“...I will follow you into the dark.”

You only get five more weekly emails from me after this point. That’s kinda sad, don’t you think? The last one will probably hardly be an email at all, just pictures commemorating all the time in glorious Montana and Wyoming. Oh, yeah, transfers. You probably want to know about that.

I won’t tell you.

Just kidding. I can’t not give you my address. I like mail too much. The assistants to the president called Sunday morning to give us all the inside scoop on who is going where and with whom they are going to be. Elder Ash will be taking my spot as Zone Leader here in the great land of Powell, Wyoming. I’m going to miss this place. There are a lot of people here who have made a major impact on me, for which I will be eternally grateful. Also, Elder Craig has been a great companion, and I am grateful for the things he has taught me, specifically involving how to talk with people more, and more effectively. So, thank you Elder Craig for this transfer. Enjoy the next one with my old counterpart, the Ashman. 

My new address will be:
820 4th Street #405 
Havre, MT 59501

Don’t know where Havre is? Don’t worry; most people don’t. It’s about two hours northeast of Great Falls. I will not, however, be in the same zone as I was when I was in Great Falls. I’ll actually be in the Great Falls East Zone. Technicalities. And, chances are I’ll only see the light (?) of the city of Great Falls maybe twice in my whole stay there. When you get banished on the mission, you are super banished.

But I’m not banished without good company! Or, I don’t think so. My new companion will be Elder Taylor from North Carolina. He hasn’t been out too long and seems like a really swell person from what I have been told. Here’s to the adventure!
_______

This week was quite good. On Tuesday, it was a nice, warm day, so we elected to have our companionship study at a park in town. After doing companionship study, and Elder Craig helping me to learn how to better help other missionaries that might be struggling, we felt like we should hang out at the park for a little bit. So, we started kicking around a soccer ball, and talked to a few people that walked by here and there, but not much. Before too long, this eighteen year old boy joins us and starts kicking the ball around. We get to talking, and it turns out that he actually grew up in a member home, not been baptized, but things went sour there and he ended up here in Powell. He still holds many of the same morals, and has a belief in God and said he’d like to learn more! We invited him to the Ultimate Frisbee activity with the YSA and Elders Quorums, and he came! Looking forward to more from that. 

Miracle 2: We were pulling into the church to have a new-member lesson with Kaili Sondrup, the YSA (well, not anymore - marriage) member that was baptized my first week in Powell. As we pull up, we notice this girl sitting in one of the trees on the church yard, and she looks like she was having not a great day. As we sit down with Kaili for the lesson, the girl in the tree came to mind again, so we asked Kaili if she could go see if the girl was okay. Kaili, being the most friendly and excited person I have ever met (there is no exaggeration there) leaves, and twenty minutes later comes back with this girl in tow. We visit with her, and end up teaching the first discussion to her! She is young women’s age, and her name is Sonya. After the lesson, she expressed that it made her feel better, and she took a Book of Mormon, a Restoration pamphlet, and a For The Strength Of Youth. Later that night, she made a post on Facebook (picture below) that made us so excited! Sonya is awesome. Kaili has been wonderful at being a fellowshipper, and helped her get to both a YSA activity (even though Sonya is a little young for the YSA) and to church for 2nd Ward. There, Kaili and her husband Logan gave talks, and after sacrament, the Young Women welcomed Sonya right in. I’m sure it was a little overwhelming (Mormons can do that sometimes), but she said that she felt good. I’m so excited for Sonya and to see where she goes! 

Last miracle: Cancelled lessons lead to finding two new investigators. How about that? We talked with a really nice lady, then met a Seventh Day Adventist that shared with us some of her faith building experiences and invited us back to teach her, and then met a nice YSA aged gentleman that was excited to go to family home evening with the YSA. Here’s to hoping!

This all reminds me of the scripture in Moroni Chapter 7, verses 35 and 37, which read:

“... Has the day of miracles ceased? ... Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.”

Today is a day of miracles. Or, it can be if we have faith. If you don’t see miracles in your life, I would exhort you to turn to God and spend a little more time doing the things that He has asked of us. Doing so will increase our faith, and faith is the means by which God can work miracles among the children of men. 

Thank you for all you guys have done in supporting me on the mission and helping me to do my best. Hurrah for Israel!

Oh, and rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π

My New Area

Determined bike thieves are determined

Sonya’s Facebook post

“Put your trust in simple acts...”

This may have been the greatest missionary week ever. “How is that even possible?! Battle fury?” Well, I will tell you. Prepare to be amazed.

Tuesday, we had exchanges with Elder Shumway and Elder Hallett. Elder Shumway, Assistant to the President emeritus, went with me in my area. We had a great time, and we got a phone call for this awesome person, who will be described later. Elder Shumway is cool. We did a lot of finding, with minimal success, but we had a really good time. 

