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