Happy 4th of July! USA!

July 4^th, 2016

Yes, the time really has flown by!  I can’t believe it’s been one year since I left home. We are going to meet our new mission president tomorrow. His family just arrived, and his daughter had her birthday this week. His kids are really young, 16 and 18.  That is really crazy. 

This week, Elder Selman got so excited that it was my Mission Birthday, that he decided to buy us a big huge pizza. It lasted all week long.  We ate a lot of pizza this week. 

To answer some of your questions—This first year has been pretty fast.  There are times this year when it has felt like time has gone by super fast, and other times when it has not been very fast, but I feel like I have learned a lot.  I’ve learned to put into practice all of the things I’ve always known are important to do.  That’s really the biggest part of being on a mission, learning to practice on a daily basis, the things you have always known are important to do. 

As for companions—I’ve had a lot.  They have all taught me something.  They have each taught me different things in different ways.  Most of the time it is what not to do. : )  That’s pretty much how it works.  You can definitely learn something from all of your companions.  Well, except Elder Selman, you can’t learn anything from him, (this is from a voice recording, and Elder Selman is giggling in the background) 

What have I learned from my mission president?   I think one of the greatest lessons that President Searle has taught me, during the first year of my mission, is about the influence you have on your posterity.  He told us once, that if you look at your family tree, and turn it upside down, you can see how many people will be affected by your marriage and your life decisions.  It’s a powerful perspective!

When you are a missionary, if you work really hard you could get dozens of baptisms.  But if you go home and live a good life, doing the things that you are supposed to on a daily basis, you actually affect more lives.  You’ll get married, have a family, have children, who will have grand children, and they will all be born in the church if you choose to live a good life following Christ. I think this is one of the biggest things that has been taught that has really hit me the hardest.  Pres Searle has talked about our influence on the future at almost every meeting.  He teaches the importance of doing the simple basic things on a regular basis. And how our everyday choices will have the most lasting influence on others. Pretty powerful message.

This week we celebrated the 4^th of July.  We have a lot of gringos in our zone right now, and they are all leaving in the same group with Elder Selman on August 3^rd.  So they are all trunky—which is so awesome… : )

We had a big BBQ for our zone activity.  It was pretty sweet!  We called ahead of time to our stake president to reserve a sweet looking BBQ and he was like “Yeah, I have just the one for you guys!”  So he called someone, and we got really excited that our BBQ was really going to happen.  We called the sisters from Argentina to get the meat ready, then we assigned everything else out to the other missionaries in the zone, and we planned to meet at the chapel for the party. 

Of course, everyone gets there late, and then the stake president is the last one to show up with the actual BBQ.  And wow…it’s like this tin metal bucket thing on three legs, ok maybe just 2 legs, because the third leg was broken. : ) They brought it to the church, and it broke. 

So we had to work with what we’ve got, and put a bunch of charcoal in there and it takes forever to get hot, and lots of sarcastic members come over to give us “tips.”  One says, “you guys need to put plastic on it to get the fire going.”  So Elder Selman gets all mad, because they are throwing plastic bags on his charcoal as he’s trying to get everything hot.  Ha. 

Then when we think it’s almost ready, the sisters bring over the meat, and the sisters have cut it  all Argentina style, so the slices of meat are like 4 inches thick, with all of these slits in it.  I have to get a knife and am doing my best to make the meat smaller, Elder Selman is doing his best to keep the fire going, and just as we finally get it all together, literally lifting the meat with the tongs to put it on the grill, the leg falls off! And we’re both cracking up.  It was pretty sweet!  We had to jimmy-rig everything together, and ended up cooking the meat the best we could little by little, so we could make this BBQ happen. 

Finally, after a lot of work, and laughter, everything pulls together—we have some watermelon, some soda, and it turns out ok.  It was a pretty memorable 4^th of July BBQ. Everybody had a great time, so that’s what’s most important.  We had fireworks too, but they weren’t like anything from back home.  They were more like floating pieces of plastic coming out of the grill.  Ha!

