April 1

My dear family,

I feel so so spoiled every monday. you write me letters and send packages. you write emails. you fast. you pray. you share your experiences. you share your testimonies. thank you so much. After seeing the world a little more, time and time again, i am brought to my knees with a prayer of gratitude. I will never be able to pay it back or even understand wholly all that i should pay back but i know that to really consecrate myself to Him and His purpose will only come through the pure motive of love shown through tireless service. I made sacred covenants at baptism and later in the temple. disciplining myself with the goal of consecration has only helped me better understand each of those covenants. Sister Zegarra and I have the opportunity to go to the temple this friday with all of the new missionaries. I am so excited to go.

Well, missionary is happening. Sister Zegarra and i had a neat heart to heart about our goals and imporvements we need to make as a companionship. Our priority we decided was the goal of praying with faith when planning but also when an appointment falls through to know which back-up we need to visit. This last week we went to a the home of an inactive brother to meet him. Fortunately, although sometimes it is awkward, his door was wide open and there were kids running all around. His wife came out and we simply asked if it was the home of the caiman family. She said yes, and asked what we wanted a little weirded out. We introduced ourselves. She was pretty closed and just went to get her husband explaining, "He's the only mormon here." Come to find out they were moving. we would have lost them if we hadn't contacted them that night. We had the chance to help them clean and move some furniture and got the new address. Sister Zegarra had mentioned that she feels like she is just "paseando" or walking around sometimes. She is anxious to work but we still don't know many people so we haven't had a lot of opportunties for teaching lessons yet. with the caiman family, it was nice to know and feel that the Lord is guiding us. We didn't get to teach a lesson but with a little service and a new phone number we will be able to start teaching. Part member families and inactive members are 2 of the 3 best things we look for. The 3rd is families. I love having a calling and working to magnify it! another missionary taught me when he said, "God wants us to learn how to love like him." i thought it was so interesting. not just love but love like him. We also had breakfast with the stake president this morning. the high council member over missionary work shared with us 8 messages of love from Preach my gospel. If we "love our neighbor" as we've been commanded then we will start at 1 and move to 8 with our neighbors. How can we love our neighbors if we don't desire and work for their salvation? they are not scripts but concepts. really love them and really care for them. The points are:

1- I love and care about you. What is your name and how can I help you?

2- I am LDS and I believe in Christ- What do you think of Him?

3- I love answering questions about the church. What questions do you have?

4-Other LDS people love and care about you too. Will you meet them?

5-I love church activities- will you come with me [and help]?

6-The church is a great help to me and it can help you and your family NOW. May i tell you how?

7-You have a loving and kind Heavenly Father who has a specific purpose and mission for you. Would you like to know what that purpose and mission is?

8- I know that the true Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth along with the plan of happiness and the keys to eternal life. Will you come to my home and learn more?

We often feel like we have to start at 8...no. that's not where to start. Start at 1. Love them. Listen to them. Invite them. If we love them, we take the INITIATIVE in inviting them."Initiative is doing the right thing without being told." how many times have we been told to "feed His sheep?" do we take initiative in His work? I'm going to try harder! I love you all!

Christian, hawaii sounds so cool? don't forget to send some pictures. I am sure you are having a blast. Janae, i loved loved your letter. Your mission stories get me pumped for the work. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with me. Dad, thanks for taking the minute to write. I feel your love and support even in the first lines. Thank you. I am praying for you in your calling. I know you are working tirelessly. Mom, i think this life is meant to be an errand :) it is so short, really. Last general conference there was a talk about divine errands. after reviewing notes from last general conference i decided to start praying now for a divine errand. sounds like you are doing a great job at being a missionary mom. keep working hard. Kirsten and Mike, i love you and pray for you. I would have loved to be at an easter egg hunt with tan tan and austie just to tease them and steal their candy. :) jon and nicole, keeping working hard in your callings. you are going to be the funnest parents ever. keep your faith. God has great plans for the two of you so you can put your burrup mission statement/plan to work. steve, are you a lawyer now? keep working at school. you know my nerdy nature. i can't wait to learn all about it so study hard :)

love you so so much. Thanks again, Hurrah for israel and ymlu!

