"Didn't know what to say. Merry Christmas, baby."

Family, friends, and well-wishers around the world,

        This week has been nuts. Let me break it down for you:

        First, we went on emergency exchanges. (I'm a district leader, if I
didn't mention that before.) Two Elders in Sheridan were having some
serious trouble getting along, and president phoned me and told me
that an emergency exchange was in order. So, Elder Ferrara and I
packed up and went to Sheridan. I was to stay in Sheridan with the
"problem missionary," while the other would come down to Buffalo with
Elder Ferrara. I don't need to go into too much detail, but there were
a few lessons learned: One, there is good in every single person, you
just have to look for it. This missionary who was struggling is a
fantastic tracter, and has a good work-ethic for finding people. This
was especially impressive to me because I don't like tracting one bit.
With him, though, it was easy. So, look for the best in others, and
you will find much good. Lesson two: Judge people based on how they
act and what they say, not based on a reputation that people have.
This is, in a way, a continuation of the very same lesson above, but
it is important. People change, and often that change can be rapid. We
just have to be willing to accept that and give people a shot.

        I'm happy to report that those Elders have been doing much better,
and I'm excited to see what they do. I really believe in them both,
and I know they will do much good if they strive to do their very
best.

        Alright, second thing. People are really, really nice. Like, really
nice. We literally don't have enough cabinet space in our apartment
for the amount of food that members have given us. That, and there are
a few families that invited us over for holiday shenanigans and
dinner, and it was a good time. I love the members here, much like I
loved the members in my last area. People are rad. Even more than the
members, there seem to be an abundance of people willing to help us
out of the snow each and every time we get stuck in it. So, shout out
to them and their pickup trucks.

        Third thing: Long story short, we got invited to a Wesleyan Christmas
Eve service from a man we tracted into. The Wesleyan church actively
preaches against us, and so I was super pumped to attend their service
and show by example that the Mormons aren't demons, but rather can be
quite open and accepting of others. The service was actually pretty
good. Really contemporary, but good. There wasn't a lot that I
disagreed with, either. Their translation of the Bible was a little
weird at first, but overall I enjoyed myself. This guy then said,
without us even asking, that he'd come to our service the next day,
and then he actually did with his wife! How rad is that? We're going
to hopefully start teaching him. He gave us his number and everything.

        Christmas, oh Christmas. I didn't have to dream of a white Christmas,
because we actually got one. And not like a nice little Christmas with
gently falling snow. Oh, no. This was a blizzard, as far as I am
concerned. The wind was nuts (30-45mph, with gusts up to 60 and a
temperature without wind chill of 6), and there went out a universal
call to stay off of the roads. We did as best we could, but still got
stuck twice in the little driving that we did. It was good to talk
with the family, though! I have the best mother in the world, in case
you were wondering. No big deal, she's just the best that's ever been.
Just sayin'. Elder Ferrara and I sang a rendition of "Still, Still,
Still" in sacrament on Sunday, too. I was a little worried because I
was still stuffed up, but I think it was overall okay.

        Spiritual thought: It is important to remember that all blessings
from heaven are predicated on conditions of obedience to the law upon
which they are predicated. (D&C 130:21) This makes a lot of sense when
put into rational terms. If we fall, we'll get hurt. If we eat well,
we'll feel better. In physics, if there is a force on something, that
thing will change its velocity. God's miracles obey natural law, and
this is why "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say." (D&C 82:10)
The message? Follow the commandments, and you will have greater peace
in your life. Listen to the prophets, and you will be prepared against
the winds of the adversary.

        There may have been more going on, but that is all I can think of at
the moment. And this email is pretty long anyway. Keep the faith! I
love you all. Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

        "Didn't mean to leave you hanging up. Didn't mean to leave you all alone."

Christmas Eve Dinner

OH MY GOODNESS IT IS CHRISTMAS EVE!

Elder Munroe and I at Taco Bell!

The Zone

Matches!

Service is a good thing. It also relieves stress when done with puppies.

"I'm not the only one!"

Last Night

This Morning

"Up ahead, there was a curve approaching..."

Merry winter wishes,

 This week, we encountered a true snow storm. It was bad enough that
the zone leaders called in and let us know that we were only to go to
set appointments, and not to do outside proselyting for the day. There
was much, much snow (we got stuck again), and the temperature was
around -20, plus 35mph wind chill. It was miserable and I will never
complain about the Arizona summer ever again please take me back
please take me back.

 Cody Broadway was baptized this week! He was able to get himself Word
of Wisdom clean, and that was all that was remaining for him. I'm
really excited for Cody. Yesterday, after church, he was asking about
next steps, and we were able to go by and talk to him about ordination
to the priesthood, as well as the eventuality of the temple. I'm
excited for Cody. He's making a pretty big change of lifestyle, and he
often gets distracted, but when he is focused and in an environment
with the Spirit, he is a wonderful soul to be around. I know the
gospel, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost, will be a blessing to Cody in
his life and in the life of his future family if he remains faithful
and follows the statutes of God. Congratulations and prayers for Cody!

