August 25, 2015

Hello everyone!

Pic of my all Latino district. I love my Latinos! 

This week has been a wonderful week of... rejection! We spent the whole week looking for new investigators and didn't find hardly any! Its so rough! We did divisions with the members, which means that my companion worked with a member and I worked with a member separately. We do it to cover more ground and knock on more doors. I'm in a trio so all three of us were with members. I worked with this member for a solid 10 hours knocking doors.. we didn't find anyone. We only had one lesson, and during this lesson I had to grab this member and leave because the lady we were teaching was crazy. My companion and I met up and he only had one lesson also. I knocked on so many doors and was talking to everyone and got rejected like crazy! Rejection is wonderful. haha We are going to find a lot of miracles this week. that's the way the Lord works:  he wants to push us through the hard times so we can be worthy for the good times. I'm excited to see what this week has to offer.

So I told you guys that Russel M Nelson was coming right? So to add to the rejection that I have already been experiencing, he isn't coming anymore! He is going to El Salvador! I was so pumped to see him!

Its all good though! We have a great investigator who should be getting baptized this Sunday,  Katerine Boisue. She needs to get married so we will be marrying her and then baptizing her this Sunday. So we are going to have a wedding this Saturday! Those are always fun. She prayed to see if the Book of Mormon was true and she said that she heard a voice. I've never heard a voice. Guatemalans are so cool.

We have another investigator who will be getting baptized in these upcoming weeks. Her name is Aura Garcia. During our first visit with her I just felt like I knew her. It's the weirdest feeling. I was preaching the good word but I was thinking at all. My mouth was just moving. I looked into her eyes and I had a weird, like spiritual, experience where I saw myself perfectly. So in that moment I challenged her for baptism and she accepted. She is so awesome. She prayed to see if Joseph Smith was a prophet and she said that she just felt great after her prayer. I love it when my investigators tell me that they have received confirmation from the Holy Ghost! Her husband also wants to listen to us but he has been really sick. I feel really good about this family. I'm so pumped! 

Thanks everyone for all the support! I truly am so blessed to have you guys in my life. I love you all individually! Look for opportunities to do mission work! If you pray you will receive. Pray always and read the Book of Mormon everyday. You will receive blessings if you do that!

Elder Buhrley

pic of my all Latino district. I love my Latinos! 

August 18, 2015

Fam, Friends,

This week was crazy but so much fun! There was a missionary in our district who got sick and had to go home so we received his companion, Elder Majano! We were in the MTC together so it's way cool to be companions with him! It's been really fun. I thought being a trio would be really hard to manage time but really we are all humble and give each other time to talk. I love my companions! The thing is, we received all of his old area. So we are covering an area of roughly 3 hours, so its been hectic trying to cover it all.

Here in Palin we have a lot of love from the members. Meaning, we don't go a lunch without receiving food. It's such a blessing! In my old area we had to pay every meal so its nice to have a few more quetzales in the pocket. My companions and I are getting a little chubby. But it's chubby from love of the members.. haha 

We are really trying to find people. Man it's hard! We knock doors like crazy but all we find are goats,  people who don't want anything. I have changed my teaching methods a lot as of late. We are trying to change things and work in different areas, there are people ready, we just need to find em!

In my old area a few weeks before I left my companion and I were walking and a drunk who was kind of sober stopped us and told us to pass by his house because he wanted to follow god and stop drinking. He has been a drunk for more than 40 years and the doctor told him he would die if he didn't stop immediately. We passed by his house and shared something with him and I felt something deep. The spirit slapped me and told me this man could change. So passed by a few days later and he was drunk, then another few days later and he was drunk again. And I never really got to see how he was doing before I left. Anyways we had a meeting this past week and my ex companion told me that he was getting baptized this week and hasn't drunk in over 3 weeks! I'm so pumped for Josue! I knew he could do it! I know that this Gospel is the power to change. I am so grateful for the atonement. We really have this incredible opportunity to change our lives and follow God because Jesus Christ did what he did. I love my redeemer. I know he lives. I know that no matter how bad of a problem we may have we can change and overcome it. 

One thing I have come to learn on the mission is the power of studying. I really do love studying now. I don't know if it is because I'm studying things I like or because it's stuff I will actually use in my day. Knowledge is power. People here don't study and they don't go anywhere. It's really humbling to see the things I see everyday. Money is important, a little.

I am loving the mission! It really is something incredible that I can't put into words. Just know that I love you all! I think about you guys every night and pray for you all.  Thanks everyone for all the support! 

Here are some pics, one from my house, we can see 4 volcanoes from our front door, and a pic of Elder Aguirre

Until next week! Elder Buhrley

Guatemalan rash (chikungunya)

August 11, 2015

HEY EVERYONE!

This week had been really hard but really fulfilling! We baptized Karen! She is soo awesome! I am so proud of her! Something that I have learned is that every baptism has a problem. We are working hard and so is Satan. We got to the church and there was no water to fill the baptismal font. So we talked to the bishop and he is way cool; he handed his counselor his keys and told him to rush us up to the stake center and that he would call the bishop over there to fill the font. haha. So we drove to the stake center and threw her in the water! It was awesome! She will be such a good member! 

