Week 7: Rodeo de la Cruz

Hello everyone once again! :)

I don't have much time today but I wanted to share a couple things! 

The spanish is coming along! I am starting to understand the little mumbles which is actually a big step for me. There is a Chilean missionary in my district who speaks incredibly fast, and I can't understand a word he says. It's pretty funny!

Elder Manrique and I weren't having much success earlier this week and so we decided to pray on the side of a road. We thought for a couple seconds, then started heading in a direction. After about 5 minutes I told Elder Manrique that I was thirsty so we should try to look for a kiosco (a little store in people's homes, they are very common). Instead, he asked a man who was in front of his home if I could have a glass of water. He said sure, and while his child went to go get water we found out that he was Hermano Frites, an inactive member that we could not find anywhere!! :) 

Genaro said last week that he wanted to see an American dollar bill. I said I would look for one! When we got back to the pension that night, I couldn't find any. I prayed, and still had no luck. Eventually I forgot about it but on Friday before we were supposed to teach him on Saturday, I opened up "True to the Faith" and out popped a one-dollar bill. I was so excited to give it to him, but it turns out he is on vacation. Soo... next week!!

I hope you all are doing well. I feel every prayer that is offered for me, and the blessings come in so many different forms. Thank you!!!

Mucho Amor,

Elder Burns

Week 6: Rodeo de la Cruz

I am in Argentina! My area is called Rodeo de la Cruz. You can look it up on Google Maps if you want :) Lots has happened... haha but I will try to include everything.

First off, we saw Elder Holland in the SLC airport and he was on our connecting flight to Atlanta. He had a first class seat of course! I got to shake his hand!!! Proceed to be jealous.

My companion is Elder Manrique who is from Colombia! He is a great guy. He wants to learn English and I want to learn Spanish. At times it is hard to talk to him, but it is also really helpful to have a Latin companion.

When I introduce myself, everyone says "Oh, Elder Burns ¡como Los Simpsons!" (like the Simpsons!) It is really funny because I have never seen the Simpsons and I expect that every time I say my name.

The Spanish! Sooo different than what we learn in the MTC. When I arrived I literally could not discern one word from another. Everyone has a really strong accent and skips tons of syllables. It is beautiful if I am just listening and not trying to find out what they are saying haha :D

The people are so kind. Whenever we go to someones house, member or nonmember, they have soda and food for us. Even in really difficult circumstances, they are willing to give us a small snack!!

After a nice Almuerzo at a member-family home, we were walking to an appointment and asked for directions. Elder Manrique decided to ask a man with his son in his arms, and eventually after talking to him abnout who we are and what we believe, he told us to come by sometime. Eventually, we figured out we had nothing to do and went to his house where his wife was also. They were so happy to let us in! We sat on tiiiny kid benches just outside the entrance, but I would not have wanted it a different way. We just started talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings of it. By the way, the mother had a Book of Mormon. If I heard right, which I probably didnt, she was buying empanadas when some missionaries gave it to her. Their names are Genaro, Claudia, and Lionel Fernandez. Anyways, the spirit was so unique. Elder Manrique invited Genaro to be baptized and he said yes! Incredible. Heavenly Father prepares people for specific missionaries, and when they are ready, he makes everything happen in very special ways. It was seriously a miracle. We had not had much success before that!

Have an awesome week in the United States! 

Elder Burns (como Los Simpsons)

Week 5: Provo MTC

Hello everyone!!

In four days, I will be on my way to Argentina! I am so excited to apply everything I've learned in the MTC and also dive into a completely new culture. We fly from SLC to ATL, ATL to Buenos Aires, then take a small plane to Mendoza (I believe). It will be great. 

So as I mentioned last week, I had the ability to meet with President Lindahl who used to be the President of the Mendoza mission. It was so great to learn from someone directly from the mission I'm headed to! He gave us some awesome tips and information: 1. Mendoza gets earthquakes (which he said are fun because they aren't ever severe) 2. Like most of Argentina, the Spanish has an Italian accent (y's and ll's make a soft "g" sound) 3. It's a mix of Latins and Europeans. Lots of cool stuff!!

I was able to host and greet the new missionaries yesterday. It made me so grateful to be done with all the goodbyes. They were hard! It's always funny to see the glossy, wandering eyes of newbies. 

Brother Rasmussen (one of my teachers) taught us an amazing way to quickly find needs of investigators. After the end of the first lesson, we NEED to invite to baptism. If they say no, ask them what is holding them back. Once they respond, ask that if all the reasons they mentioned were resolved, would they commit to baptism? If not, then keep asking the same question until they say yes. Problem solved! He's such a funny guy. His style is manipulation because if the gospel is true, why not take the quickest path to it? It's genius! 

On Tuesday night after the devotional, we were talking with Brother Dowdle who is in our branch presidency. Basically, he said that "two contradicting desires results in turbulence." We can't completely devote ourselves to a cause if we are still holding onto something else. In the context of a mission, we are expected to leave all personal problems behind us and focus on the work for two years. I have felt the power of that every day! But this also applies to anything else we want to accomplish. We can't ever progress if we're pulling in two different directions. 

I love you all!! The next e-mail will be from Argentina!

Mucho Amor,

Elder Andrew Burns

 ​This is Elder Oakley who is from England. He left for New Jersey this week!


Elder Kidd and I in our prime.

Our zone!