12/20/2011

HEY, Sorry. This email was in my spam box for some reason. But everything with my companion is awesome. He told me that he wants to work so thats what we have been doing. And like you said dad, we have just had FUN!! I would describe this past week as fun. we laugh, he is funny and we have a bunch of inside jokes. He teaches really well and yeah..its just fun! We get along great and he is helping me with my spanish quite a bit. Any way, here are some pictures. Of the baptism, of Christmas at presdents house and of the picture of the chicken you asked for lan.The little boy holding it caught it for me, after i attempted several times.  haha!

12/20/2011

Feliz Navidad!

I hope all is well with you all on the boat, cruising along, island hopping. sounds like fun!

I dont have much time this week. Yesterday morning we got up super early, and caught the first bus to Quito. 7 hour bus ride..so yeah. we got there, ate lunch and walked to Presidents house in the pooring rain. It was super fun, but super cold too. In the coast, they dont celebrate Christmas really, so I havent felt like it is Christmas time, with the cold, and the lights and trees and just the stuff that comes with Christmas. but in Quito, dang! its christmass. Pretty Cool to see a big city at Christmas time.

We had dinner at presidnets house. Ham, potatoes, veggies, salad, rolls. It was really good. Being there was great. all the missionaries from 3 zones, about 40 missionaries, it felt like a family. We read from Luke 2, and then went outside and Christmas caroled for about 45 minutes. Luckily the rain had stopped. We went back to the house and had a closing christmas thought. It was Elder Hollands message to the missionaries a few years back, describing his first Christmas away from home. It was a great thought and the spirit was very strong. Every time Im in Presidents home, I think of how Mom and Dad would make the best mission president couple. Dad with his powerful and inspiring way with the scriptures and talk, and mom with her loving and unbelievable home making abilities. Remember what Elder Holland said this last conference...just a though i had. :)

Anyway, this past week was great. We had two baptisms, Adrian and Alba Pascal. It was a tender mercy how everything worked out with them, and the baptism turned out great with a lot of support from the ward. So humble, they invited us to dinner on Christmas day with Alba and her daughter, and all the little kiddos. It should be great. We have a good message to share with them.

Ill call you on Christmas day. I dont know when we are going to skype so just be ready on Christmas day. Ill call before hand obviously. Prolly around mid afternoon?? No se todavia. We´ll be in touch though.

Have fun on the cruise! Grandpa gave me the rundown on the All state ceremony. Sounds like it went really well and that it was a great experience for him. Once again, Good work Josh.

Merry Christmas!

JAGE

12/12/2011

Mis Querido Family,

Hola, Que tal? Espero que todo sale bien con preparaciones para el Cruise y La Navidad y todo. Me siento muy feliz estar aqui en Ecuador, serviendo, especialmente en este epoca de Navidad. Tengo algunas historias para ustedes este semana que espero que les gustan.

Congrats Josh on the Awards and the invitation to the All State banquet. also ELITE 11! How cool is that. We go to Quito Next week for the Christmas Dinner with president and so Ill check the box to see if the packages and clippings came. Im very excited to see them all. I hope the packages come.

I forgot to tell you last week, thankyou so much for fasting for Margarita. I knew I didnt say thankyou and its been kiling me all week that I didnt even say anything about it. Sorry, but thankyou so much. We are still working to try and get her married.

Thankyou so much for the story, Dad, about your Christmas that you spent in Canada. ALthough quite simple, it was very tender, very powerful. I wonder if my journal entries will be able to affect, uplift and inspire my sons someday, like yours do. SHEESH. Sitting in the cyber, trying hard not to cry. Im just glad that I have the same opportunties that you had, and all missionaries, to be in the field, serving others, sharing the message of Jesus Christ. Very good experience and im looking forward to spending it with the members. although it doesnt seem to be that big of a deal here. At least in comparison, still excited. Heres why:

This week, Alba and Adrian are getting baptized. Turns out, her and her husband are married, and he is supporting them in the decision. He is going to think about getting baptized to and he said he supports them in the decision. So thats good! We were so bummed at one point. But, remember how they moved and we couldnt find them? We tried everything for 3 or 4 days. Then, we get on a bus, and the relief society president was on the bus. We asked her where she was going and she said Alba´s house! WHAT?! We were so pumped. This was on Wednesday. We went with her to the house, and had a quick message. Went back every day and found out that she is married, is all settled in to her new house and wants to get baptized. She said she was so worried that we forgot about her and her family. And that she didnt know if she was ever going to see us again. When we heard that we were so excited. She came to church with her little boys this past week and is all ready for the baptism this week. and very excited! Tender Mercy. Adrian, her 9 year old son, told us that one day he wants to be a Hermano. So cool! Also, so excited that we found her and have been helping her with everything, She invited to share Christmas with her. So humble and literally has nothing, she invited us over. We accepted and declined the invitation with the member that we received so that we could spend it with her. I love her so much and see the desires she has a loving mother. So great, im so excited to spend Christmas with the Pascal Family.

I talked with the Bishop. He said that he loves that we are working hard. We have now reactivated two families, and one single mother. We currently dont have an Elders quorum president nor a young mens president, and I dont know the High priest group leader, so clearly there is a lack of leadership. Ward council is us, the bishop, relief society and primary and young womens president. It pretty fare to say that there are about 5 or 6 women, in the ward, the bishop and us that do everything.

I love the updates. Keep em coming and the info is good! If you have time, send more!

I love you! Youre in my prayers! Happy Cruise and Merry Christmas.

ELDER JEREMIAH JAMES BURR

11/28/2011

To those it may concern,

Lot to write about this week. Hope I have time to fit it all in.

Sounds like thanksgiving and the whole sha bang was relaxing and fun! your right dad, being in a country that doesnt celebrate it made it easier. Doesnt mean I didnt take the day to think about all the things Im greatful for. I have a good couple pages in my journal and a good brain full of thoughts about home and the fam. I gave thanks and worked all day too. It was a good way to spend the day, although it just was another day here in esmeraldas.

