Nov 14, 2013

So real quick before i forget......pday next week is on tuesday. My last 2 pday in the CCM :) getting so so so so excited and i have an interview to see if im in a tino district for the last 2ish weeks! Getting so ectited! Ill be praying for dabb and burrup babies as well as uncle roy as well. So one of my companeros de cuarto (we get tinos every week and halfish) his name is elder cruz and the only member of his family and been a member for a 1 year. He has 3 ties. Amazing Elder i go to sleep at night and he is studying i wake up in the morning and he is study. He said he wants to know everything about the gospel! Amazing the sacrifice of some of these elders. Incredible. So ill send a picture but i got really close to an argentinian district this week. So awesome. Me and elder johnson had a goal to sit with the tinos 1 time a day for a meal and improve our spanish. Holy cow comprehension increase hard core and chickeness for speaking spanish declined. They would call me elder ron weasly and they thought it was hilarious :) Another funny thing is everybody gets sick here. And it barely hit me this week so me and elder johnson have planning sessions while sitting on the john. I think its hilarious. 

Elder russel m nelson (yes like one of the brethren, 12 apostles) is coming tomorrow. so stoked. And elder rasband too. 

Ummm sitting in class i had the strongest desire for jojos and ranch :) kinda random tehe. umm anything else random......? We heard in a fireside from mtc that there was a huge tsunami in indonesia? what whas that all about?

Jon the saber sentir hacer pattern....i keep seeing it everywhere and the teachrers are now sharing stuff like that. Glad you taught me how to use PME and everything in it :) Went to the temple today again. Was amazing. Mom tell the walkers thank yo so much! Such kind people i want to be like them! Also pouch mail and dear elder? No idea if it works or not. But if you send anything send it to the mission home. Yes i can write emails here in the ccm to others but i dunno about the mission field. But anyone is welcome to email me but no guarantees ill email them back. and i sent an email to elder lee :) Glad to hear you sharing it with Big E and his family! Tell big e to send me an email or somehting :) Glad to hear austy is doing well too! Send pictures of the house mom :) 

My favorite part about being a missionary is putting my nametag on in the morning :) i love it. I feel the time zipping by already and it kinda freaks me out! But i am very very very excited to soon get out and actually preach the word! It will be awesome :) I feel like ive been a missionary forever and i love it! I love spending so much time with my nose in the scriptures. Its amazing. Me and elder johnson drew a little picture of a man and we called him papa pedro predicando practicambus and pinned him o the wall or chair and we practice teaching him and its hilarious but we get going and we can actually feel the spirit as we role play with this made up face of a man. Kinda silly but i can testify that when we take practice role plays seriously and try to teach a REAL investigador then it is AMAZING :) we did it with another elder too a different time and the spirit was so strong! SOmethins we look out the window over the wall s adn just think about all the people white for the picking :) Need to get busy! Today when we were on the bus (its crazy jammed in these buses) i saw this lady reading a folleto about counseling for the depressed and i had brought a plan de salvacion folleto with me and i wanted to talk to her so bad but i was jammed in too far back anyways on the way out i tried to give it to her but she said no and i was sad. Like legitamently saddend she wouldnt take it because i know she would be happier! Holy smokes.The gospel of jesus christ is real. I want to be the missionary i can to be an instrument in the Lords hands to share this wonderful and glorious gospel. Help it progress and not impede. Mom tell me more about ed and gilbert please! Somehow my nose gets burned...not sure how but it does. Silliness. saturday we are going proselyting again! Getting excited....to get humbled agian :) tehe.

Excited for the family to all be together especially with Laurel! :) How exciting. Take lots of pictures for me :) dad thank you for your notes. I love them dearly! I miss you and your wisdom and your love for the lord :)

Hurrah for Israel

Elder Burrup

P.S. i am learning come come ye saints on the harmonica :)

This is the Argentine district that I got close to

Nov 8, 2013

This guy writes emails just like he talks.  It's kind of hilarious.  He seems to be doing great!

