"All he kept talking about was glory days..."

Good day to everyone!

        Transfer news is in, and I will be remaining in Buffalo, Wyoming, but
Elder Ferrara is heading off. To where, you ask? He is off to
Thermopolis! Elder Ferrara is a fantastic missionary, and I am excited
to hear of all the good work that he'll do on the west of the Big Horn
Mountains. We'll be dropping him off Tuesday night. It's been a good
run, Elder Ferrara. Thank you for all the good times and the things
I've learned from you.

        The other night, our friend John fed us escargot! It was a first for
both Elder Ferrara and I. I liked it a good bit, actually! I mean, I
probably wouldn't go out of my way to purchase and cook it for myself,
but if I came across it at a party or restaurant or something, I'm all
over that! Elder Ferrara, on the other hand, described his experience
like this, "It wasn't horrible, but I don't exactly like the taste of
dirt." John is cool. He's the French guy that has been mentioned in
emails past. (So, if Tinley is reading this, yes, his name is spelt
"Jean." Like Jean-Luc Picard, I think.) He isn't interested in
changing, so we don't spend much time with him, but we drop by here
and there to let him know that we think he's cool and that we're his
friends. Maybe in a future life he'll be able to take the seed we've
planted and grow it into a testimony.

        Also on the topic of new foods, I had crab legs with Bishop the other
day. That was actually way more fun and tasty than I had expected.
Kind of a weird dining experience, but worth it.

        So, these investigators we're working with? One of the big things
that we were going to hit in a lesson with them is chastity - they're
not married. Guess freaking what? They showed up at church the second
time, and had rings on. They've got the papers and are aiming to tie
the knot soon! That makes everything so much easier for us. Phew.
Also, super exciting! They're progressing so well, and we love
visiting with them. Apparently we make good cookies (just add water
cookie mix, man), so we brought them cookies with the Restoration
movie the other day. More updates on them to come!

        Elder Ferrara is going to change the world with his inventions one
day. That's all.

        In the Old Testament, there are chapters upon chapters emphasizing
this simple truth: "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken
diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do
all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy
God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all
these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." -Joshua 28: 1-2
It really is that simple. If we are obedient, we will be blessed. The
Lord is bound when we follow His commandments (D&C 82:10). Look for
ways you can improve and follow God more closely!

        Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

        "... Oh, they'll pass you by..."

The District. RIP

Puppies!

A child! (That I am definitely not holding
in accordance with missionary rules.)

The best investigators on this side of the Big Horns.

The Escargot Adventure

"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.