 Last night, as we headed from that lesson, we had an incident. We
were driving down the highway, doing 70 or so, when we came across a
couple bison/buffalo (?) on the road. We've seen plenty of deer on the
road before, but not larger animals like this. Elder Ferrara did some
fancy driving, and we managed to get around the buffalo without
incident. As we looked at one another with a kind of "nicely done"
expression, another animal ran out on the road in front of us! We
almost got around it, but we clipped the buffalo's back leg, which
sent our car into a spin and tore off our front bumper. We hit a snow
drift, hit our heads a little bit, but were otherwise unhurt,
fortunately. We were able to drive home alright. Thank God for tender
mercies!

  Alright, that's all for now, except the spiritual thought: Prophets
speak the word of God. If we are to follow God, we must follow the
prophets. Thomas S Monson doesn't preface all of his talks with "thus
saith the Lord" like Moses of old, but we can be sure that just like
times of old, God reveals His word through a prophet today. Heed his
council!

   Until next time, rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

   "... she made no indications of slowing."

Snow Storm

Baptism

Dashing through the snow

Truth

The Car

Okay, I lied, we didn't hit a buffalo. I haven't even seen a buffalo.

We hit a snow drift. We're totally alright. Hope you laughed!

Album covers and "The Homesick Missionary"

Hey special people,

        We got snowed in for a while the other day, so we had some fun making
album covers and our newest comedy series. Enjoy.

"And I want life in every word..."

People in all lands,

        This week saw some cool things happen! I will outline, and then
describe. Ready? Go.

- Cody
- Tyler
- Kieth
- Frozen (this applies to all the other ones, too)
- Haircuts
- Vespers

        Okay, Go. Cody is Sister Thomas's brother, who lives with them. He
has been coming to church for a long time, but he finally made the
commitment to be baptized. We asked about where he was and where he
wanted to go, and after a chat and a review of the Word of Wisdom, he
chucked his can of snuff and he's been clean. He passed his baptismal
interview, and will be baptized on Saturday! I'm excited for him! Some
members of the ward were a little against that, because Cody has been
(and kind of is) a bit of a trouble maker, but I think he is solid as
long as he understands the gravity of this commitment.

        Tyler is a new investigator! We were referred to him by a member, and
we got to teach him the Restoration at the church with Brother Thomas.
He accepted the invitation to be baptized when he comes to know of the
truth of these things, and so the next step is setting up a lesson
with him and his family (wife and two kids). Pray for Tyler!

        Kieth is our friend from the veteran's home. He is doing really well,
and was on track for baptism, but we taught the Word of Wisdom lesson,
and he isn't ready to commit to that yet. We don't think we taught
well enough that it is a commandment from the Lord, much like the
original ten, but we will keep working with him. Kieth is a really
good guy, and I see him really benefiting from this message. He had an
experience a while back that really caused him to do some searching.
Hopefully, this is what he is searching for.

        We went to a dinner at a member's home the other day, and they live a
solid twelve miles out of town, four of it on a dirt road. As we were
heading back from that (driving our puny little 2013 Chevy Cruze), we
got ourselves stuck in a snow drift. It wasn't actually too cold -
maybe 27ish? - but there was a wind blowing of somewhere like 40 miles
per hour. We tried to get our car unstuck for about twenty minutes,
but ultimately called the family we had just eaten with and said,
"Hey! We're about a mile out from your home and stuck in snow... Do
you think you could pull us out?" They did, and we were on our way.
I'm just grateful it was as warm as it was. The other day, it got
somewhere around -15. That was painful.

        Haircuts! In short, Elder Ferrara and I had a mutual moment of
bravery and decided to cut the hair of one another. I don't think it
went too badly, but I also am uncertain if it is something I desire to
do again.

        Vespers is a multi-faith community Christmas music program that has
been hosted at the LDS church for the last five years. It has been
hosted there because of the size of our chapel, and because the only
other chapel that is big enough to hold it is the Wesleyan church, and
they actively preach against Mormons for some reason. Anyway, there
were people from most of the congregations around town in attendance,
and there was a variety of musical performances. It was a lot of fun!

        That's what's been going on here. What's been going on there? Keep me posted!

        All the love in this frozen world,

-Elder Burch π

        "... to the extent that it's absurd."

Elder Burch: Jedi Knight

Elder Ferrara: Vampire Slayer

We got creative with ramen, and decided to try and make a desert
ramen. That is, ramen cooked in hot chocolate, creamers, and
marshmallows. It tasted alright, but felt so wrong.

False sense of security.

Jesus is the reason for the season.

 People that feed us are great.

Bad picture for bad weather.

"I wanted to walk through the empty streets..."

Happy December to you all!

