Weeks of January 11 - January 30, 2016

We send our love to all from Brazil. We still love starting every day with an early morning walk along the beach in Vitória. Sister Burkinshaw says she always wanted to live by water so this has been an added blessing of serving a mission here in Vitória.

Sunrise (about 5:50am) from Ilha do Boi in Vitória.

One Saturday morning (P-Day) we saw a triathalon (ride, run, swim) on the Ilha do Boi.  Notice the water truck (left) which waters plants and grass on days that it doesn't rain.

We regularly see rowers on our morning walk along the beach.  By the way, Vitória beaches are pristine without the problems you may have heard in Rio de Janeiro.

Things are going well in the Escritório da Missão (Mission office). We feel like we understand the workings of the mission now, have things somewhat organized and are truly enjoying serving the young missionaries. They truly have a light, optimistic outlook on life (especially missionary work) and are so appreciative of all we do to make things run smoothly for them. A few examples:

We have tried for several months to get the Teófilo Otoni Elders into a new home. They have been in the same house for 11 years, which was working well until the last half of the year when they started having water leak into the house from a neighbors drain, which we were never able to repair, hence the relocation.  After several attempts to rent a new apartment (a multi-step process with many forms and documents required which makes it a very long and complicated process), we finally closed a contract on a very nice apartment.  Unfortunately, the proprietor did not tell us the electricity had been disconnected.  Normally, we just leave the power on in the name of the proprietor or the last renter since the process in changing the name on the electricity bill requires multiple notarized documents and several hours waiting in line.  And this time, they required a notarized copy of the Church's original charter (1967 in São Paulo) and the Procuration of the Mission President giving him authority to act on behalf of the Church.  Then we had to send these documents to a city 11 hours north of Vitória.  When we told the Elders it would take 10 days (i.e. no refrigerator, lights, fans or heated showers) the district leader, Elder Dias, responded happily that it would be no problem and they would make it work.  In the end, they met the family who lives in the apartment above them and they offered a live extension cord and any other help they needed.  The Elders are now teaching that family.

Elder Burkinshaw, Elder Cardoso and Elder Fernandes at the Praia da Costa Mall in front of the McDonald's ice cream stand just before enjoying a McFlurry. 

We had an Elder and a Sister come in on the bus from outlying areas in the mission to renew their Brazilian visa - one from Cabo Verde and one from Mozambique.  Sister Burkinshaw has to complete a detailed form and then schedule online an appointment with the Polícia Federal at the nearby Praia da Costa Mall.  When they come in, we treat them to lunch in the food court before their appointment and then afterward, Elder Burkinshaw loves to take them for a sorvete (ice cream) treat.  While we would love to introduce them to Braums ice cream (Vitória is not within the 300 mile radius of Tuttle, OK ;-)  they do have a McDonald's ice cream stand.  They are always so appreciative and the Elders offered a verbal thank-you while Sisters prepared a nice thank-you note.  This is a manifestation of one of the key traits that President and Sister Young have tried to engender within each of the missionaries, GRATIDÃO (gratitude)!

A poster of the Christ-like virtues emphasized in the Brazil Vitória Mission.

Since we work all day and evening in the mission office, we don't have many opportunities to teach but we were recently assigned to five families to home teach so we leave the office early when we make visits or go on Sunday afternoon.  Our families are a mix of new members and established multi-generational members.  We are reminded of how much you come to love those you serve. All of them are a blessing to the growth and spirit of the ward.  Speaking to full-time missionaries but counsel applicable to us all, President Russell M. Nelson, said, “... you can always have you as a convert... You should be rock solid, absolutely true and faithful all of your lives.” (Pres. Russell M. Nelson—Provo MTC 22-01-2016).  We are also very impressed with the young adults in the wards, many who are returned missionaries and have a great attitude and provide special strength to the wards. Many serve in the youth program and teach not only in word, but by example.  These young adults remind us of the story that President Monson recently shared again in General Conference about the establishment of the BYU Jerusalem Center.  "In order to obtain the permissions needed, the Church had to agree that no proselyting would be undertaken by our members who would occupy the center.  After that agreement had been made, one of the Israeli officials, who was well acquainted with the Church and its members, remarked that he knew the Church would honor the no-proselyting agreement. 'But,' he said, referring to the students who would attend there, 'what are we going to do about the light that is in their eyes?' "  President Monson then continued, "May that special light ever shine within us, that it might be recognized and appreciated by others." (Be an Example and a Light, General Conference, October 2015).  We recognize and appreciate the light that shines in these young adults and the love they show to us.