Hope you guys are doing good. Hope life is great.  Sure love you guys!

Talk to you later,

Elder Burk

Mission Goal: Stay Alive

Monday June 13, 2016

Elder Selman sent us some very sad looking pictures of Mason.  He's been sick this week.  It's the first time, this whole year, that we have heard about any sickness--and note, it did not come from him...

Hey mom, How's it going.  I'm feeling a little bit under the weather today. But I wanted to tell you about our week, it was super awesome. (This is from a voice recording, and he does not sound very good at all--but he doesn't tell us what's wrong, he just jumps into the description of his week.)

So, being the Mother, I wrote to Sister Searle to check on him for me, make sure he was taking care of himself. 

Dear Sister Searle, 

Elder Burk always sends a voice recording instead of typing--which we appreciate since we hear so much more than we would otherwise.  However, today, he sounded very sick, which is quite unusual for him.  And he hinted at having a high fever.  I'm not sure if it's anything to worry about, but being this far away, I would really appreciate someone checking in on him, to make sure he's ok.  And if he's not, that he's encouraged to get to a doctor.  He usually plays things down, but today I felt like it might be more than that.  So I thought I better write and see if more can be done to help him. *I'm a Mother...you know.  : )

Marilyn Searle	Jun 13
to me

Hi Sister Burk,

Just read your email.  I talked to Elder Burk this morning when we found out he was sick.  He had thrown up a couple of times and had some diarrhea.  I asked very specifically if he had a fever, becasue if they have a fever and diarrhea we get concerned.   He assured me he did not have a fever, so we told him clear liquids today, stay in and to call me if the diarrhea did not stop.   

I just spoke to him again and he assured me he did not have a fever.  He said he had not thrown up any more, and had not had more diarrhea since this morning.  He is weak I can tell, which is normal when they get the stomach flu here.   He and his companion were at a home evening.  I told him I would check on him in the morning.   You are right he does downplay things, which many of our great North Americans do, his companion Elder Selman is that way also.   We will keep and eye on him until we leave.

We have certainly loved getting to know your son, he is wonderful.  I can tell it will be hard for him to have Elder Selman leave and the big group of wonderful North American elders that are in that group.   He will be fine though, and it will give him a chance to develop his leadership in the mission even more.

I will send you an email tomorrow after I talk with Elder Burk and find out how he is feeling.

Sincerely,

Hermana Searle

---------------------------

Marilyn Searle	Jun 14
to me

HI Sister Burk,

Just talked to your son, he is feeling much better, still a little weak, but feels like eating, so we will check on him again during the day.  Hope this will put your mind at ease.  Have a good day.

Sincerely

Hermana Searle

------------------------------

Mc Burk <roandmich@gmail.com>	Jun 14
to Marilyn

Thank you for the update.  We are glad to hear he's doing better. 

He'll be happy when he can get back to work.

--------------------------

Two weeks later, this is all Mason tells me, a brief back and forth via email.  

Mom: How are you???? 

Mas: I'm pretty good. ive gotten sick a couple times on the mission but its just normal. i drug myself up and drink lots of water and im ok. ive never stayed in during a work day. 

Mom: Please define it more. What have you had-for reals: Regular yucky tummy? Flu? Have you had Zeka? Do you have parasites?  Tell me everything

Mas: jajajajja no i just had diariah. it means i ate something bad and then i got it out. 

Mom: Ok, so stick with bottled water and granola bars. Eat smart. Come home alive. Love you. 

Mas: iré y haré!  

--------------------------

I have gone this entire year, not worrying about him at all.  I've had complete peace about his call, and knew that whatever was going to happen was completely out of my hands.  But this week, I had a dream that Mason had called me, and was trying to break the news to me that something was wrong.  I woke up Monday morning, to the email from his companion  Elder Selman, with these very sad and pathetic pictures of Mason.  It was the first time I had a sinking feeling about him being so far away, and unable to do anything to help him.  It was not fun.  

