The rainbow.

Hello family and friends,

I hope this finds you well. It's been 7 days since my last contact with you all and I fear you've missed me greatly. Whether this is true or not, it does not matter.

Well, on my end, life is good. Missionary work is going well but at times it's rough. The wonderful part is the good far out weighs the bad. This past week Elder Mosweswe and I were trying to top last week's success but sadly, we barely fell short. However, looking back, we had a great week. We had 9 investigators at church, 9 progressing investigators and most of our days were full of lessons. I've really come to love Namibia. The work here is moving!!

This week started off well too. We had a wonderful surprise of rain on Monday and we got quite a sight, a double rainbow. For one, rain is scarce and rare here and two, rainbows have symbolism. I'm not sure if you know but the rainbow was the sign of a covenant God made with Noah and with Enoch. Many know that after the flood a rainbow appeared to show Noah that the earth would not be flooded again but it was also for Enoch, Noah's great grandfather. It was a promise to Enoch that the Zion he had built up would return with the Lord at his Second Coming and that his family would go on forever. So, the rainbow promised the world eternal families. Just a fun thought.

We had a great moment with Sister Megan when she gladly accepted a baptismal date. I'm so happy and I know that Megan and her recent convert sister, Vinoliah, will be able to help each other in this crazy world.

We had Zone meeting this past week as well. Elder Darley and Elder Hamilton came back and they even treated us as their old flat mates. Elder Darley hit his year mark and we celebrated with ice cream. This week was good and life is just getting better. But, December is right around the corner and people are leaving for the holidays... I'm not excited that's for sure.

But it's part of life. Love you all and have a great week!

- Elder Burgess

The weather was so nice!

...I've found it and I'm never letting it go.

Hello to my people. I hope everything is well and that you're smiling. If not, you should because you're reading a letter from your favorite missionary!!

This week has been a hoot! Okay, it's been so so. I've been sick this past week but today I'm doing great, in comparison to the beginning that is. Despite being sick, I've still been able to see many people and we met with some new investigators. 

We had an interesting meeting with a family on Tuesday, the !Garus-oab family. Yes, I spelled it right. Some names are crazy! I will pay anyone who pronounces it right. Trust me, I'm keeping my money. Anyways, they're a great family but they like to debate. For them, they insist that all answers must come from the bible. And if it doesn't state it plainly then they dispute it. So I had some fun. As time went on I started getting frustrated. We were sharing scriptures about the pre-existence, Jeremiah 1:5, and then explaining that we were all with God before. He only wanted to accept that God knew Jeremiah because He's God. Finally, it got to a moment where I started sharing scriptures and testimony that aren't straight forward but, with reasoning, make sense. By the end they were silent. They also were glad and understanding. I must say I love this Gospel and the truths that are found in it. Because of the Restoration we have full truths and understanding.

So our friend, Ottilie, is doing wonderfully. She's loving the church and the gospel. She's looked around to other churches and she was about to give up when she met her friend, Sarti, a member of the church. Day one she loved the church and day two, her daughter loved the church. Her daughter, Valentina, was even in the primary program yesterday and she did wonderfully! Ottilie is doing great and she can't wait to be baptized!!

I know this church is true. I know it is the one and only true church. I've never seen so much happiness and love than in this church. If being on my mission has brought at least one thing to my life it is a love of the gospel and scriptures. I promise you all, the Book of Mormon is true. I never truly understood the power that it holds but I've found it and I'm never letting it go. 

Thank you all for your prayers and I encourage you to go read Moroni 10:4 and truly ponder what it says. I promise that your heart will be changed if you search it with faith.

Cheers!

- Elder Burgess


Oh yeah a small thing I forgot...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I can't believe I'm missing one of my favorite holidays again!! first work and now my mission... 2018 Thanksgiving will be great, so help me!!!

Love you all and I hope you remember to thank God for all that you have and all the people in your lives! Heaven knows I'm thankful for you!

