This week was really really crazy fast. It's such a cliche
thing to say, but it's always the truth. Monday through Wednesday were so busy
they were gone before I had time to catch my breath. Transfers are always super
nuts, and this one was no exception. I won't focus on it too much in this
letter as nothing particularly different happened, aside from the departure of
my friend and companion Elder Gledhill, leaving me and Elder Cushing alone as
secretaries. Watch out world.
1) Conference- Conference was
amazing. I'm pretty sure I said that it would be in my last e-mail, and I was
definitely right. It was pretty much the only thing that happened all weekend,
but that was just fine by me. I've been reading through the talks again this
week and remembering just how inspired the prophets are, and how much we need
their words to guide us today.
As a missionary, I must say my favorites were by Elder Uchtdorf Saturday morning and Elder Ballard Saturday afternoon. They not only
responded to direct questions I had leading up to conference, but focused on a
subject rather important to me at the moment: missionary work. I'd encourage everyone
to read Elder Ballard's talk again, and then pray for individual missionary
experiences. Help out in this marvelous work!
Also, when President Monson said that the Sunday Morning
session was one of the most inspired he'd ever heard, I decided it was probably
important to study that a little bit more. He is the prophet, after all. He
knows what he's talking about when it comes to inspiration.
2) Are You Not Entertained?- In case you
are feeling a lack of entertaining anecdotes recently and an overload of
slightly more hefty, spiritual things, here's a couple fun little experiences
from this last week:
Nilton- Saturday night, while making
contacts outside of the church, we encountered a homeless man named Nilton. We
had an extended conversation with him, which made me laugh a bit. Classic
Nilton quotes: "Me and my friend over there on the sidewalk (Gestures
at trash can) were just talking about how we wanted to come to
church." "I live on the street. I take a bath once a week, if
that." We actually ran across him the next day after morning conference.
He seemed really surprised when we called him by name and shook his hand.
Pharmacy Girl- I went to the drug store
the other day to buy some medicine for some missionaries. I went with one Elder
Tsukuda, a Brazilian elder. The girl at the counter asked him how to pronounce
his name, and he told her. She asked if he was of Japanese descent. He said he
was. She said that he was the most attractive Japanese person she'd ever seen. I don't think I've ever seen
an elder so embarrassed.
Office Olympics-We had the office olympics between
conference sessions on Saturday, featuring competitions of Chubby Bunny, paper
airplane flying contests, office rolling chair races, etc. I won. It was
awesome.
3) The Right Moment- We had one
investigator at conference, the same eternal investigator who drank coffee and
hasn't been coming to church or progressing at all. We were pretty happy to see
her, and went to visit her on Monday. We found out that she's pregnant, and is
extremely excited. She's thinking a lot about her son's future, what kind of a
life he'll lead, and about the significance of family. She even said she wants
him to be baptized in the LDS church and maybe even to serve a mission. She
recognizes our value system and wants it to be a part of her family's life. We
also found out that they will be moving at this time next month. She's not
drinking coffee anymore and doesn't have any problems with the commandments. I
earnestly believe that this is the right moment for her. They say that people
have moments in their lives where they are particularly open to the gospel
message, and I hope and pray that this is hers. And that she decides to be
baptized and join the church. Not just for her sake, but for her little future
missionary! And for this potentially eternal family. And I'd also love if it
was before they move...
All righty, then. I think that's about enough of that. Next
week I'll try to pull some even crazier and even more spiritual stories out.
I'm looking forward to a week full of hard work and whatever God has in store
for me. It's always something good. And usually pretty fun, as well.
I love what I'm doing. I love the Lord. I love the people of
Brazil. I hope you all are well. Work hard, do your best, never stop praying.
Much Love,
Elder Burt
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