"Be still my heart, I age by years..."

All,

A stressful week full of stress, but also blessings. In short,
conference and a new investigator were proof to me that God is mindful
of me. 

I've been with the YSA Elders since Friday, after I took my Elder Rickenbacker 
to Helena and dropped him off with the mission shuttle headed home. 
That was one of the more emotional transfers of my mission. I loved 
Elder Rickenbacker. I guess I still do. Anyway, he completed his mission, 
and I'm waiting on transfers to roll around on Wednesday to get my new companion, 
Elder Wheeler. It'll be great.

For me, this weekend was honestly a weekend of answered prayers and
miracles. I've been a little down this week. Having a companion leave,
plus the additional thoughts of home because of his return, plus the
lack of success in my area, and my own self-defeating thoughts, I have
been not doing very well. Making the choice to go finding and talk
with new people has been a choice that seems grueling to make. So, I
went into conference with an open heart, and an open mind full of
questions that I felt needed answers.

As He always does when we have faith, the Lord showed me that He cares
about His children, and specifically cares about me.

Right out of the gate, President Uchtdorf talked about how we are
called to bring our brothers and sisters back home to God. He talked
about how our lives will be better when we let the Lord guide us in
making the lives of others better. He talked about how blessings don't
come because of our abilities, they come because of our choices. All
of his words sunk deep into my soul, and I felt like the Lord was
answering those questions of mine: How do I motivate myself to do the
hard things I know I need to? How do I search for the elect? How do I
overcome my own weaknesses?

From there, it just got better and better. John C. Pinger talked about
how the Lord has a work for each of us, and if we follow God's will,
discover and develop spiritual gifts, make use of adversity, and rely
on God, He will bless us and lead us where He knows we need to be.
Elder Holland delivered the final blow to my doubts when he reminded
us of how the Savior is merciful, and He only expects us to get closer
to perfection each day. We need not feel discouraged because we aren't
there yet, because Christ has given us the unfathomable gift of His
grace to help us along. That first session answered the questions of
my heart so perfectly, and I knew God was hearing my prayers.

The final confirmation came on Sunday, when we had a lesson with a new
investigator of the YSA. Her name is Emily, and we had the privilege
of teaching her the message of the Restoration. As we taught, and
talked about the love of Christ and His Atonement, we asked her, "What
would it mean to you if God called a prophet in this day just as in
days of old, and that the Church of Jesus Christ was on the Earth
today, just as in times of old?" She responded, "It would change
everything. I would know that there is solid, factual truth, and when
I have a question, I don't have to go to a pastor to hear his version
of it, because I can get the full, unbiased truth from the source."
With a copy of the Book of Mormon, we left her with a commitment to
read 3 Nephi 11, and to ask of God if this is true. She left eager to
do so. After she left, I broke into tears. That lesson was the final
confirming witness to me that I am good enough through Christ, and
that the Work is marvelous, and that there truly are people out there,
prepared by the Lord, who are seeking for the truth. My testimony has
grown that the Lord knows me and watches over me, and that He does the
same for all of His children.

That's the latest.

Pictures are worth a thousand words. I'll try to explain some of them.

Elder Rickenbacker and I were fighting dragons, metaphorically as
well as the blow-up kind. I miss him. "I had the time of my life
fighting dragons with you."

The Missoula Carousel from last week.

The Griffins and Elder Rickenbacker and I out for ice cream.

Elder Andrews and I, reunited!

Awesome members in the YSA having us for lunch/dinner.

YSA's new investigator, Emily!

"Now the lights go low in the avenue..."

"... And the cars pass by in the rain ..."


Good morning, acolytes!

This week saw even more rain. The last two days, specifically. Also, we woke up today to find that the rain on our car has turned to frost overnight. So, that means that this week had a day with a high of 86, and also a night where it froze. Great. Montana and her darned inconsistency. The warm day was nice, though. It felt downright hot after the weather we have been getting, but it was welcomed anyway.

