Elder Burch π: "Now the lights go low in the avenue..."

"... And the cars pass by in the rain ..."

Good morning, acolytes!

This week saw even more rain. The last two days, specifically. Also, we woke up today to find that the rain on our car has turned to frost overnight. So, that means that this week had a day with a high of 86, and also a night where it froze. Great. Montana and her darned inconsistency. The warm day was nice, though. It felt downright hot after the weather we have been getting, but it was welcomed anyway.

Earlier this week, we had exchanges with the zone leaders. Of note from the exchange: Friendly less active family, puppies, and I GOT SUNBURNT. I thought that was a thing that didn't exist here! (Not really, but seriously.) I can't believe I got sunburnt.

We were called upon by a member of the ward to help them paint the home of one of their relatives who had just passed, in preparation for the selling of the home. We spent quite a bit of time on that on Thursday and Friday. It was good, though! There were some older gentlemen working with us, and I am not sure... well, I just don't know if the lights are on and nobody is home or what. It was fun.

We decided that we needed a mix-up of the finding techniques. We bounced around a few ideas, and we have plans to use some of them in the upcoming days, but we settled on one for this week. So, Saturday, we did some service tracting, which yielded some solid results. We put on the regular clothes and went door to door, letting people know that we are part of a service-oriented church, and that we were looking for service opportunities. We were able to rake the leaves of a former investigator and was given a return appointment before even asking. It was awesome!

Justine's baptism is set for the 27th of May. Bishop is looking to get Joel the Aaronic Priesthood so that he can baptize her. How rad is that? We're excited for them.

Spiritual thought: I was listening to a talk given by McConkie called "The Teacher's Divine Commission." He describes that, as teachers, "We are appointed 1) To teach the principles of the gospel 2) out of the standard works 3) by the power of the Holy Ghost, 4) always applying the teachings to our needs, and 5) to testify that what we have taught is true." As such, I've begun to evaluate my teaching methods and what I can improve. Instead of answering questions off of the top of my head, with vague references to scripture and having some moments of flipping my tie back to signify speculative doctrine, I should instead take questions, expound relevant verses from the scriptures, apply that doctrine to the life and needs of the investigator; and bear my personal testimony of the truthfulness of the principle just explained. As a crutch to help me with this, I have begun studying by topic on various common questions, and creating a quick reference guide to lead me to the scriptures, and explaining the relevance of the doctrine to us, and then writing a short testimony on the matter. Here is an example:

Faith, concerning works (see also: Grace)
James 2: 14-26 Faith without works expounded
Mat 7:21 "Doeth the will of my Father"
Mat 19: 16-17 Keep the commandments to inherit eternal life
Romans 3: 22-31 Salvation by grace through the Law Faith
Alma 34: 32-36 This life is for men to prepare to meet God
2 Nephi 25:23 By grace we are saved after all we can do
The truth that salvation is achieved through the grace of God and by following His commandments is important to us because 1) our works are how we truly "accept Christ" and allow His sacrifice to save us, 2) following God's law prepares us to abide under heaven's law and in the presence of the Lord, and 3) our works confirm the reality of our faith in Christ.

I have a testimony that Christ died for me, and that because He died for me, I have the ability to follow Him, better myself, and reach my potential. I am grateful for His sacrifice that will allow me to return to His presence if I prepare myself, follow His commandments, walk in His ways, and strive to be like Him.

I really think that this method, which is referenced in the handbook "Teaching In The Savior's Way," will help to make me a more effective teacher, and someday I'll know the scriptures well enough to not need a quick reference guide. Teaching is such a joy!

Thank you all for your continued support and love! Keep being awesome.

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

"... The university boys and the girls fill the bars while I'm just waitin' on the light to change."

You can't really tell, but that is a police car behind us.
I was going way too fast. There is only one speed limit sign,
and it's almost hid! I got off with a warning.
Elder Ray: "I leave you alone with the car for five minutes!..."