Viaje al Campo! Trip to the Country (Week 57)

Dearest Family,

This week we went to the country! I got to ride a bike and I was so happy! Also I lived in the same place as Hermana Allen for a week! We saw many miracles, here are some of my favorites...

 One day I was working with hermana Days in her area with just her and we saw a miracle that I would love to share. We went to visit an investigator named Rocío. The Hermanas had taught her a few times, they had found her because she was an antiguo (old investigator). We taught her the restoration in the "new way". When we were teaching we helped her understand the need for a prophet and Hermana Days recited the first vision. After the first vision we asked her what she was feeling and she said "something weird, like He was talking to me." We helped her understand that this was the Holy Ghost testifying to her that what we shared was true and that it is what is going to give the true peace and happiness in her life. We told her that she can feel that way every day through being baptized. We extended the invitation baptismal and she said that she couldn't be baptized because she was not keeping all of the commandments. We told her the missionaries are there to help her change and prepare to be baptized. She accepted a baptismal date for the 30 of January. There are a lot of changes she will need to make. She has problems with most of the commandments but I know that she will be able to change her life and receive true happiness and peace in this life and in the life to come.

Also when we were doing trainings we were doing a demonstration of how to teach the restoration simply and directly. One of the hermanas that was being an investigator told us at the end of the demonstration that she felt the spirit very strongly. She felt the same feelings that she had felt when she was listening to the restoration for the first time. She is a convert to the Church. I know that when we teach with the spirit the people will feel the spirit and be converted. I love this scripture D&C 50:22--Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.

I am learning a lot with this assignment and I am very thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to serve and help the sisters of the mission. I am developing my confidence in the Lord and in myself and learning to be an example and a leader.

Have a fantastic week!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Burr

Part of a side letter to parents, thought you might enjoy reading:
I do not have a set schedule. We make plans and then they change, and change, and change again! There are 8 zones and I’m not sure how many districts are in each zone. We travel in all sorts of ways. Sometimes the assistants drive us in a car, or the office elders drive us in a car, sometimes we take a bus and sometimes a remis (it’s like a taxi). I think it will only be for this transfer and then I think there won't be any traveling training leaders again. This morning we had meetings at president’s house and they had their tree up and the house decorated! Also we ate French toast, maple syrup, and eggs! I was in heaven :) In my studies this week I also read about the golden rule! (Nancy’s primary lesson was Do Unto Others). This morning I was reminded of my childhood because an Elder brought his rope to president's house and he had the other elders walk so he could rope them! President and hermana Robertson thought it was so cool, they were amazed! Also I got a few flat packages this week! I think I am going to wait till Christmas to open them. I opened one and saw the letters and thought it would be more fun to read them all at Christmas maybe. But I am going to be using my Christmas trees that you all made me! Thanks I was sooo soooo sooo happy to get them! Well I love you soooo much! Have a fantastic week!
Love you to the moon and back :)

The Life of a Traveler! (Week 56)

Dearest Family,

I am so thankful for all of you and for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord as a missionary. Those are two of my biggest blessings.

I had a really wonderful week! I am learning so much from the spirit and working with all of the hermanas in the mission and from my companion. This week we were in the Reunion de zona de Marcos Paz. After we had special training's with the hermanas from the zone-Hnas Martinez, Jensen, Alverez, and Salino. Wednesday we were in the reunions de zona (zone meeting) de Castelar. After we had special training's with hnas Anderson, Wilcock, Aires, and Souza.

Wednesday night and Thursday morning we were doing divisions with Hnas Do Rosario, Palma, Casado, and Frogget. I went with hnas Do Rosario and Palma. This is my old area that I just left

Friday I was in Lujan with the Hermanas McDougal and Throolin en Lujan. I got to see some of the people that got baptized when I was serving in Lujan and a family that reactivated! It was such a blessing. I was so happy and it made me even happier that they were so happy to see me.  Also we went to pick up our lunch from an older sister and when she saw me she just lit up and it made me so happy. She is one of my favorite people from Lujan and such an example for me.

This weekend we were with Hermana Story and Villanueva en Mercedes. We saw many miracles and it was a testimony builder when we were able to apply what we are teaching in the trainings and we found news and committed them to be baptized.

