Faith in Jesus Christ, not the outcome!

Hi guys! Wow! This week has been filled with many adventures! We started off our last week with a wonderful pday. We got to have a district pday and go to St. Michael's mount. It's a lovely attraction located in Penzance and lots of tourists go to it. I can see why now. It is a really pretty place!! It's got a big castle on it and gardens that we were able to go explore. We had some Cornish ice cream at a place there which was new for me and that was really good! The day was even better because the sun was shining and it was really warm. Cornwall overall is just a great place. The people are great, the area is great, and my love for it increases everyday! The work here is increasing immensely! Sister Hamann and I have set good goals for ourselves and we were able to accomplish many of them and found lots of people to teach. We had about three new investigators this past week and that was really exciting. I have found that my confidence has really increased and I'm getting to the point where I have been able to become better at bus contacting and just talking to people in general. I've talked to several people on the bus and had some really good gospel discussions. I know that the Lord has truly had his hand in the missionary work here in the Redruth area. I'm so grateful for the many things that I've learned this past week. My companion, Sister Hamann, is great. Her and I get along so well. I am so truly blessed to know someone such as her. I almost hope that I'm able to stay for another transfer with her because we work so well together. The unity that we have is undescribable. We still have to work at becoming better at teaching but we've learned to bounce off what each other person says and we have come to realize that we are feeling the spirit so strongly in the lessons we teach when we do this. I'd like to share one of the miracles I saw this week with my companion. Last Monday, after pday, we went knocking and strived to find those who were searching for the truth but knew not where to find it. We knocked on several doors on a street in a town called Threemilestone. We knocked on several doors but more often than not, many didn't want to listen to us. We decided to knock one last door before we were going to head to a member's home for a teach. A lady named Lydia answered the door and she had a big smile on her face. As we introduced ourselves to her, she exclaimed that she believed in Jesus Christ. We were amazed at her enthusiasm and as we got talking to her and introducing the Book of Mormon to her, she was so excited. She is now one of our investigators and we are really excited to be able to teach her this week sometime. She's amazing and we received a witness that God does truly prepare the hearts of his children and we need to be willing to seek diligently to find these people. That was just one out of the many miracles that we saw. If I were to write down all the miracles from this past week, this would become more like a novel :) Another quick story: One crazy day that we had was when we went finding. Sister Hamann and I had finished dinner and headed out to go to a lesson to a couple that we had met this past week. It was raining really hard however and the couple didn't show up. Standing under Sister Hamann's umbrella (I had left mine at the church), the two of us did our best not to get too wet. We decided to stick with our back-up plans and went to contact some potential investigators. They were about a mile or so away so we trekked up to where they lived and we came to find out that they weren't home. We didn't give up however and talked to people along the way and then went to visit some members at their home. The members (an older couple) lived a ways off from where we were so we decided we would walk with haste and see if we could visit them and leave them with a spiritual thought. Sister Hamann and I silently prayed that they would be home seeing that at this time, we were both drenched and the rain continued to come. We made our way over and as we reached their home, we were sad to see that the windows in the home were dark. Sister Hamann and I knocked on the door but no one was home. With heads hung low, we started to walk towards the flat. We weren't sure why we needed to go towards that way and felt that nothing good came out of us getting completely drenched. We changed our attitudes however and persistently kept going. We ended up running into a younger lady and got to teach her about the message we had. It was a good conversation and we came to understand that no effort is wasted. We might have just planted a small seed that could eventually grow into something spectacular. Sister Hamann and I did eventually make our way back to our flat and to pass time and to forget about being wet, we sang church songs and hymns all the way back which was really fun! It was an adventure that we can look back on :) I'm so grateful for the Lord and the tender mercies that He has shown us this week even though at times, we may not know the outcome right away. In the end, It's all about faith in Jesus Christ and not the outcome. He knows what he wants us to do and as long as we strive to be in tuned with the spirit and work hard, we can accomplish his work :)  Love you all!

Love,

Sister Burtis 

The Seasons of Miracles is here!

