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

hey!!!

6-15-2015

Hey Family!! WOW a baby was a born, a real life baby!!! Somebody needs to send me an audio of how to correctly pronounce the name!! haha I have never heard of that name before. But it has been a great experience to add someone to my prayers at night. It doesnt matter I havent met her, I love her so much! that baby is going to get spoiled rotten haha.

So I spent a ton of time writing an RC in chinese, that took forever. I was just so worried I was using the wrong charcters at some points I had to check almost all of them!! but hey, its all good.

A little up date on Leo Huang, my recent convert in China. he just barely emailed me 2 weeks ago that he finished the whole BOM! all on his own...in the middle of communist china!!! ahhh!! that made me so moved man! I am so happy for him. Just the knoweldge of a Heavenly Father and a Savior is such a wonderful spiritual gift.

ahh! not alot of time again or a lot written, I am sorry!! but hey, you guys got babies to go play with anyways!!

love you! thanks so much for the vitamins mom! love you!

The future is now

Hey Team!! So this week was cray cray. We had ZTM which was nuts and then we had interviews with President, so that means we had to stay at the church for 12 hours shuffling Elders and Sister.

It was also our first week of using the ipad. Its pretty weird using technology, I am not good at using it. It feels very awkward in lessons, but it is pretty good at entertaining little kids. 

I cant believe that June has already begun, where did May go?!?! 

Thank you so much for the letters about PoPo. I will devote my language study to learning it. I was so sad to hear of her passing because I really did want to see her in person one last time. I am so grateful that I was able to Skype with her on Christmas.  That Christmas eve will be so dear to my heart now. She was so short and so cute. I love you guys, I pray for you every night. The world is really crazy out here. Our investigator Rico had a sister who was murdered last week. It was really tough to hear. But, I know that God loves all his children, and I know God is watching over you guys while I am gone. 

I cant believe how much stuff is going on! I cant even believe that Rebecca graduated! I don't even remember her starting high school!! Now all the little girls are all grown up, I think Melissa is like 14 now. That is crazy!!!

Well, this week, we found a FAMILY!!! A real family with 3 kids and 2 parents, male and female. the mom is from Taiwan and the dad is white, so I am basically time traveling and teaching myself when I meet with the kids. They are super awesome though, I will keep you updated.

love you guys!!

Elder Burr

its social....twisted and sad, but social

I hope I got that quote right. sooo where do I start. So my companion really is super famous in Japan. He is from a group called bless4, look them up and tell me about it!! He is super cool.

So, we met with this guy that is 7th day Adventist, and he seemed really smart, but he also believed that the world is flat and still the center of the universe. They got some pretty wild Christians out here, I mean like, don't believe in dinosaurs Christians. ( I wonder what the church's stance on that is?? I hope we believe in dinosaurs, I am not sure it would be heaven if I couldn't ride a velociraptor).....as you may have guessed, I have seen the new Jurassic Park adds a lot. 

BUT an awesome thing happened this week. So Amanda, you remember Danny, the guy with the tattoo? So a little background on Danny, he is the Brazilian MMA fighter who is super spiritual! So this past Sunday, Frank got confirmed a member (Frank was the sisters investigator), and during the confirmation, Danny said he felt that the words being said to Frank were being said to Him, and that God was telling him that he was next. hahah it was so sweet. As I teach Danny, I can tell that it is the spirit converting him, not me or my teaching skills, but the spirit, and I am so humbled by that. I love feeling like I am nothing, because I am!! I am a waay prideful person, and moments like this help me realize that I am nothing....with out God, and with God on my side, I can do anything. the paradox of man right here!! 

I am so excited for everyone back home! congrats Becki on graduating!! see you fall 2015!!

love you guys!!

Elder Burr

Tokyo Drift

It was really cool to have a Transfer Meeting. So basically, all the Zone Leaders and President and the Assistants meet at the church at 9pm, President says some words, then we get our folders with the transfer sheets that tell where all the missionaries are moving or if they are staying. It was super fun to call the missionaries because they are just so anxious to get the call. I remember it was only last transfer that I was on the receiving end of this.

So, my companion Elder Larkin from Layton is leaving. (he is my 2nd comp from Layton btw) and going back to the Farsi program and I am staying here as ZL and am now with.....Elder Kawamitsu!! He is a cool cat, I don’t really know him, but I hear he was a J-Pop star back in Japan so he can sing me to sleep and we can crack jokes from "Spirited Away' and 'My Neighbor Totoro'

I am really excited to be staying, this area is just starting to take off, I can feel it in my bones!! We are teaching some amazing people, please prayer for them!!

