Travelling / Mission Prep / Mission Donkey Prophet

Well, another week come and gone. It's been good, it's been busy, I've been all over the map. Literally.

1) Travelling- Literally, I spent nearly twenty hours on the bus this week. Last Sunday I went to Belo Horizonte to renew my visa (5 hours). On Monday we came back (5 hours). On Tuesday I went to João Monlevade on a division (2.5 hours). On Wednesday I came back (2.5 hours). On Thursday I went to Governador Valadares on a division (2 hours). On Friday I came back (2 hours.) It was nuts. I was rather tired by the end of the week, but it was good to get around and help the elders out in the cities further away.

2) Mission Prep- While we were here in our own area, we managed to teach 90% of our lessons with members. The members here, as I mentioned last week, are very willing to help. And this week we focused on members who are preparing for missions but having some second thoughts at the moment. We spent entire days visiting other people with them, and getting them pumped for mission service. We taught some excellent lessons, and it was interesting having a day in which we had to focus not only on helping the investigator feel the spirit, but also the member who was accompanying us. Our continued practice of singing hymns seemed to help, and these very timid members began to speak up in lessons without our having to ask questions.

3) Mission Donkey Prophet- This one takes some explaining. So on Sunday a miracle happened--a less active member brought three grandchildren to church who want to learn about the gospel. The youngest, a thirteen-year-old named Artur, was already asking about where he could be baptized before church was over. That evening we went to teach them.

The lesson went well, the place was full of members and investigators. The less active adding occasional funny, non-doctrinal commentaries, the two other members actively promoting the church, the two twin girls not saying anything, and Artur talking a ton. It was hilarious. We were teaching about prophets and their purpose, and asked if they knew of any prophets. One girl said Noah, the other Moses, and Artur said: the donkey. I don't know why that was the first Bible story to come to his head, but we cleared up that the talking donkey was not what we meant when we talked about prophets.

Later we were talking about the church, and they asked if there were apostles today. I said yes. They said, "But they're unknown?" And I said, "No, you can know them." And one of the girls, a little wide-eyed and speaking like she'd had an epiphany, said: "Are you the apostles?" We cleared that up as well.

As we finished, Artur continued to express his desire to be baptized by us, the prophets. We explained, again, that we were neither prophets nor apostles, but had been given authority by God through them to baptize. All accepted to be baptized on June 7th. Good stuff.

This week has been great. I'm tired at the end of it, but that just means I worked hard, gave it my all, and received blessings because of it. I'm excited for the future. I love this work so much. I love you all. Keep the faith.

Much Love,

Elder Burt

Get Out / So Close / Members

Hey world! What it is?

I'm going to be honest, after a crazy day of travelling to Belo Horizonte, getting my visa renewed, and running around, I have not had a whole lot of time to prepare a good e-mail for you lovely people. That's a horrible admission to make, because I like to entertain. But I guess I'll just follow the Spirit and we'll see what I say.

1) Get Out- So first off a strange, somewhat shocking little story that happened during a visit to a less active we are working with. To begin with, the less active family was at church on Sunday and the son is going on visits with us regularly. But that's not where I'm going with this.

First thing you need to know: The father was letting an old friend he found living on the street stay at their house. We were in their house to visit, and the father had left us with the son and the formerly homeless "Whitney." We were talking with them, and Whitney was telling us excitedly about how the three of them were planning to move into a nicer apartment together, how he and the father were old friends, etc.

Soon, the father returned, angry. He said to Whitney: "You lied to me. I don't like it when people lie to me." Next thing we knew Whitney had his backpack on, two plastic bags of stuff, and was on the road again. Confused, we asked where Whitney was going. 

The father replied, "He lied to me." 

"So...where is he going?" 

"To live on the street again, I imagine."

I liked the guy, and felt bad for him. And was a little confused at what had just happened.

