The verdict is in! We got our transfer calls this morning... But
before I get to that let me tell you about this past week.
On Tuesday we went and helped Tammy pack up and take some things to
the post office. SHE HAS FINALLY MOVED! Hallelujah! That poor lady
needs to stop stressing so her body can heal. She has a lot of health
problems right now, and they just kept adding up. But she is now in
Florida, so that is good.
Wednesday. Well we were suppose to go to the temple again with Leyla.
But it didn't happen. Her Dr. appointment went about 3 hours over the
planned time. Yeah, that wasn't good. So we didn't go. Sister Cook
and I went to a teeny tiny Thai restaurant for dinner. Haha it was
interesting, but the curry was good! Then we ran over to Estefany and
Lina's house for a short lesson. ( they are from the DR)
We then hustled over to the church for a lesson with Luis before
volleyball started. He is fantastic! We asked what he remembered
from reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon and the pamphlet.
He started telling us about the Aaronic and Melchezidik priesthood,
the ordinances they can perform and the order of the church. We sat
there with our mouths open in shock. What!?! He REALLY studied that
pamphlet. Haha We then taught the beginning of the Plan of Salvation.
He understands everything so well and is so prepared for this, it's
amazing! Then at the end, we asked him to be baptized on Dec. 20th
and he said YES! He is so excited! It took his girlfriend Mareena by
surprise, but she is happy.
Thursday we met with Alex again! I met her about 2 weeks ago and she
has been crazy busy since. But we were able to go and review the
Restoration and teach the Plan of Salvation. She is amazing! She
believes it all and really wants to be more involved. She has 3 boys,
14, 6, and 3. The little guy was sick Sunday so she want able to come
to church. But! We gave her a Baptism date! December 27th. We were
so happy! 2 in one week, whoo hoo! God is on a roll!
Saturday we met an old investigator name Y'Majesty. (Coolest name
ever right? Yes his mother did name him that. His younger brother is
Infinite.) Nick came with us, he's met Maj before. Maj asked some
really great questions, he's a very deep thinker for a 19 year old.
He asked us what is something we are still learning or working on?
Spiritually speaking? He also asked how we feel the Holy Ghost and
how that we know the feelings we have are from the Holy Ghost. And
after we left he messaged us about the "curse and mark of the dark
skin" as mentioned in the Book of Mormon. He has read bits and pieces
of the book. We are excited to keep meeting with him.
That night we met up with Christina and Nina at Friendlys for some ice
cream. We talked with Christina about how our trials we are facing
now are preparing us for the future. How they refine us to become
more Christlike. It was a really good lesson and she opened up a lot
to us.
Sunday Sunday! It was such a delight! For Sacrament, sometimes when
our group is really small they have us come sit up in the choir chairs
behind the podium so we are all closer together. They called us all
up and then we had a kind of mini testimony meeting. Bro. Sorressi
asked us to each say same thing we are thankful for and a way we have
seen the hand of the Lord in our lives this year. It was wonderful!
The spirit was so strong as everyone talked about the reason for the
season. Luis even bore his testimony about how God has been preparing
him for this moment for the past two years. He's so great.
Afterwards, Luis told us how much he loved that meeting and how
amazing this church is. That man is pure in heart!
After church the YSA branch was hosting a service project for the
older single adults. We provided a Thanksgiving dinner for them! We
even got into the spirit of it all. Sis. Cook and I made stuffed
mushrooms and chocolate covered cranberries. It was so fun! I love
this branch so much.
Well. I guess that brings me to today. The Zone Leaders called and I
am out. I will be leaving Plainview tomorrow. :( I'm going to miss
it a lot because there a lot of people I love here. But I didn't sign
up to go where I want to go and serve with Sis. Cook my whole mission.
(Although I would love that.). So the Lord is taking me on my last
adventure, we will see where I end up! I'm going to guess I'm going
back to Brooklyn. Crazy! I thought for sure I was going to finish in
Plainview. Well we will see!
Have a fantastic Thanksgiving everyone! Eat lots of delicious food for me! :)
Love,
Sister Beecher
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Meetings, Exchanges, More Meetings... Christmas!!
