Monday, April 28, 2014

Week #65: "You are Helping Them Whether They Accept Your Message or Not."





First off this week is awesome!! Elder Roberts and I get along super well, like best buddies and well its been a crazy week to say the least.

I would like to start things off right by saying congrats to JACOB FOR GETTING CALLED TO AN ISLAND!!! Let's get this island thing going for the Buhlers!!! Ah man, President called me while I was riding my bike so I was kinda slowing down and still going and he is like "your brother is going to Marshall island speaking something leaving in august." Well my heart was not the only thing that flipped! Ah man, i was so pumped but the one thing about having no access to a computer is I have no idea where the Marshall islands is so I called around and found out the general area and I conclude I can come visit you for some Pdays. That's super sick though i am actually jealous ahahha. Anyways dude you will kill it.  Be a way better missionary than I was and for starters advice wise: "follow the rules." Trust me, they make you much happier.  Well besides that ahhaha highlights of the week. There's is no better feeling than to be sitting at church and all your LAS walk in. All 5 of em.  Literally it was a miracle !! We go to these guys house everyday and to see them make that big step towards this is huge.

Oh mom you will be proud of me there is a member here getting a masters in something and he is having me correct his thesis so ya i feel like a big deal.

During English class I was going and asking people what they hated and we got the typical response school, boys, etc. but ya it was an enlightened class discussion we talked about stereotypes and why researching before stating is very important ahahah. There is this old duffer named SBB and he is not ours but i still go visit him cause he is this old man with a stroke whose family never visits so I am like what the heck lets go chill with him and I sit with him at church and help him the sacrament and stuff needless to say i love this old duffer. Um had interviews this week had the shortest interview ever like 4 min. so that was fun.

Really this week has been boss.  I decided I needed to share all the fun parts about the mission but to be honest. Jacob the mission is really really hard but gosh dang it its fun too. I am in a 4 man with an Asian a boy who loves his motorcycle and a guy who is basically going to Harvard. We have a ball. You get to help people everyday . That is what makes so it much fun and worthwhile.  You are helping them whether they accept your message or not. you are helping them and you meet some awesome cool comps that you are super tight with and you learn a language . 
 s
had to learn the hard way that being a senior sucks.  So we had a lesson dinner thing set up with a member but we had no investigator to take and if we met with them we couldn't meet with a new investigator (first time sit down) so it was not that productive then the bishop called and wanted to take us some where nice and a better time so we would be able to meet with the Investigator and meet with he bishop and get a lot of food. So I called the APs asked the opinion they agreed the bishop route was better so I cancelled on the family. I  felt awful then the investigator moves times the bishop moves times and i just cancelled on a family for no reason ahahah.  It was awfull... so I went down stairs and held a puppy.... word of advice if you need help go hold a puppy. I learned patience this week. We are working and helping this guy learn English. But ya we had a break through.  Theman whose thesis O am correcting helped us have a pieke and we got the guy to agree to have him and his family taught!!! Well that's it for now. Elder Roberts (glen ) and I (dick) are just best of friends.

Love you all. 

I tried to climb into a cabinet and I got stuck.

Elder Buhler

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Week 64: This Has Been the Happiest Week on My Mish!

Well this week has been crazy.  After being lost on a train for like 4 hours I arrived in good 'ol Gao Xoing and boy oh boy was I still lost but through prayer and wandering around my companion finally found me!! 

My new companion is Elder Roberts from Syracuse, Utah. He is a simple man who loves his dirt bike and his family. He was recently "Dear John-ed by his girl friend who doesn't realize the catch she just left. I love Elder Roberts. We get along just fine.
I am focusing a lot. I actually am loving my life with my new comp. I think this has been the happiest week on my mish. Last night I wrote out my life plan. Mom, do you know David Brinley? He went to law school with you ? I am in a 4 man with his son. He's a super cool kid.
Well to start off I had a great week of getting to know everyone and getting acquainted with the area. its close to the ocean so its nice. I feel the high light of the week would have to be 2 days ago. We went to go find a less active. We don't know his name but Elder Roberts remember he had visited him so we went out. Its about a hour bike ride and well we got lost for like 4 hours. Need less to say we didn't find him but we did get to meet some grannys.