When prayer is all there is to rely on, then that's what you do.  And heaven and I both know there was a lot of praying going on.  I was so grateful Sister Searle was there, and able to communicate with me regarding his welfare.  Let's hope we can go another whole year without any more sickness!

New Mission President

President and Sister Searle, from Burley Idaho

This week, Elder Mason Burk says goodbye to his Mission President, Kent R. Searle and Sister Marilyn Searle from Burley, Idaho.  He has been a wonderful President, and Elder Burk is very sad to see him leave.


From lds.org:  Kent Roland Searle, 60, and Marilyn Mitchell Searle, four children, View 2nd Ward, Oakley Idaho Stake: Colombia Barranquilla Mission. Brother Searle served as a temple ordinance worker and is a former counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, bishop, stake organist, ward mission leader and missionary in the Argentina North Mission. Farmer. Born in Burley, Idaho, to Raymond Clayson and Sharol Joy Searle.

Sister Searle serves as a temple ordinance worker and is a former ward Relief Society president, ward Young Women president, ward Primary president, Blazer leader, Primary pianist and ward activity chairman. Born in Burley, Idaho, to Howard Cecil and Reva Banner Mitchell.

His new mission president, is John J. Gallego, who is a native from Colombia. He recently worked as the Bogota MTC Manager. 

President John J Gallego and his wife Patricia 

Here is some background information about him from LDS.org:

John Jairo Gallego Infante, 42, and Patricia Martinez de Gallego, two children, Alejandria Ward, Bogotá Colombia El Dorado Stake: Colombia Barranquilla Mission, succeeding President Kent R. Searle and Sister Marilyn Searle. 

Brother Gallego serves as a stake president and is a former stake presidency counselor, bishopric counselor, ward Young Men president, elders quorum president, and missionary in the Colombia Barranquilla Mission. Manager, Colombia Missionary Training Center. 

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, to Gustavo Adolfo Gallego Hoyos and Carmen Julia de Gallego.

Sister Gallego is a former Sunday School teacher, ward Relief Society president, ward Young Women president, ward Primary president, and missionary in the Colombia Bogota North Mission. Born in Cali, Colombia, to Jehovah Martínez and Emma Trujillo de Martínez.

New and wonderful experiences come from change.  We have no doubt that Elder Burk will grow to love his new mission president, and gain insight from his leadership and teachings.  What a great experience he will have serving with him. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LDS.ORG

Heyo

Monday June 27, 2016

Hola mis buenos amigos!

Right now our room has one room with a little air conditioner.  At night when I lay down, I take off the top sheet, and lay down on the mattress and fall asleep.  There's no sheet, no blanket, nothing.  We turn on the air conditioning, and everything goes black.  I fall right to sleep. 

In past apartments, or when I go on exchanges with other missionaries, most apartments just have fans. It's pretty much the same thing. I have a degree thing on my clock, and right now it says 96 degrees. It doesn't feel hot like 96 degrees did at home, it just seems normal. If there is a little fan, or something that makes air move, even a little bit, it feels fine.  My body seems to think it's just normal.  I'm a little worried that when I get home I may be a big baby about the cold. 

This week Harold, the one who got baptized last week, has been going out with us a lot.  We took him out all day long, to several visits, and met a lot of people.  He decided, all on his own, to go 'pass by people' on Sunday morning, (meaning he went and reminded them to come to church). It was pretty cool.  He's getting really excited about the work, and really wants to go on a mission. We're going to keep working with him, and help prepare him, so he can go serve the Lord on a full time mission. He gets the priesthood this next week, after his interview.  We're super excited about that. 

This week, on the church website, they came out with a new video about depression and mental health.  

Watch it here: Here.  I thought it was really cool to hear the testimony of Elder Holland. It says that 1 in 4 people suffer from a mental disease.  That is a lot.  But I believe it.  We see it everywhere here.  It seems like life used to be simpler--you work, you sleep, you eat, you play.  But today, there are so many distractions. There are too many opinions, and a lot of pressure from social priority--because of social media.  It all plays a role in how people view themselves, and compare themselves to others. We have to be really careful and aware of this.  There are a lot of people struggling with this. 