Our week started out fantastic! We had exchanges with the South Shore
ASL Sisters. I was lucky enough to get to go to South Shore with Sis.
Seay! She is so great. We taught a few lessons in ASL (I just
watched and tried to follow along. It was so much fun!). South Shore
has changed so much since I was there, so many good things are
happening and the field is ready to harvest. I'm so glad :)
We exchanged back the next morning to quickly head to the mission
office for a Sister Training Leader Meeting with Sister Reynolds.
This was the first time we have had a meeting like this, but it was
wonderful! We focused on Pres. Nelsons talk "A Plea to My Sisters".
This really is an amazing talk that help put into perspective many
characteristics traits that Our Father in Heaven wants us women to
have. We discussed a lot about how we can help the Sisters in our
mission with the many trials that are facing us. I am so grateful for
Sister Reynolds and the example she sets of selfless service. We all
learned so much from her.
Once we got back from the meeting we headed over to Wednesday night
volleyball and found Sharon and her new boyfriend there. Nick (our
new branch mission leader) was there as well and so we took this
opportunity to have a quick lesson with them. Then half way through
that lesson, in walks Andrea, Joe and Charlie. Yay! Charlie came!
So we finished up and then stole Charlie for his second lesson with us
and the other Sisters. (We had a set of sisters with us who have
been having a rough time lately, but had an "approved from President"
sleepover with us at our house that night.) The lesson was going good
until Andrea and Joe barged into the middle of it quite loudly. The
spirit then left the room.
Volleyball was great, we came home, stayed up too late with the
Sisters, aaaaand have been exhausted ever since.
We then had our Zone Training Meeting on Thursday morning, so we said
farewell to the Sisters and quickly planned a workshop for the
meeting. After Zone Training Meeting we exchanged with the BayShore
Sisters. I got to be with Sister Lamah again here in Plainview. I
love her! She is from Utah, but originally grew up in Africa. We had
a crazy exchange, where all of our plans went wrong. But thankfully
Sis. Lamah was really patient with me and we were able to make the
most of it. We stopped by Tammys house in the evening for dinner.
(She ordered Chinese take out for us) Tammy was NOT doing well. Her
health had definitely gone down and we were really worried. We ended
up just hurrying to eat, clean up, and put her to bed. (We had to
half carry her). Poor Tammy :(
Friday was interviews with President Reynolds! Sister Cook and I had
our interview together first and then had our individual ones. I
talked a little bit with President about preparing to return home. He
told me to make sure Im creating the righteous patterns and habits
that I want through out the rest of my life now. I can see the
importance of daily scripture study, pondering, and taking the time to
listen to the spirit. But as I thought about this, it made me think
of how I am preparing to return back to my Heavenly home. Do I have
all of the habits and desires needed for when I leave this mortality?
There truly is no time to waste in this great work. There really is
so much that needs to be done and prepared for. What a great
dispensation to live in! #Alma5:27-29
Can I just say, I love President and Sister Reynolds. Seeing the way
they have helped so many Sisters over the past transfer has been
amazing. They have been such great examples to me of diligent,
loving, humble service.
We were suppose to have another exchange after interview, but it ended
up being cancelled. Sis. Cook and I were so tired... It still hasn't
went away. Haha
We then went to the Smith families home for a chili dinner. It was
wonderful! I love the Smiths, they take such good care of us. We got
to play with their daughters for a few minutes while dinner finished,
it made up for some of my niece and nephew withdrawals. :)
Saturday morning we met with Nick to have our Coorilation meeting. He
is so good at this calling! Especially for a new member too. We came
up with a game plan to start a 40 day fast in the branch and do a
social media challenge. This is just what this branch needs right
now! All of the summer sales guys have left and our numbers are
really dwindling. Sis. Cook and I both have a good feeling that the
work is about to explode here.
After the meeting we drove to Terryville for Zone 10s Zone Training
Meeting. It was so nice to see 8 of the sisters there. We don't see
that zone too often, at least not this transfer.
