Happy Mother's Day

Well since we did just talk last night I'm not completely sure what to share. You guys heard that we didn't have the scheduled baptism yesterday for Ingrid, but that was only a downer for a little while. We found out that she had to work and I'm guessing that because it was mother's day that is why she wasn't able to come to be baptized. Originally her plan was to come on her hour and a half break and get baptized and then go back to work, but then during sacrament meeting she texted us and said that work was way busy and wouldn't be able to make it all. So we will keep on praying and working hard and hopefully it will go through soon.

So it was way nice talking with you guys and hearing your voices. It's so weird calling home. It's like I'm stepping into a different world when I call home. I love you guys a ton and it was so great to have one of those conversations around the dinner table like we used to.

Anyway besides that, this week was pretty normal. We were able to set three more baptismal dates this though and the work here is really starting to increase. Elder Forsey and I work well together and it is enjoyable. The thing about our baptismal dates though is that they are all single women and it seems like that is all we ever baptize in this branch so we have been praying and looking really hard to find a family that has been prepared to receive the gospel.

Oh we did have our final interviews with Pres. Cotterell this week and to be honest mine wasn't all that amazing. He literally just asked me what was on my mind for that day and then shared a few things out of PMG and that was it. I was bummed that he didn't blow my mind with something, but I guess its all good.

Well I can't think of much more to say. I love you all to death and Mom, I sure hope your mother's day was wonderful. I hope those kiddos treated you well. I love you all. Keep up the hard work and don't stop trying to share that gospel with everyone!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Burnham

Woooo Hoooo!

Wooooo hoooooooo! That was an awesome set of emails. I can't believe Brianne is home. It is just so weird that she is home now on the member side of things now. She is going to be able to do so much over there. Serving a mission really helps you understand true doctrine to help you become truly converted which helps in every aspect of the gospel. It is the difference in being active in the church and being active in the gospel. I love you Brianne! So tell me Brianne, are you trying to keep the schedule or is sleeping in just a few more hours too heavenly to give up? :)

Wow you guys had such an amazing week. It is just so unreal what has happened for you guys. So Dad, thank you for that letter. I love it when you send those stories and when it is a hard copy it is so much better because I am keeping a binder with all that stuff. Also thanks for getting me that address. So what is it like having those senior missionaries in the ward....Dad, I can't imagine how stressful being a bishop is, but this work can get up there at times. I just love watching the Joseph Smith story to calm me down because I know I have not experienced anything he has. Plus as a missionary it is my favorite movie. Even in Spanish! So reading that Spanish was great. I'm impressed how well it was. By the time I get home we should be conversing hopefully. :) Maybe I can help translate for Hna Barrios someday. :)

Mom, I bet you shed sooooooo many tears this week. I wish I could have been there to give Brianne a hug too. Someday though. Hopefully she is still single then also. ;) Now you can whip her into shape and show her how to work out and also you will have a companion to walk in the mornings. My mind is still blown that she is home. It is just so unbelievable. I'm expecting a lot to come from her. She knows what it is like out here and I'm sure she has great material that can help me. Also, Brianne, when it comes to referrals we ask EVERYONE!!! My mission Pres. stresses it a lot. His biggest thing is the back cover of PMG. He says that the only page we really need to be successful is that back cover. Luckily we have more than that though. I love that book though. Hey are you going to try to work at the MTC? Anyway back to mom, I guess things are starting to get stressful now huh? Girls camp is coming up. Now you have a helper for a while though. Also I'm way excited to call you guys on Sunday. It looks like it may be closer to 3ish your time because we will be having a BAPTISM for Ingrid that day and then an appointment right after so it will be busy. But it will make for a great phone call. We are so excited that Ingrid is finally going to make that compromiso.

um I will be sending some pics soon to Jenni so get ready. Also I was talking to my comp recently and we decided we are really starting to crave home treats. Just something simple like rice krispies or cookies or something. I can't remember the last time I even had regular chocolate or anything like that. Latino desserts aren't always the best. I really enjoy tres leches though. Oh also I know it will be hard to understand, but I found another artist that I like. Her name is Marisella Vandera. Her and Jesus Romero are probably two artists I will listen to for a long time. They make great Christian Spanish music. You guys should listen to it. :) One more thing my comp has a little Webster electronic dictionary thing for Spanish and it is way nice and easier than a dictionary. Also it helps conjugate words and it is pocket size so I can take it church. I was just wondering if you could look into that.

Well I love you guys to death and I still can't believe that Brianne is on to her next mission in life. Keep working hard and keep searching for opportunities to share a little message. And watch those Bible Videos, they are mind blowing. I love you guys.

