From the week of January 4th:

Hello Hello Hello! This week has been maybe one of the most surprising ones in my mission.  I’m now companions with one of the missionaries from my batch when I was in the MTC over a year and a half ago!  His name is Elder Collins and he is from Draper, Utah. He is super funny and super fun to be around. I think we laugh like 75% of the time, and its great! He is a pretty chill guy who likes to have fun and its totally helping me be more positive.  

We found out that one of our investigators randomly lost his job, but he had received a confirmation that he was ready for baptism, and wants to be baptized as soon as possible, so we’re preparing him to be ready on the 17th of January, as well as his wife. So we’re really excited and so humbled to see the hand of the Lord work in the lives of others.

I was so amazed when the investigator was talking to us. We were both totally struck with amazement. I looked over at Elder Collins and he had the jaw drop look going and I could tell he was totally stoked out of his mind to be here. We both have had the same kind of mission and we are super excited to be here in this area with such a great ward and such great friends and zone.  He is super diligent and its nice to push each other to be the best that we can. I’m learning so much from him.

We got fed a lot again by our members here. New Year’s was crazy… Following are a couple photos of me gettin’ CRAZY!!  It was awesome.  And to answer the sleep question, even if we tried to sleep we wouldn’t have been able to.  It was as if there was a war outside haha I love you guys so much!

Feeling Chill at New Year’s

Happy New Year’s!

From the week of January 11th:

Hello everyone! I don’t even know what to begin with this week… So much has happened! I guess I’ll just say that I’ll add on to, and testify to what Keely Burnette titled her email “I Believe in Miracles”.  I am so thankful for the tender mercies of the Lord. 

The family that we have been teaching for a long time, who were going to be baptized as a couple on the 17th, will now hopefully be baptized on the 24th WITH THEIR CHILDREN! I’m so excited! These little kids are starting to pick things up pretty well. Their father who is still an investigator is helping them review on the days or times that we don’t go there, and is giving us other referrals and family members for us to teach. This man is amazing. He lost his job, has little or no money to support his family, has 7 children under the age of 11, has people persecuting him for wanting to join the church, and he just bears pure testimony how it has helped him.

That’s all the gospel can do for us – is just HELP. Thats what it is.  As missionaries we are nothing if the gospel is not at the center of our lives. We help people through nothing BUT the gospel. Its in our purpose!  I’m learning to appreciate more and more this time that the Lord has given to me to serve Him. I love it. I always have, its just taking on a new meaning now. It feels good to focus completely on the work.

The Lachica Family with me and Elder Collins.

Being goofy with the Lachica’s

Love,

Elder Burbidge

Hello all and Merry Christmas!!!!

So this week, let me tell ya, it was crazy haha!  My companion is going home on the 30th and so he has been involved with all these weird going home activities and stuff, so I’m kind of being tossed all over the place!  Haha which means…… I got to go on exchanges with one of my best friends in the mission on Tuesday and got to learn a ton from him. It was really good.  We had a ward missionary work with us and I learned a lot about getting to know people from him.

We had our Christmas Party/Devotional this past week as well where we all got sent packages from people back home! It was a great surprise and I got a pair of Puma socks (I’m sure dad would approve) and some Nutella, which they have here in the Philippines, but its just super expensive so we don’t get it a lot. 

Elder Burbidge and his fellow missionaries at the Christmas Devotional

In the Cavite Mission and as zone leaders here we have the opportunity to go check on other missionaries to make sure they are doing their morning schedule and studies appropriately.  We were directed to just show up at their apartments and then do studies with them.  So we took the assignment and it turned out to be a really good experience. Not just in the companionship/group study, but the personal study as well. I (being me) forgot my Preach My Gospel manual and only had my scriptures with me so I really delved in to Alma 32:16 where it speaks about humility and being able to choose the right through ordinances of the gospel, especially baptism.