Elder Cuenca was waiting for his visa to venezuela. It got here last sunday, he left on monday and my new companion got here tuesday. His name is Elder cook, he´s from oregon and he is the man. He goes home at the end of this change which will be at the beginning of this next week. So then i get another new companion. I was really nervous at first because our area is pretty big and I dont know it that well, but we have been getting by and in fact this past week we have had a lot of success!

We found a single mom with three cute little boys. great little fam. They came to church and are progressing and its looking like her and her oldest son will be getting baptized soon, on the 10th if everything goes as planned. Great story about her. The day she came to church, it was the primary program. The primary teacher recognized that she was here, came down and brought her three little boys up to the stage to sing with the rest of the primary, even though they had no idea what was going on, by the end of the program, (which was great by the way) the little kids were trying to sing, had made friends and were having so much fun. Also, Elder Cook was playing the piano and i was blessing the sacrament so Alba, the mom, was sitting by herself. Hermana Caicedo, recent, strong convert, went over and sat by her, gave her a big hug and kiss, and helped her through the meeting, answering questions, and just being there. The whole situation made me cry. I dont know why, but i have been a cryer here. I cry a lot now. But just how the ward made her feel so at home, and so at peace, was so great. She onlly had great things to say about it when we went by that night. It was fantastic!

Another story. The missionaries have been teaching this lady named Margarita for about a year now. And, after the first three weeks, she could have been baptized. Except she isnt married. the reason she isnt married is because she was missing a paper, some birth certificate form or something. THe missionaries have looked up and down, in every city, government building, home of relative, EVERYWHERE. A years worth of searching. The teaching record for her is about 4 pages long. Yeah. Nuts. But anyway, the week before cuenca left, we were teaching her about prophets, just basically reviewing stuff with her. The lesson was going great. Elder Cuenca turned to me to share somthing, and I felt SO strong to talk about fasting. Im telling you, it was like the idea came to my head, my heart burned, and i asked her what she knew about fasting. She said nothing. So we taught her about the fast. Elder cuenca was looking at me so strangly. But, we talked about the fast. I asked her if she would be willing to fast for 24 hours, with the purpose of asking for help to be able to find this paper that she needs for her marriage, in order for her to be baptized. She accepted and then we fasted. It went great, she opened and closed it with a prayer and had all her kids fast too. She felt good abou it. So then, Elder cuenca left. Elder cook showed up and we followed up on it. She told us that she had caught wind that she had found the paper. Its in concession, a town about 2 hours north of here, its where her great grandma or somthing weird like that was born that she didnt know about. Im not quite sure about all the details. Anyway, long story but, turns out that the zone leaders, the day before had asked us to go there, to check on the only member that lives there. And its tomorrow. So when we are there, we are going to take out the paper, for her marriage, come back. Tell me, after a years worth of searching and trying to do everything, we show up at her door, have a feeling to have a fast, and then all of sudden the paper is found, and it turns out we are already going there!? How cool is that? I just hope that everything works out, and that we can find the paper, that she can get married, and ultimately baptized. And then start working towards the temple! SO cool and such a rich spiritual experience. Through her faith, preserverance, and her fast. Ill keep you updated on what turns out from the trip tomorrow. I hope all goes well!

Every day we are lead by the spirit. My spanish, its getting better. There are days that are hard, but working for the golden days, or one day, looking back and seeing the hand of the lord in something is so rewarding. All is well here im still loving it! looking forward to talking on christmas. Just around the corner!

Tell Grandpa and Grandma Millet thankyou So much for the newsletter! The church is amazing and reading those articles was very interesting. Thanks for the pictures too of when i got set apart! That was nice to see. Tell them I love them and Miss them!

Les Amo Mucho. Estoy pensando en ustedes muchisimo, cada dia. Cada vez que experimento algo, quiero decirles. Como lehi y el arbol de la vida. Les quiero bastante y espero que todo esta bien!

Elder Burrito (Thats what all the little kids call me)

11/21/2011

Mi Querida Familia,

So cool to hear about all the festivities that happened with mom´s bday! Ive already told you mom but I love you and I hope you had a great birthday! Glad you were able to see Millie and Marie. Im sure that was a blast having them there and also having the big 50 party with all the friends and family! Glad it went well!

Sounds like everything at home is going well with callings, family stuff, work and the usual. Hopè you are all enjoying american soil. Sorry if I dont seem interested in whats going on at home. I dont really know what to say because im not there, i dont know whats going on really. All i know is that I love reading what i get to read every week and I love you all. Think of you all often and pray for you all every prayer. If the letters seem insincere or like i dont really care, just know im busy and doing what missionaries do. sorry but dats just da way dat izz. LOVE YOU ALL!!

The splashes splashed and the waves rolled this weekend at the waters de la pila! (font in spanish) It was so rich and sweet to have baptisms, even though I wasnt the one baptizing. I dont really care as long as we are seeing the fruits of our labors, even if I have to watch someone else pick the fruit. Its still way awesome. The happiness on the two little boys, the little girl, and the joven (youth, Yumi) was very cool. Even more special was to see the Hermano Rojas baptize his two sons. Very tender, very sweet. The mom is a little hard and gets offended easy but she could not have been more happy. The confirmation was frustrating on Sunday. The bishop was traveling for the weekend and so when he came back, he was a little clueless, so the meeting was a little jumbled, with the confirmations and everything. Its all good though. They were confirmed and the deal was sealed. GREAT weekend.

The baptisms went great. Tony and Julio Rojas were baptized, along with Daña Barbosa. And then, we had a surprise baptism the following day! 15 year old Yumi told us she could do it the day of, so we threw it together really quick. Its really nice to have the Zone leaders living seriously a block away so they can help us do stuff like that with getting the interview done and everything. Ill try to send pictures..dont know if it works yet. Ive sent a couple over myldsmail but i havent heard anything about the pictures so im not sure if you got them. let me know if you get them please!

