Marc's email 9/10/2012

So it sounds like Kyle got home in not great shape. Poor kid.. I hope he is happy though and that everything is going well for him. He will see several things in his life and many blessings. Soon we will be kicking it together. Before I forget tell the whole family that has their birthday this month that I say happy birthday and I love them. Matt will hopefully find some other chicks and maybe one day get married. If not he has until the millenium to do it. And if you know what time I get home I want you to notify steve harding cause he has been asking and I have no clue. Well this last week was a great week. Lupita got confirmed last week. I dont know if you remember about Mauricio and his family that we baptized right when I got here but he got the Melquizedek priesthood and blessed his little girl. Lilia is progressing tons in the gospel and Lupita loves it. We got the montes family to go to church and they also loved it. Today we will be teaching them and we will continue helping them in their family issues. I know that if my life doesnt work out like I want it to I can become a marriage counselor. That would be awesome huh? Also this week another investigator that we have had for months now finally said that she likes the church and that she wants to get baptized. Her name is Josefina but she has a lot of problems. She will take a lot of work to finally get baptized but it was awesome that she finally made the decision to get baptized. We are hoping to baptize the Montes family the day before I leave which for me would be a great miracle and blessing. But we are just working hard out here and I love it. I know that God answers prayers and that He loves us. He is willing to help us when we are humble and look for His help. Shortly this will end and I know that I will be able to say that I gave it my all. I am getting super tired but I am excited to keep working! I love you all! Elder Burr

Marc's email 9/3/2012

Hello mother, So it sounds like you are leaving the crib every single week. Maybe you will be home the day I get home. Just kidding mom! I am pretty upset about the date of my homecoming. That is like a month after I get home but I guess that is just the way it is. The topic is a sweet topic and maybe by then I will be able to speak english again. That is also crazy that kyle will be home tomorrow! That just blows my mind that he is already finishing the battle. Who is going to get him at the airport? And about the house cleaning... You never had to ask us more than once to clean up the house!! We always just did it without being asked I dont know what you are talking about. But I am glad that you are happy and the family is just chillin. Heather cant save the disneyland trip for when I get home huh? I would tear that place up with my little nieces and nephews. Alright well a little bit about our week. We were able to baptize lupita this saturday. She showed up and was super nervous but everything went really well. Elder Martinez and I were able go give talks and Elder Webb baptized her. She was really happy but the only problem was that on sunday we had a stake conference so she couldnt get confirmed but next week will be her confirmation. We have also been going with the Montes family. On thursday we did an awesome activity which helped them alot. We talked about the families and had them each write a note expressing their love and thnanks for their family members. Then they read them and expressed their feelings. It was an awesome experience and that family is sweet. Today we are going to do three family nights so we will see how it all goes! At the stake conference Elder johnson was there from the area presidency. That was awesome to listen to a servant of the Lord talk about mission work. I really have grown to love my mission and what I have learned. There is nothing in the world that could have taught me more than my mission has and I am grateful to it. This week will be another great work full of hard work and trying not to think about the little time left. It is hard to not think about it but I definately wont let it stop me from working. I love you mom. Hope you have a great week! Elder Burr

Marc's email 8/26/2012

Well it sounds like the parties are all now over and the real life has started again. That is awesome that you and Matt had a good time in San Fran. I bet that was awesome and you had some bonding time. Now he is just posted up in provo just trying to get by living with 4 boys. I have come to discover that living with four elders struggles at times. Elder Webb and I are actually really clean and have everything organized. Then the two mexicans come and throw all of their dishes in the sink and never sweep or do anything really. Every monday elder webb and I clean the house and by about Wed. it is dirty again. And for as many times as I have told them to clean up their mess they never do it. I think I prefer to just live alone! It sounds like the family is calming down a little bit and everybody is going back to school. Just a question. What size shirt are camden cooper and cameron? To hook them up with some soccer jerseys. Well this last week was awesome! We were able to have our zone conference with the president which was incredible. He knows so much and he taught me a ton about the plan of salvation. I now understand it alot better and I am so much more grateful for it. I know that God gives us exactly what we want. If we dont want to do what He says, we wont want to live with Him. If we want to live with Him all we have to do is obey His commandments. We have been able to visit the family that I told you about and they are good. We are going to go with them today and teach them the plan of salvation and hopefully they keep progressing. Yesterday we had an awesome experience with another family of five!! So we were in the church and all of the sudden the secretary comes up to me and says that somebody is on the phone and wants to talk to us. So I talked to him and it was a member of a stake presidency in Mexico D.F. He said he had a family that wanted us to visit them. So we put the appt. for 6pm yesterday. We went and all five of them were present and it was an awesome lesson. One of the daughters, Karen, is going through a hard time in her life and had lost all hopes of living. The family was in desperate need of some kind of miracle. So we went with them and expressed our love for them and the dad told us he wanted to get baptized. With him we are hoping his 3 kids and his wife get baptized. We will be working hard these next few weeks to get them taught, prepared, and baptized. It is the familia montes so you can pray for them please. This weekend we will be baptizing Lupita. She told us about a dream that she had about leaving her catholic beliefs behind and getting baptized. God answered her! The only problem is that this weekend we have stake conference so she wont be able to get confirmed until next week, the 9th. The Montes family will get baptized the 15 then we will be looking for somebody to get baptized the 22. Then my stay here in Guadalajara will come to a very successful end. I love this gospel and everything that God has given me. I know Him. He knows me. He has answered every one of my prayers and has given me a personal witness that He lives. Jesus Christ is His Son. He is the Saviour of the World and has died for all of us. This is His church. He guides it through a living prophet and I have been called by the Prophet of God. I have felt the miracle of forgiveness and have seen the miracles of selfless service. I have seen His hand in this work. It is His commision, I am His servant. I love it here! Elder Burr

Marc's email 8/20/2012

well by the looks of things it sounds like Powell was an awesome family adventure. I bet it was fun and you will all be talking about it for years to come. Sounds like Matt is just trying to live the dream and the family is all just way busy. To answer your question mom I go home the 24 I think and the only thing I know is that I am flying into SLC. So pretty much we have about the same amount of information. Unless I extend my mission.. Just kidding I still havent asked the president if we are still allowed to. I cant believe that taylor mansfield is already home. That just blows my mind how fast the time is going. It seems like everyday I am trying to think of things to write to you guys! But we are working hard out here. This last week we worked hard. We have two people that hopefully get baptized this next weekend. Lupita and Jacqueline. They are both family members of some members of the church and they like the church. We will be working with them alot this week to try to get them baptized, Yesterday we found a family of five that seems pretty interested. We found them because the mom stopped her car to ask us why we always looked so happy and always had a smile. We just told her to listen to our message and she would find out for herself. so yesterday we found her in her house with her husband and her three kids. We are going with them today to teach them and see if they progress. The work here is amazing. I dont know if it is the area or what but we are having a lot of success. I love everyday out here and we work hard. I hope you and matt have fun in San Fran and that you are safe and protected. I love you mom and family Elder Burr

Marc's email 8/13/2012

hola familia I am sure you wont have much time to be reading emails and stuff considering the fact you are all just burnt sitting in a hot house boat catching some summer rays. But that is awesome that you all got to hit up lake powell and stuff! Mom HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Cam, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You are both just another year older that is awesome. Mom to answer your question I will just come home by myself then if everything works out and we arent too busy we can come down later to check out the stompin grounds. I just dont know what we would do for three days here and I know you would not be down to walk in some of the places I have been so I will just fly home solo. Well about this week. It was another sweet week. On sunday morning we were able to baptize again. We went on friday with a boy named Daniel. His whole family are members and he is 9. so he already knew everything we teach as missionaries so we challenged him to baptism and he accepted. His whole family went to his baptism, including many less active brothers and uncles of his. his mom was super happy and it was another awesome baptismal service. All of the members seem to love us because we are all up in their grill asking them to give talks and participate in our activities and we are just doing tons of work with them so they know me because i dont let them say no. I also dont obligate them but they are all working! Also this week we had changes. elder Webb and I are still here but they bumped me up again as District Leader and the President told me I have to train the whole district and leave behind the experience that I have gained. It will be a little stressfull seeing as how the elders in my district are all pretty lazy but shortly hopefully everything will change. If not its time to throw down. Well that is about all that happened last week. We are just keeping it real and stuff. I love you mom and family. Have fun in Powell and be safe Elder Burr