That was the good that happened this week. We had a good turn out at church with our investigators but we are having such a hard time to find new investigators. We are getting denied left and right but that's fine. Patience is an attribute of Christ and we are going to work even harder this week! 

I was so sick yesterday. My body hurt so bad and I had a fever. I felt absolutely terrible! I couldn't handle it! I couldn't go out and work which always sucks! Some people told me I had chichengua, which is something from mosquitoes, because my skin had red dots all over it. All I knew was that I was dying. A member came over and he and my companion gave me a blessing. After the blessing my body calmed down enough to sleep and when I woke up this morning I felt fine. The power of the priesthood is absolutely real. There is no doubt in my soul. I love it. I feel great and am so ready to go and work my tail off today. 

I was thinking a little this week about the simplicity of the gospel. I was reading in the Book of Mormon and Christ says, "Come unto me as a little child." I was thinking about this and when I was on a bus a little girl was laughing because we hit a bump. she couldn't control her laughter. haha and it clicked. We need to enjoy the simple things. The gospel really is a simple thing that we should enjoy. It gives us all the guidance that we need! God gave us this life that we might enjoy it! But the only way we will enjoy it is through the gospel! ha 

I am loving my companion. He has a good heart. He is so new to the gospel! It's a really good opportunity for me to share it with him. We are working hard but we are focusing on pushing ourselves even harder this week. We want to baptize 5 more people in this month so we are going to be killing ourselves. 

Thanks everyone for all the support! I love you all so much! 

Elder Buhrley

August 4, 2015

 HEYYY!!!

I just completed 6 months today! How weird is that!? Time on the mission really is a weird thing. I don't know how to describe it. I feel like I left yesterday but at the same time I feel like I haven't driven a car in years. Ha

Dang, this week has been a hard one! We are getting rejected in this new area! I am really learning how to work through the members because no way wants to listen if we just are knocking doors! There was also a big fair this week. It's like Palin-days. It's soo much bigger here than in the states though. They go crazy! We couldn't find any of our investigators this week! They were all at the fair!

Another blessing about Palin is that we get to wash our garments by hand because there is no member here to wash them for us. So... I used to really enjoy P-Day. But now its just a time to wash my garments. ha Que Bendicion!


We had a lesson with one of our investigators named Karen. She is a 40-yr-old mom who has the most sincere heart I've ever seen. Her husband died a few years ago so she works like crazy to support her 2 boys. We taught her tithing the other day, and we put a lot of stress on the blessing that she would receive from living this commandment. We asked her if she would follow it, and she just broke out into tears. She asked in the most sincere way, if there was anyway to receive these blessings if she couldn't pay the full tithe. I went on to read Nephi 3:7 and explained how God will help her. But she literally doesn't have anything of her own. All the money she receives goes to her kids. She barely has enough money to eat. We had the 2nd Counselor of the bishopric there so it was a great blessing that he was able to bear a testimony. I left that lesson feeling defeated. The next day we had a lesson with her in a member's house and the first thing she said was, "I'm getting baptized the 9th." haha we were like. alright! She had prayed and feels good. haha I love it when an investigator receives answers!

Palin is really cool. It's like perfect temperature always. There are no hills. It's more of a city area. The members like to just hand us food randomly. No complaints. But... I'm getting fat. It's really depressing. haha

Big news! Elder Russel M Nelson is coming here the 27th of this month! I am so pumped!!!

Love you all so much!

Elder Buhrley

July 28, 2015

HEYYY!!!!

So I am in my new area! It's called, Palin! It's  soooo awesome! It was really hard to say goodbye to all of my friends and converts in Patulul but I'm so excited to be here in Palin! I forgot my camera.. sorry. no pictures today!

My new campanion is names Elder Aguirre! He is from Honduras! He is such a stud! I love him to death! He is so humble and a hard worker. He is going to have 2 years of membership in the church this next month! He is so new to the church but he knows why he is here and I love that about him. He doesn't have a great knowledge of the scriptures so I am helping him out with that. It's a ton of fun being here with him! We are going to work miracles in Palin!

This last change the Elders here in Palin only baptized 1 person. But we are going to baptize so many! Our investigators are soo great! We have so much support from the members! Be ready for some baptism photos! 

Spiritual Thought.. Read Mosiah 5:13 and meditate. Pay attention to what the spirit is saying to you. "For how knoweth a man the master who he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

What is the spirit telling you? We are latter day saints. We took upon ourselves the name of Christ at baptism. We promised, Covenanted with him, that we will always remember him. 

Do we know christ? Are we serving him? Where are our thoughts? The intents of our hearts? In this scripture lies great self-reflection. I know that this work, mission work, is the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater work. To know Christ is to serve him. Help those missionaries in your cities. I know that a lot of you live in Utah but remember that there are people everywhere that need this message and help, even your ancestors through temple work. You will find great joy in this work. D and C 18:19-20. You will have happiness in this work. Its a promise from God. He never has and never will vary from his promises. 

I love you all so much! Thanks for everything! 

Elder Buhrley