Other than the baptism, the week was alright. We went to Quito on monday. slept there that night and traveled back tuesday. About 20 hours on buses in total over two days. Heritage tours! haha But the reason we went was to get my censos, ecuadorian Id. I dont know if thats how you spell it but its basically to authorize someone in the country. Im an authroized ecuadorian for the time being. While we were in Quito, we had a council with president and it was awesome! He is the man. He helps a lot with small little pieces of advice. I think the best way to describe him is, a quiet powerful example. His leadership is different but its interesting to see how powerful it is, though quite subtle.

We were busy on splits all week with other missionaries in our district so i spent a lot of time working with other missionaries. I felt like we completely left our sector. We havent worked there since last sunday. our numbers showed it. Frustrating that we didnt get to work in our sector but great that we got to do exchanges. I went with elder cabrera, one of the Zone leaders. The dude is a stud. He´s from chile and I learned a bunch from him. We busted it and I learned a lot about what I need to do better and how I can teach from the heart. Thats something that I am going to focus on, bearing testimony and teaching from the heart. Asking inspired questions. All that good stuff. I loved it. And with elder cabrera, I learned how i can do it better. Now i just have to do it better. My spanish is getting better, especially in lessons. I have a lot yet to learn, especially just talking with someone about anything. Street talk is super hard. Lot to learn there. Keep praying for me!

Today was awesome. We went about an hour away to Atacames. Its the beach city in the sector and it was way cool! It reminded me of hawaii with the restaurants on the sand and all the beach jazz going on. It was fun to see. We had an awesome lunch there. Shrimp soup and then fried fish with rice. Super good. Got some good ice cream and then we left..Very cool to see and great to get some good pictures.

Lots to do this coming week! We are moving houses tonight to a very nice condo type thing. Im excited. hope all goes well.

Being a representative of the Savior is truly amazing. I hope to be able to bring Him and His name honor every moment, every word, every deed, every thought. I pray for all of you to do the same, since we all have taken his name upon us through baptism.

I love you all!

Elder Burr

oh, and Tell nick congratulations too! his call fits. He is going to love it. I love him and wish him the best!

Happy thanksgiving!

11/14/2011-Esmeraldas, Ecuador

FAM BAM,

Lot to write about this week. Crazy week, a little slow but very good.

Thanks for all the updates. Marie and Cason, I got your updates as well as lindsay and Laurens. Thanks!
Super sad to hear that they lost, but SO awesome to hear that Josh was a maniac! I hope the family all enjoyed watching him play. I enjoyed thinking about him playing. haha. I was able to get on Hudl and watch a few plays. that was good but there isnt much time.

To answer your questions first. THANKS! for the package. Im enjoying the candy and awesome treats. i dont know when you sent it but i got on thursday of last week, so do the math on how long it took. Seriously thankyou! Laffy taffy is in my belly as we speak.

We are eating at members houses every day, and yes i am eating enough. Perhaps too much. Full plate of rice, with chicken or beef, maybe a soup as an appetizer, and usually verde, which is just unripe fried banana, with salt. You can prepare it different ways but it basically tastes like french fries. Its tasty!

our apartment, is decent. The bedrooms and mattresses are awesome, clean and comfortable and our desk setup is nice. But the kitchen is basically a table, a little stove, a small sink and nothing more. Which is fine cuz we dont cook that much anyway. Usually just breakfat which is usually eggs, or pancakes, or nothing. The bathroom is clean, but the shower, or the dripper i should say, is pretty gross. We are cleaning it hard core today. I really like the cold showers though since its so hot here. After a long day, to come in and have a cold shower is fantastic. I look forward to it every night! haha

For laundry, we just take our clothes to the bishops house, and the bishops wife does it for us. We only pay her 75 cents for it, which is basically just for the soap. It takes about two days for it to dry. so we just pick it up another day, its way nice. Clearly the members are taking care of us. the people here are so open and helpful, and will do anything for us, like pay our bus fare, feed us, give us rides or give us references. The people are amazingly kind.

My companion is from guayaquil. he is great, a great teacher, a good cook, great at gainging people confidence, and a good missionary.

We live right next to the stake center. Its nice cuz we dont have to travel to our district and zone meetings. we are right there. We have all the keys so if we need to get something or if we want to play ball in the morning, we can. its way nice.
We do have a cell phone. my companion is district leader so thats why we have one. other companionships dont have onee. We didnt have one for a while and we had to pay to call, which for him, calling the zone leaders and assistents, started to get spendy for the both of us. we got a phone a week ago so its nice. makes it easier for appts and investigators too.
no bikes. not really that many bugs, just mosquitos. We do sleep with mosquito nets so thats nice..
I can send pics, but i forgot my camera. ill try to send some next week. we are in an internet cafe, right by our house. the guy that runs it is way tight and gives us discounts so thats a big help..

our zone leader if from st george. he goes home in a few weeks..he is a stud and we went on splits a ffew days ago. he taught me a few things and told me how I can be better as far as contacting goes and getting into peoples houses. It was great. he is good guy. He told me that to get his spanish to where mine is now, took him about three months. he said my spanish is awesome for someone that just got here. so thats good. I have trouble talking on the street, but in the lessons i can basically say whatever, it might be ugly, but my companion says its pretty close to being correct... Itll come...Pray for me! I have a long ways to go with the language still, but its sufficient for now.

So this last week, we went 4 hours away to santo domingo for a small conference of 4 or 5 zones. There were probably 50 or 60 missionaries there. Elder Uceda came, with his wife and of course president was there with is wife. It was about a 5 hour conference, super long, but very good at the same time. Elder Uceda is awesome. He speaks with power and taught about obedience, prayer and scripture study, revelation and applying it to our teachings. It was a great conference. After, he wanted to interview a few people. He interviewed two elders that are going home reallly soon, and then chose to interview me. I was super shocked. He pulled me in, asked about my family, asked me how i have enjoyed the mission so far as well as my mtc experience, and then asked me if i had any questions. Of course i couldnt think of anything at the moment, so i said no. then after, a million questions came to mind of course. anywho, after i told him no, he told me that he feels the spirit that i carry. And that he felt that he should speak with me and tell me that, " if i will rely on the lord in everything, stay humble, and work hard, the lord will work mighty miracles through you on the mission." The spirit was so powerful and has he said it he was burning right through my eyes into my soul. It was pretty powerful, and a great experience. the words have been running through my head this past week and its been a great reminder of what i need to do as a missionary, every moment, every prayer, every second. It was great. After, he said, can i give you a hug? it was awesome. Great experience, and something i hope i can fulfill.

