New Mission President & Saving a Hedgehog. You could say it's been quite the week! :)

 Hello! I hope all is well for you guys! I will have to say that
I completely blanked last week and forgot to mention that we met our
new mission president, President Ronald Gubler and his wife-Sister
Gubler. They are amazing people! We had a zone conference a while back
with them to officially meet them and hear from them. Let's just say
that I am extremely blessed and know that I'm in good hands for my
mission. President Gubler and his wife are from Orem, Utah. They have
8 kids. Before they came out to the England London South Mission, they
were serving as a senior couple in Germany for about half a year or
so. Sister Gubler shared with us a little thought about faith and then
President Gubler addressed us. Wow! What a great guy! He's so happy
and so loving towards all of us missionaries in this mission. He
brought into that chapel the spirit so strongly as he gave us his
talk. He talked and reminded us of who we were and who we represented.
The way that he talked to us, we would have all thought he was a
general authority or something. It's amazing how he is suppose to be
my mission president. I'm grateful to know that he is suppose to be in
my life during this time because I have learned so much from him
already and know that there is much more to learn from him as well.
        So funny story that happened to Sister Schmidt and I this past
week! We saved a hedgehog from becoming a hedgehog pancake on the
road. We had been door knocking and as we came to a door, we were
looking around and Sister Schmidt pointed out to me that there was a
hedgehog on the road. I got super excited because I've never seen one
before. Well, right at that moment, that hedgehog decided that it
wanted to take on the dangerous road that laid before it. Sister
Schmidt and I leaped down the stairs and porch leading from the door
that we were at and rushed to the road because we heard cars
approaching. We quickly pointed out to the drivers that a cute small
creature was crossing the street and they slowed down. We herded the
hedgehog over to the sidewalk and it went into the grassy grounds of a
big church. We knew it would be safe there and we were happy that the
little guy got to live his life longer. :) This week has been quite
adventurous. We got to teach a less active family and that was really
fun. We did a family home evening with them that included a song, a
spiritual thought, and an activity. The activity we did with the
family was a game like pictionary. One person would draw a picture and
then the rest would have to guess what it was. We had objects like a
tree, a flower, beach, and then gospel related items as well like a
church, the Book of Mormon, angel, etc. The three kids really enjoyed
that activity. What was neat though was that one of the girls (who is
13) in the family had friends and those friends wanted to join. Soon
we had like 4-5 neighbourhood friends who joined in the activity. They
aren't members of the church but they enjoyed listening to our
spiritual thought and participating in family home evening. One of the
teenage girls who wasn't a member of the church even said the closing
prayer. She didn't know how to pray so Sister Schmidt and I taught
her. That girl and all the other neighbourhood kids are joining in on
this upcoming FHE that we have planned and I'm excited for that :)
Overall, we have seen a lot of progress in the area. We had one day
last week where we taught 3-4 lessons in one day and didn't have much
time to go finding. One of our investigators and less actives came to
church and that was neat to see. The joy that I felt when I saw them
is undescribable. Missionary work can be so rewarding. It might be
hard at times and discouraging but it's those small moments when you
see your investigators coming to church or you see a family coming
closer together during FHE that brings joy to your heart and you know
that you are suppose to be here to help change these people's lives.
As each week progresses, I fall in love more and more with England,
the people, and my mission. It's getting easier and easier to forget
about myself and focusing more on them. This last week, we had mission
president interviews in Plymouth and guess what? We got to ride a
train! I think I've probably ridden a train in my earlier days but I
can't remember. Anyways, riding a train is so much fun! We got to pass
all these towns and villages in England and the scenery is absolutely
gorgeous. As I was riding the train and looking out the window at the
scenery with the rolling hills, sheep and cows, villages, etc., I felt
like I was in some sort of movie or something. England is quite fun
because no town, village, or city will ever be the same. They are all
unique in their own way! St. Agnes was a town we visited and it is
beautiful there. In this town, there is a beach and a small main
street with fun tiny stores and friendly people! Oh, I get to ride
another train this week as well because we are doing an exchange! I'm
super excited for that. Sister Schmidt is going to Exeter and working
with a sister there for a day and then another sister will come over
to Redruth to do some missionary work here with me. We will be meeting
up in Plymouth for the exchange. It is a bit intimidating because this
sister doesn't know my area or the people we teach and so that means
I'll be leading the area for one day. I'm excited though because it
will give me a good opportunity to learn and to grow.
       One more crazy story for the past week! Sister Schmidt has
shorter hair (which she can pull off really well) and if it grows to
long, then she doesn't like it. Well in the past,on her mission, she
has had companions cut it. She asked me if I could cut her hair. I
thought she was joking at first but she was 100% serious. Oh boy.
Those who know me...know that I can't cut hair or have never even cut
someone's hair before. Maybe a doll's hair when I was young but I'm
sure you can assume what that might have looked like. Anyways, in the
end, I did cut Sister Schmidt's hair and it was rough at first but I
picked up on it and it turned out pretty good. She really liked it and
that was a relief. It was really scary and took me a long time because
I was really scared that I would mess up but I did it and I probably
won't ever do it again ;) It's too nerve wracking. Well this week has
been quite adventurous! Each day brings new adventures and I love
that. I hope all is well for everyone! Love you!
With love,
Sister Burtis