So thanks for the emails family :) and the pictures from janae and kirsty's families! Nicole i want a picture of your belly....uh sounds kinda weird but.....theh :) [pregnant sister-in-law]  Mom pictures of the house too! So i feel like its been forever since i've had the opportunity to write to you guys! So anxiously engaged. I have a whole sheet in my agenda diario thingy of things to tell you guys. SO i guess ill get busy. 

First off i hear BYU beat boise....and they play wisconsin today too. Let me know :) Mom my favortie scripture is mosiah 2:41 along with mosiah 21:14. I miss delicious water. Im gonna write some random stuff then ill get to the goods :) Mom you would be proud of me becuase i LOVE planning at night. Tehe. So i feel like i am drinking from a fire hydrate spirtually and spanishly. Mom tell me more about Gilbert and Ed.  I'm proud of you and excited for your progress with them :) also i dont know if you've seen the district when elder Moreno is getting filmed about how tired he is and he keeps going and going about how tired he is.....that's how i feel, but then he says he is so happy :) yup. Pretty much couldn't be happier :) I feel like I've been a missioary for forever and i am used to the CCM life. Its the best . Also kinda crazy but the 1st counselor in the branch here knew grandma and grandpa from their mission. Presidente Townsend. Tell them for me will ya? Weird small world.  Then i meet someone in the temple here in lima that knows elder Peterson's family (the missioanrary in our ward, is here still there? and elder Favero?) from snowflake airzona as well as the the Shummays and Lymans. You remember them? college buddies. So crazy small world. 

So the other day on the soccer field i guess i was being kinda rough and i totally laid a kid. Well not like trucked him but knocked him off his rocker pretty good from a shoulder bump and he got REALLY mad and ran off. He was one of my good buddy elders so i was worried. So i went and said sorry and apologozed but he was still frustrated. So later i knelt down and i prayed and i realized i was being prideful and dumb and competitive during futbol and  i needed to chill out. I am here to be a HUMBLE servant of the lord. I am always wearing a placa....(whats it an english? [placa means tag] :) tehe. Anyways i realized i need to be completely humble. But then that elder came to me and we are chill now. Normal and everythings good. But a humbling experience. We have firesides every tuesday and i love them :) we have physical acitivity almost everyday and i miss my lacrosse stick and gloves:) another super humbling experience i had was last saturday we had a proselyting activity. They bus us out somewhere and work with members and visit menos activos. uh.......less active members. And we have to teach and we are with a different comp too. Its 5 hours in somebodys house. so at first i was thinking i got this and no biggie but.....i was greatly humbled. I thought of jons or somebodys experience of the people speaking spanish and asking why they were going blahblahblbhal or whatever. Its never been so true to me :) I was pretty discouraged that day and the next but......disappointed but never discouraged, right grandpa? :) Geeze i cant tell you guys enough! Hmmmmm......i love the scriptures.....my birthday was good :) i tried to hide it but my comp let it slip cause he saw my planner and the district made me card. I am striving to be the best missionary i can be...jon you are so totally right about being silly and making chistes. The first little bit i struggled with that but i am mastering my silliness :) ¿Milagro no? :) but i see it in other elders or just that they use study time to talk about home or play ping pong or something. It makes me sad especially seeing edlers i respect and love! But i am striving to be exactly obedient like we would talk about on our hikes jon. EXACTLY. It amazes me to see my new district excelling in the idioma so rapidly because we are obedient versus my older district because they dont obey exactly or use their time well. But i love the ccm and learning and growing so much. I want to be in el campo so so so bad now though! Wait for my time :) patience. So yesterday i got asked if i wanted to go to the latino district 2 weeks early! That means i would leave 2 weeks earlier. I dunno yet cause the hermano said presidente would talk with us and maybe yes maybe no. So.......i'lll let you know next week if i get talked to later today! But im assuming i'll go to the latino distrito my last 2 weeks. I'm forgetting some english and i am rapidly growing in the language! :) Makes me so so so excited to teach the people of peru. So yesterday we went to the temple and there was like a 102 year old lady. she could hardly walk and hardly even sit up. And couldnt talk. When i saw her i just started weeping.  I thought to myself why the heck am i weeping? i couldnt figure it out and i was overcome with love for this old old lady. And i knew Heavenly father loved her and was so happy she was in the temple serving his children. It was wonderous. When i leave the prision walls of the ccm i am just overflowed with love for the people and desire to share my message with this people. Its missionary money :) the spiritual experiences and feelings are missionary money :) i love this gospel i love the scriptures i love the ccm i love my teachers i love the spirit i love peru i love spanish :)