Baptism… yes, baptism.. Why do we have it? Why are we so focused on it and so interested in it as a world?  BECAUSE WE NEED IT. We need it in the right procedure, at the right time, and of course, in accordance with the power and authority of God. BUT, as well, we before we are brought to the waters of baptism, we CHOOSE to be there. We aren’t forced or pulled by anyone. Each and every convert of this wonderful gospel is there because for some reason or another they had chosen it. That’s what life is all about. Choice. 

Sorry, I got kind of on a tangent there.. but I just want to let you know that I love you and miss you this Christmas season, but I’m so grateful for my Savior and Redeemer and for the gift that he gave to each one of us, himself. He gave himself to us, are we willing to give ourselves to Him? 

Elder Burbidge & Friend!

I love you mom and dad. I can’t wait to talk to you at noon on Christmas!  You’re freaking me out with all this stuff about getting back into college and such when I get back! We will have time to work those details out later but for now I am focused on the work at hand! Haha talk to you soon!

Love,

Elder Burbidge

Elder Burbidge with his companion waiting for a ride…

Hello all you guys!  Things are going pretty well this week. We received a text this past week from President Tye that a typhoon was going to affect our part of the Philippines. It’s called Typhoon Ruby here in the Philippines (or known internationally as Typhoon Hagupit – which means “to thrash, or whip”. But I think everything will be okay.  Me and my companion have been talking about it quite a bit trying to put different scenarios into reality and trying to solve it before it happens, SO everything will be okay 🙂  It sounds like a lot of the storm is actually going to hit nearer to Samar again – the same place that Typhoon Hayan hit last year… which is really sad to think.  It would be like two Hurricane Katrina’s hitting New Orleans two years in a row.  I have some previous companions from that area and their families are in the path of the hurricane.  I’m thankful we don’t live in a storm ridden area!

The streets around Elder Burbidge’s mission area experienced flooding from Typhoon Ruby!

So I guess I’ll tell you a little about my life here this past week.  It was really good. I’m happy.  We had an MLC or Mission Leader Conference on Thursday where it was Christmas themed at the mission home.  We had honey ham with FUNERAL POTATOES and the raspberry, pretzel salad stuff mom is really good at making.  We learned a lot about accountability and my companion and I taught about keeping your line in the water – a term coined by Elder Dallin H. Oaks.  We shared about how in diligence, obedience, and using time wisely, we won’t get distracted from other simple small things that are usually difficult for missionaries to overcome.  It felt good to get a better understanding of that as we studied and prepared for it. 

Elder Burbidge and fellow missionaries getting mail at the mission home.

The Mission Leader Conference (MLC).

Mom, I’m positive we’ll be okay for the storm. It sounds like it’s close to us, but President Tye , and i’m sure that President Mangum (Tyler’s mission president) has made preparations according to direct revelation. We’ll all be okay 🙂 

I don’t have much time left, but just let everybody know that I love them.  Read the Book of Mormon with a question. You learn more!  Remember reverence is key in all that we do so that we can have peace in our life through the Spirit. 

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge 

The Cavite Mission is right under the green splotch in the chart above.

Hello everyone!  It was fun to see lots of pictures from Thanksgiving!  It looked like there were a lot of people at the house – including Payten and Kate!!  Too cool!

The missionary work is going okay here in Las Pinas!  We’re arranging about three weddings right now so that the couples can be baptized.  There are various laws and cultural issues that sometimes incentivize couples to NOT get married, so when they have a desire to be baptized we need them to get married legitimately so that they can do so. Please keep them in your prayers so that they can receive baptism. Our bishop is awesome and he is helping them a lot, so we are very optimistic they will be able to do it!

The missionaries in this area before I got here were pretty diligent so there are some baptisms that should be coming up here either toward the end of December or mid-January!  It just depends if they can follow the word of wisdom.  We are teaching a family of nine people right now and they’re all doing awesome!  Six of them could be baptized right now, but the rest would fall in place as they turn 8 years-old.  They are suppppper cool. Super humble, and they are receptive to all of the stuff we have for them, which is amazing and then what is even more amazing is that they APPLY it!

