Oh Deer.

Hi Family!

        On my iPad, I have a folder for all the apps that I don't ever use /
aren't allowed to use. My companion does too, and he named his folder
"Babylon." In similar fashion, I have named mine "Great & Spacious."

        My companion and I were praying the other night, and the quiet
supplication "Dear Heavenly Father" caused me pause. How tender are
our supplications to the Father! The chance we have to pray to Him and
to talk about what happened that day! It's so cool! One of the things
that sets us apart as a church is that we believe the heavens are
opened and that God speaks to and helps man! That's so cool! Praying
with a specific question and listening for answers is the best, man.
(Sometimes in my prayers, I openly and verbally admit to Father that I
don't remember my investigators' names, and apologize profusely. I
think he forgives me.)

        We were listening to a talk in the car the other day, and it talked
about looking at the past and using it to help us in the future. The
talk giver person (speaker! Use your words, Stephen) discussed the
Roman god Janus, who had two faces (I am Two-Face! I have two faces!).
With one face, he looked into the past, and with the other he would
look into the future. I want to make sure that I can look backwards
into my past triumphs and mistakes to help me to excel in the future.
In a different General Conference talk (I'm trying to read them all
from 1971 to 2016), well, I'll just copy and paste it for you:

        "This philosophy of excellence was demonstrated by the artist
Whistler, who once painted a tiny picture of a spray of roses. The
artistry involved was magnificent. Never before, it seemed, had the
art of man been able to execute quite so deftly a reproduction of the
art of nature. The picture was the envy of the artists who saw it, the
despair of the collectors who yearned to buy it for their collections,
but Whistler refused steadfastly to sell it.
        “For,” said he, “whenever I feel that my hand has lost its cunning,
whenever I doubt my ability, I look at the little picture of the spray
of roses and say to myself, ‘Whistler, you painted that. Your hand
drew it. Your imagination conceived the colors. Your skill put the
roses on the canvas.’ Then,” he said, “I know that what I have done I
can do again.” "

        I really like that. I hope that I can look back whenever I feel down
and know what to do going forward.

        So, deer are a major problem on the road out here. As in, hitting
them. Elder Berrett has swerved twice to avoid deer on the road. One
such instance was at night, as Elder Berrett was telling a story about
him and his friend Dani, and just after I had half-reclined my seat to
rest my eyes and attempt to alleviate a minor headache I had. Nearly
immediately afterward, I was jolted to alertness as the car swerved to
avoid seven deer at various stages of crossing the road. After
recovering from that shock (sort of), Elder Berrett was telling me
another story. Somewhere along the lines of that story I realized that
he was talking to me, and said "Elder Berrett, repeat everything you
just said. My mind was half on the deer and half on Dani." So that's
our new phrase whenever we're out of it and not paying attention to
anything. "Half on the deer and half on Dani."

        I love you all. Keep being awesome, alright?

-Elder Burch π

*British voice*
I think I'll call this one "Mail Percy."

"In my head there's all these classic cars and outlawed cowboy bands..."

Hello! It's good to see you again!

Thank you for reading my emails. It feels good that people are rooting for me back home.

Sunday was an excellent day. The spiritual uplift that we get on Sunday is desperately needed and very appreciated. On top of that, seeing investigators and less active members come to church makes the hard work and rejection of the rest of the week totally worth it. Today, three investigators and two less active members with which we've been working showed up to church, and it was awesome. I was asked to give a talk in Basin Ward on the Fourth Article of Faith. It wasn't my best, but I felt the Spirit and I hope some people learned something. One highlight I'll share from it: "Everything about this gospel is based on making us better, more awesome, more like God. If my dad were here, he'd refer to these as 'upgrades.' "

We ran into some racism the other day. Those people need the gospel. I don't like racism.

During some of our less productive times of the day, Elder Berrett and I have decided to visit members' homes and sing to them a hymn, share a few messages, and see if they know anyone who could use the message of the restoration of the gospel. It's proved a good way to feel the Spirit, let off some stress, and get to know the members better. "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

I ran out of feta cheese for my salads, but we're also super broke, so I have to wait until next week to get more. Sad.

The weeks go by in a blur. The days are forever long, but the weeks are quick. I hope you're doing well, and I repeat my invitation for you to write me! I love hearing what's going on out there. 

I wish I had a copy of Green Eggs & Ham with me when talking to some people. "No, I'm not interested." "... Try it and you may. Try it and you may, I say!" There's so much joy that the message of Christ can bring to people in this life, and I wish I could show them that in the short time before they close themselves and turn away. "Strange we come to find ourselves not knowing we're lost."

Alright, thank you again for reading. Until next week, keep on keeping on.

-Elder Burch π

"... I always kinda sorta wished I looked like Elvis. I always kinda sorta wished I was someone else."

Drinks at the Maverick!

Our town's one stoplight.
They're simultaneously proud of and annoyed by it.

Planning selfie!

This was in our front left tire. Ah.

"It was one hundred degrees as we sat beneath a willow tree..."

Hello again, and welcome to another exciting installment of The Many
Adventures of Elder Burch!