Hometeaching (left to right) Dayane Gomes (a recently returned-missionary and our guide), Almira da Silveira (who joined the church two years ago) Paulo and Renata Cardoso (Renata was baptized last week) and daughter Mayra (baptized in December).

Our missionaries are not perfect, but where they fall short, the Spirit compensates.  This past week, President Young asked Sister Burkinshaw if it would be possible to identify among those baptized, how many were families.  Sister Burkinshaw replied, "Even going back through the fichas (baptismal recommends) or photos of the fichas (which is how the missionaries send them to her by e-mail) one at a time to extract the information would not provide a complete list because the missionaries often do complete the information on marriages or children for converts.  (With the help of the Spirit) I become aware of that as I am putting the information in the system and try to connect family membership when I can, sometimes it has been months, but the name and information comes making it possible to connect the memberships." The spirit of Elijah is at work here in the mission. "....it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times,....that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place...." D&C 128:18.

We have enjoyed two special events during the month of January.  One was the world-wide broadcast for Missionaries held on Wednesday, January 20th.  We were able to view it from the mission office while the other missionaries gathered to centrally located chapels to watch the broadcast together.  The theme was "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts". The emphasis on teaching repentance is needed. Change is a part of accepting the Lord's standards as opposed to the world's. It is a process for sure, but there must be a solid understanding of the need to repent and the role of the Savior in that process. What follows is a few of the thoughts from Elder Neil L. Andersen which Sister Burkinshaw included in the newsletter for this next transfer.

Elder Neil L. Andersen—Missionary Broadcast, 20 Jan 2016

“The most important thing we do is testify of the Savior and invite all to come unto Him....Always keep His name on your lips and be prepared to testify of Him when the opportunity comes for “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven.” (Matt. 10:32)....We testify of Christ when we TEACH the DOCTRINE OF CHRIST....the doctrine clearly stated in the missionary purpose which is:  ‘Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, REPENTANCE, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.’....Your first responsibility is to help lift people in their understanding of the Savior´s Atonement. (how do you do that PMG says) ‘As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase. You will feel, as Lehi did, the ‘great....importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth’ (2 Nefí 2:8)....Be careful not to move too quickly from your powerful witness of faith to the challenge of baptism without sufficient teaching about REPENTANCE....Repentance is critical to faith in Jesus Christ.”

This past Sunday we were asked to do a fireside in one of the wards on missonary work. Elder Burkinshaw put together a PowerPoint presentation that was very well received. The chapel was full and we were reminded again of what good people these are, and that they are anxious to learn and do their part to build the Kingdom. We provided some interesting statistics of the churches growth worldwide and the growth here in Brazil. Elder Burkinshaw ended on a personal note with the stories of two of his own baptisms 42 years ago in São Paulo. Several years ago when Facebook was becoming popular (we were not on Facebook yet) we got a call one day from a couple of our daughters who said someone from Brazil wanted to visit with Elder Burkinshaw. They connected on the 30th anniversary of Brother Yabe's baptism.  As we participate in the baptisms the missionaries are having here we are reminded of the joy that comes in watching them "baptize converts".  How appropriate that the scripture we go to when we think of that joy (D&C 18:15-16) not only reminds us of "the worth of a soul", but teaches that "...the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh wherefore he suffered the pains of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him... how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!" (D&C 18:10-16 - the exclamation point is in the scriptures). Sister Burkinshaw couldn't help but remember hearing many times in her home growing up the song "O That I Were an Angel" spoken of in Alma 29:1 "O that I were angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!" We are so grateful to be here in Brazil and a part of this work!!

