21 March 2011

Hey Family,
That's excited about Adam's and Dustin's mission calls. I'm way happy for them! They'll have a great experience!


Oh, before I forget... Mom... I'm wearing new shoes right now on my feet. They were way expensive, like 1200 pesos. So like 25 bucks. I just used my reimbursed money from the bags I paid for from flying. Anyway, I think they are pretty good. I also was getting tired of not having any music, for like when we work out, because in Roxas Elder Bautista had a music player and it really helped a lot with pumping me up for the work out, so I brought one my SD cards to the office and had them fill it up with church songs and bought a speaker so the total price was about 10 dollars. Anyway, I only got like 20 songs from the office so if you want to send me an SD card with some music on it that would be cool. Anyway, I also liked those temple pictures and CTR rings the Krugers gave me, I thought its a cool little thing I can give to my investigators or converts or less actives. I was thinking if you want to send things like that or like future missionary name tags or cool things like that I would like it.


Anyway, today was transfer announcement meeting. And I'm not transferring :D And neither is my bata, Elder McClellan. But wait theres more, we're going to pump one more Elder out of us and become a threesome. It's going to be weird. 3 Elders in our companionship. Anyway, I'm way excited. I'm just going to always try to get some ward missionaries to work with us and then it will be way easy to go on splits and get like twice the amount of work done. So this friday that will happen. But I'm way excited for another transfer here, because our area is finally starting to take of great.


Anyway, this week we've had some way cool experiences, that I want to share with you, one of which was way ridiculous but the results made me feel really honored and cool. So on Tuesday we had a pretty good day. We went back to the Delacruz family again and followed up their church and their reading in the Book of Mormon. I looked at Jean's reading and in 2 days she had already read all the way to 1 Nephi 12, which was amazing because it's not really something I see too much happening, and she told us about how she liked the story of Nephi and she remembered their names. She's way good, and she wants to be baptized, we are still just working on the whole family, because we want them to accept it together. But I think Jean is really helping her parents. Because Jean dropped out of school when she was 14 to help her parents work so they would have enough. So she hangs out with them all day at their barbecue selling food and I . But little by little I think we'll be able to teach him, because I feel the Dad is starting to like us more and more. And every time we talk to him we're able to testify to him about the gospel and Jesus Christ. So that's way good.


After that we taught some other people too. One of them was this big group of people that we found in Baranggay Taal. It's way hard because they just have us teach them at this "waiting shed" right outside there houses and there's always like 10 people there. There is two of them that are way interested, they have already been to church 2 times. And they are reading and praying, yesterday we committed them to be baptized too! Anyway, so on Tuesday we were teaching them about the Plan of Salvation, and there was a new husband and wife sitting in. The wife was pregnant and we found out she was around 9 months pregnant, and the baby would be born in around 20 or 30 days. But as we were teaching the Plan of Salvation I talked about new babies and where we come from and I joked with the lady and said, "So when your baby is born tomorrow it won't be when his life starts. It started before that." And we taught about life before on the earth and taught about those things. It was actually a way good lesson and they really understood about Adam and Eve and why it was important, and why babies don't have sin, and what it means to be baptized and they understood a lot and I think it really helped them. Anyway, I talked to the lady who was pregnant a little afterwards and told her I was excited for her baby to be born tomorrow and just joked with her that she should name her baby, "Elder Burton." Anyway, to make a long story short, two days later we returned to that visit and the pregnant lady wasn't there and when we got there everyone was like, "Whoa! You elders were right, she had her baby yesterday!" Anyway, I was amazed and felt cool haha. And to make the story even better, on Sunday she had come back and I talked to her and asked her what the babies name was and she told me she named him, "Baby Josh!" hahaha. So I got a baby named after me. That, you gotta admit, it's pretty cool. I couldn't believe it and thought it was awesome. We'll have to get baby Josh's parents active members in the church of Jesus Christ and sealed in the temple. Then baby Josh can go on a mission too. :D Anyway, I couldn't stop smiling when that happened.


