November 12, 2012

This girl is powerful.  We are so grateful for the blessings our family has received from her diligent Christlike service.  She is truly blessing the lives of so many families.

My great great family,

Another great week! Transfers are next tuesday and i'm already close to tears because i will likely be transfered out of this area. I love it hear and i don't want to leave but i also know that i will likely have the opportunity to come back for a baptism....hopefully a few :) If anyone can help people get there, it's sister Oyanedel. Sister Oyanedel loves to work hard. Our new thing is to "walk with purpose." Frankly, we do have a purpose and we are not just on a thing called a mission, we have a mission, we have goals, and we are going to fulfill our purpose in one way or another. :) I love being here with Sister Oyanedel. She's very dedicated to the Lord and is so so inspired in the way that she teaches. She teaches simply but so personally. Someday i will be more like her. Well, this last week was a good one. We taught the restoration to a family of 7! Not everyone was there but the mom, Irma was definitely listening carefully. This week we had the beautiful opportunity to hear several of our investigators pray for the first time. There are few things that can make me as happy as hearing the sincere prayers of God's children pleading for understanding, pleading for help in their marriage, pleading for the health of family members, and even pleading that we might successfully help others come to truth as well. I love hearing their prayers! This week we met with an investigator named Raquel. She has a testimony the gospel but cannot be baptized without quitting her job. She told us she feels like superman. At first i was so confused but then she explained. She's living 2 lives because she hasn't quit her job but has desire to change. Please pray for her. I'm afraid we may need to drop her this week. We only stopped by to make an appointment with her and she just asked us to please please pray with her. We of course did offer a prayer with her but my heart was simply troubled and hurt to see her smothered in make-up, in a small little dress...we almost couldn't tell it was her anymore. She is obviously lost in the world of temptation, confused by her desire to be accepted and loved, and absolutely unaware of the seriousness of her decision nor the true worth and potential she has. I hope she musteres even a little faith to keep trying. She has asked us to give up on her before. Anyway, We also heard a women pray this week that her husband would have clean thought. When we hear the prayers of others, we recieve a glimpse into their deepest feelings, fears, worries, and joys. I'm so glad i get to hear the prayers of many and offer numberless prayers for them as well. I noticed last week that my knees really are beginning to callus from kneeling and my middle finger on my right hand is also developing a callus from knocking on doors. It surprised me to be honest. I also thought people were joking when they said that but it really happens! :) I don't mind if the callus on my finger fades after my mission but i never want my knees to change! Prayer not only invites the spirit but helps us understand the spirit in our efforts to change to what the Lord needs and wants from us. How i love the gospel and how i love the Lord! 

Thank you for your support family. I truly have been eternally blessed by your examples! Mike and Kirsten, Congrats on the baby! i'm so excited for you!  Christian, what is going on with your mission papers? when are they going in? when is your availability date? when will you know? how can i help? you will tell me, right!?  

I love you all! Hurrah for Israel!

Love

Hermana burrup

She got to visit her cousin Cyntha and family who live in Las Vegas.  Awesome, right?

Dear President Neider,

We are so excited for this week! There are so many good things happening. We are excited to learn from Elder Ellis on Tuesday and Wednesday, to invite investigators to a branch activity on friday, and see Sister Caballero's baptism on Saturday. This is going to be a good week! Well, this last week was also a good week. Sister Oyanedel is so grateful that she was able to take care of everything. She has been praying and fasting for this opportunity for many many years. So thank you President for helping everything be possible for her. I loved the opportunity i had to be with Hermana Medina for a day. She taught me how to mention the restoration in street contacts and how to teach the Plan of Salvation more simply.  This week we also have seen miracles! We have two new investigators who finally decided to call the number on the card. One recieved the card 2 months ago and the other 3 years ago. How the Lord leads the prepared to the missionaries and the missionaries to the prepared. Thank you again President for your example and for the work you put into this mission! Hurrah for Israel!

