Transfers! I'm out.

What’s up my family? So I sent home my letters but they were way late so sorry about that. I’m getting transferred!! Ahahaah this will be fun I’m sure but I just have no idea where I’m going. Elder L* is dying (going home)so that will be sad but kinda cool. He might come by or email ya’ll at some point for pictures. Umm I don’t really know what to do with this new info. Elder S* is training so we found out that I would be leaving like 4 days ago. It will be so strange to leave. I really like this area and the people here but who knows. I could end up in the city. That would be strange and kinda cool but we will see. So if you just send mail to the mission office that will work best for now.

The GPS is being strange but I will keep working with it and trying to get it to work. We drove like 179 miles on Saturday! So much driving. Crazy stuff. If you look at the map we drove from Clute to a city called Wharton and then to a city called Church Hill and then home and around town after that. It’s a lot of driving and it was for a great cause because Elder S* is a District leader he can interview people who want to be baptized and all the people were just really far away. It was a long but fun day (good thing I have the Sansa!)

But yeah, then after that we went to a BBQ that this Methodist church was having. Some members of their church that really like the missionaries bought tickets for us and so we got to go. It was $10 per person and it was good and really funny. When we got out of the car (there were 4 of us) and walked into the church all the people looked at us. Haha it was great. The pastor lady was like bug eyed and trying to figure out who we were but she was trying to figure it out by looking at my name tag (that’s a bad idea for most people because it’s in Spanish haha ) so she looked kinda lost but she read Cristo and was like “Oh I like that”. It was great. We were like their trophy. They were like “Eat, and go walk around”. They thought that they had 4 new members, but nope. The food was good though and the people were really nice and it was just really funny. You could hear whispers and stuff and people would do quick glances and I would just smile and say hi. It was cool. They gave us food to take home! Great people.

I went on an Exchange with Elder S* (He is Samoan and is 6’6” and like 270 pounds). It was so fun. We went and would walk down the street and he would be just going and like everyone looks at him. Haha it’s so fun. I was walking on a big curb next to the sidewalk and we were about at eye level and I just kept laughing. He is so big and just fun. Great Elder. We will go home together actually then he plans to play football for BYU so that will be cool. But yeah, that was a fun transfer. We just worked on getting all of the area put together. It makes a big difference if you are organized. The Spirit needs order in order to guide us. If we just have a map on the wall how can He help us know who to visit? We must have PINS with names and numbers. I want to give the Spirit something to work with. So that was really fun though.

Well this week I realized how important it is to ask for faith and to ask in faith. Read Alma 22 and just look at the faith of the king. I see him as a person who has it all, money and things of the world and he is ready to give it all away in an instant, just to know that there is a God. I didn’t need to give anything away it seems to know that I have a God but do I treasure that knowledge? I challenge all of you to remember the blessing that we have been given to KNOW that there is a God, that He is the creator of all and that He cares for us. I’m looking for people here who have a desire to know more about God, to learn and to grow. I hope that all of you are doing well and that you are remembering your Father who is in Heaven and seeing His hand in your life every day because I know He is there and all we must do is look and we can see Him. I hear that is the blessing of becoming old, that we may look back and see God’s hand in our life.

I love you all and hope that all is going good. Sorry that it’s so long and full of randomness. But yep that’s what you get sooooo, peace out.

Love,

Elder Birks

It's True!

Handstand in the rain? Sounds like something Elder Birks would do!

(Short email today so I thought I would add some more pics from the memory card he just sent home. )


I got given a challenge by President to read the Book of Mormon 5 times before the end of my mission! That's a lot of reading and I don't read all that fast so I started doing that and lets see how far I can go. I think it will really help. Right now I'm in 2 Nephi and its sooooo good. Man all that stuff is written for us! There is so much that is about our people and our day and the things that we should be doing. I love the Book of Mormon. It's been so fun to have the time to just read and read and really get to know some of the crazy stories and stuff. I really hope your reading is going good because if it's not you're doing it wrong. Haha but it's true. All that is there is to help us and it will if we will only let it. We have people ask us all the time why we are doing this and all I ever think of is because it's true. Why else would we be here trying to give you a free book, and wearing what we do while on bikes and in the sun? It's all because it's true and it all depends on the Book of Mormon. I'm glad the bishop had me read it right before I came out. It has changed the way I teach, listen, and feel towards the people here. We bring a great and simple message to the people and the way they can know is in that book. I know it's true and I know that I will always be learning more as I read because thats the way it works.