Fireside Presentation:  English       Portuguese

Poster prepared by the Laranjeiras ward for the missionary fireside held on January 24th.

Elder Carvalho, Elder T. Garcia, Ward Mission Leader, Presidente Osorio (Mission Presidency Counselor), Sister and Elder Burkinshaw in front of the Laranjeiras Chapel following the Fireside.

Avante Vitória!
Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Weeks of December 27, 2015 - January 10, 2016

2015 has come and gone. We enjoyed the Holidays but, although we were able to FaceTime often and visit with everyone, we still very much missed our family. We ended 2015 with two new adventures. The first was transfers on the 29th. Transfers are always an adventure, but this was unique as it followed the new guidance from the Brethren to have no transfer meeting.  It is an evolving process as we figure out how and when to perform tasks that were normally done at the transfer meeting. The new format for transfer day makes it much more "tranquilo" (a word Brazilians use often for when things are good and relaxed).  We now have to figure out how and when to distribute materials, letters, packages, etc. and the missionaries will have to figure out how to submit the "original" baptism and confirmation records (fichas) in a timely manner.  Once again, some great missionaries went home, but we also welcomed some equally great missionaries. 

Sister Burkinshaw's peanut butter cookies and candy which make up the best part of lunch for the departing missionaries. (It is hard to find paper tablecloths here.)

Departing missionaries and their companions.  Left to right, Sister Jenson (companion), Sister Alós returning to Argentina, Elder Portillo (companion), Elder Perez returning to Las Vegas and Sister Montenegro returning to Columbia.

Sister Alós, Sister Burkinshaw and Elder Burkinshaw.

Lunch at the new missionary training meeting.  Elder Dial (new missionary from West Jordan) and his trainer Elder Soria, Elder Perez our outgoing assistant to the president and Sister Barra who will be training Sister Ferretiz (new missionary from Mexico).

This transfer took place on the Tuesday after Christmas so shortly thereafter we had another major holiday with New Years which gave us our second adventure for the week. President and Sister Young invited us to come to the Mission Home at 9:00pm for goodies, games and to watch the fireworks. The mission home is across the street from Praia do Camburi (Camburi Beach) where they placed two barges just offshore from which the launched the New Years fireworks shows.  The mission home is on the 12th floor so it provide a perfect location to watch the show, which was about seven minutes long.  This was shorter than in previous years, from what we were told by others, but the Brazilian economy is going through what the U.S. economy did in 2008-09 and so that may have resulted in a shorter program.  Nevertheless, the fireworks were very impressive and there were tens of thousands of people there on the beach to watch the show.  The main beach highway was closed for about 2 miles to facilitate all who wanted to watch.  There were several live bands along the beach as well.  Here's a short video of what we saw.   

Our adventure came with getting to and from the mission home from our apartment which is a little over three miles away. For our arrival, we were finally able to get a taxi, a very aggressive taxi, who took us around the back way and dropped us off a block from the Mission home. Going home was a little different. We walked the three miles, two miles of the walk was making our way through the throngs of people still celebrating the New Year--there was a definite contrast. Our walk home at 12:30pm however allowed us to start the New Year getting plenty of exercise and although a little warm, it wasn't too bad. We enjoyed dinner at Outback Steak House (we ate chicken) on New Years Day and spent some time preparing spreadsheets for the Mission for the coming year. 

The Assistants and a friend in the office preparing for Zone Leader Training. This picture of the Saviors baptism is actually quite amazing. The texture is sand, very appropriate for Vitória.

