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

"You're driving!" right into the mission field!

Dear family and friends of Cameron! We've heard from our boy. Please email Cameron a short and encouraging message. Wether it be something that inspired you during your personal scripture study or a great thought from church. His email is cameron.burgess@myldsmail.net. 

For those of you that do this, I know he would really appreciate your support. He has now been in the mission field for a week. And here is what he has to say:



Hello to you all!

I'm currently in Mokopane (pronounced Mo Ko Paw Nee). It's a beautiful area. It's a small town with a township in the area. I've continued to adjust and I'm beginning to love the area. So thus far I've just been getting to know people and teaching lessons. The moment I got here they handed me the keys and said "You're driving!". It's a manual! I'm so thankful for Adam Aguillon for helping me to become a better driver with manual. So we hop in the car right as I get there and drive about 60 kilometers to another area! I've been thrown into it and told to "Survive!". Props to those that get that, haha! But teaching here has been amazing and I've seen so much love for the Lord here!

Life here is different, but the people are amazing! My new Companion is Elder Saiah, he's been out for 3 months but is still a good trainer. He's from Johannesburg, SA. But what's cool is his mom is Zulu and his dad is from India! He's nice. His accent is sometimes hard to understand though. It's quite nice having him. He knows the native languages well enough so that he can talk to just about anyone! 

Something I've learned here is these people are amazing! They're so kind and inviting and family is everything to them. They may have nothing but if they have their family, they're content. And those in the gospel are even more grateful. It's made me appreciate my family even more. So to all my family, I love you and I appreciate you so much.

A note to you all...

Go to the temple. If you have a recommend, go! Everyone here wishes to go to the Temple and the fact that we have so many so close by, but we don't go... It's just so sad. So Please go.

Farewell for now! 

Oh, please look up 1 Nephi 17:13. It gave me inspiration to keep going this week and it gave me hope, so hopefully it does that for you too!

- Elder Burgess

SENDING LETTERS or (low valued) PACKAGES:

For Letters Sent Through Pouch: Letters using the Church’s pouch system are limited to a single sheet of paper, folded into thirds and taped on the top edge only. No envelopes, no pictures, no money, etc are allowed.

Packages should be labeled “Missionary Supplies” and valued less than $30 US to avoid high custom charges.  When sending letters and packages through the USPS or your regular country mail system, mail to:

Botswana/Namibia Mission Office
Postnet Suite 428
Private Bag X18
Lynnwood Ridge
0040 RSA

If you have any questions about mailing letters or packages, please contact Cameron's parents or sister for details. Thank you!

cherylcburgess@gmail.com (Cheryl)

almaburgess@gmail.com (Alma)

kjb.erickson@gmail.com (Kimberli)

Elder Saiah, his new companion and trainer

Elder & Sister Wilson - Cameron's Mission President & his wife

Life in the MTC

Hey guys :) we heard from Cameron today. He wrote:



Hello everyone! 

So my first week has been something else. Africa really doesn't look that different from other parts of the world... from what I've seen. I've mostly been cooped up in the MTC. I've been having some great experiences though!! I've learned so much, especially from the Spirit. 

So some stories!

When it rains, it rains hard! It wasn't raining and within seconds it was. The sound was like thunder! People were telling me that it doesn't rain that hard here and that the rains were very late!

A good funny story!

One of the Elders, Elder Reid, was taking a shower and he was just turning the hot water on. The water wasn't really heating though. He kept turning the knob. The knob then fell off, sending a blast of water like a firehose at him! Scalding hot water! He ran straight out of the shower and into his adjoining room. His companion and roommates received quite the surprise! Haha! It's all good though. Everyone laughs about it, especially Elder Reid. 

Life at the MTC:

It's been different than regular life. Class after class, after class, lunch, more classes and so forth. But I'm adjusting and enjoying being able to focus so strongly on the spirit. This experience has given me great blessings already. 

I have two companions, Elder Phillips and Elder Martinho (I doubt you'll pronounce that correctly). Elder Phillips is from Rigby, Idaho and Elder Martinho is from Mozambique, Africa. It's been hard communicating with Elder Martinho. He's only been using English for a few months and he is deaf. He has a cochlear implant to help him hear but it's very difficult at times. What little sign language I know has come in handy! Talk about kind of a double wammy with the communication, eh? But he has a very strong testimony!