Con Amor,

Elder Burnham

Keep the spirit

Wow sounds like another good week. First of all tell Jake that he broke his promise of writing me after he went to the temple for the first time and he bet jump on it. Second tell him I love him and I'm super excited for him to be serving. I don't have any other suggestions for him, but maybe some stamps. The missionaries really get taken care of and I don't know too much about what it will be like outside the country. I'm proud of him though.

Sara way to go! Keep working on those talents. I wish I could play the piano. It's funny here in the branch because is like zero musical talent. In fact if the organ didn't have a record feature on it then we would be singing acapella every Sunday. Luckily one of the counselors in the branch can go up and press play on the organ and then sit there and act like he is actually playing. It gets me every time.

Ryan I answered your other email on your email account so check it.

Dad, my bike is working well so far and I treat it right. I do have an SD card that I will send out soon so don't worry. It's hard to keep up on taking pictures. It's not like I'm seeing crazy things daily, but I try to catch what I can.

Mom, sounds like you have been busy. Giving blood, running errands, crying in church. What an awesome week! :) This week for me was pretty eventful. All the investigators we have right now all have interesting stories. We taught this man Mario who is in his 50's and is just studying about everything right now. Originally the English elders were teaching him, but then when he got more interested he decided that he would like to understand EVERYTHING so he asked if the Spanish elders would come and teach him. So we went over and first had quite the interesting conversation about how he was studying about the Nazi's and how a group or cult or something was giving him this book to ponder about and look into. It was weird, but luckily he decided Christ was the way to go and now he is looking into the truth. We are excited to teach him. Then later a random member from an English ward called us and told us they have a family to teach and that was it. So we planned for it and met this family way down in holly springs and had a wonderful lesson. The entire family felt the spirit and really was intrigued by the message. The accept all of our invitations except one. At the end of our lesson with them we went to invite them to be baptized and to set a goal for a certain date,......... And also if you guys go out with the missionaries, unless the spirit is slapping you in the face to say something, don't contradict them. It would be like me telling him how to run his business because I'm American and he is from Mexico and he doesn't understand how it works. Baptism is only the beginning. And it sounds a little silly to me to not want these blessing to come to someone you love. Now, I know he loves this family and just wants the best and doesn't want to lose them and I am very appreciative that he called us to teach them. We are excited to teach this family again and hopefully we can help some people understand true doctrine so that we can help this wonderful family come unto Christ. This work is awesome. :)

Later in the week we taught our most solid investigadora, Ingrid who is planning to get baptized the 13 of May which is also mothers day, so I hope that I have some awesome stuff to say to Mom on that day. Ingrid is working on leaving coffee behind, but she has a testimony and knows she can do it, so we are excited for that also. This week was really good and full of great lessons for both me and the investigators. Elder Forsey and I are putting our shoulders to the wheel and working our tails off.

Okay, now speaking of Mom's day, what time do you have church? If we do have the baptism, which we should, it will be over around 3ish our time soooo.... just let me know in the next email. Oh one more thing am I going to receive an absentee ballot or something like that. The election is coming to be pretty big over here right now, so I thought I'd ask about that. I don't what's really going on, but if you could just let me know.

Well I love you guys to death and I hope things are going wonderfully. Keep working hard and keep searching for opportunities to do missionary work.

I love you guys.

Con Amor,

Elder Burnham

Holy Cow

So holy cow you guys had quite the eventful week. I'm pretty jealous. My week wasn't nearly as exciting except for my new comp. First of all I need Ryan or Sara to get a hold of Paige still, Mom I need you to keep being awesome,  and Dad you just need to beat Ryan or something for old times sake. :) (I couldn't think of anything else.) Ryan It was way good to hear from you about that experience. I can't believe you're legal. No it doesn't really feel different, but wait until you receive the Melchizedek priesthood. Having that awesome blessing really means something and only helps one to come closer to our savior. The power you will be able to hold will only bless lives, nothing less. So keep up the good work and keep reading the BOM!

So Monday afternoon Elder Forsey from Arizona came to Cary to do some work with Elder Burnham. He has been out for 18 months and he was in Raleigh before as a zone leader. Now he is serving, probably in his last area, as our district leader. He is a fantastic missionary and I have so much more to learn from him. He is such a nice guy and quite soft spoken, but he is a leader and knows how this work should be done. This transfer is going to be a good one. Elder Carlisle got transferred to Albertson, where I am told there are more pigs than people. He likes the campo though so he will love it there.