2) So Close- There is a very bitter feeling in the life of a missionary that accompanies the ending of some lessons. A lesson is like a work of art, that you create together with the investigator. We teach the "first lesson" (The Message of the Restoration) a lot as we search for new investigators. The goal, by the end of the lesson, is their accepting the invite to read the Book of Mormon, pray, be baptized after receiving an answer, and to come to church with us on Sunday.

So the whole lesson is spent building up to this point, helping them understand, adapting to their circumstances, asking questions, reading scriptures, and preparing them for that invite. Usually we can tell whether or not they will accept based on their understanding. If they don't accept even just one part of the invite, we usually leave without planning to return.

So what is that bitter feeling? When you feel you've taught a great lesson, that you and the investigator are learning and being uplifted together, and are sure they will accept...and they don't. And you leave the house, asking yourself if you had missed an opportunity, because they should have accepted. This happened more times than I like this week. But, at the same time, we found a large number of extremely prepared people. And we know that there are people the Lord has already prepared for us, we just need to find them.

3) Members- To all of you "regular members of the church" out there, I love you. Thank you for everything you do for the missionaries. The food, the kind words, the friendship, and the help in the work. We appreciate it. I appreciate it. I'm so happy to be serving in a branch where I consider the members my friends. It's because of you that missionaries are able to handle being far from their families, and it's because of you that the work moves forward. Never underestimate your role, or what you are doing. I know we're always asking more of you--more references, more visits, more support--but first you need to know that we're inexpressibly grateful.

I have felt that a lot here in Ipatinga. A great love for the members, in large part because of the great love they have for me--without knowing me very well, simply knowing that I am a missionary.

It's good being a missionary. Thank you for all your help. We're here to help you, your families, your friends. Don't be afraid to ask.

I love you all. Next week I promise a better letter. This is the Lord's work. We are fallible servants, but we do our best. I'm doing my best. I wish I could do more. But I'm getting there. And I think that pleases Him.

Much Love,

Elder Burt

Magic of Music / For the Strength of the Youth / Nearer to Thee

Happy Mothers' Day to all you wonderful mothers out there. I'm sorry not everyone is privileged enough to have the best Mom in the world, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

This week has been great. We're working like crazy (as always) and seeing very real results from our work. Be prepared for many baptismal pictures in the upcoming weeks, it's going to get real.

1) Magic of Music- So I have been blessed this transfer with a companion who knows how to sing well. And I have been blessed with a good voice. So we're putting that to good use. We sing hymns in nearly every visit, and it's amazing to see the way the people open up after hearing two Americans touch their hearts with the spirit of song.

It really has made a difference in helping our investigators feel the truthfulness of the message, and softening the hearts of otherwise unwelcoming people. And we get a lot more references by doing this.

One entertaining visit was to an elderly couple. When we began teaching, only the husband was there--we started with a hymn and he loved it. He accepted everything we taught enthusiastically and wanted to be baptized. Then his wife showed up. She angrily said that we could discount anything he said, he only ever did what she did, and wouldn't be going to any other church. We said all right, can we end with a hymn? They agreed, and we sang again. Afterwards, the wife said the prayer, blessing us with success in the work. As we left, she excitedly said that we could count on the presence of her husband at church, and asked if we sold our hymnbooks there. She insisted that we return, and kept going on about the song. It was pretty funny. 

We've been put on Facebook several times without our knowing, taped, recorded, asked for encores...I feel like a show. It's awesome.

2) For the Strength of Youth- I don't know what's going on here in Ipatinga, or what the Lord has prepared, but we seem to have been finding just youth recently. And something cool about youth is that when they find something they like, they invite all their friends. And talk to each other about baptism and help strengthen each other. And so we have a ton of investigators coming to church, all within the ages of 15 to 17. Gabriel is the best of them--a young man who we found knocking doors. He invites all of his friends and family to church, is up at 8:00 every Sunday for us to walk a half hour to church with him and his friends, and has his baptism marked for this week. He's a little more quiet, but clearly loves the gospel and also has an enormous desire to change his life. His mom already wants him to serve a mission, and she's not even a member.