So, the #1 awesome is Karalyn. She is an older African-American lady, we invited her to read Mosiah Chapter 2, and in like 2 weeks, she has already read all of Mosiah and up to Alma 30!! and she learns so much from it. She is such a prepared nice old lady....she made us banana bread!! how awesome is that!!

So the next set of awesome people. Danny and Gustavo, so Danny is from Brazil and Danny is from Argentina. Danny is an MMA fighter, who has sooo much faith in God. When we met with them, he was telling us how he knew that we were sent to him from God!! haha he also said that the Saturday before we visited him, the JW's came to knock doors in the apartment and he watched them skip over his door, and he knew it was because they WERENOT sent from God ahahah proper authority FTW!!

So, I also had the great privilege of going to a former investigators baptism, Gao Tan!!! He is so cool. The biggest things that changed him was seeing the lives the members were living. Seeing the true happiness on their faces. I have such a strong testimony that so many blessings come from when we stay true to our baptismal covenant to stand as a witness of Christ at all times. I love my Savior so much, I feel so bad for the times when I did things that he would not have done, when I have sinned and turned against God, but I know His Grace is sufficient and that he has taken EVERYTHING, that after he Atoned for mankind, it was finished, nothing I will ever do amounts to anything, it is only through Christ I am saved AND I am changed. I looooved President Uchtdorfs and Elder Hollands talks on Grace. I felt, growing up in the Church, I didn’t quite understand Christ’s Grace and how it really snatched my away from certain death, how I was encompassed in my own sins and imperfections, and he took that all away. I still don’t have a good understanding, but I will continue to study, and as I study it and feel it work in my life my testimony of Christ’s existence and his 'Real-Time' help to me grows and my love for Him grows. The study of the Atonement man, it is the best.

Well family and friends, I love you, make sure to send me pics of stuff that happens like graduations, recitals, weddings etc. etc.

Love you all!!

Elder Burr 

hey hey hey

Hey!!  So, long time no see!!  I wanted to share with you something that happened a couple days ago, I was sitting there while Elder Larkin was talking to a guy in Spanish and I looked at the guy and realized just how much I wanted him to be happy. Then I had a thought,  this feeling I had was not my own, that this is charity, this desire to make someone else happy more than I cared about my own happiness was straight from Christ. It just hit me.

I never quite understood how so many missionaries say they just love everyone it hurts, but I think I actually felt/realized that the other day and it made me so grateful for my Savior and so grateful for this restored Gospel that helped me know Him.

I am very grateful for the Spirit. I am grateful for being out here.

So anyways, Rebecca take mission prep/a language and prepare for a mission!!! no talk of marriage!

Amanda: I love you, do what you gotta do, but I only ask that you wear a GoPro camera on your head during the sealing

Tina/Melissa: stay golden, don’t cyberbully, hang out with good friends, go to seminary and pay attention, really READ your scriptures. You are probably already doing this, just a gentle reminder haha

Mom/Dad: I love you!!! You guys are the best!

Que paso?

Went on splits with the AP's for the first time this week. I love hearing stories about President. I am such a sucker for gossip. I think it was the 5 sisters growing up.

Someone has to send a list of all who is married!

So best thing of the week hands down was going out to lunch with a recent-convert from my old area. Oh man, she was so happy and changed. Changed from the inside out. I know everyone says this, but she had a light about her!!! The Gospel and belief in God is the realest thing. It’s not just a way of thinking.  Whenever I get to experience something that, had I not come out, I would have never been able to experience, I always think of that song from "The Work' with the lines 'I thank my God for each and every day.' Do people not on missions listen to Nashville tribute?

So Lawndale Ward is awesome. Had basically one of the most powerful fast and testimony meetings of my whole mission. They just talked a ton about families and the blessings people have seen and raising kids.  I realized, shoot!!  This is what my life will be like. And this is what my siblings and friends life is turning into. I still feel like the same person I was when I was rolling around on a sk8board and getting in trouble at MRJH, what I mean is, I have the same personality and traits, BUT I feel like my desires and thought process are so different now. Of course that comes with age and time, but I know that the majority of changes have come from Christ and His example to me and the power of His Atoning Sacrifice.

Right now on the mission, I am sprinting to understand more about Christ and more about the atonement. haha But actually, a thought just popped into my head. I can study as much as I want about Him now, and one day I will meet Him!!! I will see my Savior face to face and talk with Him. That’s pretty cool. I am grateful that we all believe in The Living Christ. Not just a shapeless mass of energy.

I think because I don’t write in my journal, my emails turn into journal entries of me talking to myself. Maybe I have just been away from you guys so long, I don’t even know if you are real anymore. You guys are actually just cardboard cut outs and my life is being filmed for some crazy Mormon Message. Truman show....Mormon style.