This past week, the office has been much quieter, meaning not as many visitors, but still plenty of work. We had a very sweet experience with President Young on Monday. After visiting for an hour about some challenges in the mission, we ended by watching a youtube video produced by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We had seen it during the holidays, but it took on new meaning after our discussion. We have included it here in case you missed it (Infant Holy, Infant Lowly). The final words of the song are "Christ the babe was born for you." Elder Burkinshaw later shared the messianic scripture from Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;" 

On Thursday after Zone Leader Training we had several of the Elders stop in the office. We had a little more time with the Nanuque Zone Leaders as their bus does not leave Vitória until 9:30pm, a bus ride that is very familiar to us. We had a nice visit with them since Elder Conde, a new called Zone Leader who had previously served in Teófilo Otoni which allowed us to catch up on the families in the Ipiranga Branch. It was great to hear how everyone is doing. Just a quick story about the other Zone leader, Elder Garcia. We happened to read a post from his companion who just went home that illustrates the kind of missionary he is. The post reads as follows:  "Miracle - James 5:16-18 'The prayer of a righteous man availeth much' - even more so when a whole stake prays together! We have been passing through a drought in our city - it's been months since it rained. The city has discussed rationing water, and the water had already been shut off a few times during the week. Last week, all the members of the Church in Nanuque were invited to fast on Saturday, asking the Lord to send rain. After lunch my companion and I opened our fast together. Elder Garcia then shut all the windows in our house, he said we needed to show our faith that God would send rain! When we woke up on Sunday morning, it was cool and cloudy, the usual bright sun was nowhere to be found. It had rained! And continued to rain throughout the day. Truly a Miracle!"  Our missionaries have great faith and are doing a great work here in the Vitória mission.

Sister Burkinshaw, Elder Burkinshaw, Our Nanuque Zone Leaders Elder Conde (served in Teófilo Otoni) and Elder Garcia (from Porto Alegre) who will be going home with our February Transfer.

By Friday we had most of the Christmas packages delivered to the Zones so we have the storage closet back as well as the room where we have the safe and the file cabinets. It is nice to have the space back, but more importantly it is nice to know the missionaries have finally received their Christmas gifts. Just a word of counsel to anyone reading this with a missionary in the field:  Send the package early if you want it to be in the hands of your missionary by Christmas. In missions it is a time consuming process to get packages to the outlying areas.

Storage Closet shelves and cart filled with Christmas packages -
this was half of them the other half were in the file cabinet room.

Almost everything delivered. We received two other packages the next day.

Having settled into a routine of sorts, I am amazed at how natural our Saturday morning walks have become. It always includes a stop a one of the grocery stores to pick up our weekly groceries. This morning we walked down to the Praia do Canto and stopped at São José (grocery store) on our way home. If we don't have too much, we just carry the groceries home.  They do deliver so sometimes we just pay the $R10 and have them deliver them. It is about four mile walk so work out pretty well. It is quite a nice grocery store as you can see from the pictures. 

One of our favorite grocery stores about 2 miles from our apartment.

Elder Burkinshaw checking out at the São José supermercado on Saturday morning (our P-Day).

Our baptismal service today after church reminded us of Sawyer's (Elder Vaclaw's) e-mail when he spoke of "piecing together an eternal family one person at a time" through baptism. For the family of Renata, first her mother was baptized about two years ago, then a few weeks ago, her daughter Myra was baptized.  Then today she was baptized connecting three generations - so great!!  Elder Burkinshaw felt honored to be invited to perform the baptism, something he has not done in Portuguese for 41 years, but he did great.  Besides performing proxy baptisms in the temple, which he has done often over the years, this was the first living baptism he has performed since Chelsea was baptized 18 years ago.  This sweet sister, Renata, got a little emotional as she was walking down the stairs into the font and one couldn't help but reflect on what an amazing blessing this ordinance is in a person's life.  Also baptized today was the young man who was in the mission office with the assistants earlier this week.  He is part of a group of several friends who have joined the Church this past year.  They are an amazing group of young men and surely the Lord is continuing to prepare an even larger missionary force here in Brazil.  We are so grateful to be a very small part of the work here.

Renata, her husband Paulo, her mother and Elder Burkinshaw prior to the Baptismal service.

Three generations of the Cardoso Family are now members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The entire Cardoso Family.  We hope that Paulo will soon join the others as a member.  Although we have visited their home several times, we are now their home teachers and look forward to helping them progress towards the Temple.