Well, this has been a fun week. The GPS is really fun and helpful. This week has been going good. We just are trying to talk with everyone all the time. We had some really cool lessons this week and we destroyed our goal for how many lessons we would have. We wanted or had the goal for 6 and we got 11 and that was so cool. We really hope to find the fruit that is to come. Yeah. The work has been going well. We have a few people that we are looking to help right now and it just comes down to time. Like all the elders in the area think that I'm leaving in the next little while and we will see.

It's been a good one!

Elder Birks and Elder S*

Elder Birks and D*

Elder Birks and Elder S*

What’s up family!! Well I’m doing really good. The work has been really fun and I’m really excited for things to come. 

  

Well life here is going good. The members are so great down here. We are really small but we have a lot of cool people. We had a funny Sunday this week. We had two people come from the Stake to speak to our branch and of course they don’t speak Spanish so Elder S* went up just to stand by them and translate from the pulpit, but the funny thing was that both the people had never been translated before and so they didn’t get that when they stop to let Elder S* translate they have to let him actually talk before they start up again. There were like three times when the lady would say something then look at Elder S*, smile and start talking again. Haha. It was great. I was glad it wasn’t me up there. But we made it through and all went well.

We have had some really fun stuff happen. Elder Echo Hawk from general conference came and spoke to us. (He is one of the Seventy over the missions here.) He is just the counselor and man it was all so good. They really helped us know what it is that we need to do in order to improve our areas. I bumped into like 4 people from school who are in the missions around me like the other Houston Missions, like Parker Olson and also Levi Gifford (I did track with him). Show Trent these people. He will know them I think. But yeah it was really cool to see them. Oh and this kid named Elder Chandler! from AF. Tell the Smith’s (Chase and them) and they will know him. That was really fun. I almost asked to borrow his tag for a picture but didn’t have time so next time. It will be great! Also this guy just moved here from Provo and he knows lots of people who I know! He plays ultimate Frisbee a lot so he knows the math teacher Mr Kroupa from Timberline and he knows David Warner and other kids who I used to play with. It was fun to go out and talk with him about home while we were going to do a visit in Texas. Well, everything here is going great. The weather got hot again but I hope it will turn cold soon.

I’m now out of my brace and am trying to take it easy so that it can heal up all the way.

The work is good and the word is true. I love this opportunity that I have to serve all the time, to study and to do the things the Lord wants me to do. This is His work. He just lets me be a part of it. I know this work is true and I’m pumped for every new day. I love you all and hope that all is well.

Chow for now (haha thanks Nate)

Elder Birks

PS Peace out ya’ll. There is work to do!

We have been doing well. Me and Elder S* are doing really well. We get along great.

Portion of a letter we got today in the mail:

So we had a kinda cool thing happen this past week. Me and Elder S* were looking for this family that the missionaries found awhile ago and then stopped visiting. We knew their name and the street and that was about it but we thought like no big deal, we will just go look for them. Then we found out that the street is way, way long. We were like "If God wants us to find them we will." So we drove down the road and we thought about where they might live. As we drove we felt there were some houses we should check so we parked and talked to this guy and he told us some houses to check for Spanish people and we found a lady who moved from our apartment. I knew it was her house by the dogs. But yeah, that was cool. But then we left that house and started to drive the other way looking for that family. We suddenly felt like we should stop and go knock on a door. We walked up and knocked. The man came to the door and ta da it's him! We found them all, one family on a way big long road. Yeah for following the Spirit! We will be going back this Thursday.

Ask a missionary

 Well, Conference rocks when you’re on a mission!! It’s probably been good forever just this year it was really good. I took like page after page of notes, so much I can’t wait to get the Ensign and read them all. It will be so good. How did you like the “Ask a missionary” talk? Haha, no pressure for me right. It was a really good talk and right after it ended we stood up to go see if there were any Spanish people and this lady stops me and says “Elder, do you think I could get a blessing? I didn’t know what to do and then I got told to ask a missionary so here I am.” It was great. I gave her a blessing just after the session ended and it was really cool. I love giving blessings. The oil part still gets me really nervous though. I will need to work on that. Also just in case you were kinda interested/wondering what happened other than conference this weekend, nothing happened this weekend other than conference. But on Thursday I had a Baptism!!! Haha. It was crazy. We started planning it all on Monday. It was crazy trying to get it all put together but it worked out. Oh and it was in Spanish! Yeah. I get so nervous I kinda messed up (I forgot to say his name, that’s important) but after that part I got through the rest and under the water he went. It was great. He is such a cool little kid. His name is D* and he is really cool. It was a great thing to get to teach him all the lessons and things so fast. He will be a great member of the church.

