Learning the Area

Hey family! I hope you are all safe and well up in Yellowstone! Please tell everyone I love them and miss them a bunch! Have tons of fun and be super safe =] It was fun getting your emails from Dad's phone. I also enjoyed the voice-to-text translation that came out of some of the things you said ;) Like the one about Elder Brown giving one of the best "tacos" you've ever heard a returned missionary give ha ha. I am sure it was wonderful! I look up to Elder Brown SO much; he is like the older brother that I never had. I'm glad you were able to go and meet him in person.

This was a great week, we had a lot of fun and worked hard! We got to go on exchanges with the Assistants (Elders Rydalch, Moore, and Gregson). I went with Elders Rydalch & Moore, and Elder Johnson went with Elder Gregson. We got a lot accomplished, made some goals for our zone, and had a lot of fun. I love those great Elders.

I learned some really cool things about our area! B J is a member of the stake presidency's son in the Windermere ward. He is super cool and has been out on exchanges with us several times already. He is just about to turn 18. Anyway, he has been telling us all about our area and pointing stuff out while we are driving places in our area. Not to mention that he is going to be an awesome missionary! We have a lot of fun. He and some other youth from the ward are coming to play basketball with the missionaries today in the gym. Oh, so here are some of the cool things he showed/told us about:

*Disney is our area - SO many people here work for Disney

*Shaq & Tiger Woods live in our area. We are going to baptize Shaq. Ha, funny story - we were driving past his house and decided to see if we could somehow get into his community (it's gated). We pulled off and waited for a bit to see if anyone could come by and let us in or something, and about 2 minutes later someone pulls up next to us. It is the security guards, and they asked if they could help us. We were like, "Yeah, we're just waiting around for Shaq to get here so we can baptize him." So then they let us in! And took us right to his house. Shaq said yes! Just kidding. That was actually made up. But, it was a true story up until the part when I gave our response to the security guards. What we really said was like, "Oh no, we are alright. We were just waiting for someone to come past."(which we were waiting for Shaq...:P). They told us we should go wait at a public park right up the street instead. So we drove off, a little discouraged, but with an even greater resolve to somehow find a way to introduce him to the gospel. I think it would be really cool to baptize Shaq. Just think of how many people would look into the church if he were to be baptized! Anyway, keep praying. ;) Also, if you have any great ideas about how to meet Shaq, or even get into his gated community, or if you google his phone #, that would be helpful =D

*Elizabeth Smart's uncle is in our ward; I met him Sunday. He looks just like Ed Smart.

*Apparently Matt Damon, Wesley Snipes (sp?), Ken Griffey Jr., and the heir to the Gatorade throne all live in our area too (or used to). We tracted into the Gatorade guy's house and didn't even know it until Blake told us it was his. Unfortunately he didn't answer.

*Also, this is the ward that a lot of general authorities/famous people go to when they come to Orlando. Glenn Beck comes here every so often apparently. How cool is that? =]

This week our Zone has been doing awesome, setting some solid baptismal dates! We are still getting things rolling, but the work is picking up. The Lord has blessed us so much. We set a baptismal date with M yesterday at church; he is a friend of a RM in the ward that has been coming for the past few weeks. He is solid and recognizes the Spirit! He drives 50 minutes to get to church... wow. The only sad part is that we are probably going to have to hand him off to another set of missionaries :( That's alright though; we'll see him in heaven.

We also have 2 other people who have committed to be baptized - D & B. They are awesome! They really feel like it is time to join the church, and that the Lord has been pointing them to this church. Please keep them in your prayers.

Thank you SO MUCH for the package and tape and letters and all of that fun stuff in there! I loved it =] That was a blast to open. I loved it all, and it worked out perfectly because I got it exactly on June 9! I loved the tape and hearing your voices, and your letters made me laugh too. I love you all!

I got some new pants today. Two pair. They are nice, and machine washable. I got another gray pair and a black. They should last me the rest of my mission I hope!

Well, things are going great and I am loving life. I decided I am going to do my very best to not miss a single day of writing in my journal for the last year of my mission (I missed a few the first year). I am going to make it; you can't make up the time and experiences you have out here. The gospel is true! I love it so much. I love strengthening my testimony each morning in studies, and then going out and sharing what I learned all day long! It is such a blessing. I hope all of you have a wonderful week and be super safe in Yellowstone!

love, Elder Andrew Beckett