“Later on we can go outside...”

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I’m going to make a cute little Christmas observation and then leave you with some pictures.

Sunday, we had a Christmas program in sacrament meeting. It had its moments of genuine beauty and grandeur, like the special arrangement of “Silent Night” which included flute, but there were also a lot of things that went wrong. Someone couldn’t show up for their part in a duet because they were in the hospital, the primary kids forgot the third verse of “Away In A Manger,” and so on. Despite these things, though, the program was beautiful and full of the spirit.

Now, Mary and Joseph heading to Bethlehem must’ve been a lame time. Great, we have to go travel to Bethlehem to be taxed (or counted for the census), Mary is pregnant, and I’m sure that it is going to be crazy busy there. Of course, nothing really did go right that night. The lodging was awful, and I’m sure that their Christmas Eve dinner was nothing special, either. Despite all that was lame about the experience, though, it must’ve been glorious and full of the spirit as Jesus the Christ came into the world. 

I hope you have a happy rest of December. Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π


“... And create the impression of an angel that just fell from the sky.”

Transfer Day! With Elder Brown, Elder Campbell and Elder Lester.

Christmas Eve visit to the hospital.

Look at Elder Brown’s smirk ‘cause he knows he’s gonna find all your cards.

Nativity in the hay.

Christmas Day, feat. The Mahana family

Elder Brown piloting our graham cracker gingerbread house

Christmas tree from my family

"Our daughters got face painting kits for Christmas and
 Elder Burch was a good sport and let them practice on him."

“This card postmarked December 23...”

Quick rundown because transfers kills emails. 

Went on exchanges with Elder Leach. We tried to give pizzas to homeless people for Light The World. It didn’t turn out like those heartwarming YouTube videos. We talked to a ton of homeless people and none of them wanted our pizza. We literally only managed to give away one slice. I’m not still salty about it. Promise.

Lots of baptisms for other areas. I got to confirm a little girl. 

Elder Lester is awesome. I’m going to miss him. He is being transferred to Butte to be with Elder M. K. Campbell the wise. I’m going to miss him. I will be receiving Elder Brown, who is MKCampell’s current companion. It will be a party. We’re excited! Y’all rock. Keep being cool! 

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π

“Caption reads: How does he do it?”

“Does anything still move you since you’re educated now?”

Attention, everyone!

What a week. So much stuff, so little time. You know how it goes.

The week really began with us preparing to drive to Billings. See, when you’re a zone leader, the mission thinks that they need to keep close watch on you so that you don’t abuse the great cosmic power you have. So they send you on exchanges with the Assistants so they can monitor how corrupt you’ve become, and then they send you to the temple before you leave so you can have a nice dose of concentrated spirituality to humble you back to the dust. And so, we departed. We had to get dinner in Bozeman, the college town (that isn’t as charming as Missoula), on the way there. I’ve been dying for sushi, and after much coercion, I got Elder Lester to agree to go to Seven, one of the local sushi joints. It was disappointing. Not nearly good enough for how much it cost. But, it more or less quelled my craving for sushi, so we’re good now. For at least another month. Maybe. I really like squid. (See picture 1.) ((For further clarification, the first part of this paragraph was highly in jest. We don’t have any extra power or priesthoods from being Zone Leaders. (... Or do we? (See? I just can’t keep serious for too long!)) Okay, moving on!))

We completed our treacherous drive, and arrived in the assistant’s mansion-of-an-apartment. While on exchanges, which I was privileged to spend my exchange with Elder Tucker, the missionary with whom I spent a week and a half before I took over the Missoula 4th Ward, I took away a few things. First, it is okay to not have good days every day. Even assistants to the president have bad days where nothing happens. Second, you can always find a little more time to find. Just look for those little, awkward ten-minute gaps in your day and hit a door or three. Everything counts! Lastly, I am good at Bananagrams, but I’m going to have to work hard to be the best. And, I feel like Elder Peyton Jones will give me a run for my money. He would always win in Scrabble. (See pictures 2 and 3, even though neither of those people are Elder Tucker. I saw Elder Griffin again! That was cool. I love him!)

The temple was great! Not much more to say on that, I suppose.

After visiting with Elder Baird, our vehicle coordinator, and picking up some supplies, we started off on our return journey. We took the same route back as we did there, which means we went back through Bozeman. A thing to know about Elder Lester is that he loves Bozeman more than he loves breathing, and so I heard nothing but ecstatic cheers and praise of Bozeman, and subsequent downing on Missoula. I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut about Missoula here much of the time. It seems like half the time I exclaim, “I love Missoula! I was there for nine months!” I get this look like, “Oh, you’re one of them.” Anyway, we visited a burger truck (really more of a converted bus?) called Heap Burger, and that was a good experience. (See picture 4.) We also visited one of the recent converts that Elder Lester had taught, and that was a good time. On the way back from that, we were on the phone and missed the turnoff to Townsend to put us on the road back to Helena, and didn’t realize it until we got to Butte. I guess we took the scenic route. If you can consider Butte “scenic.”