Well later that night we got to meet with Mr. M who earlier in the week was a referral sent to us by our good ol friend, S. We were supposed to help Mr. M call the USA Treasury Department to obtain some things from them but I guess they were closed so we sat down to teach the plan of salvation. Usually it takes 40 min to teach it but with Roberts and my amazing skills we were able to teach it quicker. ahahha Then after that lesson S. shows up and starts off with this " hello Mr. M, good evening gentlemen.... why is your Chinese so bad?  Why did you come to Taiwan if you can't speak Chinese? you have thee worst Chinese ever. " 

He then said " you are wasting your time with Mr. M.  He is not interested. " Needless to say we were confused but in the end it was a super funny moment in our lives.I thought my companion was gonna flip out but he controlled himself. 

Well as for spiritual experiences... um yesterday we got cancelled for no apparent reason. it was our 830 who was totally golden and we were meeting with an less active as it turned out that was a blessing because our lesson with our less active turned out to be awesome. We watched a movie on Jesus and he asked me why I believed in him. I didn't understand what he was saying but then I realized he didn't know if this were true. I told him ya know man I have lost some people in my life and I believe this is true because I hope it is so that i can see them. I have never had a special feeling reading the Book of Mormon or God telling me it is truth but I take it by faith. i look at the facts and judge it and that's kinda how he was . He was a 28 yr old mechanic who was not sure if there was a God, only really cared about partying and girls.... sound familiar anyone? So I tried to relate with him and in the end I challenged him to read the book of Mormon and to pray everyday because honestly that's how you know. We can't force God's hand and say "give me a sign/" It doesn't work like that. He gives us a sign if we have faith. He then asked me why would God talk to a 14 yr old boy and I said only a 14 yr old boy would listen.I felt it was a good lesson. I mean I don't think I changed anything. II just maybe left a seed, a particle if you will in him and i hope it grows. Because you can't really go find
God if  you are not even trying.  Well I honestly believe our 830 cancelled on us for a reason because that lesson with the less active went over and it was honestly great to sit and address his real reasons. He was endowed which was odd because he is so young not married and did not serve a mission. 


We also went to the park and this lil chubby kid came up to me and I saw my self in him and so we started to play whatever  he wanted to play. I didn't teach him or try to, I just tried be an older brother to him.

Well that's my week.

Kirk Out,

Elder Buhler

Friday, April 18, 2014

Week 63: God Finds You




Niaho everyone! This week has been crazy!!! Conference was crazy because honestly it answered every question that I ever asked. Well at least while I have been on my mission. I would go into it but I won't because then this email would be a book long. Ah man, I won't lie before my mission I hated conference. I thought it was boring but being on the mission I can see why its so important. 

You  know some days people will come up to us and just tear us apart. That's life's fun fact everyone because you are Mormon and because you believe in a creator people do not like you. They think you are stupid. That is where you make the stand of your faith. They say all this fancy smancy things: why there could not be a God. Well they can't prove it. It says in the Book of Mormon they can't prove it and still they can't prove it.  It is something no can prove. 

Personally i believe science and religion can go together. My good friend Brigham Young also agreed with me. He said "we accept all truth whether it  is philosophy or science or religion." What other church says that? Honestly, science can explain how but it can't explain why. People have been saying since the beginning of time we do not need a God and we are so super duper smart. Well a hundred years from now we will be smarter but I know that we all need and strive for that truth to know if there is a God and I don't think a lot of people know this but the Book of Mormon which Joseph Smith translated makes a very daring promise. 
Moroni 10 3-5 which states you will get an answer. 

In conference it talked about either Joseph was pretender. I go even farther either Jesus Christ is what he says he is, the son of God or else he is a lunatic because ordinary men don't go around saying what he did if you believe the latter then you believe a lunatic influenced the world as we currently know it. So he is what he says he is or he is something evil. Judge him by his works. You can not deny that that Joseph Smith did not establish something great and beautiful and what started as a small religion has turned into a world wide faith. 

Do the research by all means. Mormonism should have died out 200 years ago. Yet it goes forth today. Yes we have weird habits. Yes some of are beliefs are extraordinary to say the least but if we research the bible at all the correct parts even the Hebrew and Greek versions you will find we are on par with everything. 