Marc's email 7/30/2012

Hey mom and family and stuff, So everybody is just home from the mission besides Kyle and I. We are just living the dream still trying to get by. It sounds like this last week was a good one for all of you. Nothing too exciting sounds like. Tell Olivia I say hi and that I have read all of her emails I just sometimes dont have time to write back. It sounds like the family is doing well and just working like usual. Matt just chose to go to go to Phantom with Adam and Ryan huh? Wow makes me think of the decisions I am going to make when I get home. It has been months since I have heard from Kyle, I just hope he is working all day everyday and he makes the best decision. I would hate to cut my mission short. AK is going out with Lyndsey? Matt better get on that, he is struggling and stuff. Yeah that is crazy that cam and coop and everybody else starts school soon. It seems like they just got out.. Cant believe July is already over. Well this last week was a pretty good week. On wednesday I had to do divisions with our DL so I was with elder Black from Mapelton. He is a great kid and a good missionary. Elder Webb is also progressing and learning and he is doing great. He and I get along really well. We work hard and just do what we are supposed to do. It is a miracle being with him cause it makes me just focus on the mission and training him and I have to time to think of the time or anything. This last sunday we had some people in the church. Bere went to church again and she loves it. She will get baptized this saturday. Her dad is not very happy that she is listening to us but she has told us that she is going to make her own decisions and she wants to be happy and see her mom again. We also had a girl named lupe that went. She is like 60 and Karen Tippetts status. I love teaching her, she is awesome. She also liked the church and should get baptized soon. Other than that we have just been working hard and teaching people. This week should be better than last week so I am excited for it I know that this church is true and the Gospel saves lives. I know that anybody who prays about the truthfulness of this message will discover the best treasure that one can find. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and will guide all men back to the presence of God. Families are eternal and the covenants we make with God are bound together by the Holy Priesthood. It is the power of God and through it we can see miracles. Joseph Smith was a prophet. He saw God. I love this church and the members of it. I love my area and the mission. Pretty much I love everything. Well Family I hope you are all happy. Love you all Elder Burr

Marc's email 7/9/2012

Hey family, So it really sounds like the whole world is burning up right now. That is incredible that there are so many fires and dad has so much work going for him. I swear he hasnt worked this much in the history of the business but it sounds like he is busy. So apparently our new mission president came in but I still havent met him. I am thinking that soon we will have some zone conferences and I will get to meet him. On tuesday they gave us our changes and I am training yet again. My companion is Elder Webb from American Fork and he is way good. He is willing to work and to learn. It is pretty funny cause he is barely learning the language so I am sure that he talks how I talked like 2 years ago. But I hook a brother up so its all good. His parents own the cold stone on 5th east in AF so you could go meet his parents if you want, maybe get hooked up with some free ice cream or something. This last week we have mainly just been teaching. We have an investigator named Vicky and her two kids. She says that she doesnt want to change religions because she believes in the saints and images and stuff and she doesnt want to accept the fact that God has given us to commandment for a reason. We are going with her tonight and hopefully she gets baptized soon. We also have several people progressing that we found this last week that we will be teaching this week to see if they progress or not. I only want to teach my comp how to be obedient and how to work hard. So it will be a great last 12 weeks. I love the mission and the work I am doing. I have never been so happy and content in my life. I try not to think about home because I would just rather be here serving the Lord. The end is coming quickly but there is still a lot to do. I love you all thanks for everything. Elder Burr

Marc's email 7/2/2012

Well it sounds like quite an eventful week there in Alpine. It is crazy how the Lord always protects those that follow Him. The Lord has promised that those who keep His commandments will prosper in the land. You were able to see that this last week. Mom, Elder Webbs´ mom works everyday but from like 9 to 1 so go hit them up and see whats up. From what I hear she is a great lady. It also makes me happy to know that Elder Harding went up to visit with you guys. He is a great kid. I love him alot. The work here in Guady is still going. Elder Webb and I taught several lessons this week and have found a few people. We went yesterday with the daughter of an hermana that was ridiculous. She is like 16, has piercings everywhere. Her mom wants us to teach her so we will be going back to see if she is interested in being baptized. We also went to visit a family and the dad is an alcoholic member... Yeah member of the church. Anyway they were happy we showed up and want us to go back so today we are going to teach them again. It is always stressful teaching a new companion cause I really have no backup besides the Spirit but training is always when I feel the support of the Lord more than in any other phase of the work. I love it. My companion is great. We get along really well and we work hard. I love you mom, you are the best mom in the world. I couldnt ask for a better mom, one that loves me more or takes care of me better. Thanks for everything. Family keep on keeping it real and stuff. I love you all Elder Burr

Marc's email 6/25/2012

So it sounds like all of you moved to my old area with the heat and stuff. That is ridiculous that it is 100 right now. That just means that it will get hotter and hotter. Mom the zone conference with our president was awesome. He truly is a great man that I love. He loves all of his missionaries and was so full of inspiration it isnt even funny. He is awesome. The hermana is also great and I love her. She said something in her talk that was great. She said that when we get married we shouldnt just find a pretty girl, she said we need to find the mother of our kids. So llooks like the tables have turned and ALL of my old options went out the window with that comment. Except a few good ones. The area here is going really well. Yesterday we had a zone conference and my ward got closed and we got mixed with the Huentitan ward. It is an awesome ward and the members all love us. I am still very happy to be working with them. We just got the notice today that in 2 weeks the whole mission program in mexico will stop knocking doors and contacting and will start working with the members. It is something that our president has been telling us for months and finally the Prophet spoke and so I am happy for the change. I have learned well how to work with members so it should be great. Today I find out who my new companion is, I have a feeling it will be a greeny and I will be training for the next 12 weeks. I sure hope so. On saturday we were able to baptize Mauricio, Zaraya and Irwin which was an incredible service. They are awesome and they are making plans so that in a year they can enter in the temple and be sealed. I am so happy for them. We are also teaching the mom of Mauricio which is a miracle. she will be baptized in 2 weeks. I need your prayers so we can find more people to teach and baptize. I love you mom thanks for everything. I got your package which was a real treat. The tie is tight hah. And just so you know, my area is a lot cooler than my other area. Im out love you all elder Burr

Marc's email 6/18/2012

Sounds like every week you guys have no time to breathe. What the John Hansen... at least that gives me hopes to get married as well. If he can do it, so can I right?? Tell Jim and Susan I say congratulations and stuff. Matt is a little met kid, I have like 4 weeks that he has not written me. I know he is cool and stuff but to forget a homie out here on the fronts?? Ridiculous. Well do I have some news for you. So on thursday I was happily working in Santiago working with our converts when at 840 I got the phone call from the APs that I was gettting special changed. Turns out that our mission lines are changing and we are taking some areas from the other mission. So right now I am in the other mission, the East mission with Elder Garza from the other mission. He is teaching me the area and the members and in a week we will have our real changes where I will get yet another comp but from my mission. I am in an area called Huentitan and it is sweet. It is in Jalisco and it is pretty awesome. We have 6 baptisms lined up for this weekend and I love the area. I am pretty sure it will be my last area. It has been an awesome week so far. It was hard to leave Santiago because I had several investigators and loved the branch but the Lord has called me here. We have our zone conference tomorrow which will be awesome. Pretty much life is awesome right now, I love itt. Well There is not much more to tell you. Everything is going well. I love you all Elder Burr

Marc's email 6/11/2012

Yo estoy bien y ustedes? Wow was this a fast week. It sounds like the home front is just crazy as well. Everybody getting married and growing up and stuff. I got the chills when I heard about Brysons mission call. He will love his mission if he is willing to sacrifice everything and get to work. The weather there sounds nice to me. Beats the heat here in Santiago. All I know is that there really is no difference from the heat in the day and the heat in the night. Pretty much I feel like I live in an oven. It is awesome though. This week we have our last zone conference with the president Saucedo and it should be great. We are going to tepic on friday morning and I am hoping it turns out to be a spiritual feast. He is a great man, full of the spirit of God. This week was a good one. We returned to the jail and talked about the families. We had them write a hand written letter to their wives or moms and we are now going around handing these letters out and talking with their families. I Have had many great experiences doing it. We continue having success. We should baptize these next two weeks if everything turns out how we have planned. The Lord has entrusted us with many of His choice children and we are working hard to help them and get them into the waters of baptism. EVerything here is going awesome. I am loving every second of it. Time is running out and I have lots to do! I love you mom and family. Keep it real Elder Burr

Marc's email 6/4/2012

Who did Kevin Whimpey marry? That is weird to think that everybody is just hitched now days but there are many fish in the sea. I loved the quote about the spirit of christ. It is very true and there are many people who realize and recognize that this message is true. I have seen it countless times in the mission. Also sounds like you are jacking dad up on the play selection. I dont think I will be able to go to those lame plays after the mission. God wouldnt want me to I dont think. Also sounds like the kids had fun on the lake. Sounds like everything is good out there!. EVerything here is also going really well. This week we were able to find several new people and see a miracle with Viridiana and her decision to pay tithing. I know that tithing is something that God requires and He blesses those who pay tithing. I know that all of his commandments are true and we can only be truly happy if we keep them. We have several people that we are teaching and we hope to baptize this week. We have the mom of a convert that can get baptized so we are working with her. her name is rosa and she seems pretty set on her decision. Well I really dont know what to write you guys. EVerything here is just moving right along and I am happy. I love what I am doing and I know it is true. I love all of you and hope you are all happy. Thanks for everything Elder Burr