Love

Sister Burrup

November 5, 2012

My Dear Dear Family,

Celebrate Christian's birthday with/for me! i'm celebrating today too! :) I hope you go spanish speaking because i already have everything planned for you! I am so so excited for to recieve your call, Bud! Will you please please tell me everything? do you already have your papers submitted or when? when is everything happening? i want to know ALL! you will be a powerful missionary because you smile because you are happy because you are living the gospel! We have a joke in our mission. We call it zoo face. Basically, our goal is to get people asking why we are so happy! if we are happy they will have a greater desire to learn. She tells us to put on our zoo faces or to act as excited as a toddler going to the zoo for the first time. We take zoo face pictures with ridiculous smiles. It's fun. we also quote Elder...Holland i think, "if you are happy, tell your face!" Living  the gospel really does make us a happy. It is really so simple. Why do we complicate the gospel? Through obedience All of God's blessings are available to us! So family, let's live up to our names (both the name burrup and the name of the savior) by perfect obedience, complete consecration, and an eternity of service.  How i love the gospel! I feel like things are finally starting to feel more natural. I prefer doing street contacts in spanish. I don't hesitate or feel dumb when i talk to people. I'm confident. Every day here seems to get better and better and better.

Except one thing made us sad last week. They took sister Dickson away! sister Dickson recieved permission to drive this last week so they sent her to another area to be a driver. They called us in the morning and two hours later she was in her new area. So so fast! We're back to two now. I feel like we make so few pancakes in the morning now. We miss sister dickson but she's needed elsewhere. As for Halloween, we had a mission activity. We watched a movie about the role of fathers in the home. I felt bad not being in homes and on the streets but there isn't any way we would have been able to effectively teach a lesson or contact people. As for investigators, Sister Caballero is going strong for her baptism on the 17th of this month. it will be a beautiful baptism because her son, Martin, will be performing the baptism. martin was baptized last april. His brother and sister-in-law are working towards baptism as well. We have been focusing a lot on them and making sure they are ready but trying to balance visiting other investigators and finding all at the same time. it's hard but we are getting lot of help.

I recieved the package. thank you so so much! I feel so so supported by you all! thank you for your prayers! Dad, what news! I was humbled by your letter, by your humility and goodness, your faith, your setting apart, your testimony. thank you for your example. the funny thing about lacking experience is that it all just fades away as we put our entire heart, mind, mind, and strength in. the Lord does help us and he works miracles in behalf of his children. I know that this will be a challenge for you, mom, and Christian, but i am confident that it will bless us all. Kirsten, thank you for the letters, and janae, i did recieve your letter as well! so so fun to hear your stories. Kirsten, keep trying hard to be a part of missionary work. There is a member here, Sister Maria Huertas, from Peru. she always has a book of mormon with her, there is another member who always has mormon.org card (they came free with the ensign last month). Simply open your mouth with sincere and genuine concern for others. All too often we are afraid to offend people but tell me. What is offensive about a neighbor, friend, coworker, another student, trying to share hope and happiness through our Savior. Look for service, be happy, open your mouth. If we mess up the order, the words, or whatever it might be. it's ok. Just help them think. Help them learn. Help them feel, and help them discover. Missionary work is slow and steady but eternally important. 

I love you all so so very much! Hurrah for Israel

Hermanan Burrup

ps- Sister Arango moves today too. I attached a picture of us. She's the pig ear soup lady :)

Dear President Neider,
My mom always told me to serve those i love and love those i serve. Great advice. as a little girl i heard what she said and i tried to apply it but now, i am REALLY trying to apply it! My testimony of the power of service to soften hearts in deepening. We did a service project this week with Eva, the sister of a recent convert and daughter of a soon to be convert. As we worked together she simply started asking what she has to do to be married in the temple. That question, of course, opened the doors to a wonderful discussion about the fundamentals of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end. We are excited for her to continue learning and progressing. Surely the Lord has prepared many to receive the gospel! Sister Oyanedel and I have been incredibly blessed in this branch, area, mission, and companionship. We are grateful for the opportunity we had to be with Sister Dickson and look forward to see the Lord's blessings in the lives of those around us! Thank you President for your service, countenance, work, and dedication. We truly admire you and your wife!
With Love and Prayers,
Sister Burrup