Well that’s about it for this week.  I’m missing you all a lot but am happy here and happy with the work that is being accomplished.  I’m sorry to hear about the T-Birds losing in the semi-finals but it sounds like they had a great year and just came up a bit short of reaching their goals.  

Love always,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Heloooooo everybody!  Hey guess what?  I’m getting transferred to a place called Las Pinas and I’m going to be a Zone Leader (ZL).  So today is busy for a P-Day because all of the missionaries in my current zone are getting together to go to the church and we’re going to watch a movie.

As a ZL I will have the opportunity to attend Mission Leader Conferences (MLC’s) and work with other companionships and perform training and assistance to the District Leaders who are serving in my area.  My new companion is named Elder Perkins and I have met him before and he seems pretty nice so that will be cool.  He’ll be going home in December so I’ll get to train a new Zone Leader for Christmas!

I heard that Tyler was made AP of his mission – haha that is so awesome for him!  He’s going to be so great.  I wish he was my AP haha!  

So Las Pinas is definitely a large city (over 500,000 people) and it is more of a suburb of Metro Manila.  So it will be very urban and crowded – but it might have a CHILIS restaurant in my area! OH YEAH!!! haha.

So even though I am excited to get to a new area, I am a little sad to leave my current location.  I loved this area.  I just hope I can make some things work in Las Pinas and learn even more.  It seems like in every new area there is kind of a theme that you find that comes up out of nowhere that you need to learn and it lasts the whole time you’re there. So i’m excited to know what will happen.

Well that is about it.  I love you guys so much – thanks for all of the support and prayers!

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Hello Hello from G.M.A. Cavite! 

The elders in Elder Burbidge’s apartment celebrating his 21st birthday!

Happy Birthday Elder Burbidge, We love you!

Sorry it has been a few weeks where I haven’t written a good blog post, but I’m finally getting around to it! I’ve been trying to read the Book of Mormon again and I’m now in to Mosiah. From previous times in reading the Book of Mormon I always remember that each time I read Mosiah, I learn SO MUCH. For those who aren’t familiar with the Book of Mormon, ASK THE MISSIONARIES OR A MEMBER OF THE LDS CHURCH.  Its really changed my life and how I view things. This morning actually I was reading in the Book of Mosiah and I came across a few verses that I thought were crucial for us to understand in this life. I’ll share one of them with you here. 

“But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.” (Mosiah 7:33)

I just want to comment on the first thing that we learn here, “turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart”.  If we give ALL of ourselves to Him, we won’t feel stressed, or like we aren’t doing enough. We’ll feel the eternal peace that we are promised when we are “delivered…out of bondage.” 

Also, The Book of Mormon isn’t just for missionaries or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its for EVERYBODY. Please think or ponder about how your everyday life feels… Busy? Exhausted? Lazy? Do you feel progression? Or is it the same thing every day? I know that we can find the right way by reading the Book of Mormon and turning our actions to ways that the Lord wants for us. Please read it, even if you think its weird or like it won’t apply to you. Take my word for it. I thought that before, now I rely on it so much to help me. if you don’t want to ask somebody for a copy, take your mouse and click on the url at the top of your browser, enter in WWW.LDS.ORG, and on the top right hand side there is a link called “Scriptures” where you can find a link to the Book of Mormon online version. Please, at least go try it. I know its true! I love you all. Choose the Right, and you will be happy and FEEL happy. Stay safe!

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Elder Burbidge and some of his friends from the Missionary Training Center days. They met up during a mission conference with Elder Dallin H. Oakes of the Quorum of the Twelve!

Posing with fellow elders outside the mission conference

Striking a more relaxed pose during some down time! Go Hawks!!!

