Marc's email 6/27/2011

Well it sounds like everybody finally got married and I am just here in Estancia. This area is so tight compared to the little podunk town I was stuck in before. It is in the middle of downtown Guadalajara and the temple is in my area. My comp is Elder Lopez and he is way tight. He was a world champion in Muy Thai and has one change less than I do. We have various people that we are teaching and daily we are looking for more. The picture that I sent you is just a dog that wanted to eat us. That thing was huge if you cant tell. We had the opportunity to speak in church yesterday and that was an awesome experience. I talked about the talk the Elder Bednar gave about asking with faith. Then I told them that it is their job to look for people and their family members and it is our job to teach them and baptize them. I felt the spirit so strong and I still dont know why. I just know that the Spirit was talking through me and the Lord directed my whole talk. It was a well needed experience. This first week in this area was awesome though and it is a relief to finally be out of Villa. I learned so many things though and made some awesome friends that have taught me how to be a humble person. It is funny how I went from the poorest area of the mission to one of the richest areas in one change. This area is awesome though. As many of you know the United States played against Mexico and it just turns out the my team one. EVerybody has given me crap about that so thanks america for sucking at soccer. One tight thing that we did this week was we went to a park to contact the people there. As we saw some people running, my comp and I ran up along side of them and started contacting them. We were running with our backpacks, shoes, tie and all and it was pouring rain. I have learned that to accomplish things that you have never accomplished, you have to do things you have never done. So this was one of them ha we ended up running about 2 miles that day in full on missionary gear. Then after that we put on our motab voices and started singing in the doorsteps of the people that dont accept us. Needless to say this change is going to be awesome. EVeryday here it rains and that is also sweet. It is nice to see something different that is for sure. Well family and parents I love you all. I know this chuch is true and the Spirit is our guide. I know that the Lord is my Saviour and He died for me. I am honored to bear his name on my chest and do His work. I know that He knows me and that He wants me to be happy. I have felt Him carry me through the hard times and have felt his presence. I know he suffered everything for me so that I will never be solo and I am eternally endebted to Him. I love Him and know He lives. I love you all and hope you all have a great week.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 6/27/2011

I just have to say that this week went SO much better than last week did. I don´t know what the difference was, but it just seemed like everything was going our way. On Thursday we found some fantastic new investigators named Nadia and Gastón. He is the boyfriend of a less active member and she is the sister of the member. Nadia is a single mom with two kids of baptism age and one in the oven. She has always been the type of person that was too busy for God and never gave Him the time of day and Gastón is a very devout catholic. The first lesson we taught them was the Plan of Salvation. When we asked Nadia what she thought happened after this life she replied and told us that she had never ever thought of that before. It was a blessing to see the hope that filled her eyes as we explained to her that if we obey all the commandments and do all that God asks us to we will be able to live with our families forever. Gastón was also blown away by this doctrine and he was touched deeply by the Spirit. We then had the chance to go back to their house on Saturday and share the message of the Restoration with them. Nadia told us that she had missed us and that she couldn´t wait to see us again and Gastón was loaded with questions. After spending a while with them we committed both of them to come to church. Nadia told us that it was going to be really hard to make it because she was going to be out until 6 on sunday morning but she told us she would try. When we arrived to church on sunday just guess who was there... Nadia. She told us that before she went to bed she said a prayer and asked God to help her wake up on time to come to church and not be tired. She woke up 10 minutes before the alarm and said she didn´t feel even the least bit tired. She was filled with the spirit in church and is so excited to learn more about the church. Gastón wasn´t able to make it, but we are going to find out what all went down. We also had the opportunity to baptize yesterday. It was Mikaela, the 15 year old daughter of a convert of Elder Hopkin and I. She has changed from being a wild teenager to a very humble daughter of God. That change was a miracle to see. I am so happy to be seeing and witnessing all the miracles that I am. Elder Huntington and I also had the chance to go with President to a stake meeting and bare our testimonies alongside him. He has such a gift of making us feel like a million bucks and it was incredible standing next to him, with out arms linked together, bearing testimony of the most perfect battle that there ever was. It was a moment that will change the live´s of Elder Huntington and I forever. Please be praying for Nadia and Gastón this week!! They are amazing and need your support! I love you all and appreciate you all so much!
Love
Elder Burr