I'm not going to lie to you. Missionary work is fun. That's it. I love it, it's so much fun. What can happen to you. What can happen to other people. Like not really seeing babies getting named after me, that's not the reason, just like how happy you get when people find out and follow what is right, when they always strive become better people, and to see that happen through the gospel, and the fact you get to be a part of it.


Alright, Wednesday was a really cool day too. It had been raining a lot this week, so we had some problems because in our area, Taal, there was a flood. but it was only less than knee high so we just walked through it. We finally got to talk a man we had named "Pamphlet Guy" a couple weeks ago. So a couple weeks ago we were walking down a street in, Taal again. As we did so, some man stopped us and asked for a reading from our church, so we gave him a lesson one pamphlet. We tried his house a couple times but never were able to see him. Anyway, we finally saw him again and he told us he read the pamphlet. He remembered like all of it. He asked us some questions about Joseph Smith, and we asked if he prayed about it. He said yes and had a good feeling. Anyway, he didn't have time to be taught in the long run but we basically taught lesson one to him in 5 minutes at the door and then he asked for another pamphlet. I wonder if we'll ever be able to teach pamphlet guy. (His name is Michael) Anyway, Elder McClellan said if not, we should just give him a Book of Mormon and tell him that it is a really big pamphlet. haha


The next day we went back to Taal and the flood was gone. We went to our investigator, John Tipon (26yrs)and talked to him. It was a good lesson. We really focused on the Holy Ghost and guidance in our lives and how it helps us, how we feel it, and what it will do for us. It was to try to help him to decide to be baptized because he wants to be but he's nervous about his parents and their reaction. Anyway, it was a pretty nice lesson and today during district meeting we worked on Revelation through the Holy Ghost and I have some ideas for John and how to help him. We just need to help him build his faith and trust and just do what he knows is right, but we feel like it's coming, little by little. Anyway, as we taught him it started raining again... hard... and when we left there was a flood again in the area so we had to walk through to get out. :/


On Friday, we had a CSP in the morning and we went to that with a couple of Elders. We just swept trash up and cleaned up a little area. It was funny because as we did so like 5 teenage kids came out with brooms and started helping us, which was way cool. Towards the end we just had to do a little digging and we only had one shovel, so I did some magic for some kids. I'm actually getting pretty good. Well, actually not really, but the kids like it anyway. One of the kids also made a homemade slingshot and I told him to shoot me with it. He thought I was joking but I told him again and then he actually shot a rock at me. It was cool anyway. I had fun playing with his slingshot until it was my turn to dig. hehe. Then we went to go work in the afternoon. We got punted and stopped at a members house and talked to her about her neighbors, one is an investigator and one is a less active. Anyway, we talked about plans we could make with them. The investigator wants to get baptized bad and has a date but every week she has some crazy obstacle to going to church. The less active just returned to church 3 months ago for the first time in 15 years, but she's only been twice. Anyway, we talked to this member and she said she'd visit them. And it was great. With the invitation from the member Sister Sanz came to church again. I was so happy for her. She also wants us to teach her 9 year old son and help him prepare for baptism. If Sister Sanz continues to stay active, I'll be happy to do that. We also taught Sallie, the investigator there again, here baby had lbm and she can't afford diapers so she didn't go to church. We talked about trusting in the Lord and I promised her I would pray for her every day this week that she has no obstacles to going to church next week. She said she would too. So I want to ask for your help that you remember Sallie Constantino in your prayers so she can get to church!!


On Saturday we had a good day too. It was hard because it's graduation right now so there were a lot of parties, but we were able to teach a couple of lessons. A good one again was with John Tipon. I really love that guy. He's so great, and so ready to join this church, but he just needs the strength, so I really need your help with that, keep him in your prayers too. He's way interested in the plan of salvation though. It's good. I think his girlfriend is a member of the church, which helped understand a lot because last week he missed church with us because he went with his girlfriend, but I guess he still went to an LDS church. So that was cool to find out. Anyway, I guess I told you mostly everything about Sunday. But I've been doing great here. Thanks for everything you all do there. It was funny because basically everyone in our district is staying because they are all office elders. But thats cool. Keep up the work. Good luck with school, work. I love you all.


Elder Burton


P.S. Baby Josh says hi too. :D