This week was hard. We had about 4 baptisms fall through because people didnt come to church. It was hard but we are still working and trying hard. But, we were given a little reward. We have been going with bishop and other leaders from other organizations and visiting families every sunday night. its been great. We reactivated a family 2 weeks ago. they have two little boys who are getting baptized this week, one is 10 and one is 8. The ten year old will count as our baptism, but anyway they are studs. we visited them last night with the bishop. and after the message we shared, the bishop, being the awesome bishop that he is, told Julio the dad, that if he ready and willing, that he will be able to baptize his boys. Thats how it should be, in whatever situation, but i guess that since they were inactive for such a long time, they thought that we would be doing the baptizing. The joy on the dads face, although a little shocked, was so AWESOME! the mom couldnt help but cry and neither could i. It was awesome. The two little boys were so happy and the whole family was just so excited that he would be baptizing his two sons. It was such a tender, sweet experience. The first person that is going to baptize in the white pants i brought, will be Julio, baptizing his two sons, Julio and tony. I am so excited for this coming friday. It will really help them stay activated and hopefully stay stong.

Also, in sacrament meeting, bishop asked me to speak. I was feeling the spirit, shared a quick little message about missionary work and how we need the help of the ward, bore my testimony and finished. I cried, ya so what!? i guess the whole ward i was crying cuz i missed home, because a ton of people came up to me after and said stuff about my family and how the mission will go quickly. I mean yeah i miss my family, but i was just feeling the spirit. I wasnt crying cuz i miss home! OH WELL! funny.

Also, something funny. we were on splits with other missionaries in there sector for the evening. we were walking and i need to use the bathroom. so the elder i was with, brought me to the bishops house that was close by, of their ward, and i asked if i could use their bathroom. went in and there was no lights. couldnt see a thing! So, I faked like a i went, washed my hands, and walked out. somehow they knew i didnt use the bathroom and so they asked me. I told them that i couldnt see, and that i didnt need to go anymore anyway. it was funny, guess you had to be there.

All is well! I love you all. Think about you lots!

ELDER BURR

11/07/2011-Esmeraldas, Ecuador (first area)

Dad,

Your right. Its hard to believe that the week has already come and gone. And even more weird that winter is there! Crazy to think about.

Thanks for the update on joshies game. Such a fun time being in the playoff and all. Sounds like there is alot of support from friends and family for josh and that awesome to hear. Its great that we have that, people who care and want the best for us, even in a game of football.

Ok, now the update on Esmeraldas first, then the update on the work.

Esmeraldas is hot and humid as expected with it being near the coast. Part of esmeraldas is jungle and so its pretty cool to go contacting close to the river that runs through it, there are some members that live right by it and have a little farm. I feel ike im in a movie or something, its very cool.

I guess a slave ship crashed forever ago and the slaves settled esmeraldas. it makes sense because there are a ton of black people. Its great though because they are super humble, want to listen to the good word which then gives us the chance to teach about the gospel and let the spirit fester within them. We are working hard and our efforts are both contacting and teaching as well as working with the members, as it should be. we are busy and its a good thing.

I wrote Josh about some of the little funny things about here. Have him show you. Super funny..

Now about the work. This last week, our focus was on the ward. We made it a goal to visit a less active family every day, to have a member accompany us to a lesson and to get ward mission plan set up. We got our goals accomplished and I feel like the ward and us, are headed on the right track.

We reactivated two families. The bishop announced there presence in sacrament meeting and had a sustaining vote for them to welcome them back. It was great and you could see how happy the family was. It was awesome! Later sunday night, the elders quorum president, us, the bishop and the teacher quorum president went and visited the families. tHey said they felt great at church and are excted to start coming back. it was a great feeling.

we also had a focus on putting a fire under the visiting teaching and home teaching efforts. Hopefully for the month of november the percentage can go up. We also planned for a way for the ward as a whole to help us find people to contact and teach. This will help them see the miracle of conversion, and hopefully strengthen their testimonies as well. We hope that we can carry this plan out in the next coming weeks. We presented all of this in the ward council meeting and everyone thought it was a great idea. Sounds like every one is on board and ready to work. i hope it works and people go through with it.

THanks for the idea about mutual. Thats awesome and i didnt even think about that. I dont know if they even have mutual but ill find out if they do, and if they do, my companion and i will be sure to do an activity with them soon!

My companion. He is great. a great teacher, a great person and awesome at gaining the confidence of the members and investigators. which is critical. He lost his agenda, which is huge. Its been hard to work without it because he had a lot of good things in there that would have good to have, but its also been good but i have been forced to learn how to use my agenda, and instead of me relying on his agenda and the numbers we record in his, we are relying on mine. Its good, im developing good habits with it and im learning how to use it. I was always told how critical it is in the mtc and now i see why. its like a soldiers gun in war.

Im eating great. the mamitas are feeding us well every day and i havent had diarrhea yet..so thats good. Calm before the storm i guess. We ate with a great family yesterday. The mom and dad are fantastic, they have 3 boys and are awesome. Anyway, to make a long story short, they asked me about my family and asked what were some the things that I learned from you and mom. I was able to tell them about the ppi´s, family nights, morning prayer and scripture, meals together and fun family activities. They are trying to do the exact same things, even ppi´s which was awesome to hear. The spirit bore witness to me of what a great blessing all of those family things were, and personal time i had with you and mom and what those meant to me. I could see that those parents wanted the best for there kids and are doing those things which will teach there kids how to behave, how to be servants of the lord on their missions, and how to raise a family. They are awesome and they reminded me of how great you and mom are. I love you both. I tell you a lot but its never enough. Thanks.