  We'll get right into the nitty-gritty. Like I've said before, these
wards have a very large amount of less active and part member
families. Due to that, and the fact that few people we meet have
accepted to hear our message, we spend a lot of time on reactivation.

  Specifically this week, we met with a less active named Frank. Frank
thinks a lot - he's well educated and analytical (he was the librarian
for the high school here for years). As we've met with him these
couple times, we've come to know of his incredible factual knowledge
of the scriptures and of other things.
  Well, as we were preparing to visit him one morning, I asked Elder
Berrett what exactly were Frank's needs, and how we can help him.
Elder Berrett told me that a major thing, he thought, was that Frank
just didn't have a testimony, and needed to come to church. Well, me
being the new missionary that I am said, "Let's read with him from the
Book of Mormon, testify of Moroni's promise, and ask him to pray to
ask if it is true, right there." And so, that's what we did.
  After reading aloud in a circle 3rd Nephi 11, which describes the
visit of the Savior to the Nephites, Elder Berrett extended the
invitation. "Frank, will you, right now, pray to God and ask him if
the Book of Mormon is true?" With some hesitation, Frank agreed and
offered what seemed to be a sincere, searching prayer. After the amen,
and the silence that followed, Frank opened up to us. I firmly believe
that the Spirit that was present because of the prayer and the
question was the catalyst. Frank described to us how he knows that it
is true, and wants to follow it, but finds himself unable to bring
himself to do it.
  After we listened to him, I offered, "Frank, we all feel that way.
We do stupid things and wonder why we did that again and then commit
to not do it again, and then we do it again and we think 'well, crap; I
did it again.' But we can overcome. With Christ's help, relying on Him
and His Word and His Grace, doing all we can, He will help us. We'd
like to invite you to take the first step on the path back to Christ.
Frank, will you come to church this Sunday?" And, he accepted.
  After a reminder Saturday evening and fretting the minutes before
church wondering if he'd come, we saw him walk in just a minute late,
and waved over to him to sit with us. And so, for the first time in
thirty years, Frank participated in three hours of church and partook
of the Lord's sacrament.
  Sometimes, we need to be bold, and trust that the Lord will put
power behind our words. After all, as missionaries, we are called of
God to represent Jesus Christ - we represent the Savior! He will give
us power in our words if we say them by the Spirit.

  On Saturday, Elder Berrett and I got a call that the Sister
Missionaries in Worland had an investigator ready for a baptismal
interview. Elder Berrett being the district leader and the one to
handle such a thing, we loaded up the car, turned on a talk from a
General Authority, and proceeded to head out there. After the
interview, it was determined that the baptism would have to be
postponed from next Saturday to an indefinite date, because the young
mother needed to head to Chicago to deal with a family problem. This
investigator, years before, had a similar thing happen, and the
baptism never took place. With that in mind, combined with the
knowledge that the Holy Ghost would be a powerful tool for the
investigator during this time of trial, combined with the fact that
the font was being filled as we spoke for another baptism that day,
the Sisters invited her to be baptized right there. After a Priesthood
blessing and some thought, it was agreed. And so, an hour and a half
later, Elder Berrett baptized this woman into the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.

  The lesson I'm finding here is that the Lord's timing is beyond our
capability to realize or understand. Sometimes He has us wait because
we need to be patient or someone needs to be prepared, and sometimes
He lets our efforts seem to be fruitless until some time down the
line, perhaps a time we will never see ourselves. But no matter what
He does, whether it is trying our patience or having us drastically
switch plans to perform a baptism right there, it is right. God knows
what's up. We are the tools in His hands to bring to pass His Work.
His Work, not ours.
  "How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay
the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the
Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to
hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven..." -D&C
121:33

  I have been blessed to see a fruit of my labor, and the labor of my
companion, and the power of the Holy Ghost when we have listened to
the promptings of God. It is my invitation that we can all listen for
God's council, and then act on it. If we do not act on promptings from
the Holy Spirit, we will stop receiving them. Why would a member of
the Godhead waste their time trying to speak to someone who time and
time again doesn't act on what they receive? On the other hand, if we
do follow the guidance that we receive, we will be led to do great
works, and do things that we wouldn't be able to do ourselves. We will
be led to glorify God, and we will find happiness for ourselves and
for those we serve. That is my testimony which I give in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

  Thank you for reading all of that. I hope you're all doing well!
Keep being awesome, all of you. I love you.

  Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

  P.S. I love sending and receiving physical letters just as much or
more than I love sending emails! If you want me to send you a letter,
send me your address. I promise that I will send you at least one
letter. Thanks!

  P.P.S. All of your emails and letters are a great encouragement.
Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and words.

"... I'm a war of head versus heart, and it's always this way ..."

The high school in Worland has the Warrior as their mascot.
I feel obligated to support their sports teams.

Elder Berrett and the newest member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Nothing but the best for the Primary kids.

Beautiful, ain't it? Someone should take a picture.

Lunch!

President and Sister Wadsworth

Dear Family,

I am sending a photo of us with Elder Burch at the Billings Temple.  We are so grateful to be able to serve with him here in the Montana Billings Mission and know he will be a great missionary!