The talk "the Blue Print for the Christ Church" testifies of this. You know one thing i found out with anti Mormon stuff is it always contradicts each other. Well my friends I ask you all to read the Book of Mormon and ask yourself could a simple farm boy write this. Its says Judge us by our works. I feel people take for granted the bofm and don't realize everything that it posses. Well ladies and gents we invite all men bond and free to come. We do not claim we are perfect. Only our doctrine is. I know this email is all over the place with challenges but I believe this to be true. You know its not what I want or what you want. Its what's true that matters. The truth is all that matters to me. If someone can prove to me that God is not there and the bofm is false awesome but till then i believe. I don't have a perfect belief but i have a small belief.  That though I can't explain everything I can't explain why I believe and at times i doubt oh yes i doubt I doubt more than most of you, I have this hope if you will that when I die that will not be the end.  That i will be reunited with my family and friends with private first class Cody Towse and give him a hug and say thank you and I love you that I can hug Brandon Curtis again. and say I am sorry and I love you and I can hug Haley Stonehocker ,Mike Crevstine, my grandpa, Dave Pickney, Logan Miller and everyone else who has gone on. i have this hope that death is not the end that though my body is gone I will move on somewhere. heaven if you will. I don't know of its surety but then again when I was atheist I didn't know of its surety either if the world has not meaning then we should of never found out it has no meaning. ( it is like have a universe with no light and creatures there for having no eyes and saying it was dark ... dark would be with out meaning). I am sorry if this email offends anyone i don't intend to . I love everyone. I know i am a inperfect person before and currently.  came on the mission to help my family and to find God. I am in the process of both. Louis Pasteur said " There are two men in each of us, the scientist who starts with a clear field and desires to rise to knowledge of nature through observation experimentation and reasoning. and the man of sentiment the man of belief the man who mourns his dead children and who alas cannot prove that he will see them again. but who believes that he will and lives in hope that man will not die like a vibrio but who feels the force inside him cannot die...... science which brings man closer to God."   Albert Einstein said science with out religion is lame and religion without science is blind. I leave you with my final thoughts. Do what I have been doing my entire mission and still do. Get on your knees and pray. You don't find God he finds you.

Love, Elder Buhler



Monday, April 7, 2014

Week 62: Watch the Mormon film on Bullying.




1) Did you get to hear Conference? We listen to it this week.
2) What was the greatest thing that happened to you this week? we got up and played basketball today with the mission.
3) What challenges are your investigators facing? One of our investigators believes his Taoism saved him against cancer.
4) What yummy thing did you eat this week? Duck



Ni hao from the island nation of Haiti.... just kidding we're a little less tropical and whole lot more Asian. Well nothing this week. I have learned a lot about being humble. I  won't lie. Sometimes its super duper hard asking for help even to the guy who is my junior but I figure ya know if it will help my Chinese that what the heck might as well. It will not shock any of you to know my Chinese is not as fluent as my jive. Well so ya I am trying to be more humble. 

We had this awesome referral who beat cancer is totally willing to talk to us but believes in Taoism so we are working through that. We set 2 baptismal goals  this week so hopefully we hit them in the coming month. I had a boss exchange with Elder Brown who is one of the happiest ppl on earth.   I love him.  We talked about sports, BYU, dreams the usual. His brother pole vaults for BYU and by his words is perfect and I'm like my brother plays for BYU and is perfect. We reflected how our families are so amazing and how we both are mediocre. IIt was a fun exchange. 

I saw an awesome Mormon message about bullying that I feel the family should watch. Ya know the churches movies used to not be so good but now they are coming up with some good ones.  

I got a call from our doctor who said he does not think I need surgery i just need to tough up my arm but Sister Blickenstaff said she would send the CD. I want to get Bishop Hammond's and Dr. Rich's opinion before I started doing the pinky push ups. Saturday we had a grave cleaning activity.It was weird cause everyone wore normal clothes which was super weird. But ya I hung out with Elder Colvin and he talked about his college and told me stories. He's a funny guy. Anyways I am working hard. My companion and I are working on companion unity.

kirk out,

Elder Buhler

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Week 61: Practice What You Preach

Ni hao everyone!!! 

Well its been a funny week. Yesterday we went with our investigator to his church and they would not let us in ( it was like the singing church of rock or something) It was kinda sad cause it was because we were missionaries. I'm glad that our church invites all men to come unto Christ. So if someone wants to come to church please let them. It really shook our investigator because he thought all churches were good and his church wouldn't let us in. Honestly this made me frustrated because of the fact that it was because we were Mormon. You will rarely here me rant about this stuff but I was mad.

I am not saying I'm a super good mish or a super spiritual because I am honestly neither. I fail everyday in a lot of things but regardless i think you should practice what you preach. That's my email ladies and gentleman, practice what you preach. 

I had a good exchange with cousin Elder Mckenzie. He is a great friend and missionary. Well that's my week. 

Elder Buhler