We then hurried back to our home to have dinner with the Westbury
Sisters. :) Panera Bread and homemade Acai bowls! Best. Meal. Ever.
Sunday was delightful! The less actives we have been working with did
not show up, so that was a bummer. But it was still a great day! We
met with Paris (she is a recent convert that just moved into the
branch) for the first time. She is so sweet! She is doing an
internship for a magazine company in Manhattan. We then ran over to
Andreas for our Sunday night lesson and found Charlie there as well!
Yay! We layed out our plan of salvation figurines and had a great
lesson with them. Charlie is a little shy, but he is slowly warming
up to us.
Monday for family home evening we gave the spiritual thought. It was
fantastic! We wrote MERRY CHRISTMAS on the board with all kinds of
embellishments. We even plugged in our mini Christmas tree for added
flare. Then... We introduced the 40 day fast because, there were
officially 40 days until Christmas from Monday! (Of course we won't
make people fast on Christmas and thanksgiving so the fast will go a
little past Christmas.) Sis. Cook and I are SO excited for Christmas!
We have been singing Christmas songs every day for the past few
weeks. There is also going to be a new Christmas initiative (anyone
remember the He is the Gift video??) coming out at the end of
November! Soooo excited for that!!
Well the reason why I am emailing you all now instead of Monday is
because we had our preparation day today this week. Because... Leyla
is going to the temple with us today!! :) we are so excited.
Transfers are next Tuesday. We will see what happens next week!
I think this email has been long enough... Haha
Love you all!
- Sister Beecher
Our week started out fantastic! We had exchanges with the South Shore
ASL Sisters. I was lucky enough to get to go to South Shore with Sis.
Seay! She is so great. We taught a few lessons in ASL (I just
watched and tried to follow along. It was so much fun!). South Shore
has changed so much since I was there, so many good things are
happening and the field is ready to harvest. I'm so glad :)
We exchanged back the next morning to quickly head to the mission
office for a Sister Training Leader Meeting with Sister Reynolds.
This was the first time we have had a meeting like this, but it was
wonderful! We focused on Pres. Nelsons talk "A Plea to My Sisters".
This really is an amazing talk that help put into perspective many
characteristics traits that Our Father in Heaven wants us women to
have. We discussed a lot about how we can help the Sisters in our
mission with the many trials that are facing us. I am so grateful for
Sister Reynolds and the example she sets of selfless service. We all
learned so much from her.
Once we got back from the meeting we headed over to Wednesday night
volleyball and found Sharon and her new boyfriend there. Nick (our
new branch mission leader) was there as well and so we took this
opportunity to have a quick lesson with them. Then half way through
that lesson, in walks Andrea, Joe and Charlie. Yay! Charlie came!
So we finished up and then stole Charlie for his second lesson with us
and the other Sisters. (We had a set of sisters with us who have
been having a rough time lately, but had an "approved from President"
sleepover with us at our house that night.) The lesson was going good
until Andrea and Joe barged into the middle of it quite loudly. The
spirit then left the room.
Volleyball was great, we came home, stayed up too late with the
Sisters, aaaaand have been exhausted ever since.
We then had our Zone Training Meeting on Thursday morning, so we said
farewell to the Sisters and quickly planned a workshop for the
meeting. After Zone Training Meeting we exchanged with the BayShore
Sisters. I got to be with Sister Lamah again here in Plainview. I
love her! She is from Utah, but originally grew up in Africa. We had
a crazy exchange, where all of our plans went wrong. But thankfully
Sis. Lamah was really patient with me and we were able to make the
most of it. We stopped by Tammys house in the evening for dinner.
(She ordered Chinese take out for us) Tammy was NOT doing well. Her
health had definitely gone down and we were really worried. We ended
up just hurrying to eat, clean up, and put her to bed. (We had to
half carry her). Poor Tammy :(
Friday was interviews with President Reynolds! Sister Cook and I had
our interview together first and then had our individual ones. I
talked a little bit with President about preparing to return home. He
told me to make sure Im creating the righteous patterns and habits
that I want through out the rest of my life now. I can see the
importance of daily scripture study, pondering, and taking the time to
listen to the spirit. But as I thought about this, it made me think
of how I am preparing to return back to my Heavenly home. Do I have
all of the habits and desires needed for when I leave this mortality?