Marc's email 5/28/2012

Hey mom, Sounds like everything there is going really well. The family is all together and everybody is having fun. I am pretty sure that those experiences are about the only ones that I miss. Honestly. I never realized how good I felt being surrounded by my family. I loved it and will love it once I am back in the mix. Sounds like Matt got met on the first date situation. Its alright though, if she wasnt going to progress towards an eternal marriage, it is always better to just drop her. That is one thing learned in the mission. I am proud or him. As for this past week... the weather just got hotter. It was supposed to rain but I think the rain just saw me and forgot to get me wet. It just said that I had enough sweat on my face and I didnt need it. So it just moved right on by. It has only gotten hotter haha. My new companion is Elder Rivera. When I was in Estancia I lived with him for two changes and he is a good kid. He works hard and is willing to learn so that is good. We are still zone leaders here in Santiago. We were able to finally baptize Viridiana this last week which was awesome. She had some challenges in the week but in the end she ended up making a covenant with God. I was able to baptize her and I tell you what, baptizing never gets old. Now we just have to focus on getting the other people we are teaching in the pila bautismal. It will be a great challenge. I have been here for about three months now and yes mother I only have 2 changes left. It is unreal to think about... That is why I hardly think about it ha. But I have a lot of time left to just put my head down and go to work so I am excited. I love what I am doing and I have seen many changes in my life which is incredible. I am happy and have realized this is the best choice I have ever made. Thank you all for putting up with me before the mission. You are all the best. Ps Happy birthday adam, ben, shea, cam, coop, lucy,Nixon, and everybody else that had their birthday in this month. You are all awesome! Well im out... talk to you next week. Love you all Elder Burr

Marc's email 5/7/2012

Well it sure sounds like DC was sweet. Sounds like lil Nixon is doing well. Awesome name choice by the way. That is a sweet name. Should have thrown a marcus in there somewhere but maybe the next one? Just some info. I will be skyping at 530 on sunday so everybody be ready! If you notice that my shirt is a little yellow or my face is a little red.... its cause thats how they are. Hopefully hubey can be there. Mom I just want our pedigree chart from our family. WIth grandparents and great grandparents etc. This last week was awesome! We were planning on baptizing Viridiana but she ended up smoking on friday.. She will be baptized shortly. On saturday we went to eat with the family polanco who had just killed their pig so we could eat it. We were eating pork rinds and ribs until we couldnt breath. Anyway as we were there we got a call from our president saying that his baptism had been approved. Jose Polanco was waiting for a letter from the First Presidency approving his baptism and he finally got it! So he was baptized this saturday and it was an amazing spiritual experience. You could really tell that he was repented and all he wanted was to get baptized and in one year get sealed to his family so I am hoping to come back in a year to go to their sealing. We also had the 5 de mayo party outside of our house all night saturday night. It started at 9 and ended at 8 the next day. 50 bands came in and on every corner there was a band playing. It was so annoying. Didnt sleep much that night needless to say. But now we are ready for the week that has started. We will be diligent and faithful. We will search Gods children and teach them the everlasting Gospel and I will love every second of it. I love you all and hope you are all doing well. I'm out until Sunday when I will be seeing your happy faces again! Elder Burr=

Marc's email 4/30/2012

So you all tell me my letters sound the same... pretty sure yours are too! Always telling me you are on vacation and just doing the same thing we have all done 5 years ago. Its alright though I hope matt is just thrilled being there with the two of you and just him. Ill tell you what, that is a blast! So what does that punk do these days? What car is he cruising around in, who does he hang out with, what does he eat, how is his accent, how does he smell. I hope he smelled as bad as all of my other brothers when they came home from other countries. How is the family? EVerybody just keeping it real or what? Just so you know, I will be calling the 13. Here nobody knew when mothers day was in the states so we thought it was the 6 but aparrently not. Mom I have a challenge for you. I am interested in having you look for our family geneology and sending it to me somehow. Would that be possible? About this week. We were able to baptize Said this week and he is pretty happy. We did the interview for Dairet but her dad still hasnt given her permission se we have to wait for her. We are hoping to get Maria Guadalupe married this week and baptized and we are still waiting for the letter for the hermano Jose Polanco. Pres said that this thursday we should know something so hopefully we can get it all done this week. Other than that we have just been working hard. It has been hot here and people have been hiding in their houses but we have been able to find several people and we are teaching alot. I am a happy guy. Well I hope you are all happy and doing well. I am great out here on the battle front. I love you all. Elder Burr

Marc's email 4/23/2012

Mom don't you fret, we are protected out here by a pretty powerful source. This week was a little more tranquilo. First of all it sounds like everything back home is just rollin right along. Everybody is happy and Matt is just sittin it out trying to get some chicks. Poor man, his canteen has probably desintegrated. That makes two of us I guess. Its alrigh,t he is a good guy. Charlotte sounds like she is falling into the tight little girl ranks saying sup dog. How are cam and coop? Sounds like coop and I are going to have to have some bonding one on one time. Its good though I am stoked for it. I hope you all enjoy your trip to DC. It will be good for you all to see ben and olivia and kids. So a little bit about our week here. We have several people that we are teaching that have all accepted baptism. Maria Guadalupe should be getting married this week and baptized. Gladys should also be getting married and baptized. Saíd also was able to go to church again this weekend and he has a baptismal date for this weekend so he should also get baptized. I was waiting for our peeps to show up to church when a girl showed up that elder Mangum and I were teaching like a month ago. She showed up with a Young Womens medalion necklace thing and told us her dad had given her permission and she wanted to get baptized this weekend. We also have Giovana who told us she was going to leave her husband and get baptized a soon as possible. If you havent realized almost every single person has problems with their husbands and are not married...... Such a frustrating thing to have to deal with. Especially when the husbands dont want much to do with the Gospel. But everything seems to be going well. I dont know how. God has just heard the prayers of two of His servants and has blessed us abundantly. I know He lives and He is with Elder Johnson and I. Every day I feel my relationship with Him grow stronger and stronger. I feel that I walk by His side everyday. It is an amazing feeling that comes after much prayer, meditation, fasting etc. but is is very worth it! I love Him. I know Him. That is the greatest thing I have ever accomplished in my life, coming to know my Heavenly Father. I hope you are all on the quest as well. There is nothing more important that you can do. I love you all and wish the best for you this week. I'm out Elder Burr

Marc's email 4/16/2012

Sounds like a bumpin week back at la casa. Matt and Dad sound like they have a handful of problems after that lightning bolt jacked Maxine up but oh well stuff happens. This week was really good. We started off by going to Guadalajara which was awesome as always. It was a little bit rough getting there but all in all we got there. Tired. But we got there. That will be a story for when I am home. Anyway Elder Johnson and I are back here in Santiago trying to do work. He is from Arizona and was in school plays in high school... You can all assume how he is but all it all he is a great kid. We will have a good change. We were able to find several people these past few days and we had many people in the church on sunday. They are all people that will hopefully get baptized in the next few weeks. One major problem that we have here in Santiago is that there are several people who desire everything about the gospel but many of their wives or husbands are not so down. They threaten to leave them if they go to church or they dont let us visit them very often. We have found several people who have been threatened by their husbands and it truly is so sad. Now I understand why the Lord has given us the Law of Chastity. He always wants to protect His children and when we dont obey that is when He cant obey us. The obedience is crucial in this life if we want to succeed. That is a huge lesson that I have learned so far and up until now it has helped me out alot. Mom I have not received any packages for a while but I am sure that when Pres comes to do interviews he will bring them if you sent them a while ago. I dont need anything thanks though! Just living the dream out here in Santiago. Well Mom and Family I love you. Thanks for everything and especially the prayers. Until next week. Elder Burr

Marc's email 4/9/2012

Mom and family,
Happy Easter one day late. It truly was a great week and a great Easter. On the mission here in Mexico it is not very easy to realize that it is Easter. All the people just use the vacation time to drink with their family and go to the beach but for us as missionaries it was an incredible experience. This whole week was just full of good stuff. On thursday Elder Mangum and I were in the middle of our planning session and the idea came to my mind to go teach the gospel to prisoners. So we went to the prison here in Santiago and presented ourselves with the director. He recognized who we were and told us that he would love to have us go by and talk with them. So on Saturday we went to the prison, got the body pat down and got let in. The prison had like a courtyard type deal where we had a table and about
30 men gathered around listening. These men were some of the most respectful men I have ever dealt with. All of them shook our hands, told us good morning then went and sat down. We talked about the faith and repentance and had one of them say the closing prayer. We left several Book of Mormon and other stuff and the men were pretty happy.
They gave us gifts and told us they wanted us to return on a day when their family is there to be able to talk with the family. That is exactly what we wanted. The prisoners cant go to church so they cant get baptized quite yet but their families can so hopefully soon we will see the results we are hoping for. It was an awesome experience for me. apart from that we have several things going on. Today we had changes and Elder Mangum is bouncing out. We will be leaving tonight at 11pm to go to Guadalajara for the concilio then I will be returning on wed. with my new comp. Still dont know who it will be. This was a great change with Elder Mangum and I. Although we did not reach the goals we placed, we both agree that we have never worked harder it our entire missions than we did in this change. The Lord has blessed us and is pleased. I love Him and love His Atonement. I love His Gospel and His prophets that he has sent here to guide us. I love all of you.
Keep it real and stuff
Elder Burr

