside us. We knock a couple times and there was no answer. So we decide to leave. As we are leaving, the sheep charges me and head butts me in the leg! What the heck!?!?! Then it continued to threaten the same thing so I just hopped on my bike in hopes to outrun it and it was running along side me! Crazy sheep! Well that's all for the week! Love you all!!!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Hey Mom!
It is for sure colder down here but not a whole lot. We get frost almost ever morning. But it melts away by 10 when we leave the flat. We may get snow but probably only once. Or we may not get it at all. Because we are on the plains, it isn't quite as cold as the mountains that we can see. It would almost be like Utah Valley here, except the whole thing is basically sea level and the mountains aren't quite as close. We cover a branch. Geographically it is a pretty large area. I would say it is about an hour and a half drive from one side of the area to the other. I am not entirely sure though, we don't go to one of the towns that is technically in our area. Something must have happened there but the area is closed now.
May 25, 2014
Hello Family!
Well it has been a crazy week. Saying bye to all the people in Wanganui and trying to get packed up and all that jazz was crazy. I ended up taking pretty much everything which was good. The new area is much colder than my last. It isn't horrible yet. There is snow on the mountains around us but nothing down here. We cover a few little towns but we focus our efforts on Temuka and Timaru. Timaru is a pretty good size city. It has anything you would want by way of shops and stuff. There is a branch in Timaru. But it is a fairly large branch. I think there were about 40 or so people at church. The work for our area is pretty slow though. I guess it just means we need to work harder. I also am feeling pretty overwhelmed being a district leader. I should be getting some training on Wednesday so that is good. But I just don't know at all what I am doing! Well I actually only have 30 min to email in this area if the library is busy. It's not too busy right now but I only have a couple minutes left of the initial 30 mins so that is all I have for the week! Sounds like the service for Brady was good, that is good to hear. Hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Well it has been a crazy week. Saying bye to all the people in Wanganui and trying to get packed up and all that jazz was crazy. I ended up taking pretty much everything which was good. The new area is much colder than my last. It isn't horrible yet. There is snow on the mountains around us but nothing down here. We cover a few little towns but we focus our efforts on Temuka and Timaru. Timaru is a pretty good size city. It has anything you would want by way of shops and stuff. There is a branch in Timaru. But it is a fairly large branch. I think there were about 40 or so people at church. The work for our area is pretty slow though. I guess it just means we need to work harder. I also am feeling pretty overwhelmed being a district leader. I should be getting some training on Wednesday so that is good. But I just don't know at all what I am doing! Well I actually only have 30 min to email in this area if the library is busy. It's not too busy right now but I only have a couple minutes left of the initial 30 mins so that is all I have for the week! Sounds like the service for Brady was good, that is good to hear. Hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Burnham
May 18, 2014
Well there is big news this week with transfers!
I am going to be leaving my area! I was really not expecting that because My companion is still in training. I am going to be going to Temuka, in the Christchurch Zone. I have been called to be a District Leader! I am really nervous for that calling. I still feel like there is so much for me to learn and that there is no way I am going to be able to fulfill that responsibility but I will have to trust in the promise of "Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies." But it certainly was a shock to me! I will have to make sure that I don't have too much stuff, lots of missionaries are over the weight requirements for bags when they have flights, like I will have. I will surely be a nervous Elder for the next few days and weeks! So the next couple days will be packing and saying my goodbyes! It will be a bit of a rush the next two days!
Well that is about all for the week. I am sure I will have lots to talk about next week with the new area! Wish me luck!!! Love you all!!!!
Love,
Elder Burnham
I am going to be leaving my area! I was really not expecting that because My companion is still in training. I am going to be going to Temuka, in the Christchurch Zone. I have been called to be a District Leader! I am really nervous for that calling. I still feel like there is so much for me to learn and that there is no way I am going to be able to fulfill that responsibility but I will have to trust in the promise of "Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies." But it certainly was a shock to me! I will have to make sure that I don't have too much stuff, lots of missionaries are over the weight requirements for bags when they have flights, like I will have. I will surely be a nervous Elder for the next few days and weeks! So the next couple days will be packing and saying my goodbyes! It will be a bit of a rush the next two days!