I was reading a talk today called 'Mental toughness' -or something else in English, that's just my translation, it was by Elder M. Russell Ballard.  It talks a lot about how we need to be mentally strong.  When we enter this world, we have our mind and our spirit. When we die, the body stays here. I feel like there must be a connection between the mind and the spirit that must be stronger than the body. Maybe that's our job, to master our minds, because they so closely affect our spirit.  If you put your mind to anything--You Can Do It.  

There is not a thing in this world you can't do if you have the mental determination to do it. It has a lot to do with our attitude, our habits, and our abilities.  God gave everyone talents. And he's given us all desires. If we combine our desires with our talents, we can strengthen our mind and it can overcome whatever challenges come our way. One of the biggest stumbling blocks we might face, is the temptation to excuse ourself or to complain. Excuses, complaints, pride, not taking responsibility, are things that will hold us back from meeting our true potential. 

We have to work on it.  Just like our muscles have to work at being stronger, our minds have to be strengthened too. I know a lot of people suffer from mental diseases.  We have met a lot of people here. I know what they are like.  Hopefully we can all learn to have compassion, and suffer with those people, and look for a way to overcome these problems.  The best way to do that is to stay busy with good things, and do all we can to understand the gospel--meaning God's Plan for you, the Atonement, and all that Jesus Christ has done for us. 

The video is called "Like a Broken Vessel" and can be found on Mormon.org.  Watch it.  If you broke your finger, you would go to the doctor for a splint to fix it.  If your mind is broken, you need to do the same thing--Seek out professional help.  It won't be as simple as a splint, but you can work at it, and there are people who can help. Look for others you can help.  I know God has all power and can do all things. I trust in Him. I know he will bless us, and I know he has the power to help us overcome hard things. Be happy!  There is so much good in the world.  Don't complain, don't make excuses.  Pray to God who has promised he will "Come unto you." 

I love you guys. I hope you're doing good!

Elder Mason Burk

Harold Ayala gets baptized!

June 20, 2016

Hey family, this week we were teaching Bro Harold Ayala.  He finally made the decision to be baptized! He was baptized on Saturday night.  It was super awesome.  There were a lot of people that came to support him.  He's 18 years old, and ready to get the Priesthood.

Harold's Baptism

We found him at the beginning of the transfer from the ward list.  We went looking for some addresses, and found Harold. From the first day he was super excited.  We looked him in the doorway, and he just smiled and told us to come in.  We walked in, sat down, taught him about the restoration of the church, gave him a Book of Mormon and from that day he has kept every single commitment we have given him. He has accepted everything.  He set his baptismal date.  He's read all of the passages we've assigned him from the Book of Mormon.  He's had good questions, and has never had any big problems.  He has come to church every week by himself. He's brought his friends, he's brought his family, and he's done everything he could. Now he's been baptized.

We are so excited for him, and the ward is so supportive and excited as well.  The Bishop has been talking to us and said that he's going to give him the Priesthood this next week.  Harold's going to start preparing for that, then the Bishop wants to call him as the 2nd counselor to the Young Men's President. So he's going to have a great calling, and be able to help do some great things here.

The baptismal service was really awesome.  There were so many people there for him.  We had a returned missionary from the area that baptized him, and has become his good friend. He took him to a couple of dances, so he's made a lot of friends in the stake.  There were so many members from all over the stake that came to support him.  The best part was that the members ran the whole baptism, FINALLY.  We've never had a baptism like that.  We have always had to do something. But this time, we told everyone he was getting baptized, and they just took over.  We cleaned out the font, but other than that, they did it all.  They planned the whole program, they did everything and helped him a lot.  It was awesome!