Hello everyone! Wow, lots has taken place this past week. The
beginning of last week was pretty hard. I had a hard time saying
goodbye to my trainer Sister Schmidt and it took a couple of days for
me to get used to the idea that I had another companion now. Entering
the flat, I felt moments of nostalgia and it felt like Sister Schmidt
would be returning but she didn't. Anyways, it took a couple of days
but I have been truly blessed. My new companion, Sister Hamann is
wonderful and so nice and eventually I got used to the idea that she
was now my companion. Sister Hamann has been out for about 1/2 year
now and her and I work really well together. We have seen the hand of
the Lord in the work as we strive to compromise with each other and
learn to work with each other. Being the first time that I've gotten
another companion who will be with me for at least 6 weeks, it was
pretty hard to adjust to things that she usually does in the work
compared to Sister Schmidt and I. However, I'm grateful for that
because it helps me to learn and to grow and adapt to change. The Lord
truly does place people in our lives for a reason and there is always
something we can learn from them. Sister Hamann and I are sister
training leaders for this transfer again and that is exciting! We got
to go to MLC (Mission Leadership Council) and it was amazing! Sister
Hamann had never been to it before but she really enjoyed it as did I.
We got to discuss as Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders together
what we thought would be best for the mission and what changes we
needed to make. One thing that we've established is the importance of
obedience. There were some grey zones in white handbook in where some
missionaries weren't sure of what could work or what couldn't work,
e.g. Music, what time to wake up at, etc. so we got to discuss that.
For music, we prayed about it and felt that in order for the seasons
of miracles to really occur, we needed to give up some things. Like
the sons of mosiah who gave up the kingdom to go preach to the
lamanites and receive success, we decided that we would listen to
hymns and mormon tabernacle choir only. We also are doing more
studying with the preach my gospel. It's hard because missionaries
would often listen to Disney, acapella groups, etc. but now we are
limited to songs that we think can really invite the spirit into the
work. It may sound weird but I have had an increased amount of
gratitude for the hymns and the amount of success that we are
receiving this past week in the Redruth area is amazing! It truly
shows that if we are willing to give a little more for the work, we
can see more success and blessings. I finished the Book of Mormon last
week and I am amazed at how much I learned from it than I ever have
before. Just this last Sunday, as a mission, we all had a fast and
prayed for the 2nd harvest/season of miracles to take place and for
the witness that the Book of Mormon is true. I received that witness
to both of these things. The Book of Mormon truly carries that divine
truth and it is the word of God. I invite anyone at home to read the
Book of Mormon in a period of 12 weeks or less and see what you learn.
As you read it, you'll see things in there that you might have never
seen before. The questions we asked ourselves as we got to read it
was, Who am I? Who is He? (Jesus Christ) and What does he want me to
become? The missionary work is hastening. Sister Hamann and I have met
many people on the street and have got to teach them and we have some
return appointments with some of them. We are quite excited!!!! As for
leading the area, I've seen that I've become more confident in myself
and that I'm able to talk to everyone on the street without
hesitating. Sometimes my companion has to drag me away because I get
talking to people for too long ;) I know it's because my love for the
people has increased immensely and my love for the Book of Mormon has
increased as well since I've read it. I would want anyone to be able
to read it for themselves and receive that joy in their lives that I
feel now. This past week has been fantastic! The church is true! Love
you all!!!!!
With love,
Sister Burtis :)

The changes are bound to come.