Marc's email 4/2/2012

Sup family,
If you think april fools day is a stupid day in the states, come celebrate it here. Oh wait it doesnt exist. But conference was as tight as ever. I loved being able to feast on the words of Christ and His prophets. It is even better as a missionary because everything that was said can be applied to the people here. That is why God has called prophets, to guide us and help us make it back to our Heavenly Father. Thomas S. Monson is truly a man of God and I feel honored to be able to carry his name to these people here and defend him as our loyal leader and prophet. I enjoyed the Prophets talk on the plan of salvation. That is exactly what these people need to know here in my area. This life is not everything and it really does not matter what happens in this life as long as we are willing to keep on. All in all though it was an incredible conference. We were able to have several investigators in the church so it was even better. We should be baptizing Maria Guadalupe this weekend and Jose Arturo the 14. I hope all goes as planned, sometimes people just make up their mind to not get baptized which is frustrating but the only thing we can do is keep on trying. This week we were able to perform an exorcism where we had to cast out a demon. It was probably one of the darkest, scariest things that we have ever had to do. Satan is real. He is willing to possess any body that will let him in. Needless to say I am grateful to have the priesthood and God on my side. That always makes things better. Well family I love you all and thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts. Gotta bounce.
Elder Burr

Marc's email 3/26/2012

Well just checkin in from another great week of missionary service.
This week has been rather interesting to say the least. Just let me break it down a little bit. So the branch that I am serving in is not a very consistant branch. Some weeks we have like 90 people in church and other weeks we have like 20. We have always brought investigators to church so that ups the attendance a little bit. So this week was one of those weeks where there were only like 20 people in church and I was able to give a talk on the Sabbath Day. Probably the number one most broken commandment here in mexico so I had to just lay out some doctrine and tell them that is is not allowed to buy your hot tortillas or chiles on sunday. Needless to say that after church we saw several members go to the store ha. Oh well hopefully the Lord has mercy on them. Also we were able to put another movie in the plaza which was awesome. We passed The Testaments and it was an awesome turn out. We had several people there, many of them were crying after seeing the Living Christ come here to the Americas. We were able to get some directions. Also we had an investigator show up to church named Luis Arturo. he showed up with some tats and sick diamond earrings. He expressed his desire to change so we will be going with him tomorrow. Also Ivan and Gladys are going to get married and baptized this weekend along with Maria Guadalupe. Should be an awesome week. This week I have learned a ton as I have been reading in the book of 3 Nephi about the visit that Christ made to this continent. It truly was a miracle, one that I would have loved to witness. With conference coming up so quick I am pretty stoked to here from the Prophets voice. We just got informed that if we dont have investigators there we wont be able to watch it so it looks like we gotta hit the streets in the search of the escogidos. I love you all and hope everything is going well on the home front. Keep it real!
Elder Burr

Marc's email 3/19/2012

Hello my dearest mother,
It sounds like you got a little taste of the life out of the states in the boonies huh? It is an awesome experience being able to walk into a house like that and find a humble family that is only looking for something better in life. There are several people like that and the Lord is always willing to hold out his loving hand and bring them back to the fold. I am so proud of Matt and for the work that I know he did in the mission. There are few missionaries that do what he did. He is a stud. A little bit about this last week. I have honestly never worked so hard to see so little success. Elder Mangum and I have been thinking, praying, and putting our faith in God, more than I ever have in my life. We were able to put a few movies in the Plaza here in Santiago which was an incredible experience. hundreds of people walked by and saw the event and left pretty impacted. This week we have several people who will be baptized but some prayers this way would sure be a help. The zone is also getting attacked by satan. So many missionaries that have no desire to work. Today we were able to help several of them and I am positive that this week will be a ton better.
Well family I love you all. Mom and Dad thanks for everything. Matt bring sexy back.
Elder Burr

Marc

Marc's email 3/12/2012

Well it sounds like you have all had a good week there in utah. I swear the grandkids are always there with you guys but that is good. I am sure it has made it so you two have not gone crazy, although dad peddling out 50 miles on his bike is way tight. I honestly can not believe that Matt has already finished his mission. That absolutely blows me away but I am positive he served until the end. He is a stud. That just means I have to work overtime to keep those blessings coming. It is alright I am more than willing to keep working in the Lord`s Vineyard. You have to hook me up with some pics from Argentina so I can see how my homeboy is looking. Well as for me here in Santiago this last week was probably one of the best weeks I have ever had here in the mission. We have found several people who are progressing towards baptism. We found a family this week that is incredible. Their names are Gladys and Ivan. Ivan had been drinking for 16 years almost every day. He is 30 years old. Gladys had been waiting for years for her husband to stop drinking. We met here and she was very sad and depressed. She had lost all hope of him ever changing. She told us she didnt know what to do. We started visiting them and in one day the hermano stopped drinking. He has gone this whole week without alcohol and they have gone to a baptismal service. They all showed up sunday at church and I have honestly never seen a smile bigger then the one that Gladys had in church. We have seen miracles here in Santiago. Also 5 new converts were able to go to the temple this last week to do baptisms for the dead. We were able to put more baptismal dates with Dairet and Brenda, two young women who are earnestly seeking for the truth. We have 5 baptismal dates for the 24 of march and I hope none of them fall. We are also going to to everything we can to get 2 baptisms this weekend. All I can say is the when one really tries to do the will of God, and is obedient, there is nothing that can stop this work from progressing. They Lord has blessed me with so many blessings and I can honestly say that this week Elder Mangum and I have been His tools. We have done His will and He has been our guide. I love Him. There are things we have said and things we have done that few people have probably seen. People leave there house to tell us they want to get baptized, families that have been saved, etc. it is all incredible. Well I hope you are all doing well. Although it may be hot here, Zion prospers. EVerything is going well in Zion.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 3/10/2012 #2

You have just converted yourself into a mountain biking fool huh?
> That's great though that you are out having a good time and checking
> out all the sweet digs in St. George. I'm going to be honest, 23
> miles sounds like a whole lot of bike riding, but I'm sure you just
> have a blast.
> This past week has been excellent. It is impossible for me to
> imagine that it is all coming to a very rapid close. The simple fact
> of not being able to accept it has helped me keep the foot on the
> old accelerator pedal. I seriously feel that I have grown this past
> week more than I have in any other week of my mission. I have had my
> mind open up to many new realizations and I have come to really
> comprehend the idea that yeah maybe my two years as a full time
> missionary may be coming to a close, but the mission experience has
> no end. I will never stop being a missionary.
> I have also realized the importance of continual spiritual growth. I
> have been able to think about many different situations that I have
> been placed into here on the mission and I have been able to
> evaluate how I reacted in each one. I wish that I could take the
> knowledge and the experience that I have right now back to those
> situations and hit the redo button. The 100% that I was giving a
> year ago would only be like a 25% of what I am giving now. It's
> amazing what happens when one grows.
> This weekend is going to be awesome. We are leaving in about an hour
> to go with President and Hermana Avila. This afternoon we will be
> working with the zone leaders, doing exchanges with them. I'm
> excited to get out and away from these offices and get my hooves
> dirty. Then tomorrow we have the stake conference where I will
> hopefully see many old friends. I will be setting up some times with
> them when I can bring you and Mom around so you can meet them and
> trust me, we will be eating quite a bit of food so you may want to
> begin fasting now. I hope you don't plan on keeping the rules of the
> diet here because that won't be possible! When we get back tomorrow
> I will be finishing up with the last minute preparations before I
> have my exit interview with President then I will have the
> interview, in the which I am sure that my mind will be blown, then
> it's off to stuff up the old Ogios. Monday I will finish packing up
> the stuff, I will probably go to centro with Elder Menocal so he can
> buy some souvenirs, then we have the farewell dinner, then it's off
> to the cama. Then comes Tuesday.... What a great day it is going to
> be! Giving the old man a big bear hug and then seeing mom... It is
> too good to be true. Right now it is hard for me to completely
> comprehend it, but the day will come. I hope you have a great travel
> and that you get here well rested because we are going to have a
> blast!
> I love you dad. You're the greatest!
> Elder Burr

Matt's email 3/10/2012 #1

Well Mom, I know you are sleeping right now seeing how it is like 5 in the morning, but I just wanted to write you a quick email and let you know I love you! I can't believe how close the time is that I am going to be able to see and hug you again! It is going to be great! I still remember so vividly that day when I began this amazing journey and now here I am a 21 year old grown up! What happened there?! This mission has changed my life. I am so excited to share some of it with you and Dad. It is going to be such a blessing for me! I hope that you have a great travel and that you take yourself some Ambien because it's a long one!
Right now I am off to San Juan with the Avilas to go to some work with the zone leaders and visit their stake conference tomorrow. I am way excited for the travel and for the work that I am going to be able to do! I love being a missionary and I'm so happy that it doesn't all end when I step off that plane!