Oh! I got to go to the Temple! It is a very small temple for sure! But the same gospel. It was the same session and the same peace. I love the opportunity to serve this mission. It won't be easy, but it will be an amazing 2.3% of my life (estimating of course). 

Thank you all for supporting me! I will continue to write and I will do my best to tell you of my experiences. It is so different from being there though!

Keep me in your prayers continually.

Sincerely,

Elder Cameron Burgess

Elder Phillips, Elder Martinho and I 

The MTC missionaries in front of the Johannesburg Temple

Elder Schnepf's Birthday

Touchdown on African soil!

We've heard from Cameron! He has safely landed in Johannesburg, South Africa. His flight was a nonstop 16 1/2 hours long. His roommate is named Elder Phillips. So far his report is that "it's hot" in Africa, a whopping 113 degrees. He wrote the following: 

Hello!

I'm now in South Africa! Come to find out the flight I took is considered the longest flight in the world! That's probably the flight back. But still, check that off my bucket list (after I put it on that is). 

So the flight wasn't too terrible, just long and not the most comfortable. I know I had angels watching over me for sure. I've been traveling with several elders, the majority of the MTC (except for those from Africa), who arrived this morning. The elders from the US, including myself, arrived last night. 

After arriving in the Airport I realized it's hot...like really hot. The temperature isn't that bad but when you're coming from below freezing temperatures, it's hot! According to the nurses it's the hottest it's been in years. It's also a bit more humid than Utah. Not too much for today. I did just get here ;) but I do have pictures.

- Elder Cameron Burgess

The Johannesburg Airport

The Johannesburg MTC

My roommate, Elder Phillips. Harry Potter fans should get the reference in this photo.

One view from the MTC

Airport bound - The MTC awaits...

Hello everyone! My name is Kimberli Erickson. I'm Elder Cameron Burgess's favorite sister and now also, his personal slave scribe. I'll be posting updates from his missionary emails for the next two years so you all may stay updated on his mission. Elder Burgess has written the following:



Dear family & friends,


I opened my call on August 28th 2015. Four months and one week later I am leaving for the South African MTC so I can prepare to serve in the Botswana/Namibia Mission. That time has flown by so fast! Tomorrow I will be a full-time missionary. I will do my best to write every week with stories and experiences. They will be posted here. Thank you for your support. It means so much to me.

For now I will leave my testimony and we'll see how it progresses over time.

I know my Father in heaven lives and loves me. When this earth was created, He oversaw its creation. On the 6th day He came down and formed man. This was gift one--our bodies. As man heeded the word of God, He gave them guidance to return to Him. He called prophets to guide people and be a connection to Him. This was gift two--prophets, doctrine, laws and commandments.

But because in the beginning Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, there was to be a greater gift. He sent a Savior, His only Begotten Son. Jehovah came down and established his church. He gave greater laws and commandments. He then gave His life to show that we can, through Him, be made new and be forgiven of our sins. And in the process, we can journey back to our Father in Heaven and worthily partake of the Tree of Life.

I know that Christ loves us because He walked into the Garden of Gethsemane knowing, full well, what He was about to do. He knew it would be the hardest thing anyone had ever done or ever will do and that after, He would die. But He walked into that garden and cried to His Father. He suffered for our sins for hours. He was inflicted with all of our pains and although He cried to God asking for relief, He finished by saying, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thy will." This same church that was established by Christ, the Savior of our souls, was reestablished by a young boy named Joseph Smith. From that day forward His church has grown. It is directed by modern-day prophets and apostles whom are guided and called by God Himself.

I've been raised in this church but I've also seen the affects on life without this true doctrine. It is hollow and there will always be a sense of emptiness without it. I accepted my call to serve a mission so that I can bring that missing puzzle piece to those that need it most from me. This happens to be in the southern countries of Africa. This is the true church and I will defend it and serve The Lord, my God, until my dying breath like those who came before me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


My email is:   cameron.burgess@myldsmail.net

I will do my best to respond if you email me, however, it may not come immediately. Until further notice, email will be the only way of contacting me. This is due to the fact that South Africa's postal services are on strike.


Until next time,
Elder Cameron Burgess