Hello! I hope all is well! Wow. What a crazy eventful past two weeks
it has been! It has been full of emotions, changes, and missionary
work. Last week, Sister Schmidt and I had an exchange with the sisters
from Exeter. That was a lot of fun! We got to ride the train over to
Exeter and I stayed with Sister Wood in that city to do some
missionary work while Sister Schmidt and Sister Valoskova went back to
Redruth to do missionary work there. Sister Wood is from Alpine, Utah
and she is very fun and motivated. We both learned a lot from each
other! The next day, we exchanged back. There is always something
about exchanges. You love doing them to have a variety in the work but
it's always great to reunite with your companion again. Sister Schmidt
and I got to exchange back and then as the Plymouth zone, we all came
together to have our district meetings and then have lunch as a zone
afterwards. The lunch was really fun. It was a pot luck and all of the
companionships brought a food item so we had a lot to eat. We then got
to share miracles that we experienced this past transfer in our areas.
The different miracles was neat to listen to. We are continually
teaching our investigators and that is going good. We are teaching a
father and a son and they are both so open-minded and ask a lot of
good questions. We got to teach the plan of salvation to them and they
really enjoyed that. We asked them to come to church and they said
they would. They do have a disabled son/brother that is hard for them
to get to church but they really want to come and we are excited to
continue to teach them. The finding has been good but we have had a
lot of traveling, teaching appointments, and lots of dinner
appointments so it has been a bit hard to use that time to seek for
more potentials. We want to continually find everyday however because
we know that there are more people seeking for the truth but know not
where to find it. This past sunday, Sister Schmidt gave her final talk
in the Redruth ward and then she played the piano, "Come thou fount of
every blessing", while me and two other sister members in the ward
sang. The ward loved that and the spirit was felt so strongly. This
past Monday, Sister Schmidt packed all her stuff and I helped her. It
was strange for the both of us and it didn't feel real. It almost
seemed like she was just getting transferred to another area but she
was actually heading home. We went to a member's home to have lunch
with them. They made us homemade Cornish pasteys and also English
trifle and it was really good! After the lunch, Sister Schmidt and I
grabbed her luggage and rode the train to Plymouth.  From there, the
senior couple, Brother and Sister Mcbride picked us up and we went to
Newton Abbot and stayed with the sisters overnight. The next morning,
our district leader and his companion picked up Sister Schmidt and I
really early and we traveled for some hours to Crawley. In Crawley, we
met up with many other missionaries who were transferring to another
area, getting a new companion, or going home. I got to meet my new
companion Sister Hamann (hey-mann) and then that was the time I needed
to say goodbye to Sister Schmidt. It's then that it hit me that I
wouldn't see Sister Schmidt again. Tears were shed and we embraced
each other in a hug and thanked each other for the journey that was
made between the two of us. I truly
must have been given the first pick in heaven when I got to choose who
my mission trainer would be because Sister Schmidt influenced my life
immensely. I'm going to miss her so much and I know it'll take time to
adjust to having a new companion but I trust that I'm suppose to be
with Sister Hamann for a reason and know there is things I need to
learn from her just as I did from Sister Schmidt. Sister Schmidt
really demonstrated and taught me the importance of charity. She loved
everyone she ran into and she always was so diligent in helping them
to the best of her ability. I know that she was my trainer for many
reasons. It's amazing the people God puts in our lives. This week has
been a crazy, emotional, and eventful week but it has helped me to
learn a lot. I'm a bit nervous to have to lead the area (I'm still
serving in Redruth) and help my new companion understand where
everything is and who the people are but I know that with the help of
my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, all things are
possible.
With love,
Sister Burtis

Rain,rain, go away.

Hello! Wow. What a week. The week has been filled with one or two days
of sunshine but the rest of the week has been filled with rain. It's
sounds this rain needs to be sent to Utah. It's been good though!
Where to even begin, I'm not quite sure. The past week started off
with our pday and that was quite fun! After emailing and doing our
shopping, Sister Schmidt got to walk about a mile away from where we
live and go to a little lovely attraction called Gwennap Pit. It is
this big circular grassy stadium in the ground and it was used for
Methodists to hold church firesides and meetings. There is even a
place for the preacher to stand. If you get a chance to look it up,
you should. It's really neat. We had to hurry back to Redruth before
the pday ended and so we walked on a public footpath that took us to
some beautiful England land. As we kept walking, you wouldn't believe
what we got to walk through. Sister Schmidt and I got to walk through
a tiny llama farm. It was the best! There was a trail that was the
footpath and on both sides of us, there were llamas staring at us and
coming up to us from the side of the fence. I thought llamas only
resided in the North and South Americas, but it seems to me that they
are everywhere ;) That was quite fun! Apart from that, this week has
had lots of adventures, and it's ups and downs as well. We have had a
dinner appointment each day with members from the Redruth Ward this
week and there are quite some good English meals that were made. If
anyone worries that I might be starving, it's ok because I'm not. I
have to be careful not to eat to much or you might not recognize me
when I get back. ;) One member made for us something that is called
bread and butter pudding with raisins and that was good. It's a common
English dessert dish. Well our investigator had his baptism interview
but he still had some concerns about Thomas S. Monson so we've decided
to postpone his baptism and just help him resolve those questions. We
have faith that it will all work out. It was hard to see him coming
out of the interview because he knows he wants to get baptized but he
knows that he wants to be honest about everything and not just answer
yes to all the questions. I have faith in the Lord's timing. The same
day, we found out that one of our member's gran passed away. We were
sad to hear about that because we had taught a lesson to this gran and
she was such a sweet lady. I've learned a lot about trusting in the
Lord this past week. Sister Schmidt is about a week away to going home
and it really scares me to know that I'll be leading the area. There's
even a possibility of me training someone. I'll be finding out by the
end of this week. Anyways, I've learned to have confidence in myself
and trust that all will be well. I've been reading the Book of Mormon
a lot lately because as missionaries, we are challenged to finish it
by September 1st, and I really enjoy it. It's amazing how much you get
out of the storyline when you read more than one chapter each day :)
Apart from that, we've got to do a lot of finding this week and have
given out some Books of Mormon which is great! We knocked on door
after door and even though it may take a long time, it's so rewarding
to be able to talk to those who are interested. The work is truly
hastening on. I'm grateful to be out here on this mission. I have
learned a lot! One thing that stood out to me as I was reading the
Book of Mormon this past week was something the Lord said, "Bear with
patience thine afflictions and I will grant unto you success." I love
you all!
Love,
Sister Burtis