There truly is no time to waste in this great work. There really is
so much that needs to be done and prepared for. What a great
dispensation to live in! #Alma5:27-29
Can I just say, I love President and Sister Reynolds. Seeing the way
they have helped so many Sisters over the past transfer has been
amazing. They have been such great examples to me of diligent,
loving, humble service.
We were suppose to have another exchange after interview, but it ended
up being cancelled. Sis. Cook and I were so tired... It still hasn't
went away. Haha
We then went to the Smith families home for a chili dinner. It was
wonderful! I love the Smiths, they take such good care of us. We got
to play with their daughters for a few minutes while dinner finished,
it made up for some of my niece and nephew withdrawals. :)
Saturday morning we met with Nick to have our Coorilation meeting. He
is so good at this calling! Especially for a new member too. We came
up with a game plan to start a 40 day fast in the branch and do a
social media challenge. This is just what this branch needs right
now! All of the summer sales guys have left and our numbers are
really dwindling. Sis. Cook and I both have a good feeling that the
work is about to explode here.
After the meeting we drove to Terryville for Zone 10s Zone Training
Meeting. It was so nice to see 8 of the sisters there. We don't see
that zone too often, at least not this transfer.
We then hurried back to our home to have dinner with the Westbury
Sisters. :) Panera Bread and homemade Acai bowls! Best. Meal. Ever.
Sunday was delightful! The less actives we have been working with did
not show up, so that was a bummer. But it was still a great day! We
met with Paris (she is a recent convert that just moved into the
branch) for the first time. She is so sweet! She is doing an
internship for a magazine company in Manhattan. We then ran over to
Andreas for our Sunday night lesson and found Charlie there as well!
Yay! We layed out our plan of salvation figurines and had a great
lesson with them. Charlie is a little shy, but he is slowly warming
up to us.
Monday for family home evening we gave the spiritual thought. It was
fantastic! We wrote MERRY CHRISTMAS on the board with all kinds of
embellishments. We even plugged in our mini Christmas tree for added
flare. Then... We introduced the 40 day fast because, there were
officially 40 days until Christmas from Monday! (Of course we won't
make people fast on Christmas and thanksgiving so the fast will go a
little past Christmas.) Sis. Cook and I are SO excited for Christmas!
We have been singing Christmas songs every day for the past few
weeks. There is also going to be a new Christmas initiative (anyone
remember the He is the Gift video??) coming out at the end of
November! Soooo excited for that!!
Well the reason why I am emailing you all now instead of Monday is
because we had our preparation day today this week. Because... Leyla
is going to the temple with us today!! :) we are so excited.
Transfers are next Tuesday. We will see what happens next week!
I think this email has been long enough... Haha
Love you all!
- Sister Beecher
Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles!
It was a rough week, but Heavenly Father has been so good to us!
Our week started out pretty crazy. We ended up doing an emergency
exchange late Monday night to help some Sisters. Then the next day we
went on another exchange with some sisters who are also having a rough
time. Theeeeennn....the next day we went on another exchange. These
sisters are struggling as well. Every one is just having a rough time
right now! I feel like by about week 4 in the transfer the pressure
really starts building in companionships. But all of these
companionships have a common denominator... Communication. Ya know,
words can be really hard... To express, to pronounce, to spell, all of
the above. But they are usually what can make such a big impact on
others. I mean, it is through The word of God that we will be safely
guided through. So what are our words doing for others?? Sis. Cook
and I have been pondering this.. Haha
The best new of the week is what happened when Sis. Cook and I were
back together on Saturday. Andrea, our recent convert who we have
been having a hard time meeting with texted US and asked for a lesson.
