When the going gets tough...

Happy Easter this coming Sunday! :) It's in March...strange, eh? It's another Monday and our boy has spoken!



Hello Everyone,


This week has been alright. There's been some rough moments and some sad moments. People have cancelled and rejected us... But, it's not the end. We've also had some success. We taught a lot of lessons this past week and we were able to finally meet with a few people we've been trying to meet now for weeks!

We also had Zone Conference. Zone Conference was wonderful. I learned a lot and having so many Missionaries around was spectacular! We discussed a talk called "Lock Your Hearts" by President Spencer W. Kimball. Technically he was still just Elder then though. It was given on a Mission Tour back in 1967! But the message is still applicable and not just to missionaries. It really got me thinking about whether or not our hearts are locked on the Lord. It can apply to all of us. 

We also had a great chance to meet with Brother Lucas, the pastor. Our meeting with him was extremely powerful! I feel we may just have broken some new ground with him. 

Lastly I would like to share something I learned. Do you have real intent? Well, do you? In Moroni 7:9 it says, 

"And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such."

This scripture got me thinking. At times in our lives we ask Heavenly Father but we don't see his hand in our life. How many times did this happen because we didn't have real intent? Food for thought.

Well thank you all for the love you have shown to me and the support you send my way, it means a lot. 

- Elder Burgess

Here's the Hippo Crossing sign that so many of you were asking to see.

Singing in the (pouring) rain!

Thank you for the continued support for Cameron! -Kimberli



Hello to you all!

So it's finally been raining here! We've really needed it and it has sure come down! Tuesday we started riding the bikes around and after our last appointment it was pouring. The moment we stepped outside we were drenched from head to toe! Today even the streets are rivers. I'm so happy we have the bakkie (truck) or else we'd be rowing down the streets!! Haha!

This week hasn't been too eventful though. We've been able to find some new investigators and we also lost a few. We have a new sister that was given the Book of Mormon a few months back. She's read it and loves Jesus now. So when she ran into us she recognized the name of the Church and asked us to visit. We went and started reading the Book of Mormon with her. She's very nice and fun.

Other than that I just have a slightly wild story. So we had Zone meeting up in Tzaneen, which meant that my district needed to drive up. Elder Saiah and I rode with the new Zone Leader, Elder Woniala. Side note, he's a wonderful elder and guy. Anyways, the other Zone Leader said that him and his companion would drive up. This was a bit concerning because his companion is very new on his mission, like just a few days. And he's only been driving manual for a very short while. Well on the way back home we get a call from them saying that their car is stuck in 5th gear. So eventually we get them to pull over so that they wouldn't die in the middle of the road. The stick was completely loose... I'm not sure if it was from elders being too rough with the car or if the new elder didn't push in the clutch far enough but the car was shot.

Sorry, not too much this week. Know I love you all and I appreciate your prayers.

- Elder Burgess

My bike tried to eat me...

God's love is very real.

Happy MONDAY everyone! Enjoy your day and smile because the world needs more positivity!



Hello all my lovely people!

So life here in South Africa has been moving. It's been good but a little hectic with transfers being delayed and now having the transfer finally here. So I will be staying in my area of Mokopane with Elder Saiah so he can finish my training. I'm so glad for it too. It's been nice working with him and I'm learning a lot. Also, we both wanted to stay here so that we can continue the work. We've begun to turn the area around. 

This past week had a few ups and a few downs. We'll go with the bad news first. A couple of our investigators, the good ones at that, have dropped us. They've moved away for school and work. But on the bright side we have received a few more investigators and we were finally able to contact one that's been really busy. His name is Bright. He's from Ghana and he finds so much peace learning from us. I love teaching him and I hope things continue to progress with him.

One of the highlights this week was definitely seeing Brother Pabale confirm his wife and daughter members of the church. We were asked to stand in and it was amazing. The priesthood is very real and it is the authority of God. On that, I can tell you of the best part of my week. We were visiting Sister Dorothy and her kids and at the end of the lesson her daughter asked for a blessing. Dorothy asked her who she wanted to give it and she pointed to me. I had the amazing opportunity to give my first blessing. Never before in my life have I felt the power of our Heavenly Father than at that very moment. I was so nervous of messing up, especially her name (it's Tshegofatso Belina Elena Koopa). It was amazing!!

