Mormon missionairy serving in Guatemala dies after car accident

A young southern ALberta musician serving as an LDS missionary in Guatemala died from injuries he suffered when a truck he was riding in overturned on the way to a service activity. Joshua Allen Burton of Cardston, Alberta, broke his back and underwent surgery Saturday night after the accident that morning, but later died on Monday.Three other missionaries not from Alberta were involved in the accident sustained only minor injuries.

Josh was a Canadian pianist and composer. He was also involved at the Carriage house theater in Cardston before he left on his mission. He began his LDS mission in November 2011 and was even telling friends and family he wanted to extend his mission in Guatemala.

Those that worked with Burton at the Carriage House theater say he was one of a kind and was always smiling.” My last email from his says I can think of a few things sweeter than my time at the theater. You Alana had a enough faith in me to let me in on the biggest secret in Cardston the pure adventure theater is. All my richest memories happened within the theater walls,” Alana Leavitt, Director at the Carriage House theater in Cardston reads from a letter.

Throughout his mission, Burton’s mother posted weekly messages online from her son to his friends and fans. He talked often about sharing his music with the people he met in guatemala.”Loving guatemala and my experiences here. Accompanied a group of 200 the other day. Fun stuff,” was the last update posted on his site before he died. ” We always believe are missionairies are protected because they are serving and giving of themselves and they are doing what is expected of them and it’s heartbreaking to imagine that it really does happen,” says Amy Zemp with the Carriage House Theater.

Throughout his mission, Burton’s mother posted weekly messages online from her son to his friends and fans. He talked often about sharing his music with the people he met in Guatemala.

“Loving Guatemala and my experiences here. Accompanied a group of 200 the other day. Fun stuff,” read a post from Burton on July 9, his last update before the accident.

A June 3 post read: “I’m confident that the experiences of my life here in Guatemala will someday show up in my music. I think that’s part of the life of an artist.”

Many reached out to Burton’s family through social media to offer their condolences, including many missionaries who had worked with the young elder and families he met in Guatemala.

“Burton family, we express to you our regret. We know that Elder Burton was a great missionary and an example of service and love of Heavenly Father,” wrote the Alvarez Gonzalez family in Cobán, Guatemala. “We pray for your (comfort), and we know that he will continue preaching the gospel in the Spirit World. We will carry the memories, (time together) and Josh’s teachings in our hearts. We will love him forever!”