Last weekend we had stake conference as well. Ours was fairly interesting. Our stake is working very much on the theme "to the rescue." This is under the direction of the Area Presidency. So we had a couple people share their reactivation stories. It seemed to me that they turned out more of telling a big long story of how they got AWAY from the church and not nearly enough on how they got back to the church. That was Saturday night. Sunday session was a broadcast from Salt Lake for all of New Zealand. President Monson, Elder Oaks, Bishop Causse and Sister Wixom were the speakers. That was pretty good except we gave up our seats in the chapel for seats in the Primary room where there wasn't any video. That was a bit of a bummer. But it was pretty good.
Well that is about all for the week. I am sure I will have lots to talk about next week with the new area! Wish me luck!!! Love you all!!!!
Love,
Elder Burnham
May 4, 2014
Hello Family!
Well this week has been a bit better than last week. I actually think that it was not quite as tough and also I was able to deal with some of the stress and discouragement a little bit better. My companion is helping me a lot with the area. He pretty much tells me to suck it up, so I do and things go alright. I have made it to the end of the week so I can't complain too much!
Well this week has been a bit better than last week. I actually think that it was not quite as tough and also I was able to deal with some of the stress and discouragement a little bit better. My companion is helping me a lot with the area. He pretty much tells me to suck it up, so I do and things go alright. I have made it to the end of the week so I can't complain too much!
This week we got to go on a bit of a road trip again to the branch in Waiouru. It is about a two hour drive there and back. I enjoy the drive too, nice and curvy. We had a district meeting up there and we also had a service project as a district. We helped out at a daycare type place that was on the Army Base up there. We were staining and sealing some cubicles for the kids to put their backpacks and stuff in. It was nice to spend some time with the other missionaries and get to know them a bit better while still working and serving as a missionary. So that was pretty much our whole day gone on Thursday. My companion and I also got to do some service in Wanganui. There is a less active couple that own a takeaways shop in town. They were feeling really swamped with work so when we offered to help, they took us up on it. We came in the next day and spent a couple hours helping them make Pork Dumplings for them to sell in the next week. All I did was roll the dough with my hands into a ball then press it out into a circle. Then my companion rolled them out with a rolling pin into the actually size and shape for the dumpling. Pretty fun! We also got to mow a couple lawns this week. That means there was at least one day of good weather! Right now it just started pouring down rain. Hurray! And we don't have coats or anything so we get to walk home in the rain. I will probably be soaked.
Well that is about all for the week. Hope things are going well at home!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Well that is about all for the week. Hope things are going well at home!
Love,
Elder Burnham
April 27, 2014
Hello there family!
Well this week and last week were pretty tough. We have two of our good investigators drop us in the last two weeks so we have been doing a lot of finding this week. Yet we are still having little success. I am not sure what to do other than just keep working hard. I guess that is just part of serving a mission is that there will be ups and downs. I am just hoping the "up" time comes here quickly.Other than that, nothing really exciting happened this week. Just hard work and what seems like no results. We had a nice dinner on Saturday night with a less active member. He made a pork roast and then just cut it in thirds and gave us each a third. We had some potatoes and kumara as well. Kumara is sorta like a sweet potato kind of thing. I am really not too sure what exactly it is but it has the consistency of a potato.
Love,
Elder Burnham
April 21, 2014
Hello Family! I only have 30 minutes to email today and I am almost up! So this is going to be short sorry!
We ahd a pretty good week. We unfortunately had an investigator, Lance, drop us this week but we found a couple of potentials to make up for it! So I am hoping in the coming weeks we can get a few more new investigators. Looks like a pretty eventful week in Boise for you all! My companion came back from exchanges this week with the District Leader and he was sick. Lucky for me, I got it a couple days later. Not too bad though, I am just about over it and we didn't have to stop working so that is good. Again sorry the email is a day late and really short but time is up! The library was closed yesterday for "Easter Monday" and since today isn't p-day, President said we only get 30 mins! Hope you all have a great week! Love you lots!!!Elder Burnham
April 13, 2014
Hello family!
Well I got my new companion this week! He isn't fob like I thought he was! Elder Mxxxxx is full Maori and is from Kaikohe, north of Auckland. He is 22 and has been a member for about 4 years. He is the only one of his family that is a member but they support him, so that is good. We get along pretty well. It might be hard really to tell in the first week but I think this is going to be a good transfer. He is really excited about the work and wants to work hard all day every day. So I don't have any issues with him being disobedient, that is a relief. He is pretty familiar with Preach My Gospel and stuff so he is going to be an easy one to train. I expect in the next couple of weeks I will have him lead the area.That is pretty much all for the week, nothing too exciting other than I got my new companion. We have done quite a lot of biking because we are still sharing the car. I think I made my companion a bit sore with too much biking. Reminds me of my first two weeks. Sore legs at the end of every day! Hope things are going well at home! Love you lots!!!