The youth are the future of the church. You who are youth--you have an enormous power to spread the gospel and change the lives of your friends. Speak up. Don't be afraid. The Lord will help you say what needs to be said.

3) Sidenote- So this isn't really a story, but a fun fact. I saw a dung beetle walking down the middle of the sidewalk Saturday night. It was enormous, with a big horn on it's head...I've never seen anything like it. I didn't even think they had those in Brazil.

4) Nearer To Thee- So for those of you who don't know, I only get to talk to my family two times a year, and one of those times happened yesterday for Mother's Day. So that was amazing, but it had me thinking of something else. About someone else who seems so far away at times. I was thinking about it as well during the week as I read a verse in Doctrine and Covenants 19:20. It explains that the closest we can come to imagining "hell" is when we do not feel God's presence in our lives. Those moments when we feel alone, abandoned, unloved, unsure. Just as Christ felt on the cross before his death.

It also reminded me of the words to my favorite hymn: 

"Nearer my God, to thee, nearer to thee,

E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me.

Still all my song shall be, nearer my God to thee

Nearer my God, to thee, nearer to thee.

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down

Darkness be over me, my rest a stone,

Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer my God, to thee

Nearer my God, to thee, nearer to thee."

We need never feel alone. God is our loving Heavenly Father. He is always there. My greatest desire has always been to feel closer to Him. How I love Him. I end with the profound, touching prayer of President Monson, given last conference:

"Heavenly Father, I thank thee for always being here, and there."

Much Love,

Elder Burt

[ed.  Elder Burt sang "Nearer My God, To Thee" in a sacrament program at the MTC Brazil when he first got there.  We added Madeleine's voice over his recording of the rehearsal to form a duet, so here it is again for those who missed it.  You can tell how much Alex likes this song!]

Baptism / Your Country / Never Give Up

Elder Newman and Elder Burt

Yet another week of entertainment and miracles here in the grand city of Ipatinga. It's been crazy...transfers happened and, after a few short weeks with Elder Willden, I have a new companion: Elder Newman, from Ogden, Utah! He's a great guy and we're hard at work here. This last week has been amazing.

1) Help Thou My Unbelief- I wanted to start by finishing a story that I had begun last week, about a young man who struggled with doubt and yet decided to be baptized. On Tuesday I was on my way there by bus to interview him when I received a call from the missionaries in that area--the young man had asked that I be the one to baptize him. I was honored and happy to know that I'd made an impact on him. Of course, I also didn't have a change of clothes or a towel. It was looking to be a wet night.

Also on the way there we got called about transfers. That was a surprise too.

We arrived, and I interviewed him again. Of course the first question out of my mouth was "what changed since Saturday?" He was hesitant to reply, but explained that he was willing to act on the small amount of faith he had. That he wanted to believe, wanted to have more faith. He wasn't very forthcoming, but I could see the sincerity in him.

Then came the baptism, and nothing compares to getting in the water with someone who has come to mean so much to you. As we left the font, I could see the very real joy on his face. This is a very special family.

As I said, the rest of the night was cold and spent in wet underclothes. Of course this was the coldest night of the year to date as well. Makes everything more memorable.

2) Your Country- Funny experience of the week, in which I remembered why I don't miss the U.S too much, was a run-in with John, an American missionary from another denomination. We began talking to him in Portuguese, and I came to realize pretty fast he was a foreigner. 

So I asked in English "Where are you from?"

"Boston", he said. "You speak English very well,  can we talk in English and you'll understand?" 

Me: "Uh, sure." 

He began to go off on the horrible state of Brazil, how it was a country full of sinners and that Christians here didn't know anything of Christ's love, blah blah blah. "Here in your country," he began, when my comp cut him off. "Wait, you know we're Americans, right?" "Oh, that explains the English."

