I found it

This is my last letter to you as Elder Burr.

Family, the only thing I can tell you I feel right now is so confused. I don’t know why I have to leave, but they are telling me I have to. I love you all so much and I want to see you! But it is weird, at the same time, I really don’t want to leave the people I know and taught here. Last night, we had the departing missionary fireside, and I got to invite all the members and converts and investigators I taught my whole mission. I wanted it to last forever. But, I know it can’t be, and that is why I am so grateful that God has given me this mission, and I am so grateful for eternity, that there, as long as we are faithful, we can have that feeling last forever.

But really family, I love you so much and I am so excited to see you!!!!

“He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

I am so very grateful for the chance I had to serve. Coming out was the most important decision I ever made in my entire life. I am so very grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it has now taught me what is important, and what is not. That happiness, true happiness only comes when we are turning outwards, thinking of others, and especially when we are thinking on how to help them come closer to Christ. I now know who I trust in, I cannot trust in the arm of flesh, but in Christ who is my Rock ( I think I am plagiarizing Nephi)

ahhh Guys, I know Christ lives with all my heart, I know we are ALL children of Heavenly Father, it’s such a little simple primary song, but that doctrine behind it is life changing, I have seen it. I know they love us. And it’s because they love us, that we can love at this capacity.

I don’t know if I shared this before but we were street contacting one day and I saw a mom and her daughter, we didn’t get a chance to stop them, but as I saw them across the way, my heart hurt so bad, I could feel what they could become, I knew that the restored gospel could bring them so much happiness, and I wanted it for them so bad. At that moment, I knew that feeling wasn’t coming from within, but it was the Love of Christ. Christ turned my heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

The Gospel is True, Christ, through his Prophets has told us every commandment, ordinance, and doctrine we need to follow to be happy here and in the next life. I can never forsake or deny his. It has been engraved onto my heart.

See you soon. I love you all so much!

Elder Burr 

Love over everything

Family,

Crazy p-days as of late. We have been doing lots of service for the special Olympics in town. So I don’t have time again to email.  But know I am still doing work. I love it, I love peaching, I love talking with people every minute I can. It's just changed my whole life.

I got a fresh cut for the airport but I am going to put this doo to work for one more week. If I don’t finish strong, I just would be showing ingratitude for the miracles that Father has given me these past two years, I couldn't do that. One more week to give it all to him.

Love you all! I still can't believe Amanda is married

This is what we get with two and a half weeks to go!

Hey, I am safe, just had no time to write sorry!

International Zone Conference July 1st

stuff, stuff, stuff

So much stuff be going on!! baby blessings, wedding prep, new canopies and fence posts in the backyard!!

Time has just been flying by. It makes me think of my first transfer. I felt like my first transfer was like 6 months long. But after that it was super super fast.

So our golden investigator turned golden brown because he told his mom that is in china about learning and she flipped. She was going to like have him deported to make sure he didn't get baptized. ahhhh, he was going to be baptized and confirmed on my last Sunday!! but don't worry, continue in faith and good things will come. 

I can feel the Lord has a reason for me being here in this time in July, it may be to meet certain members here, it may be to teach certain people here, I don't really know, but I am praying to find out and working to find out. 

Congrats again to Amanda!!! I hope you have chocolate fountains and Coke in glass bottles galore at your wedding!!!

I had my last ZTM and Zone conference this past week, they were both really emotional. Its hard to express in an email how grateful I am that I came out.

But hey! I love you guys! Imma keep hittin that pavement! You guys keep hittin those scriptures and get those Korean girls baptized! talk to Jake Westbrook, he served in Korea and should be back by now!

love you! 

apricot trees

Hey hey hey!!!

So, it was really funny being in LA for so long because you can always see the movies that will come out. And for 2 years I saw moveis that I wouldn't be able to see, and just the other day I saw a movie that had a release date after I go home. It was kind of a scary realization.

okay, enough of that trunkiness

So basically the talk of Church was the gay marriage stuff, which I thought was a little weird. We had people talking about all kinds of things, like this is the end of the world, second coming is upon us and etc. What I was thinking was, for sure we need to be aware of this change and need to react accordingly, but I think that this is a tool from satan to distract people. I think it would be really bad of people got so caught up in fighting some legal decision and weren't inviting people to feel the truth of the restored gospel in order to come closer to Jesus Christ. We as a church have always had the responsibility to help people find that, and to be examples of that to them. We are always going to be weird, we are always going to be counter culture, but the Savior has promised that as we choose to follow Gods laws, He will stand by us. Also, the Savior himself was counter-culture, but he brought the truth, and that's all that really mattered.

