IT'S A STORY OF NO BEGINNING AND NO END!

Hello everyone! 

This last week started off really well! We had zone preparation day in Liverpool, and we played a really fun game that was like a hybrid of ultimate Frisbee and handball. It was a really fun game, and good to spend time with the other missionaries!

We also had exchanges this week, and they were amazing. I was with Elder Audrlickỳ in Crosby. One thing that I learned during that exchange was how to talk to people, and finding the courage to do so. I left that exchange feeling so much more confident with talking to people, especially on busses. Although I still feel a little scared each time I approach someone on a bus, I gained a little bit of courage to make the first sentence, and after that the conversation usually goes smoothly. It was a good lesson to learn that I was able to apply throughout the week.

 
One of Elder Audrlickỳ's invitations to me was to bus contact, and so Elder Carroll and I were able to do that, and I noticed an increase of effectiveness because of that exchange. I talked to more people, and more people listened and participated in a conversation. It was really good! 

We had a "first floor, third door" moment while on exchanges, which was a miracle! We only had 10 minutes to tract, and we prayed that we would be able to find a friend. The first two doors weren't home, but the third was, and she welcomed us in, and was genuinely interested in our message and stated that the Book of Mormon was her new bedside book. It was a really neat experience. 

Elder Carroll and I had a rough patch on Thursday. We were very unmotivated and we couldn't really feel the spirit. Before we were about to go out, we decided to sing a hymn, bear our testimonies, and dedicate the flat. We also read some scriptures, and it really brought back the spirit. Afterward, we were able to go out with renewed spirits. 

It was really really cold this week, and we woke up on multiple days to snow! Apparently this is the coldest winter on record for the past several years, and at one point we were colder here in England than in Antarctica! (I have no way to research this, so I'm trusting those who told me.) This plays effect, because we had a street display and it was freezing! Nobody really wanted to talk and would speed walk to their various destinations. I noticed that most people when I approached them said "It's too cold to stop. I've got to keep moving." And so, I decided to walk with them. I'd pick up to their pace and share the message with them while they headed to their various destinations. This seemed to work well, and it really increased my confidence in talking with people! I just felt so good and like I wanted to talk to everyone. We were very supportive of each other that day, as we all had to endure the cold of that day. 

Saturday was a very special day for me personally. I had the opportunity to take a friend to see "Our Story Goes On"! I'm not sure how many people have heard of that, but it is such a great show! It is a compilation of Broadway hits, put to the story of our lives. It tells us that "it's a story of no beginning and no end". I have seen it many times, and I was fortunate because I knew and got to see so many of the cast members, of whom I got to know through the church productions I've been in. (Nauvoo & British Pageants, Saviour of the World). It was such a great event, and our friend loved it! (And I loved it! so much! AHHH! )

God loves you all and has a plan for you. Know that he is supporting you, even in adversity. The gospel is true, and is God's way of helping us return to him again. 

Invitation of the week: tell a loved one just how much you love them! Show it 

Love you all! 

Elder Burns

England Manchester Mission
Springwood, Suite G5
Booths Park
Chelford Road
Knutsford
England WA16 8GS
United Kingdom