Elder Tyler Burbank is one of many missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who dedicates his time to support a cause that he is passionate about. As Christians, the missionaries believe in learning all that they can about Jesus Christ and that the greatest happiness in life comes from following the Savior.
He spent six months in El Salvador on his missionary effort, which is based on the New Testament pattern of missionaries serving in pairs, teaching the gospel and baptizing believers in the name of Jesus Christ.
“The people there were just wonderful,” said Elder Burbank. “We definitely helped in many ways. There were a lot of service where we were just helping the residents with what they needed, and spent some time helping to build homes.”
“One of my favourite experiences was having the chance to carry some water for people, as part of my service. A lot of places there didn’t have running water for a few days. So we would carry the water up big hills, so they could have it at their houses,” said Elder Burbank. “They had water that we could drink, that was kept in sealed plastic bags.”
Missionaries receive their assignment from Church headquarters and are sent only to countries where governments allow the Church to operate. Missionaries do not request their area of assignment and do not know beforehand whether they will be required to learn a language.
“I didn’t take Spanish before my mission, and I was at the Commissioner Training Centre in Mexico for six weeks to learn a little about Spanish. Other than that, I was basically dropped into El Salvador with only a little knowledge. The other missionary assigned to the same area was from Guatemala and spoke no English, so I had to learn very fast.”
“It was important to have the desire to learn the language, so I could speak to those who I was working with,” said Elder Burbank.
The most rewarding aspect was sharing the testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The people are very accepting in El Salvador. They give you everything, finding a way to give even if they don’t have anything at their home. It was very rewarding to learn about their culture. It was great to see them share the love and embrace the teachings of the Gospel,” said Elder Burbank.
Burbank returned to Canada after COVID-19 regulations were put into place in March. He is currently assigned to the Canada-Winnipeg mission area, and was based out of the Weyburn branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, before being assigned to the Moose Jaw branch.
Even with COVID-19 restrictions in place limiting missionary services, Elder Burbank said “we still teach people about the gospel, and volunteer in the community to continue to help others and live a life exampled by Jesus Christ.”
Residents who are looking for a way to give back to their communities during the Christmas season can find “Light the World” prompts on their website at www.comeuntochrist.org/light-the-world-2020.