Warmest regards,

President & Sister Wadsworth
Montana Billings Mission

"The boxes are empty, we can finally call this our new home..."

Hello all,

  After a swift conclusion to the MTC experience, they loaded us up in
a tiny little jump jet and shuttled us from the SLC to the Billings,
Montana airport. For those unawares, Billings is a city of a little
more than 100,000 people. They pride themselves on having a Walmart, a
Costco, and a single Café Rio. But, alas, my stay in Billings would be
short enough. After arriving and being helped to the greatest meal
I've had in three weeks (the MTC isn't awful, but I would definitely
not call it good), I grabbed a few personal things and spent the night
at a member's house with a handful of other elders.

  The following day, after some training, we found out where we would
be spending the next significant part of our lives. The verdict was
given, and I became excited. I won't be serving in Montana, but rather
in Wyoming. "Will we be heading out tomorrow morning?" "You're heading
to Wyoming? You'll be leaving in... About an hour and a half."

  And, so it was.

  After a two hour and generally unimpressive drive, we arrived in
Lovell, Wyoming, where the five of us met our trainer and hopefully
best friend for at least the next six weeks. Elder Berrett, a smiling,
glasses-wearing Elder from Gilbert, Arizona, greeted me. Quickly, we
put the two suitcases in the Corolla, strapped the bike to the back,
and drove off.

  I have been assigned to labor in the Wyoming West area. Greybull,
Basin, and Ten Sleep are all within our boundaries. Due to the size of
our area, we are allotted a fairly large amount of miles.
Nevertheless, we don't make it to Ten Sleep more than once or twice a
month. We spend most of our time in Greybull and Basin, population
1,800 and 1,200, respectively. The wards have a high rate of
inactivity, and much of our time has been spent on reactivation.

  Elder Berrett of GIlbert, Arizona (I know, right?) has been out
somewhere about a year. He's a nerd (we're both psyched for when the
post office in Basin gets Star Trek stamps - September 3rd!), and he
knows how to follow the rules and work hard. We get along well, and I
feel like we are smooth at transitioning in lessons. Elder Berrett is
awesome, and I'm super happy to have him as my companion.

  We are staying at a member home. Brother and Sister Cheatham are
both very nice, loving, and funny, and I'm grateful for the
opportunity to stay with them.

  We've already had some wonderful experiences with both members and
not, but I will leave you with a spiritual thought:

  One person we visited last night opened up about a concern she had.
She had heard from certain people that if one member of the family
reaches the highest degree of glory, but a child or something does
not, that they won't be together forever. We were able to testify that
because families are such an integral part of The Plan, God promises
us that we will be together. We need to follow His way in this life as
best we can, and He will take care of the rest. Of this I have a
testimony. (For further reading on the subject, may I recommend the
First Presidency message in the August 2016 Ensign?)

  I hope all is going well! I love to hear from you probably more than
you love to hear from me, so don't hesitate to send some goings on,
some thoughts, questions, or anything along those lines.

  Rock and roll.

-Elder Burch π

"... I can't hear a word over Kind of Blue ..."

"With a chance to make it good somehow, hey what else could we do now?"

Hello all,

 This second week has been a mix, as I'm sure all the weeks will be.
It ended, last night, pretty well, though, so I'm grateful for that.

 First, for some humor. Elder Carter, Elder Simmons, and I were
teaching one of our investigators, and it was going pretty well. Elder
Carter was explaining the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and what it meant
for all of us down here. Somewhere along that line, he said, "And
because Jesus was crucified, we all get to be crucified, too." He
meant resurrected, but the look on that woman's face was pure terror.

 Teaching has been going better. It is insane how much unity and
preparation are essential to a good lesson. Even when you don't teach
exactly (or maybe even close to) what you prepared, the preparation is
the show of faith and effort that is required for the Spirit to tell
you what you need to know in the moment.

 I got to toss around a softball the other day with Elder Yensen and
Elder Moser, and that was super awesome. I've never been too sporty,
but playing catch has always been a fantastic experience.

 Elder Wright took off to go to Nicaragua, so pray for him and his
journey. He'll do great things; I'm sure of it.

 We ended up losing Sister Jacobs early this week. Keep her in your
thoughts and prayers. She's a good spirit, she just struggled with the
massive change of coming out here.

 Today marks t-minus one week until I pack my bags and head out to
Montana, big sky country and home of the Great Pyramids. (If you don't
understand that last part, don't think too hard on it. It's a joke for
a select few.) I'm ready to be out of here. I love it here, but I'm
ready to be done.

 Thank you all for your letters and support - It means the world. Keep
rocking on.

-Elder Burch π

 P.S. Any physical mail to me should not be sent after Wednesday or
Thursday until I have left the MTC and sent you my new residence
address. Thanks!

 P.P.S.S. If you have any questions of any kind, please send them my
way! It would give me material to write about, and something to
ponder. Besides that, maybe I'm just not writing about what you want
to hear. If I hear the demand, I'll provide the supply.

"... Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair.
The night's busting open, these two lanes could take us anywhere!"