        This week, there was a big (ha, anything in Buffalo being 'big')
event. On Saturday, there was a parade, a community chili event, along
with various other things. In the morning, we volunteered at the
animal shelter's table at one of the events. After that, we helped
with the community chili thing, where all the local restaurants
provided a large amount of chili and the community could come eat for
free. Elder Ferrara helped serve the chili, and I monitored the tables
where chili was being served and made sure there was enough bowls,
spoons, napkins, and crackers at each. It kept us moving! Funny story,
though. We were asked to head to the Cantina across the street and get
their pot of chili for the event. We walked in, and a woman - who had
obviously been there a little too long - comes up to us, gets real
close to me, and says, "You boys are goooooorgeous! In a very holy
way, of course." She then proceeded to cross herself before showing us
where the chili was. The Word of Wisdom is important, friends!

        Today, we have our first meeting with a new family of investigators!
I am stoked! We've only met the dad thus far, but he is married and
they have two kids. He seems like a sweet guy, and we are super
excited to visit him and share with him the message of the
restoration. Wish us luck! Pray for us!

        The mission is a refining process, and I'm seeing that more and more.
It's about what God knows that I need, and not one whit about what I
want. Giving up our will or His is a hard step, but I'm working on it.

        I don't have too much to say today, but I have many pictures, so
we'll wait on those. Keep on keeping on, keep the faith, and look for
God's hand in your lives.

-Elder Burch π

        "... and feel something constant under my feet, but all the news
reports recommended that I stay indoors."

 "I want to see the floating lights!"

Fun at John's house with his reading spectacles.

Helping serve chili!

Cold-weather selfie.

Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree.

Santa came early!

"I put on my overcoat and walked into winter, my teeth chattered rhythms..."

Friends, family, and people who don't read these emails,

   It's been a good week! We had the awesome opportunity to participate
in Sheridan's Storybook Stroll, which was an event held in Sheridan on
Friday. The shops on Main decorated for the theme, and various
organizations had tables set up with hot chocolate and other things.
The missionaries in Sheridan invited us, and we all were able to talk
to a lot of people and share this year's Christmas initiative,
#LIGHTtheWORLD. If you haven't seen it yet, go to www.mormon.org and
check it out! Basically, it is twenty-five days of service leading up
to Christmas, with short videos to accompany each. Share it with you
friends and get some service into your holiday season! Anyway, we were
able to street contact many people. Some of the other Elders took me
out to do that, and though I was hesitant at first, it quickly became
something I was excited to do! It takes an act of faith, my friends,
and we can do anything.

   Other things this week include contacting a referral from the Hilton
family. We met the father, who is probably early thirties and has a
wife and two little boys. He let us in right away and we are so
excited to be visiting with him and his family in the future! We'll
likely be texting him today about that. His work schedule is a little
mean, so we'll have to work around that. It'll be good - we're
excited! We also did a fair amount of tracting today. I didn't
particularly care for knocking doors, but the more I do it, the more I
find enjoyment and fulfillment in it. On top of that, there seems to
be a direct correlation between tracting and success, even though that
success does not directly come from the tracting itself. Funny how
that works.
 
   I was about to make a joke about Yanni, and then I remembered that it
wouldn't be funny to pretty much anyone. That seems to be how most of
my inside jokes are. Ah, well.

   We got to see fireworks the other day. They were in a park and it
made me laugh. They were nice, but compared to even the Arizona
Celebration of Freedom, they were weak. It was super funny, though, as
we were walking away, probably three minutes after they had stopped,
there was a huge rumbling sound behind us, and we turned to see a wave
of smoke and fire rise into the air amid a few more fireworks going
off. I guess it had gotten stuck and then went off all at once?
Anyway, it was rad.

   We have an investigator on date! His name is Kieth and he lives in
the local veterans' home. He showed up to church one day, and we asked
him about it. He says that recently, he has been looking for God in
his life, and so we started to meet with him. He is awesome! He talks
a little slow, but he has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying.
(He prayed for the lesson last week!) So, yes. He is on date for
baptism coming up fairly soon. On another note, we totally ship him
with a lady in our ward who is a bit... different. She was actually at
the lesson we had with him last, and afterward we all played pool. It
looked grim at first, but her and I as a team pulled the victory over
Elder Ferrara and Kieth. "Do you hear that? Those are the winds of
change..." Maybe that game of pool was symbolic of our missionary work
more generally. Things are changing!

   I love doing this work, and I'm seeing more and more blessings from
the Lord regarding it and I just feel so thankful for it all. Let us
hope that Elder Ferrara and I show our appreciation and take advantage
of it!

   Thank you for your continuing prays and support. As always, keep the
faith, and rock and roll!

-Elder Burch π

   "... And they were grouped in twos or threes like a morse code
message was sent from me to me."

Elder Burch π, serving in Buffalo, Wyoming.

 

The district, featuring me as a Sith.

Buffalo, Wyoming from the ridge line.

The mailman is late!

Buffalo, Wyoming from the outskirts.

Playing pool with our investigator.

Buffalo, Wyoming from the ridge line.

Snowdrifts

Thanksgiving 2016

Salvation Army Reindeer

Walking away from the Storybook Stroll.

Our booth for the Storybook Stroll!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!