Love

Hermana Burrup

Dear President Neider,

Sister Zegarra is an excellent missionary. The poor sister is trying hard to understand English. Our 12 week program is going a little slower as we try to translate the different things we read in English. During a role play on church attendance at the Spanish leadership training she taught the principles then enthusiastically asked, do you like receiving gifts? how do you feel? then compared our feelings of being loved after receiving a gift to the blessings of obedience from the Lord. She reminds me a lot of my trainer, sister Cedillo in her enthusiastic but simply and clear way of teaching. I believe her faith has brought miracles to the area and a renewed faith on my part.Being at the right place at the right time is no coincidence.  thank you for president for your testimony. I love hearing others' testimonies because it confirms mine and renews my zeal for the work of the Lord. My personal purpose here is to unite my purpose with God's purpose to bring eternal life to all of God's children. You are an exceptional example and influence in God's work. Thank you! Hurrah for Israel!

Love

Hermana Burrup

March 25

Dear Family,

Paradise is great! We are very very close to the strip which is kind of weird. I feel like we are being disobedient just being close but as long as we don't cross certain streets we will be ok. We also have UNLV en our area. just saying, jon and nicole...if you visit unlv definitely look for 2 missionaries...they may or may not be in a 2013 grey ford fusion. We have a new car again. i get nervous driving new cars but because of the size of the area and the type of area it is important for us to have a car. Well, my companion is sister Zegarra. She is from Lima, Peru! She barely speak spanish at all. It was hard the first day or so because i had to get used to 100% spanish but now i just think first in spanish. We are going to have to work hard with the english because she only knows what they taught her in the mtc. She doesn't let it get in her way though. She reminds me a lot of Sister Cedillo actually. She is beautiful and she loves talking to and helping people. She knows the scriptures well too! I'm sure i'm going to learn a lot from her. She told me i speak spanish like a mexican. best compliment i've ever gotten :) She's already teaching me some peruvian culture with food and language. She's funny. She destroyed a cup-o-noodles trying to cook it on the stove instead of the microwave and other funny things with the culture. She tried a corn dog for the first time this week. it has been a fun twist to missionary work. Well, for starters i have to apologize a super a lot much because i feel REALLY bad but the GPS was stolen while we were at church. It actually happened the sunday before mom's birthday. I couldn't tell you on your birthday mom and then i forget the last week so the truth is coming out now. I'm so so sorry! We are diligent about locking the doors of the car. I think what happened is i locked the car without all the doors being completely closed which left one door open. I'm so so sorry again. I know it is just something but something that would be incredibly useful right now! With opening an area it has been really hard to find our way around. We try not to be but we are late a lot because we get lost or don't know how far things are. Either way, no excuses.  we are going to learn the area good with our map. So missionary work is good here. There are a lot of spanish people. This area is actually known for having more spanish people so we've recieved a lot of referrals. We are trying to stay on top of it. We also have been doing some street contacting. it's hard because if it's in english my companion can't participate very much yet. We met someone named jasmine at the bustop this week. She lives in another area but she speaks spanish so that was good. She's been inactive for years and years. lost her copy of the book of mormon and bible. She expressed her deep desire to come back to the church she loves but her embarrassement to actually do it. Her husband isn't a member and isn't supportive. We testified of the atonement and repentence. We testified of the scriptures and promised that the elders would visit. She just cried as her prayer was answered....Sister Zegarra and I on the other hand decided to get one last contact in before going home at 9. New missionarires bring a whole new level of faith to the mission which brings miracles to the mission. I love the simple reassurances that come with occasional moments that God can and is using us to answer prayers. i don't question that but it's sometimes hard to feel that it also applies to us when we just work so hard and feel we aren't getting ground. So, what do we do, we focus on the success stories. For example, right before i left, Gabriela told us that out of the blue juan moved out so that is one step closer to the gospel. i hope she continues working hard. bitter sweet goodbye with her. i love gabriela. Also, this last saturday there was a baptism of 7 people! 2 families into the paraiso ward. I felt the spirit strong and i was reminded of my truest and deepest desires to share the gospel with families. The savior worked hard and suffered much. so will i. but he overcame it. so will i. I love the gospel of jesus christ. thank you dad for your comments about stake conference. I admire and love you so so much. I am filled with gratitude for you every day. i feel so blessed to know that my parents love for me is a simple reflections of god's love me as well. Keep working hard and mom, if you do missionary work with members it is ok! what counts is if you do it! i bet he walked out of there thinking, " what a great missionary that sister burrup! i want to be a better missionary!" I love you all! Take care and happy happy eastern! what a special time of year to rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus christ. The essence of the gospel all focuses on his atonement which includes the ressurrection. I love you again!