And she said that she would have a friend there. So we went to
Andreas house in Huntington and met Charlie. He is sooooo great! He
is a big, black, football player and he is fantastic! He has been
going through some hard things and is searching for some hope, light
and truth. Thank you Andrea for pointing him towards us! We taught
the Restoration and the spirit was so strong! Usually Andrea and
Joe(her boyfriend) are somewhat distracted during our lessons. But
that night they were so absorbed in the lesson, it was a miracle! We
invited Charlie to be baptized and he said that he would definitely
consider it. He has been so prepared for this step in his life, it's
amazing!
Then at church yesterday, we had a ton of extra people there! We had
3 new move ins (one being a priesthood holder which we need. Another
is a recent convert we can teach.), and 2 investigators there! One of
them had been once before about a month ago and he other is one of the
members boyfriends. His name is Luis. He is so great! During Sunday
school he was so involved in the lesson and completely understood
everything. We asked him after if he would like to have us teach him
more and he said yes!! Plus Christina came to Sacrament with us in the
Family Ward! She hasn't been for years, so that was a huge step. It
was such a great day at church. We also went and had quick lessons
with Amalia and Jr. that night that they both set up. We had been
stressed the whole week that we wouldn't reach our goals because of
all of the exchanges, but Heavenly Father prepared a way this week! I
am so grateful.
Tonight Charlie should be coming to Family Home Evening, pray it goes well! :)
Love you all, thank you for all of your support!
Love,
Sister Beecher
It was a rough week, but Heavenly Father has been so good to us!
Our week started out pretty crazy. We ended up doing an emergency
exchange late Monday night to help some Sisters. Then the next day we
went on another exchange with some sisters who are also having a rough
time. Theeeeennn....the next day we went on another exchange. These
sisters are struggling as well. Every one is just having a rough time
right now! I feel like by about week 4 in the transfer the pressure
really starts building in companionships. But all of these
companionships have a common denominator... Communication. Ya know,
words can be really hard... To express, to pronounce, to spell, all of
the above. But they are usually what can make such a big impact on
others. I mean, it is through The word of God that we will be safely
guided through. So what are our words doing for others?? Sis. Cook
and I have been pondering this.. Haha
The best new of the week is what happened when Sis. Cook and I were
back together on Saturday. Andrea, our recent convert who we have
been having a hard time meeting with texted US and asked for a lesson.
And she said that she would have a friend there. So we went to
Andreas house in Huntington and met Charlie. He is sooooo great! He
is a big, black, football player and he is fantastic! He has been
going through some hard things and is searching for some hope, light
and truth. Thank you Andrea for pointing him towards us! We taught
the Restoration and the spirit was so strong! Usually Andrea and
Joe(her boyfriend) are somewhat distracted during our lessons. But
that night they were so absorbed in the lesson, it was a miracle! We
invited Charlie to be baptized and he said that he would definitely
consider it. He has been so prepared for this step in his life, it's
amazing!
Then at church yesterday, we had a ton of extra people there! We had
3 new move ins (one being a priesthood holder which we need. Another
is a recent convert we can teach.), and 2 investigators there! One of
them had been once before about a month ago and he other is one of the
members boyfriends. His name is Luis. He is so great! During Sunday
school he was so involved in the lesson and completely understood
everything. We asked him after if he would like to have us teach him
more and he said yes!! Plus Christina came to Sacrament with us in the
Family Ward! She hasn't been for years, so that was a huge step. It
was such a great day at church. We also went and had quick lessons
with Amalia and Jr. that night that they both set up. We had been
stressed the whole week that we wouldn't reach our goals because of
all of the exchanges, but Heavenly Father prepared a way this week! I
am so grateful.
Tonight Charlie should be coming to Family Home Evening, pray it goes well! :)
Love you all, thank you for all of your support!
Love,
Sister Beecher
Boxes & Cough Drops
So here is my big news of the past two weeks. Sis. Cook and I are
only in the Young Single Adult branch now, they took us out of the
family Ward! We have mixed feelings about this. We worked really
hard to develop some good relationships in the ward and we were
starting to work with a lot of less actives. But it's okay, we still
love the YSA and this will take a little bit of pressure off of our
shoulders. They brought in another set of Elders for the family Ward,
so there are now two sets serving there. We just have a lot of
finding to do for the YSA. Not many people to work with there when it
has a total of about 35 people.
