Mission Office Address

Just in case anyone is wanting to send Elder Chan a letter or Christmas card, here is the Mission Office address.  I know he loves letters!

Elder Chandler Birks
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Rd
Sugar Land, TX 77478

Thanksgiving

Well Thanksgiving was great. We got to eat with a really cool family and they were way fun to be with and there was so much food. It was really good.

We are doing all the normal stuff here and that’s been fun. There is a lot going on with the area. We are still just trying to find people to teach. I think that’s just the way it goes on the mission. We are always looking for more people and trying to help the ones we have to do better. The work of a missionary is strange and kinda funny. We are the people who are always looking to help people in the area and it’s great but so many people see us coming and have these false ideas of what we are. All we have to do is talk with them and they for the most part are like “hmmmmm I thought the Mormons were more crazy then this” or “They don’t pay you to do this?!” That’s a fun one. People don’t really understand what it is that we do and that’s why we are here. To help them out and it’s been fun to change people’s minds on who we are.

Well this week what’s been going on? Me and Elder B* wrestled! It’s fun. He is good but I’m bigger. 

Well, I’m still doing all my studies in Spanish so that’s going really good and I feel like I’m understanding more now and getting through a lot more in every study. It’s really fun to be able to understand people who are speaking a different language. It’s crazy to me. I’m not perfect by any means, which is one reason why I’m way nervous for what President told me. He said that he wants me to train soon. I don’t know how I feel about that but I know I will be ready if that’s what God wants for me. We will see if I kill my first child or not. Haha but yeah. It will probably be in January because we don’t have anyone coming in this month to train so God has given me a little time. Let’s see if I will be ready. Haha. Keep me in your prayers for that one. Well yep that’s been on my mind a little.

Yep Well I will make sure to do better with sending my letters on time. I’ve just been really bad at getting them off on time. I feel like I send all of them on Friday or something like that. I will work on that. Robynn’s package got here. That’s sweet. All the stuff is so fun and will be great to have and use. Haha, just kidding. I have no idea what it is. I take it that because they have dates on them I might have to wait to open it. But that’s cool. I’m pumped for them to come and I’ll look forward to the other two.

Well I love ya’ll a lot and I hope all is going good.

Love Elder Birks

Smile!

Hope you’re having a good day and if you’re not, smile. It really does help. I find myself doing that from time to time. We will be just riding on our bikes and I’ll just be chilling and I will realize that I’m not smiling and so I bust one out.  Suddenly I’m not just riding my bike, I’m happy to be riding my bike and I remember why I’m here and I can get back to work. I still think of the blessing I got when I first left and I know that that was from God and from Dad listening to the spirit. Thanks so much for that Dad.

Well yep, this has been a good week. We had kinda bad numbers but it’s ok. We will do better this next week. I got the chance to go out with a few members and man they are so great. It really is so much better to have a member in a lesson. It just blows my mind how much the Spirit is there when we have a member. We were with this member who is just awesome. He was so fun to go out with and I just heard he wants to move to Honduras. What’s up with that! But the work goes on. We've still got some time here with him so that will be sweet.

Well we have plans for Thanksgiving and it’s with a member family in the ward that I don’t know yet. But yeah it will be great.

I don’t have too much time so I’ll try to write you a letter but yeah I love all of ya.

Love Elder Birks

Peace out!!

Exploring in Houston

I’m glad to hear that the family is doing really well. Well things in the area are going really well. The members here are great and it just feels like there are tons of them. Our area has been really fun to just explore. We both don’t really know it all that well but we know where a lot of the Spanish are so that’s been really good. There are some really cool people that we get to talk to around here and there are people from all over the place. It’s crazy to me. There are different languages all over in this area and all I speak is Spanish and English. It’s really hard to OYM a guy from China, haha, but it’s been really fun. Elder B* is great and we get along really well. There is always fun to be had as we do the work. I know that I’m going to learn a lot from him and that’s great.

This week we had kinda cool things happen. We had like 4 of the people we talk to be really interested like they were telling us how interested they were (that doesn’t happen all that much like that) and that they really wanted us to come back. We will see where all that goes.

It’s also really funny here. There are a lot of people from South America that have like African descent so they are black but they all speak Spanish! It’s so cool to walk up to a guy who before I never would have thought could speak Spanish and then it happens and they know Spanish. It’s really cool.

Well I’ve been having a good time here with reading and doing all of my studying in Spanish now. It’s crazy and it’s been really cool at the same time because I feel like I’m learning all of it for the first time. It’s been really cool. I feel like I’m getting a new perspective on it. I also just started the Bible and I really love the Bible. Ya’ll should really try and read some of that because it’s great. There are just some awesome stories in it. Just start with the ones you know. Look for Noah, and for Jonas and the whale and all those and you will see what I’m saying.

I love to be able to answer people questions with the scriptures. It adds so much more power to what we do.

I really hope that all is well with the family.

Love Elder Birks

New Place!

Well I’m in a new area and yeah it’s crazy. I’m up in the city. It’s a new area too so we are doing what is called white washing. My new companion is great. His name is Elder B* and he is sweet! He speaks Spanish really good. It’s been crazy to be in a new place with a new companion but it is really fun. The area has a ward and it feels so big after having been in a branch for so long but it’s been good. There are so many people out here and man there are lots and lots of cars. Our area is way small. It’s like 2 miles by 3 miles and we are just on bikes (all the time!). It’s great and it’s been fun. It’s kinda funny here, there are a lot of areas that have apartments and we have to like sneak in. It’s way funny. We feel like we are just waiting to get kicked out of the places but we haven’t yet, so that’s been really nice but there are times that we feel like people really don’t want us there.

The area is brand new here like we have an area book and it’s empty, so it’s been really fun just to go out and try to find new people to teach. There are a lot of really cool people in the area though so that’s been really cool.

Mom with the question on what we did for Halloween we just try to hide from people it feels like. We needed to be in by 7 and then we were supposed to study but because the area is new we got a new apartment and had to unpack all of the stuff we had and that’s not too much stuff as it was. It was a really funny week just going around and trying to find the Spanish in the area. The work will be good here we feel but it’s going to take some work to do it but I’m pumped to get the chance.

So Elder B*, well his parents are from Mexico and they don’t really speak English so he grew up speaking both so he is a native. He is on his last transfer and he is a great missionary. The ward here just loves him. He has been in the ward for about 6 months and knows like all the people so that’s been really nice. He is from Oregon and yeah has plans to go back and go to school and all that good stuff. He is a really good soccer player/wrestler and is a really great guy.

Well I have to go. I didn’t add my address because we don’t know what it is and I forgot to check as we left. Sorry. Just send it all to the office and that will work perfect. It’s right by my apartment now so it’s not a big deal to get mail from there.

I love you all and am glad to hear all is going well.

Love,

Elder Birks

Ps I’ve started doing all my studies in Spanish! (and I understood like all of church this week.) Soon I will be speaking like a native, haha. Thanks for all your prayers and I’ll try and write you my address this week.