Being an Instrument in His Hands

Hello everyone! I can't believe it's coming to be near the end of
July. The summer months are passing by quickly and threatening to take
away the hot weather that my companions and I have been enjoying this
past week. The life of a tri is a fun one! Sister Fromgren, Sister
Wang, and I are all enjoying it. It's funny to see members or
sometimes even people on the streets who know missionaries look at us
in confusion and then ask why there are three of us. I sometimes
respond, "In the mouth of two or THREE witnesses shall every word be
established." (2 Corinthians 13:1) This brings us a smile to their
faces and then we explain to them our situation of how Sister Wang and
I will be moving to Brighton soon so our tri is, unfortunately,
temporary. I love the life of a tri though. We all help each other,
lift each other up, feel more confident on the streets-knowing that we
have an even greater support when bearing testimony, ect. We were able
to be a part of many miracles this week and I'm grateful to be able to
receive more and more witnesses of how God is truly hastening his
work. Our first miracle, happened after Preparation Day. The three of
us were walking to go and contact a less-active at her home. We
knocked several times but no answer. After several attempts, Sister
Fromgren and Sister Wang turned around and were walking back towards
the street. For myself, I was following behind them. Sister Fromgren
got talking to a lady on the street and Sister Wang joined them and I
was about to do the same when the less-active lady suddenly opened her
door. So there we were, two of us talking to the lady on the street,
and the other talking to the less-active. The awkward moment happened
though when this lady I was talking to said we could come in and teach
her. I looked back to my friends and saw they were still talking to
the lady of the street. I excused myself for a moment and helped them
finish testifying and finding out if this lady was interested. She
wasn't too keen on giving out her number or address but she was
willing to look more into our website to see what we were about. After
that, I informed my two fellow companions that we had a lesson to
teach. As we approached Georgina (the less-active that I was talking
to), she let us in. We were able to testify to her about the
importance of prayer and reading the Book of Mormon and the spirit was
felt very strongly. Towards the end of the lesson, Georgina simply
said, "I know I need to start coming back to church. Just before you
knocked on my door, I was watching TV and something about the church
came up and the thought crossed my mind that I really needed to come
back, and then suddenly you knocked on my door." I know that's truly
not a coincidence given from our Heavenly Father. I love being able to
be an instrument in His hands and to go where He'd have me go to help
His children. The rest of the week consisted of an amazing zone
conference (the first one that Sister Wang went to). Sister Wang loved
it and as did I. We discussed the importance of being accountable to
the Lord each night as we reflected what we did to serve Him that day.
We were reminded the importance of setting goals and how when we set
those goals, we should covenant to the Lord that we will do them and
then account that evening with the Lord on how we did. I was able to
go on my second to last exchange with the Mitcham sisters and that
went great. I love being to help set goals with the different sisters
and them helping me to learn and grow. Sister Lulab, Sister Wang, and
I were on the exchange together and as we got knocking doors and
teaching, we were able to meet many people who seemed so close to
being interested but said no in the end. As we walked down a street
towards our bus, we saw a delivery guy standing by his bike. We
approached him and introduced ourselves. At first, he simply said that
he was completely atheist. Something that I learned though over the
course of my mission and from reading the Preach My Gospel manual is
that when we testify, the spirit can testify to them more that what we
say is true. We testified to how we came to know God for ourselves and
he continued to listen. In the end, he ended up wanting a Book of
Mormon and we were able to set a return appointment. What a miracle!
Another fun thing that the three of us got to do while being on the
exchange is going to do service for our recent convert, Sally. Sally
was holding some big party for her birthday but needed help to prepare
the food. She had us first cut potatoes and then she asked us to
cut....onions. Onions and I don't get along too well because you know
what happens when you cut too many onions. Something that was really
funny though was that Sally told us that she heard if we put spoons in
our mouth while chopping onions, we won't cry as much. We tried it and
I think it worked? It didn't mean though that I didn't cry. I still
had some tears running down my face after chopping two or three
onions. It was quite funny to see all three of us sisters chopping
onions with spoons in our mouth. I look forward to the many adventures
in the coming weeks. It won't be easy to leave Clapham and I will miss
many of the people that I've been able to meet while serving here but
I trust that God has a great plan in store. Have a wonderful week!
Love you all!
Love,
Sister Burtis

