Family!
I love hearing how everyone is doing. Life sounds like it is going pretty darn great back at home. Life out here is pretty wonderful. Last Monday for our p-day activity we were able to go bowling. Yes bowling! It was sweet! Then we went to the park and played Rugby with missionaries from our Zone and some ward members. Heidi Grear is the LDSSA Pres here at EWU and is on the girls rugby team. She is wonderful. She gives the greatest hugs ever. She came and taught us how to play rugby. We only played touch but it is soo much fun. I'm bummed Pine View never got a girls team going when I was like in 8th grade. I totally would have played. Maybe I'll go to like Utah State when I get back and join their club team. Elder Mitch Trowbridge, our district leader, is from Alpine and played rugby in high school so between he and Heidi we learned pretty fast. It was a blast. We are probably going to play every p-day from now on. We have some investigators that are going to play with us today and some less actives that we can't get a hold of that are on the rugby team here. Who knew that rugby would be such a great missionary tool, right?
Tuesday was rough, we are doing a lot of finding and contacting right now in this area. It's tough being in a college town but we are doing a ton of good just being here and meeting with the few people that we are able to meet with. We visited Sister Mackson again on Tuesday. She's the one that is struggling through breast cancer. She only has a few more weeks of radiation and then she moves on to chemo. She's a strong lady and loves having us come over. She says we give her hope and courage to carry on. She has her bachelors in harp from BYU. She let me play with her harp and taught me how to play it. It is a ridiculously simple instrument if you know how to play the piano. I played a couple of hymns off the top of my head and we just enjoyed being around each other.
On Thursday we went on exchanges. Sister Dickerman and Sister Senger (from Gieger Heights) had to go to a trainers meeting by the temple so Sister Webb and I were able to be companions for the day. We have been out the same amount of time and really relied on the spirit and our training to carry us through the day. We had a really awesome lesson with a lady named Kathy. We decided to just find out where she was in the Book of Mormon and read with her. At one point we asked her a question about what she read. She didn't know the answer but it was written in the footnote. I flipped by book around for her to see what I had marked. It was as if I showed her gold. She had no idea what those little things were for. She looked at her mom (who is a member) and said, "Why haven't you ever show that to me that before?!" Her mom kinda just shrugged her shoulders. Kathy said that she loves puzzles and that knowing what those are and being able to tie the Bible and Book of Mormon together through it was amazing. She just started to glow. It was the greatest thing she could have ever heard. At the end of the lesson she said, "Well we know exactly why you were here today. I will be able to learn and understand so much more now. Thank you." I had no idea that that simple thing would mean so much but I acted on the spirit and it may completely change the way she learns from the scriptures and grows closer to her Heavenly Father and receives the revelation she needs through the Book of Mormon.
Later that night when Sister Dickerman was back we were able to go have dinner with Neal, a less active in our ward. He had his nonmember girlfriend over for dinner so we could share a message with her. Neal is in the Army Reserves so he and Sister Dickerman and a lot to talk about ( Her step dad was in the Navy for 22 years, her brother in the Army, and she did Coast Guard for a year and a half until she tore her meniscus and ACL in her knee during a crew rowing accident). Then Lesley, his girlfriend, started bringing up sports and we just had a ton to talk about. At the end of the dinner we shared a message of faith. We talked about how God humbles us to make us stronger and how He will always be there for us to build us up and help us carry on. The spirit was really strong. We pray that her heart was touched and that she will want to learn more.
Saturday was an interesting day. President Mullen and the APs had decided that this day would be a Super Saturday. That means that they would pick something for us to focus on. This time it was to invite as many people as possible to come on church tours. Church tours are an incredible tool in bringing people to church and teaching them really simply the things that we believe. We show them pictures of Christ, the chapel and Sacrament table, and the font. We get to talk about each thing and bear powerful testimony of the sacredness and greatness of each place. It really is incredible. So we had set a district goal of 50 invites between our 3 companionships.
We knew this would be a problem but weren't going to dwell on it and were just going to push on. When we got to campus 3 guys skateboarded past us and said, "Happy 4/20!" 4/20 is Bob Marley's birthday. It is basically National everyone smokes pot day. Now that being said, 2 sister missionaries on a Saturday going door to door trying to get people to come on a church tour on 4/20 in a state that legalized marijuana doesn't work to well. After 3 doors that were just leaking fumes strong enough to give us a second hand high we decided to rethink our plans for the day. We went to the institute and said a prayer. I also texted our district leader to have him offer a prayer in our behalf to help us accomplish the goal that we had previously set out to do. We then walked to different apartment complexes. It was about a 30 minute walk but that's where we needed to go. One complex didn't have much luck. We gave out one invite and then decided to try one last complex before making the 30 minute walk to our next appointment. The Eagle Apartments were kind of our last hope to make this work. I had a constant prayer in my heart as we knocked on doors that someone would open it. We ended up talking to 7 more people. 2 said that they would check their schedules and give us a call. We walked away finally feeling that those prayers had been answered. We didn't conquer the world but we sure did make a difference in some lives.