Avante Vitória!!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Weeks of December 14 - December 25, 2015

We love this time of year and the Christmas spirit that is in the hearts of so many. It is no different here in Brazil. Brazil is a little less commercial and since we don't get a lot of opportunity to shop, that aspect of Christmas hasn't been problematic, if anything we may have even missed it a little. Our ward (Maruipe Ward) did a Christmas musical devotional last Saturday evening that turned out very nice. Sister Burkinshaw played the piano for the musical numbers and Elder Burkinshaw sang with the choir. The program, which included musical numbers (some very nice voices in this ward), Christmas videos and a narration was very well done and the beautiful display of finger foods was amazing. 

Somebody went to a lot of work to prepare for a very nice evening. The individually wrapped bread (on the back right) is Brazilian fruit cake which is a very popular gift.

Amazing Christmas spread at the Maruipe Ward Christmas Devotional.

Lots of ward members enjoying the food and a little picture taking in front of the Christmas tree.

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw dressed in Christmas red posing in front of the food. 

It is interesting that the mission office and responsibilities are or should be pretty routine and in some ways they are, but there is also a continuous element of unplanned events that provide opportunity for learning and stretching. We thought we would share a few of those experiences from the past couple of weeks. What is amazing through all of them is that the work moves steadily forward seemingly uninterrupted. What is also evident is that our young missionaries move happily forward in faith and with a great deal of optimism. So what follows are a few experiences from the past couple of weeks.

Experience One: About three weeks ago Sister Burkinshaw finally received a response back from São Paulo with confirmation that one of our Elders from Bolivia needed to leave a few weeks before our December 29th transfer or before his Brazilian visa expired. The faithfulness of this Elder was evident when Elder Burkinshaw called to inform him and his response was "Sério?" (Seriously?). He was anxious to see his family again and be home for the holidays, but at the same time he felt his time in the mission was being cut short two weeks and he wasn't quite finished with what he wanted to accomplish. As he came to the mission office for his final interview with President Young we held back a few tears as he reminded us of a couple he had worked with who were not yet baptized and he asked that we not forget them. The couple married after this Elder committed them to do so, but are still working through some issues.

D&C 64:9-10 is appropriate here.  "Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive on another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.  The missionaries never seem to have trouble seeing people through the eyes of the Savior Jesus Christ whose name they wear.  President Uchtdorf in April 2012 said, "This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: STOP IT! It's that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters." This young Elder had that kind of love!!

Experience Two: There are always problems with the housing for missionaries. We have a sister from Hawaii serving in the mission who is the cutest, sweetest missionary. A week ago we received the following e-mail from her. "Good morning! So I am writing this email to say that the toilet here in Ancheita does not flush correctly. The water pressure is wrong so we use a water bucket to flush. Also the shower head fell out of the wall completely. Luckily the water falls nicely out of the wall so we are able to still take a shower."  That was the e-mail. Remember in Brazil that hot water comes from the shower head so the water coming "nicely out of the wall" is cold! Our missionaries just handle the challenges that come and patiently wait for some help. Knowing Sister Wheeler it wasn't hard to hear her sweet voice in this email and appreciate the tone with which it was sent. Needless to say Elder Burkinshaw made a quick call and got someone over there as quickly as possible, even with that effort it was several days before the problems were resolved.

