Mother's Day

We got to see Cameron on Skype and talk to him on Sunday. Elder Burgess is so happy to be serving a mission and is loving it to the max. His health is good and his spirits are high. We are grateful for technology and angels that watch over our loved ones near and afar. Enjoy Cameron's update! - Kimberli



Happy Mother's Day!

Well my first opportunity to Skype home has come already. Just wanted to say thank you to all who were there. It was wonderful to see you! I love you all and I'm so proud of you. A congrats goes to Mati Downs and Shayla Archibald for receiving their mission calls. I'm so happy for them! And also to Luci Jeppsen who will be receiving hers shortly. I'd also like to shout out to all the mothers in my life. You're wonderful and I love you all. Thank you for welcoming me into your homes and showing love to me.

So this past week has been something else. I've been having a blast and had some great experiences. Probably the top one was performing my first baptism. His name is Thabiso (ta-bee-so). He's the boy on the right. He was so excited to be baptized! Elder Bagoole asked him, "So are you ready?" He replied, "I'm always ready for something important." So his friend is Katlego (cat-lay-ho). They're both 11 and good friends. They were so excited and I'm so happy for them!

Well not too much more to add but I will include a spiritual thought. This last Thursday I was shown the word "earnest" in the Bible Dictionary. I invite you all to look it up and ponder about what it's saying. Earnest has been related to the Holy Ghost in the footnotes and It struck me.

Well I love you all and I hope that you're happy and enjoying life. You're probably all asleep as I write this though, haha! (Cameron wrote this email at 2:22 am MST)

Farewell for now,

- Elder Burgess

Katlego and Thabiso

Katlego's father, Thabiso, Katlego, Elder Bagoole (Buh-goo-lay), and  Elder Burgess

Alekken LaMont and Cameron Skyping. Alekken is Keaton's little brother.

Water and work. Cherish both.

Hello to you all.

I hope this finds you well. I hope you've enjoyed your week as I have. I've been working and working and working! I've been having a wonderful time in Lenyenye. We have been doing a lot of service! There's many people here that struggle with water shortage, so we've been getting them water. Yesterday even I was getting water in my suit... It's been quite the adventure!

So a few short stories for you.

First one, miracles do happen. We've been teaching an investigator named Thalita. She's been taught for a while now but her mom has been against her getting baptized. She has said she can get baptized when she's 18. Well Elder Bagoole and I wanted to try again. We told Thalita this but she wanted us to ask because she's been turned down so many times before. So we finished a lesson with her and she goes to get her mom. But then she comes back alone with a face of bewilderment. at first I thought her mom had said no again but then she tells us, "My mom says I can get baptized." Just like that!! It was amazing to see the Lord's hand open this gateway for her!

Second, We almost got stuck. We were out in one of the villages and it started to rain and hail (side note: the hail was the size of golf balls!). So on our way out of the village it was very muddy. And as we are going we get stopped by some people, telling us that if we continue the mud is very thick and we'll get stuck. Well as we try to get going again, we find we're stuck where they stopped us. Not sure what to do, I get out and look at where we are. Our left side tires are half covered by mud. I then get a feeling, "Get in the vehicle and reverse". Looking at what's behind the tires I'm discouraged because if we backed up both rear tires would be stuck. But I did it anyways. As I begin to reverse, amazingly the mud on the sides of the tires get sucked under, shifting the truck to the side and giving us a clear exit. 

Lastly, I'll be performing my first baptism on Mother's Day. As I said before, we have two 11 year old boys being baptized. The one will be baptized by his father but the other one asked me to baptize him. I've only just met him and he asked me to baptize him! Interesting enough though, I wasn't surprised, I felt he would ask me. None the less I'm excited and honored that he asked me to baptize him.

Well I hope you all know that I appreciate you so much and I wish you all the best.

- Elder Burgess

Lenyenye from a distance. The villages cover the mountains!

I was reunited with an old friend... My loving parents sent this wonderful treat to me.

Service is always part of the mission.

Life is good.

New update from our boy! Happy Monday :)



Dear Peoples,

I hope that everything is going well for you all. I'm enjoying life so very much! So I'm in my new area, Lenyenye. It's tricky to define how to pronounce it. Thus far, I love it here. Elder Bagoole is super nice and loving. He's a fun guy and loves being here. We started working the moment I got here on Tuesday. We had a very successful week and a full schedule this coming week. 

Lenyenye is a small township about 25-30 kilometers away from where we stay. Then our area also covers many surrounding d Lenyenye and Tzaneen are very mountainous and green. If you're not going up, you're going down. There's no flat, straight roads. It's also very beautiful here. 

People here are very nice and so loving. I've had some good laughs and gotten closer to people already. They're so welcoming here. Words can't really describe how happy I am here. This is what I imagined my mission in Africa was going to be like. 

We have two 11 year old boys being baptized on the 8th of May, Mother's Day. I'm very excited to see them be baptized. One boy's english is choppy so we have someone interpret for us and the other boy's english is good. They're very smart! There's quite the range of language skills here. We also have a couple other investigators that need interpreters so it's been interesting. Regardless of how learned some people are and some aren't, they all have big hearts.

Not too much more to report I'm afraid. Until next week, know I love you all and I appreciate your prayers.

- Elder Burgess

Elder Bagoole and I

A beautiful church clock tower that is just down the road from our flat.

New places and big changes.

Cameron wrote us this morning. Enjoy!



Hello to you all!