Love

Hermana Burrup

ps- i met elder shaw. he's huge now! and sister shenk is serving in paradise so we'll see each other lots! I love it!

Dear President,

Paradise is great. It's been slow going meeting the ward members, and investigators but little by little we will get there. I don't know if i have ever spoken so much spanish in my life. It has helped me a lot with my spanish and i think we are going to be working a lot more with sister Zegarra's english. We are memorizing "my commission" right now. She repeats it after me and i help her with pronunciation. It has been a good opportunity to think more deeply about the things we say and read as missionaries. How i love being a missionary. Sister Zegarra is working hard. She has such good desire to help everyone. I am excited to be here with her. We both feel a little confused at streets but we bought a good map today that should help us. Thank you president for all that you and your wife do. We love you!

Love

Hermana Burrup

March 18

Dear Dear Family,

There is a lot of change happening! This morning we received our transfer letters. I will be training a new sister in Paradise Zone! Together we will be opening the area for Sisters. To tell you a little bit of where it is, we will be right next to warm springs. The airport is in our area and we are RIGHT off of the strip. One of the Elders here was a Zone Leader there so he was telling me about it. Right now it is the most successful zone in the mission in regards to baptisms. They are preparing to split the Spanish ward. One Sunday last transfer there were 20 investigators at church. The hard part in the area we will be serving in is that we will only have 2 active members. I'm excited and a little nervous. We also get a little newsletter each transfer called "the Desert Disciple" that has a list of all the arriving and departing missionaries. as i looked through the list i realized I know a few people coming. First Isaac Shaw is coming!!!! Second is Rebekka Shenk!!! Rebekka was one of my canyoneering/repelling friends from my BYU ward right before coming on my mission. How crazy! Either way, I'm excited to see how everything turns out. Definitely bummed to be leaving but excited for new starts. A new missionary is going to help me push to be better as well. I'm nervous about opening an area. As of now, i don't know when i will be getting there, how i will be getting there, nor if we have somewhere to live. But the Lord will provide. All is well. I'll be in the same zone as sister garner again which will be fun so we might be with her for the first few nights. I'll let you know next week how it all goes. 

It sounds like there has been a lot going on at home. Christian, how are mission papers going? and speaking in Stake Conference? What a neat opportunity. i'm really excited for you. If you type up your talk, i'm definitely ok with you sending it to me...in fact, i would encourage it :) Keep working hard, bud. The Lord has His plans set for you and there's nothing you want more than His plans.I know there are people just ready and waiting for you to come and bless them.friends, Members, non-members, and companions. I am so excited to hear more from you.  I'd recommend a talk by elder maxwell in General Conference 2000 titled, "content with the things allotted unto us." Sometimes we feel ripped off or maybe we feel blessed beyond what we deserve but either way, it is by the design of the Lord. Jon and Nicole, this might be a good one for you right now too. I've been thinking and praying lots for you. You are great examples and friends to me. I love you dearly. Keep the faith and every effort and thought directed to the Lord. Things will work out. 

Well, to tell you a little about this week, we've been so incredibly blessed. It has been a big growing week for my companion and I. I feel like we are finally learning to teach well together and follow the spirit and now i'm moving but i'm sure there are great great things in store for her here. This week, Salvador and Emma accepted the baptismal date of April 27th. they are both reading in the book of mormon to know if it is true. They came to church this last Sunday for the first time and enjoyed it. we have 2 or 3 visits each week so they are really doing well. We also started teaching a man named Carlos. His daughter is an inactive member. After the death of his wife he came to live with his daughter. Although it was hard on the family, it has caused a change of heart. Before they never allowed us to enter their home and now we are teaching her and her father. The husband, mike, still doesn't love us but he has improved little by little as we've worked to serve their family. In my letter to President i mention Adan and Lupe's family. the sons are Carlos and Huber  ages 16 and 18. I'm excited to see what happens with them. Sister Nieto will be working with them. We had a powerful lesson with them just last night. They are prepared to recieve the gospel. before explaining anything, they said that they felt all the church just created one big competition and they can't all be true. The restoration of the church is powerful and is true. I feel it and know it. Lupe said that as we shared the first vision she simply imagined everything. She was humbled as she understood the significance of the event. How I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful to know we have prophets and the Book of Mormon as proof of authority and prophets today. it is true. 