Enjoy the pie! 

I apologize, I've been sick so I haven't taken pictures. Here's a quick photo to prove I'm alive and show off my new haircut...it looks the same as before, I know...but there's not much I can do with it on my mission, okay?!

Encouraging success.

How are you all? I hope well.

So I don't really have too much to say. We got Transfer News and Elder Darley and Elder Hamilton went to Swakopmund! They've been telling us how it's so beautiful and they live right on the beach! But other than them leaving, nothing changed in Namibia. I'm still companions with Elder Mosweswe.

For this week though, it was actually really good. We had many lessons and met many new people. We've been working with a Sister Megan, a recent convert's sister and she's really getting into the gospel. She and her sister have been getting closer and making a better relationship because of it too. She even came to church! We had 6 Investigators at church and they brought friends!! It was wonderful because now the friends want to be taught!!

So since these guys, Elder Darley and Elder Hamilton, have left we've taken over the whole of the branch's boundaries and its big!! But we also have the flat to ourselves now... which is also big! 

Like I said, not much to say this week.

I hope you all have a wonderful time this week!

- Elder Burgess

Our district in Nam before these guys left: (Left to Right) Your's truly, Elder Gohnert from South Africa, Elder Bagoole from Uganda, Elder Desouza from South Africa, Elder Hamilton from Washington state, Elder Khupiso from South Africa, Elder Reynolds from Vernal Utah, Elder Ndlovu from South Africa, Elder Mosweswe from Botswana and (Kneeling) Elder Darley from Idaho.

Happy November!

Hello everyone! 

I hope that your week has been grand!! Happy NOVEMBER!! Wow time is flying!! And hey, I'm almost 20. Wahoo!!!!

Anyways, this past week has been going well for me. The weather has been so nice! It's been cloudy and raining and I've been loving it! For us here in Nam, things have been okay on the missionary work side of life. Things just keep going! We had a great moment on Friday though! So on Thursday Elder Mosweswe was on exchanges with Elder Reynolds and they were walking down the street we live on when they're stopped by a sister. She asked them a wonderful question, "Why do you keep passing by but you never visit my family?" Turns out she's a less active and we went and saw them on Friday. It was sad because the mom was caught at work but we were able to see her kids and talk with them. 

So on Saturday we ran into an interesting fellow named Erastus. Erastus was a member. Now I've stated how people say that even though they've been baptized but he literally was a member. It was about a year ago that he left the church and had his records removed. He read some anti-Mormon literature and in his own words he felt that "there were things kept from [him]". So he left and then tried pulling other members away. It's sad what bad publicity can do and it's even sadder that some people believe what they read. It was a sad moment talking to Erastus but it couldn't take from the highlight of my week.

Ottilie, a wonderful sister and investigator has accepted a baptismal date!! So she's actually been taught by sisters over the phone and now us. Her co-worker and friend, Sarti, is a returned missionary and visited the states for General Conference just barely. The sisters asked if she had a referral and she gave her friend's number. Since then they've been chatting and teaching her. Ottilie has been coming to church and loving the discussions. When we went there Saturday night she said, "We need to talk about baptism". It was amazing and by the end she accepted to be baptized on December 10th! 

I've been loving my mission so much and since I've been able to meet and teach people I've gained a great appreciation for the gospel and for our Lord, Jesus Christ. A really really cool thing about the work is that it's moving! This coming transfer (i.e. next week) we're sending missionaries to Swakopmund. Swakopmund is a city on the coast that has a branch but has never had missionaries!! Who ever goes there is about to make history! I would love to go there eventually. I hear it's really beautiful and it's on the coast! They baptize in the ocean!! HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE!?!?! I of course might not go there ever but still the thought is cool.

Well have a nice week and "Don't forget to pray"!!

- Elder Burgess

Elder Mosweswe was in a hurry, in the morning, it seems...