Zone Conference was the next day. It was inspiring and everything, but the only thing I had in my mind was the last hour. We had gotten an email from HQ letting us know that the last hour of Zone Conference would be a Christ-centered talent show, and that “all musical instruments are allowed with the exception of drums.” Using my superior people skills, I had wrangled a bass guitar and an amp (from two different sources, I might add), and devised a few parts I could play for the song “I Feel My Savior’s Love” alongside a piano and the accompaniment of our zone’s voices. (For those who care, the three parts I used were 1. just the root chords played and held, 2. a near- mimic of the piano’s left hand part, and 3. a part that I wrote myself on the drive to Billings. The weird part was I wrote it without an instrument, so I was essentially imagining what it would sound like and hoping that what I wrote would go well with the printed piano part. It turned out pretty well with just a few adjustments after playing it through.) Turning on the amp and hearing the low E ring out was a good time. (See pictures 5-8. Please ignore the fake music language of Tab in which I wrote the parts.)

For the weekend, we had four other missionaries in our apartment. Not worth. Glad to be back to two.

We had interviews with our mission president. President Wadsworth is the best. 

Stake Conference was excellent! There were a few talks that really connected with me. Our Stake President said that he was going to talk about something, but that the adult session of conference the night before had changed his thoughts, and he talked on something totally different. He related to us how we are to love God first, then our spouse, and then ourselves and our neighbors. That resonated with something I’ve been finding, which is that this life is really all about being selfless. We find the most happiness that way. Conference was great.

Last story, for your enjoyment. After conference, one of the councilors in the stake presidency took much of the youth, the Sister missionaries, and us caroling at a care center. Care centers are so funny. If you’ve been following my adventures, you know that I’ve given service in quite a few care centers in the last seventeen months. Anyway, we are caroling, and we pass this old guy with a walker. “Hi!” I say. “Merry Christmas!” He gives a contemptible look and says, “[Crap]heads,” and keeps walking. I laughed. It was a good time.

Thanks for reading and supporting! You are cool. Yes, you are cool.

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π


“Do you believe there’s still some magic left somewhere inside our souls?”

I feel like a Beatle. Your thoughts?

“Chase this light with me...”

More like “chase this #LightTheWorld,” amiright?

Let’s try this one as more of a story, shall we?

(Note: The story is enhanced with the use of pictures. Please see the pictures below.)

“Faith, Trust, And A Little Bit Of Chocolate Dust”
A remarkably true-ish story by Elder Stephen Tanner Burch π

The windswept town of Great Falls, Montana, lay quiet as November drew to a close. With the ushering of December inevitably comes the ushering of the Christmas season, but the spirit of Christmas was still weak. Whether it was from the uncharacteristic warmth and lack of snow or from Walmart’s poor choice of Christmas music, it was a problem that needed to be remedied. 

The annual Christmas Stroll in downtown Great Falls seemed to provide just the perfect opportunity for the Christmas Spirit to be brought in with power. And so, the missionaries in the Great Falls and Great Falls East Zones partnered with a local church member to decorate one of his storefronts in a manner appropriate to share #LightTheWorld. But how, pray tell, were we ever to get Christmas Strollers to come and examine the wonderful service opportunity that Light The World offers? The answer to that seemed simple: Free hot chocolate and a place to warm up. ¡Perfecto! And so, the decorating was on! After many hot chocolate mix donations from the ward, many missionary-hours of work, and a lot of frustration (what?), the room was prepared. 

Then came the night. Oh, the night. I’ve never been tired after a day of missionary work like I was after this day. (That may have been a lie. I’ve had a good amount of very tiring missionary days. Stories are made better by hyperbole, though, so just go with it.)

After everyone had gotten there, the first bit of hot chocolate had been mixed, and the seven cats had all been herded, we began with a prayer. Elder Davis was then assigned as the designated “tell everyone where they need to be and what they need to be doing so there isn’t totally chaos” guy, and I was thusly designated, along with my counterparts Elder Vargas and Sister Lystrup, to man the hot chocolate table. Oh, this is going to be easy! I thought in the foolhardy words of Episode III Obi-Wan Kenobi. In contrast, I was not piloting a star fighter into battle toward General Greivous’s flagship, but in similarity, I also had little idea what was to come. 

The Christmas Stroll began at 5 o’clock, and plodded along slowly but surely for a while. Filling the hot chocolate cups from our two five-gallon coolers and two other coco dispensers was a laid-back process of putting a few cups out there and replacing them as they were taken. It was a fun, stress-free, relaxed time. 

And then the people started coming.

