A piece of Africa loves you.

Hello!

So This past week was pretty good. Probably the greatest thing has been the weather. Winter is on its way and it's been cooler; the nights especially. I've been able to wear my jacket and slippers... it's pretty great. Some other things, We have 4 new investigators. Our area is starting to pick up again and it's great!!

So on Wednesday we went to see a member and she invited her neighbours to join us. They're very nice but they don't speak English very well. Luckily our member can translate. Anyways their names are, Uekeriuondjera and Vijamaije... Good luck pronouncing those! Then Friday morning we went and saw a referral from a member. Her name is Dora. Dora is a bit older of a lady but a real sweet heart. She knows her Bible very well!! She understands some basic truths that so many people look over. Teaching her will be great I feel! And our last new investigator is a 9 year old named Natalia. Natalia is the daughter to a fairly new investigator as well, named Riina. Little Natalia just loves primary and can't wait to come to church again. Over all our finding this week was good.

As for the adventures, not a lot has happened. We had a braai (bar-b-que) with the missionaries on Saturday but it didn't end well for me. I hadn't really eaten throughout the day and then I drank a ton of juice, so I got a little sick. But by today I'm doing better. Word to the wise, eat all meals at appropriate times.

I hope you all have a great week and know a piece of Africa loves you. This week I'll have more to tell you, we'll be getting transfer news, having a baptism and having Mission Tour.

- Elder Burgess

P.S. Oh, we're probably not getting cars soon. They're here but there's some final requirements that haven't been completed.

Happy Easter to you all.

Dear friends and family: 

I hope you have had a wonderful week and you're doing well. My week was great!! 

Lets start from the beginning. So the beginning of the week wasn't the greatest but it changed with Wednesday! Wednesday it was raining so hard!! I was drenched and I had an umbrella!! Anyways we walked around and sadly only had a couple lessons but the day ended well. It was Elder Reber's birthday so we went to dinner at a nice restaurant where I had a 500 gram burger!! I conquered the burger and the fries... I'm quite proud. The week continues to our eventful Friday. 

Friday we had District Meeting and I went on exchanges with Elder Reber. We went to lunch at a place called "Wimpy". It's just a nice little burger place. After lunch we went to his area because his companion, Elder Gohnert, doesn't know the area too well. It was nice because it was my old area for a short time. We had some appointments and as we were leaving our last appointment, we ran into an old investigator that Elder Reber had been looking for. They had lost contact and hadn't seen her for like 2 months!! It was a great moment.

Saturday then brought a lot to us. Elder Reber and Gohnert had a baptism and we were helping with it all. We typed up the baptism program and checked on the font, luckily too. We opened the door to the font and found water. Doesn't sound bad, right? But we didn't put it there. So the pump was broken and when it rained Wednesday the rain water came up the drain, bringing a lot of dirt. So Elder Burgess got to get down into the water and start bucketing it out. It was actually quite fun! Then the baptism came. It went great and everything turned out. 

Now the exciting part, I was a dance instructor again!! The branches found out I love ballroom dance (I wonder who told them 🙄) and insisted that I teach. It was really fun but a little difficult. As a missionary I can only show to a point how the dance is done, nonetheless, it was fun. I taught them Salsa and Waltz. I can't wait to dance when I get home!!

So I must include a great moment at the baptism. As we were going from the font there was a man in a track suit. It seemed no one had talked to him. I meant to address him but he acted first. He started asking about the church and the baptism he just witnessed. He's from Botswana and just arrived in Windhoek. He had a free day and decided to look around the city, until he ended up there at our chapel. His questions were amazing! He even said, "This church seems too good to be true, what's the catch?" As we talked, something told me, this is too good to be true. I decided he was possibly a member but I went with it just in case. After the closing remarks of the baptism and the prayer, I turned to ask what branch or ward he was from in Botswana, but again, he beat me. He said, "Congratulations elder, I'm President Caiphas, Second Counselor to President Chadambuka." I wasn't surprised he was a member but it surprised me that he was my Mission President's Second Counselor!! 

Then Sunday was a beautiful Easter. Happy Easter to you all. I hope you remember the Lord and his Atonement, death and Resurrection. I know our Savior lives. I know He loves us. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

- Elder Burgess

President Caiphas and I

Doing a little service at the other elder's place.

While on exchanges, I found that Namibia was playing our music and the spoken word. It was really cool.

Deliciously short.

Hello! I'll apologize in advance, this won't be too long. 

This past week was good, just a little slow. It was mostly the same old each day. Sadly no cars yet... but they say this week they should be here! I'm excited!

So I guess I can tell about some of our investigators. Eugene is a newer investigator. He's the nephew to an RM and the grandson to the branch president. Many is his extended family are members and slowly the family is coming along. Cecyllia is doing well. She's still preparing for her baptism at the end of the month and she's not really having many challenges. We just have a couple more lessons and then she's golden and good to go. David is still doing well. His learning is a bit slower but he is only ten. Sometimes it's difficult because his friends join and kids sometimes are just not in the mood to sit and listen, but life goes on.

My highlight was when the Desousa's invited us to join them in watching the Sunday Afternoon session of General Conference. It was wonderful to watch the full General Conference. It's the first time I've been able to see all the sessions on my mission. A particular talk was given by Elder Costa of the Seventy. Please! I repeat, Please! Spread this talk with everyone! It's titled "To the friends and investigators of the Church" It is for all who are not members, but members should also watch it so they can see how to help their friends. It's a fantastic talk! After Conference we had a lovely meal prepared by Brother Desousa; an Angolan dish that translates to bean stew. It's really a man stew! It was delicious!

Well this coming week should bring better stories. I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy your week!

- Elder Burgess

I've got my journal and I'm ready for Conference.

Man stew. I'd eaten most of the sauce and vegetables by the time I took the photo.

General Conference weekend!

Hello Everyone!!

I hope you had a great week. My week was pretty good. The week wasn't the best at first. I was pretty sick for most of the week. I had gone to the doctor just after emailing you all and turned out I had an infection in my airway. But don't worry! All is well; I'm doing great now.

So this past week was nice because we have 3 new investigators, 2 of which are related to members. The one is a 12 year old named Brandon. He's part of the Brinkmann family. It's wonderful because his family is full on board with him being taught, in fact, his mom is going to be teaching him with us. It's great because we'll be able to teach the family over again. 

On Saturday we went hiking, again. This time with the YSA. It was fun. What made it more fun was when a couple other elders and I went back on a beaten path! We found some beautiful scenes and a little friend that could've been a problem, but thankfully wasn't. I'll attach a photo, but it was a golden orb spider. It was huge and it's web was so big, and it was gold!!

Also, as many of you know, General Conference was this last weekend. I loved Conference! I had a great opportunity to see two sessions live and the others recorded. I have not, however, seen the Sunday afternoon session. But I know that Elder Palmer was one of the speakers. He told us that he was speaking. I'm also fortunate because he's coming at the end of the month for a Mission Tour. I can't wait!!

Well this last week was alright and I hope that the next one is better!

Love ya all,

- Elder Burgess

Elder Ndlovu and I at the top of the mountain.

Our little friend, the Golden Orb spider.

Ready for General Conference Sunday!