I love you all again and pray for your happiness, safety, and success. Please stay faithful and true to what is right. I love you dearly!

Love

Hermana Burrup

Dear President Neider,

Miracles are still happening in sunrise! This week we taught a couple. It is a family of 4 investigators but the two sons weren't there. We got a promise for next week though. We've been struggling to contact them and have appointments but finally found a time that works for them this week. We taught the restoration and i felt so strongly that it was true! Sister Nieto testified of authority and it really struck me. She said , "unless we are given authority we cannot claim we are servants of God." They both agreed to read together the Book of Mormon. She said that she had never felt like that before. I've been in many lessons of the Restoration but never like this. As we walked out, we were so happy because we felt like we fulfilled our purpose. We thanked the Lord afterwards and felt motivated to continue working. I love this area. sister Nieto and Sister Despain are going to work even more miracles here. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in plan for them here and for me in paradise. Thank you President for your support and guidance. How i love the Lord and seeing His work in the Nevada Las Vegas Mission!

Love

Sister Burrup

March 11, 2013

 My dear family,

I hope you are well. what heavy news about Jon and Nicole. I'm sorry that you've had to face this trial yet again. I wish there was something more i could do to help you. i would love to pray WITH you, fast WITH you, To get your mind off things, to try new recipes, play the penny game even if we've already played it uncountable numbers of times, to time random...."matters of business" and some pranks while those "matters of business" Are happening. I miss you both a lot. I'll be sure to continue to include you in my prayers. this morning I studied a few different things but i specifically studied faith. What really touched me was the section on faith in true to the faith. I didn't finish studying but i found a number of scriptures to use when trying to provide comfort to the different people we meet. What a blessing it is to have the gospel and to put it into practice. I was touched this morning on the how we put our faith in Jesus Christ AND in His atonement. I was thinking about what it means to me to have faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and how i can really have access to it.  I'll be honest, i don't really get it at all. It is so profound a topic that i don't know if i ever will. But part of having faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement is understanding and applying the fact that he has "descended below it all." We can literally be empowered to carry the burden. Mosiah 24 is one chapter of the Book of Mormon that i love. when i read it months ago it echoed in my mind. specifically verse 12-16. Please read them really quick or maybe really slow if you can. I know God hears our prayers. Not just the things we pray for. When we say that God hears our prayers we often think first to the fact that he hears our pleas but even more he hears our expression. I know he understands. I had the opportunity to teach Gospel Principles at church this sunday about prophets. It reminded me of a story that maybe can be of comfort. When dad was diagnosed with his stage 4 cancer i was so confused. i tried to decide if faith really ever changes the outcome of anything here or no or if it only changes the outcome of the things to come. I prepared 1 question for general conference. One was simple understanding of whether or not God REALLY really understood me, loved me, and cared for me. frankly, i believed it and had been taught that my whole life but i don't think i really understood. The first session came and went, the second, the third, and then the fourth came. the Closing prayers was said and my heart sank because my question hadn't come. I during that prayer that i would need to study the liahona. It was my last attempt to hold onto faith. I think maybe that simple decision was the "trial of my faith" because the simple acts of President Monson as he interacted with members radiated love for the people. I didn't talk to president monson....i was in the upper balcony but i watched from far. My answer had come as i felt suddenly and strongly of God's pure love for me, sister burrup, through his prophet. I love that experience because it's simple. nothing extraordinary but so personal to me. As you exercise faith with every "last attempt" to hold on you will know that God is fully alert and aware of your situations. I'm sorry again Jon and Nicole. there are better things to come. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, "your joy will be as full as is your sorrow." The Atonement is infinite and far-reaching. 

Well, maybe i can be a source of some good news at a time like this. For starters, transfers are next week. Not this week. Sister Nieto and I are so happy to have another week together but we were laughing hard when the announced it in our last district meeting. Sister Nieto and i have a lot of fun together just being our goofy selves while enjoying the work. She has a talent for drawing so every morning when i'm in the shower she slides a new funny picture she has drawn under the door. Sounds kind of weird but it's hilarious. During morning sports playing soccer i straight up kicked an elder, elder marques, in the shin. i felt bad because i absolutely missed the ball. I apologized and didn't think too much of it until the next morning at morning sports he had his shin all bandaged and was on crutches! He told me he had a small fracture on his tibia and would be on crutches for a couple of weeks....all this just to find out it was a big joke! the whole zone was in on it. It was funny. i didn't really believe it or maybe i'm just prideful and felt dumb. i"m not sure which. For even better news, we have made some good progress on a ward mission plan. The bishop has asked us specifically to help the families start family home evenings. We are excited because it is working! We were invited to give a lesson tonight in a an fhe with 3 families. Also, we are working with several new couples. We have been doing lots of finding through our area book. It's a lot of weeding out but it has been neat. We are just starting to teach someone named isai. he doesn't know more than a few words in english and is so so humble. We said hi to him and he just bombarded us with sincere and good questions. We will have our first lesson this wednesday at the church if all goes as planned. Lots of blessings this week. 