He continued ranting, now attacking us saying we weren't doing the Lord's work the right way, we needed to be in normal clothes in the bar, etc etc blah blah blah. So we just left. But it's official: I look Brazilian.

3) Never Give Up- We had a baptism this week in our area. It was awesome. And unexpected. An investigator we've been visiting forever named Juliano has been giving us some difficulties--not wanting to keep commitments, not accepting baptism, etc. We brought the branch president on Wednesday and had an amazing lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ. We ended with each person present offering a prayer to strengthen Juliano. Afterwards I said once more to Juliano: "So Juliano, will you be baptized on Saturday?" Then came a very, very, long pause. Juliano is very quiet and doesn't like to talk much. Finally he said "what time is the baptism?" Joyful, I responded: "7:00". Then came another long, unexpected pause. Then, "Couldn't it be after noon? I work before that." Laughing, the branch president explained I meant 7:00 at night, and he accepted. The baptism went through, the confirmation on Sunday, and I learned more about perseverance. I was going to this house nearly daily for a transfer, and it finally paid off. Perseverance and always using new ideas.

Baptism, many investigators at church, potential, excitement. And thus it is. I read a verse in Mosiah 4:6-7 that really touched me. These last few months I have been focusing completely on learning more about the Atonement and the nature of God. This scripture confirmed that I am right to be doing this. It is the most important knowledge we can obtain, and I realize I'm still just scratching the surface. I'd encourage you all to give it a little more thought. Who is your Father in Heaven? The more I learn, the more I love Him and want to be like Him. (John 17:3)

I love you all. Keep up the good fight. I'm giving it my all down here in Brazil, but want to do more. I will do more. Count on it, and you can bet that the upcoming e-mails will be memorable.

Much Love,

Elder Burt

Division / Healed / Doubt

Alex and his chocolate Easter egg.

What a week. At the end of it, I looked back and honestly couldn't decide if it was a week of testing my faith or strengthening it. I guess one has a way of leading to the other. In any case, I wanted to share with all of you some of the miraculous happenings of this week in Ipatinga.

1) Division- Well first off, I'm sorry to any missionary who served in an English-speaking mission and calls divisions "splits" or something weird like that. Here in Brazil we call them "divisões," so I can't think of a better translation.

In any case, I went on a couple divisions this week that were excellent. The best was on Tuesday, in which I went to Fabriciano (a nearby city) to help out in an area that had been struggling to find people and help them progress towards baptism. I got there at about 4:00pm and had just a few hours, so I asked that we visit the people who had potential to be baptized the following Sunday. Praying for a miracle to strengthen the faith of this elder and help out the area, we went to the first visit with a family who had been to church once, enjoyed it, but was doubting further progression. I talked to them, firmly had them commit to live the commandments, and after reading Alma 7:11-15, invited them to be baptized. All three were baptized yesterday.

We continued the division, found new investigators, and this small branch of 30 members has one more family to help strengthen it.

2) Healed- The miracles continued through the week. On Thursday we felt impressed to visit a less active. We arrived and no one answered our knocking. Ready to leave, I stayed just a few moments more to look something up in our list of members. As we turned to leave, a car pulled up. A young man got out and said he was this member's son. He let us in, and we talked with him and the father--who had been hit by a car two days before. He was really beat up, alone in his small, humble home, with an apparently broken leg that he couldn't stand on. I was worried for him, but he refused to go to the hospital. He just asked for a blessing, which we willingly gave.

The next day, across town, he called me, telling me to come quick. I said I was a little far away, but would do my best. A couple hours of nearly running later, we arrived sweaty and breathless at the house. Upon entering, the man showed us what had happened. He said he had woken up that morning, left his bed, and felt absolutely no pain in his leg. He was walking normally, and even hit his foot against the ground to prove the lack of pain. He was healed. Crying, he bore testimony to us of the truthfulness of the church, the priesthood, and Jesus Christ.