Anywho, we are still busting it! Still gotta keep working within the ward and among the investigators, doing what missionaries do! I love it. i feel like a missionary and i love knowing that i have almost a full two years ahead of me of the experiences i have had in the past two weeks. Its only gonna get better. perhaps harder, but better. Bring it.

Im reading Jesus the Christ right now. Loving it. My love for the savior is immense and hes why im here doing what im doing. I love him.

JAGE

11/01/2011-Quito, Ecuador

Hola!

Familia! Yo siento que yo no he escrito ustedes en mucho tiempo!

I am just going to apologize right now, I dont have much time at all. I am really sorry, but my companion didnt want to plan last night for p-day because its p-day. and as a result, we havent studied today, our email time is being cut short and I have no idea how to write president. So I still have to do that and we have an appointment here in about an hour. FRUSTRATING! Ill talk about that in a sec!

First off, congrats danny on receiving 100percent on your test. Julianne, im super excited about your new car, wish i could see it.. Mom and Dad, hope you are excited for Hawaii! you deserve it. Owen, Happy BIRFDAY! Sarah happy birthday! Grandma millet happy birthday! Happy halloween! Josh, keep tearing it up and I hope you sack hyped-up homeboy 5 times on Friday. Wyatt, dont you fall down those stairs! Lauren and Brian I love you, email me. Y marie and cason, igualmente. Linds and trav, Im excited for your baby! Jeff, hope you're enjoying sports center :).

Alot has happened in the last couple weeks! cant believe im actually here. Its flown!

Let me just say that after the short time i had in Quito, Its awesome! Very cool city, perfect climate, and lots of cool stuff to see. President and his wife are great! They remind me of someone from back home but I cant quite put my finger on it. They had ton of food for us when we got there and was very nice. We had a great chat. He is a really easy going guy and very open. But, you can also tell, that he expects a lot, as he should. I felt like I was at home for the few hours we were there. It was mainly just to interview, get briefed a little bit and relax from the travel. It was great.

That night we went and slept with some elders in the area. It was cool to talk to them, get there opinions on how everything goes down and what is expected, what to do, things like that. I was great. The next morning, we woke up, got briefed on everything, received our cards, health info, mission rules, and learned about all the different areas in the mission. After that, we received our companions and areas! Im in esmeraldas, San Rafael, with Elder Cuenca. Our area is nuts! I feel like im in Africa and the other elders told me that this is the craziest area of the mission. I dont know if its true because i havent been anywhere else. Ask Michelle. But anyway, i really like it and we have been working hard. We have already found 4 new families to teach, but only one of them came to church. A bunch of baptismal commitments and people that came to church. We´ll see how this next weeks goes with them and if they come to church next week. Its seriously so fun. Its hard work, it hot and humid, but a good thing is that i can understand just about anything that anyone says. The hombre's spanish seriously helped with how much they cut words off and stuff like that becasue everyone here does that too. Its pretty rare to find people that speak really clearly but its good that i can understand those that dont! Now, speaking is a different story. I can get my idea across and basically say whatever I want, but its pretty bad. My accent is decent but my grammar is terrible. I'll leave it at that.

My comp is great! We work hard, we are obedient. He is a great trainer! Im learning a lot!

The mission got real really fast! I am really loving it and for the 5 days ive been here i've learned alot. Quick story. Last night we had a ward coucil meeting in which the focus was missionary work. The bishop was looking for ways for the ward to be better and ways that they can help us get more work. We came up with some great ideas and hopefully we can start using them tomorrow. But, the bishop, a stud by the way, was concerned with the ward. He said that nobody is doing hometeaching or visiting teaching, that the primary is really disorganized and that the young mens and young womens programs were struggling. He touched on this briefly and then moved on. I think just to make us aware. Anyway, the meeting ended and we left. About half way between our apartment and the chapel, my companion realized he forgot his bag so we turned back. The bishop was the only one there. We went in and found him just sobbing. It was very sad and you can tell that he carrying a great burden. Im crying just thinking about it. He tried to cover it up but it was obvious. We told him that we are here to work and that if he needs anything, that he can tell us and that we will get it done. We are really going to try and help the ward and get more members attending, and get people to magnify their callings. Its frustrating because coming from such a great ward, I know of the blessings that those people are missing. Luckiliy they have a great bishop who is doing his best. Obviously there are the strong in the ward who do most everything. But, still, this will likely be our focus in the coming weeks. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

I love you all! This work is real! Im loving it and learning a lot. The spirit is strong and giudes us and touches the hearts of the prepared. I know that Christ lives.

Thanks family! I love you.

JAGE

10/25/2011-First Letter from Quito, Ecuador

Quito!!! Made it here this morning. All is well. President and his wife are great. We´re just waiting in the mission home right now getting everything all figured out. I briefly looked over the emails but ill read them on monday. We are heading out to our areas tomorrow afternoon with our companions and im excited! Tell wyatt happy birthday and sarah too in couple days! Love you all

Jage

10/12/2011-Pictures from Tour of Lima Peru

Elder Burr took a tour of Lima Peru and was able to see the town and meet a few of the people.
 (his letter below talks about the pictures)

10/12/2011-MTC in Peru

hola!

This past week has flown, but other than the tour and getting new latino companions, nothing has really changed from our schedule. Mom, i hope all is well with your calling. We´re both enlisted at the moment. its a good thought.

Sounds like this seasons sports kind of stink and you are all looking winter in the face. Im looking green, breezy, light sprinkles and 60´s in the face. Im not quite sure when we leave but its coming soon. Im pretty sure ill know next week.

Our tour of lima! So fun. We toured this old catholic monestary and it was crazy! I cant believe people actually found joy or peace in worshipping within that depressing, dark, dreary religion. Its interesting to see the comparison. occasionally, we found little lost truths within the monestary, little symbols here and there. Very interesting but more importantly, I am SO glad I have the knowledge that I have. Its like the difference between a squishy grape and a nice, cold, crisp one. Bad analogy but time is short with email here..

