Some shirts made by a Sister from South Africa.
Hello everyone! Ok, so my mom had emailed me last week and asked forthe address of my new flat and I wrote back saying, "I'll send it to
you in the blog update, I promise." I guess I should have been a bit
careful about promising because it went totally over my head and I
completely forgot.
So Here it is:
177 Massingberd Way
Tooting Bec
London
SW17 6AP
Wow! I'm amazed at how fast this week has gone by. Much has happened
and yet it has all zoomed by at the same time and now I'm found trying
to recall all my adventures that I have had. Something that was really
great was that we saw snow here in England! My companion and the other
two sisters were waking up on the Sunday morning, getting ready, and
just as we were about to start our personal studies, we looked out the
window....and what did we see!? Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!
Just kidding. We saw snow though and it was only about 1/4 inch or so
on the grass, on the roofs of the apartments, and on the cars. Sister
Nguyen (my companion from Vietnam who had never seen snow before)
looked at it like a little kid who was staring at her favorite toy
that she wanted. She looked at it trying to comprehend how it came to
be. It was really neat to see her excitement. After our studies and as
we headed to church, she made sure to grab a handful and throw it
towards our way. It's been getting a lot colder in England as the
weeks continue and it is strange for me to not see any results like a
big blanket of snow. We haven't even gotten any rain at all really.
Just a chilly and cold air. Overall this week has been great! The week
started out with us going to MLC. The leadership council took place in
Staines and instead of having to travel 5-6 hours from Redruth and
staying overnight at a different flat with other sisters, I just only
traveled 45 minutes in the morning with my companion which was really
different but nice. The mission is having quite a few changes as the
new year approaches. We are really focusing on teaching repentance and
baptizing converts, a focus that was given from the apostles
themselves. It's a great focus to have and we will be able to see a
worldwide broadcast this week given to all missionaries which I'm
excited for! The beginning of this past week consisted of councils and
meetings which went really good and throughout all of last week, we
were able to see many miracles! Something that was really neat was
that my companion and I were going through some former investigator
forms and felt prompted to stop by a certain guy's house. We knocked
on his door and a lady answered. We asked if she had heard of a Martin
and she said that he actually passed away last year which was sad to
hear. We continued to talk to this lady and asked her if she would be
willing for us to come back and she said that she would be OK with
that. Just before we left, my companion asked her what her name was
and she told us. I could be certain if she had said it right because
she said it with a bit of an accent so I asked if she could spell
it....and she goes to spell it, "A...n...y...a. Anya." I smiled and
mentioned to her that this was my name as well and she look genuinely
surprised. She was the first person that I've met on my mission who
has my name. It was a really cool experience and we plan to stop by
Anya's sometime this next week. Many other miracles took place this
week. We were riding on an underground tube and this guy came on. He
sat right across from us and a few moments and he looked at us and we
looked back at him. Sister Nguyen felt impressed to give him a
pass-along card so we did. He looked at it and then looked up and
said, "Thank you. Because you gave this to me, I want to attend your
church." Many were staring at us and him as we continued to talk to
him. This guy was from west Africa and he had met missionaries before.
His cousin, too, was a member. He never did show up to church but we
are planning to meet him this coming week. Truly a miracle! Another
miracle: Fiona came to church! Fiona was someone I mentioned about
last week. Both Sister Nguyen and I had found her and she was so
prepared. We got to teach her the first two lessons but then we
discovered she was in the other ward boundaries and so the elders were
the ones that needed to teach her. I love Fiona and was really sad to
see that we couldn't teach her. However, we learned to trust in God's
plan. The elders called us this past week and let us know how she was
doing and then this Sunday, we saw the elders walking with someone who
looked very familiar. It was Fiona! She saw us and we saw her and
started to run towards each other and gave each other a hug. Fiona
told us that she couldn't wait for her baptism (which is in a couple
of weeks) and she was happy that God planned for her to meet us. I
know that God has a great plan for each one of his children. I am so
so grateful that I can be an instrument in God's hands at this time
and in all of my life actually. I reflect on these past months and
just can't imagine my life without this mission. I've learned so many
lessons and I rejoice because of this Gospel! I hope all of you are
doing good. Remember to never forget that no matter where you are,
there can be miracles around you as well if you truly seek for them.
With love,
Sister Burtis
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