3) Doubt- One other great miracle happened this week, again in an area that was not my own but in which I played a part. I went to interview someone for baptism and quickly came to realize that he was lacking considerable faith. He told me he wouldn't be baptized because he didn't believe it was true. As we talked, he opened up to me. Said he had been praying, imploring for an answer from God. To know He was there. I saw this 15-year-old boy, in tears, tell me of his sister's terminal illness. That he loved her so much and wanted her to be healed. I spoke to him of faith, of hope, and committed him to daily prayer, scripture study, and weekly church attendance. I promised that in the Lord's time he would feel God's presence. Because that's how it was with me. I bore my testimony, explained how I know what I know, and left, saying I hoped to return soon. I wondered if I'd said what I needed to say, wondered at this poor boy's situation, and prayed for him to feel something of God's love. It hurt all the more as I remembered a similar experience I'd had before the mission.

And it was all the more sweet as I received a call from the missionaries today, informing me that the baptism will happen tomorrow evening. The boy had recognized the faith he does have and is willing to act on that small knowledge. Small, but amazingly powerful.

This is the kind of week that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Miracles happen. I am doing the Lord's work, giving all I have, and seeing His hand daily in what I do. Rest assured, anyone who is taking the time to read this, it's all true. Take heart, have hope, keep pressing forward. I love you all.

Much Love,

Elder Burt

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone! What a wonderful time of year to be a missionary, serving the Lord and talking about Jesus Christ daily. I love what I do! This week has been full of good experiences and miracles, as always. I mean, you must get tired of hearing that from me every week, but they keep happening and I'm not complaining!

1) Past Addictions- We're working hard at helping an inactive member return to the church. We've made a number of breakthroughs while visiting her, including a very spiritual lesson on Thursday which seemed to have changed her desire to return. We returned on Saturday to discuss the church, and she explained that she didn't want to go as long as she was addicted to smoking, because she didn't feel right going if she was sinning at home. Our first approach was to convince her that the church is the best place to go--a "hospital" of sorts for people who want to repent. Her being old and rather hard-headed, I switched to a new tactic--getting her to believe she could stop smoking. What followed was the pep talk of the century, preparing her to stop smoking over the course of four days and be ready for church next week.

She got really excited and a little worked up, which was pretty funny. She went off talking about how when she'd come into the world, she'd been pure and free of addictions. On thinking about it, she revised her statement, saying she'd only been addicted to her mother's milk. "And if I was able to stop that," she said "why can't I stop smoking?!" "Absolutely!" I responded, "And just like your parents were there to free you from your milk addiction, we're here to help you stop smoking!" And we will help her.

2) Tears- I love the Book of Mormon. Honestly, we don't have a more powerful tool in missionary work aside from the Spirit. And the two work together magnificently to touch hearts and help people desire repentance. I saw this at work during a visit on Friday to an investigator we'd found last Sunday. She'd read the chapter we marked, and as we asked about it, she explained a spiritual experience she'd had. In her words, she'd been reading the chapter and came to a particular verse. As she read, a powerful feeling came over her and she began to cry. I was rather curious to know the verse, and she showed us 3 Nephi 11:33. Read it. I was nearly speechless.

We continue to visit her and the Book of Mormon continues to touch her heart. Alma 36:1 led to more tears and an important discussion on the law of chastity. For the honest seeker of truth, no book has a greater ability to touch the heart or draw us nearer to God than the Book of Mormon. I've read it since I was a child and my appreciation for it continues to grow. I'd encourage everyone to read it. Ponder on it. And pray asking God if it is true. Miracles will happen.

3) Easter- I want to end by taking just a few moments to write about the holiday we just celebrated on Sunday. Because it's important. Not because of the chocolate (though I love that as well), or because of bunnies and springtime and family dinners. But because of what happened on a similar Sunday over 2000 years ago.