Oh something else kinda funny. So they do from time to time these talks at Zone Conference where they tell all the missionaries to prepare a short talk. You never think you will be the one to be picked. I’m just lucky I guess. They called me up and I suddenly realized how I really didn’t understand the scripture we were to use like at all! But I had a little something prepared. Not something to read, I still don’t do that well but I got up and just spoke of the importance of the scripture to me. That’s one thing I’ve learned from my mission or at least about giving talks. We are chosen to share with the group why that scripture or topic is important to US not why it should be important to everyone else. It also takes away the pressure of being corrected. The scripture was Luke 9:23-25 and it talks about taking up your cross daily and things along those lines.

Luke 9:23-25

King James Version (KJV)

²³ And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
²⁴ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
²⁵ For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

When I read it some things stood out to me. When we take up our cross we stand out, when we know why it is that we do something it makes it possible. And that to drop your cross is to give up your choice. We all have the option to drop our cross and join the world but as we do that we will be lost in the crowd. There was more but that’s some of the main parts. I hope you have your scriptures with you and can read the verse or that won’t make any sense.

Well things are good here. We are having fun and working hard. We are just trying to find people to teach who can really use the help. There are so many people that could be helped with what we have. Well my time is just about up. I’m pumped about the new mission age.

 I love you all so much and hope that all is going really good.

 Love Elder Birks

Working hard and having fun in Texas

Well the week is gone and once again I find myself in the library, crazy. Well it’s been a fun week. It always is but this week I feel like I was laughing a lot. Let me just say drunk people are funny. They try to tell you something and then they think that you didn’t get it so they tell you like 4 more times, haha it’s great. We had this funny kinda older man talking to us (Mexican cowboy, hat, boots and all) and he is just chatting away tell us how he is a sinner and that it’s because of the beer he was holding but he knew God loved him. It was really funny and he kept getting closer to us and almost poking me, (but he was a nice drunk guy, I thought he might hug me). It was really funny. The only problem is that it takes a lot of our time and with someone like that they don’t really remember us the next time we see them. But one day we will see. It was good practice for my Spanish. Oh and my Spanish is coming along. I can understand a lot and can make up the rest but yeah it’s coming little by little. I’ll get it before I’m done I’m sure. It’s really fun to be able to talk to people who can speak Spanish. It just blows my mind that when we get done with a lesson me and Elder S* will be talking a little about what happened and then I’ll suddenly realize that the lesson was all in Spanish! It sounds funny but it’s so cool to be able to retell a story in English that you heard in Spanish. It blows my mind.

We’ve been really trying to do the work around here that will help our branch grow. It’s been hard just because there are so many people that work all the time. We had a member get a little discouraged this past week and he wanted to switch to an English ward because there are more people. That would have been so bad. I told him how much his example and his priesthood mattered and how important him and his family were to the branch and he decided to give it another try!! It was so great to see them in church and to see his faith in the Lord. I know that it will help him and he will be blessed for going.

We had some crazy stuff happen. We found that there is a member family in the ward that have a little boy that isn’t baptized and he is 9. That means that we get to  teach him and take him through all of the things. We hope to teach him this week and do the baptism between sessions at conference. Oh that would be so cool. We had been a little nervous because when we talked to his mom she said that he didn’t really want to be baptized and all this stuff so we had a fast and went and taught the family a lesson about the importance of the Spirit and how it helps us in our lives to have a direction and we talked about how it was through baptism that we get the gift of the Holy Ghost and this boy looks at his mom and says “When can I get baptized?” and she was like “When would you like?” He said “I don’t know” and then Elder S* said “We could do it next Saturday if you want” and he said “YES!” It was so cool. It’s been crazy trying to get everything figured out because we have a lot to cover but we will see. We are trying to get his dad ready so he could baptize his son but if not him then I will do it. Haha I was so happy it was crazy.

 I hope you all are reading and saying your prayers. We believe in the Bible and we know it to be the word of God. It kinda takes the fire away from someone when they are trying to tell us things from the Bible that they think we don’t know and we say “No we do believe that but because of the Book of Mormon we know more…” It’s been funny to me. Read the scriptures and you will not be confused. If you ask God, He will help you see the truth but it takes work on our part. We are so blessed to have both books. We have the whole picture. I really love them both and I hope you can come closer to them as well.

I love you all and hope all is well.

Love,

Elder Birks