Kirsten...tell austy i am proud of him and his stitches :) way to be a trooper. He got a bonker on his cabeza :) tell him and tanner i love them and miss playing with them and i wear my tye dye shirt all the time and share my pictures of them with my missiuonary friends. I miss you too kirsty :) sometimes i just thinking of your tight hug and tears on my cheek when i left! You were kinda like another momma to me when i would come over to play with the boys at your house :) tehe love you :)

Mike ive been thinking alot about your advice. Thank you for that. I miss you too brohan

Janae thank you for the pictures and the note :) loved it :) ive been thinking alot about your advice on being a COMPLETLY concescrated missionary. I wish you could take a field trip out her with your family! And i still owe your family a trip to the pumpkin patch. tehe. Tell nate and aubrey i love them! And tell him the lacrosse stick is from me and have him watch a lax video or something tehe.

Steve i miss skyping with you! Hope work is going swell. Would you mind sharing with me a spiritual experience frim your mission?

Jonny....i guess i kinda wrote you a note already but ill be praying for your school and baby :)
Nicole.......you need to be better about that....teheh. SEND ME PICTURES like you do for mom! Im prayng for your baby! Love you and miss you!

Laurel my fellow amazing missionary sister.....i dunoo if youll get this but i love yo uand iam uysing the thing you gave me for my birthdya and how awesome you are and i want to be a missionary like you! The consecrated missiary article....yup love it. on my bed. I read it and refgfer to it all the time.

Dad. miss you so so so much! I love messing with you and reading hte scriptures with you and rough housing around :) thank you for your note too. I  am striving to be a good missionary and be like you!

Best for last....Dearest mom.....i thought about you on my birthday especially and i wish i couyld have given you flopwers! Thank you for being a wonderful mother and teaching me. I love you so dearly much and am glad in your missionary efforts. Keep it up. Read your scriptures and pray with dad for miracles and missionary moments especially with gilbert and ed. What a glorious work. You will feel no greater happiness or gozo...? It is wopnderful. :)

Hurrah for Israel

Elder Burrup

P.S. i will pray and fast for undle roy. What a mountain to climb.

P.S.S. i just rmembered a question....can i wash my pants?
 

P.S.S. wow didnt know i could write so much! tehe. LOVE YOU ALL DEARLY :)

my distrito--(L to R) random dude at the temple who bore his testimony to us, me, hna waldron, 

hna crow, elder gilbert, johnosn, miranda (Know him from byu this summer) brimhall, watson (the dl)

andrews and lastly elder walker...my "first" comp on the plane with kathy. we always joke she is probably the RS president by now :) 

Me and the comp elder johnson 

More pictures

These pictures were also from the first email he sent:

The lady they taught on the airplane.
He says he's pretty sure she's baptized now after their first missionary lesson ever :)

Happy Birthday to this missionary!

It's Elder Burrup's Birthday!  I hope you all are thinking about him!  I'm sure he'd love a letter from you :)

How to send a letter with the Pouch method

The benefit of using pouch is you don't have to pay extra for international stamps.  You pay regular postage and it goes to Church headquarters in SLC and then travels to the mission with other church mail.  But they will send your letter back if you don't follow these intsructions:

(I got this from another missionary's blog and since my husband is in law school I better tell you where I found it so I don't get credit for writing this...http://missioninmozambique.blogspot.com/2013/06/pouch-mail.htm)

"Letter folding instructions: Lay the letter blank side down. Fold the bottom of the letter about one-third of the way up the page and crease. Fold the top of the letter to the bottom of the first fold and crease. Secure the long side with two pieces of tape about one inch in from each end, but do not seal the ends. In the top left corner write your name and complete return address. Affix first class postage in the top right corner. In the middle write the missionary address.