The majority of last week was spent helping a new investigator pack up
and move, and staying home because my companion was sick.
Tammy was a media referral from a few weeks ago who asked for help
moving. We told her we would love to help and went over a few days
later. She is going through a lot with her health and doesn't have
any support or anyone that lives with her. After assessing the
situation I knew that a lot more help would be needed than just Sis.
Cook and I. So we enlisted the Elders. Long story short, Tammy told
us she had to be out of her house in about 6 days from the first time
we met her. So we spent Wednesday and Thursday at her house helping
her pack. Friday we spent home because sister Cook was sick. Had
some great time to work on my mommy skills by cooking and cleaning all
day. Then we went to work on Saturday and Sunday.
This past week we have been really focusing on finding. We went on
exchange from Tuesday to Wednesday, so I spent the day in Westbury
with Hermana Grass. Westbury is great! It reminds me a bit of
Brooklyn. People are walking/hanging out on the streets, people are
much more willing to talk at the door, and it has a lot of little
corner shops.
On Thursday-Friday we were on exchange with the Patchogue sisters and
Hermana Ence was in Plainview with me. She is wonderful! We did a
lot of finding and ran into a few adventures along the way. One of
our ideas s to try and find colleges that we can try and knock around.
Hopefully find some students nearby. So Hermana Ence and I found Old
Westbury campus on our GPS and took a trip out there. With the
changing leaves, It was the most beautiful thing I have seen yet on
the island. But we could not find any housing around it and the
closest houses were all mansions. But we did try knocking on a
mansion door. That was one of the most intimidating experiences of my
life. Haha it turned out fine though. Friday night was the Ward
Halloween party. It was so fun! The Smith family was there dressed
as gnomes, Christina and her husband came (a less active member) and
so did Nanna Shirley! It was so great and such a fun activity. They
had a chili cook off and the missionaries were the judges :) there
was some interesting chili there. Haha then it ended with a trunk or
treat for the kids.
On Saturday we were suppose to go to the temple with Leyla a recent
convert. We waited and called and waited and didn't not here from her
until 8 hours after we were suppose to leave. Turns out she is really
sick right now. Satan is working really hard on not letting her go to
the temple, it can be a bit frustrating. But we are trying to help
her stay positive, because she has her heart in the right place and
will get there eventually.
For preparation day we went to the Old Westbury Gardens. It was
beautiful! It had this huge mansion from the 1700s. All of the
leaves are changing so beautifully here. I love the fall!
Sunday was Stake Conference and we had Elder Dudley and Elder Packer
of the 70 come. It was so amazing! They talked a lot about change
and the importance of change in our lives. Elder Dudley talked about
the faith to move mountains and then related it to moving the
mountains in our lives. A mountain of pain, a mountain of guilt etc.
He said that change is the way we act upon that faith. It was a
really great talk. I know that is very true. That we all have
mountains that need to be moved and CAN be moved. It just takes us
stepping out of our comfort zone and allowing the Atonement to make
that change.
It has been an amazing week full of wonderful experiences. I hope
that everyone will try to make the changes that are needed to move
this weeks mountains. Love you all!
Sister Beecher
So here is my big news of the past two weeks. Sis. Cook and I are
only in the Young Single Adult branch now, they took us out of the
family Ward! We have mixed feelings about this. We worked really
hard to develop some good relationships in the ward and we were
starting to work with a lot of less actives. But it's okay, we still
love the YSA and this will take a little bit of pressure off of our
shoulders. They brought in another set of Elders for the family Ward,
so there are now two sets serving there. We just have a lot of
finding to do for the YSA. Not many people to work with there when it
has a total of about 35 people.
The majority of last week was spent helping a new investigator pack up
and move, and staying home because my companion was sick.
Tammy was a media referral from a few weeks ago who asked for help
moving. We told her we would love to help and went over a few days
later. She is going through a lot with her health and doesn't have
any support or anyone that lives with her. After assessing the
situation I knew that a lot more help would be needed than just Sis.