Relieved to feel free from the darkness

I hope everyone has been able to have a great week! Summers always
seem to bring a sense of adventure and fun! For some who may not know,
within a matter of a phone call from my mission president, President
Gubler, Sister Fromgren and I were told at the beginning of last week
that I would be training and that this new missionary would be coming
in the next day to serve with us in a tri here in  Clapham for three
weeks and then this new missionary and I  would be traveling to
Brighton to serve there. It's quite some unexpected yet adventurous
and exciting news! That next day, Sister Fromgren and I went to (what
would be my last) Mission Leadership Council and we were able to
discuss the importance of the work, how we could use the mission
training plan better, and how we as a mission could do to accomplish
what the Lord wants done. Towards the end of the meeting, my heart
started beating a bit faster, I got a bit more nervous, and knew
within the next moments, I would be meeting my new companion. After
MLC  concluded, President Gubler had the two new missionaries come
into the room, an Elder from Thailand and our new sister from China,
and we were able to welcome them. As soon as I saw Sister Wang
(pronounced like Wong), I felt that this was right and that I would be
learning many great things from her. I was right about that. Sister
Wang, though not knowing all English words, knows a good amount and is
very smart and willing to learn. She is so humble and so sweet and
very caring. Being in a tri has been such an adventure. You would
think maybe it's hard because you now have three heads deciding
instead of two but rather we seemed more solidified in our decisions
and feel more confident on the streets. The day after Sister Wang came
into the area, we (Sister Fromgren and I) needed to go to DLC and
present what we learned at MLC to the district leaders. Sister Wang
was a bit confused at why there were so many meetings and I don't
blame her. We ended up having a lot of dinner appointments too her
first couple of days that she was here. It all went well though and as
the days proceeded, things got easier for Sister Wang and she is doing
great adjusting to the missionary life. Something that was fun too was
that one of the members took us out to a Korean restaurant and that is
something I haven't done actually since I've been on my mission. They
cook the food in front of you and it was really cool. Sister Wang was
able to show me the different types of food and how to eat the certain
meal that we ordered and that was fun. We were also able to do some
service for one of our sister missionaries who just recently got
injured and it was fun to be able to go and surprise her and see how
she was doing. I've recognised that we are the most happiest when
forget ourselves and serve others. It's something I want to continue
to apply all throughout my life. This week brought adventures and
learning opportunities but also a few oppositions for us as well but
we didn't let it bring us down. An investigator we had been teaching
suddenly stopped having contact with us and when we went to see them,
they opened their door and just simply said that they couldn't commit.
It's hard to hear those words and especially as we continue through
our missions, we really discover how Important and how crucial this
message that we share with them is. We continue to pray that this
person will soon return to learn more and all we can do is trust that
the Lord will provide and that He will help us find more of His
children that He had prepared. Well just this past Sunday, we saw
something funny and some miracles as well. On Sunday, Sister Fromgren,
Sister Wang, and I headed to the chapel about an hour before church
started for correlation meeting. We met the elders and the ward
mission leader and then discussed the progress of the work. Sally, a
recent convert and ward missionary, came in for the meeting and
mentioned to us that on the way to the upstairs classroom, she saw a
bird in the hallway near the staircase. We all looked at her with
surprise and she continued to explain how she just saw it sitting
there on the windowsill. After correlation meeting, all five of us
missionaries headed out into the corridor/hallway and sure enough, a
white and black bird was sitting there looking at all of us with its
small eyes perhaps wondering what we were doing. We discussed how we
could get it out and so with that, we went and found some large black
garbage bags, tore them into a blanket type thing and the elders,
Elder Saliva and Elder Hulleman, tried their very best to try and grab
it gently and take it outside. However this bird just kept flying back
and forth, back and forth, and the elders couldn't seem to get it.
Sister Fromgren and Sister Wang didn't take a liking to this bird and
were in the corner, screaming a little bit anytime that the bird would
fly past their heads in fear that it would leave them a present on
their hair ;) After a while, as I tried to wave my hands back and
forth so the bird wouldn't keep flying past us, it seemed like there
was no way for us to get this little creature outside to where it
belonged. We tried opening the doors on the bottom level of the chapel
but it wouldn't fly past that at all and had no idea where to go.
Eventually the bird got tired and seemed to be breathing heavily. One
of the Elders didn't seem to really want to catch it in fear that it
would kill us all so I asked for the garbage bag and set after this
bird who I noticed was getting pretty worn out by all the flying. One
of the elders came from one side and I came from the other and gently,
I was able to lay my garbage bag over it and scoop it up in my hands.
I could feel it's little body breathing and moving up and down and
with that, I made sure that it had breathing room and quickly ran down
the stairs of the hallway, through the outside doors, and released the
bird. It was a fun feeling to release it because you could almost feel
it being relieved to feel the fresh air. Just as I released it, many
of the members were coming in for school and they were curious to why
I just held a bird in my hands and then released it. We explained the
story and then headed back to the hallway to clean the little presents
on the banister and window sill that this little bird so graciously
left for us. It was a funny little adventure but it also got me
thinking about how scared that little bird might have felt not being
able to feel the fresh air, not being able to sense any hope in its
life, not being able to get out. In relation to the gospel, I just
think maybe perhaps that is how people on the streets feel. They feel
that there is no hope in life, no way to know how to be free from
spiritual darkness. It made me realise that perhaps they feel as this
bird did when it caught the first glimpse of the sun or felt the fresh
air on its little body knowing that all would be OK as they hear the
gospel. Sister Fromgren, Sister Wang, and I all have a great desire to
share the gospel and I'm grateful that I am able to be here to give
everyone that opportunity. This past Sunday evening, while riding on
the tube, we met a really nice lady named Grace. As we got talking to
her, she expressed interest and with that, we have a return
appointment with her. God is good and He will never give up on His
children. I love this work and I have loved being able to have the
wonderful companions, members, and those we meet, to help me to learn
and to grow. I l love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Sister Burtis