We were then able to meet up with the Elders at Laurie's house. Because Laurie is 57 she will be attending the family ward once she gets baptized so we decided to have her meet the Elders. She had called us the night before just in tears. She has been trying to quit smoking and is struggling to do so. She asked if we could pray for her that she might get a better nights sleep. She is soo determined to get passed this addiction. She is so strong. We told her that we would pray for her and have the Elders over the next day to give her a blessing. At our lesson the Elders were able to better explain the power of the Priesthood and what it is. Then they were able to give her a blessing. I love the Priesthood. I can't hear a priesthood blessing without tearing up. The spirit is always soo strong. Once the blessing was over Laurie commented on the reverence and how peaceful it was. It wasn't anything huge but how she felt at peace while Elder Leake gave her the blessing. The priesthood really has been restored to the earth. That same power that Christ had to heal the sick and perform miracles is here on the earth for us to have. That power is real. Worthy men who hold it are remarkable. That is one of those things that makes us Saints. We are Latter-day Saints. We aren't just the Mormons. We have a responsibility to be the best people we can me. Our Relief Society President told us not to be jack Mormons. We have a calling by being members of this church to love the gospel, live it and share it with all those that we come in contact with. Whether it be on a mission or at home. We are Saints in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this gospel with my whole soul. I love the quote that says, "Work as if everything relies on you, but pray as if everything relies on Him." This gospel is true. Our Savior, and brother, Jesus Christ died and suffered for every single one of us. Because of that eternal sacrifice we never have to be alone. We can have the spirit with us at all times to be the comfort we need in a super troubled world. I love being a missionary. I love this gospel. I hope that everyone finds something they can work on to become better. Something to be more Christ-like in your life. It will be a strength in everything that you do. I love you all so much and can't wait to hear how this next week goes for everyone. Keep the faith.
Much love,
Sister Beckstrand
I love hearing how everyone is doing. Life sounds like it is going pretty darn great back at home. Life out here is pretty wonderful. Last Monday for our p-day activity we were able to go bowling. Yes bowling! It was sweet! Then we went to the park and played Rugby with missionaries from our Zone and some ward members. Heidi Grear is the LDSSA Pres here at EWU and is on the girls rugby team. She is wonderful. She gives the greatest hugs ever. She came and taught us how to play rugby. We only played touch but it is soo much fun. I'm bummed Pine View never got a girls team going when I was like in 8th grade. I totally would have played. Maybe I'll go to like Utah State when I get back and join their club team. Elder Mitch Trowbridge, our district leader, is from Alpine and played rugby in high school so between he and Heidi we learned pretty fast. It was a blast. We are probably going to play every p-day from now on. We have some investigators that are going to play with us today and some less actives that we can't get a hold of that are on the rugby team here. Who knew that rugby would be such a great missionary tool, right?
Tuesday was rough, we are doing a lot of finding and contacting right now in this area. It's tough being in a college town but we are doing a ton of good just being here and meeting with the few people that we are able to meet with. We visited Sister Mackson again on Tuesday. She's the one that is struggling through breast cancer. She only has a few more weeks of radiation and then she moves on to chemo. She's a strong lady and loves having us come over. She says we give her hope and courage to carry on. She has her bachelors in harp from BYU. She let me play with her harp and taught me how to play it. It is a ridiculously simple instrument if you know how to play the piano. I played a couple of hymns off the top of my head and we just enjoyed being around each other.
On Thursday we went on exchanges. Sister Dickerman and Sister Senger (from Gieger Heights) had to go to a trainers meeting by the temple so Sister Webb and I were able to be companions for the day. We have been out the same amount of time and really relied on the spirit and our training to carry us through the day. We had a really awesome lesson with a lady named Kathy. We decided to just find out where she was in the Book of Mormon and read with her. At one point we asked her a question about what she read. She didn't know the answer but it was written in the footnote. I flipped by book around for her to see what I had marked. It was as if I showed her gold. She had no idea what those little things were for. She looked at her mom (who is a member) and said, "Why haven't you ever show that to me that before?!" Her mom kinda just shrugged her shoulders. Kathy said that she loves puzzles and that knowing what those are and being able to tie the Bible and Book of Mormon together through it was amazing. She just started to glow. It was the greatest thing she could have ever heard. At the end of the lesson she said, "Well we know exactly why you were here today. I will be able to learn and understand so much more now. Thank you." I had no idea that that simple thing would mean so much but I acted on the spirit and it may completely change the way she learns from the scriptures and grows closer to her Heavenly Father and receives the revelation she needs through the Book of Mormon.