Cook and I. So we enlisted the Elders. Long story short, Tammy told
us she had to be out of her house in about 6 days from the first time
we met her. So we spent Wednesday and Thursday at her house helping
her pack. Friday we spent home because sister Cook was sick. Had
some great time to work on my mommy skills by cooking and cleaning all
day. Then we went to work on Saturday and Sunday.
This past week we have been really focusing on finding. We went on
exchange from Tuesday to Wednesday, so I spent the day in Westbury
with Hermana Grass. Westbury is great! It reminds me a bit of
Brooklyn. People are walking/hanging out on the streets, people are
much more willing to talk at the door, and it has a lot of little
corner shops.
On Thursday-Friday we were on exchange with the Patchogue sisters and
Hermana Ence was in Plainview with me. She is wonderful! We did a
lot of finding and ran into a few adventures along the way. One of
our ideas s to try and find colleges that we can try and knock around.
Hopefully find some students nearby. So Hermana Ence and I found Old
Westbury campus on our GPS and took a trip out there. With the
changing leaves, It was the most beautiful thing I have seen yet on
the island. But we could not find any housing around it and the
closest houses were all mansions. But we did try knocking on a
mansion door. That was one of the most intimidating experiences of my
life. Haha it turned out fine though. Friday night was the Ward
Halloween party. It was so fun! The Smith family was there dressed
as gnomes, Christina and her husband came (a less active member) and
so did Nanna Shirley! It was so great and such a fun activity. They
had a chili cook off and the missionaries were the judges :) there
was some interesting chili there. Haha then it ended with a trunk or
treat for the kids.
On Saturday we were suppose to go to the temple with Leyla a recent
convert. We waited and called and waited and didn't not here from her
until 8 hours after we were suppose to leave. Turns out she is really
sick right now. Satan is working really hard on not letting her go to
the temple, it can be a bit frustrating. But we are trying to help
her stay positive, because she has her heart in the right place and
will get there eventually.
For preparation day we went to the Old Westbury Gardens. It was
beautiful! It had this huge mansion from the 1700s. All of the
leaves are changing so beautifully here. I love the fall!
Sunday was Stake Conference and we had Elder Dudley and Elder Packer
of the 70 come. It was so amazing! They talked a lot about change
and the importance of change in our lives. Elder Dudley talked about
the faith to move mountains and then related it to moving the
mountains in our lives. A mountain of pain, a mountain of guilt etc.
He said that change is the way we act upon that faith. It was a
really great talk. I know that is very true. That we all have
mountains that need to be moved and CAN be moved. It just takes us
stepping out of our comfort zone and allowing the Atonement to make
that change.
It has been an amazing week full of wonderful experiences. I hope
that everyone will try to make the changes that are needed to move
this weeks mountains. Love you all!
Sister Beecher
Hey I will send my weekly Monday. We went to a mansion and some
gardens today! Here are some pictures. Sorry I'm out of time.
Here is a quick update.
Life here is good. They just took the family Ward away from us. :(
so that was basically everyone we were working with. There are two
sets of elders in the Ward now. Both are training, so our district
is super young minus Sister Cook and I who are at the tail end. We
are trying to
come up with smart ways to find YSA. Knocking doors and asking if they
are single and ready to mingle hasn't been to successful so far... We
sent an email to a college to see if we can come set up a table and
hand out stuff in their common area. Invite people to come watch meet
the Mormons. We hope this will work. We will see. This school had
one active member at it named Jeff. And he is the star Quarterback.
Haha everyone's calls him their Mormon Quarterback. So we figured
that might be a good place to introduce "Mormonism".
gardens today! Here are some pictures. Sorry I'm out of time.
Here is a quick update.