 

Let the Holy Spirit Guide

Happy 4th of July to my fellow friends and family back in America! Unfortunately England doesn't celebrate this holiday for reasons unknown to me yet ;) I'll see if I can't get them to change their minds and start having red, white, and blue colors all around the city on this particular day. I don't think it would be too bad because technically, they have the same colors as us! :) England is still so good to me though and I love being able to be here to serve around these people. This week has come and gone but yet so much takes place. This week consisted of Sister Fromgren and I doing a lot of planning for our zone training. The zone leaders and us would be preparing up until last Thursday and then as a leadership, give presentations, practice roleplays, and meet the needs of the missionaries here in Wandsworth. I love being able to help plan this training because I learned so much from it. It's just as if someone is asked to speak in sacrament or teach a lesson, usually you hear them say that they learned more from preparing it than from actually presenting it. Zone training came along and it went very well! The spirit was felt very strongly and many of the missionaries, including us, received answers to our prayers. Something that occurred to me was the importance of having the spirit. There were several occasions this week that I felt the spirit very strongly. One of those occasions was during zone training. Sister Fromgren and I were giving a presentation about studying our scriptures and the importance of how it builds our faith. As we gave this presentation, we felt the spirit testify to us that this message is so true. The Book of Mormon is crucial for our time and helps us to remember our purpose here on this earth. Our second occasion was with Begonia. Our investigator, Begonia, has been really searching diligently to find out if the Book of Mormon is true. She is so close to making her decision to be baptized and as we work with her, we ponder and pray about what we could share with her. We felt impressed to talk to her about baptism even if it has been talked about before. This time, we really worked on trying to focus on asking her inspired questions and taking moments to let silence fill the air and let the spirit guide. As Sister Fromgren and I did this, I felt the spirit more strongly than I had in some time. It was truly amazing how Begonia was opening up to us more and was willing to be baptized even though she's not sure of which date yet. We were able to invite her to pray about this decision and she said she would. Sister Fromgren and I have been really working on trying to be able to continually improve in our finding and teaching skills and we feel even more guidance from our Heavenly Father as we strive to be the best we can be. This week, we were able to go to a park in Vauxhall (near the border of our area) and try to talk to families. Because the weather was nice and it was a Saturday, many people were there. I won't lie though, it's pretty daunting to randomly go up to people in the park and start talking to them about the Gospel but once we started, it became less scary. We were walking down a pathway when we suddenly stopped a couple walking our way. We said hello, introduced ourselves, and got talking. The husband was from Ecuador and his wife was from a spanish country as well. They mentioned to us how they had missionaries teach them several years ago and how they couldn't seem to find the answer to whether the Book of Mormon was true. We felt impressed to write down a scripture on our pass-along card and gave it to them. We continued to discuss more and just as we were about to say good-bye to them, the Ecuadorian husband turned to us and asked us with sincerity if we would be willing to say a prayer with them. Normally we are the ones to ask people if we could say a prayer for their day but it was amazing to see the love that this couple had for their Saviour, Jesus Christ and their willingness to pray. We said the prayer and at the end of the prayer, the man said that he knew that this was no coincidence that we met. Unfortunately the couple doesn't live in our area but I hope that he will be able to be taught by the missionaries and find out the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon for himself. This week has been filled with lots of many learning opportunities, lots of finding, lots of joy, some opposition (but what's life without opposition right?) and many moments of gratitude for God's divine plan. I love this work. I often reflect and find myself asking, How is this Gospel NOT true? I love the knowledge of having a Heavenly Father who never leaves us alone and is with us 24/7. I hope you all, have a wonderful week, and a Happy 4th of July!

Love,

Sister Burtis 

 

