October 4th

Hello familia! Wasn't General Conference just incredible? Wow, I really learned a lot. What a blessing it is to be able to feast upon the words of God for two days! I am always sad to see it come to an end. Some of my favorite things I got out of it were:

Live a consecrated life (purity, work, respect for body, service, integrity),

"Slow down a little, proceed at optimum speed, and focus on the fundamentals,"

"We become who we want to be by consistently being who we want to become,"

All of God's children wear the same jersey,

We are here to build, uplift, encourage, and love all of God's children,

Pride is the switch that turns off priesthood power, humility is the switch that turns it on,

and "It is easier to keep the commandments 100% of the time than it is to keep them 98% of the time."

One of my favorite sessions (ok, my very favorite actually) was priesthood session. The Spirit was so strong there! I loved seeing all of the missionaries in the choir and it helped encourage me knowing I am not alone. It often can be very discouraging and you feel sort of outcast with all of the rejection so common on a mission. I also saw Ayden Jensen and Bridger Talbot from my BYU 65th ward singing in the choir! You can look on my facebook to see who they are if you really want lol. Also, I was WAY proud of (not prideful; see Pres. Uchtdorf's talk ;) when we sang High on a Mountain Top! I was singing WAY loud and told all the people around me that my great great great (I don't know how many exactly) grandfather wrote that - Joel H. Johnson. Woo hoo! It was also cool to be able to go back to the Leesburg chapel to watch that session and see some of my favorite people there (the Sumterville building's satellite doesn't work). The rest of conference was wonderfu

l as well; we were able to watch it over the internet at the B's house. They are very nice people and fed us meals as well.

Here in Florida there is a bug called the lovebug. There is a reason why it is called that. Anyway, apparently they were invented by some university to try and eat mosquitoes or something. I don't know all of the details but you should look them up if you are interested and fill me in. They are seriously EVERYWHERE. Another random thought - don't forget about 10:10 and 10 seconds on 10/10/10 this week! How cool is that? Just know that I will be thinking of you, my family, at that exciting time when it comes ;) I will be in church, so maybe I will stand up and announce it or something :P

I also got to go to Leesburg to be the senior companion for Elder Gardner and Elder Hanson (Shelley, ID) this week while their trainers were at the leadership conference! It was way fun and good to be back in Leesbom. We tracted like crazy and it was a blast. That is me with them in the picture. One night we were knocking doors and it was about 7:50, but dark outside. We knock on one trailer's door and the lights all turn out. A second later the door opens and an older guy is standing there. I say to him, "Hello sir! How are

you doing tonight?" He replies, "What do you mean how am I doing?!? Do you have any idea what time it is????" and slams the door right in our faces. It was the funniest thing ever lol! Just how he said it, and linked together how he was doing with what time it was. We got a good laugh out of that.

Question - does anybody know why certain words in the bible are italicized? I have no idea but have wondered for some time. Another question - has anyone noticed that Elder Bednar has a unique style of speaking? He constantly uses interesting word choices for sentences. He says things like, "We can come closer to God by coming to and applying in our lives church." Kind of those double thought sentence things you know? Maybe it's just me but that's what he seems to like. MAN oh man the guy next to me in this library needs a shower.

One kind of bummer deal about Sumterville is that we have to share a bathroom. I was spoiled in Leesburg, we each had our own. I can't complain though, it definitely has all of my needs provided for here! Although my shirts are going yellow - the water here is yellow. You can actually smell it when it comes out of the faucet. Our whole shower is yellow, and when you wash your clothes (yes, even after just one wash) they have a yellowish tint to them. Something is weird in the water but I haven't died yet. I am just thankful to have running water, especially hot running water! David over there in Peru doesn't have hot showers... who am I to complain ha ha. I got some letters this week hoorah! THank you all. I heard from Mom, Dad, Mindy, Destinee, Nolan, and Jake Roberts. Sweet! I still have a few letters I'm trying to catch up on and reply to lol. Nolan's letter had me laughing out loud the whole time. Have they jumped to the 2nd largest baptizing mission yet? I'm sure with Elder Blackhurst there they will be there soon if they aren't already. I'll be sending my mail home in the near future so you can read through it if you want, or just save it for me for when I get back. Unless you think I should throw it away, then you can jst do that too :D

Dad, thanks so much for those talks. I have read all of them and they are just wonderful! Wasn't that cool how Elder Jensen spoke? I was thinking, "Ha, Dad just sent me a talk by him. How neat!" They were all beneficial and have given me tons of ways I can improve and feel the Spirit more. Feel free to send any favorite talks or neat spiritual thoughts you come across; I love reading things that have

meant a lot to you, and they lift me up a lot.

I am loving being on a mission so much. I can't believe how clear things are becoming to me - much clearer than ever before. We truly are in a battle between right and wrong, and it is SO important to follow our prophet! I am disliking more and more each day Satan. He really wants nothing but for us to be miserable like him. He is doing a good job too. We have more power though, and we will triumph with God on our side! Never give up or give in. We can be that light to the world! It is so important that we base our decisions and choices on the principles of the Gospel and not on what others think. I want you all to know that I love you so much! I am so thankful for the sacrifices you have made so that I can be here today. This is a wonderful experience that I never could've had any other way. Being a missionary you get to see so many different aspects of life in such a short time. The time really is short, two years isn't that long at all. Five days from now I will be 1/6 of the way done with my mission... sad! There is no time to waste. Luckily we can be lifelong missionaries! I love you all and miss you, but remembering you helps me work hard and be better. Thanks for your prayers, love and support! Have a great w

eek! Until then,

Elder Andrew Beckett

Beautiful Sunset!
Cutest thing EVER!!

This thing he wrote just so happens to be about me. :) So... I had to put it on!! : Here is a cute little frog I caught outside while doing some laundry :) I thought I would get a pic with him just for you Al-Bal! Wish I could mail you one or something lol!