Well, I love you all so so much! Thank you for your support and love! Another favorite scripture is dyc 6:34-37. emphasis on vs 36. We can point every thought upward. imagine 100% of our thoughts being directed to him. Talk about power! I love you and Hurrah for Israel!

My love and Prayers, 

Hermana Burrup

President Neider,

How i love Los Feliz! We are working with two member referrals and a family friend of 15 years right now! It seems that when we endure the rough weeks with faith and work, work, work the blessings come! During our last district meeting we set goals district goals to specifically work better with the bishopric. With the suggestion of Elder Anderson and the inication of Elder Slick we were able to make and present a possible ward mission plan to the bishop and ward mission leader. We are still working to finalize it but the 5th sunday this month the bishopric and the missionaries will be giving the third hour classes to present it to the entire ward. We are really excited and believe it will help the ward a lot to focus our efforts and strengthen members and friends in the area. President, I love this work. I love the area and i Love my companion. Sister Nieto and i have had some very good talks the last 2 weeks. I'm a little worried about her. She has been frustrated with herself and hard on herself. She is a good missionary but doesn't give herself much credit. I'm going to be praying extra for her this week. thank you for the opportunity to serve with her. I thank the Lord daily! God bless you for your work and service. Hurrah for Israel!

Love 

Hermana Burrup

March 4, 2013

Dear Family,

for starters, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! i hope it is a great one. I was thinking of you this week and how blessed i am to be a member of this family where i have good examples and where my parents are supportive and strong in the gospel. This knowledge has only strengthened my desire to help other families. We talk to many many people who are part of broken homes or homes full of alcohol or drugs or other forms of abuse. Bishop Villatoro this week in sacrament taught that the church is not where we learn the gospel but rather where the gospel and our testimonies are confirmed. The gospel must be taught first in the home. We are working hard toward establishing the habit of family home evenings. We have been doing a lot of family nights lately  but it's a great way to work with families and an opportunity to do missionary work as well where the missionaries simply come, participate and meet the friends and neighbors.  As a district we set the goal and have now fasted that we can establish a ward mission plan then work towards family mission plans. Elder slik is our district leader. He is relatively new in the mission but is a powerful teacher and leader. We are excited to get the whole ward on board with the ward mission plan. We want to make sure every family in the ward has a copy of the plan we make. Right now we have been gathering mission plans from other english wards as examples and we have an appointment with the ward mission leader and the bishop this thursday to finalize everything. I believe strongly in the power of a vision. If we can set a vision of where we want to go then we can work towards that vision. But without the vision we are aimlessly working. Elder Anderson taught me this week that every aspect of the church is missionary work. it points to strengthening the saints, retaining the saints, or finding the prepared. What a blessing it is to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ. I really am willing to do anything and everything the Lord asks. Looking goofy on bikes in skirts really isn't much. I want to give more. Sister Nieto and I are trying to find good sacrifices to make to show our willingness and readiness to follow the spirit. I know that God is aware of our efforts and we are going to keep working so that we are worthy to help God bless those who are here. We again had some really neat street contacts this week. They were referrals but we contacted the friend of a potential. He had a lot of confusion and questions about the temple. This week we've been trying to mention the temple more. People notice the temple and are curious but don't know what to ask or who to ask. When we speak positively and openly of the blessings of the gospel people will automatically feel more comfortable talking about the gospel with us. unfortunately, we have not been able to contact nadia still. We are going to do a little bit of service and see if we can soften their hearts. I know the gospel will only build their happiness. Gabriela's dad passed away this week. It looks like she might be moving to mexico. We are trying hard to help but she's kind of stuck in a slump and pulling away. She didn't come to church like she said she would and i don't think she is reading. I love these people and know they can do it! We are praying for them constantly.  