Life here is good. They just took the family Ward away from us. :(
so that was basically everyone we were working with. There are two
sets of elders in the Ward now. Both are training, so our district
is super young minus Sister Cook and I who are at the tail end. We
are trying to
come up with smart ways to find YSA. Knocking doors and asking if they
are single and ready to mingle hasn't been to successful so far... We
sent an email to a college to see if we can come set up a table and
hand out stuff in their common area. Invite people to come watch meet
the Mormons. We hope this will work. We will see. This school had
one active member at it named Jeff. And he is the star Quarterback.
Haha everyone's calls him their Mormon Quarterback. So we figured
that might be a good place to introduce "Mormonism".
My birthday was so great! I felt so loved. Sister Cook is the best!
The Members here are amazing. It was just too good to be true. I
don't have time to go into detail about this week, so here is the
photo version.
Transfer calls are in... We are both staying in Plainview! (This is
President Nulty, the YSA branch Pres. Doesn't he look like Dick Van
Dyke??)
The Members here are amazing. It was just too good to be true. I
don't have time to go into detail about this week, so here is the
photo version.
Transfer calls are in... We are both staying in Plainview! (This is
President Nulty, the YSA branch Pres. Doesn't he look like Dick Van
Dyke??)
Hey hey hey!
This one will prolly be quick! We actually need to use preparation day to prepare for proselyting! So, this week we had a general authority, Elder Bennett, of the 70 come to our mission for a mission tour. That was a great experience and we had some sweet revelations as a mission!
With getting a new mission president and all, our mission has definitely declined in the strictness of obedience and the defining role as a disciple of Jesus Christ. A lot of things have become comfortable and living pday to pday kind of lives. And there has been a great decrease of baptisms and such... And so, elder Bennett really helped light some fire under us to correct ourselves and go!
We talked a lot about the two thousand stripling warriors and their duty to fight for their freedom, religion, families, and God. Basically we are to be modern day two thousand stripling warriors. We talked about the difference between the righteous nephites fathers/warriors who fought the good fight, but how many of them died and were injured and still greatly depressed, and the two thousand stripling warriors...which the amazing thing is, not one of these men died in the battle. What is the difference? The two thousand stripling warriors obeyed with exactness. And I loved that.
Elder Bennett talked about how we choose. And how important little choices in our missions are. It kind of struck me when he said, "if you're getting out of bed at 6:31 in the morning you are choosing to start your day in disobedience." Wow. And "if you're getting to bed at 10:31 you're choosing to end your day in disobedience" it was kind of amazing and crazy how particular these little things are to our days as missionaries and the general authorities concern for being exact to these times. But then I had this realization that hey, at 6:30 every morning there are 85,000 missionaries on their knees praying. Praying for the other missionaries, praying for their families, praying to be armed with the armor of God, praying for the people in their areas.... And if it's 6:31, it's like I'm missing this great spiritual plug in power source. And so I just got like full of excitement to join this amazing army of stripling warriors around the world every morning at 6:30. I'm stoked about it actually! And then the same thing right before 10:30! Amazing!
So we are expecting a lot of big changes in the mission and I'm so excited to be the disciples that Christ needs and expects us to be. God needs strong sons and daughters and this is one way to find those who are willing.
Alma 56:17
now they were determined to conquer in this place or die; therefore you may well suppose that this little force which I brought with me, yea, those sons of mine, gave them great hopes and much joy....thus were we favored of the Lord...thus were we preserved.
In what ways has the Lord asked you to be exactly obedient?
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Here is to much conquering the daily battles and building the lords kingdom!
Love,
Sister Beecher
Alma 56 recap
...two thousand of these young men have taken their weapons of war, and would that I should be their leader; and we have come forth to defend our country....they were about to break the covenant which they had made....I would not suffer them that they should break this covenant which they had made, supposing that God would strengthen us...here is one thing in which we may have great joy....And I did join my two thousand sons, (for they are worthy to be called sons) to the army...in the cause of their country and of their God, yea, and they are happy.............Yea, and they were depressed in body as well as in spirit, for they had fought valiantly by day and toiled by night...now they were determined to conquer in this place or die; therefore you may well suppose that this little force which I brought with me, yea, those sons of mine, gave them great hopes and much joy....thus were we favored of the Lord...thus were we preserved.
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