Marc's email 6/13/2011

So it sounds like your week with Eli and Tate was an interesting one. Eli just asking every question possible and Tate just truckin along. That is my hope anyway cause yeah as hard as I try here I still havent mastered the pacience trait yet. I know that the Lord is always testing me and hopefully by the time I die I have it down but it might take that long to teach me. I think dad, adam, and I just got met with the lack of patience and now in this life we have to learn to gain more of it. Maybe we all three could go to a course like anger management or something so we learn it faster. Anyway how is that road looking going to the freeway? Still just a wreck or what? Mom have you gotten any new speeding tickets lately? I have gone like a year without getting one are you proud? Also how is that new park? How is Alpine? How are the chicks in Utah? Are there any left? If not I can always spit game with the mexican chicks after the mission. Tell all of the dads in this family happy fathers day and hope they keep it real. I dont know what else to say seeing as though matt and I are the only ones who arent dads. That is weird to think about. Well a little bit about this last week. It was pretty sweet. We really didnt do anything different but we have found some good people to teach. One person we found is named Ricardo and he is going to get baptized this weekend. He had already been to chuch and is just willing to follow the Lord. He has the desire to change and he is a person that the Lord just placed into our hands. We also had the opportunity to teach an anti christ and now he is listening to us. That day was awesome cause this guy was saying stuff like he was sent from God to heal people and that he came here to fight against us. We then taught him about our church and he said that the Spirit has told him he needs to go to church. The first day we met him he was seriously just trying to rip us apart but now he has seen that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and hopefully he will change. We will see this week. This is the last week of the change already so we will see if the Lord wants me to leave Villa Hollywood. I have learned so much here and love it here but I am ready to bounce this joint. I know that the Saviour loves me and loves all of us. I know that I am in His service and he is watching over me. I have never felt His presence so strongly in my life and am so grateful that I am here under His guidance. I have learned so many things up to this point and know that I am turning into the boy that Christ and my Heavenly Father want me to be. I love them and cant wait to return to their presence. I love all of you and am so grateful for everything you do for me. Mom I love you and am so grateful that you are my mom. I hope the best for you this week and may the Lord bless you all.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 6/13/2011

So it sounds like everyone made it out alive with the weeklong babysitting sesh of Eli and Tate. I can just imaging those two posted up like Marcus and I used to do. Getting into everything and just laughing... What a great life right? But I´m glad it all went well and that things can be back to normal for you guys.
As for things out here in the promised land, things are going great. This week we had the chance to go to Mendoza again for another consejo with President Lindahl, the very last one he will ever do. It was great to be there and to feel of the Spirit that was there. I always enjoy going to Mendoza and talking with the other Elders in the mission. Sometimes it feels like we are just a million miles away from anything, trying to fight the good battle and it always helps to get a good pump up speach from President and sister Lindahl. It is sad thinking that they are in their last few weeks of the mission, but we all know that President Avila will be coming in hot. The mission will probably change a lot, but we are all getting ready for it. President will leave as a legend from here.
Elder Huntington and I are doing great. We are just loving the time that the Lord has given us to serve. It is such a blessing serving with such a good friend and the makes the missionary work more enjoyable than it already is. This week we were playing soccer in the streets with a little rock and me, being the little David Beckam that I am, kicked the rock and instead of hitting it with my toe, my foot went right over it and i just fell like a sack of potatoes on the street. Hunt, instead of trying to help me up or anything just laughed at me and then let me know that I had a rip just right in the back of my pants. Oh it was so fun knocking doors the whole rest of the morning with a hole in my pants. I´m sure nobody noticed and I used my SICK sewing skills to fix it all up. They ended up just great.
Yesterday we had the opportunity of having a conference for the whole country in which Elder Ballard spoke to the members here in Argentina. He spoke a lot about the Holy Ghost and the blessing that it is to have it in our daily lives. It was great too because zulema had the chance to see the very first apostle of her life. She absolutely loved it.
As for the rest of the life nothing else has been going on. We are just submersed in the good way and loving every minute of it. I love this mission so much and can easily say that Argentina is the best country on the planet. I love you all and hope all you old dudes have a great father´s day this sunday.
Elder Burr

Marc's email 6/6/2011

Alright its time to be a little bit upbeat here in this world. This weekend we baptized the mom of Brayan and it was an awesome experience. It was pretty funny too cause she didnt know what to do so as my comp was about to dunk her she sat down on the bottom of the tank.. nobody knows why but needless to say she got baptized and confirmed and she will stay firm in the church. Also this week we have had the opportunity to serve many people and to help them in all ways possible. Last night we even helped a member collect plastic bottles from the garbage cans. she is almost blind and her daughter got killed and left her with three kids under the age of ten. The oldest is deaf and mute. Anyway to earn money she collects the plactic bottles and recycles them. It was a really humbling experience for me to be digging through the garbage cans looking for plastic but I know that is exactly what the Lord would have done. That has been something that I have been trying to develope. You all know that I have never been the nicest kid in the world but the Lord is giving me chances to change that. This week through everything that happened I have learned a great lesson. I have learned that the Lord loves us and is always aware of us. He will never leave us and he will help us if we are willing to accept Him. It is when we lengthen our distance from Him that He has to do something to bring us back. We are all His children and He wants us to return to him. That is why we are given trials and that is why He is always willing to help us through these trials. Also a little bit about here, it is definately the devil´s kitchen. The heat here is something else and what are these "rest breaks" that Richard is talking about? As far as I am concerned I can have that break when I die. All you have to do is drink water and put your life in the hands of the Lord. That is what we do here anyway and as of right now it has worked. Mom you got dad to go to Les Mis? I thought he was set in not going? What do you and dad do in the day? Just sit and stare at each other or what? How is the family doing? What are cam and coop going to do this summer? How are Lucy Lilli Audrey Charlotte Tae and all the little hooligans? Do they need anymore advice about buttercups or covered wagons or anything? Tell them all that if they want to be as cool and the mexican kids they have to start watching WWE and have their favorite fighter. Also have adam teach them how to throw a trompo cause that is about all the kids do here. Well this week was awesome and I am sure this next week will be better. I love this work and I love this Gospel. It is the Lord´s Gospel and this is His church. I love Him and know He loves me. I also am so grateful for Joseph Smith and for the things that he did for this church. I know that I am where the Lord wants me and He wants me here in Villa Hidalgo. Here is where I will work for Him in His vineyard and here is where He will bless me. I love you all and am so grateful for you all. I hope you have a great week and are always keeping it real.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 6/6/2011