So I've been doing well this past week, I hope you have too. So Transfers are this week. Last Saturday I was going insane as the minutes ticked by in what felt like hours, waiting for the transfer news. Well turns out I'm leaving. I'm going to a township/ village called Lenyenye. It's up by Tzaneen. I'm quite excited! I'll be closer to more animals and I'm hoping to see some hippos and crocodiles. I'll try and get as many pictures as I can, hopefully some better ones of animals too. 

My new companion will be Elder Bagoole. He's from Uganda and has been on his mission for 4 1/2 months, so two new guys taking on an area. I'm hopeful it will be a good time though. 

I'm sad to leave Mokopane but I know it will continue to progress. Just yesterday I visited some investigators that have been investigating for a while. They've been hesitant to set a baptism date but as I was saying goodbye they said, "I will be baptized... soon." It was so wonderful to hear!!

Yesterday I also got to finish Sunday's Conference sessions. I loved hearing from the prophet and apostles and I learned so much! I loved Elder Holland's closing talk especially. The way it began was amazing. It is amazing to have an apostle stand at the pulpit and ask, "Do you know... how much... we love you?" I was speechless. 

I thank you all for the support you've sent my way and I love reading how you all are doing.

I know it's short but more will come for sure.

- Elder Burgess

Masilo and I. He's a young man that is about to go on his mission and has joined us for the majority of our lessons for the past 2 1/2 months. I'll miss this kid. 

The glass is half full.

If you have a moment, please email Cameron an uplifting thought from General Conference. Thank you. Enjoy your week, everyone! - Kimberli



Hello,

This past week hasn't been the greatest. There were several cancellations and plans just haven't gone according to plans. Regardless of that, I've been optimistic. This is the last week of the transfer and I plan to make it count!

I have had some good come from this week though. First would be watching people progress. There's different speeds and levels of progression in everyone. Some progress very fast and find accepting the gospel very easy. Others may have a hard time with a point or two and then some just need to take it slow. One such has been Sister Bessy. Sister Bessy's whole family has found interest in the gospel and the Book of Mormon especially. While yes, they have interest and desire to be saved, they just need things to come slowly to them. But I'm hopeful they'll continue to progress, especially the mother. She's intrigued and loves learning and out of the whole family, has the least conflict with the gospel.

I've loved being on my mission so far. I love being able to see who is ready and who needs time. Sometimes I come across someone and think "They have great potential" but then a thought comes to me saying, "It isn't their time." Which is okay! It can take people several encounters with the gospel before their heart is softened. The Lord knows us all and what's best for us. 

I'm so thankful for this gospel. I'm so thankful for having such a strong support behind me of so many faithful saints. Thank you all for your love and support, know it is greatly appreciated. 

- Elder Burgess

Here's a picture of what they call "Jesus Mountain"... I'll let you guess why. People here may not have the fullness yet, but they love Jesus Christ.

The hard, the good, and the emus.

Send Cameron a little hello note :) Have a great week!



Hello Everyone,

So life in Mokopane has been good. There's rough patches here and there but it's been good. We'll start with the hard parts so as to end nicely, sound good? Awesome.

So the hardships this week have definitely been watching people see the truth and then turn away. Whether it's from choosing their sins or not wanting to commit to bettering themselves, it's still depressing. But I'll keep going because there is still those that know this is true. 

We have Barak's (the nine year old boy) baptism in two weeks and I'm excited. He's progressed so well, he's even finished the Book of Mormon stories book! He can recall and tell you all about the majority of the stories, it's wonderful!

Second on the good list is our investigator, sister Bessy. We've had some good moments with Bessy and her family. They all love the Book of Mormon and read it like a novel. We've been reading it with them and helping them to understand the different words. We've been going with one chapter but last time Bessy's mom, sister Mabeba, insisted that we read the next chapter because she wanted to know what happened next. It was wonderful! I love Mokopane and the people. There's wonderful people here and I've learned a lot from them. I can't wait to see the other areas that I'll go to. If they're like this one my mission will go by instantly and I won't want to leave!

Mission life is trying, yes, but I'm growing from it. As part of training I took over as the leader for the area last week. It was interesting and definitely a learning experience.

Keep your heads up and remember that the Savior is there for all of us. We may find Him directly or through other people. Be constantly vigilant for His hand in your life.

Love you all,

- Elder Burgess

Some friends of a member have pet emus. Couldn't resist taking a photo.

Hold on to your testimony.

I hope you all had a very memorable Easter. Remember that this coming weekend is General Conference! Let's all be prepared to be enlightened. Here's this week's message from our boy. No photos this week but we'll see what next week brings. -Kimberli



Hello Everyone,

I hope you've been enjoying your Easter Holidays. It hasn't really felt like Easter for me without my family's traditions but that's okay. I hope you've all been able to enjoy your chocolate but that you haven't forgotten the true meaning of Easter. Please never forget the Savior and what He has done for us all.

This past week hasn't been very exciting. We've just been teaching and getting some disappointment. People aren't really progressing. They love what we have to say but once we ask them to do something they're gone. 

We have had a good time with Barak though. He's 9 years old and has his baptism set for April 17! I'm so excited! At first we had a hard time teaching him but now he's progressing very well and his English and social skills have improved! Elder Saiah made a profound statement last night about how he couldn't understand how a 9 year old has found that this gospel is changing him and improving his life significantly but others couldn't. I agree fully. It's sad how people are choosing to dwindle in unbelief.

Well I thank you all for your prayers, It means a lot to know that I have so many people rooting for me!

I encourage you all to reflect on your faith and your testimony. I've discovered this week that a testimony is very powerful. You don't have to be a super genius or know the gospel inside out, but if you know in your heart that these things are true then you can work wonders. Please look for how you can build that testimony.

Thanks again and until next Monday,

- Elder Burgess