Items sent by pouch mail use the United Sates Postal Service from your location to the Church headquarters, where they are forwarded to the missionary by a private courier along with other Church mail. Pouch mail leaves Church headquarters each Friday. Items received after the pouch has been sent will be held for the next week. Only postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes) written on one side of the page bay be sent through the pouch. Notebook or other light-weight paper will not process through the USPS machines. Photographs are not acceptable,

I asked for clarification on that last item. You can print a picture on the inside of the sheet but no enclosures. Also, no logos, pictures, stickers, extra tape or writing on the outside except the missionary's address and your complete return address."

Oct 31, 2013

Holy Smokes. I love Peru. I am so glad to be here. It feels like ive been here for FOREVER. I love being a missionary! Okay sorry i had a whole huge letter written and a ton of pictures but the computer froze up and i lost everything besides the first sentance. so ill try and get everything in and remember what i said. I love Peru. Ive been thinking of jon so much. I wish he could be here with me, ive been bragging alot about you. tehe. Anways today was so nice to be able to get out of the walls! The joke here is its a "spiritual prision" tehe. BUt im using my time wisely and loving it. So my district is all white and american there are 2 districts that came in that are white. I Love my district! So awesome and my teachers. But sadly....my comp went home. He had to clear up some problems so he went home. So i got a new comp and new district. Kinda hard and i was grumpy about the first half day then i decided to make the best of it and its all good :) But my old district was better.....tehe. But my comp was so happy he cleared things up and is going home. Im sad cause we went well together but he said he was gonna get back out here as soon as possible. Right after he left i went to my new district. This is yersterday. and they were singing childs prayer and i started crying because i feel the saviors love for elder m. and i knew he would be able to access the atonement and love and be able to make anew and be born again. I hope everything goes well for him. Pray for him. I love him a lot. The food is good...like jon said arroz con arroz :) but its not real peruvian food. But the jugo is to die for, especially the marcuya. Yum and pina. Always alwyas always bread and rice.. Havent got sick yet wich is nice. Im already losing my english too. tehe. It feels weird because i dont know spanish but now i feel like i cant speak or write english so im in a complete limbo. So my goal is to be put in a latino district, they are here for only 9 days. SO i made this goal the....3ish day. I cant keep track of the days, they are so AWESOME and full and busy and spiritual and hilarious. Anyways yesterday an hermana that works in admisntration and i teach tongue twiesteers to and always tell chistes to asked if i wanted ot camiba into the latino district. I freaked out. Tengo miedo. And this is the day after i just switched inot the new district. But we decided we would talk in 2 weeks about and then decided. SO i wouldnt leave early, id leave ontime out of ccm but i would get some way better spanish down. I love spanish. I prayed in english last night and it sounded so wierd! Kinda funny. But i love the gospel and the ccm. I staarted a 4 square craze too. Well the latinos not really but the whites i did  :) tehe. One day we wanted to play futbol with them and they trciked us and said no cause we were white! Kinda funny. But i really feel like im peruvian:) my espanol grows and increaases tremendously everyday and out of the 25ish of us im close to the top spanish speaker so im always translating for the teachers and students etc. But its amazing here. I cant wait to get out en the campo though! Here is about the pictures though 184 is awesome elders riddle and thomas from my old district love them. They going to chiclayo. Ill send more pictures in a different email.

Kirsty and mike thanks for the emial :) Love you guys, keep working with the boys and their spanish :) cabeza y libro y uno dos tres

Janae and steve , hope nate got his birthday presents! :) Love ya and miss ya

Jon im thinking about you a ton down here and hope to be a missiuonary like you! Love you bro.

Nicole been thinking alot about you too and your belly! :)

Mom and dad thank you both for your emails. Means alot! :) love you tons

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL.....and Peru :)

Elder Burrup

Yup i love it here.

These guys i love. Big dude is elder hurst from idaho, a diary farmer boy, and his comp is elder allgiear. Me, Allgiear and Riddle would get laughing pretty hard and hacemos muchos chistes

my new comp from slc and his name is elder johnson 

My buddies from my old district--Elder Thomas is the big dude from cali and Riddle is another from n.c. They are some of my favorites guys ever