“A place they say glistens gold...”

Brigham Young must’ve been mistaken when he declared the Salt Lake Valley as the new Zion for the saints, because arriving here in Powell, Wyoming, I have never been more sure that “This is the right place.” 

Similarly, I’ve been blessed to not only be in a beautiful land humming with the potential of the gospel, but to be here with Elder Bly, who I am confident will swiftly become one of my best friends.

If that wasn’t enough, I also get the chance here to serve in the first Young Single Adult ward of my mission, along with two other blessed family wards, Powell 2nd and Powell 4th. True, it makes for a long Sunday worth of church services, along with way too many names for me to learn, but it will all be worth it. I love Powell, I love my companion, and I love the Work in which we are engaged. The Lord has suffered me to come at this time to a land of promise, and I can only hope that I will do Him proud while I am here.

To put a topper on it, this might be my last area of my mission. That isn’t doctrine, but it could very well be a reality. Time will tell...

Until that time, though, let’s talk about some things from this week!

Transfers were successful. I was blessed to see many people at the transfer site in Helena, including Elder Ash, who I haven’t seen in almost six months! I didn’t snap a picture, unfortunately, but I did get a picture of the magnificent quad of Elder Brown, Elder Lester, Elder Campbell, and myself, so look for that at the end. The ride was uneventful, primarily consisting of myself and Elder Carter reminiscing about the MTC, until we got a call that the mission Silverado lugging the trailer full of our luggage had ran out of gas merely three miles out of Columbus, Montana. So, we rushed back and rescued them from their predicament.

We arrived in Powell on Wednesday night, and have done good work in the days since arriving here. Elder Bly is a man of many duck noises, from the land of Henderson, Nevada, and he likes hunting. He’s super easy to get along with, we have already developed several inside jokes, and he is a hard working missionary. I really like him.

Some of the week’s highlights include:

- Attending institute and trying to memorize the names of the YSA
- Having dinner with some wonderful member families
- Receiving a myriad of referrals, include three for people who are likely to become solid new investigators.
- Weekly planning in which we set dates for exchanges with the district leaders, which includes me getting to go to my first area, Greybull / Basin, for a day! (I am psyched for that.)
- Having a convert baptism of one of the best people I’ve met on the mission

... What was that, Elder Burch? Did you say a baptism?

Why, yes, careful readers, I did.

Kaili has a crazy story that I won’t go too far into, but the short of it is that while living in Thermopolis, she connected with a woman named Kelly who had similar trials to her, and yet seemed joyful in all her doings. Kaili told Kelly that she wanted to be just like her, and Kelly responded, “Then you should look into the Book of Mormon.” Flash forward to Kaili attending the Northwest College here in Powell, Wyoming, and she does, indeed look into the Book of Mormon. She attended institute, and was quickly befriended by the wonderful members of the magnificent Powell YSA. That was back in January. Back to today, Kaili is now a baptized and confirmed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and she has already insistently inquired as to when she can receive a calling to serve in the church. She was baptized by her friend Logan, who has also decided to seal the whole thing by getting down on one knee and asking Kaili if she’d like to be with him for time and all eternity.

Family and friends, the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was described as a “marvelous work and a wonder,” and how true does that statement ring in my first five days serving our Father in Heaven in the blessed land of Powell, Wyoming.

It will only get better from here.

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π

“... I want to go there and never come back home.”

The Quad Of Power

Saying goodbye to Anna

Kaili and Logan

I wasn’t ready for the picture,
but that is what Elder Bly looks like!

Wyoming has a unique beauty to it.
This is a picture out the window
on the road from Powell to Cody.

“With the morning comes the rest of my life...”

Jedi and Sith,

I’ve been thinking about time periods, and how certain periods of time seem shorter than others, even if they’re the same length. I don’t really know how to describe it. Like, when I think back on history, the time period between 1947 and 1977 seems a lot longer than the time period between 1776 and 1806, even though they are both periods of thirty years. *shrug* Ah, well

This week was pretty awesome. Good news: We found a new investigator! Bad news: They are currently residing in the Cascade County Regional Prison. But, hey! Everyone needs, the gospel, right?

There have been some really cool experiences with following the Spirit this week. Like, there was this time we had twenty minutes before dinner. What do we do? Twenty minutes is pretty easy to just shrug off, but I had the impression that we needed to try a person, this “new investigator” that was in our area book, but I’d only met once of the numerous times we had tried to contact him. I even said in my heart, “Okay, Spirit, if they don’t answer, or if they DO answer and don’t set a specific return appointment, I am going to drop them.” We parked across the street, said a quick prayer, and knocked on the door. Lo and behold, he was there. And he was cordial. And we set a return appointment for Friday at 3pm (which went great, by the way). As we walked back to our car, I felt like the Spirit was giving me that kind of raised eyebrows I-told-you-so look. And, then we felt to try one other person before heading to dinner, this referral from a member in the other stake. We tried him, and got another specific return appointment. The Spirit is really working with us, and it is cool to see those moments where you realize truly how little you control, and how often God has His finger on your head pointing you to where you need to go.

Sunday morning, we are doing our studies before church, when we hear this rustling over by our washer and dryer. It sounds like a small animal is scratching around back there or something, but we don’t see anything. We’d heard something like this a few days before, but it had stopped relatively quickly, plus we live in a complex, so we figured it must just be the neighbors. This time, it happened again, and the exhaust hose of the drier even moved a little bit. Weird. I tried to pass it off as temperature and pressure changes in the exhaust vent, but continued scratching noises caused that theory to be destroyed. So, we scooted the drier out, and disconnected the vent at the bottom, and kept studying, seeing if anything would happen. It did, but nothing came out, so we finally took the hose out of the hole in the wall, and found a little bird inside of it. We put a torn piece of bread in there for the little guy. Eventually, he flew out, and we had to trap him in a box, but we were eventually able to release him into the outside again, and make it to church on time. Score!