One Soul is Worth It

Hello everyone! Another week comes and goes. I probably should say
first off, that I think the London undergrounds tube are cursed or I
just seem to have bad luck. My companion and I were coming back from a
meeting in Peckham and going to an dinner appointment with a member
and as we did so, the tube got delayed for a very long time. What had
happened was that, the underground train in front of us had broken
down. Not knowing that, Sister Fromgren and I got on the underground
train thinking it would be leaving any second like it normally does.
As we squeezed ourselves through the many people all standing in the
section of the tube, more and more people came in and it was very
tight and become very hot. This time of day just happened to be when
everyone was returning from work and here in London, that means that
there are a lot of people. It took about over 30 minutes until the
underground train in front us was able to depart. Sister Fromgren and
I were relieved to be able to get out of there and we were able to
make it to the dinner appointment with an very understanding member.
The rest of the week seemed to be great overall though. At the
beginning of the week, we were able to visit our investigators and our
recent converts and they are doing great. Ada, Sally, and Brenda
(recent converts) are all very faithful and love to participate in
their callings and as members of the church. Ada wasn't able to attend
church this past week because she wasn't feeling well and I was able
to see a great example of Christ-like love as the Relief Society
president and her husband as well as the Relief Society secretary went
over to visit Ada after church to see how she was doing. Sister
Fromgren and I were also able to go over and visit her with the three
others and it was a great experience. Not only did we visit with her
but the Relief Society President's husband was able to administer the
sacrament to her in her home. I had never had the opportunity of
seeing that before until now and when it took place, the spirit was
felt very strongly. Ada's face lit up as she partook of the bread and
water and it made me happy that Ada who was sad she couldn't attend
church, was still able to feel a part of it. It got me to reflect on
the stories that were told in General Conference and in ensign
articles about how one person was either not passed the bread and
water to or they ran out and how they would still take the time to
bless everything again for that one person so that person would be
able to partake of the sacrament. I am given a strong witness that the
Saviour would do the same for all of us. Even if we were the only ones
to live on this earth, He would have died and suffered for our sins so
we could make it back to Him and our Heavenly Father. Something too I
was able to really learn was how we can be perfected through grace.
Sister Fromgren and I received a call from the elders in our area and
they got told by the Bishop of our ward that we would be speaking in
sacrament. Of course, I was very nervous to have to speak for 10
minutes in front of everyone. I was also bummed because I was close to
serving here in 7 months without being called to speak in sacrament
and I almost made it ;) I was grateful though for the opportunity and
as I reflected on the topic I should speak about, I realized how much
Jesus Christ has done for me throughout my mission. I decided to speak
about being perfected through grace and based my talk around the talk,
"The gift of grace" by President Uchtdorf. It went good and I felt
that I learned a lot more from being able to prepare the talk than
when I actually gave the talk. Overall, the work is really moving
forward. Both Joseph and Begonia came to church and the more that they
come, the more receptive they become to the messages that we share
with them. We are continually praying that they will receive the
answers to their prayers and questions and we have faith that the Lord
will provide. The rest of the week consisted of many meetings for
Sister Fromgren and I went to because starting in July, our mission
won't be having paper bound area books but we will start having online
(iPad) area books. There quite a few trainings on it so as a
leadership, we were given the trainings first and then this upcoming
week, we will be presenting that to the missionaries in our zone. I
love being able to help and keep busy though, as well as planning the
zone training that the zone leaders and Sister Fromgren and I are
putting together. It's a great learning experience and I'm excited to
continue to learn more. I love this work. Though the waves are course
and rocky at times, I've learned that the smoothest waves won't make a
skilled sailor so I know continuing with faith and diligence in this
work is the way to go. I hope all of you have a great week!
Love,
Sister Burtis