Elder Selman, Harold Ayala, Elder Burk

On Sunday, we went with Alexander, the Elder's Quorum President.  He's pretty funny.  We've been working a lot with him lately, trying to get some of the Elders going.  He's helped us a lot with the less active members, and investigators. So today we went to find his 2nd counselor who is currently less active. Whenever he comes to church, he's quite the jokester.  He's kind of funny, he served a mission, and got married in the temple, but he just doesn't come to church because sometimes he has to work, but mostly because he's just lazy.  So we went to go visit him.

Alex has been pretty stressed out running the whole Elder's Quorum by himself.  He's only been in the church for 3 years.  But he's rockin' it.  He wanted to serve a mission, but he was too old.  So, we work a lot with him.  We try to help he and his counselor plan things out. They didn't really understand how to do it.  So we sat them down and said, "Look you guys should have a meeting together once a week. Let's decide right now, when are you going to have your meeting?" Then the less active counselor, is like, "I don't know."  So I turned to him and said, "Ok, how about next Tuesday, here, in your house?"  Alex is like-"Yes! I'll come here." So we're like, ok, sweet.

We helped him pull out a piece of paper, and write everything down, Tuesday at 8:00 you two are going to meet here, one of you guys is going to bring food, and the other one is going to bring the list of companionships for home teaching.  Then you can both go through it together.  You can pick two companionships each week and go to visit them.  You can get them excited to do their home teaching. Once we explained what they needed to do, they started making goals and stuff, and it was awesome.  We're pretty happy for them. This should help make the Elder's Quorum a little bit stronger.

This week I was studying in John with my companion. In John 11 it talks about the miracle of Lazaras when he was raised from the dead. My companion pointed out to me how much it teaches us here about what Jesus really felt.  When he was in a different city, and someone told him he would have to go back to find Lazaras and help him because he was sick.  Then the messenger leaves, and Jesus turns to his apostles and tells them that they will go there right now, and help him. The apostles ask him why they should go back, they were just there. Then he explains in vs 11 why they need to go back.  It says, "Our friend Lazaras sleepeth, and I go there to wake him from his sleep." His disciples didn't understand that Lazaras was going to die. But Jesus knew that. And he knew they would get there late, but that it was necessary to go and help, in an answer to the faith of the people that were there.

So they go.  And Jesus and finds Martha there crying.  And he tells her that her brother shall rise again.  And she thinks he's just talking about the resurrection.  Then Mary walks out, and she cries as well. And it touched him enough, that he did what no one else would do, knowing what would happen.  In verse 35 it says, "Jesus wept." Now, I had never really understood this scripture before.  As a child in primary I knew this scripture just because it is the shortest one in the bible.  But I never understood its importance.

Jesus wept, not out of his own pain, but because of the pain of someone else. This is an example of real compassion. The word compassion, in the Spanish guide of the scriptures, says, "compassion is to suffer with someone else. " Jesus, in this moment, was suffering with someone else.  He could see that she was really in pain and he decided to cry with her.  He knew that everything was going to be alright.  He knew more than anyone else, what he was capable of doing. And that of course Lazarus would be resurrected like everyone else, but that in this moment he would also raise him from the dead.  But first, Jesus stopped and decided to cry with her--displaying for us what true compassion looks like.

Sometimes we can help people.  Sometimes we can come up with a solution to help people get over their troubles and their problems. But sometimes we can't.  From this scripture, we learn that what we can always do is to have compassion and suffer with them. That doesn't mean we'll always feel exactly what they feel, but we can try to put ourselves in their shoes.  We show them love by sitting next to them and crying with them.

Now let me be clear, I'm not a cryer--I haven't cried in a long time. But after reading about this story from the scriptures, I realize that this is something I need to better at, having true compassion for people in this way, and be willing to suffer with someone.  My first instinct is to look at someone and tell them to just suck it up.  But the Savior is teaching us that the best way is to suffer with them, is with patience and long suffering.  So when you see people in need, choose to suffer with them, and help them get through their problems. When we suffer with people, and have compassion for them, it shows them that you care, and that you are there for them. See how awesome the scriptures are?! That's why we're supposed to study them daily.

I love you guys, I hope you have a great week.