I took the time this week to read the accounts held in the four gospels about the last days of Christ's earthly life and ministry. The betrayal, the suffering, the crucifixion, Peter's denial, the women's tears, and the loss of hope. I cannot begin to imagine what passed through the minds of the disciples as they saw their Master offer his last breath, cry out, and die. It hurts me just reading it all. But that is not where the record ends. That is not even the climax. The climax comes with three simple words offered by the angels by the empty tomb: "He is risen." 

He lives. I know it. He overcame death for us, and on this particular day of the year we take the time to celebrate it. It is the ultimate message of hope and joy. I'd encourage you to take the time to watch this short message, it's great. 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1101417665001

This is the glorious message that I am striving to bring to the people here in Brazil. That He lives. Because of His sacrifice, we can live eternally with our families if we do our part. It's not always easy. But it wasn't easy for Him either. Just remember: shortly after every Gethsemane is an empty tomb. Don't ever give up hope. The fight is worth it.

I love you all. Thank you for your support and prayers. It helps.

Much Love,

Elder Burt

The Hand of the Lord / Love / Dream Couple

Dearest Friends and Family,

Ipatinga Ping Pong Championships

The weeks continue to flash by in the blink of an eye, and the miracles don't stop here in Ipatinga.

1) The Hand of the Lord- Something I have come to see in my weeks here is that the Hand of the Lord is truly over Ipatinga at this moment. It is a great privilege to serve here at this point of my mission. The branches here are all growing remarkably, the papers asking to become a stake are already in Salt Lake and we should know what will happen by the end of the month.

Due to that, the miracles are happening here in our area as well. We contacted a family in the street a couple weeks ago, shortly after arriving. They came to church on Sunday because the sisters in our area, on a seperate occasion, also made contact with them. All will baptize on the 26th. The Lord is putting prepared people in our way.

Together with this, unfortunately, is the fact that the enemy is stepping up his game as well. There are so many people who are very closed, want to argue, and become very angry with us despite our kind approach. Others are convinced that there is no need of change because everything is fine where they are now. Well, folks, all is not well in Zion. Sorry to break it to you. There is work to be done and someone has to do it!

2) Love- Something interesting I've learned over the course of the week has something to do with a passage I read in Preach My Gospel (note to everyone--listen to Elder Ballard and study it.) It says that the power of our calling is made manifest as we express our love for others. I'll be honest, that part never made much sense to me. But I gained a testimony of that this week. We visited a number of people who were initially closed to our teachings and questions. But time after time I expressed the love I felt for them, the sheer power of the Spirit that came nearly overwhelmed me. It changes hearts. I know that in those moments these people were touched, and I realized that love truly has far more power than I had realized. Maybe it sounds cliche. But it's a truth of missionary work, and the general work of the Lord.

3) Dream Couple- Another proof to me of the Lord's hand in our work was being led to the most amazing couple I have ever met on my mission. They are so crazy prepared. We made a contact with him on the street at the beginning of the week, and he said he wanted to practice his English for a program he was participating in in the Baptist Church. We marked an appointment for Thursday, but I didn't think much would come of it.

That Thursday night we almost didn't go because of some other appointments. But I felt it was important, so we showed up and taught one of the most amazing lessons of my mission. Not because of us. Because of who was being taught. They were open, expressed a desire to learn, understood everything, accepted baptism, are intelligent, have a great love for the family and for each other...like I can't stop going on about them. I was so grateful to the Lord for leading us to them after a somewhat rough week.

Oh, and they had bought us food, too. Based only on a passing street contact. So I think they're people of their word.

I'm so blessed to be here in Brazil. It's not always easy to be a missionary. Honestly, it shouldn't be easy. That wouldn't be right. But it is so worth it. The miracles, the emotions, the people you meet, the hearts you comfort, the souls you save...it's beyond words or even comprehension. So if you're of that age...serve a mission. Stop second-guessing it. It's worth it, I promise.

I love you all. Thank you for your support and prayers. I pray for you. If you need anything from me at all, that I am able to give, please ask. We're doing the Lord's work. Of this I am sure.

Much Love,

Elder Burt