Anyway, after that, we walked around, shopped in the little down town flea markets, and then we went to a nicer mall. Got a cool beany, a cool hat, and a nice zip up sweater! But then, we went to the mall and i got, youre not going to believe this, FRIES AND A BURGER!!!!!! I was so excited at the thought, but at the sight, i could barely stand it. I was loving it. It was no B. SUPREME but it was fried, and delicious. ill try to send pictures but i might run out of time! Sorry.}

I gave out my first book of mormon! It was way exciting, got his number, address, and i turned it into the missionary office. The chances of him investigating further are slim, but I have faith! He was a guard in front of the peruvian embassy building. Super cool guy, fully suited and armed, but was interested. It was great!

My new latino companion is great. Im learning alot from him and I also get to teach him how to do things. We´re zone leaders so i got to teach him how to conduct a meeting, make assignments, and organize interviews. We are both learning a lot. Its great!

Anyway, almost out of time. I love you all. Les AMO!

Elder Burr

10/05/2011-MTC in Peru

Familia!
 
P days are great! Its a good motivator and helps me realize the support, prayers, and thoughts on my behalf. Thank you! I feel them every day and then I get awesome emails. Thanks a bunch! 
 
Its good to hear all about what’s going on at home. It sounds like an exciting time right now with the news of Lindsay having a girl is super exciting, Craig being there (Hey Craig!) All the kiddos running around as usual, Josh’s football, BYU, and of course the excitement of general conference and all the good junk that comes along with that. Glad to hear all about it! I love you Familia!!
 
General Conference was incredible yet again, especially being in the mission field. We got to listen to it all in English and it was rich. I’m sure we all loved the same talks, Holland, Eyring, Sister Dalton, Tad R. Callister, and of course the prophet. They were all great and every single one of them applied to missionary work it seemed it like. During Elder Hales talk, there was an earthquake here. It was SO cool! It only lasted maybe 5 seconds and was little of course, but we definitely felt it. It was loud and so cool. It was the power of General Conference. ha! One message that was common through the whole conference that I noticed, and I'm sure you did too, was the importance of the Book of Mormon, The Savior and Repentance, and Missionary Work. It was like the entire conference was a big lesson, not just individual talks about separate topics. Repent and be worthy, study and know the word, and then go and serve and be representatives of Jesus Christ. I loved it!  How crazy is that about the Tabernacle! That’s going to be interesting to see how it turns out. 
 
Not much has happened here other than that. Yesterday, the older group of Elders left to the field. That was kind of sad because I was way close with a lot of them. They are all way cool and I hope I see them when I get back. Good examples to me. 
 
We are about 2 and a half weeks out of leaving for Quito! Its super weird but its very exciting! I couldn’t be more pumped. I love it here, lots of study and it seems like I have a better grasp on the language every day. We tour Lima today and I'm excited about that. I hope I can find a place that has burgers and fries. As much as I love chicken and rice, fried food sounds unbelievable right now. I gave my camera card to my teacher (have Lanny explain) and hopefully she sent some pictures. Let me know if you got them. Its super slow through mylds mail but if you didn’t get them, I can send them. Ill try and send some next week after our tour. 
 
Les Amo!! (Cason, check that. I dont know my me, te, les, los, las,)
 
Elder Burr

09/28/2011-MTC in Peru

FAMILIA!!

Este Semama fue muy loco!! 

I have alot to write about but little time to do it. Hopefully you got the letter the second time i sent it. You'll get a double dipping this week.

So we went tracting on Saturday.. straight to slums of Lima. Straight up cardboard boxes and very humble people. Very resistant though. We tracted for almost 4 hours and knocked a ton of doors and didn't get in to one house. People would rather listen to our message through a window or the crack of the door than sitting down somewhere. We taught a bunch and i learned a lot. My spanish was ok. I understood probably 90 percent of what was said but it seemed like the ten percent that i didn't understand was always the most important stuff. frustrating but it was great!

Let me tell you what i learned!

First, Its straight up work! Walking, talking, trying to find people, trying to recall scriptures, figuring out what i want to say in spanish, bearing testimony, praying, more walking, knocking, hot, sweat, companions frustrated. Just lots of hard things. ITS WORK!!  But, I have to say, I LOVED IT! I didn't want to be anywhere else and i couldn't get enough! 

Second, its Dirty here. The first thing i saw walking into the barrio was a little boy, maybe 12, peeing and staring at me. It was like he was gesturing, "Bienvenidos a Lima!" hilarious. Tons of dogs, trash, smelly gutters, nasty dirty conditions. We were in one of the worst parts i guess...that's what some of the older missionaries were saying. Definite eye opener. But, again, i was loving it.

Third, people would receive a small answer that our message was true through the holy ghost, but, they reject anyway. For example, we were teaching this lady, she told us that her mom died recently, we bore testimony that she would be able to see her again someday and then invited her to church. She was crying, totally feeling the spirit, and still turned away saying, soy catolica. super frustrating. She was blinded by some garbage that her dad told her and she really didn't even know. She just thought. But, we planted the seed.

Fourth, prayer invites the spirit. We stopped and talked to this guy. We told him we had a message for him, but that before we shared it we wanted to start with a prayer. He seemed like he was in a hurry. I said the prayer, he probably had no idea what i was saying, but I know he felt the spirit. We looked up,  and he was ready to be taught, right there on the corner, and he didn't care how long it was going to take. He knew it was true too, he gave us his phone number, address, and told us he wanted us to come back. We told him other missionaries would be coming and he said it was ok. He was just excited to hear the truth I'm sure. But, without prayer, he likely would have said that he was in a hurry and moved on. The spirit calmed him down, and then gave us the chance to teach him what he needed to hear.