Hey everyone – just a quick update from the Cavite Mission.  We had an awesome visit from Elder Dallin H. Oakes who is a member of the Quorum of 12 Apostles that lead the LDS church.  All of us missionaries came together for a conference and he got up and just started talking about just being happy.  How we need to be happy wherever we are assigned – every minute of it!  This was a perfect message for me.  It was really helpful to hear this coming from an apostle of the Lord and to be in his presence. A fringe benefit of the conference was that I was able to see some of my “batch-mates” from the MTC and joke around with them. 

In other events, I have a new companion now and he is one of the coolest guys I have ever met -It feels like we’re brothers already.  His name is Elder Toledo and he is super diligent and good at teaching.  I’m going to learn a lot from him. 

Well – that’s about it!  Enjoy the photos and I’ll send more next time!

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Hey everyone,

This week was really busy. I thought it would go by in a flash, but things have kind of slowed down a little bit. This picture that I sent was taken in Tagaytay. Its one of the tourist attractions in the Philippines and was a fun day to do some sight seeing!

Group of missionaries at Tagatay overlook

But aside from that, I thought about this picture a little more and there’s something here that I’ve noticed. About half the missionaries are sitting/standing on a fence that has a cliff on the other side of it.  With every decision we can either jump off the wrong side, sit on the fence, or stand firmly in safety. 

I’ve also noticed lately that there are “fence sitters” in application. I’m still struggling with it and i’m sure a lot of us are, but there is a fine line between saying something, meaning it, and DOING IT compared to just saying and meaning it.  If Jesus Christ said and meant that we needed to be baptized, but wasn’t ever baptized, we would have no clue about how we should be baptized or why.  He was the perfect example of DOING.  He acted throughout His whole life. There is a famous talk by President Henry B. Eyering that explains the word “someday”. Its one of my favorites. There is this one part when President Eyering discusses his personal life. As an older man, he discusses the fatigue and the mental exhaustion that comes from his day to day life, and then he says that although we have these trials, we need to keep telling ourselves and give ourselves one more push to keep going, to not only do the task, but complete it. For all you T-birds out there, give it 212 degrees instead of 211, and then turn up the heat even more!

I encourage you to just give the one more effort.. give it one more push. There is a saying here in the Philippines that they use all the time when someone is struggling or trying to acheive something, “Push mo iyan” meaning, “push it!”. Just give it all and then let the Lord give the rest that He has promised you. 

So something good that happened this last week that blew my mind was that we were finding new people to talk to in a place called Kua, and me and my new companion saw an old man walking down the street toward us. He looked at us and smiled, without teeth and kind of a hunched back. we started talking to him and out of the blue my companion asked if we could teach him. He said yes and he introduced us to his extremely humble family.  His wife hadn’t had any formal schooling and would just sit there and smile at us.

Another experience was last week while we were finding and we contacted a referral. She was a member of another church that is very hard to teach, we started teaching and it kind of went down hill.  But then we went to the next appointment and we taught about the five principles of the gospel, and kindness. There is a woman we are teaching who gets in arguments a lot with her husband. We are trying to help her be more Christ like towards him. They found out that we had songs (hymns) at church and they wanted to hear one, we sang families can be together forever and they all started crying and really want to go to church now. even the old dad who can barely move. it pains me to see him walk. He has bandage wraps all over his legs and he only has one change of clothes.. anyway.. it was great.

The other night we were teaching one of our investigators.  We taught her the gospel and then she asked, “Why does God give me so many challenges like this???” and she just wanted a rest. She said she was tired and drained and about to quit. We shared Matthew 11:28 with her and promised her that she could feel peace through the gospel but that she has to go to church to find out. She went to church, brought her two kids, her friend, and her friend’s kid too.. and they had a good time. Turns out, she is the aunt of one of our recent converts and a neice to our old relief society president. She made connections in a heartbeat and I could tell she was happy.

Well, thats about it for now.  I love and appreciate all of you back home and miss you – but I am glad to be serving and doing what I know is right.

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Hunter and a gator!

