"You've got the love I need to see me through..."

Everyone,

Hey hey! Two quick miracles and a short rundown of my week. Because it's one of those days. I had to take the ASU math placement test today. I'll probably have to take it again. *shrug* Happens. I haven't done math in 18 months. 

Miracle 1: When I went on exchanges with Elder Murphy in Cut Bank a few weeks ago, we tracted a bit. We ran into this guy named Kolby, who is a Blackfeet native and has a family. We were able to talk with him about the Book of Mormon and gave him one. Elder Murphy called me the other day to tell me what happened there. The day we showed up, Kolby had decided to quit all his addictions, and since we had been there, he had read the Book of Mormon any time he'd been tempted by his addictions and he had been clean since that day. Cool!

Miracle 2: A member in Two Rivers had invited her friends to church, and this is the fourth time that they had come, and we were able to  talk with them a lot more. FOUR TIMES! Non-members! From a friend's invite! How rad? (Also, member missionary work at its best. Take notes, you all.) They are a newly married couple, and have mixed religous upbringing. Anyway, we have a lesson and dinner scheduled with them and the members this Friday night! How cool! We are blessed to be in the service.

The other thing I've come to realize is that, although the city of Great Falls isn't my favorite place, the people in the Cascade Branch and Two Rivers Ward are fantastic. Absolutely the best people, and I love them. 

We spoke in the Cascade Branch this week. It was cool. 

The sisters that came out with me go home on Friday. That's weird.

Rock and roll ~

Elder Burch π

Game Night

“How this felt one year six months ago...”

Good day, everyone,

I would like to begin by letting everyone know, lest there was any doubt, that choosing to serve a mission is the best decision I have ever made. It’s more than serving a mission, though. It’s about serving a faithful mission. Missions have the ability to change a person drastically for the good, but it is only if that person lets the mission do so. It requires a willing heart and an open mind, and a lot of hard work.

This last week, we have been working hard with these investigators of ours. I think I need to take another look at Preach My Gospel Chapter 11, How Do I Help People Make And Keep Commitments?. I’m doing something wrong or else this week just threw too much at people. Either way, it was a little disappointing with the sacrament meeting turnout for investigators. *shrug* It happens, I guess. We will keep trying!

We had exchanges. We did a good amount of service. We spent way too much time looking for keys, and we had a lesson with some new (old) investigators. 

I was going to put in some grand oratorio about how much I’ve grown and stuff in the last 18 months, but I decided not to. I’ll let my actions speak for themselves.

Thank you all for all you do! To any of you that participated in the scheme to wish me a happy birthday, I applaud you. Thank you so much :)

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π

“I cannot forget, I hope we don’t forget...”

Name that Batman villain.

Some members had us over for Korean food.
These stone bowls had been heated in the oven
and we put our food into the bowls and they
cooked it for us. How neat is that?

That is my cake. I’m 8 years old!

"Here's looking at you, kid."

That is both a song reference and a reference to a movie. Get rekt.

Oh, man, this week. We went on exchanges with the Fairfield Elders, and Elder Leach came to Great Falls with me again, same as last transfer. (If you remember the Facebook post where we were giving pizzas to homeless people during #LightTheWorld, that picture was with Elder Leach.) It was a good time. We had a lesson cancel, and that pretty much wrecked our whole day. So, we buckled down and went tracting for some 3(?) hours. It was a good time! We met a woman named Jennifer, who has some struggles, and she took a Book of Mormon! She didn't express too much interest in taking the lessons, but that is okay because we will return and ask her if she got a chance to read at all. Then we will ask if she'd like to learn more. It's a process, you know. 

We also had zone conference! Elder Brown and I remembered last minute that we had to give an hour discussion, but we had both read the material, so we were able to pull something good out of the blue. It was based on the talk "Becoming A Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister. The "Lock Your Heart" section was a little super awkward (I'll never live it down...), but it was good. That last statement was approved by Sister Wadsworth. Good times. 

I ran into a tree. The snow was fresh. I'm from Arizona. It was a recipe for disaster.

There is a cool game called Wonky that we played with members. Elder Brown bought it. 

I will let the pictures speak for the rest. Just know that I have a testimony of the gospel and the God cares and is willing to help us improve ourselves. I love you all! 

Rock and roll ~

Elder Burch π

Spreading this fire from door to door.

Not bad for hitting a tree at 30 miles per hour.

Zone conference. Great Falls, hype!

Elder Brown is gonna find all those cards in short time.

​​​​​​​​

“I’m here, I’m now, I’m ready...”

Hey-o! 

Elder Brown and I went to the Malmstrom Air Force Base Museum today. It was cool. Did you know that Great Falls, Montana is in charge of over 150 nuclear missiles? That’s crazy. 

We had a crazy Saturday night spending the night in Cascade. It was crazy.

I went to Browning for an exchange with Elder Murphy. It was weird. Reservations have lots of stray dogs. I started naming them alphabetically. I finished the entire alphabet and started again, but then we left. 

We have dinner with the stake presidency tonight. That will be cool! Sorry for the brevity. Enjoy the pictures!

-Elder Stephen Burch π

“... Holding on tight, don’t give away the end...”

“Lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn...”

That is the last time I will reference that song as an email subject line. I just... There isn’t anything that I could reference that rivals it! It is “The New Year,” after all.

This week was gnarly. Temperature and lack of miles limited what we could do for a few days. My impatience limits what I will write today. But, I will still strive to provide you with adequate content. You know, I aim to please. 

One of our investigators is a fantastic missionary. We went to her place for a lesson, and arrived to find not just her, but her friend. Her friend named Hope, sixteen years old, was really kind, and Anna kept telling her how cool we are (kinda awkward when you’re right there), and how we have helped her to turn her life around. Hope talked with us a little bit, and we learned that she has no real Christian background, to the point of not even really knowing who Jesus Christ is. So, we told her a little bit, gave her a Book of Mormon, asked her to read Alma 7, and set a return appointment for the next day. 

We returned to find that she hadn’t only read Alma 7, but had also watched The Restoration with Anna. And so, with the help of our phenomenal gospel principles teacher as a member present, we taught the Restoration with a focus on Christ and his life and importance. Hope told us that she is definitely interested in learning more, and that she is excited to make changes in her life to change for the better. 

I’m so excited! Hope seems excited to learn more, and we are excited to teach her. Hooray! 

Other stuff on this week: There were dog sleds. 

Also really really cold. 

I love you all! Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π