Lines began to form. People coming in with families, large groups, as well as individually. Hot chocolate coolers (sounds weird, because they’re job is to keep the hot chocolate hot) began to run out. A dedicated team was assigned to heat large pots with water behind the building, and then bring them in to fill the coolers when it was needed. Elder Vargas, Sister Lystrup, and I had to then empty coolers with tact such that we always had enough hot chocolate to give whilst the next cooler was being mixed. We also had to mix the coolers, add chocolate to taste (quality control), clean up spills on our part and other’s parts; fill cups fast and completely enough; and give lids to those who asked for them, all the while talking to people about Light The World and the room set up immediately across from them. “Have you checked out the room across from you? There’s a couch you can sit on, a photo booth, and a nativity room! We invite you to check it out!” “Did you get a Light The World card? Here is one for you! Light The World is a service initiative that the church is doing...” There were a few crises along the way, such as nearly running out of cups and of cocoa mix, but a quick assignment given to Bro. B to run to Sam’s Club fixed that before it became too much of an issue.

Four hours, much water, many cans of coco, and approximately one thousand five hundred cups later, it was all over. Over a thousand pass along cards had been given, many pictures had been taken in the photo booth, a handful of copies of the Book of Mormon had been given, and a few people hopefully had their night brightened by Light The World. The Christmas Spirit had been felt, and the missionaries in Great Falls agreed that this was exactly what the area needed to bring the warm, fuzzy Christmas feels. And so, with the assignment to clean it all up later, we went home, and Elder Burch went to bed. 

Thank heavens. Is Christmas always this stressful?

The end.

— — —

A solid spiritual experience that we had this week happened at church. We have an investigator who has been receiving continuous and relentless persecution since she started meeting with us, at work and otherwise. She showed up at church yesterday, and definitely seemed off. After some prodding, she broke down and talked about some of the things people had been saying to her and doing because she wants to attend church with us. She said the age-old phrase with tears in her eyes. “I just don’t understand.” But what made my heart soar was her next statement. “I might get fired from my job because I went to church today, but I’m not worried. I know that God will work things out.” That, my friends, is faith. Faith, and perseverance. She also said, “Everyone tells me I’m doing something wrong, but I know what I’m doing is right.” What a lesson for us all! No matter what the world says, no matter what people throw at us, the truth is the truth. This investigator understands that, and understands that it is more important than anything else, so she is willing to press forward even when the going is rocky. God bless her soul. There is definitely a lesson to be learned there.

This next week is going to be shot because we have: Preparation day, then we drive to Billings for exchanges with the assistants on Tuesday afternoon, and then we are there until we drive home Thursday after we go to the temple (!), and then Friday is zone conference, Saturday is interviews and Saturday Stake Conference; and Sunday is the rest of Stake Conference. Pray for me.

And, to make up for last week, I have way too many pictures! I will be sending them over a few emails. Enjoy!

Thank you all for your support and all that jazz. You are awesome!

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π


“It’s alive, and somewhere for us to find tonight...”

Elder Lester and I with some cool people with whom we’re working.

Spending the night in the church shed in Cascade.
When we are going to work in Cascade for more than a day,
we will sometimes spend the night so that we can conserve miles
since Cascade is about 25 miles south from Great Falls, where we live.
Definitely not the best sleep I’ve had, but exactly the kind thing
I was hoping for and expecting when I was called to Montana!
Worth it for the story.

Waking up in Cascade, feat. my bed head.

Setting up the Light The World room.

#LightTheWorld bags.
Included inside: Cookies, a Light The World calendar,
and a challenge to share it with others.
Kinda like getting Boo’d at Halloween,
but better because it encourages people to give service!

All pictures here are from the Light The World event we set up for the Christmas stroll. Enjoy!

“Standing in line for Thanksgiving dinner...”

Sometimes I wish I had the writing ability of Elder Campbell. Most of the time, though, I just wish I had a chocolate muffin. I guess you don’t always get what you want. *shrug*

We visited a jail this week! I’ve never talked to an investigator (or anyone, frankly) via telephone through bulletproof glass before, but now I can check it off my list. Note to the wise, kids: Don’t go for rides in stolen cars, even if you didn’t steal it, and especially if you already have a criminal record. On the upside, we were informed that the jail actually had a pretty decent spread for Thanksgiving. Better than the usual fare, I suppose.

We have an investigator who is progressing well! She has been smoke free for ten days now (I think), and she has a baptismal date for next month! We are quite excited for her. We’re a little worried, though, because she wasn’t at church on Sunday and hasn’t answered our calls. We’ll see her soon and figure it out.

I have this really bad thing where I feel embarrassment for other people. Even (especially) if they don’t feel embarrassed for themselves. It makes being around certain people very difficult. 