I can’t even comprehend that Tori is pregnant!  I didn’t even know my Sisters were capable of doing that! I thought it just happened to ladies in the ward and aunts and teachers and stuff.

I am so grateful for you guys sharing the blessings that you are seeing. That is probably one of the thing that strengthens me the most out here. I am far away from you guys, but when you share these blessings and happy moments, I know Heavenly Father and Christ are near you all!!! And that brings me so much peace.

I love my Heavenly Father, and I trust Him. I love our Savior. I love being engaged in the Work of Salvation. I love being a servant!!! My MTC teacher wrote today something that impacted me, " So remember to be happy--you are fulfilling the greatest calling that there is. Jesus Christ--the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace--honored his greatest of callings which was that of servant. The greatest of us all was the one who served each of us."

I love you all! Can’t wait to serve you when I get back!!

little hug little kiss big hug little kiss big kiss

Elder Burr

Regina and her baby Ben! He is so big!

My comp eating some chicken feet #peerpressure

Rap Rappidie Rap Rap

Dad is a lot more righteous than me. He puts hymns as the subject of his email while I put Kanye West lyrics....but it’s applicable!!!

So my birthday came.  Also, Happy Birthday today Missy!!! It was sweet, on my birthday I got to go on splits with the ASL Elders again. It was really awesome because I just got to think about others, no one knew it was my birthday, I got a chance to be real low key.

But later that week, I went to a Chinese restaurant with my comp and some people were speaking Chinese next to me, so I go to start talking and something terrible happened......I didn’t make any sense!!!! NOOOO!!!! Too much English!! We are so busy so language study is almost nonexistent. But don’t worry, I signed up for Chinese at BYU, hopefully intermediate is not too hard.

But oh man, this week was crazy in the Zone!!!! So at the beginning of the week, we united in prayer and we asked the Lord what was his goal for us on Baptismal dates. Then, we went to work and the Zone caught on fire!! This week we set 15 new Baptismal dates as a Zone. Considering we had been setting 3 or 4 new ones the last few weeks, this was a huge miracle!! Everyone was just so happy doing the work. And I loved that because a lot of the times, we try to find fun somewhere else, but it’s when we are working and fulfilling our purpose as servants of God that we are most happy!! It was seriously one of the coolest things I have seen on my mission. The Lord preparing people...a lot of people!!

It has just been an awesome week. For the past 4 weeks we didn’t get any investigators to  hurch, and this week at the beginning of the Sacrament we couldn’t see any investigators, so we just sat with a  less- active we brought (don’t get me wrong, they are important too) but then when it was over, we saw our investigator Wilmer in the back!!! Best surprise!!

I think the mission has just been happier this week, President even texted us and threw a hashtag at the end of it!! I was rolling on the floor laughing. I am finally starting to get the feel for the area, it is hard to adjust to this kind of teaching style, but hey, I am getting to know the Bible a lot better.

It is also cool teaching people of all walks of life. So we teach the Heiss family and the Sneed family. When I walk into their houses, I feel like I am walking into Grandma Morgan’s house, I can’t believe they are not Mormon! I feel like I am teaching Grandma and Grandpa when we meet hah. BUT then you go to the top of our area, and it’s just a bunch of apartments in a rougher part of town. We were teaching a guy with a bunch of scars from bullets all along his arm named Ulysses the other day. It is cool seeing everyone’s different situation, but seeing their same desire to find peace and joy in life. We all have worries, the worries sources differ from person to person, but they are still there. And we have the ultimate source of joy, Christ and His Gospel!! So grateful for that.

I have been meeting a lot of people that have the desire to be a better man. Father figures and examples are pretty slim here. Just contacting teenagers on the street is so terrible, they are harder to love than Bible bashers sometimes. The statement is so true, that only the Gospel can save the world from the calamity of its own self destruction.

Well that was a weird not to end on, but I am about to be kicked off the computer.

Love you all! Thanks so much for the birthday box!!

Elder Burr!!

Spanish Splits

Spanish Splits Eats

photobombed

bull horns

I was attacked....by some idiot in the projects

So, this week was real awesome. I went on an exchange with an ASL Elder that was super fun. I am afraid that I will have a deaf child because now I am feeling the promptings to learn ASL. But we visited a guy that lived in Watts. That was a pretty wild place. A large part of the neighborhood is government projects. They are all yellow and look the same and just go on forever.

Work is actually pretty tough in English. People just keep shutting us down man, but hey, we gotta press on!!!

