Are you hedging your bets in the gospel?

This picture does not even come close to the beauty of the countryside and the use of "hedges" here in England.    A hedge is a fence or boundary formed by closely grown bushes or shrubs trained to form a barrier or to mark boundary of an area.  Hedges are used to separate a road from adjoining fields.  They do serve another purpose as windbreaks to improve conditions for an adjacent crop.   A Hedgerow is when trees are also incorporated.  

 When we walk around the village of Feltwell, we see so many homes that use hedges to separate and beautify their properties.   I am amazed how big these hedges can grow and how well maintained most of them are. 

Some grow so high and completely block out the view of the yard--- it is their "fences" that we in the US seem to use so much.   It does make a pretty addition to the landscape.   Did you know that the UK alone has approx. 390,000 km of hedges and could span the circumference of the earth 10 times (per Wikipedia)  One fun fact is that the Guiness World Record for the tallest hedge is in Scotland.  It is 98 ft. tall and 1, 740 ft long.  It is trimmed only once in every 10 years.  

I take a lot of pictures from the car as we are driving ---this is a typical narrow road we drive on as we go back and forth from here to there. I just wanted to show you how thick the trees and hedgerows grow.   It is actually very beautiful.   

So I had my first "cold" since arriving and it knocked me out for about 4 days....followed by Elder Gurr getting the same thing and he was knocked out also.  I am just so grateful we are feeling better.   My asthma has been doing okay here ----and that is a blessing in itself.  We have been able to switch our health care pretty easy and can now be seen on base at the hospital.  Love the new time change and the warmer weather.   Time marches on and we are now into our 3rd month of our mission. 

A blessing from serving a mission is meeting and associating with so many wonderful people.

We were invited by the Black family to come to dinner with the elders.   They are a wonderful, generous family, who sadly will be PCSing in July back to the States.   

This week we were invited to dinner with a family from the Cambridge Ward.  The Lambas's are a couple who actually rent a home on one of our Church's farms.   It is a beautiful place in the middle of growing fields.   They are from Washington State and are here so that Sis. Lambas can work with the DoDD schools.  They have a huge black newfoundland dog who is a big fluff of a dog and very friendly ----I miss our little dog Nubbins. They also invited the sister missionaries from Cambridge.  These sister Missionaries are just so amazing.

We sat around the table talking about blessings and what they might be missing food wise from the states.   The UK does not allow "Fruit Loops" into their stores, and the Sister from Brazil said she misses them.  Also, ranch dressing, and syrup.  So, we will be making a small donation to their home next time we inspect their flat this month.   What would you miss?

I love to go shopping at Tesco or Aldi.  

We do love the cheese and the bacon is awesome, but I am skipping the ketchup Cheetos and the Banana Ketchup....I might be missing out, but I think I am hedging my bets on these two.

To hedge your bet means: 

• Avoiding choosing one particular thing or action when it is not certain which is the right choice.

We can do this with a lot of our decisions.  I feel like I am doing that in regard to our mission at times when I just don't know the best course of action... but, I have learned that when I truly give my trust to the Lord and follow the guidance from the spirit, I am ALWAYS on the right path.

In Mosiah 7: 29 it reads, "For behold, the Lord hath said:  I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be a stumbling block before them." 

Sometimes my health "hedges" me in and I have to remember that it is not who I am really....no sickness or hardship or circumstance can be the reason we are not obedient or valiant in keeping the commandments.  We all have "something" in our lives, and we all have to find our way through or around the "hedge" to keep moving forward. 

The Savior has more than enough love, patience and kindness for everyone.  I know that when I am doing my best and listening to the spirit, reading my scriptures and praying with real intent, I don't have to hedge my bets ----I am already making my best choices.

Thank you for the prayers and for the support.   It is hard sometimes to be away from events, family celebrations and the conveniences of home ----but we are making our way around all the hedges of life, and some are even hedges of protection and security.    We are getting to know members from the 4 wards we cover ---Thetford, Mildenhall, St. Bury Edmunds and Cambridge, and are feeling the love that comes from being gathered together as Saints.  We want all to feel this love ---keep sharing, loving and inviting.

This is a big week ahead as we have Zone Conference ---always a great time to see the elders and sisters and other Senior Couples who are in the England Birmingham Mission.  We have a wonderful Mission President and His wife who just radiate love--thank you President and Sis. West. 

Love to you all

Elder and Sister Gurr