Winter is here!

 

My companion making snow angels and covering his cold

Email November 25, 2018

Email November 25, 2018 – Elder Jackson Kunzler Burton

Hey Everyone!

                  This week was great! We got transfer calls and my companion and I are both staying in Shiroishi, we're way excited! We're ready to see a lot of miracles this transfer and there's already been a lot this week! Transfer day was also Thanksgiving, so we went and ate Indo-curry all you can eat naan which was great. And then snowed that evening! We were out walking, talking to people, and it was snowing just a little but none was sticking. But I said jokingly to my companion, "On our way back to the apartment we're probably going to be walking through a foot of snow." And then within the hour it started dumping snow and all of a sudden everything was covered in white. But, we were wearing our boots and warm clothes so we just continued streeting. I'm sure a few of the people we talked to only stopped because they felt bad for us dendoing in a small blizzard, but it was fun. And it was my companion's first time seeing snow pile up on the ground, since he's from Okinawa, and he loved it! It was fun watching him play in the snow for the first time. And we did end up walking home through pretty deep snow, after shoveling a member's driveway and building a tiny snowman in front of their house. The head fell off before they saw it in the morning but they still liked it.

Photos

My district trying to pose as the nativity (I'm trying to be the camel haha) 

Email November 18, 2018

Email November 18, 2018 – Elder Jackson Kunzler Burton

Hey Everyone!

                  This week was great! I was once again reminded very powerfully that this is God's work, and that He really does hear and answer our prayers. This transfer has been kind of difficult in regards to finding new people to teach and having people progress, and yesterday morning I was thinking about that and what we could've done better this transfer and I was feeling a little down and like I had failed, and so I offered a really heartfelt prayer during personal study. After that I felt a bit better, and then my companion asked what was up so I told him what I was feeling and that helped a lot too. And then at our mission coordination meeting before church one of the ward missionaries, who's about to leave to Kobe on a mission with her husband, talked about how much potential this ward has and her gratitude for what the missionaries have been doing which lifted my spirits a lot. And then at church we had a man who met with the missionaries 35 years ago just come out of nowhere! He stopped meeting with the missionaries because he thought the commandments were too strict, but he's getting older and he has a lot of questions about life and death that aren't answered in the Bible (which he's read 10 times) and he doesn't want to go to hell, and so he's been wanting to come to church for a little while and finally worked up the courage to come yesterday. It was such a miracle! We were able to have a lesson after church where we answered some of his questions and we're going to meet again and hopefully at this next lesson we can set a baptismal date. But I really learned from this experience that God answers prayers, and it's God that does this work, not us. He answered my prayer in multiple ways when I most needed it. And if we work hard and are obedient, God will bless us in His way and His time. But no matter how hard we work or how well we serve, it's God who provides the miracles. And I'm so grateful for that and for all that He does for us.

Email November 11, 2018

Email November 11, 2018 – Elder Jackson Kunzler Burton

Hey Everyone!

                  This week was amazing! I'm so grateful to be here in Japan serving the the Lord. There were some great miracles this week. On Tuesday, a mom and her three kids came to Eikaiwa! We met them on the street last week and told them about it, and the mom just immediately said 行きます(we'll go)! And they came and had a great time! The kids are 3, 4, and 7 years old and they're so much fun! We're going to invite them to learn more about the gospel so pray it goes well!

                  We also had a lesson with Yukari San, and she still has some issues keeping her from being ready to be baptized. She's allowing small, temporary problems to get in the way of seeing things from an eternal perspective, kind of like the spiritual eclipse Elder Stevenson talked about. But, we realized that part of the problem is that she doesn't understand the plan of salvation very well, even though she's been taking the lessons for a while. She doesn't really understand what the final goal exaltation is, and so doesn't have much desire to achieve it. It's pretty hard to get somewhere if you don't want to get there, and it's hard to have that desire if you don't understand it correctly, so we're going to try to reteach the plan of salvation which should help.

Email November 4, 2018

Email November 4, 2018 – Elder Jackson Kunzler Burton

Hey Everyone!

                  This week was great! We had zone conference on Friday which was amazing! One of the big things I got from it was how important it is to have a vision. If you don't have a vision, it doesn't matter how hard you work, you won't get anywhere because you don't have a destination. A vision gives us something to strive for and motivates us to push through obstacles. I also learned how important it is to do the work the Lord's way, even if it seems inconvenient, ineffective, or scary. It will always go better in the end if you do it His way.

                  On Saturday we took one of the people we're teaching to a tour of the temple run by the Sapporo West stake and it went really well. Then the next day she also came to stake conference which was awesome. Before it started my companion told her that if she paid attention, she could find answers to her questions from the talks given. And then the talks all seemed to answer her questions, it was such a miracle! Between the temple tour and stake conference, I think her heart has really been softened and I think we'll be able to set a baptismal date this week. Also at stake conference, a member of our ward who was baptized last year, as well as a member from Eniwa, my first area, received the Melchizedek Priesthood! It's really cool to see people not just get baptized but continue to progress and receive even more of the blessings God has promised them if they remain faithful. Stake conference was also great because Elder Yamashita of the Seventy came, his talk was great, and he also had an interview with another person we're teaching. His name is Kawamura San and he's been coming to church every week for months but hasn't been baptized. But it sounds like the interview helped him a lot so hopefully he'll be ready to make that step soon. Going to church and reading the scriptures is so important, and God is pleased when His children do that. But God wants to give us so much more than just happiness in this life, He wants to grant us eternal life, and in order to receive that we must be baptized and make that covenant with God to follow Him always. I know that the hope of eternal life is real and I want all of God's children to be able to receive it. I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Burton

Email November 1, 2018

Email November 1, 2018 – Elder Jackson Kunzler Burton

Hey Everyone!

                  We have zone conference tomorrow which is why this email is so late. This week was awesome! On Thursday we went and picked up trash on a bike path near the temple with some other missionaries, and we met someone who lives in Shiroishi who met with the missionaries before! She stopped because they asked her to get baptized before she knew anything about baptism so she got scared, but she seemed interested in meeting again. She wouldn't exchange contact info though so hopefully she'll come to church sometime.