Experience Three:  The past couple of weeks President and Sister Young have been holding special Zone Conferences for Christmas. The Zone conference included the normal three hours of training, but added a special Christmas lunch and activity in the afternoon. The meetings have been planned and arranged by the Zone leaders as have the lunch and activity. They have each been different, but enjoyed by all.  In one Zone the lunch experience became one of those nightmares you have the night before an activity that you have planned and prepared for.  The Zone leaders found someone to cater the lunch, they required half of the payment in advance, that the missionaries purchase the meat for the "churrasco" (brazilian barbacue) and the other half of the payment after the meal. The meal was for 30 and the price was such that it seemed a sure thing to have a fine meal. The Zone meeting training proceeded and 30 minutes before the end, the Zone leader went to check and make sure everything was ready for lunch.  As he walked back into the chapel it was evident from his face that there was a problem. The caterer did show up with a 9x13 pan of rice (to feed 30 missionaries), a few other small servings of items and a very small grill, not sufficient to grill meat for 30. President and Sister Young walked into the office about 3:00pm having just finished lunch and reported that the workers were excused, another lunch location found, the meat will be frozen and saved for next weeks transfer meals and the Zone Leaders were determined to re-coop their financial loss if at all possible. Sister Young reported that although very disappointing for the Zone Leaders they would be fine. They are missionaries who would "Cast not away therefore [their] confidence..." - "For the Lord shall be thy confidence...." The Christmas Zone meetings were a great success. We were sad we missed out on the Vitória Zone Meeting, but we had an audit that day--which was so much more fun (ar, arr,arrr).

Experience Four: Mission audit, something that only happens every three years. The outcome, it is a miracle that missions all over the world stay fairly financially stable with the constant turn over in unpaid missionaries who need about four months to understand what is happening financially in a mission.  We came away with a list of things that we should be doing, although we are not sure how we find the time to do them all. One suggestion was to use our accounting contact in the São Paulo office more, who, by the way has 13 other missions who need the same help as well as three young children, a wife (who probably doesn't see him very often), is a young bishop and is going to night school to finish his accounting degree. We were told that most mission offices have four or five people (please contact us if you have a desire to serve a mission in Brazil!!!).  After a few days of struggling with possible solutions to the challenges we face keeping things going, we counseled with President Young and it was decided we would continue with just the two of us and do the best we could. (The next audit will come after all of us have been released.)  We will put things in order the best we can and continue to pray that the Stake Presidents will find local members who can serve as Church Service Missionaries with Missionary Apartments. It continues to be a very humbling experience, but a constant reminder that the Lord provides when needed.

Experience Five: We had two Elders come into Vitória this past week, one an American and one Brazilian. The Brazilian had to check in with the Brazilian equivalent of the draft to continue his deferment while serving a mission. The American is new having just arrived in the mission last transfer. He is from Texas with a wonderful Texas accent. We took them to lunch and Elder Lake, the American elder, said he told his parents if they wanted a humbling experience, go on a mission and learn a foreign language. While we concur that is true we are also amazed at the abilities of these young missionaries to learn the language. We have another one of our American Elders who has been here two transfers (twelve weeks) who will be a trainer this week - that is miraculous! 

Christmas Week. The packages just keep coming and coming and coming. The challenge is when they arrive so close to Christmas it is't possible to get them out to the missionaries in time for Christmas. Because of Stake and District conferences this month President and Sister Young had to hold Zone meetings early so most of the Christmas packages had not yet arrived, but they are here now. However, every few days we have one of Santa's elves stop by the office to pick up the missionaries' packages. This Christmas elf came into Vitoria (from Colatina) on the bus and stopped to pick up a few packages on his way home via the bus. 

A closet full of Christmas Packages for the Missionaries.

One of our Christmas Elves, we are so thankful for their service to the missionaries.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. We watched the Christmas nativity video together, read "The Little Star Story", sang Christmas carols and did a google chat with all seven of our children and their families. Sarah put together a couple of videos that were so AMAZING and we appreciated that gift as well as a package that arrived two days before Christmas. It came with a few ties for Elder Burkinshaw and a pair of headphones and used iPhone in some Hershey kisses for safe keeping.  The iPhone will probably always smell like peppermint.  We appreciate modern technology which allows us to be far from home, but still able to see and talk to everyone.  We have an amazing family and feel so blessed. Below is a link to the videos if your interested in watching them. 

2015 Burkinshaw Family Christmas Nativity

2015 Christmas Caroling

Christmas morning we took an early morning walk on the beach and then prepared dinner for us and the two elders that are serving in the ward we are assigned to. The dinner was delicious and since we had the Bartlesville elders over to our apartment for dinner Christmas 2014 and to talk to their families it all felt very familiar, although we are pretty sure it was much colder in Bartlesville last year than our very warm 92°F on Christmas day. We are ever thankful for our air conditioner (which is only in the bedroom) that can keep our small apartment cool enough to be comfortable. 