Fifth, the gospel was sent forth today because the world needs it! Thousands of people, in this barrio seemed worried, are in a bad situation, don't know anything about what god has in store for them. But, i know that through this gospel, people can find peace, happiness, true joy and feel perfectly ok, because they have a knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ and a loving heavenly father. Its the only way people can experience true happiness. The reason I know this is because we were walking through the barrio, and these two cute girls came up to us. one was maybe 12 and the other maybe 9. The 12 yr old was poised and happy, and the 9 yr old was super happy, couldn't stop smiling, they were so happy to us. They told us they were members too and then, we became happy to see them too. haha! But, they just seemed so happy, even though they were in a similar situation as everyone else, possibly worse, they were SO happy. This is a testimony that the gospel brings happiness. I love it, i love teaching it, i love striving to live it, and love seeing others being happy from it. 

Sixth, I am super excited for the field!!!!!!! This made me realize what a mission really is. The MTC is great, but field is going to be better.  obviously, but, I just got a small taste for what its going to be like. And I am so pumped! Half way mark next week and then I'm in Quito. I don't know my exact departure date but its around three weeks from this coming Monday. Super excited!!

That's it! I have a ton more to write about but almost out of time.  I love you all and hope everything is well at home.

I sent some letters in the mail via pouch. They should be there towards the beginning on next week, if not sooner.


Elder Burr

09/21/2011-MTC in Peru: Letter to brother Josh

BRO BRO!!

Good to hear from you my man! Kind of a long week in some aspects but super quick in others, but it was good to sit down and have a nice long solid email from my BOY!!

Lima is sick! Mucho Espanol and there are a million Gerardos here. They all just repeat the same jokes over and over again and think its funny every time. The big one with me is, they either say BURRRRR and shake their heads like its cold, or say burro, which means donkey of course.

Im basically the biggest here. The first day we played soccer. They are all so little. But can handle the ball like nobody’s business. They all grew up playing in the streets and so they cant get fast cuz there is no where to run. They dominate in handling the ball...and obviously I don’t. I never thought I would say it, but soccer is a blast! I love it and its fun. Don’t kill me. When I get back, it will suck again. haha

Quick little story! The first day, my comp, a stud by the way, asked me to help him write his testimony in English. So I helped him and translated his simple testimony for him into English. He practiced it all day, without me knowing and then gave it to me in English at the end of the day in the room. It was super simple, humble and he struggled with some words. I started to cry and was embarrassed that he saw me cry the first day, but the spirit was super strong. He said it in a Latin accent, and messed up a bunch but the spirit was so strong. This is the way the lord works. It was a testimony to me, that I don’t need to say anything in Spanish with eloquence or even with great grammar. I don’t even need an accent. But a simple, humble testimony, will invite the spirit and allow others to feel spirit and ultimately build their testimony. I loved it. Definitely a highlight of the week. I’ll write about more highlights in the family letter!

Awesome to hear about your game! Well done. Keep tearing it up, being a leader, doing what you do! Every day I’m thinking about you and what you’re doing but especially on Friday nights. I think about the pregame and you running out on the field before the game. Its a good thought. I miss you a bunch and glad to hear all is well! I love you.

Love you! Stay strong as always. I love you and cant wait for you to experience what I’m experiencing. If we were companions, GOODNIGHT!!!! Could you imagine!? haha love you.

Elder Burr

09/15/2011-First Letter from MTC in Peru

Hola Familia!

Its all spanish from here on out! Except when im emailing of course. I aplogize for no punctuation and capitalization. this computer is weird.

Well, it was super fun to hear from you at the airport. Its weird that I wont be able to talk til Christmas. esta bien porgue estoy aqui en Lima ahora!!

Its very good to hear that all is well! WYWY seems like he is huge the way that you talk about him. Im sure he is. Love him.

Let me tell you a little bit about my travel day and also about here. I had some great experiences and funny things happen. We got on our flight to Alanta and I basically slept the whole way. I was able to catch up on some sleep which was great.. We got to Altanta, chatted on the plhone and then got on the plane. There were about 25 of us on this flight and another 15 on another flight..we met up with them in lima. but I sat next to a bishop from farmington, he was on my left, and then a drunk from rhode island. The contrast was great! ha! But the guy from Rhode Island ordered 4 vodkas and passed out for the last 4 hours of the flight. with a Bishop on my left, and Reggie passed out on my right, my missionary opportunities were limited. I think that was the Lords way of telling me that I still have a ways to go before Im ready to teach. We got 2 meals on the plane which were fantastic. And luckily, my bowels and body cooperated so I didnt have to disturb the bishop or the other guy the whole flight. I got a lot of study done and about an hour of shuteye. it was an ok flight.

We got to lima, had to pass through the passport customs place. That was an adventure with such limited spanish. The officials were pretty easy going and i caught of few things that they said that i thought were pretty funny. one of them said, what are they all doing here? another one said, Son misioneros! Esta limpia, or somthing like that which means theyre clean. so he stamped my passport and let us through. it was great. We got our luggage and made our way to the place where everyone goes to pick up people. There was a guy with a sign that said CCM. He looked nothing like a member or a worker from the CCM so we were a little sketch going with him. We went outside and it was MAYHEM! south america driving is like watching someone play mario kart! its hilarious. We got on the busses and headed. You would think that the bus drivers would be better drivers, but theyre not. They were worse! They are in these huge coaches, swerving, coming within honestly 2 inches of other cars. We came to a red light and a guy got out of a little truck and came up the bus window and started banging on the drivers window. I guess our driver cut him off or something it was one of the best things ive ever seen. So we got to the ccm and it is super nice here. We got here at like 1 am and got our rooms, info and they basically told us to just go to bed. We got undressed and went to bed. My comp, who i didnt know cuz he was snoozing, was grinding his teeth all night. But i slep great til 6. woke up and met my compañero. He is a tall, skinny, smiling Jose! His name is elder mamani and i can tell we are going to have a blast. He was very patient with my spanish and very chill. He loves soccer which is a given but we talked about it for a while. I wish i would have played more fifa so that i knew more soccer players other than Landon donovan. haha Any way he is a good guy. The natives, including my compenero just got here yesterday so were basically in the same boat. We had breakfast, and got all of our passports and info to the office and then got a haircut. Straight up military buzz! SUPER short on the sides and longer on the top. I look like a doof but its all good. We met with the ccm president and he is Great! he knows president ghent and speaks highly of my mission and him. It was nice to meet him..