I have been studying agency in the Book of Mormon and I have never had more powerful or insightful study sessions. I highly recommend reading through the entire Book of Mormon with one topic in mind. It’s crazy cool what you might find. Agency is a cool place to start. Helaman 6 is a wild chapter.

Thank you all for reading! I hope you do well. 

Rock and roll ~

Elder Stephen Burch π

“With this empty glass, I will break the past. ... I want this to be my awakening.”

"This [manufactured home] ain't big
enough for the two of us!"

The bird in question

Elder Brown, myself, Elder Lester,
Elder Madsen and Elder Campbell

Ice crystals are cool

Missionary Leadership Conference
Helena, MT

Zone Conference

“It’s too cold outside...”

You only get pictures today. 

Almost.

Know it is really cold. And transfers went smoothly despite snow storms. I saw so many people I love at transfers! So good. And exchanges with the assistants on Thursday. And Elder Tate Shumway is a great district 

Leader. 

- Elder Burch π

Elder Wheeler, me, and Elder Murphy 

Elder Lester, myself, Elder Campbell, and Elder Brown

Sister Miner, me, and Sister MacQueen

Myself, Sister Taylor, and Sister Medley

Myself and Elder Ray

Sister Rash, myself, and Sister Hymas

... What grass?

The refinery blocks out the sun. Makes it look like the apocalypse.

"Suddenly I see..."

I have been keeping a consistent journal since Monday. I was pleased, because I was going to be able to use the journal to make my email here way better, because I would have a detailed log of what even happened this week. Well, poop. I am at the church and the journal is at the apartment. Lame. Que triste. Ah, well.

On the topic of that journal, I am writing the happenings of the day, but I've also taken it upon myself to write down five things for which I am thankful in the form of "I am thankful for ___, because ___." I've seen a little improvement in how I see the world and my overall thankfulness for things. It is a solid practice, and I highly recommend it to anyone. After those five things, I took a page from the Book of O'Konukia (a.k.a. the warped and beautiful mind of Elder M. K. Campbell) and place a quotation of the day, which I will attempt to place at the end of these emails. Because, fun. And, worth it for the story.

 This week had ups and downs and all the normal stuff, but goodness gracious it was accented by an awesome occurence. Let's flash back for a second...

Last week on The Many Adventures of Elder Burch: "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 religious 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." 

So, that lesson happened this week, and it ranks among the best Fridays I've ever had on my mission. 

Good thing Number 1: The member family, the Crist family, is a fantastic family. Sister Crist is one of the greatest humans, and she is a phenomenal gospel principles teacher. So, it was a joy to eat with them and have a lesson. 

Good thing number 2: "We're going to have salmon for dinner; is that okay with you?" "...Yes. Yes. Yes it is." Salmon is my actual favorite meal of all time, and the Crist family makes some excellent, excellent fish. (Reminds me of the fantastic salmon of my youth. Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma Burch.) So, that was rad. 

Good thing Number 3: The two friends are super cool. Newlywed couple, Kenny and Jenny, who are super funny and enjoyable to be around. Outgoing personalities and all. They're super cool. 

Good thing Number 4: Elder Brown's magic show was very well received. Always a good time. 

Good thing Number 5: The lesson was superb. It was so, so good. We taught the Restoration, and they seemed to understand it well and it made sense. Afterwards, there was a question session which was awesome, and we had to duck out at 9:15 to avoid the public pumpkin transformation that occurs to missionaries out past curfew. 

Good thing Number 6: We talked to the member after church (we were in Cascade, and these people are in Two Rivers) and learned that Kenny and Jenny had both come, and had brought their mother, too, who loved it as well! How super duper rad is that? 

Good thing Number 7: We have lunch and a lesson at the Crist home on Saturday at 1 and I am so psyched it is ridiculous. 

How cool is that? I'm so excited.

The warm weather spree has officially ended. (Killjoy!) The day after Groundhog Day, a day of a high of 35, we woke up the next day to the first snow we'd seen in two weeks, and a temperature of 2. D*ang groundhog must've saw his shadow. 

We had back to back dinners at the Mahana home Saturday and Sunday! The Sunday meal was actually provided by the Riley family, and the Mahana's just hosted it. It was awesome. 

Oh, hey! Transfer news. I am staying in the Montana Billings Mission. 

And this area. I'm staying in the area. Cool! I love this area! This is interesting, because after this transfer, there are only three more. I'm thinking that I'll only have one more area, but who knows?

Cool. Thank you all for reading and caring and all that. Rock and roll! ~

-Elder Burch π

"This is what I wanna be..."

Quotes of the day that I can remember:

*walks out of unnamed gas station* "This place sucks; we're never coming back here." - Elder Brown

"You know you're in Montana when someone mentions Trump and tells a story bashing Fords in their testimony." - Elder Burch

"Breath mints aren't made of metal!" - Little girl at the Cascade County Detention Center

"It is weeks like last week that make me want to stay here another transfer. It is days like today that make me want to leave." - Elder Burch 

Next time, I'll have all the quotations.

Look at that, preaching to every nation.

"Sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road..."

*looks out window in the morning after days and days of good weather*
Stupid groundhog must've seen his shadow.

The Great Falls District, for the last time.

Look how dejected I am.

Man, this is a lot of pictures. Ya' welcome.

Courtesy of Elder Campbell

Elder Campbell, Elder Brown, myself, and Elder Lester

 "I'm on a horse!"

I think there are new investigators that way!

No Ice

“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?