Hello everyone from a very hot and humid Philippines!  It was very hot yesterday and the day before which sometimes means that there is a storm or something coming.  But then again, sometimes its just hot!  In other exciting news, our investigator came to church for the third time!  His name is Dindu and he is awesome.

Recently I learned how the Savior helps us to keep going.  At zone conference one of the assistants to the president showed a video about football.  One of the players was having a bad attitude about an upcoming game and the coach called him out on it.  He was going to make him do death crawls (crawling with another player on his back) for 50 yards. The coach asked the player if he would give it ALL that he has, his very best. The player shrugged it off… the coach asked again a little louder.. and the player muttered, “yeah.. okay”.  Then the coaches voice got quiet and he looked him right in the eye and said, “Will you give it your very best?” the player got kind of freaked out and promised he would do it.

The coach put a blind fold on the player and told him to get ready. The other player got on the back of the other and they started crawling. Right off the bat the coach told the player to keep going that he was doing great and to block out the pain.  After what seemed like a while, the player asked if he was at the 20 yard-line yet, the coach didn’t tell him where he was but could tell that the player was starting to struggle greatly.  The player got mad and started yelling at the coach. “Tell me tell me! It hurts! I wanna stop!”, but the coach chastised him, “You told me you would give it your BEST. Can you still move?!!  Keep moving!!” and so it went until it was a long time.

The player was still going, he was starting to cry and to crumble under the weight of the other player. The coach started crawling beside the player raising his voice each time the arms of the player started to bend too far down.  At this point the coach was constantly at his side and urging and encouraging him to keep going.  He told the player that he wanted his best until he was exhausted.  At last the player collapsed in tears and groans of pain, mentally and physically.  The coach comforted him and asked, “Did you give it your best?” The player replied affirmatively.  The player had reached 100 yards and had done it only from strength from within and true encouragement from the coach.

Jesus Christ is our coach. We might cry, we might hurt, we might complain, sigh, yell, strain, stretch, resist, fight, and yearn for another’s help.  But it is Christ’s help that will help us gain salvation.  It is His word and His knowledge that can drive us to the end of our existence. To the end of our strength. But only if we believe him and ACT.  Please listen to the words of the modern day prophets. PLEASE, listen to the missionaries. PLEASE, read the scriptures. We can only make it if we accept his word of encouragement, and those words are in those places.

I love you all!

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Elder Burbidge’s fellow missionaries and friends packed into a Jeepney (public transportation)

So this week we were invited to do a service project for a non-member friend of a member. He owns what is called a junk shop (they recycle and make things reusable, usually metals and cardboard) and we thought we were going to help him move some of his products and materials to a new location. Well, we got there and found out that they needed help dismantling the building due to a road widening project by the government. We were a little aprehensive as we started to pick through some of the things in the building and eventually getting to the 2x4s and plywood.  But all I could hear were jokes, positive comments, and thanks coming from each person. I saw smiles and laughter as we carefully removed each piece of the building.

There was also some non-members helping us as well and it was fun to interact with them and help them. At one point, a specialized metalworker was cutting part of the base of a garage door, and the metal saw slipped down on to the top of his hand. Everybody was kind of scared because we saw blood on the ground, but nobody who we could see was bleeding. We noticed that one of the workers was gone and we went to go look for him. He was trying to do first aid on himself and wasn’t having too much success. We were able to apply the first aid that we knew to help the man and I felt blessed to be a part of it.

I think about how Christ healed. How he lifted. How he gained trust with His disciples. He did that through serving and providing hope and comfort. I’m thankful for the healing sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Savior, and I know that it is true. I know that we can be saved if we allow others to help us and even sometimes if we allow them to see our problems. As we gain understanding and leave sin, we can accept the fact that we are ALL children of Heavenly Father and that He loves us more than we can ever imagine. I’m grateful to be a part of His work on the earth!

Here’s a picture of the district after the service project! The part behind us was what we took down.

-Elder Hunter Burbidge

Service project missionaries and friends.  Elder Burbidge reppin’ the T-Birds!