We went out to Wolf Creek this week, which is almost at the bottom of our area (nearly to Helena), to visit a recent convert that I hadn’t met before, but she is awesome. She studies a lot and with real intent. She’s read the entire Book of Mormon, the Gospel Principles book, and more. She has three kids and a step kid. Her husband is not a member, but with some love and fellowship, I think we could help him out. 

Thanksgiving was a good time. We spent some time with two different families. Good families, one here in town and the other out in Cascade branch. I learned that pool is harder when the table wobbles. I also learned that Dutch apple pie is actually different than normal apple pie. I always thought that it was just apple pie and better apple pie, but nope. They’re actually different kinds.

A family that we visited to teach was cutting up and piecing out their elk as we taught them. That was cool. It was an education experience for me. I like asking questions about things I don’t know much about, even (especially?) if it is something that isn’t usually a me kind of activity. 

We went to church in the Cascade branch this Sunday, and I love the Cascade branch. There are so many awesome people there! 

Elder Vargas is my district leader now and I am so excited because I love Elder Vargas. What a guy.

I think that is all for now. Thank you for reading, for all you do, and all that. Keep on keeping on. 

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π


“... Styrofoam plates, cafeteria tables ...”

My study area. I need to take more pictures. 

“Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine...”

Welcome to Great Falls!

The land where the wind blows cold and doesn’t stop. We live in a cozy apartment right down the street from the church. We cover the Two Rivers Ward here in town, and we cover the Cascade Branch, which extends almost to Helena. A picture will be included. 

Elder Lester is a fantastic companion. He is all about getting out there and getting the work done, doing his best to achieve goals. It’s been good. We’ve talked to quite a few people and invited them to come to Christ. We’ve met quite a few of the investigators and less active members that they have been working with in this area, and there are a lot of awesome people here! (Cool people named Chuck seem to be constant across all my areas. Weird.) Overall, I like it here! When we were going to visit an investigator, a guy called over to us and asked what we were doing. “Just visiting our friend across the street.” “Oh, okay.” And then he started trying to bash. I mean, c’mon! “Do you still think you have to work to get to heaven? Why don’t you have a cross on your church? The Bible says not to add! I’m just afraid you don’t believe in the right Jesus.” Seriously? “Sir, we believe in the Jesus spoken of in the Bible who died for our sins and was raised on the third day.” I am pretty okay with holding my tongue, but when people tell me I believe in a “different Jesus,” it bothers me. Ah, well. All’s well that ends well. 

Thank you for reading! Y’all are cool. Happy Thanksgiving!

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π

“... gotta be down because I want it all.”

Elder Lester and I!

My area

The real Missoula OGs. Sister Miller is the only missionary
that was in Missoula when I got there and when I left.
We both served Missoula for 6 transfers, or almost 9 months.
Good times. 

Missoula’s Ward Mission Leader and his wife.
They were an awesome part of the Zoo, and will be missed.

“I am a visitor here, I am not permanent...”

Everyone,

Alas, my time in Missoula is about to come to an end. Wednesday morning, I will drive the Man Van for the last time to Helena, where I will meet up with Elder Lester, and head up to Great Falls to spend the next part of my missionary service. Cool thing, Elder Lester was my best friend in 4th Grade. Check that out! My new address will be: 1109 9th St. NW #7 Great Falls MT 59404

Saturday, we had the awesome opportunity to attend the baptism of Gary, the guy we interviewed last week. It was awesome. There was definitely a strong feeling in the air - easy to tell that the Spirit was there in abundance. I mentioned in the last email (I think?) how it was obvious that the Lord had been preparing Gary to receive the message of the restoration of the gospel, and the baptism felt so natural - like any other step, he was taking his next step in progression on the path of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He started the journey home to our Father. And, it will be a journey full of joy, because God wants us to be happy here as well as in the life to come. It was a powerful experience. “There must’ve been something in the water...”

We talked about Christlike attributes in MLC, and the takeaway I received was about how we can identify Christlike attributes in others, and when look for those positive things, it naturally increases Christlike attributes in us as we increase in love through focusing on the positive of others. Seeking out the good in others is an important thing to do. So, this week, take an extra effort to identify positive things about others, and point them out! It’ll be a good change, I promise. (See the picture I made down below for a list of Preach My Gospel’s identified Christlike attributes. There are more, but this is a good start.)

Love you all! It’s getting colder here. Christmas will be here before we know it!

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

“... The district sleeps alone tonight.”

Frozen Yogurt with some awesome Elders

At Gary's baptism with Elders Zitto, Ritchie, and Wheeler 

With Elder Ritchie

Saw the Kambale family again!

Look what we did. Feel proud.
I actually ate two. It’s better the second time. 

We watched the Testaments one night on the little portable
DVD player we have.It was a good time.
(No, Elder Wheeler is not flipping you off.)