I thank you all for all the love and support you send my way and know I'm returning it. I love you all and I pray that you strive to stay connected to your Heavenly Father.

Love, 

Elder Burgess

Behold, my new ride. We now have a bakkie and it's very fun to drive!

Knowledge is powerful.

Hi guys! So sorry this post was delayed-my fault. Moving has been hectic this week. Next week his email will be up on Monday. Please enjoy Cameron's update! 



Hello to you all!

Life here in Limpopo, South Africa is going well. It's been a bit harder of a week though. Plans haven't been going very accordingly. We met with President on Tuesday for training. They wanted to see how trainers and trainees have been doing this transfer. Things have been good for me and my companion but I'm not so sure about the other new missionaries. It went pretty well but the meeting was in Pretoria so we drove a lot that day.

Thursday I received my first package, which was hand delivered by the new senior couples, Elder and Sister Hall. My parents were able to meet them and give them my license, letters and some things that could help. It was really cool having it hand delivered. I'll be honest though, it made me miss you all. I hope you're all doing well. Friends and family are so very important and that's why I'm here, to bring them together. I want to have all those I care about, and all those I love, with me in the next life. I want everyone to have that chance also. I'm here to share the gospel and help others in progressing with the plan that our Heavenly Father has given us. 

I also had another baptism! it was for Sister Crystal. Her husband is the one that has been a member for 10 years. Yesterday he baptized his daughter and wife. I'm so happy for him! Seeing families being brought together has been such a blessing in my life.

I've learned so much on my mission and I've even learned about learning. Please read D & C 88: 77-80. It talks of learning, both in the gospel and things we learn from our lives on this Earth. There's also a surprising commandment that I didn't see before and that's to share what we know, both in the gospel and the world. As we do this we are promised that we will learn even more. The life before this life and the life to come are all about learning. Please continue to learn with me Brothers and Sisters.

- Elder Burgess

I got a little friend from home :)

Brother Pabale with his wife, daughter and the rest of his family. So exciting to see this baptism!

Unfortunate luck.

I apologize for the late blog post. I'm moving this week so things have been busy. Here's Cameron's letter. Thank you to everyone who continually supports him. - Kimberli



Hi all!

So this past week wasn't very eventful. We've had several people skip appointments and some things come up. 

So we put the car in for service last Monday which meant we were walking for a few days. I ended up pulling a muscle and that slowed us down. Also, the sun has slowed us down. It's been really hot here, everyone says it never gets this hot here. Let's see what else.... oh yeah, I have Tonsillitis! Shortly after pulling the muscle behind my right knee I started to not feel that well. After district meeting the Gublers, senior couple in Polokwane, took me to a doctor. He said I win the prize for the worst Tonsillitis he's ever seen! But don't worry, I've been taking medicine and I'm doing very well! The Lord's work will not be slowed!

This week hasn't been the most productive but it's still seen us through. We had some great appointments and people are accepting the gospel. We've begun to make a little progress with Lucas, the pastor, which I hope continues. 

We also have a new investigator, her name is Taffy. It's a shortened name of course. She's new in town and found our church because she doesn't speak the local languages. It's the only English speaking church. She's 24, very out going and I hope she continues to pursue the truth. She's curious about the origin of the church, because she's never heard of it, which is wonderful because that's where we begin teaching! The only problem with her is she works a lot! But I'm hopeful.

Nothing too exciting, as I said, but please rely on the Lord and His Atonement. Normally when I get sick like this I'm out for a few days but I've never been more active! And I know it's because of the Lord's Atonement!

I love you all and please don't take any offense when I say I've found a new home. I love it here and I love my mission.

-Elder Burgess

Here's a funny sign that hangs at the shopping mall near us!

The field is white to harvest.

We briefly heard from Cameron last week, however, he didn't have time to write a public email. But! He has spoken now. Enjoy :)



Hello Everyone,

I apologize for not writing last week. We had a Zone Activity and I didn't have time to write a group message. I'll do my best to fill in for my missed time.