Love your son
Elder Burr

Marc's email 3/5/2012

Just to let you know about the pictures.... Its because the computers
sometimes dont read my memory card or my cord doesnt work or I dont
have time. That is what Mexico does to me sometimes... just jacks me
up. Any way that is good to hear about the mission president. I have
grown to love that one I have now. I credit much of that testimony
that I have to him. He has really taught me alot about my God and
Jesus Christ. I also did email matt but he just never tells me much. I
figure we have the eternal life to talk about the experiences we have
had here in the mission. Besides he will be home next week. Sucks for
him I will be out here baptizing the world and bringing sexy back. I
got changed to Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit with Elder Mangum from
Sandy. He is a really good missionary and we are the zone leaders.
Villa Hidalgo is in my zone so I will hopefully do some divisions and
see some of my converts there. I am really happy to be here. It is
going to be really hot though and I am not looking forward to that.
Him and I really need your prayers to get some baptisms in this place.
We have placed the goal at 10 in the change so that is what you can do
to help me. Well it seems like matt will be with you guys in a week
and I really am just befuddled. Thats good though I am proud of my
brothers and the work they have done here in the mission field. I know
we have all been blessed beyond our imagination and I am grateful for
the chance I have to be a missionary. Anyway I love you all and am
grateful for your support and your prayers. Dont forget about me when
matt gets home, you still have a son and brother in MEXICO!
Elder Burr

Matt's email 3/3/2012

Well it sounds like February is now packed up in the bags. I can´t believe how fast that month passed by. Everytime I want to look at the calendar I realize that 3 or 4 days have passed. It is incredible the rate at which time is going by. Hopefully real life doesn´t go by this fast because if it does I will be 85 and in a motorized cart in no time.
This week was just jammed packed with important events. On Monday we had all the zone leaders up in Mendoza so that we were able to have a Pday together. They all got here in the morning and we played some basketball and soccer all morning then we had a great spiritual discussion on miracles and what precedes them and after that we sent them out to work and were left to plan all of the consejo that we had with them on Tuesday. After we finished with the consejo I was able to go out pretty much all day on Wednesday with Elder Wheeler and we had an amazing day. We went to contact a man that we had talked to a while back and when we got to his house we noticed that he had one of those handy little intercom doorbell deals on his wall. Those things are not very missionary friendly, but we pushed it anyway and noticed that a girl had attended us. We asked for her dad and she cut the line. About 2 minutes later we heard somebody fuddling around with the keys at the door and in no time we found ourselves talking with the same girl that had attended us. She is amazing. As we were talking with her we noticed the mom in the background sweeping and we began to talk to her as well. We were at the door conversing when the girl, Vanina, asked us if we had eaten anything all afternoon. We told her we had not and so she invited us in for a cake deal. We passed and started talking a little bit more in depth with Vanina about God and about the church. She began telling us how she doubts that the Catholic church is true and she was saying that if there is only one God, there should be only one church. Just as we were about to start with the Restoration, her mom said that the cake thing was done. Vanina left and came back with a platter full of cake and two cups of.... Tea... We quickly refused the tea and told her how God has law of health and then she offered us the cake. We each grabbed a little piece and began eyeing it a little bit. She then informed us that the cake was made with red wine.... OH MAN I was just speechless. She then promised us that the alcohol had all evaporated out and that all was left was grape juice. Let´s just hope she was right! The lesson we had with her was incredible though and she is reading the Book of Mormon like a champ. She´s great and I hope all works out well with her. On Thursday we had the old new missionaries with their trainers in and we had another training meeting with them. Yesterday we had a new missionary in that we had to get all oriented with his companion and all that and then today was just great. In Mendoza there is this holiday called Vendimia. It is basically to be able to celebrate the grape harvest and the wine in Mendoza. The main act is the parade though. Just imagine the provo 4th of July parade, but instead of child themed floats, a beauty pageant. It was really a cool experience to see. Mendoza has the coolest culture. The beauty queens of each department in Mendoza each had their own float and they all threw out fruits. They threw grapes, peaches, watermelons, melon dew, plums, just the whole cornicopia. It was amazing BUT obviously as missionaries dressed in white shirts we stood out like big fat sore thumbs which was a huge benefit because these beauty queens always threw us everything. It was great. Plus we were able to spend the entire day with the Ávila family, which always makes for an incredible day. I will attach some pictures so don´t worry!

Other than that not much is going on. My two homeboys got confirmed on Sunday which always makes me happy. This week I´m going all out. On Wednesday we have a training meeting with the new district leaders, we have a lot to teach to Elder Jacobs and we also have to help with transfers but bring it on! It´s going to be an amazing week. On Saturday elder Menocal and I are heading up to Chimbas with President because we have a few converts receiving the Melchezidek Priesthood in Stake conference so that is going to be awesome. Other than that, nothing is new. I am still just living the dream. I have no doubt that this is the only true and living Gospel over the entire earth and it is the only Gospel that will bring us exaltation if we apply it everyday in our lives. I love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for him and for his sacrifice on my behalf. I love you all and wish you all a great week!!

Elder Burr

Marc's email 2/27/2012

That message from Elder Holland is incredible. It is so true and I can
not wait to meet my Lord and King. Family thank you for the emails and
felicidades and everything. I can not write all of you back but just
know I love you and and grateful for each and every one of you. My
birthday was awesome. I will try to send some pics of when I got my
face smashed into my birthday cake that a family gave me. I love the
families here in the ward. They have all been so good to me. Found out
last night that I will now be Zone Leader but I will find out tomorrow
in the concilio where I will go. I am pretty excited to do a little
bit more for the Lord. I am willing to do what He wants me to do. He
is my Master and Leader. This week was awesome. The family will all
get baptized this saturday so some Elder Will get hooked up with some
free baptisms. We were able to teach over 60 lessons once again so it
was awesome. This week was just a lot of finding people and teaching
lessons. I have been reading a talk about how Christ is the perfect
leader and how we can follow Him. The part that caught my attention
was that Christ is a leader that says "Do what I do" not "Do what I
say". He really is the perfect examlple and when He commanded us to be
perfect, He was willing to help us all along the way. We can be made
perfect throught the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It we let Him heal our
wounds and forgive us our sins, we will live a life free of guilt. I
know He lives and loves us. We are His brothers and sisters, sons and
daughters of a Living God. Well that is about all. My birthday was
awesome. I am old and stuff. I love you all.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 2/25/2012

Hey I´m just writing you letting you know that I got your emails and everything is going great. We just finished baptizing Gaston, who is a miracle that I will have to tell you about a little bit later but today was definitely just a mix of emotions. It was amazing though and I was able to baptize a very good friend.
I got your package on valentine´s day and I absolutely loved it! The dried mangoes hit the spot!
I have one more favor to ask of you... So Gaston, this kid we just baptized, loves the brand Penguin. SO.... It would be amazing if you could pick this kid up a sweet Penguin t shirt or tie for an awesome baptismal gift. I hope you catch the drift. You will get to know him and feel his spirit, but he would absolutely love something like that. I´m sorry for the late notice, but know that you would be helping the cause. Gaston is the kid in picture number 1214... he is a stud!

Love you mom. I hope you have a great time celebrating my birthday without me!
Love,
Elder Burr

Marc's email 2/20/2012

Just Grandpa Burr checkin in from Xalisco. All is well here on my end.
Mom I already got the package, I think. It was a package full of
candy, garments and pants? Good thing they got here when they did
because my pants are about done. They are paper thin and have holes in
the back. So good thing I got a few new pairs. Thanks mom. Also that
is sad about the deaths of the people that have died. The good thing
is that death is not the end. Thanks to the amazing plan of salvation
we will see our family members after this life. And what is up with
Brandon and his wife going bowling?? They just got married and Brandon
wanted to bowl? Unless there was a bowling alley in their hotel room
that sounds like the most stupid idea. I bet you are all worn out
after playing with the grandkids all day every day. I miss those kids
alot. the kids here just dont quite match up. The kids here play with
trompos, swear words and fighting cocks. Yes the rooster fights. This
week was a successful week. On monday we found a family of 6 that we
are hoping to baptize this weekend. I will need your prayers to make
that happen. They all went to church yesterday and they seem to be
pretty excited for their baptism. We found them in the boonies living
with a less active. Turns out the less active didnt go to church but
the people that arent members went. Members here are lame at times but
its all good. We also had a zone conference on tuesday that was really
good. We talked about how the mission work is better with members and
how to work better with the members. We have been working with them
alot this week and hope to see results this week. Oh tight story. We
hauled all of our investigators to church in a motor home of a
neighbor that is not member and wants nothing to do with us. I learned
in that moment that the Lord will always prepare the way so we can
accomplish what He has commanded us. It was an awesome answer to the
prayers of a few humble servants of the Lord. Well other that that
this week has just been another one out here on the mission. I love
every second of it. Cant believe I am almost 21... Just gotta sit it
out or something because that blows my mind. I love you all and hope
you have a great week and a great ash wednesday. It you want a
catholic to put a cross on your forehead with the ashes of burned
stuff feel free to come down here to mexico! Keep on keepin on and
stuff.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 2/18/2012

