Wow, what a week! We had a surprise transfer day! I didn’t get transferred but I got a new companion who was displaced from the Tacloban Mission named Elder Jansrikesorn. He’s from Northern California and seems like a really hard worker.  He was originally assigned to the East Samara area of the Tacloban Mission.  A lot of the areas and cities where he had served in the past are totally wiped off the map. He misses his mission a lot, but we’ve already had some really good experiences in the short amount of time we have been together.  We know we’re supposed to be assigned together.  He has six months left in his mission, so there’s a major experience gap but I’m really going to try hard to serve my hardest and do my best for him.

I never thought the Typhoon would influence my life so much. I had heard it was bad, but I didn’t think it was bad enough to close down a mission!  So now, our main focus is to talk to everybody that we come in contact with. We need people to teach, and missionary work can’t progress if there is nobody to teach!

My mission experience is getting better by the day. I’m really starting to enjoy it and I’m so ready to learn. A lot of the time people think that the missionaries know everything, that we have the answers to everything. But we need to remember that the answers are in the scriptures. We can find any answer from the scriptures. I urge you all to read some book of scripture (preferably the Book of Mormon!) and think about how it makes you feel! It’s great. I know it’s true!

I miss everyone back home, but I know that this work is so important. It can change lives, and it’s changing mine. I’ve learned that we need to ACT if we want to improve. So if you feel a little weak in some area of your life, do something to make it stronger.  I’m thankful for the example that you all are to me back home! Keep progressing, raise the bar for yourself each day, and set goals with real intent (follow through).

Hope you all have a good week!  Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Elder Burbidge doing laundry in a bucket!