Any way, running to lunch now. There are a lot of cool elders that came with me and i already feel like ive made some really good friends. Im loving it and even with it being super strict, probably twice as strict as the provo mtc, i think im going to love it. Its very nice here, the food is good, the water is safe, the people are great and the gospel is true! what else do you need!?

No packages. Pouch mail. The address is:

Elder Jeremiah Burr

Lima Peru MTC

P.O. Box 30150

Salt lake City Utah 84130

only 2 8x11 pieces of paper, no envelopes. im not quite sure on the envelope deal so youll have to check that out.

Send the fam my love! Wish i had time to write all of you! sorry. Tear it up tomorrow Josh. Go cougs! Te amo!

Elder Burr (or as the natives say, elder boor.)

09/08/2011-Provo MTC

Mom! (And family)

All is well here! First off, thanks all of you for the packages, the letters, prayers and love! Lets just say I'm leading the pack over the whole MTC in the package and letter race.

Time flies! Already two weeks and it feels like its been 2 days. I have already taught probably 10 lesssons in spanish. Its crazy how fast you learn here. Praying in spanish is great too! Instead of being formal in prayer like using thee, thou, thine, we use the Tu form which is like you, yours..etc. It seems more personal for some reason in spanish. I guess thats the case in other languages as well. Something else that is really cool is singing in spanish. Singing hymns that ive sung my entire life in english and then singing them in another language is very cool. The spirit is super strong. Elder Besson and I make a good duo and so we start off every lesson by singing a hymn. Its the best and it sets the mood for the whole lesson by bringing the spirit in so nicely! I love it.

So I got my travel plans for Lima a couple days ago. I need to get a traveling card for my yellow fever shot though before I leave so if i could get that this saturday that would be great! I hope that everything goes according to plan. I guess in the past they have given elders their travel plans, they get all packed and ready to go and then like a few hours before they leave they tell them that they aren't going anymore because of visa problems. I hope my plans don't fall through. Im really excited for Lima and can't wait.

Tell Marie and cason and Millhouse that i love them. I will try and get a letter off today to them but if not, send them my love. Sorry time is super short! Also tell Linds and trav and O thanks for the package. That was very nice of them! And ALSO tell Brian and Lar and the kiddos thanks for the letters and pictures. They are proudly hanging up in my room. The other elders are jealous. ahah

I'm doing great though! Its a good thing that I had the dorm experience with the cannon center and everything. The food has been giving my companion and tons of other elders serious problems. Im already leathered and used to it so that is a blessing! haha

Letters will be coming shortly. I hope I can get as many off today as I can. P day flies! But anyway! Thanks! I love you all and i'm glad to hear everything is going well at home! Adios!

Elder Burr

Ps..things i need: yellow fever travel card, Retainers, Jared Puamau's address, and if you want, one of those old time alarm clocks that rings the two bells on top. Ya know what im talking about? If i could draw a picture i would. But its the only thing that wakes me up. Its a good thing that a kid in my room has one. That would be nice. if not no big! thanks again! love you.

09/01/2011-Provo MTC

Lannnny!
Jage here, checking in from the in MTC.
Hilarious story! Loved it! Lisa Jensen saw you? you hit a black chick! haha what did dad say?? im laughing out loud in this computer lab right now.

Everything is going well here! teaching, studying and speaking spanish is what my day consists of errryday. I love it but its hard. By 6 or 7 and after spending 6 or 7 hours in the classroom it gets tough to focus. good thing Im in a sweet district and they are all tight. we got hooked up with dope sister missionaries. They are chill and laugh with us. some sister missionaries just act snootie and holier than thou but ours are smooth. lucky me..oh wait...one of the hermanas can crush a can between her shoulder blades. so..thats kind of cool. she told us the first day and then she showed yesterday and I had to try so hard to keep from laughing. she played waterpolo in high school and softball. im kind of scared of her now.

My comp is money. he's a goof ball. he was a manager at a mcdonalds in atlanta georgia, hick capital of the USA so he has million of hilarious stories about when he worked there. I have been laughing so much with him and i love it. its keeping me sane!

I really do love the mtc. I have a story for you though! im only typing this out once so forward this email to mom and dad and whoever you want cuz this story doesn't get any better.

so tuesday night is the devotional every week and there usually is a general authority that comes and speaks to us. usually a 70 but sometimes a member of teh 12. Anywho, we were at dinner just before the devotional and I went to the bathroom. But, the bathroom we are allowed to use was closed so i went to the other bathroom just around the corner. I went in and as i was taking care of business, I heard the door open. I felt the spirit enter the bathroom, no joke. I peeked over the stall and saw a nicely combed Head. I new it was someone of significance so i finished up and left the stall and went to wash my hands. the man was standing at the urinal and I so i couldnt see his face but as i was washing my hands, my eyes were glued to mirror waiting for him to turn around. I watched him zip up his pants and turn around and it was ELDER HOLLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was freaking out! I said, "hi!!" almost laughing but with a huge smile. In a very composed way he said hi back. the only thing i could think to say was, " i assume you're here for the devotional for tonite?" he said, "yes. Is that why you're here too?" I laughed and said yes. He was still washing his hands, otherwise I would have shook his hand, looking back. I totally should have waited for him to finish.. But i just said, it was great to see and im looking forward to hearing you speak. he said, good to see you too elder. We´ll see you in there. Myheart was racing and I was freaking out. course, nobody knew he was coming so when i went back and told my district, they all started freaking out. some missionaries didnt believe me. It was so cool though! I literally felt the spirit, right as he walked in. Had that other bathroom been open, i wouldn´t have seen him. Very cool.

Any way, thats basically it. Te amo julianna! Gracias por el mensajero de electronico.