Elder Burnham
April 6, 2014
Hello Family!!!
Big week this week and a big day today! I am sure you are a bit curious about transfers! Well on Thursday we got a call from the Assistants in the morning and they told me that I was training! Then a couple hours later, they called again and told me that both of my companions are training as well! So they are going to be in a trio on the other side of town. My new companion is Elder xxxxxx. I am not too sure where he is from, other than he is "fob" (fresh of the boat). I am definitely very nervous to be training. As a trainer, I can make or break this Elder's mission. I sure hope that I can be a good trainer. We had to call President this morning regarding some details of our baptism but at the same time, he told us that he NEEDS us to be the BEST trainers of the mission! Well that is a lot to live up to! I am sure I will be learning a lot about being a leader and also a lot about myself. I am grateful for this opportunity but nervous too! He comes here on Wednesday, probably during the day some time. So we are going to go from 3 Elders here to 5. None of the three of us are leaving, and we are getting two more new guys! Exciting stuff! Training lasts for 12 weeks, two transfers, so there is a pretty good chance I will be in Wanganui for another three months!
Well that is pretty much all of the big news. Our district is changing a fair bit and there are three new missionaries coming in. The other Elder's companion isn't coming until Thursday, my guess is that he came from the Provo MTC instead of the Auckland one. Mine comes on Wednesday so I will let you know how this next week goes! It sure will be an exciting one with two new elders, general conference, and President and Sister Kezerain visiting us this weekend up here in Wanganui! Some great stuff to look forward to! Thanks to you all for the photos and the love that you sent! I always enjoy it!!! Love you lots!!!!
Elder Burnham
March 30, 2014
Hello Family!!!
Well this week has been another good one. Nothing too much out of the ordinary. We are really excited for this coming week because we have an investigator, Mitch, who is going to be baptized on the 5th of April. He has been meeting with missionaries for a while but has finally made the choice! We got a call this morning from his auntie who is in the ward saying that his more immediate family are happy with his decision and may be attending the baptism. That is wonderful because in the past, the mother hasn't supported him. He is old enough to make his own choices but it is always good to have familial support. We have the program all planned out and ready to go! It is exciting to bring a precious soul unto our Father in Heaven. I am certainly grateful to see the fruits of our efforts and the efforts of missionaries and members before us. It is even greater to see another come into the fold.
This last week we had exchanges. The district leader came up to Wanganui to be with me and Elder xxxxx. He is a great missionary. It seems that when we are on exchanges, we are always more productive than when we aren't. Even though we plan and work just as hard, things seem to work out better when the District Leader is with us! We did have to do lots of driving last week though. We had to drive to Feilding and back Wednesday and Thursday morning. It's about an hour each way. I don't mind though, I am pretty much used to driving on the wrong side of the road. Still haven't accidentally gone on the right side of the road!
One funny story for this week. We stopped in at Burger King to get some ice cream at about 8:45, just before we went home for the night. We went in and finished up our ice cream and got ready to go. Well one of the rules for us is that we have to have one missionary outside of the car whenever it is backing up. So I was backing up and one companion was in the passenger seat and the other backing us up. I pulled out of the spot, he opened the door to get in, then closed it. I starting going because there was a car behind me waiting for the spot. Then we were driving down the road for about 15 seconds and I get a call on the phone, it was the other missionary! I thought he was playing a prank in the back seat but then I looked and he wasn't there! So I had my companion talk to him as I turned around and went back to Burger King! I had left him there! He closed the door without getting in because there was junk on the seat he was going to get on. That was a really funny. So now we joke that we are going to leave him behind. That would only happen in a trio too because in a normal companionship, you can always see if your companion is in the car or not!
Well that is pretty much it for this week. I am doing well. Nothing much is new. It is amazing how fast this transfer has gone, only one more week left! Then I will be getting my new companion. Hope things are going well at home! Love you and miss you all!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Well that is pretty much it for this week. I am doing well. Nothing much is new. It is amazing how fast this transfer has gone, only one more week left! Then I will be getting my new companion. Hope things are going well at home! Love you and miss you all!
Love,
Elder Burnham
March 23, 2014
Hello Family!