I love being a missionary. I love the opportunity that I have to help the hermanas in all of the mission. I am really happy that I have the chance to serve the hermanas.
Thanks for all you do! Have a fantastic week!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Burr

Side note to parents:
I love the pictures they look so great! It sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! For Thanksgiving we ate turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, orange rolls, fruit, and pie and ice cream! It was just like we were in the US. Also we played ping pong, football, soccer, fooseball, and went on a walk! It was really great! This week we were in Marcos Paz, Castelar, Ituzaingo, Lujan, and Mercedes! Every week we have is going to be a little different, but I am absolutely loving what I am doing! On Sunday the ward we were in had the primary program. They get really crafty here with things! They gave everyone there a little paper as a souvenir and they had bread rolls after! I hope you have a wonderful day and week! I love you both so very much and I am so very blessed! I thank my Father in Heaven daily for you.

Divisions

Hermana's Palma, Burr, and Do Rosario

Thanksgiving in Argentina with President and Sister Robertson

The "low down" of my new assignment! (Week 55)

Dearest Family,

The "low down" for my new life:
• My companion is Hermana Theobald. She has the same time in the mission as me. We showed up together, but I have never worked with her before! She is from Holladay, Utah.
• I no longer have a proselyting area! My companion and I (along with the assistants to the president and the traveling elder assistants) are training the whole mission on how to teach the restoration simply, bold, and direct!  Part of the week we do trainings and the other part we do divisions with the sisters.

Starting on Tuesday we had meetings all day with the assistants and the traveling assistants. Then Wednesday we had a meeting with all of the zone leaders and sister training leaders and then had meetings with President and Sister Robertson. Thursday more meetings! Then on Friday we packed our bags and went to Morón to do trainings with the sisters and we stayed with them for all weekend.

Love you all, have a happy thanksgiving week!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Burr

Hailey also told us in a separate letter the following:  Thanksgiving here is just a regular day but, yes, I have plans for Thanksgiving! President and Sister Robertson invited my companion and I, the assistants, and the traveling assistants to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family! I am really excited!  To answer your question--no we don’t eat lunch with members now because we don’t have an area. We live about two or three blocks from the chapel in Ramos and the chapel also has the offices attached to it.

The two Hermanas I was with this weekend, both from Brasil

With the Hermanas in Morón 1 and two return missionaries. 

New companion Hermana Theobald from Holladay, UT

With the Hermanas in Morón 1 and two return missionaries.

Transfers and my new assignment! (Week 54)

Dearest family,

How are you all? I love you so much! Well transfers are here again! And this is a crazy one! I am leaving and I have a special assignment! President is starting a new thing. I have been assigned to be one of the two traveling sister training leaders. So my new companion and I will just travel all over the mission and do trainings. How crazy!

This week I have been studying the talk the 4th missionary. I really like it a lot. The part that I think stood out the most is the part about charity. That is the difference between the third and fourth missionary. I feel like in this point of my mission I am learning a lot about charity and serving others happily and putting their needs before mine. I can see how the experiences I have had this transfer have been polishing me and helping me grow to reach my divine potential.  Here is a quote that I learned a lot from...

"The purpose and central blessing of life is change. It is to be changed to become more like Jesus Christ. It is to incorporate into your character, the qualities of His character. It is to move from one degree of intelligence and capacity to the next and from there to the next, until you see God face to face and know Him as He knows you....This process of change, this process of evolving, becoming, is the object of the gospel. Change is the design of faith in Christ, repentance and baptism. Redemptive change happens by the power of the Holy Ghost. But it happens only if and when your heart is right. It happens only if you do not fight against God. It happens only if you unconditionally surrender your will to the Lord."

I am working on giving my all to the Lord and serving all with charity, the love of God.

This week when we were looking for the chosen ones before lunch, we didn’t have much time this week cause my comp was sick some of the mornings. But one day we talked to a woman who was at the point of baptism when she was younger and never got baptized. She didn’t have time when we found her, but we are excited to visit her again!

Have a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Hermana Burr

The Chicken Man

Workout machines in the park 

A week of tender mercies and miracles :) (Week 53)

Oh dearest family that I love so dear,

Do you remember Jimena, from my letter last week; she was the reference from an inactive member. Well on Wednesday morning we taught her the restauracion, she was awe-struck! We invited her to be baptized on the 28 of Noviembre and she said sí! Well actually she said sí sí sí sí sí sí sí sí sí! When we left the lesson I felt like I was floating in the clouds I was so happy. She is most definitely a chosen and prepared of the Lord.  Yesterday we went to her house in the morning and went to church together and her friend, who gave us the reference, also came to church with us. It was her first time in many years! Jimena really liked church and when she was leaving she was telling everyone that she would see them next week! It also made her really happy that her two year old son, Nicolas aka Nico, did well in the nursery. I am so thankful to the Lord for blessing us with the opprtunidad to meet, teach, and help her.

