Change‏

Hey everyone!

This has been an incredibly emotional week.  I loved having our mini missionary.  We learned soo much from her and I pray that she learned a lot of good things from us.  We had a meeting on Wednesday night where we gave her back to her family.  It was a great meeting.  They opened the meeting and then gave the time to the mini's to bear their testimonies.  It was amazing to see the change in these youth in just 5 days of living the gospel.  Their was time left over and they told us that the full-time missionaries could go up and share our testimonies.  I don't normally stand up at meetings like that but my heart was pounding out of my chest.  I can only think of one other time in my life that I felt the prompting that strong to stand up.  I just bore my testimony about how everything in the gospel is completely inspired.  Taylor was our mini because she needed to touch the lives of those she met here in our area.  She may only be a member for 3 months but there is absolutely nothing mini about her testimony.  We were gutted to give her back.  Lots of tears were held back.  We had the amazing privilege after that meeting to have Sister Hadlock and Sister Tukuafu stay the night at our flat.  Sister Hadlock and I stayed up way later than we should have.  For 2 sisters who spent a good 30 hours getting to this country together we haven't really seen each other for the last 16 months.  It was good to just sit and talk with her.  She is going home early for school.  She is starting up at SUU the week after she gets home in August.  She only has about 3 weeks left.  We were able to share similar feelings about going home and what have you.  She mentioned how the next day was going to be our last Zone Conference as full-time missionaries.  I hadn't thought of that until she said it.  That was one heck of a way to prep me for the next day.   

Thursday there was no holding tears back.  President Lindsay started the meeting with telling us about how the mission is doing.  It's been incredibly humbling to be a part of the massive change that this mission has had over the last year or so.  Then Sister Lindsay got up.  She gets me every time but I was not prepared for her talk this time.  She shared the life story (with permission) about one of the Sisters from our mission that just left to BYU-Hawaii.  It was touching because I served with the Sister and hearing about the change she experienced through her mission really touched me.  Then Sister Lindsay had us all think about how we have changed over our time on the mission.  With Sister Hadlocks preparation the night before I was deeply reflective of everything before I even heard her question.  I was pretty deep in thought when she asked Sister Tomaki and I to come up to the pulpit and tell everyone about our experience of taking Sister Tomaki's family names to the temple.  I just stood by the side and let Sister Tomaki do all the talking.  I was so proud of her being able to just share her feelings and have that moment.  Then Sister Lindsay turned to me and asked, "Sister Beckstrand, how has this experience of serving with Sister Tomaki and going to the temple changed you?"  That took me off guard I answered her question with tears in my eyes.  As soon as I sat back down in my pew I couldn't hold it in.  I just cried and cried.  Then there were musical numbers and testimonies as well as a video of all of the baptisms and recent converts at the temple over this last year.  I don't have words to explain the feeling that I had in that chapel.  That is one of the holiest places I have ever been.  We really can just create holy places when we are focused and the Spirit is present.  I won't forget that.  The changes that I've seen in my life are precious to  me.  I won't ever go back to the way I was before I came to Australia.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.  His plan is perfect.  The gospel brings us happiness and it will never lead us the wrong way.  If you question that try it out.  Make it an experiment.  You can not prove it wrong.  I've seen it change lives.  This week we had a lesson with our investigator Aaron.  We took Alex Mutu with us at the last minute.  We were at her house and I felt inspired to ask her to come with us to his lesson.  She was able to say exactly what he needed to hear.  There was no denying the Spirit in his home.  We pointed it out and told him how much Heavenly Father wants to hear from him.  Alex invited him to come to church and offered to save him a seat.  Sunday morning at about 8:45 we got a text from Aaron saying that he was on his way to church.  It is incredibly humbling to have the Lord's trust to help these people come back to Him. 

Everyone keeps reminding me how much time I have left.  I asked President Lindsay for a blessing today during an interview with him because I'm not coping well with the idea that I'm heading home soon.  It was exactly what I needed.  He said so many things in the interview and blessing that I desperately needed to hear.  I was just stressed, worried, and afraid of going home.  It's a transition that I don't want to make but I know I have to make it soon.  I love the power of the priesthood.  It is like nothing else in this world. 
The scripture of the week comes from Romans 10:11-17.  I stumbled across it during a personal study and it hit me hard.  I love being a missionary.  I love being here in Australia.  I love being a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I love knowing that I am a daughter of God.  I hope you all are doing fantastic and are growing each and every day.  I love and miss you all heaps.

Much love,

Sister Shayne

Alma

24:16 What are we hold on to?

24:22-23 Do we praise God when it is the hardest?

25:16 Yes!  This is what I want a lot of people to learn.  There is a difference between the Law of Moses and the gospel that Christ brought when He came to the earth. 

26:12, 16 This is how I feel

26:35-37 Love his testimony of God's love

28:8 We will have sufferings, sorrows, and afflictions but they will bring incomprehensible joy :)

29:10 But really all of chapter 29 is good

30:16  I've heard stuff like this a lot over my mission

30:39-42  What has given you your testimony?  Everything denotes that there is a God.

31:5 How powerful are the scriptures?

31:31-35 My favorite part of Alma's prayer

32: 6 People are prepared.  Did you share something with them today?

32:13 Humble = repent = saved

34:11-12 The atonement is necessary

34:33 Choose ye this day

37:6 Small and Simple things.  I quote this scripture daily!

37:9 The scriptures are important.  

 
 Taylor Jade Lehmann :)

We had to fit three beds in one room.  This was complicated. 

Elder Faitua from Samoa

Sister Brown from Cottonwood Heights

It was really cold the other morning.  This is what I was wearing during our studies :)


 They destroyed the house that burnt down.  I took like 20 pictures/videos of them tearing it down.  It was the most exciting thing during our weekly planning.

Sister Hadlock and Sister Ellsworth - my plane buddies on the way here. 

 

Elder Taylor Hall from Brisbane

Elder David Baptista from Brisbane
 

Sunsets! :)‏

 Sunday Selfies and the sunset from the Mandins

 We were with the Elders this last week at a meeting and the Elders asked Sister Tomaki how to say, "I am a child of God" in her language.  Elder Teuira said, "I know that Heavenly Father in your language is pronounced Papa God."  She said he was right to which his companion Elder Wihongi said, So is I'm a child of God 'Me kidkid papa God'?"  We all laughed soo hard.  It's been an ongoing joke ever since.  For those of you wondering it is actually "Mi pikinini blong God".