"Everything is going to be alright..."

My small band of heroes,

        This week, the zone had a conference in Gillette. Gillette is a place
about an hour south east of Buffalo, and it may be one of the
dreariest places that I have ever seen ever. That didn't matter much
to me, though, because I slept in the car on the way there as well as
on the way back. Missionaries need to get in that rest, you know.

        Elder Christensen and I went on exchanges after that. He came to
Buffalo while Elder Campbell went down to Gillette with Elder
Dougherty. Elder Christensen taught me how to exercise. Look out,
world!

        We taught a lesson on the Word of Wisdom to Meagan and Branden. I
feel like it was taught well, and Elder Christensen was an absolute
necessity for that lesson, but the reception was mixed. They both
understand it and the reasons, and they also both know it will be a
struggle. Meagan seems to have more desire to try than Branden, but
we'll keep tabs on them. Little setbacks are no reason to go dropping
them or anything rash. Also, they came to church yesterday! Any tips
for helping them to live this commandment? Send them my way.

        Sister Croft is one of our investigators. She's been taught for a
long, long time by missionaries with her husband, Brother Croft, but
the issue is that she has a language barrier. She is from China, and
she speaks English, but is quite broken. We've struggled with how to
get across to her. The last two lessons that we've taught with her,
though, have been excellent! The keys that we have found are teaching
slowly, teaching excruciatingly simply, and using visuals. She's still
not in to come to church, but we'll get her there. We've taught the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and Plan of Salvation. The Restoration is
next...

        Everything is melting. The sun is such a beautiful thing.

        I love the phrase used in Isaiah often: "... but His hand his
stretched out still." The phrase is usually preceded by something a
little more foreboding, and it speaks to me. No matter how stupid we
are sometimes, and how we often have to face the consequences of dumb
things we do, God will still reach out to us with His mercy. He wants
us to grow, and sometimes (often) that growth isn't comfortable.
Nevertheless, He will be there to help us with His hand stretched out
still, if we seek for it.

        Keep being cool.

        Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

        "... Be strong, believe."

Up towards the Big Horns

Companionship Unity

Our investigators trapped a bobcat!

Onderdonk

"Making contact isn't easy..."

Many much greetings and well-wishes,

      I just sneezed like an elephant and Elder Ferrara made fun of me. 

      Missionary work in Buffalo is much different than missionary work in Greybull/Basin. On Saturday, we spent more or less the entire day walking around and tracting the town, trying to meet as many people as possible and all. It's kind of grueling, I don't like knocking doors, but the Lord seems to bless us. Most of the people are pretty kind, and when we're turned away, it's always in a fairly kind manner. Straightforward, too, which is cool because it prevents us from wasting our time or engaging in a dead-end awkward conversation. So, hey! Grateful for that!

     The other day, the town of Buffalo put up wreaths and lights on the light poles on Main Street. It's nothing fancy, but it gives the town a little more of a spirit of cheer, and I like it. This year has been extremely uncommon as far as weather in Buffalo is concerned. Usually they have snow in mid October - blizzards by Halloween, often, but today is looking at a high of 68. Works for a warm-weather beast like me.

      We had a great zone conference in Gillette the other day! That was sweet. 

      Tuesday, I think, we ran into this sweet dude named John. John is in his late sixties, is from France, and is super kind to us. He thinks very deeply, and has told us many times that, "I'm not a church person. I just can't," but it is obvious in how he talks with us that he is searching for something, even with his fairly well-collected ideas of how the world and spirituality work. John has worked as a machinist for NASA. He tells us how he loved it, because it was so satisfying to create something. "It didn't have to be good," he'd tell us, "For the Space Station, it had to be perfect." Later, he worked with troubled kids, and he tells us that he was able to connect with them really well. John cares about people. He tells of an experience working with a certain kid where he feels certain that he received inspiration from something greater than himself. A confirmation, he called it. John heavily relies on logic, and after reading (and heavily annotating) the Plan of Salvation pamphlet, he told us how it makes sense to him that Jesus's blood would be needed to wash the sins of the world. Blood so perfect that it works as a detergent, he described it. John is very committed to the idea of eternal progression. He believes in reincarnation, of a sort, where we can learn more in each lifetime. Funny how we believe something similar - the part about eternal progression - just through different means, the Spirit would and the eternities rather than other mortal lives. Basically, John is one of the coolest people that I've ever met, and he thinks we're cool because, quote, "You are open minded. Yeah, you don't just say 'oh, I'll pray for you,' you want to have a conversation." I consider John a good friend already, and I'm really excited for him. Pray for him to have an open heart to the message of the restored gospel.

     I think that is where I'll cut the updates for the day. Thank you for all your kindness and support through this all. Thank you for reading my emails. Keep being awesome. Rock and roll.

-Elder Burch π

      "... When you're trying to find another meaning in time."

This is our friend John. The French one.

Today for preparation day, we went to the shooting range with John. (That's where we took the picture with him.) We're not allowed to use guns, but we watched him. He likes handguns, and can shoot reasonably accurately at 200, even 300 yards. With a handgun! Crazy.

Gillette, WY Zone Training

Elder Ferrara sending his first letter of the mission!

Elder Burch sending his 792nd.