Well I'm glad the 3 ward dance went well... For some reason I don't
think I will be attending those activities, but I'm sure you both had
a BLAST! I sure hope that you were able to dance with dad... I am sure
that it has been a LONG time since you have done that...
To answer one of the questions you asked, no I have not talked to Emma
in a very long time. I think it has been close to a year, but that's
sad that she had to break up with her boyfriend... I guess I will be
praying for her so that she can feel better and find someone even
better! That's crazy that Carissa is getting married... I thought that
she would already have a kid by now, but it looks like I was wrong!
When is she getting hitched?
This past week was just a blast. I left with Elder Jacobs on Monday
and we hit the road for Villa Mercedes. We got there and early that
day the entire city had been flooded so I am sure you can imagine the
heat, humidity and the mosquitos that were all pestering me. It was
quite the experience. On Tuesday we went to the district meetings in
the morning then I went out with one of the zone leaders to an area
called Justo Daract. The area is pretty close to the border of Cordoba
and it is a beautiful little city full of a bunch of grumpy old men. I
have never been rejected so badly as I was there, but it was all an
amazing learning experience. I honestly felt like every time I opened
my mouth to talk to someone, the automatic punching glove came out and
hit me in the teeth. It was an amazing experience to be able to
testify to these people about the truthfulness of this Gospel and
invite many of them to repentence, just as Abinadi had done with King
Noah. Even though I was being rejected, I still felt that my purpose
was being achieved, and that brought me great happiness. There are so
many stories that I wish I could write right now, but I am afraid they
are all going to have to wait until a further time because they are
going to be a lot better in person.
I am happy that all is going well in your life. I love you a lot. You
are the greatest mother in the world!
Elder Burr

Marc's email 2/6/2012

Well another week has come and gone and it went pretty well. We were
able to baptize who people, Amira and her daughter Claudia. It was a
weird situation because we taught them because Amira works in the
laundry place by our house so everyday we were going with her but she
doesnt live in our area so the baptism counted for the older elders.
Pretty much we gave a baptism away as a little gift. It was awesome
though and we are hoping for some more baptisms this weekend and every
other weekend in February. We are working hard so hopefully it all
works out. Elder Janssen and I are getting along really well. He also
likes to work and walk fast so we are just out here getting it done.
The only bad part are some of the Elders in my district. They just
dont seem to want to be obedient. Dad said it is incredible to see so
many returned missionaries fall into the temptation. After seeing so
many missionaries I think it is safe to say these missionaries were
the missionaries that slept in, went to the movies, stayed out past
12, just chilled with the members, etc. It is sad to see so many
missionaries just throw their mission away. This week I will be doing
several divisions trying to recuperate what we had last change. Last
change we were the district of the change and this change, with the
new elders, has not started out so great. We will see what we can do.
Also that is good that the family is going to be there in the house.
Gotta play some call of duty and sit hard. Meanwhile I will be out
here in the service of my Lord. I have grown to love this work. I have
grown to love the people here. Most of all I have learned how to love
my God. That is what I cherish most, the ability I have now to show
Him my love and devotion. I love you all and am grateful for all of
your prayers and thoughts. Mom and Dad I love you. Family, keep it
real and stuff. Shea yes I got the back hair chart and it is looking
pretty accurate up until now. Thanks! Well I am out, got stuff to do.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 2/4/2012

Well another week has come and gone and I have been left wondering where in the world it went. We started last Monday at about 9 in the morning and didn´t stop until last night at 10 at night. It was a week jam packed with stuff and little of it had to do with investigators which was something that made me sad. I feel that sometimes the investigators that we have slip lower and lower on the priority level as our weeks are filled with conferences and training meetings and planning meetings and all that stuff, but I have felt that the Lord has given me strength in my times of trials and has directed my actions towards Him.
This week Elder Menocal and I were able to receive the new assistant, Elder Jacobs. He is a great missionary and I feel privileged to be able to be with him as his companion and help him learn the ropes around here. These next few weeks we will be around travelling with him throughout the mission and working with the zone leaders and helping close off some baptisms. It is going to be an incredible transfer and we will be baptizing a fair share in our area, which makes the work only that much better.

Today as I was studying the Book of Mormon I read something that I absolutely loved and taught me a ton about Nephi and his character. I was reading in Chapters 31-33 in 2nd Nephi when Nephi was talking about why Jesus Christ was baptized. This chapter is one of the most used chapters in missionary work but there was something that really caught my attention. In a few different occasions Nephi quotes words from the Father and then he quotes words from the Son. First of all, that must have been a HUGE spiritual experience for Nephi. To hear the voice of both the Father and the Son as they testified of each other. That would have been an amazing experience for him. Nephi then concluded his teaching of the doctrine of Christ and then said that the Spirit stopped his utterance. Nephi, being obedient, quit talking and then invited his people to pray. This story applies so much to the missionary work. There have been so many times where I have been in lessons with my companion and we have been talking about baptism and we have been inviting people to be baptized and the people struggle against the Spirit. Once we see that the person is not going to accept the baptismal invitation we always end up leaving them with the commitment to pray. It was the exact same model the Nephi used and it works like a charm. Nephi is an incredible example of a fantastic missionary.

On Thursday we had the opportunity to be with the zone leaders and teach them a little bit about what it takes to ¨Mark the Path.¨ It was great being able to plan for it but what made it even better was the video we used of the Blue Angels and how there is always someone calling the shots and organizing the formation. We related this to the role of a zone leader and how they are the companionship in the zone that calls the shots and guides the formation. It is hard to explain in an email, but it turned out great. We were able to have a great meeting with them and they all left excited to work which is a big mission complete.

I´m sorry this email is all over the place, but I hope you were able to get the point. I am super excited for this week to come and for the opportunity to go out and work with the zone leaders. It is going to be a great experience.

Well not much else to report on the battlefield. I´m still loving life and having a blast out here. I love preaching the Gospel to the Argentine people. It is an amazing experience and it has changed my life forever. I know that this is the work of salvation. It is more than just baptizing converts, it is strengthening the infrastructure of the full and true Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it!

Love,
Elder Burr

Marc's email 1/30/2012

Alright well another quick email to you, Mom and family. Haha it
sounds like Quade is slowly letting out our secrets ha. Dad those four
points you said in your email I often find myself asking the same
questions. I still have not found the answers. I know that Lord
protected me so I would be here doing His work. It is amazing out here
though. This week we had the opportunity to teach 60 lessons to less
actives and investigators. It was really an incredible week. I have
come to realize that when one gives everything they have to the Lord,
He takes out lives, abilities, and everything we have and works
miracles. This week and month I have been trying to sanctify myself
and I challenge all of you to study the theme and work on it. It comes
when one is willing to give everything to the Lord and always do His
will. It requires repentance, faith, and a conscious effort but as a
result we see miracles. This week we were able to bring the light of
the Gospel to many people who had lost the vision of the eternal life.
People who are alone, who have lost family members and also people who
reject us and curse us. It all comes in the scrirtures. The promises
are being fulfilled and I have the blessing to be one of the Lords
tools here in Xalisco. I absolutely love it. Next week I hope to have
more time to fill you in with more details but who knows. The work is
moving along at an incredible pace. Mom to answer your question.. my
shoes I have now are fine! They will hold up I promise. My pants
however will not. So I hope you got that package off. But as for me I
am loving it. Dont worry about me I am just submerged in the work of
the Lord.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 1/28/2012

It was great to hear that all is well and that everyone is home from the land of eternal happiness in Hawaii. Now back to work right??
This past week, on Tuesday, we ended with the last of 11 zone conferences. It was a huge relief to be done but I had a blast being able to participate in it. Elder Menocal taught about how to begin teaching, seeing how the first few moments are so important in the progress of any investigator. We were also able to create a plan of action in the mission of how we are going to be able to baptize two people per month per companionship.. We were so blessed as we could put our minds together with the Lord and President and come up with ideas. We were able to reteach the plan 5-5-5, talk a lot more about references, explain retention and support President with his talk he gave on working with all our heart might mind and strength. As we were advancing with the zone conferences and learning about the principle of giving 100% to the Lord I realized just how true the principle of line upon line, precept upon precept really is. I was able to think a lot about the beginning of my mission and remember how my 100% in many ways is not the same as it is now. With added knowledge and capacity, our 100% is continually growing. That is one of the many reasons I feel blessed to be where I am now. I have the opportunity to go out with many missionaries and help them increase their 100% more rapidly. I would have killed to be able to go out in my first few transfers with an assistant and see what it was that he had to show me and in what ways I could do better. That was an opportunity that I never really had. For that reason I am excited to stay and work even more with the amazing missionaries that are here. I am humbled everytime I am with them and can feel their spirit and just the energy that they have to work. That is something that pushes me to become better each and every day.
After the zone conferences ended, we stayed up in Chimbas and spent the rest of the week with the missionaries up there. I was able to go out with a missionary from Peru and work in his area. It was a great experience. The goal of the exchange was to get permission from a mom for the daughter to get baptized, but sadly, we were unable to find the parents. We were able, however, to teach an amazing lesson with an 18 year old kid who is incredible and he then passed us a reference of a family with 16 children... We went and contacted the reference and the dad made us walk right in. This family was great. Then on Thurday I went with one of the zone leaders to another area to help get things ready for a few baptisms that they were going to have and we were only able to find one of the 2 people that were getting baptized. That was a bummer, but it was a great opportunity to show the elder that I was with that we are all the same and that we have citas fall too. Whenever I am doing exchanges, the missionaries always expect that everything goes perfectly, just because they are with me, but one thing that is hard for them to understand is that we all have the same calling. I am just a common missionary like everyone else who loves serving the Lord and depends on His hand to help me out in times of need. I know that my own strength is weak, but when I depend on Him, I am able to see miracles.
This next week coming up is going to be crazy. Another first week of the transfer with all the fun that comes with it! I love this work. I know this church is true. It is impossible that a church progresses so quickly and so perfectly unless it were guided by God from the heavens. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary. It is the best calling I have ever had and probably ever will have. I love you!
Elder Burr

