Monday, January 12, 2015

Made it to Washington!

So the week leading up to leaving was crazy-ish. We had a lot of boring meetings and by the end of it I was just ready to leave. Elder insert -Tanners mtc companion here- had some really bad luck the day before we left. He went to do laundry and all his whites turned brown because of some bad water in the pipes. So we spent all day on Monday trying to wash his clothes so they could be white again. And that night we all said our goodbyes. I traded a tie (apparently tie trades are a big deal, so i figured I needed to trade one at least) So that last night our teacher brought in a few ties and we traded. That was fun.

 And then traveling was crazy! In Mexico we waited in line for almost 3 hours before security. And we almost missed the flight. Then in Dallas one of the people in our group lost their luggage so that took a while to locate (it was in Toronto) and since that took a while, we almost missed the second flight. and When we got to Seattle/Tacoma we couldnt find our ride so we were waiting there for a little while. Overall Tuesday Morning was filled with prayers and a lot of stress. Then we found our ride (they were stuck in traffic) and went to the Transfer Meeting where we met our new companions/ trainers. My comp is Elder C. 

So yeah. That was a couple more hours of the day at the meeting. Then we dropped my stuff off at the apartment and went straight to tracting. We go tracting every night from 5-7, so I have been learning to talk with everyone. We have been helping a few people from that though, so it is good. And we have a couple current investigators who we are trying to get to baptism in a few weeks, but circumstances are hard for them. So we keep praying and hoping things will work out. 

As for my bike. I did get it and the box. Thanks for those. The Candy is Awesome! I shared with our investigator's kids during a church tour and it kind of calmed them down for a couple minutes :) 
And the bike is great. We only have a car every other week in this area so we had bikes this last week. (which is not too fun the first day, but I have come to enjoy the bike rides) And this week we get the car! Yay! By the way we are in the Lakewood area, which is the area with the most spanish speaking people in the mission. So great place to start. 

So for the most part the people here are great. We have had a few dinners with members and those are not so great. The food is awesome, it is just the portions. We get massive portions and if you dont ask for more or take more when it is offered you are offending them (as i found out yesterday when i tried to decline... not a good idea) so we get tons of food and I feel sick afterwards, especially on a bike, but it is good. At least I am not starving....

So yesterday we were riding back to the apartment around 9 and we saw this guy sitting on a wall by the sidewalk, so we stopped to talk. And we found out that he doesnt live on the street at all, he was having a bad day at home and went for a walk and ended up stopping there for a while, when we found him. So we talked with him for a while and shared some uplifting messages and it seemed to really help him. It was really one of those right places right time things. And it was in english so it was kind of cheating. :) But I figure if I help someone, no matter what language, I am doing good.

Anyway. I am sending you a box today, hopefully, so you will have my address then but here it is anyway :) And I should be here for the next 11 weeks before I might change. So for the next little while this is my address:
Elder Tanner Robert Burke
8407 26th Ave Ct. Apt J
Lakewood, WA   98499

You can still send things to the mission office, but i wont get those things until someone goes to the mission office or there is a transfer meeting, which could take some time. 

 Love and miss you all a lot!  Thanks for the package and for still being there for me! I hope you guys are still doing ok, and that everyone is getting along. And now you all can write me!!!
Love you
-Elder Burke

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