Our investigator's leaving and so am I.

We had another awesome week in the middle of nowhere! This week we
actually got to leave the small town of New Paltz to visit a less
active member who lives in an even smaller town called Accord. Our
ward mission leader asked us to go visit him. He doesn't actually live
in Accord either. He lived a good several miles out of town in the
forest. We knew we were getting to the boonies when the asphalt
highway just ended and we were on dirt for a few miles. We found the
tiny little cabin in the woods and were greeted warmly by an extremely
tall, extremely skinny old man with hands big enough to juice a
watermelon (or a human head...). He was a super funny guy. We had a
great conversation with him, but couldn't convince him to come to
church. He says it's just to hard now that he's old and it's such a
far drive. Oh well. I think we left a good impression on him at least.

I have more exciting news though! L* has committed to be baptized on
June 11th! ...and tomorrow he goes back to North Carolina. Dang. The
Elders down there better take good care of him! Yesterday, when we
were visiting him, Sister M*, his grandmother, recounted for us
just how miraculous this all was. She had only met L* once before
over a decade ago, and only got to see him for a half hour. Then with
an unplanned trip to the South and the hand of God orchestrating all
things, she meets him again and everything falls into place for him to
leave work to spend a few weeks getting to know his a grandma and to
be introduced to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  It's just
another testament that we can do nothing of ourselves. God is making
this work happen! Getting to be a part of it is a privilege.

Transfers are next Tuesday!!! We get shock calls this Saturday.
Yesterday, President Smith was talking with a Elder Hansen and I.
Before we left, he said a prayer. In his prayer, he said, "please
bless Elder Burton with this upcoming transfer, as he will be moved to
a new area." So I guess I'm being transferred! I have no idea where
though. Also, that means that, unless they whitewash our area, poor
Elder Hansen is facing a total of nine and a half months in New Paltz!
I've only been here for one cycle, though it was a seven week cycle
instead of the usual six. I wish I could have more time to really make
a difference in this branch, but at the same time, the trees are just
starting to bloom and allergies are on the brink of becoming
unmanageable. Once the maples bloom I'd be done for! So I'm kind of
hoping I end up in the city. That would be a nice end to my mission
too. But if I'm somewhere else, I just hope it's near the coast so the
sea breeze might help a little with the hayfever.

-Elder Samuel Burton

Pictures
1. A really big, really old house owned by the Precour Family in our
branch. It was built in the 1800s.
2. Me painting a bedroom inside the really big, really old house.
(Thanks for teaching me how to do it right, Mom)
3. Quaid Olsen, Elder Hansen (who fell down in the dirt a few moments
earlier), me, and Blake Olsen. The Olsens are members in our branch.