Earlier this week, we had exchanges with the zone leaders. Of note from the exchange: Friendly less active family, puppies, and I GOT SUNBURNT. I thought that was a thing that didn't exist here! (Not really, but seriously.) I can't believe I got sunburnt.

We were called upon by a member of the ward to help them paint the home of one of their relatives who had just passed, in preparation for the selling of the home. We spent quite a bit of time on that on Thursday and Friday. It was good, though! There were some older gentlemen working with us, and I am not sure... well, I just don't know if the lights are on and nobody is home or what. It was fun. 

We decided that we needed a mix-up of the finding techniques. We bounced around a few ideas, and we have plans to use some of them in the upcoming days, but we settled on one for this week. So, Saturday, we did some service tracting, which yielded some solid results. We put on the regular clothes and went door to door, letting people know that we are part of a service-oriented church, and that we were looking for service opportunities. We were able to rake the leaves of a former investigator and was given a return appointment before even asking. It was awesome! 

Justine's baptism is set for the 27th of May. Bishop is looking to get Joel the Aaronic Priesthood so that he can baptize her. How rad is that? We're excited for them.

Spiritual thought: I was listening to a talk given by McConkie called "The Teacher's Divine Commission." He describes that, as teachers, "We are appointed 1) To teach the principles of the gospel 2) out of the standard works 3) by the power of the Holy Ghost, 4) always applying the teachings to our needs, and 5) to testify that what we have taught is true." As such, I've begun to evaluate my teaching methods and what I can improve. Instead of answering questions off of the top of my head, with vague references to scripture and having some moments of flipping my tie back to signify speculative doctrine, I should instead take questions, expound relevant verses from the scriptures, apply that doctrine to the life and needs of the investigator; and bear my personal testimony of the truthfulness of the principle just explained. As a crutch to help me with this, I have begun studying by topic on various common questions, and creating a quick reference guide to lead me to the scriptures, and explaining the relevance of the doctrine to us, and then writing a short testimony on the matter. Here is an example:

Faith, concerning works (see also: Grace)
James 2: 14-26 Faith without works expounded
Mat 7:21 "Doeth the will of my Father"
Mat 19: 16-17 Keep the commandments to inherit eternal life
Romans 3: 22-31 Salvation by grace through the Law Faith
Alma 34: 32-36 This life is for men to prepare to meet God
2 Nephi 25:23 By grace we are saved after all we can do
       The truth that salvation is achieved through the grace of God and by following His commandments is important to us because 1) our works are how we truly "accept Christ" and allow His sacrifice to save us, 2) following God's law prepares us to abide under heaven's law and in the presence of the Lord, and 3) our works confirm the reality of our faith in Christ.

       I have a testimony that Christ died for me, and that because He died for me, I have the ability to follow Him, better myself, and reach my potential. I am grateful for His sacrifice that will allow me to return to His presence if I prepare myself, follow His commandments, walk in His ways, and strive to be like Him.

I really think that this method, which is referenced in the handbook "Teaching In The Savior's Way," will help to make me a more effective teacher, and someday I'll know the scriptures well enough to not need a quick reference guide. Teaching is such a joy! 

Thank you all for your continued support and love! Keep being awesome. 

Rock and roll ~

-Elder Burch π

"... The university boys and the girls fill the bars while I'm just waitin' on the light to change." 

You can't really tell, but that  is a police car behind us.
I was going way too fast. There is only one speed limit sign,
and it's almost hid! I got off with a warning.
Elder Ray: "I leave you alone with the car for five minutes!..."

Arrow'd!

Candid Puppy Shot

Elder Smith blessed both district meetings with doughnuts

Missoula is hilarious

Kambale family selfie, per usual

A Lotus Elise!

Oh, the world 😝

Breakfast this morning at Paul's Pancake Parlor, feat. YSA Elders

Relaxing in our room like ballers

District greatness. Missoula District, best district.