Later that night when Sister Dickerman was back we were able to go have dinner with Neal, a less active in our ward. He had his nonmember girlfriend over for dinner so we could share a message with her. Neal is in the Army Reserves so he and Sister Dickerman and a lot to talk about ( Her step dad was in the Navy for 22 years, her brother in the Army, and she did Coast Guard for a year and a half until she tore her meniscus and ACL in her knee during a crew rowing accident). Then Lesley, his girlfriend, started bringing up sports and we just had a ton to talk about. At the end of the dinner we shared a message of faith. We talked about how God humbles us to make us stronger and how He will always be there for us to build us up and help us carry on. The spirit was really strong. We pray that her heart was touched and that she will want to learn more.
Saturday was an interesting day. President Mullen and the APs had decided that this day would be a Super Saturday. That means that they would pick something for us to focus on. This time it was to invite as many people as possible to come on church tours. Church tours are an incredible tool in bringing people to church and teaching them really simply the things that we believe. We show them pictures of Christ, the chapel and Sacrament table, and the font. We get to talk about each thing and bear powerful testimony of the sacredness and greatness of each place. It really is incredible. So we had set a district goal of 50 invites between our 3 companionships.
Well, being in a college town
has its problems. One of the biggest is that everyone goes home on the weekends leaving no one
walking around campus or in their dorms. Here is a picture of Campus at Eastern Washington University. It's Gorgeous! Below is a picture of the Eagle Stadium. It's cool for 2 reasons.
#1 It's RED #2 It's the Washington Eagles!! They Soar so high High HIGH!
We knew this would be a problem but weren't going to dwell on it and were just going to push on. When we got to campus 3 guys skateboarded past us and said, "Happy 4/20!" 4/20 is Bob Marley's birthday. It is basically National everyone smokes pot day. Now that being said, 2 sister missionaries on a Saturday going door to door trying to get people to come on a church tour on 4/20 in a state that legalized marijuana doesn't work to well. After 3 doors that were just leaking fumes strong enough to give us a second hand high we decided to rethink our plans for the day. We went to the institute and said a prayer. I also texted our district leader to have him offer a prayer in our behalf to help us accomplish the goal that we had previously set out to do. We then walked to different apartment complexes. It was about a 30 minute walk but that's where we needed to go. One complex didn't have much luck. We gave out one invite and then decided to try one last complex before making the 30 minute walk to our next appointment. The Eagle Apartments were kind of our last hope to make this work. I had a constant prayer in my heart as we knocked on doors that someone would open it. We ended up talking to 7 more people. 2 said that they would check their schedules and give us a call. We walked away finally feeling that those prayers had been answered. We didn't conquer the world but we sure did make a difference in some lives.
We were then able to meet up with the Elders at Laurie's house. Because Laurie is 57 she will be attending the family ward once she gets baptized so we decided to have her meet the Elders. She had called us the night before just in tears. She has been trying to quit smoking and is struggling to do so. She asked if we could pray for her that she might get a better nights sleep. She is soo determined to get passed this addiction. She is so strong. We told her that we would pray for her and have the Elders over the next day to give her a blessing. At our lesson the Elders were able to better explain the power of the Priesthood and what it is. Then they were able to give her a blessing. I love the Priesthood. I can't hear a priesthood blessing without tearing up. The spirit is always soo strong. Once the blessing was over Laurie commented on the reverence and how peaceful it was. It wasn't anything huge but how she felt at peace while Elder Leake gave her the blessing. The priesthood really has been restored to the earth. That same power that Christ had to heal the sick and perform miracles is here on the earth for us to have. That power is real. Worthy men who hold it are remarkable. That is one of those things that makes us Saints. We are Latter-day Saints. We aren't just the Mormons. We have a responsibility to be the best people we can me. Our Relief Society President told us not to be jack Mormons. We have a calling by being members of this church to love the gospel, live it and share it with all those that we come in contact with. Whether it be on a mission or at home. We are Saints in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this gospel with my whole soul. I love the quote that says, "Work as if everything relies on you, but pray as if everything relies on Him." This gospel is true. Our Savior, and brother, Jesus Christ died and suffered for every single one of us. Because of that eternal sacrifice we never have to be alone. We can have the spirit with us at all times to be the comfort we need in a super troubled world. I love being a missionary. I love this gospel. I hope that everyone finds something they can work on to become better. Something to be more Christ-like in your life. It will be a strength in everything that you do. I love you all so much and can't wait to hear how this next week goes for everyone. Keep the faith.
Much love,
Sister Beckstrand
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