Well this week wasn't quite as great as the last few weeks have been. It seemed like it was just harder to get things done this week. We didn't have as many appointments and stuff with our investigators and even some of them fell through too. It was a little bit disappointing. But we had exchanges this week which was pretty fun. It was the first time that I had been out of my area to work since I came here. Elder xxxxx (one of my companions) and I went to Feilding to work with the District Leader's companion. We went down on Tuesday at about lunch time. Feilding is a pretty nice town. It is smaller than Wanganui, yet there are more missionaries there. They have one set of elders, a set of sisters and a senior couple. It was good to work in a different area and meet new people. We did all sorts of missionary things: finding, teaching and some service. It is always good to be able to learn from the other missionaries on how they do things and have them give you tips and advice. We finished the exchange on Thursday morning after District Meeting. Thursday night we went to a less active member's house and had dinner at about 7. Two nights a week, the whole mission goes out from 5-7 and does "family finding." Pretty much we door knock for two hours. We do ours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so it was after that we had dinner. He made "pancakes." These pancakes were very dense and egg-y and they were about 4 inches tall and the size of a dinner plate. So we each ate about a quarter of it. They were alright, but I do miss good old American fluffy pancakes. But we topped them with whipped cream and fruit salad. So that was good.
Well this week wasn't quite as great as the last few weeks have been. It seemed like it was just harder to get things done this week. We didn't have as many appointments and stuff with our investigators and even some of them fell through too. It was a little bit disappointing. But we had exchanges this week which was pretty fun. It was the first time that I had been out of my area to work since I came here. Elder xxxxx (one of my companions) and I went to Feilding to work with the District Leader's companion. We went down on Tuesday at about lunch time. Feilding is a pretty nice town. It is smaller than Wanganui, yet there are more missionaries there. They have one set of elders, a set of sisters and a senior couple. It was good to work in a different area and meet new people. We did all sorts of missionary things: finding, teaching and some service. It is always good to be able to learn from the other missionaries on how they do things and have them give you tips and advice. We finished the exchange on Thursday morning after District Meeting. Thursday night we went to a less active member's house and had dinner at about 7. Two nights a week, the whole mission goes out from 5-7 and does "family finding." Pretty much we door knock for two hours. We do ours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so it was after that we had dinner. He made "pancakes." These pancakes were very dense and egg-y and they were about 4 inches tall and the size of a dinner plate. So we each ate about a quarter of it. They were alright, but I do miss good old American fluffy pancakes. But we topped them with whipped cream and fruit salad. So that was good.
Friday and Saturday were kinda bum days, we had quite a few appointments fall through. But on Saturday we got to do some service. There was a St John's hospital/ambulance place that has a used book sale every couple of months. Some how a member of the ward is involved and asked us if we wanted to help. So when I was in the other area, the missionaries here helped out setting up and then when we got back, we took it down. It was good to help out. There was one person who kept saying "these guys are from America and are helping us out today!" or "these nice boys are from the Latter Day Saints" so I think pretty much everyone there knew where we were from. And they invited us to help them again when they do it in a couple months. It turns out this was their 100th sale so they had some snacks and stuff for us after we finished. There was also some beer and my companion said, jokingly, "what kind of cola is this??" It was funny because he is a convert and before he was baptized he was real big into drinking and stuff. But that was good to help with that.
Sunday was probably the best day of the week. We had two investigators come to church, although only one made it to Sacrament Meeting. That was Mitch. He had a baptismal date for the 28th but has to go to a funeral so we reset it for the first weekend of April, just before the Transfers. That should be good. He has been interviewed and is good to go! The other investigator is Philip. He came only for the Gospel Principles class. But he really enjoyed it. Afterward he sent us a text message saying that he liked it and wanted to do more. We talked in class a little about works and faith and how we need both. He mentioned to us that he wants to talk more about what works he can do. So that should be good to talk about baptism with him. He is what we call an eternal investigator. His teaching record goes back to 2009. And I heard he had been meeting with missionaries before then too. But he has had a baptismal date in the past! Sunday night we had dinner at a part member families house. The mother had been excommunicated a couple years ago and she told us that she is ready to be baptized again and want it to be on Easter weekend. It sounds like she has been meeting with the Bishop and he thinks that would be good too. SO there is another good thing coming up in a couple weeks.
