Tis' the hunting season

When it comes to hunting, I've never really been around it. I mean my Uncles hunt, some of my friends hunt, and my Grandpa hunts, but I've never been in the scene. When hunting season comes around to accompany the Christmas season here in the Hancock area, every breath breathed and word shared is pretty much either deer or cheer, if you know what i'm saying. No one was home for the first four days of the week. The wooded roads were lined with scattered empty trucks, gunshots fired at least every 30 minutes near us, but not very few souls were contacted in those days. I've never experienced a culture so entwined with hunting before.

Along with the absence of humans, an absence of pretty much all other living creatures besides the mooing cows and croaking ravens created an eerie silence for Elder Tausaga and i to proselyte in. Mist and fog engulfed us no matter if we were in the valleys or mountains, like a dream was wrapping us around. Elder Tausaga is obsessed with fog, though. He gets out and runs around and smiles the biggest smile. We probably have the most character of any companionship I've met so far xD

Half way through the week Iwe were feeling exhausted and out of ideas to find people. With almsot all members and non-members out in the forests, we were at a teaching stand still. Humbled and a little bit lost on top of a mountain, Elder Tausaga and i knelt down and said a prayer to lead us to someone who needs help, and to guide us for improvements. Immediately we had the impression to go back down the mountain sides to the rail road the passes through the area. Down we traversed until we ran into the railroad that ran perpendicular to the Potomac river, a clouded fog still hanging around us.  Walking by the banks we discovered a tarp hung over in a make-shift shelter. Not quite sure what to expect, I asked, "Anyone home?" 

An old man wearing a bicycle helmet and torn trench coat emerged from the shelter with tears in his eyes and a toothless smile. It was very clear that this man was a homeless alcoholic, but we made out from his slurred language that he was wanting to die when suddenly he heard my voice. He went on the give us both hugs with tears falling down. We tried to communicate with him for his name or how we could help him out, but after hugging us he bent down beside the shelter, picked up an old bicycle, and walked it along the train tracks into the fog.

I have no idea who that man was or what became of him, but what I do know is the warmth that filled my heart with the tears in our eyes and the life giving hug clasped. So far this Christmas season we have discovered that Christ-like love cannot be summarized in statistics or seen from afar. The real gift of charity is felt in the moment given. That experience is shown through the Savior's love as a constant outreach to us if we only open our arms to receive it. Oh man is the season meant for love.

xoxo

Elder Burgess

Adventures of Burgess

Now that you're a little bit disgusted, I'll carry on with the week ;) Thanksgiving is how all holidays are on the mission: too short, a little boring, out of place, and very filling. A multi millionaire in the ward had us over for dinner in his massive wooden lodge overlooking the rolling West Virginian mountains. He was one of the most renowned wood smiths in the world, crafting desks for the white house and many other world leaders. Needless to say, his dinner table was worthy for a viking feast, long enough for twenty chairs and wide enough for any Thanksgiving food imaginable. Still, Thanksgiving just ins't the same without lifelong friends and family. Elder Tausaga's first Thanksgiving meal will be hard to beat, though. He really enjoyed the forearm sized turkey legs xD

There are very few restaurants in Hancock, but the one that has business constantly throughout the day is a tiny old Subway. Even though the lettuce is generally old and strong and the tomatoes are goop, people still stream in. As some of those people, Elder Tausaga and I walked out ready to eat some gooey meatballs when I heard a wavering old man's voice ask,"What's your opinion on Corihor?" I turned around to see Albert Einsteins's 21st century twin sitting in the back corner, the table piled with Sudoku and crossword puzzles. I've been out long enough to know when an old man asks a question like that with a long white beard and scattered grey bird's nests of hair that it was going to be a long, interesting conversation. I replied, "Well, I always thought he had an unfortunate ending. I wish people would have treated him a bit kinder in the end." 

He tucked in his lips in thought with furrowed brows and told me I'm the first Mormon he's encountered that has even known who Corihor was. Elder Tausaga and I sat down with Mr. Lener for an hour philosophical lesson ranging from Jewish translations to our minimal place in the universe to how to glimpse eternity in the midst of time. This is the sort of thing Elder Tausaga hates, so he didn't say a word the whole time, just folded his arms and pursed a frown. By the end I had cleared up his misconceptions regarding the purposes of past polygamy in Christianity as a whole and the purpose of Temple marriage from a spiritual standpoint. At the end of the hour he revealed himself as a full blooded Jewish Elder who speaks near fluent Hebrew, can quote most Shakespearean plays from memory (Macbeth bid us farewell from Subway), and was a nuclear physicist in the 60's to 80's in California before becoming a dentist in Hancock. I'm not sure I've met a more intellectual man than Mr. Lener. Before leaving he dubbed us worthy of the title of Rabbi, the first Mormons he has had the pleasure of keeping a conversation with. 

It goes to show you never know what people you'll bump into in the strangest of circumstances. Investing a bit of time to open conversations with strangers over the past 13 months has opened my eyes and heart to thousands of people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world I would have simply walked by in ignorance. This world is full of lives and minds varying from downtrodden souls to Sudoku Physicist Jewish Elders. Sharing thoughts and ideas stems pretty much all progressive religious experiences. Taking the thought to get out there and sit down with a smile and share some meatballs can result in an uplifted warmth to take the rest of the cold night. I doubt I'll ever talk to or meet Old Man Lener again, but that doesn't take away from the experience. When Christ directed Peter to feed his sheep, I guarantee mopey meatballs wouldn't hold him back ;)

Despite all religious backgrounds, biases, or political standpoints, there's nothing that can rival the feeling of an unconditional smile and chuckle on the beauty of this crazy world we're blessed to live in. Stay warm <3

xoxo

Elder Burgess

December 14, 2015

Milking cow utters on a 220 dairy cow farm in a white shirt and suit pants isn't the cleanest experience in my life so far. Muddy middle of nowhere farms have caught our attention over the week for service opportunities and, what would ya know, they needed us right in the moment, not allowing us to go home and change into work clothes. At least I didn't get pooped on like Elder Tausaga xD normally the cows' tails lift to warn before the drop, but this one had a cut tail. Service is service and Elder Tausaga got a raccoon hide out of it to use as a scarf, so all is well that ends well I suppose.