No Habla Espanol

What a funny and interesting week it has been! Some weeks here on our
missions are just filled with random adventures that we hope to never
forget. We were able to see many miracles as well. One of those
miracles has been teaching Begonia. We were able to actually teach her
this week and then the next day, we helped her with some English as
part of service. She is really good in speaking English but she wants
to improve even more. We had a pot luck dinner last weekend in which
both Begonia and a friend of hers was able to go. A lot of the Clapham
ward is from Brazil, Portugual, Ecuador, ect. so Begonia and her
friend seemed to really enjoy getting to talk to everyone around them
in Spanish and in English. All throughout this week, we have been very
blessed. A miracle we saw also was when we were banner contacting. We
set up the banner in Wimbledon in the storm threatening weather but
throughout the entire time we banner contacted, no rain came. Sister
Fromgren and I were holding the banner from blowing back and forth and
as we did so, Sister Fromgren, on the left side of the banner, got
talking to a lady with her child. They continued their conversation
next to the banner discussing the Gospel and as they were doing so, a
lady named Harriet approached me and asked us if we were the Mormons
like Donny Osmond. I smiled, explained who we were, and got talking to
her. At the end of our conversation, Harriet inquired about a Book of
Mormon and I gave her one. After she had left, I turned back to Sister
Fromgren who was getting done talking to the other lady and finishing
writing her number down. We looked at each other and knew that we were
in the midst of the season of miracles. Another miracle that we saw
was at the end of our accounting, our district leader turned to Preach
My Gospel and read from page 166 under the companion study activity
and read: "Identify all the former investigators (and he included
potentials as well) that you have and make plans to contact as many as
possible within the next 24 hours." Taking this challenge upon us but
seeing that we weren't home at the time with our area book, we started
looking through the phone with all the potentials there. Some names
were familiar, others were not. As we started from the top, we called
and some of them didn't answer. We continued with a determined faith
and called guys named Devon, Eddie, and Henry. All three of them
answered their phones, seeming very interested, and we were able to
set up return appointments with them this week.  Not only did miracles
happen but many funny things did too. Some things that took place was
that Sister Fromgren and I were on the bus on the way to Nina's, a
member, for a dinner appointment. We got off one bus stop too early to
her home and suddenly found ourselves lost. Just as we started to
search for her house, heavy rain came down threatening to destroy my
IPad which had my map on it, and lightning like we had never seen came
down. I think I've come to discover my phobia for lightning storms
because I was praying so hard that lightning wouldn't hit me or my
companion. After several screams of terror as we saw a flash of blue
and a loud thunder that followed, we finally saw a familiar sight of
Nina's home and her standing outside waving her arms and beckoning us
in. Relieved, we were able to finally step indoors in the dry, warm
building. Another funny thing that happened to us was the day of
Begonia's sister, Celis's, baptism. The Spanish elders had been
teaching Celis for some time and we were then able to attend the
Spanish ward baptism and go with Begonia to see if we could answer any
of her questions as she saw her sister baptized. It was nice to know
that Sister Fromgren and I weren't the only ones who didn't know
Spanish because President Gubler and Sister Gubler were there as well
to show their support. Despite the whole baptism service being in
Spanish and the hymns as well, it was incredible to feel the same
spirit resonate throughout the room. I loved being able to pick up
different tiny words of Spanish throughout the service and was
grateful to have studied Spanish for two years in high school. After
the baptism, Sister Fromgren and I headed to the tube station. We were
heading back for lunch and as we got on the tube that would take us
back to our area where our flat was, the announcer came on, saying,
"Please switch to the other tube across the other side. This one will
not going this direction." Sister Fromgren and I might have been
listening to it but we were talking to each other and it didn't
register to us that we needed to get off. Just as the announcer
finished saying the last words, Sister Fromgren and I suddenly with a
look of shock realized what the announcement was saying. We lunged for
the door of the tube (underground train) but it was too late. A bit
worried, we looked around and realized we were the only ones in that
particular part of the tube. Look over to the next part of the tube,
we saw two people sitting looking at their phones. That was a relief
to know that we weren't the only ones on the tube. We looked both to
the right and to the left of us outside the  window but all we could
see was darkness because we were passing through underground to who
knows where. Finally an announcer came on and announced that this tube
would be going back around to the station that we originally at.
Sister Fromgren and I sighed with relief as we saw light and saw the
opening to the station where people were standing at the platform
waiting to take the tube. We got off and got on the right tube and
arrived safely home. It's been a week filled with many things to learn
and to grown from and yet, also fun adventures as well. Something that
really stood out to me was to never let the little things in life pass
by. Always smile, laugh, and remember the times you have felt joy and
happiness and they are they things you will remember most. Sure, there
is opposition in the work, but that opposition makes me realize the
good things in life. I love you all, have a fantastic week!
Love,
Sister Burtis