Elder Burkinshaw with the Maruipe Elders. Elder Sessions left and Elder Chaves right.

Elder Chaves opening his package that arrived Christmas Eve from a faithful Bishop.

Elder Chaves, left, working his magic with the Selfie.

Our last bit of news concerns transfers which take place tuesday, December 29th. Two days before Christmas the brethren in Salt Lake did a training for mission presidents worldwide which changes completely the way we have been doing transfers here in Vitória. We will no longer hold a transfer meeting.  The tradition of a transfer meeting was handed down to President and Sister Young and they have worked hard the last year and a half to make it an edifying meeting. The new counsel, however, was very specific and President Young is obedient so with just a few days it was decided to implement completely the new counsel. The planning and logistics will take some getting use to and most of that is being given to the Zone and District leaders. For us, we get back the two days that had been consumed with the transfer meeting preparation.  This transfer we had already pre-purchased bus tickets because of the holidays so Elder Burkinshaw had to spend a considerable amount of time changing bus tickets to make them work as the only missionaries that will come into Vitória will be those called to train the new missionaries coming from the CTM (MTC). The change will improve uninterrupted proselyting time and reduce expenses for the mission, but it will take a little experience and time to adjust. The doctrines and principles of the Church are constant, but the growth requires constant adaptation and this is one of those times. 

Elder Burkinshaw once again working his magic at the bus station. (His is the one in a suit on a very warm afternoon - because of the holiday travel we immediately changed tickets.)

Our love for the Lord continues to grow and we feel very blessed to be a part of the missionary work. We are so grateful for our eternal family and pray daily we will all faithfully work through the opportunities for growth that the Our Heavenly Father provides this coming year. Happy Holidays from Brazil!!

Avante Vitória!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Weeks of November 16-December 13, 2015

November 17 was the largest missionary transfer we have experienced so far, as 15 elders and 4 sister entered the mission and 12 seasoned elders departed.  As such, more than half of our 129 missionaries (about 80 of them) changed areas and living quarters.  Generally, President Young finishes the transfer board sometime Saturday afternoon.  We then interleave a spreadsheet of previous assignments with new assignments to come up with a list of what bus tickets are necessary to bring the transferring missionaries into the central city of Vitória and another list of tickets needed to take the missionaries to their new areas. The tickets are then purchased late Saturday evening and then Sunday evening we call the Zone Leaders to advise who needs to come to Vitória for the transfer meeting and whether they will need to bring their belongings or not.  They will not know their new assignment until the Transfer Meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00pm when President Young announces over the pulpit who is going where.  The departing missionaries come to Vitória early on Monday to participate in a self-reliance class to prepare them for going home and preparing for the rest of their lives.  We use Monday to prepare for the Transfer Meeting by bringing all the letters, packages and proselyting materials to the chapel and also printing the agenda and list of missionary assignments for the transfer.  Tuesday morning, we meet the new missionaries as the arrive at Vitória airport and take them to the mission home for training and lunch.  Then we finish setting up the audio-visual equipment for the Transfer meeting.  After the transfer meeting, we load the missionaries into a double-decker bus and take them to the Vitória bus station (rodoviária) to catch buses to their new areas.  By the time it is over, we breath a sigh of relief and crash at our apartment.  On Wednesday we then start preparing for the next transfer in 6 weeks.

Here are some the the Brazilian Elders who were going home about the same time the new missionaries were arriving.

Sister Young, Sister Burkinshaw, Elder Benicius, who is returning to home to São Paulo, and Elder Burkinshaw.

Elder Rosário, who is returning home to São Paulo, with Sister and Elder Burkinshaw.

Elder Alves, who is returning home to Alagoas, with Sister and Elder Burkinshaw.

Elder Moreira who served with us in Teófilo Otoni and is returning to Recife.

Elder Ramos, who is returning to home to Fortaleza, with Sister and Elder Burkinshaw.