Now on to the week that was not as awesome as I wish it was. Elder Forsey and I did pretty well our first week together contacting a lot of people and receiving referrals, but now very many set lessons stuck. Most of our lessons this week were with nice people that were willing to invite us in. There was a baptism this Sunday for an investigator in Garner and we invited EVERYONE to it. We worked so hard to talk to everyone and really improve the work here and we thought we were doing so well and then Sunday came around. Not a single one of our investigators showed up at all. We had 5 confirm the day before and no one came. I was so depressed and bummed. Luckily going to the baptism kind of lifted my spirits, but I was just upset that so many would stand us up. And even worse was that Ingrid, on of our investigadoras, was scheduled to have her baptismal interview that morning too and she also didn't show up. We have a lot of doctrine to help people understand so that they will change their attitudes towards the importance of Sunday. Well that was basically our week. We started off feeling great, but then it fell through. I'm sure that is a normal thing out here in the mission field, but it was horrible. 

Other than that everything was pretty normal. I'm still loving the work and I have faith that everything will get better. 

I feel kind of sorry for Brianne, but I'm proud of her for keeping to it and finishing strong. Don't let those greenies take over. It's sad that she is almost home, but then she will have more time to write me and send me inspirational things. I'm glad that we will be able to be on the same page about a lot of things. 

Well I love you guys and I'm glad to hear everything is going well. Keep working hard and keep praying for those missionary opportunities. Remember that our message of the restoration really is quite simple and that EVERYONE needs to hear. 

1. God loves us.

2. The gospel blesses families

3. Christ atoned for us and set up His church.

4. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and restored that authority. 

Take those four points and spread it around to everyone you know. Then let the missionaries and the spirit do the rest.

I love you guys to death. 

Con Amor,

Elder Burnham 

Busy Week

First of all I can't believe I didn't get anything to Mom for her birthday and I feel horrible. But I'll have you know that it only happened because of how busy I was working my butt off this week. Being the last week of the transfer my trainer and I worked super hard. We have definitely improved the obra misional in this area. My comp. is proud to say that he is leaving this area better than he found it. He is a little sad that he has to leave with Ingrid progressing so well. The other thing is that we have built a ton of member trust here in the branch. The members love us and we have reached the standards of excellence twice in a row now for member presents in our lessons. It was mostly thanks to a recent RM who has nothing better to do until he heads back to Provo for school, but we love usuing other brethren too. Now what really tired us out is that we biked this week and we had to go to Raleigh. We biked like 8 miles a day up hills both ways. Thank you so much for short sleeve shirts. This week was full of finding and a little bit of teaching. We are at that stage again where we need to find more people to teach, which we definitely are. We taught 45 lessons which is a high for us. We had two investigators at church which made us overly happy. And next week there will be a baptism that they will be attending. We are about to harvest big time in this area. A part from all our teaching and finding we have been fed very well by members this week too. We ate at Cici's pizza with a member, we had honduran balelladas another night, if that's how it is spelled, we had mexican ensalada and pisole, we ate at hibachi chinese buffet with another member, and then yesterday we had chilean empenadas and cheesecake. We were fed extremely well. And ooooooooohhhhh my gosh those empenadas were sooooo good. Hispanic people know how to eat. I think we got spoiled this week a little bit more because Elder Carlisle was leaving, but it was soooo good. It was a good thing we were biking this last week. I'm sure I was able to sweat off everything I ate.

Now since my comp. is leaving tomorrow we spent a lot of time yesterday saying bye to people and taking pics. The members in this branch just love the elders here. I'm very grateful to have been born in this city. Now I don't know who my new comp. will be or where Elder Carlisle is going until tomorrow. President just calls everyone that is getting transferred and tells them to come to transfer meeting and then there it is a big surprise on where you are going. It's always fun to hear all these elders make bets and guess where they will be serving next or who will go where. It gets pretty outrageous sometimes. I have made a vow that I will not become like that. :) Well it looks like I will be having to take over the area now though. I'll be in charge of finding the places we tract and navigating my new companion around. It will be an interesting first couple of weeks. This transfer is going to be a fun one.

Well I think that's all I have for now. I hope everyone is healthy and doing great. I want to see some of those pics from China Ryan. And also can Sara get a hold of Paige for her new address or is she scared. Ryan might have the ganas to do it. :) She is a nice person I promise. Hey mom is it healthy to drink a gallon of cranberry juice a week? Well I love you all and I am so grateful to have such a supportive family, immediate and extended.

Con Amor,

Elder Burnham

Gracias!