It breaks my heart to see Elder Tausaga get transferred this upcoming Wednesday. We have become an ultimate team in teaching, planning, and a wicked good duo volleyball team. He's departing to upper-city Baltimore (the nice part) to follow up train while I will be training for the third time here in Hancock! If this trainee is anything like my last two we will have a blast :) 

I got the opportunity to go on exchanges into Hagerstown, MD this weekend. Other than Baltimore (Gotham City incarnate), Hagerstown has got to be the most rotten place I have ever stepped foot in. Every thing was grey. Grey buildings, grey cars, grey faces, grey concerns, a giant grey rat,  grey feelings, grey weather, grey every thing. Despite feeling like a tempest tossed piece of garbage in a sewer, we managed to have a few extraordinary lessons. One of them was in our dinner appointment with a family called the Sprinkles or something. An old spotted teeth inactive couple, the Sprinkles have had their 26 year old son commit suicide and their house burn down in the past couple months. We wouldn't have found this out had we not followed a prompting to ask what was on their minds. Old Sister Sprinkle opened up with waterfalls of tears burst out of nowhere, and the lesson began.

A brilliant thing about living in the moment as you love someone is the God-given ability to speak without knowing what you're saying. It's something that has to be felt, not observed. What needed to be said was said, and who needed to be comforted was comforted. I honestly can't bring a single thing to mind of what I said. No scripture, no experience; I have no clue. It was after the trial of putting my faith in the Lord to flow through me as an instrument that I saw the smile blossom across her face and a simple "thank you" that lit up a spectrum of color in such a grey environment.

Light an example of brilliant color this week with a heart-felt smile and a sincere conversation to a grey trodden soul. Splash a warm bubble bath on a sewer rat and soon they'll take it easy in a perfume of another world...whatever that means. Just be nice. :)

xoxo

Elder Burgess

December 21, 2015

I really doubt this letter will be long, since I was sick for over half of the week. It was pretty darn unlucky timing, actually. The day I picked up my trainee Elder Flandro from transfer meeting I came down with a wicked fever and cold shakes like I've never had before, which must have been a startling first sight for him. It must have been even worse teaming up with the other two Hancock Elders in taking me to the Emergency Room. I was hopelessly dehydrated, but when I left six hours letter I all fixed up. The gist that they discovered was a viral infection. No appendicitis, no kidney problems, nothing else from the CAT scans or X-rays. I'll take it as a good sign that I managed a cherry pie yesterday :)

Christmas is just around the corner, something that is a little hard to digest when you are away from home for over a year and in the middle of nowhere. The light of Jesus' birth is the one constant, and honestly the most important part, of Christmas that can be both seen and felt thousands of miles away from home. His warmth of humble birth spanning to His glorious life still being lived now will always put a smile on my face and love in my heart. Spreading His arm embracing warmth is my calling as a missionary every day. Have a very merry Christmas!

xoxo

Elder Burgess

December 28, 2015 Letter

Like all holidays on the mission, Christmas came and went like any other day of the mission. We were with the other two Hancock Elders every day of this past week going from the mission Christmas party to ward Christmas parties to family dinners. It feels nice having a close-nit group of four Elders in such a spread out area. Even right now we're all emailing together. Elder Carling could definitely use a shower though.

The missionary guidebook, frequently called The White Handbook, says that holidays are some of the best days to proselyte because most families are home. I would like to talk to the original author of that section and rewrite that part. BIG. MISTAKE. Hancock ordinarily is a decently kind town, relative to the amount of old timers lurking about, but knocking the spotted door up in the hills on Christmas Eve created the most dreary and angry day of proselyting I've had since the craziness of Kent Island. Luckily the day was cut short at 4:00 for a MASSIVE Christmas Eve dinner with the best crab dip I think I will ever eat in my life.

The ironic part of Christmas and New Years that has been on my mind is the celebration of the new birth of the Savior, matched with the celebration of a new year. Having a new year to not only reflect on where we've been and where we're going, but also on who we are in the moment is prime to becoming a more loving, Christ-like person in our lives. I've been thinking about this past year of my life as a missionary, the only full year I'll have as a missionary that is sometimes called "the dark year" xD, and it's a little startling seeing the difference in how I react to scenarios and thoughts.

I have gained twenty pounds, grown an inch, and have hair on my chest, but other than that I am pretty much the same physically. What's changed from night to day is who I am spiritually. Conversion is an on-going process, but I am at the point where the words of Christ and the experiences of faith that have followed me every day for the past 15 months have distilled a dew of divine connection I never could have imagined being there. Losing myself in the service of God and in the service of literally three different states' worth of people has and will continue to mold me to be the type of person I'm absolutely content with being.

President Eyring quoted this poem that is perfect for the new year:

"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
The dye has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.
I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits or popularity.
I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is Heaven.
My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear!
I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up stored up, and paid up of the cause of Christ.
I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till I know, and work till He stops me.
And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My banner will be clear"

I love you all and am looking forward to all the adventures 2016 has in store :)

xoxo

Elder Burgess