Sunday was probably the best day of the week. We had two investigators come to church, although only one made it to Sacrament Meeting. That was Mitch. He had a baptismal date for the 28th but has to go to a funeral so we reset it for the first weekend of April, just before the Transfers. That should be good. He has been interviewed and is good to go! The other investigator is Philip. He came only for the Gospel Principles class. But he really enjoyed it. Afterward he sent us a text message saying that he liked it and wanted to do more. We talked in class a little about works and faith and how we need both. He mentioned to us that he wants to talk more about what works he can do. So that should be good to talk about baptism with him. He is what we call an eternal investigator. His teaching record goes back to 2009. And I heard he had been meeting with missionaries before then too. But he has had a baptismal date in the past! Sunday night we had dinner at a part member families house. The mother had been excommunicated a couple years ago and she told us that she is ready to be baptized again and want it to be on Easter weekend. It sounds like she has been meeting with the Bishop and he thinks that would be good too. SO there is another good thing coming up in a couple weeks.
So other than a mildly disappointing week with lessons, we had a great day yesterday! This week, we will be going on exchanges again but this time, I will be here with Elder xxxxx and the district leader. So that should be good. Nothing else is too new or exciting. Hope things are going well at home! Love you all!
Love,
Elder Burnham
Love,
Elder Burnham
March 16, 2014
Hello Family!
So Lucy was a "cyclone" that was supposed to come through Wanganui, but it never did. I guess it hit the more northern parts of the island a little bit harder. We were told we needed to make sure our 72 hour kits and all that stuff was prepared, just in case. But it never came. I was a little disappointed. I guess it is all good cause we are all safe!
Well that is about all the exciting stuff for this week. I heard from President that there will be two companionships here but not until April 9th, the next transfer, so I will be in a trio until then! Also, me and one of my companions is going on exchanges this week down to Feilding. That should be exciting. The first time since January leaving here on exchanges. Hope things are going well!
Love,
Elder Burnham
So Lucy was a "cyclone" that was supposed to come through Wanganui, but it never did. I guess it hit the more northern parts of the island a little bit harder. We were told we needed to make sure our 72 hour kits and all that stuff was prepared, just in case. But it never came. I was a little disappointed. I guess it is all good cause we are all safe!
This week was pretty normal. There are a couple of good experiences/stories that I will share. The first one is with an investigator named Johnny. He is about 65 years old and lives alone. We visited him on Tuesday and shared a lesson with him. At the end of the lesson we asked if he would say the prayer and he said "I will say it on Friday." So we go back on Friday and share another lesson with him and this time he says the prayer. It was a great prayer. Afterward, he got up and was going to give us some scones before we left. While he was standing up, he told us that he had this funny feeling. He said that his legs were turning to jelly and he felt kinda weird but that it was a good feeling too. I was happy to tell him that he was feeling the Holy Ghost. He said it was kinda scary. It was a little bit funny the way he described it but also a really spiritual experience. But the even better part of the story is that about 6 hours later, about 9:30 PM, he gave us a call and told us that he just couldn't stop thinking about that feeling he had. It was cool to see that it left such an impression on him. He said that "it must be some sort of step or something." It definitely was! So I am excited to continue working with him, he just loves the missionaries!
Another neat experience we had this week was that we were able to invite and commit an investigator to baptism. His name is Lance. He is 35, single, and loves wrestling. But he is a really genuine guy. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ: faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost. After teaching him these things we invited him to be baptized. He told us when he was ready that he would go for it. It was a great step and we are excited to keep working on getting him ready. The next step is getting him to church and getting him to meet ward members. But I am excited to work with this guy as well.
Another neat experience we had this week was that we were able to invite and commit an investigator to baptism. His name is Lance. He is 35, single, and loves wrestling. But he is a really genuine guy. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ: faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost. After teaching him these things we invited him to be baptized. He told us when he was ready that he would go for it. It was a great step and we are excited to keep working on getting him ready. The next step is getting him to church and getting him to meet ward members. But I am excited to work with this guy as well.
One thing that is kinda frustrating, but understandable, is that we aren't allowed to teach single women of any age. The sister missionaries are also not allowed to teach any single men of any age. That is understandable. The frustrating part is that we always find single women for the sisters to teach but we never get single men from them to teach! Kinda a bummer but it is all good I guess. That's what happens when you have only Elders in a city!
Well that is about all the exciting stuff for this week. I heard from President that there will be two companionships here but not until April 9th, the next transfer, so I will be in a trio until then! Also, me and one of my companions is going on exchanges this week down to Feilding. That should be exciting. The first time since January leaving here on exchanges. Hope things are going well!
Love,
Elder Burnham
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