The Choice to be Happy and Successful

The weeks are passing but yet so much happens. I love missionary work for this reason and love to be able to reflect back on the experiences that my companion and I have had. Last Saturday rolled around and Sister Fromgren and I nervously anticipated the moves email to let us know If I or her would be moving. The email finally came and....I'm staying! Both Sister Fromgren and I were happy to be able to continue to serve with each other. We have grown to be such great friends and companions and it's like that for maybe most companionships after going through missionary work together. I'm happy to be able to continue to serve here in Clapham and with the ward. I know that the Lord has great plans for this area and I can't wait to witness the miracles that the Lord has in store for this mission. Last Monday, the Downend sisters, Sister Hamann and Sister Morales, came and stayed with us prior to the next day when we would be going to the Hyde Park Chapel to see Dallin H. Oaks. Sister Hamann was my second companion and continued to stay in Redruth (my first area) when I left and so it was fun to be updated on how everything was. The four of us sisters had a good time talking and catching up to see how everything was. The next morning, we woke up early, got ready, and took a bus to the Hyde Park Chapel. We were some of the first missionaries to get to the chapel so as we got seated, Sister Fromgren and I along with some of the missionaries we were with got to sit three rows from the front and felt very blessed to have been able to see Dallin H. Oaks closer. Prior to his meeting, there were missionaries from the London Mission there and it was a fun reunion to see all the missionaries from my MTC group. It had been about a year since I've seen them and it was fun to see the change that they have experienced and to see how they were doing. Being at the Hyde Park Chapel brought me back memories of last year when it was only day 2 of myself being in the mission field and I remember how daunting and scary it was to be around a group of missionaries that I didn't know. This time it was completely different. I saw many missionaries I had either served around with or had known over this past year and it was fun to see them again. As the meeting started, we not only got to hear from Dallin H. Oaks but also from his wife, Sister Oaks, our mission president and his wife: President and Sister Gubler, the London Mission president and his wife, and also President and Sister Keiron. The whole time, I felt the spirit strongly and many of my questions, on how I could be an even better missionary, were answered. A highlight too was when all the missionaries including me got to shake Dallin H. Oaks' hand, and also the hand of those that were with him. Some key things that he mentioned to us that stood out to me was: Opposition is necessary. It stretches us and helps us to grow. I loved when we were to think about David and Goliath. We were likened unto David and how we all have Goliaths of the world that we are fighting. Something too that was said was that this mission in which we serve may be difficult and discouraging at times when it seems like no one will talk to us and that our chances to baptize will be slim. Elder oaks proceeded to say that Baptism is the result of faith unto repentance. Teaching repentance is what we are asked to do and baptism will be a result of that. The Lord asks that we are His messengers and that we serve Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. Will we allow the agency and actions of others to rob us of our choice to believe, choice to be happy, and the choice to feel successful and of worth? The Lord will never ask us to do something we can't accomplish. If others reject, we must move forward as missionaries and continue to present this message to others so they can exercise their agency in choosing the Gospel. As we do this, we are fulfilling God's plan. :) After the meeting, Sister Fromgren and I traveled