Miracle new investigator number one: We had a dinner in Cascade with a family, and they invited their granddaughter and grandson-in-law. She is less active, and he isn’t a member, but they are both interested in gaining what the church has, including the focus on family. We taught them the first lesson, and it was solid! We have a return appointment on Wednesday, and we are stoked!

Second person: We received a phone call from a member on Tuesday. This member has a friend who is engaged to a less active member, and he has been searching a lot. The member, who had been on two missions with his family, had taught this man the first discussion, and invited him to baptism, which he accepted! He wanted us to come by on Thursday for the second discussion, which went great! We have a return appointment Tuesday...

We took a trip down to Wolf Creek to visit a recent convert family, and that was super cool. Our Branch Mission Leader took us down there. It was cool.

Those are short updates about what happened, but I can’t write now and think that will suffice. Thank you all for your prayers!

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Stephen Burch π

“Please keep inside what makes you care; you have it always... Do you believe in what you want?”

Quotations of the week: 

“So, your poverty is the reason why you forget how to use math?” - B.H.

*sees on Facebook a ‘What ethnicity do you look like?’ test* “That is the dumbest thing I have ever seen.” - Elder Burch π

Did I mention that there are nukes in Great Falls?

Elder Brown and his birthday pancakes

Plan of Salvation

"When I think that I can't do this, you promise me that I'll get through this..."

Today Jimmy Eat World is playing here in Missoula. At the Wilma. And I won't be able to go. *cries*

Sandwiches of all kinds,

This week, all the new missionaries got moved to their new areas. In this district, we are now blessed to have the incredibly excited, diligent Sister Arnson serving with the ever-smiling Sister Lystrup, the laid-back Elder Smith now serving with the dignified Elder Stone, the sincere Sister Lewis serving with the optimistic, humble Sister Hymas, and Elder Clement of Mesa, Arizona, Westwood High School serving with the stylin' Elder Wright. In short, this district rocks. Amen, and amen.

One thing I've come to find out here is just how cheap talk really is. Take that as you will.

Saturday was a day of miracles. I will be brief about it, because I'm still trying to take it all in, but, in short, we have two new investigators. We have a lesson with one of them tonight at five, and a we will be calling the other before too long to set something up. We tracted a lot on Saturday, walked about twelve miles, and were blessed immensely. I am impressed stronger than ever before that God is really, truly mindful of His children, and is willing to bless them. I am so grateful that I get to be an instrument in His hands to bring about this great work. I just.. yeah. I feel humbled, and blessed, and overwhelmed, and I know that I need to do better to improve daily at this whole thing. That's that. Sorry for being so indirect. 

We helped a less active clean up her horse's poop. That was fun. We played twenty questions, and one of the best ones was "a hobbit." 
Me: "Is it an animal I would see in a given year?"
Elder Ray: "Oh, no. No, no, no."
"Is the animal currently living?"
"No."
"... Has the animal ever been currently living?"
"Nope!"
"Ah! Gotcha..."

We went to a car show Saturday morning to get out there and be seen by the community in a more normal, less threatening situation. That, and we wanted to look at cars. I won't lie about that. 

Nice people are nice. And by that, I mean that members who feed us make the world go round. Thank you, people!

Elder Holland (who I'm coming to see more and more as one of the greatest orators in the Quorum of the Twelve) gave a talk at the MTC, and it appears in the March 2001 Ensign. It is called "Missionary Work and the Atonement." He talks about missionary work specifically, but I think it also applies to daily discipleship and living what we know. I will add a few little commentaries in the following excerpts. 

"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. ... I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Missionary work isn't easy. Neither is living the gospel as a devoted disciple of Christ. It's rough. People mock. We question. We are downtrodden sometimes. Sometimes, though, when it seems like nothing you do is making any progress, that nothing you do is changing anything, remember that sometimes that thing that is changing is you. 

Keep being awesome. Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

"... Its my life, and my right to use it like I should. Like He would for the good of everything that I would ever know."



(Mom insert - This is more about his "Day of Miracles" on Saturday that I thought was too wonderful not to share. God is so good!)

Saturday... We had just been tracting for a good, long while. We were done hitting up every door, and we were instead heading down the road to contact a potential investigator or something. As we are walking down the street, the Spirit hits me hard, and I stop. "We need to knock this door." So, we do. There is no answer, the house sounds quiet, and we can hear a dog barking on the other side of the door. Ah, well. Good for following promptings anyway. We head out, and start walking down the street. A little down the road, we hear a voice, yelling at us. We turn around, and the man from that house was out front, waving us back in. He invited us right in, we sat down, and he said, "So, what're you doing? Spreading the word?" "Um, yeah. Yes, sir." He motioned with his arms to go on, and said, "Well, what have you got for me?" The conversation that followed was incredible. The man had grown up Catholic, and believes in God, and knows that God is the way, but he is afraid because he feels like he only goes to God when he is in trouble, and he knows that he will sin and turn away from God again. He has been in a depressed funk for the last month - complications with his last relationship and his desire to be there for his two young daughters has been eating at him, and he doesn't know a way out. He expressed that he just feels like he needs to get out into the world, and that will help. Elder Ray bore powerful testimony of the atonement of Christ, and we talked about God's Plan of Happiness. "I really feel like you guys showing up today was a kind of sign." We exchanged numbers, and said we'd call him and come back to teach him more. I don't know what will come of this contact, but even if nothing else, I now have a burning testimony that God is mindful of each of His children in their needs. As we left the lesson, walking down the doorstep, I lost it. Tears came down like fountains and I bawled as we walked down the road to our next destination. I looked to the sky and marveled at His goodness, at His grace, and at His love. I know He lives. I know He loves us. 