Something that the Lord has been helping with a ton lately is love. I think for a little bit back, I got into the motion of things. I was letting duty be my driving force for the small, boring tasks of missionary, and not love. NOW I am turning around trying to have love for others and love for the Savior drive me for everything, no matter how small or boring. As I have been praying for this, I can really feel a change. It is cool how that works. Oh man, I think about before mission, how spiritual progression and bettering myself did not even cross my mind. I am so grateful for the time I have had out here and how it has taught me that if I want to make my Father in Heaven happy and fulfill the Plan he has for me, I must strive everyday to be more like my Savior.

I loved President Eyring’s talk on how when he was collecting fast offerings, the guy was mean to him and he didn’t know what to do and he realized he needed the Holy Ghost!! That was exactly what I needed because as the days move on, the more and more I realize that I usually don’t know what to do! He invited us to pray for it every day, pray for that constant connection of revelation. And I have seen it lately and it works!!

Well, I am running out of time and I still haven’t written President (DARN YOU BYU classes!!) so gtg. Love you all! Thanks for the birthday wishes! Give me career suggestions!!

Elder Burr

I love you guys!

Family!!

I am so sorry that my last two letters have been so bad. I can’t remember if I have given you an update on my whole-new life so I will do that now....so I am serving in the North Torrance Stake. The Zone covers the whole Stake. So the cities in it are Gardena, Compton, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Lawndale, and Torrance. Our area is Lawndale. We had our first Sunday this week!! It’s pretty awesome to be in a ward that is a lot more similar to the ones I grew up in (real life grew up, not mission life) So, in the Zone we have an ASL District, a Spanish District, and an English District. It is also pretty weird serving around Sisters for the first time in my mission life....they scare me. But hey, two missionaries are from Indiana in the Zone and they know Braden’s dad (if his dad was a Stake President). But yeah, the area I am in is super diverse, my companion does a lot of Spanish contacting. I think I will start spending some time to practice Spanish. 

So my companion is Elder Larkin, he is from Layton Utah, he is super funny. I feel like I have been on an exchange for the past two weeks it has been so much fun with him. It is so easy to connect with people from America!!! He is 22 and went to West Point so we do a lot of pushups together. It’s funny because we both served together for a long time in International Zone because he was originally Farsi speaking. So both of us have taught non-Christians our entire mission and now we are Zone Leaders over people that teach hard-core Christians and Jehovah Witnesses and all that jazz and we don’t even know Chronicles from Corinthians so, it’s going to be an adventure. But I love the missionaries we serve so much, we are blessed with the most obedient Zone ever!!!

So, Isaac got baptized this Sunday!!! So his dad, Aisake Fukatamafi just barely re-activated, and Isaac, his 9-year old son started to go to Church with him. This was 5 months ago. And Isaac loved it and wanted to be baptized, and since he is over 8 we taught him!! It was the first kid I have ever taught on my mission and it was so much fun!! He really is the coolest little dude. He was so happy his dad got to baptize him too. Aisake, the father, got the Priesthood the Sunday of the baptism. It was just so powerful, Aisake was so overwhelmed the whole time. It made me pretty pumped to be a dad and baptize my kids and it made me so grateful that I had my father baptize me. That is such a big deal!! So many people don’t have that kind of thing in their home. It was awesome to see that. 

Oh man, I read Moms letter, that has got to be really tough. I am so happy though that Mom got to go back and spend time with PoPo. It was a huge blessing that I got to Skype with her last Christmas. I know that was a blessing from the Lord. Thanks Mom for writing that letter. I would like to echo Mom’s testimony and say that I know love lasts forever and that every single relationship we have in this mortal existence will continue in the next. We are all spirits that are millennia old and death is just the doorway we pass through to return to our Heavenly Home. One of my fondest memories of Grandma Morgan was when we sang her the song "Oh my Father" in the retirement home (and not because the black orderly came in and complimented our singing) but because of the Spirit I felt while singing it. The Spirit told me that day that I do have Heavenly Parents above waiting for me. I am so sad that we were never able to sing that song to PoPo, but I know that I will have a second chance. I know that to be true. Now, every time I sing the song, "Oh My Father" I think of the people that have passed on already, and I feel anticipation for the day I see all of them and our Heavenly Parents and our Savior Jesus Christ all together. I guess, what more could I ask for. 

Sorry that I got all weird, but hey, love you guys a lot!!! 