back to our area and taught recent converts and an investigator. The following day, Sister Fromgren and I traveled early in the morning with the Zone Leaders to Mission Leadership Conference (MLC). This time, we also had the district leaders there with us from each zone and we discussed how we could move the mission forward based upon what we learned from Dallin H. Oaks. We received some great revelation and as a council, came up with different ways on how to further the work along. That meeting actually ended up starting from 9am and ended at 7:30pm which normally doesn't happen. Usually it ends around 3-4pm but it was well worth it to sit in the council and to discuss the missionary work. We were able to come up with how we can implement the mission training plan and how we can accomplish goals that we have as a mission. The rest of the week, Sister Fromgren and I were blessed to be able to teach Joseph and some other new investigators this week. Begona, an investigator, who is from Peru is doing very well and loves coming out to church. She is working to strengthen her testimony about Joseph Smith and we know that the Lord will speak to her and give her that answer that she is looking for. Some miracles that we were able to see is: Mathew and Ruben. Mathew was a self-referral. He had walked into the Hyde Park Chapel and was curious to know how the 12 apostles in our church worked and how they were called. He referred himself and we went to go and reach out to him. His home was a bit farther away from where we lived but we tried several times to stop by and we had no luck. This past Sunday, we stopped by and his girlfriend answered the door. She explained to us that if we took a bus to the town, we could find him in his shop. Counting this to be a great miracle, we hopped on the bus and found the shop that Mathew worked in. We walked in and a guy, middle-aged, approached us. I'm sure he assumed that we were customers but then saw that we had Book of Mormons in our hands and smiled. We asked him if he was Mathew and he shook his head yes. As we got talking to him, we asked him if we could come back and teach him and his response surprised us. "How about in an hour's time, you can come back and share this message?" We said we could and then left to do some finding in that hour's time. We were blessed to be able to call a member to come with us for this teach and this member was able to go! All in all, we got to teach Mathew that very same day that we met him and it was a great lesson. He is very intellectual in the scriptures and asked some good questions and when we explained it to him, he shook his head in understanding and said, "that makes sense." His girlfriend, who is from Russia, had been listening to this message the entire time that we had been there and at the very end, she asked us, "Will we see our loved ones again?" Sister Fromgren and I were a bit surprised by the question because Mathew's girlfriend hadn't said so much during the time we were teaching. She continued to say how one of her siblings, at a younger age, had passed away, and that she wanted to find the answer because all the other churches didn't seem to help her with her question. Ruben, another investigator, who we just recently taught for the first time, was a miracle as well! We had received a text from a member of a different ward and letting us know that she had a friend who would be interested. We gave Ruben (the referral) a call and the very next day, we got to teach him! My heart is filled with gratitude for the opportunity I have to be able to teach these precious children of God. This Gospel is so simple, so great, and I treasure each moment that I have here on my mission. Though some days don't bring exactly what we were looking for, they are there to help us grow. I hope all of you have a great week. Find those who are ready to receive the gospel and share with them the sweet message of our Saviour and Redeemer. I know that this can bring much hope and light in their life.