Also transfers are a week earlier. From what we understand every mission is recieving an addistional 60 missionaries. There are hight chances of me being transferred and high chances that all spanish sisters will be training. We receive 8 spanish sisters this next Wednesday. God's work is moving forward with haste and it will never be stopped! How i love you all!

Sorry this is short but we are running to an appointment to get a bike rack on our car right now. We've been encouraged to spend as much time outside as possible while the weather is good and sister nieto and i are determined to be obedient. 

Love you all!

ymlu

Hermana Burrup

President Neider,

Another week working. We are working and trying specifically to find more people to teach. We have two new investigators, Martin y Yojira. They have been in the area book for quite a while now. We went to contact them for the last time and to our pleasant surprise they invited us in, committed to come church the next day and we had a neat discussion about families combined with the blessing contact. We got a return appointment and we're excited to keep working with them. Our numbers are not where we want them but we are trying to work forward with optimism and faith. There ARE people to find and people to teach. We are so blessed to be here. Thank you President! Hurrah for Israel

Hermana Burrup

February 25, 2013

My wonderful family!

Why do you spoil me so much! Jon and Nicole, i would love to be your valentine since i can't be anyone else's! Thanks for the package. i used the cinnamon bears to commit many missionaries in sunrise to go to be byu afterwards. We have too much fun hear in Las Vegas. Also, mom, thank you for sending those packages to the two elders. Sister Royal gave me a call and said they got here and asked me about them. She expressed her gratitude for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Thank you. Also, Sister Nieto and i LOVED our package. The committed mailman picture made me smile and still makes me smile. Thank you for including sister nieto. We have a lot of fun and we've put to use the skirts and slippers. Do you have sadie's address? i'd love to send her a thank you card.

Well, We have had a good and rough week. Nadia has been reading the book of mormon. She says she feels happy everytime she reads. She said she feels like God loves her again and she wants to keep learning. On thursday we had an appointment with her and apparently her husband doesn't want us to teach her. She sent us a text to drop us but we were...i guess inspired not to check our phone so we went anyway. She hugged us so tight when we knocked on her door. Her husband wasn't home and we read the text. Our hearts just sank as we read the text. We didn't cry in front of nadia but we decided to fast and made plans to come back when he would be home. We are still working on contacting him but please please please help us with prayers for jose to let us teach in his home....or even that he will let us talk to him. Nadia is so sincere and so good. I know God wants her to be blessed. 

We also had breakfast with the stake presidency about a week and a half ago. i was so impressed and i can't help but think of you, dad. I know that you are blessing many many people's lives. I'm greatful for you selfless service and unfailing example. i was laughing as sister nieto and i talked one day because i remember when we went out to the garden to get some fresh tomatoes and we didn't have any at all. We later found out that it was because you had given to the neighbors. you were born a missionary dad. I'm glad you made me take rasberries to the pandi's nextdoor even when i was shy and didn't want to. thank you dad for teaching by example. you have worked so hard your whole life and i hope i can do the same. Thanks! Anyway, back to the stake presidency breakfast :) the president was talking about the mission interviews. One question is if they have a faith in jesus christ and a testimony that jesus christ is the savior of the world or something along those lines. He said people always say yes but what he values most is the response to his next question, "why." I got thinking more about the why i believe what i do. Why do i feel confident in my testimony. Why do i look dumb riding a bike in a skirt. Why am I happy? why are there hard weeks? and good weeks? The why of the gospel is so revealing of God's true character: A loving Heavenly Father who simply wants His precious children to return to him. When president Stapleton set me apart that was one thing he mentioned that i've been able to use my whole mission. It's true it all comes back to a loving father in heaven who wants to be with his children again. 

I am so so grateful for the gospel and for the miraculous blessings it brings to the faithful. How i love my Savior and my Father in Heaven. I gladly dedicate my life to him one day at a time. Thanks for you emails and support. I love you very much and feel your support. Keep taking care of the neighbors, dad, and never forget your zoo face. We have every reason in the world to be happy happy happy! i love you! Hurrah for Israel

Love

Hermana Burrup

ps- YMLU

pss- way funny that you met garrett breeze. Cool guy. I'm glad you got to talk to him. He's very talented and a lot of fun!

