Monthly Archives: January 2015

What’s up, friends and family?

Elder Galbraith, our office specialist senior couple, is a professional photographer. We want to photoshop an explosion in the background!

Mission Leader Conference with President & Sister Mangum

This week seemed pretty long to be honest! It’s weird how it works like that, huh? it was a good week though. We got out and did some exchanges and helped President Mangum with some stuff. One of the experiences that I had was pretty cool.

We went on exchanges with a district leader, but I was with his companion.  Which was cool, but it just shows how kind of, I don’t want to say random, but for lack of a better word, I’ll use it: it was random!  We weren’t necessarily “assigned” to go on exchanges with that elder for any reason, BUT when we got there we had kind of a special and unique experience. 

My companion went with the district leader, and I went with his companion, who is under 6 months in the mission.  We did the usuals: Personal Study, Companionship Study, and Language Study.  We worked from the point when we left the apartment to when we came back in the evening, so it may have seemed at a glance to be a pretty normal day.  But I want to testify of the power of truly counseling and discussing trials or hard things that you’re going through.  As I mentioned earlier, this elder wasn’t someone we were specifically assigned to visit, but during our companionship study, he completely opened up to me about his mission and how he felt about not measuring up and what more he could be getting out of it.  It really humbled me that I would be placed in a situation to help with that concern, seeing as it’s one of my own concerns from time to time.  It was a cool experience as I was directed to scriptures and to words of living Prophets and Apostles to help this amazing Elder resolve some of his own concerns. 

I made a great friend that day!  I think that God places us in certain situations and we shouldn’t forget the lessons that we learn while there.  I think that goes the same way with most people.  People that we are able to interact with have a special place in God’s plan for us.  If you have the ability or capability to empower that other person to do great things, and you don’t do it because of pride, you’ll be held accountable for that.  If you do take full responsibility for the situation and people that you’re presented with and act according to the Spirit and with CHARITY, you’ll be blessed for your assistance to other of God’s children. 

We’ve got to be kinder and more loving to our fellow men.  We were prepared too carefully before we were born here to degrade another soul.  Just smile and serve!  That’s all it takes to feel like you’re doing something important, because you are. basta, “be good to each other” -bill (Bill&Ted’s excellent adventure).

Love you all!

Elder Tyler Burbidge

I found a tractor!

One of the perks of being in the office!

Hey everyone – I’m just getting a chance to write a few thoughts I have had lately as we turn the corner on a new year – I am looking forward to a great 2015!  

First of all, I have been doing some thinking about why bad things happen to good people and vice versa.  I feel that God knows what we can take. He knows what each of us can endure. More often than not, truly good people have softer hearts and are more able to handle situations that are “hard” or temptations that are “hard”.  Without it, they wouldn’t become better people.  What’s amazing about that is the enabling power of the atonement helps us get through those things.  

I want to share a recent experience with you all.  It’s simple, but true.  Two weeks ago during the Christmas Zone Conferences, I borrowed President’s MASTER KEY to unlock a door in a chapel that we were in. This key unlocks ALL chapels in the Southern Luzon Region. And it went missing. He was calm and he never got angry as I searched every nook and cranny of the chapel until the simple thought came into my head to pray. So i went to the restroom in the chapel, closed my eyes and said “Dear Heavenly Father”…when at that moment my companion burst into the bathroom and said that President had found the key in his bag.  I was so ticked before when I thought it was lost because it was CHRISTMAS and it would have absolutely ruined my life for the next few weeks to know that thousands if not millions of pesos of tithing money from poverty stricken members was going to have to be used to change keys and locks for every chapel in the mission in order to correct my stupid mistake.  BUT I acted in faith and was blessed.  In my opinion, that’s all that our Father in Heaven wants us to do, is take steps of faith which is really a change in our nature called repentance so that we are more able to live the covenants we have made with Him through Christ in order to return to Him. 

I know that Heavenly Father loves us.  I also know that He Lives.  Christ is the way to Him.  No matter what has happened in the past of the church, we can know through the comforter, that this is the truth, that the Bible and Book of Mormon are true and that people are NOT perfect.  I love Moroni and Nephi because they always speak of their inability to be perfect.  It’s comforting in a way to know that they too were not perfect.  I know that true and full repentance is possible through the atonement of Christ and that the resurrection will happen.  That is what gives me comfort in times of hardship. That, I bet, is what gave Christ comfort while He atoned for us in the garden.  We need to focus more on the hope that comes after failure through Christ.  We will be coupled with eternal glory as we live the gospel and strive perfectly to be perfect.

Well, those were just some deep thoughts I have been having lately!  I am happy and busy – but happy to be busy!  I love you and appreciate all you guys do for me!

Love,

Tyler