I will trust and not be afraid!

My area has been given a flood of miracles and I'm amazed to see that
each week brings something new though I never know what all those
things are until I look back at them. This past week has been
incredible. I wish I could write down every single event or miracle
that took place but that would take too long ;) To start off with,
Geoffry is getting closer and closer to his baptism. We are all
getting pretty nervous about it but we trust that everything will be
ok and will work out. Geoffry is a great guy and has been
investigating the church for several years but he tells us that he
feels this is his time now. We have faith that he will be baptized
when he's ready and we are excited for that. We did some finding this
week and we got to see the Lord's hand in the missionary work as we
have continued to be exactly obedient, trust, and work hard. Sister
Schmidt and I were finding and we got talking to a guy named Simon.
Simon is a great guy. He's very friendly, and he lives with his wife
and two kids. Well as we got talking to him, he mentioned to us that
17 years ago he lived in Truro right next to some elders. Those elders
had some good chats with him and he remembers seeing those
missionaries a lot. Well 17 years later, Sister Schmidt and I were
finding and we saw him working on his motorcycle and got talking to
him. It was quite a miracle and taught me an important lesson. No
matter what happens, there can always be a seed planted that can grow
in time and we mustn't give up. I think I may have mentioned something
about Simon last week but I can't remember. But anyways, great news!
Simon and his son David are now investigators that we are teaching and
they are very open-minded and willing to learn more. We hadn't planned
on teaching his son David but David was there sitting in on the lesson
and asking lots of questions. We had a wonderful lesson with them
earlier this past week about the restoration and got to give David a
Book of Mormon. Now here comes another miracle we experienced. We left
Simon's house and then went to contact a less active. We were thinking
about going back and doing my 12 weeks study but we stuck to the plans
and went to contact this less active. On our way there, we heard
someone call out to us from behind. A guy came up pedalling on his
bike and asked us, "Are you Mormons or Jehovah witnesses? By the way
you two are both dressed, I presume you are one of them? If you're
mormons, great. Do you have any literature that I could read? If
you're jehovah witnesses, that's ok but I'm wanting to find out more
about the mormon church." Sister Schmidt and I both looked at each
other and then back to him with our jaws dropped and we were quite
surprised. Was this for real? Sure enough, it was. We quickly
explained to him that we were Mormons, gave him a Book of Mormon,
wrote down his phone number and he was excited to meet with us. We got
to teach him this past week and the members that we brought with us
clicked really well with him. The same day, we had our Meet the
Mormons movie night. We had a great time. No problems with the
projector, food, or anything. It was a tender mercy! Four of the
members brought their non-member friends and that was amazing to see.
I've often seen how the activities we plan have a good turnout if we
truly take the time to plan them and take the time to invite others
including our investigators, potential investigators, etc. What a week
of miracles! Sister Schmidt and I are filled with joy as we have come
to trust more in the Lord and see those miracles taking places. The
work is hastening on and I'm excited. I can't wait for these next
weeks ahead.We know that we need to put our trust in the Lord and that
He will help us. I'm truly grateful to be out here on my mission. I
have struggled a bit knowing that Sister Schmidt is to leave soon to
go back home (about 2 weeks). I'm super happy for her but she's a
great trainer and I'll miss her dearly. I get a bit nervous that I'll
be done getting trained soon and the possibility of leading the area
or evening training a new missionary might happen. Rumours have it
that there is about 36 new missionaries coming into the field in the
next two weeks. That's crazy! I know that whatever happens though,
that is what the Lord wants for me. I often think of my favourite
scripture, 2 Nephi 22:2. I will trust and not be afraid. :)
I love you all!
Love,
Sister Burtis

Behold, A Royal Army!