Elder Burr

Isaac & Aisake Fukatamafi

North Torrance Zone

3-30-2015

Sorry Family!! I dont have much time to write today. This Sunday, my good friend Xu Chen got baptized. Elder Zhang and I found him about 3 transfers ago. I remember how we met him was a miracle. He was a referrel from some Sisters, and we got a bad number from him, then we go to visit the address on the referrel and no one was there, we knock on the neighbors door and she says they all moved. well, later that week, we felt that we should give the door another chance. and BAM he was home ready to learn!! He really is one of the most innocent kind guys that I have met! He is awesome.

Also!! after 20 months in the chinese program I am being booted out. It was like my heart got ripped out when I got the call. I will be a Zone Leader in the Torrance North Area. ahh man, I am a little worried to go English, its a whole different ball game, but I trust in the leaders of the Church that they are called of God. Its a bummer to leave the program, Its hard to be away from it.

Ahh got to go family, love you so much!!

Elder Burr

Xu Chen

Good-bye to the Chinese District

Picture Week

Anthony

Hollywood Hike

Spring Breakers

It’s a great day to be a missionary!! Every day is a great day to be a missionary!! I can’t believe how fast this transfer has flown by. Having to do 9 exchanges a transfer makes it fly by. I just learned that we have the biggest District in the mission. YEAH China for over-population! But I love these guys. ahhh it is hard, I am for sure not the perfect District Leader, but you learn every day, and just follow the Character of Christ and serve and it works out.

I talked with President about Mojo the other day, and after my mind drifted to Austin Powers for a sec, I whipped it back and got some good advice. I have been stressing about finishing the mission strong, I feel like because I have set that as a goal, Satan is working on me to not achieve that. BUT my Prez just gave me the simple solution and that is think of others, not yourself. Obviously, this is a simple thing we learn in Primary, but really, it is one of the hardest things to do. Especially as you get tired, or hungry, or frustrated, we as people can become inward little selfish turtles. Just like Laman and Lemual. BUT now, it’s my goal, not to do that, no matter the circumstances. Hold me accountable!!!!

This week, the Ward went to Huntington Beach for a dodgeball tournament. It was awesome, we got 5 investigators to go!! And thankfully they all made it back in one piece. An awesome couple that went was Jing and Ted, they are a newlywed couple and they just love learning. It is all new to them. Jing, the wife said "I feel like Christianity has something great inside it that makes so many people believe, I want to find out what that great things is." My companion and I testified that the great thing was the life and atonement of Jesus Christ and how it transforms us! I am so excited to teach them. We had a lot of really good lessons this week, we are truly blessed here.

I hear people are losing weight back home, I am also on the path of slim fit BYU body 2015. My plan is basically run a lot in the morning, and eat under 1600 calories a day....it kinda stinks. BUT I have come to really love running, I think I want to get into Triatholans when I get back. But that is talk for a loooong ways away.

I love you guys!! Thanks for emailing me and remembering I am still in LA!

love,

Elder Burr

Life in Technicolor

Soooo, I am emailing on Tuesday because we went hiking on P-day to the Hollywood sign, and it took a lot longer than we thought. We all realized that this mission has made us physically unfit for these types of fun activities...but mostly it took so long because we had to wait so long for another companionship.

For sure the highlight of the week was Lorrie!! She is so elect and cool. Her major is game design, video game design. So she can talk to all the ward members about Assassin’s Creed, League of Legends, Deng Deng. She talked about how nice Church was and how she wants to make it a weekly thing because of the peace it brings. She is so awesome, #hastening

It is so crazy the stark contrast between her and some other investigators. With most people, it is SOOO hard to get them to do stuff. So much convincing and discussing and analyzing and sometimes even bribing goes on with people, just to get them to do the smallest commitments. But until they humble themselves and submit to the Lord, nothing really sticks!!

I was reading in the Old Testament, and in the story, the Joseph Smith Translation says, " and Pharaoh hardened his heart."  I realized that in my life and in my investigators lives, it’s always a choice to resist God. So what we have to do is soften our hearts, become humble and submit. And the best thing to soften a heart is the Spirit, and one of the greatest ways to bring that in is to have sincere care for a person. I know this principle applies to normal life to. No one should be forced or convinced or bribed to do anything, because it will just never stick. That's right up there with Satan’s plan. But when you do something out of a sincere love for that person, and they feel that, that's when hearts are softened and a lasting conversion or a change of heart takes place. You see process happen to some degree in a lot of people, but seldom does it fully take place....BUT when it does, it’s like Heaven. 

The name of the game right now is finish strong, and it is so much harder than I thought it would be. I could just feel myself just flying though those first 18 months, just getting out and working and learning, but for some reason I feel like I have hit a brick wall. BUT no worries, as things get better, they will get harder, it has been this way since the beginning. 

Finish Strong and Grow to the End!!

love you guys,

Elder Burr