The Last Letter!

June 2nd, 2014

So I'll be seeing you Wednesday night! This last week has been miracle central! I'll tell you all about it in the car. We had a great baptism for the wife of our recent convert...a girl we contacted in December got baptized in the YSA unit! All very exciting! Tonight we are packed with set appointments so it should be good! I'm trying to pack light coming home. 

Life is great! Being a missionary is the best ever! 

"Missions are forever." 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  

Love ya! 

xoxox

Fresno Days--The Last Hurrah

May 26th, 2014

So we have been seeing some awesome end-of-mission miracles this past week. I don't want to spoil anything because it'll be much better in person. But in a nutshell: 

Our investigators are coming to church. The ward is doing great with fellowshipping. 

We have a baptism planned for next Sunday and we have solid dates for after we go home. It'll be awesome for the next missionaries who take over. 

Cherry on top- Learned how to cut up a chicken doing service for a member. Also, we went farming with our recent converts. SUPER FUN! 

Anyways, i'm sorry I'm not writing a lot, but we got tons of stuff to do and I'll make up for it in person next week! Love ya all! 

xox 

Elder Burdick

Check out the new glasses on Elder Burdick!

Fresno Days--A Baby Named Tseem Fwv Leem

May 19th, 2014

Hi Everyone,

Here is a wrap-up of the week--

Tuesday- For district meeting, we went on mini-exchanges and went tracting in one of our areas. It was super fun! Me and Elder Joyner went out together and it went really well. I continue to learn the invaluable lesson of the more people you speak to, the more you find people who truly are prepared to receive the gospel. Talk with everyone. 

Wednesday- Me and Elder Doane had Elder Ballard with us for the day because Elder Rasmussen had leadership training. I love Elder Ballard. He is a solid stud missionary! He brings so much enthusiasm and excitement with him into the work. We had a lot of fun! 

Thursday- We had a great lesson with one of our investigators. We read from 1 Nephi 1 together and once again...the Book of Mormon is true! It was awesome to see as we likened the scriptures to her life, how it became more real to her. Its sad to say, but because so many Hmong people don't know how to read, we often overlook the power of the Book of Mormon. Lessons like these are reminders to really use "the most powerful tool in conversion" (combined with the spirit). 

Friday- Weekly planning. Have I told you how much I love planning as a missionary? Me and Elder Doane really feel that we've mastered effective planning. Its so much fun! Although weekly planning is 3 hours, we eat up every second of it. 

Saturday- We found the nicest family ever to teach! A few nights ago we stopped by their house and they totally ignored us. Turns out, they're super nice and receptive. I think they avoided us before because they were putting their kids to sleep. Once again, don't judge a book by its cover! 

Sunday- We had an amazing dinner with the Strebel's family! They are so awesome. There are families called to be in assignments in the ward and we love them all so much. They completely throw themselves into a foreign culture and are just so selfless. They're a huge strength to the ward. We also ran into a less active that was baptized when I was serving with Elder Xiong. I thought they had moved to Minnesota but turns out they were just living up there temporarily. He was so excited to see us again. He gave us a big ol' hug and it was great to reconnect with him again. He has a grandson in Laos that was born a month ago named after me (Tseem Fwv Leem Jr.)...pretty cool! 

Today- Things have been crazy as usual. We are really trying to take care of all our going home stuff on these last preparation days so we can rest assured that we don't have to worry about it while we're proselyting etc. 

Thanks so much for all you do fam! I love you all so much and appreciate all the big helps! Let me know if there is anything I can do to bless your life! xoxoxoxox

Love, 

Elder Burdick

Fresno Days--The Countdown Begins!

May 12th, 2014

Hi Everyone,

Anyways, not a ton of new stuff happening on our end right now. I will have some more stuff for you next week. Its just weird because I feel like I just talked to you...oh wait...we did :) 

Spiritual Thought: 

“Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep trying, there is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late. Some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in Good Things to Come.” 

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

LOVE YA ALL SO MUCH! It was great to talk to you! 

Love, 

Elder Burdick 

xoxox

This is technically an older picture from Hmong New Year's, but it's a goodie!

Fresno Days--Prep for Mother's Day Phone Call

May 5th, 2014

These are the instructions we've received from the mission president regarding the phone call! 