Glad to hear Easter was so awesome for the family back at home. Speaking of colleges, this last P-day we went to NC state and toured the football stadium and the basketball court. I have pics of the stadium you guys will see someday. :) I'm horrible at taking pics. Um no we didn't get spoiled this Easter. In fact we didn't even get fed yesterday. But its okay we had two awesome lessons with members present and the English ward made us Easter baskets. Nothing big, but we know we are supported. Dad, I email at the Cary library and its a quarter for every page we print off. Why do you ask? I think that's all the business right? Oh question for Dad, why does all other countries in South America hate on Bolivians. It's like an insult to call someone a boliviano(a). They also insult the Bolivians by asking them, "Como esta su mar?" I don't get why they hate on them so much. Maybe you know. :) Oh one more thing for you Dad, I have finished reading the new testament and I began studying "glory", what is it? Also in my studies of glory I found a scripture that I think you would enjoy, let me know. :) Proverbs 20:29

Okay so this last week was awesome. We are progressing so well. We had exchanges this week and I got to spend all Wednesday with Elder Miller, my MTC companion. It was awesome to work with him in his area and see how much we have grown since we have been in the MTC even in this short amount of time. That was the highlight of the beginning of the week up until Friday. Friday we drove all the way down to Holly Springs, finally to contact some referrals we have had for almost 3 months now because it is so hard to drive that far and try to conserve miles for the rest of the week. But we finally did it and had some success. After that we had a dinner appointment at a members home who invited like 6 of their nonmember friends to eat with us. It was perfect! I have decided that I am not a big fan of flan though, but I love sweetpotatoe pie.:) Anyway besides having a good meal we had a BOMB lesson. Since the next Sunday was Easter Sunday we decided to read about the atonement of Christ and how important it is for us in our lives. Of all the principles of the gospel that we teach, I love testifying of the atonement and the Savior's love for us the most. Anyway, we finished teaching and then their friends started asking questions. PERFECT! They were curious about what we believed happens to those who never get the chance in this life to know Jesus. He really loved our answer that they aren't just damned and that everyone gets a chance to hear the gospel. We are excited to see how they react to this lesson and the spirit I know they felt.

This Sunday, like I said we had two wonderful first lessons with some of the greatest members present. We were able to feel the spirit and we learned a lot about teaching from Bro. Foster who was with us. They were two very successful lessons, but even though I haven't been out that long, I have already seen how boring it is to teach the first lesson so many times. These investigators need to start progressing, because I want to teach something more. I have the first vision down sooooooo well. Anyway that's whats going on and we are excited for the work out here in Cary. Unfortunately this is the last week of the transfer and my training, thank goodness, but it looks like I might be getting a new companion next Tuesday. We'll see. I'm honestly somewhat excited because change out here in the mission is fun and keeps things rolling. We have such a set schedule and routine that it would be so horrible if we didn't get thrown around here and there. Plus it's nice to get fresh ideas and techniques from other elders. So it will be a bitter-sweet event.

Oh also we found out that the Brethren have decided to make a change in the calls for new Mission Presidents and our new president will no longer be Pres. Senior, but President Bernhisel. He's a Physician from Florida. So that's new and interesting.

Um........Oh this week while out contacting an investigator we were walking through a trailer park and we talked with some guys who were outside boiling two pig's heads for el Dia de Pascua. IT WAS FREAKING NASTY! Two whole heads and they were cutting them up and they planned on eating everything. Menudo, chicharrones, todo. Glad I'm not eating there for dinner. Well that's basically how the mission life has been going here. I love you all and I hope you are keeping up the good work. Love ya guys to death.

Con Amor,

Elder Burnham

Oh one more thing for Sara to do for me. I received a letter from Paige this week and she said she was moving, but never gave me another address so if you would be so swell as to call her or something and get that for me so i can respond. I'm sure she would love to talk to you. :) Thanks I love you!

Here is a picture and what info was in the Church News about Elder Burnham's (soon to be)new Mission president.

Julee K. and Marc A. Bernhisel

Marc Alan Bernhisel, 61, and Julee Kirkham Bernhisel, five children, Riverview Ward, Brandon Florida Stake. Brother Bernhisel serves in a Young Men presidency and is a former counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, stake mission president, bishop, high priest group leader and missionary in the Southeast Asia Mission. Self-employed physician. Born in Minneapolis, Minn., to Harris Glenn and Bethine Sax Bernhisel.

Sister Bernhisel serves as a Young Women adviser and is a former stake Young Women president, counselor in a stake Young Women presidency, ward Young Women president, Relief Society president and seminary teacher. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Emerson Dale and Virginia Koch Kirkham.