Marc's email 1/30/2012

It sounds like the welcome home wasnt so good? It is pretty good weather here. It is a little warmer than it has been but it feels good. At least the house isnt a freezer anymore. Something about cement houses makes them about fifty degrees cooler. It is a dream though. This week was an unreal week. It was unreal because we had a concilo with all of the leaders and the spirit in that room was incredible. I dont doubt that the veil in that room was the thinnest I have ever felt it in my life. I dont even know how to explain it but it was incredible. It made me realize, with more convincing power that my Heavenly Father lives and He loves me. He has forgiven me of all of my past sins and He is allowing me to move on. I love Him with all of my heart. The work here is moving. Elder Janssen and I get along really well. He is from West Jordan and is seriouly like 6'5. It is good walking around with another american though. Well I really dont have much time cause we have some appointment right now but I am glad everything is well with you guys. Mom as for the shoes just dont worry about them. The ones I have righ now will last the rest of the mission. Also I am pretty sure my pants are like 38.. In mr mac they have a paper with all of the measurements. I also got the christmas package. Thanks mom!! It is so tight. Well family you are the best keep my area in your prayers! I love you all
Elder Burr

Matt's email 1/21/2012

Well I just wanted to let you all know that I am still alive after a long week of zone conferences. We started early Monday morning and didn´t stop until midnight of last night. Tuesday morning we woke up at 4 to make our long journey over to Villa Mercedes where we began the travelling. It was a great wake up call, but before the conference even started I was already tired. My body clock didn´t like that very much but after the zone conference we made our way back into San Luis to prepare for the zone conference with them on Wednesday. I found out that Zulema is still way active and she is preparing to go to the temple in May! There is another family of converts that are still active, but they still have a few more obstacles to jump before they can make it to the temple. On Wednesday we had the zone conference in San Luis and at about 8 at night we started another long travel down to San Rafael. When we got there, it was way late and there was only ONE motel room in the entire city so to make a long story short, President, Elder Menocal and I all slept in the same, tiny motel room. Elder Menocal slept on a mattress thrown on the floor, President got a decent bed, and I slept on the foam pad placed on a bed frame. I didn´t have a pillow or sheets, but it was still a night for the records. We woke up early, excited to be up for the next day, and had the zone conference with San Rafael and then returned to the same motel for the night. This time they had switched up our rooms and we finally had decent living conditions, but the three of us were still in the same room. Yesterday we finished up the long week in Alvear and then coming back we ran into another mess. Just as we got on the highway, the famous Alvear hail storms hit us hard. We had to pull off to the side of the road in order to escape the falling rocks and spare the windshield and man was that a journey. We were all super tired, ready to be home, and now waiting on mother nature to do her thing. After about 15 mintues of waiting we finally got on the road again. Heading back to Mendoza we saw a sign indicating us to make a left turn off the the highway... Note to self: DO NOT TRUST THE STREET SIGNS IN ARGENTINA. After about 30 minutes of travelling down this po dunk road it all of a sudden turned into dirt... Yeah it wasn´t the right road. Not even close. SO we turned around and turned on the GPS and tried digging ourselves out of the predicament we were in. As we went following the GPS we noticed that it told us to make another random right hand turn. We doubted, but then decided to follow the 21 century liahona. This time we were on a paved road for a while and, not to our surprise, it suddenly turned into dirt... again. Luckily at this point there was a house so we decided to ask them where in the world we were. They gave us two options: Or turn around and backtrack about another half hour, or cross the river... Well it had been raining and hailing for the past hour and a half, but we decided to cross the river. You know that picture of the Martin Handcart Company crossing the Mississippi River? Yeah picture something like that... Alright, not quite, but the river was still pretty impressive but what did we do? We plunged right into it! It was great. President´s Four Runner deal of an SUV handled great and we made it through! After another 5 minutes of dirt road, we finally intersected the highway and started on out way home. After one more stop for a hail delay we finally made it back at around midnight! I was SO happy to be back. Now we have this afternoon and tomorrow to work in our area and on Monday morning we head on up to San Juan to finish off the two more zone conferences that we have pending. President is thinking of having us stay up there for the rest of the week to work with the zone leaders in Chimbas, but we will see what happens. He was to organize transfers and will surely be calling on us to help him, but to make a long story short, this week was great and I had a blast. It is such a blessing to be able to know all of the missionaries at such a personal level. It is something that I never thought was possible, but I feel like some of my very best friends are out here with me serving the Lord. At times I feel like Alma and the Sons of Mosiah... Our hearts are all dedicated on the task we have at hand, which task is to declare this amazing gospel to everyone, baptizing them by the Holy Priesthood. What a blessing it is! I absolutely love it! I love you all and hope the rendezvous to hawaii ended happily!
Elder Burr

Marc's email 1/15/2012

Hey mom!
So it is good to hear you are all just sitting living the dream with
the family and friends. Tell everyone I say hi. Ask Camden how he is
doing with the homework I left him. He should be looking for hot
chicks. Mom dont worry about the package that didnt get to me. I know
it will get here sometime in the future. I know you spend a lot of
time and money but I didnt come out here to get packages. So I am
happy and living. Dont be sad that I didnt get it. About the shoes I
told you I can get some here. They sell good shoes that will last me.
Pants would be nice but if you dont want to send me some I am sure I
can find some dockers here on something. I might look a little white
trash but it will be fine. My garments I think are 34 in the waist and
who knows what else. I like the silk ones. Well this week we had
changes. My comp got changed to Guadalajara and my new comp is Elder
Jantzen. He is gringo for sure. I still am waiting for him to get here
from Colima so next week I will let you know how he is. Tomorrow I
will be going to Guadalajara for a concilio with the president and all
of the leaders of the mission. I hope to learn a lot of things. About
this week. We were able to baptize Norma, Jorge and Miguel. It was an
incredible experience to get them baptized and confirmed on the same
day. All three are really happy and content with the decision they
took. It hits me every baptism how important it is to follow the
example of Christ. It is a true miracle to be able to repent of all of
our sins and wash them away with the baptism and the sacrament. Every
week we all witness a miracle and alot of us dont even think about it.
That is about it for this week though. We have several other people to
focus on now. It should be another great change here in Xalisco. Well
I think that is about it. I love you all very much and hope you are
all happy. I read the speach by King Benjamin this week and challenge
you all to read it. It is incredible. Im out!
P.S. sad story. today they sent an elder from utah home to get
operated on. I got to love that elder. It is sad to see how a great
Elder has something like this happen to him but I am just so grateful
I am here!
Elder Burr

Matt's email 1/14/2012

Well here I am... again! I was glad to hear from you and to find out that all is going well up there on the pacific coast. I can't believe the dream that you are living over there... Keep livin it up. You deserve it!
I too have started reading the Book of Mormon this year and I have learned things that I had never even imagined before. One of the greatest lessons I have learned thus far is when Nephi broke his bow when he was out hunting. I have read it and re read it and each time I learn something new. There are many things that blow my mind. First of all, it wasn't even feasible that a bow made out of fine steel, could just break, thus showing us that the Lord had something to do with that. Then after breaking the bow, his brothers got mad at him. Why couldn't they keep hunting? Because they were so occupied with their murmurings that they couldn't focus on their real objective. So we keep reading that even Lehi and Nephi were saddened by their circumstances so what does Nephi do? He goes and finds a piece of wood to make a bow and a straight stick to make an arrow and grabs his sling and stones and goes to Lehi and asks where he should go. I love it. The solution was so simple. They were surrounded by the solution the whole time, but they never saw it until Nephi focused more on the solution than the problem. That was a great lesson for me. Focus more on the solution than the problem because 9 times out of 10 the solution will be right in front of our eyes. I love applying this principle with the investigators.. Helping them look at the positive rather than the negative. Sadly enough, we live in a world where many people only see through the eyes of pessimism. They blame their situation on the circumstances. If only we could just open up our eyes and find the solutions around us. How hard was it for Nephi to find a piece of wood and a stick and grab his sling and a few rocks?? I have learned to love this lesson and it has had a huge impact on my life in these past few weeks. I have come to love studying the scriptures here on the mission. It is something that I look forward to every day because I know that I feel closer to God when I read them. The Book of Mormon is incredible. Yeah it tells a great story, but the lessons that it teaches are life changing. I would have never been able to learn that lesson if I hadn't made the decision to serve a mission. This mission has literally saved me. It has made me open up my eyes to the Spirit.