Elder Kuan, who is returning home to São Paulo, with Sister and Elder Burkinshaw.

Three of our departing missionaries with six of our newly arrived missionaries at the Vitória Airport.

On the Friday of transfers, we had the opportunity to assist a couple who wanted to join the Church but were not yet married, a frequent situation here in Brazil.  We met them at a nearby Cartório, which is like a commercial notary public where all kinds of transactions are validated.  There they were married civilly by a judge and Elder Burkinshaw served as a witness.  The next day, they were married at the André Carloni chapel just north of Vitória. Life has not been easy for Wenderson and Inés but they are trying to do the right things.

Elder Burkinshaw signing as one of the marriage witnesses with Wenderson and Inés watching.

Wednerson and Inés with Elder and Sister Burkinshaw following the Civil Marriage ceremony.

Wenderson and Inés with Bispo Jocimar Pinto at the André Carloni meetinghouse

The following week was Thanksgiving.  We visited Sams Club in Vitória to purchase a turkey roast and some "Cheesecake Factory" cheesecake for desert.  It made for a much more familiar Thanksgiving dinner than Elder Burkinshaw remembers during 1974 and 1975 when serving in São Paul.

Thanksgiving dinner, 26 November, 2015.

President and Sister Young had one of their daughters, Anika and her husband John Zito and their children visit them from Billings, MT.  Their oldest daughter had turned 8 years-old and so they had the baptism and confirmation on the Friday evening of Thanksgiving weekend there in the Jardim da Penha meetinghouse.  The bishop of the ward, his family and the missionaries in the area attended.  It will be a very memorable baptism for the Young´s granddaughter.

After the Baptismal Service for President and Sister Young´s granddaughter.

As Christmas approaches, Elder Burkinshaw received an early Christmas present.  Since September, when our case with Sister Burkinshaw´s iPhone, and the Missions petty cash card and wallet was stolen, he has had to pay the utility bills with cash at several different banks.  Not only has this been time-consuming but also somewhat insecure because of the need to carry large amounts of currency.  However, last week the new petty cash card and bank account arrived in the mail.  They were sent via SEDEX 10, which is the equivalent of overnight insured mail.  However, it took more than 10 days to arrive and had us worried we would be waiting until the New Year.  Afterwards, it took another week and many hours on the phone with Church computer support to get through the firewall to the bank´s website so we can pay the bills on-line again.  But we are now back paying utilities via the internet. Merry Christmas early Elder Burkinshaw!

The new debit card, token (SecureID) and account for the Mission petty cash account.  Merry Christmas Elder Burkinshaw!

We are assigned to attend the Maruipe Ward and so we take every opportunity to support the activities of the Ward.  We recently attended the Young Women in Excellence program on a Friday evening.  One of the sweet returned sister missionaries from the ward, Dayane Gomes, is a counselor in the YW Presidency.  Here is Sister Burkinshaw with Dayane in front of the display in the cultural hall.

Dayane Gomes and Sister Burkinshaw at the Maruipe Ward Young Women in Excellence display.

Sister Burkinshaw is called upon regularly to play the piano and organ and the Vitória Ward asked her to play for their Primary program in Sacrament meeting.  This involved several practices on Saturday afternoons and after the block of meetings on Sunday.  The program was held on the second weekend of December and turned out great!  After the program, many of the children gave her hugs and thank yous and she even received a Christmas basket full of chocolates!

Sister Burkinshaw with two of the Primary girls who gave her a hug and a Christmas basket for playing the piano for their Primary program in Sacrament meeting.

Sister Burkinshaw and the Vitória Primary following their program in Sacrament Meeting.  They were amazed when Sister Burkinshaw told them that if her 22 grandchildren were there, it would more than double their numbers!

As we prepare for Christmas here in Brazil we are ever grateful for the life of the Savior whose birth we celebrate. We are continually reminded of the blessings that His birth has brought into our lives as well the people here in Brazil and around the world. We join our voice with those of the angels who exclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Avante Vitória!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw