Feb. 2, 2014

Hello family!

This has been another great week! Wednesday was a pretty exciting day. We had district meeting in the morning. It was about an hour drive from here in a city called Fielding. President and Sister Kezerian were at the district meeting. It was really good. We all had interviews with President, which happens every other transfer. In the interview, we were to give a three minute lesson. I was pretty nervous teaching a lesson to the mission president but he was a "golden investigator" and was super awesome. I think I did an ok job considering how nervous I was. President also dropped a couple of hints. He said that my companion has been in this area a long time and he won't be here forever so I need to learn the area, know all the members and love the ward. He said that someday the mission will need my leadership. So from that it sounds like I will be staying here for probably two or more transfers after this one. I think after this transfer I will be training a new missionary here for two transfers. Of course this is all speculation but that is what it sounds like to me. He also said that my tie looked good, so thanks mom for the awesome ties you sent at Christmas!

After District meeting, we got drive-thru McDonald's and then dropped off the other Elders. Then we went to the hospital. A few days previous to this, my companion had gotten a bug bite on his leg. It started to swell up real bad and get real red. He thought nothing of it until it started to get really painful. After District meeting when Sister Kezerian saw it, she said he needed to go to the doctor. So we get to the hospital and we find out that he got a bite from a white tail. It is one of NZ's only venomous spiders. And that the bite got infected. That is the real danger from these spiders because the bites from them often get infected, it isn't the venom itself. So they gave him a prescription for some amoxycillin and sent him on his way. Later that night, the scab that was on the top of the bite broke and, well to not go into too much detail, it started draining. That was really gross. So that was something exciting for the week!

I got a haircut from one of the members in the ward last P-day. He is a Samoan so I got a Samoan hair cut. It is real short on the sides and longer on the top. Pretty much, I look like a military man. But it isn't too bad. It has grown out enough that it looks pretty much normal now. On Friday, we were going to a lesson but it fell through. So then we were going to contact some potential investigators around that area. My companion was going to bunny hop on his bike onto the curb but didn't quite get all the way on and hit is bike tire on the curb and popped his tire. So we had to walk about an hour back to the flat so that we could get it all fixed up. When we got to the flat, we saw that the hole in his tube way far too big to patch so we had to walk for a little while. I now have some good blisters on the back of my heel. Not too painful though. The shoes that I got from Mr. Mac are falling apart on the inside and that is what gives me blisters. So don't buy Johnston and Murphey shoes, they are not that great! The Ecco shoes are still doing great. 

Funny story. The other day we were walking back from a lesson (because we hadn't fixed the bike yet) and there was a goat that was in someone's front yard. I walked past it and it kinda surprised me because it was big and it was sticking it's head over the gate. Then my companion looked and it totally scared him! He wasn't expecting it at all and he jumped like a foot in the air! It was really funny because he had the hiccups and that scared him but then made us laugh really hard so his hiccups just kept getting worse. It was funny. It is a fairly odd thing for people to have goats in their yard like that but it isn't totally uncommon. 

Well I think that is about it for the week, nothing too exciting. I hope things are going well. I am doing pretty well! Time is sure flying! This transfer is already halfway gone! Hope you all have fun with a possible little family gathering in the coming weeks! Love you lots!

Love,
Elder Burnham

A little background info on this additional note from Derek.  The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints across California united together today to fast and pray for more rain and snow in the next weeks and months due to the anticipated drought. And he has not met his niece Kara as she was born after he went to New Zealand. - Pauline

Things are going great! It was a pretty good week. We fasted and prayed for moisture for California as well. Sounds like things are slowly getting a little better. It might not be good if you get too much rain all at once, could cause some flash flooding or something! I'm sure things will all work out though! Sounds like some exciting family stuff going on soon! Is Jacob going with you guys to Boise? Gonna miss some school? Remind me again, Kara is said "care-uh" or "car-uh"? I can't remember, mostly because I haven't really heard it or said it much haha I feel bad though because I should remember the name of my nieces! 

Things are going great with my companion! Sometimes he runs out of patience with the ward members and stuff but never any problems with me! He told me that in his interview with President, President said "You deserve Elder Burnham, he is a great Elder!" So I guess he has a bit of a reward for some tough work he has done here! It is a great compliment to me that President views me like that! I am sure I will get a tough comp somewhere along the way but I hope not soon! Maybe I will get lots of tough ones because I would maybe be able to help them, who knows! 

I am looking forward to the photos! It is always fun to have those come in! Hope things are going great! Love you too!!!

January 26, 2014

Hello family!

This has been another good week on the mission. Nothing too exciting this week. We were going to have a lesson with one of the investigators here but then 3 of his friends came in and were swearing and smoking and talking about how they were going to drink until they couldn't drink anymore that night. It was kinda a bummer of a lesson. We just told them we had other places we needed to go and left. They also said that the investigator, Jacob, drinks with them all the time. That was kinda a bummer because he has a baptismal date for the 1st of March. It is looking like that is unlikely now. It is a bummer to see that happen but I guess it just isn't his time. We are going to do all we can to get him away from those friends but it is all up to him.

One highlight from the week was that we got to take a little road trip to go to district meeting this week. We went to a little town called Waiouru. It is about 150 km from here. When I say little town, I really mean little. There is an army base there and that is the majority of the population. The elders that cover that town knocked on almost every door they were allowed to knock in one day. They have a little church building there for the branch that pretty much is just an above average size house. It looked like there were about 20 members in the branch and that is from Waiouru and a couple of other bigger towns around. So the reason we had District meeting there was so that we could help them out with a car wash they were having there, kinda like the one we had in my last area. The car wash went on for about 3 hours and a whopping total of 3 cars showed up... kinda sad but that is what I expected. But the town itself is in a really beautiful part of the country. Hopefully the picture I attach will show up on your computers. It is near the base of a large mountain called Mt. Ruapehu. It is a volcano but I don't think it is very active. I heard the last time it really erupted was 15 or so years ago and it was all just ash. It is kinda weird though because it is just this random huge mountain in the middle of mostly flat land. It isn't part of a mountain range like most mountains are. But very cool to see some more of the country and to go somewhere different. District meeting this week is closer. But we are going to be having a couple visitors, the mission president and his wife! Kinda nervous to sit down with President and have interviews but I am excited to see him. We didn't seem him often in my last area and probably won't in this area either. We have to present a 3 minute lesson to him as well. I hope my teaching is up to standard!!

I bought another 2 short sleeve shirts so you don't need to worry about finding any more. They were only 20 dollars each so I figured why not? Things are going great with me and Elder Farnsworth. The reason he didn't get along with his last companion was mostly, if not all, the other Elder, not him. I don't think we will have any issue getting along! Also, from the hints that President is giving Elder Farnsworth and me through email, it sounds like he will be leaving at the end of this transfer and I will run the area. I trying really hard to learn quickly my way around town and all the member's names and stuff. It is kinda hard sometimes though!

Well I hope all is going well and that maybe you get some rain! We got soaked last night on our bikes! The saying on the mission is the more your badge gets wet, the cuter your future wife will be! Sounds like good motivation for some missionaries to get out there and work! I am doing well and trying to follow the counsel of President when he said that too many missionaries are complaining about gaining weight so they need to eat higher quality food and less food in general and bike more. We are certainly biking more but that is because we are over our milage amount....

Well I love you all and hope things are going great!!!!

Love,
Elder Burnham