The missionary work is hastening on. I have no doubt about that. This week has passed by so fast and much has happened here in the land of England. Because Sister Schmidt and I are sister training leaders for our zone, we got to attend the Missionary Leadership Conference. MLC happens each transfer and the zone leaders and sister training leaders in each zone (9 zones total in the mission) come together. Sister Schmidt and I along with our zone leaders are part of the Plymouth zone and we all traveled together last Monday to Reading (pronounced like redding). On the way there, we were going to stop at Stonehedge since we were still having our pday but sadly, the last passes were sold and we weren't able to go. We didn't even know it cost to go but the attraction was closed for the day so we continued to Reading and drove past it on the main road. I still got a picture of it and it looks really neat but I think it would have look a lot bigger up close. That's ok though! The traveling was still fun! We got to Reading and then Sister Schmidt and I got to stay overnight with the sisters from the Reading area. The next day was MLC and it was amazing! We had tables all set up in a big circle. The zone leaders and sister training leaders from each zone sat by each other and at one of the tables in the circle was the mission president, President Gubler and his wife. We got to listen to a presentation given by President Gubler and it was amazing! He had told us about how many were converted when the first missionaries in England came and did missionary work. Heber C. Kimball and Wilford Woodruff baptized many in the river ribble near Preson, England. In the year 1987, there were a total of 1,300 or so baptisms taking place. President Gubler knows something big is about to happen. That this time is the time for the season of miracles and the 2nd harvest. (D&C 4:4). We as missionaries felt that to be true and the spirit was felt so strongly. It truly is the time to be able to invite many to come unto Christ.  It is the time for the season of miracles and we need to prepare ourselves. In Mormon 9:20, there were reasons for why we might not be able to see miracles which was because we might be dwindling unbelief, being disobedient, and/or lack trust in God. We as missionaries want to work on our personal conversions and help others to be converted as well. We all discussed how we could enhance our mission plan or if we needed to enhance it and that was a great experience. We prayerfully considered and discussed how we could help our zones. The spirit was felt so strongly. We got to sing the hymn, "Behold, A Royal Army" and it's an amazing song! The spirit that was felt was incredible as the group of us all sang and declared, "....Victory, Victory, Through him that redeemed us! Victory, Victory, Thru Jesus Christ, our Lord!.." It's a great song and has become one of my favorites! The missionary leadership conference was great. It helped me to learn so much and I was told by several missionaries that I was blessed to be able to go while still being trained. I had been so blessed to go and my love for the missionary work continues to increase more and more as the days go on. After MLC, Sister Schmidt and I had an exchange with Sister Holley and Sister Deloumeaux from the Newton Abbot. Sister Deloumeaux and I got to stay in Redruth for a day and to teach some lessons to some investigators and a less-active. It was a great experience. Sister Deloumeaux is from France and has a sweet spirit about her. She told me that she has 18 siblings! Some of them are half-siblings but that still a lot of brothers and sisters! It's cool though! It was especially funny to see the faces of our investigators, members, etc. when she'd introduce herself and told them that.  The exchange went great. We exchanged back to our normal companionships the next day because we had zone conferences in Bristol. Lots of traveling happened this past week but the zone conference was great and also spiritual as well! Apart from the conferences this week, Sister Schmidt and I got to do some finding. We found a guy named Simon who had lived by some missionaries 17 years ago while living in Truro (a city in our area) and as we got talking to him, he was interested to know more. It's amazing how a seed can be planted by missionaries 17 years ago and how it can still affect the person now when he meets with missionaries again.  Miracles were seen this week and I am grateful to be a part of this work. Oh! Sister Schmidt and I got to see a baby hedgehog near some bushes! It was super cute. I think I want to get one as a pet later in life ;) Just kidding! but maybe..? :) I hope all is well for you all! Take care! 

With Love,

Sister Burtis 

Listen to the prompting that you are given.