Also yesterday when I was a bit stressed and the work wasn’t really going so great the Lord answered my petitions. He is so merciful and loving!  We had a wonderful contact! His name was Sergio. He stopped us in the street and we answered his question of why there are so many churches and which is the correct. We left him with a book of Mormon and the invitation to know for himself. He is here every other weekend so we are going to find him and teach him again the next time he is her and send the address of his other house   so missionaries can pass by there.

This week when we were searching for "a chosen one" before lunch we had a really great experience. His name is Pancho. We were talking to him about the book of Mormon. He took the book in his hands and said one moment please. He opened it and started to read. When he finished reading the page he looked up, with tears starting to fill his eyes. He said that someone once told him that is you take a bible and open it to a random part that it will have exactly what you need to hear. He told us that this is what he was doing and that he received the answer that he needed. This helped strengthen my testimony del Libro de Mormón. I know that it is the word of God. It answers the questions of our soul. The Lord guides us through his holy scripture.

I made pie de mora (mulberry pie) to celebrate the one year mark! How crazy is that! And we had the primary program here too! Little kids are so cute I love them! Oh also Nico the son of Jimena reminds me so much of little Carter Crosbie!
I am going to meditizar D&C 50:24!
Have a fantastic week!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Burr

At Church

Art in front of a house

Mulberry Pie -- 1 year mark

Milagros, milagros y mas milagros! (Miracles, miracles, and more miracles!) (Week 52)

Family,
This was a rough but rewarding week! We saw many miracles and I found much more happiness in serving the Lord. I know when we trust in the Lord and involve him as much as possible we see that his work comes forth and we are blessed to see his will and we find more happiness :)

The persona que tiene una fecha bautismal is Elias, (The person who has a baptismal date is Elias )10 years old. He is the sobrino of a menos activo. He accepted a fecha bautismal por el 28 de noviembre. We are excited to help him and reactivate his aunt and his cousin.

This week I was meditizando D&C 18:18. I put it in practice and we were able to see a lot of miracles. One day we were really struggling and weren’t finding anyone. We prayed to have a new or a good contact before we had to teach English class. We had the impression to cross the street, so we did, and in that moment a man walked around the corner and we contacted him. His name is Manuel. He said that his cousin is Mormon and had invited him to church with him and that he went. We wrote down his address and telephone. I know that the Lord answers our prayers and when we pray for things in specific that the Lord answers with specific things.

Also, on Saturday we received a phone call that a menos activo had a reference for us. They had talked to her and she had accepted to receive the missionary lessons. So we went to visit them. We set up a visit for the following day so that the reference could be there at their house. The following day we received the news that the woman was is Rosario and wasn’t going to be able to come. But we decided that we would still visit the family that is less active. Well when we knocked on the door of the less actives, just then the woman who was the reference walked by. She had arrived early and we were able to meet her. Her name is Jimena (he-men-a).  She is really awesome and prepared to receive the gospel. She welcomed us to her house at any time, she said that she is excited to receive the lessons we marked a cita to meet with her on Wednesday. Our hope is that she can be baptized in Noviembre.

Halloween was great. They don’t celebrate it here, but my companion and I carved little squashes to celebrate!

Have a fantastic week!
Con muchísimo amor, Hermana Burr

ola minha qerida familia! (Week 51)

ola minha qerida familia!

That is in Portuguese! I had a good week this week.  I am meditizando (ponderizing) D&C 18:18! I love it! This week we had special trainings and they were wonderful! We ate subway for lunch.  I was one happy camper!

The miracles I saw this week were many small miracles. In our contacts we were lead to talk to people who have some connection with the church. We contacted people who have accepted missionary visits before, people who have family who are members, etc. We weren’t able to teach any of them in the moment, but some of them accepted to let us visit them in their homes.

Yesterday were the presidential elections here so we had to stay in the apartment all day practically. But I had time to do a lot of studying which I loved.  I studied more about faith. I know that when we ask our Father in heaven with real intent he will give to us according to our needs all that we ask! He is so loving and caring and blesses us in so many ways!

 Have a fantastic week!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Burr

At Church!

Outside their apartment

With Hermana Do Rosairo at church.