Kambale Family and Sis. Gee

The first (and currently the only) short
sleeve shirt day since September-ish

Big Dipper Ice Cream to celebrate another transfer
of awesome with Elder Ray in Zootown, Missoula!

Earth Day selfie

Elder Ray made elk burgers!
They were "quite good, quite good."

Cleaning up horse crap

Weird little ice cream trucks like this make Missoula what it is.
This place was crazy! The lemon-dairy dessert was excellent.

***Awesome side-note***

Elder Burch and Elder Ray were able to hook up with 
Uncle Rick and Tom Linton before their concert!

With Uncle Rick - A p-day to remember!

"I wish we could open our eyes..."

Loyalists and revolutionaries alike,

Miracles? Miracles? DO YOU WANT TO SEE MIRACLES?! ... So do I. To be fair, this week was full of them.

First off, we went on exchanges. Elder Munroe came to Buffalo with me, and we had a rad time. We got a tip from Sister Jenkins regarding a guy who was moving, and he called us up. On Tuesday, we went over to help him move stuff. Towards the end of packing things into his trailer, he comes out of the building looking disheveled. Turns out that he had just gotten a call informing him that his father had passed away.

Crap.

Elder Munroe snaps into action. "Hey, man, you know we're Mormon missionaries, right? We believe that God gives power to his servants, and part of that is the power to give blessings. Some of those blessings can be for comfort. Would you like one?" The man agreed, and we were able to give him a blessing. Since then, we've been over twice more to help him move and share a short thought. Here's to hoping that us teaching about eternal families will be enough to spark his interest...

Later that night, we took a trip to Kaycee, a little town 45 miles south, to visit the Olsen family. After a very enjoyable time with them, we head back. Well, we realized that we were out of gasoline. The little display that estimates how far we have to go didn't even have a number, it just said "LOW" in big, bright, foreboding letters. "Elder Munroe, I need you to offer a prayer over the gas tank if you would. Due to the nature of me driving, I will not be closing my eyes for this prayer." And so, he did. On the drive, there were two times where I thought I felt the car lurch for fuel, but we were able to make it back into town and fill up. The Lord gives us tender mercies, and I think this is one prime example.

We had dinner with Jean Bourdin, the sick French guy, again. It was pretty good. He fed us lentils and sausage. Also, he showed us his collection of firearms. I'm not a gun person, but I was a little worried that Elder Campbell might faint, or maybe drool on himself. I knew he liked guns, but I learned then that he is quite good at identifying weapons on sight. I have to remind myself that we are in Wyoming, but I do hope to one day find someone with which I can talk about audio equipment or music. To be fair, I did find someone with an electric guitar the other night that I messed around with. I have met someone who collects records, too, but they don't have any credibility with me because all they have is Beatles and Rage Against the Machine, and they don't store their records correctly at all. Oh, well.

Elder Campbell sent the first letters of his mission! ...They were both to friends of mine that he has never met. *shrug*

I was reading in 1 Kings the other day, and there is an instance where a king inquires of his dignitaries whether he should go to battle. They all reply in the affirmative, to which he asks, "Are there any actual prophets of God in this city?" His second in command says, "There is yet one man, but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." When the king asks the prophet, the prophet tells him to not go to battle, or he will die. The second in command gets all up in arms, "See! I told you he would prophecy evil concerning us!" What is the lesson here? The king and his friend ignored truth because it just didn't suit them. That led to a miserable defeat, and the downfall of that reign. When the prophets speak, they speak the words of God. If that means we need to change, it means we need to change. We shouldn't disregard the voice of the Lord simply because it doesn't suit us.

Keep being awesome! Thank you all for what you do!

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

"... To see in all directions at the same time. Oh, what a beautiful view if you were never aware of what was around you."

Buffalo's Dynamic Duo

Elder Campbell likes trains more than he likes girls.

Meagan is making me a pinky-promise that she will say
the prayer next time. This is my proof.

It snowed again. Freaking again!

Dinner appointment with the Ruby's

We have been editing pictures from the children's version of the Book

of Mormon. Oh, the joys of the iPad mission.