Hello everyone! I hope the summer months are treating you well and the sun is shining wherever you are! :) This week has been a busy one and full of crazy and exciting adventures. Earlier this week, we had many teaching appointments scheduled but a lot of them fell through. Sister Schmidt and I were pretty disappointed about that. We had a family that is less active and we had been trying to do family home evening at their house for weeks but whenever we made an appointment for a certain day of the week, they would always cancel on us. One of the days this week, It had been the 4th or so time that this family on canceled on us and we just felt frustrated with that. Sister Schmidt and I were on the bus on the way to their house at that time too. We had a back up plan to go finding and street contacting so we got off the bus and were ready to talk to people. We started walking on the streets and as we tried to talk or stop people, they gave us weird looks and rushed off. It seemed like no one wanted to listen. We even came up to a lady who was sitting at the bus stop. Before we could even introduce ourselves, she grabbed her purse and stormed off thinking we were going to sell her something. We tried to explain that were weren't selling her something but she didn't listen. That was hard. Sister Schmidt and I were sad by the all of these rejections. One thing I learned though is to not give up. Satan worked pretty hard on us that day to make us feel bad and poorly so we wouldn't continue talking to people. We strived and pushed on with all the energy and determination that we had and continued street contacting. By the end of that time that we were finding, we were able to teach 4 lessons on the street and one of those people is someone we have a return teaching appointment with. In the Restoration movie, Joseph Smith declares one of my favourite quotes, "Sometimes the Lord brings us low before He can lift us higher." I know that missionary work isn't easy but I do have to say that I'm grateful for the moments of frustrations, discouragements, etc. For without those moments, we wouldn't be able to experience or feel that immense joy that we feel as missionaries when we find someone who will talk to us, listen to us, and allow us to come back to teach them. The work is hastening on. I've seen it here in England and I'm happy know it's happening all around the world as well. For this week, a crazy story happened for me and my companion which helped me to recognize the importance of listening to the Holy Ghost. There was a day where Sister Schmidt and I were finding. During this time as we went door knocking, we came across a house and a gate. We wanted to open the gate so we could get to the door and knock but there was a sign that said, "Warning-dogs running around free." No sooner had we read the sign but we heard the dogs barking and coming up to the gate. They sounded ferocious. Sister Schmidt and I stood there, looked at each other, and weren't sure of what to do. I thought I had heard someone from the house yell at them to stop but I couldn't be quite sure. The dogs continued to bark loudly and so we decided we should just place a pass-along card with a website and our number on it in the post box. We started walking away and I got a prompting to go back. It was so clear, so distinct. I thought for a second that was just my thoughts however and so I continued to walk. Go back, I was told again. I was surprised at how clear that came to me. By this time however, we were already knocking at the next house over. The people living there weren't intererested. We left and as we were coming out of the people's garden area, I knew we needed to go back to the house with the gate and dogs. I told that to Sister Schmit and she looked at me and replied with hesitation that there were dogs and they could get out. We both headed towards the house however and reached the gate. By this time, the dogs were quiet but as soon as I tried opening the gate door, they started barking. I was able to turn the handle and enter in through the gate as Sister Schmidt slowly followed behind me. A medium sized dog slipped out of the dog door and started barking at us and another large dog was seen barking loudly through the dog door but it wasn't able to fit through luckily. We rang the doorbell with much haste and about a minute or so later as we were silently praying that we wouldn't get eaten, someone yelled for the dogs to quiet down. Though the opened kitchen window, we were able to introduce ourselves to a lady who was in hers 20s or 30s. We gave her a brief outline of the restoration and talked about the Book of Mormon. In the end, she wasn't too interested but we were happy to have been able to share the message with her about our church and to let her have that opportunity to hear what we wanted to say. We also got to leave a pamphlet with her about the Restoration. At the end of this whole situation, Sister Schmidt was shocked how that all turned out. She was happy I listened to the prompting even though she thought at first that I was crazy and suicidal. :) The spirit is truly there to guide and prompt us if we take the time to listen and to also act on what we get prompted to do. After that adventure had happened, Sister Schmidt and I got to attend the Redruth Ward BBQ. It seemed that there were more people investigating and less actives that came than those that were members. It was a good turnout! This week had been rainy and wet but the day of the BBQ was hot and sunny, what a blessing. Geoffry, our investigator, and his two sons came out and that was great to see that. They all had fun and really enjoyed it. Sister Schmidt and I played games with the kids and adults and it was an evening of laughter, running around, and visiting with people. This week, overall, has been great! We got to extend a baptismal date invitation to our investigator, Geoffry. In about a month's time, he will be getting baptized and we are excited for that. It'll be a week or so before Sister Schmidt leaves to go home too. Geoffry's faith is building and his testimony grows stronger and stronger each day. As is mine. I love the opportunity to teach others and being able to learn for myself as well. I'm grateful for this mission. I hope all is well for you! Love, Sister Burtis