So my first Zone Activity went well. We went to the Echo Caves. They were pretty cool. To get through them was fun. We had to crawl through a few parts. There was some fun parts and some not so fun...like the drive. The drive was beautiful but my area is the farthest away so I was pretty tired by the end. Luckily I wasn't driving the whole way. Oh, but I saw my first baboon! There's so many of them! They just sit on the side of the road in areas but if you try to stop and take a picture they bolt away. I have many pictures of their behinds, haha!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone expressed love and gratitude to those that mean more to you. In reality we should always show love and gratitude, but tis the season right? I'll be honest, I forgot it was Valentine's Day until an investigator said it was Sunday. He was trying to make an excuse to not come to church.

Speaking of investigators let me tell you more about the area of Mokopane. We have several investigators, somewhere around 13 or so. Majority are recent additions so they're all at the beginning, but very inquisitive! The ones that are progressing are Kevin, Kgoleng, Peggy and Crystal. Crystal is on date to be baptized on the 28th. She has an amazing testimony and family! Her husband, Ngoako Pabale (I won't even try to tell you how to pronounce that, you have to hear it), has been a member for 10 years! He's waited a long time for his wife to accept the gospel. She hated the church but she now is so strong and committed like her husband.  He just went to the temple and received his endowment and on the 28th he'll be able to baptize his wife and 8 year old daughter. I'm so excited!

Peggy, Kevin and Kgoleng: Peggy is an unbaptized member. She's been investigating for a long time. She just wants to be baptized with her husband, Lucas. Lucas is great. He knows the church is true. He has read the Book of Mormon and believes in it. The only catch: he's the pastor of another church. But we're hopeful for him and his wife's sake.

Kevin and Kgoleng are Peggy's nephews and they are golden!  They love what we have to say and keep  wanting more! I have high hopes.

Lastly, I gave my first talk yesterday. It was on Humility and its role in members. From looking at this I found something insightful. Please read Moses 4: 1-4 in the Pearl of Great Price. It shows how the war we now fight started with pride. ultimately our war is pride vs humility. Satan's pride is why he was cast out and Jesus's Humility is why he is our Savior. 

Let us not be found "captive" by pride. I love you all!

- Elder Burgess

Me in one of the crawl through passages in the Echo Caves

A spider I found on my wall... it was about the size of my palm and extremely fast! Thank goodness I don't have arachnophobia. 

Under water...

Here's Cameron's update for the week :) It's a new month! Happy February. Enjoy!



Family & Friends -

I had an amazing opportunity to attend Mission Tour with Elder Cook. He's the Area Seventy over all of Southern Africa. We had an amazing discussion with him!! But when we got to the church, it was flooded. The building's water was shut off and someone left on a faucet, so when the water came back on, *boom!* flood. We cleaned up what we could and had someone come and vacuum all the water up. It was actually quite fun. 

The Tour was held 2 hours from me (I've been driving a lot!) in a town called Tzaneen. When you think of Africa and the places where it's really green mountains and beautiful fog everywhere... that's Tzaneen. It's amazing!! Oh and instead of cattle crossing signs they have hippo crossing signs! I didn't get to see any though.... 

I also had the chance to have my first exchange. I was with Elder Lybe, the Zone Leader. He's a cool guy and we had a great time!! He's from California so we had a little more in common than other elders, haha! 

I've been having a wonderful time! The people at times are difficult, but you just keep pushing on! I also kinda forgot to say something last week... I had my first baptism Sunday!! It was so cool! Her name is Celia and although her English isn't the best, she loves God and his Church so much!

I've been striving to be an obedient missionary and it blesses you so much more!! I love Africa, I love the people, I love the food, I love God and I love his church.

I apologize if I don't write many of you, I'm rushing off to a district activity. We're going to go tour one of the soccer stadiums they used in the world cup. 

Love you all! 

Stay close to God and thank him for all you have, because it was His to give you!

- Elder Burgess

Elder & Sister Cook

Elder Saiah, Celia, her grandma and myself