Dear President Neider,

I loved interviews. Thank you for all your help and I'm sorry i took so much of your time but thank you very much for blessing all of Las Vegas! This week sister Nieto decided we WILL ride bikes as a result of Sister Neider's comments. We are going to get out and contact more people and work harder and more effectively! I want to work harder, be better, be more effective, leave a big mark on the lives and area of sunrise for the better. I love Jesus Christ and i know that He loves the people here and wants to bless them. I want to help. Thank you for your examples and help. We love you and your wife! Hurrah for Israel!

Love

Hermana Burrup

February 18, 2013

My dear Family,

The scriptures are so neat! I feel like recently i have been learning better how to study my scriptures. There is a whole chapter in Preach My Gospel dedicated to effective study. President and Sister Neider say that our prayers should be garden of Gethsemane experiences and our personal study should be sacred grove experience. It has become so clear to me the role of scripture study in our personal conversion to the savior. The spirit really can guide us to the things we need to read or the things others need to know. Sister Nieto said just yesterday morning, "I'm not really sure how i found this scripture but i really like it for nadia." God's hands really are in the simple and small details of our lives. He has all of eternity to help us. It isn't a matter of time. It's a matter of love. His time and His love are both infinite. 

We visited Nadia again this week. We were hoping to have the opportunity to teach the restoration to her husband as well and get the whole family involved but he was sick. We are still working and praying for the opportunity or maybe the inspiration in how to get him involved. Last week we committed her to read the introduction. When we talked to her this last week we followed up on the commitment only to find that she not only read the introduction but the testimonies of the 3 witnesses, 8 witnesses, and the prophet joseph smith. We were really impressed and excited for her. She is so sincere, humble, and wants to do what is right. If we can get the rest of the family on board it will be a sweet family of 4 investigators. The daughters are nadia and grecia ages 12 and 8. Cute cute family. 

We also had a fun day yesterday. None of our investigators came to church! So we were in contact with them. Gabriela was one of them. We talked to her and made an appointment for later that day. When we went we really weren't sure what to say or how to say it. She had committed to come to church but said she couldn't because she was sad. The appointment went very well. Gabriela is also very good. She wants to do what is right but sometimes struggles with depression. She refuses to take medication but every now and then she is overwhelmed with loneliness because she literally has no family here and she is scared to leave her apartment because she lives in more dangerous area. We were guided to share the scripture in Isaiah 56:6-7 with her where The Lord says he will "fill us with joy in his house of prayer" We talked about how the gospel including church attendance fills us with joy. We cannot consider it even an option to break the commandments. It's a sacred obligation we have as followers of Christ and even more as bearers of his name: baptized members of His church. We invited her to night church. She only had 10 minutes to get ready but she made it work. I was so excited to see that she is making sacrifices to do what is right. We are still trying to find a way for her to move into her own apartment so she can be baptized on the 16th. Please remember Her in your prayers!

Well, With transfers we have a new district leader, Elder slik. He is younger in the mission but he wants to work and we're excited to recieve more inspired trainings from him. That is the only change in our district but we have a new sister in our zone from Okanawa, JAPAN! Her name is sister nakaima coming from temple square.  There are already more missionaries coming. Areas are being divided and lots of people training. This transfer is only going to be 5 weeks instead of 6 to accommodate all the new missionaries. I'm starting to panic that my time is short in Los Feliz. I love it here and i love the members. It's a good area and we are working hard.  I love the scripture in luke  24:32  where it says, "did our hearts not burn within us?" I love that we can feel that at any moment if we simply do our part by reading the scriptures and saying your prayers. I love you so much! Make time for the Savior every day and as i've been counseled before. Not just any time but we must "dedicate prime time" to him. Take care and may God bless you! Hurrah for Israel

love

Hermana Burrup

ps- ymlu

Dear President Neider,

I'm so grateful for the morning schedule! The last couple of days i have loved my personal study and seem to be waking up smiling. Sister Nieto and I are trying hard not to fall into any kind of neutral. Even if neutral is at a high level because we are working hard neutral is not a principle in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We had an interesting week. Some really good appointments and some unforgettably unusual street contacts. Sister Nieto and I are having fun and trying to work more with the members. With the ward members we have set new goals to take members with us whether or not there are appointments so that even the members and youth can participate in the different aspects of missionary work. How i love being a missionary. I want to magnify my mission, my life, myself, and others. The gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fulness was miraculously restored to the earth so we can have the restored blessings that accompany it. Thank you president for you positive influence, excellent example, and Christlike leadership. We love you and your wife and look forward to interviews this week. Hurrah for Israel and His marvelous work!

Love

Hermana Burrup