Love,

Sister Burtis 

A seed planted many years ago began to grow

Hello everyone! Wow! This past week has yet again been filled with so
many miracles! I know I sent many last week but it just doesn't seem
to end. The time is passing by quickly and here we are already at the
end of this transfer. By this Saturday, I will be finding out if I'm
staying in the area, going, or training. Any letters that you want to
send should be sent to the mission home address just until I find out
if I move. If I do, I'll let you know my new address. I'm really
looking forward to this week. Tomorrow, all of the England London
South Mission will be traveling to the Hyde Park Chapel and joining
with the England London Mission to hear Elder Dallin H. Oaks speak to
us. I'm excited to be able to hear the message that this apostle of
the Lord has for us as missionaries. I recall the last time I was at
the Hyde Park Chapel, it was only day 2 of being in the mission field
and we were going to see Jeffrey R. Holland speak to us. I remember
how I didn't know any of the missionaries around me except for the
missionaries in my MTC group but this year will be fun to be able to
see all the missionaries that I recognise over this past year that
I've met. We have the Downend sisters staying with us, Sister Hamann
and Sister Morales. It helps them to stay with us so they won't have
to travel as far. Sister Hamann was actually my second companion so
it'll be a fun reunion and nice to see how she is doing and her
companion who she is training. This past week was filled with many
great experiences. One of those being the opportunity to teach our
friend, Joseph. Joseph is progressing well, loves the lessons, and is
reading the Book of Mormon. We invited him to come to church with us
and he did! He was able to meet the Bishop, talk to the members, and
go to all three hours of church. Many of the brothers in the ward
mentioned how Joseph made some good comments on the lesson in
Priesthood class and this is only his first time coming to church.
Joseph is truly a miracle! Sister Fromgren and I found him while
prayerfully considering who we should reach out to while looking
through the area book. We saw Joseph's name and it stood out to us so
we called him and he was interested! An amazing thing too is that the
two missionaries that had originally taught him which was about two
years ago are still in the area. One of them is still serving his
mission and one of them, believe or not, is actually in this area as a
member now. He moved into this area for work and family and so we let
him know that Joseph would be coming to church and he was excited. On
Sunday, this previous missionary and his former investigator were
reunited. It's amazing how a seed that was planted many years back
starts to grow now and that this former missionary got to see the
fruit of his labors. While we may not see the results immediately, God
always prepares a way for His miracles to be brought to pass. Another
tender mercy of the Lord was Begonia. Begonia had been originally
attending the Kennington Ward (Spanish speaking) but then wanted to
move to an English speaking ward so she could better herself in the
language. She is not a member at this time but loves the church and
loves going every Sunday. We have a great privilege to start teaching
Begonia this week which we are very excited for! I love this work! It is
truly hastening on. Thank you for all your support! I hope all of you
have a great week!
Love,
Sister Burtis