So do you remember Regina Huang? She was baptized about a year and a half ago. SO her mom came to visit from Guang Zhou and she started  taking the lessons and now she will be baptized. yeah!!!! Huge miracles!! Its just amazing how the gospel spreads, and its amazing to see these ripple effects. I am so grateful for the bonds I have made out here with these converts (that are not so recent) I can feel that it runs a lot deeper than a couple years, but ions. I am grateful to where I came from and where my potential and nature came from, and it just makes it even better looking into someones eyes and knowing that we came from the same place.

Well, word on the street is my older sister is getting married next week. I will be there in spirit. ALSO the 17th is my companions birthday!!! whoo!! I hope your thinking about my li'l Asian companion on your wedding day!!

love you guys

party in the USA

Life is crazy! It is awesome to be back in Santa Monica, I had forgotten how pretty it is up here.

So many Chinese people go to UCLA haha!! It is so nice for the campus to be so close to the temple too. It is so easy accessible.

Thanks so much for the prayers for Danny, he really needed them!

But yeah, it was crazy, because Danny the Brazilian, he had a fight, a pretty big one, on Friday....and he lost..:( freaking Manny vs Mayweather all over again. And after he was just so unsure about everything. Unsure if he wanted to keep fighting, keep chasin the dream, and he was pretty confused why after all he had done to follow Jesus, he still lost. BUT his testimony was so strong and he was like "I am ready for my new life! I am so excited for my baptism!" Now, his sights are on finding a Mormon wife!! man, but with Danny, it was so crazy to see the spirit teach. Our lessons would be sooo crazy, but the spirit just converted and taught him. Missionary work is sick!!!

Really though family, thanks so much for caring about the work out here!! 

I am just striving to "doubt not, fear not" and looking unto Christ in all things. We have some challenges to get over in this area. and its hard knowing that I have this time restraint to do it, but I just always need to remind myself that this Gods work. Not just in missionary work, but in everything. With the world going crazy, I just focus on my testimony of the Living Christ, and strengthen my Faith in Him. 

I love you fam! 

Elder Burr

Danny did it!

Elder Hou

The 4th quarter, the red zone, Game 7, bottom of the 9th, the last melon!!!!!

aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh it came, I tried to stop it, I told myself it wasn't coming, but it came all the same! I am starting my last transfer today! ahhh and President is taking me out of English and putting me back into the Chinese district as the district leader again. To be honest, I was kinda bummed to leave because we have sooo many people sooo close to baptism here. aahhh!! I love them so much, my time in English and my time as a zone leader have made my mission so much richer. I am grateful for the chance I had to serve here and in this position. I was pretty confused why President made me DL again, I was kind of looking forward to not have a leadership position so I could just relax a little and just worry about the area I was in and getting along with my comp, but whenever we want to slack off, the Lord nips that in the bud real quick. He has a real sick sense of humor sometimes, but don't worry, I still love Him!!

I will be going back to the Westdale 1st Ward in Santa Monica, but instead of serving in the SMC side, I will serve on the UCLA side. Go Bruins!!!

My new companion will be Elder Hou, another newbie from Beijing that doesn't speak a lick of English. Which is really good because my Chinese has digressed a lot!

But my last companion, Elder Larkin, finished the mission last transfer, and in his departing testimony he talked about how we as missionaries share so many testimonies about so many different things, and he said that the most important thing we could testify of was what Joseph Smith, The Prophet, said himself, " And this is the testimony, last of all, that we give of Him, That He Lives!!" And if He lives, why wouldn't we try our hardest to be like him and follow the council that he is actively giving us?

It was such a powerful testimony! It made me reflect on Christ is so aware of all that I am doing. That he is there every time I choose to do what is right, and every time I am a witness of Him to others. This feeling that I get, when I think of my Savior actively a part of my life, makes me want to be like Ammon when he glories in on the power of God!! ahh! its an awesome feeling.

It was also Fathers Day yesterday. I am grateful for my dad who showed me the way and gave me such a great example, because "The son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do, for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the son likewise." thanks Dad! Thanks for everything. And a Father can not be without a wife, thanks too Mom!! love you guys!! talk to you later!! let me know what you want from LA

Elder Burr

April 15 Torrance North Zone