So I wish I could have heard more about the flight in the mooney, but I guess the most important part is that you made it home safely. that is all that matters right? I can´t believe that Adam has already graduated. It seems like just barely he was getting back from his mission and getting knee surgery and all that jazz, but now he´s like 30 and just going to giving it a little bit of wigglin. That´s crazy, but I bet they will love their escape to hawaii. Time in this life just goes by way too fast, but the most important part is letting it go by controlled. That is a lesson I have learned here on the mission. Letting the time go, but not letting it get ahead of you. It´s just like flying... You always have to stay ahead of the airplane. If it ever gets ahead of you you´re beat. But I´m glad for him. Maybe he can fill my cavity filling that fell out 4 months ago when I get home. That way I won´t have to suffer from an Argentine dentist.
Life here on he mission is just legit. After talking with you guy we went to visit with Zulema and Lucia and we found out that Lucia´s step dad doesn´t want her getting baptized in the church. He wants her to be able to go out and dance, drink, smoke, have a sweet 15 party, and get pregnant soon... I don´t quite understand that man, but I had the desires to give him a kick to the teeth. Those are the men that I jsut don´t understand, but we just had to humble ourselves and accept his answer. I am sure that the day Lucia turns 18 she will be getting baptized. She was super sad when she found out she couldn´t get baptized, but she just kinda had to accept it. The rest of the week was pretty normal. We have just been sharing the gospel with all the people that we can and there is nothing that makes us happier. I´m loving my time with elder huntington and we are seeing miracles on the daily.
I love you all and hope that this week was as good as the last. I can´t believe its already summer for you guys... Seems like just yesterday i was hearing about all the swimming parties from last summer and here they come again. thanks for the prayers and the support. Keep doing it real big

Matt's email 5/30/2011

Oh life on the mission just couldn´t be going any better. I am so stoked to be with my boy Elder Huntington just killing it here in San Luis. I honestly haven´t felt this excited for a very long time. I have always been willing to go out, work and reach goals, but now that I am with a homie who doesn´t think that he knows it all things are so good. We get along just great and we have an awesome time in the streets. He is from Orangeville, Utah and worked up on the fire lines for the Ephraim-Farren fire crew. I think he has talked me into working a summer up on the fire lines. That could possibly be one of the greatest jobs ever. Just posted up with an axe, a shovel, a chainsaw, your bag and mother nature. It would be so legit.
On Saturday we went over to teach the granddaughter of Zulema, who will be getting baptized this week, and zulema gave us an offer that I just couldn´t pass up. She told me that she would let me kill one of her chickens so that we could eat it on Sunday for lunch. Obviously I said yes without hesitation, having no idea of what I was getting myself into. She walked us back to the chicken coop, let me pick out the lucky one and then we got started. She had me grap the poor guys feet and then with my other hand I had to start twisting the head. After about 5 full twists, I gave it a tug and it just snapped. Oh it was the wierdest feeling I have ever felt, but man did it taste good. It was the best tasting chicken I have ever had. Zulema was just so proud of me.
Last night we were blessed to go to a stake meeting with the stake president. He is the very first stake president that San Luis has ever had and let´s the say the meeting was very interesting. He started out by asking us how many baptisms we had had in the zone in the month and when we told him the amount he was just stunned. Then with a puzzled look on his face he said, ´Elders, we need to be baptizing 40 every single month.´ He then went on to say that he didn´t want any youth baptisms and we have to plan the baptisms 15 days in advance and he have to set up interviews with the bishops and the stake president and just started lighting us up with requirements. By the end of it I was just thinking, ´I wonder how many church attendances Jesus had before he got baptized or how long Alma had been planning his dunk fest in the waters of mormon.´ It is just getting a little ridiculous, but if that´s what he wants, that is what he will get.
I´m glad to be here doing what I am doing. I wouldn´t change this experience for anything else in this world. I would love to hear how mom handled the mooney... I bet she loved it. I love you all and hope you have a great week.
Elder Burr