This past week was crazy and this next week will be even more crazy. We're pounding out the zone conferences like's its nothing. We've only got like ten bails left, which is only five more turns for Randy. I can't wait until it's over and we can focus 100% on the STREETS. I have come to miss the early morning lessons and the 12 o clock door knock, but I have gained a strong testimony being here in the offices. I have learned a ton from President and I still have a lot to learn. I just need to be humble and listen. God gave me two ears and one mouth so I can listen twice as much as I talk. I love it.

I hope you have a great week in Hawaii and the sun treats you well. I love you all!! Keep doing work!
Love,
Elder Burr

Marc's email 1/9/2012

A lot to report on from sunny Xalisco Nayarit. But first I will answer
your questions. If Christmas was a package from october with popcorn
from hawaii and a book titled Mansion or something like that then yes
christmas arrived. If you sent something else then no it still hasnt
gotten here. Changes are coming up this next week. I have no clue what
will be happening. It is possible that we stay the same here but who
knows.
So it turns out that people here paint there pants when they are faded. So my comp
decided to paint his pants blue. He also always likes to wash our
clothes together.. Yeah its weird but whatever. anyway he put his blue
painted pants in with his white shirts and garments along with my
garments. We later went to get the clothes and just so happens to be
that all of the clothes were smurf blue.. We spent the whole week and
a whole bottle of bleach making the clothes white again. Sooooo met.
But on the good side we worked really hard this week. We have 4 people
that are going to get baptized this sunday. Today we helped a family
get married so we really havent had a Pday. We had to go to the
government buildings and I had to be a Witness but it was an awesome
experience to be able to see two people work so hard to live the
commandments of God. Needless to say it was worth not having a Pday.
Their names are Norma y Jorge and they will be baptized this sunday.
We also have Miguel who will be baptized this sunday. We found him
after the funeral we spoke in a month ago and he too has made some
great changes in his life. We are also wanting to baptize Lizbeth, the
sister of Lupe who just got baptized. Pretty much we have a lot of
work lined up for this next week. I love it though. I love the
privelage that I have to be here working with the Lord. I love being
able to be a tool in His hands. There is nothing in this world that
brings more happiness to a human soul than being able to help the Lord
find His lost sheep and see them change their lives. It has brought me
such joy and real happiness. I say real happiness because it is the
happiness that my Heavenly Father feels when we decide to repent and
live His commandments. It is the happiness that the world will never
bring us. It is the happiness that the Savior felt when He was here in
America with the little kids. That is why I love the mission. I always
feel a joy that I know I will never feel again. I really am so
blessed. It is the joy that not even a sun filled hawaiian beach with
an ice cold diet coke can bring.
About wanting you guys to come pick me up.... It is up to you. There
isnt much for you guys to do here. MAybe Matt can come out to get me
so he can work with me my last day or something. I dont really know
though maybe in 6 months I will hook you up with more details. Until
then I wont be thinking about it. Alright well I am out. Thanks mom
for everything. I love you you are the best!
Your tight son,
Elder Burr

Matt's email 1/7/2012

These next few weeks have a ton in store for me. On Monday we are
starting off with some zone conferences. Tuesday we will continue, but
after the zone conference we have 2 new missionaries coming which
means on Wednesday we will be doing the training meetings with them,
but on thursday we will start back up again for 2 more days of zone
conferences then we will have the weekend to work in the area and then
the next monday through friday night we will be travelling the mission
doing zone conferences every day and after that we will be into the
last week of the transfer and two of the days we will be finishing up
the zone conferences and then we will do the last touch ups with some
families and put them in the water to end the transfer off well and
then after that I don´t quite know what will happen... But as for now,
I am not thinking that far ahead, this week has enough for itself. It
will be crazy... But it´s all part of life right? Just have to keep
one foot in front of the other so I don´t fall...
Also this last week my 2 year temple recommend expired... It has been
two years since I went through the temple to get endowed...
Incredible. I have thought back on that moment many times, and few
experiences in my life compare to the happiness I felt at that moment.
Alright now to answer a few of your questions...
I really haven´t thought too much about what we are going to do when
you get here. I was thinking spend a day in each area that I have been
in and see a couple people in each area and see some of the cool
tourist places. That would require a rental car, but no worries, I am
a legalized driver here in Mendoza so no fret, I drive like a champ.
We will be able to return to Mendoza every night I believe.
Know that I am going to end my mission
with all that I can possibly give. the Lord deserves nothing less that
that and I owe Him a lot for forgiving me of my sins and allowing me
to be out here serving Him.
Have a good week on the beach! I love you mom!
Elder Burr

Marc's email 1/2/2012

New Years here was pretty tight. A bunch of drunk people walking
around and at 12 a bunch of gunshots. Apparently that is the tradition
here. Walk outside with your AK47 and illegal narco guns and shoot
them in the air. It was pretty interesting ha. Matt will be home in 2
months. That is unbelievable to think about. That time will go by so
fast. It looks like you are all doing well. Mom has been hittin up the
tanning beds. Dad on his bike. Cam just living it. Heather and family
just getting older. Heather looked skinnier... It is also good to know
that James and John joined the crew. Haha that is pretty funny that
dad ran over his foot. Something like that had to happen. Also I dont
know why people are already getting married and stuff. Cant they wait
for me to get home? Matt will be the next one married. That will be
unreal when my only true homie gets hitched. Life is going by way too
fast. No mom I was never scary,just tight. Well this week was really
good. We baptized on friday which was a nightmare. We showed up to the
church to fill the font but turns out the pumps was broken so there
was no water. We had to haul all of the people to tepic to baptize in
another church. After all was said and done she got baptized and
confirmed this week and it was awesome. Also on sunday something
stunning happened. We were eating and my comp decided to wash his
dishes. As he was washing them he took a step back and crushed the
head of a tiny puppy. It was a month old. The dog died and the family
started crying. I was just too stunned to believe it. It was sad but
pretty funny. Well Family love you and hope you are all happy. I know
this i the only true and living church and the Jesus Christ is at the
head of His church. We must follow the prophet and accept the will of
our Father. As we do this we will be led to Exaltation and Eternal
Life as an Eternal Family. That is the goal we all have and my hope
and prayer is that we can reach it. I love you all
Elder Burr

Matt's email 12/31/2011

Well the holidays just keep on going here in mendoza. This week we had two mission parties and tonight President and Hermana Avila have invited all the office elders up to their house to have yet another party with them. The new year´s festivities here in mendoza are super sketchy and people start drinking at like 6 so President doesn´t want us out in the streets at night. I really is so sad so see so many people breaking God´s commandments without even thinking twice about it. They think life really is just go out and have fun and wait until the day you die cause nobody know what happens afterwards. I am so grateful for the knowledge and the testimony that I have come to have about the Plan of Salvation. It really does bring so much happiness into my life knowing that it all doesn´t end at death and that if we do all things right, we will be able to live in the presence of God. We will be able to see, one day, the face of the most powerful man in the history of the eternities... How amazing is that going to be?!
I was so happy after I got done talking to you all on Sunday. I felt just a glimpse of eternal happiness. It was amazing being able to see all of you and talk to you and just be there for the moment.
It is crazy that you were able to go to Kyle and Rachel´s reception... to be honest, I am kinda glad I missed it! I am so happy being here on the mission that not even things like that really call my attention. I know that might sound a little bad, but I just feel like I am at home out here in the sticks. Not even Disneyland can compare to the happiness that is felt out here on the mission.

Things on the mission front are going super well. I was able to go out yesterday and work the whole day and we saw many miracles. We received a reference from Neoquen, which never ever ever happens, but the lady is a champ. She was just waiting for us to show up and was so glad when we shared with her the miracle of the Restoration. She loved the message and committed to pray and ask God if it is true. She is an amazing person. We were also able to find another family who just barely had a daughter that died and the other daughter was super depressed. It was a depression that I have never seen before and this poor woman didn´t see a way out, until she heard about the Plan of Salvation. It was amazing to see the light that slowly came into her eyes as she learned that she would one day be with her sister again and that they would both be happy together if she obeys the commandments of God. Moments like these just make me love the mission even more. Just being able to help someone have a little better day and knowing that they will be eternally blessed if they can just pray and ask God if these things are true. I am often times surprised at how little I am to the world, but how much I am to God. I know that He loves me and I am so blessed to be able to be a tool in His hands here in Mendoza. I absolutely love it.

I have attached a picture of before the run we did this morning. It was a LONG run, but it was a good way to say good bye to 2011 and to say what´s up to 2012. I also attached a picture of me with Elder Christensen at the Christmas Party. This elder is great. He has inspired me in more ways than one!

I love you all and hope you have a happy new year!
Elder Burr