Good morning Elders & Sisters. It's a GREAT DAY to be a Mormon missionary! 

Please take careful note of the information listed below:

MOTHERS DAY TELEPHONE CALL. Your sweet mamas are counting down the days, hours, and minutes until Mother's Day (May 11) when they get to talk to you. Listed below are the church and mission rules governing this call. Please be exactly obedient and help your companion to be exactly obedient.

1) your call must not exceed 40 minutes. This is a church policy. 

2) You may talk by telephone

3) Either way, you may give your family your contact number in your Monday email. In that same email, advise them that their call is absolutely, positively is 40 minutes max.

4) Your parents want to hear your voice and know you are safe and happy. If you have some personal/family business to discuss, advise your parents of this in your Monday email. 

5) Outline some things you want to say, including but not limited to your area, investigators, how you have seen yourself change, and your testimony. 

6) Now that your family has your contact number, emphasize that no one is permitted to call or text you after the Mother’s Day call. If any family, friend, or other person calls or texts you after the Mother's Day call you are required to report it to your zone leaders. 

So this last week has been awesome! We had an exciting baptism for a couple that we found at Hmong New Years. It was so exciting to see them finally take the big step! 

Bishop Lor brought up the Pathway program at dinner last night. He wants us to visit some of the less active Hmong YSA and introduce them to the program. I'm sorry for not reading your emails more carefully, but you need to give me the low-down on all this PATHWAY stuff. Super curious! 

Overall, things are going great here in the CFM. The work is rolling forward and me and Elder Doane are having tons of fun! I look forward to talking to you in a few days! Love ya all so much! 

With Love, 

Elder Burdick

xoxoxoxoxox

Fresno Days--New Hmong Missionary

April 28th, 2014

So totally got the Easter package. I have to admit that I haven't eaten too much of it yet. But Elder Doane has been lovin' it! Can't believe Canada and the U.S. are worried about the good ol' kinder eggs. 

Also, thanks so much for taking care of all the going home stuff for me. It definitely makes me more at peace knowing I don't have to worry about it all right when I get off the plane. By the way, I sold the bike! 

Other highlights of the week: 

Today we went to the temple! They have another new video. Gotta love the temple! 

On Sunday we had a baptismal interview for a couple we've been teaching for awhile and they're totally getting baptized next week! It is so exciting! 

We've been having slammin' lessons with our members. Make sure you go out with the missionaries (even if the appointments are not super solid. You will see crazy awesome miracles). 

Got under 28 min for my 4 mile.

Some of our members put on an original Hmong meal for Elder Ballard. Freshly killed boil chicken! He ate the head! Props to him! 

Elder Swenson gave an awesome training on having hope. The gospel term hope refers to trusting in God's promises. He challenged all of us to find the specific promises God has made to us and cultivate greater hope/trust in them. He shared the example of Moses parting the sea. A promise was given long before the red sea incident that Moses would be able to command the waters (Moses 1:25). He also shared multiple other scriptures about how others accomplished miracles b/c of specific promises God had made to them earlier in the scriptural accounts. So definitely study up on the Lord's promises to you and the word "Hope." 

Well, I love ya all lots! Thanks for all the updates and long letters. They are always appreciated! xoxo have a great week! 

Tus uas Hlub Nej! 

Elder Tseem Fwv Leem Vaj 

Happy Easter

April 21st, 2014

Hello Everyone,

So I got the hint from the emails - do well in school. Haha :) 

I haven't received the package yet, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually! 

Also, glad to hear that you are reading the BOM everyday! It is the best!

I was also going to let you know about that video "Because of Him". We watched it at a zone conference; it was so powerful! 

So just as a heads up - my letters might not be super long these last few weeks. I'm really trying to spend quality time with the zone. But don't worry we will have tons of quality time after the mish right? 

So the Walker's live in UT? Kaysville? That is where Elder Burton and Elder Bone live! Crazy small world eh? 

By way of information - me and Elder Doane are still together. We were released as zone leaders so we get to completely focus on our area so we are pumped! Elder Ballard, the new missionary, is getting here tomorrow so that'll be exciting to have some fresh blood in the work. 

Spiritual thought: 

http://easter.mormon.org/ 

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I love ya all! Hope everything is going well! 

Hlub nej heev! 

Tseem Fwv Leem Vaj