Raking, running, ripping, riding, and sweating

Hey hey hey! I love technology! But not as much as you, you see. Always and forever... always and forever! HA.

This was a great week. It is the best and hardest experience of my life being a missionary. I feel like I have no idea what's going on sometimes, but at the same time I've never known so surely that everything is in control. The Lord is good. :) By. The. Way. YES! I did see Elder McClatchy at the mission conference! It was the coolest thing ever. I somehow forgot to mention that. It was funny because we were all in the gym, grouped by zones as Elder Bednar walked around so that we could take a picture as a zone with him. I had been watching and watching for him, but hadn't seen him there yet. Finally, I looked to the left and he was right there in the zone next to us! I snuck up behind him and gave him a big hug and was like, "JAMES! Umm... I mean Elder McClatchy!" Ha ha it was SO COOL to see him and made my week. It was good to see Elder Bednar also, but extra special to see James. He is such a good person and a wonderful example to me. All of my friends are! I'm so thankful to have so many wonderful friends out serving missions right now all over in Arizona, Paraguay, Peru, Italy, Missouri, Brazil, Illinois, Florida, and many many more. The Lord has blessed me with so many good examples in my life. Not to mention... my FAMILY! The most influential people yet :) I love you guys.

Ok, so that picture I sent was of an Elder's quorum service project we helped with this week. It was me, Elders Larsen, Brown, and Ellis, and the E.Q. President and counselor. Took like 3 hours, and we bagged more leaves than I've ever seen. I counted like 63-65 bags (they were compressed and stuffed too). I found a snake while raking that was dark black and had a bright orange belly with an orange ring kind of close to its head. It was smaller and looked really cool, but we didn't mess with it because we had no idea what kind it was. Also, I am pretty sure there are water moccasins that live in the pond right by our house. Not my favorite.

Nate! Ha ha that was so cool to see/read about you in Aladdin! What a champion. I can't wait to watch it when I get back. Did Taylor end up being found ok and performing? I miss that kid. Ben Tripp. Going to Hawaii. Ha ha YES! That will be so sweet! He is going to be an exceptional missionary.

Ok Mom, you asked about our daily activities, apt. info, the other elders, and the ward.

Daily activities - Wake up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the gym. Integra Shores has its own gym that we go to in the morning and it's awesome. They have a full set of free weights, bench, machines, and treadmills! So I alternate everyday between lifting and running. And I bought some delicious chocolate milk/protein that will hopefully help me grow into a man by the time I see ya'll again ;) 7 o'clock we are back at the apartment to get ready for the day and eat breakfast. 8-9 is personal study, then 9-11 am is companionship study. Normally it's 9-10, but just barely they decided to have the trainers/trainees have 2 hours a day. It makes it super nice to have time to practice teaching and learn together from the Spirit. Then we usually have lunch from 11-12. Head out at noon to go find the elect (unless we have appointments, which at this time we don't really have anyone solid :/), and work until dinner. Then after dinner we usually go contact some more or visit members to find referrals and get to know the ward. That's a basic day.

Apartment info - it is SO NICE! I need to get a bunch of pics and somehow find a way to send it to you. It even says on the front gate "Luxury apartment" something or other. Super cool ha ha. We live on the third floor, so we get great exercise carrying our bikes up and down every day. We have carpet, a balcony, nice kitchen, laundry stuff, etc. I love it.

Elders - it is SO fun living with Elders Larsen, Brown, and Ellis. We have a blast ha ha. Elder Larsen is hilarious and keeps us all laughing with his crazy concoctions. He often is found at night drinking chocolate syrup from the bottle. Things like that ha ha :) It's nice living with the Zone Leaders as well because after call ins I just sit on the couch with them to account for the district. Love it :)

The Ward is great here! I love them. There was still a ton of deep doctrine that makes you cringe... not proper to be brought up in sacrament meeting. Eh. Good people though!

Well, my time is up. I love you all! Have a great week!

love, Elder Beckett

p.s. It's practically APRIL?!? What? I thought March just started. Hmm.

Cycle of the Mission.. ha ha life too really!

Hey family! I love ya'll TONS! =]

This has been one of those life-changing weeks. I feel that I have learned and grown so much, and am on the up-swing of things again. It's so weird - I feel like I have had lots of ups and downs on the mission. It's like I'll go through these mini "trials" (they seem like trials to me, but when I look around at others I feel like I am going through nothing. Yet sometimes things still seem so hard!), lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Each time I have one of these depressed/discouraged/hard times though, they each seem to be harder than the last, but the Lord also lifts me higher than before too; and I feel much more enlightened and happy than previously. Does that make any sense? Well, this week has been the latter end of a hard time. But, I do feel like the Lord can now lift me higher and build me back up after feeling like I have fallen down and realize how I am nothing without Him.

My birthday was great, I enjoyed the letters and notes wishing me well! Thank you all so much :) Other than that it was a normal day ha ha. By normal, I mean another fantastic day in the mission field of working hard, giving my all to the Lord all day long, and then coming home and crashing in bed (after the nightly routine of things). By the way Mom, please check my account because I've had to spend some money on groceries and stuff moving to this new area. Sorry about that. Let me know if I'm coming close to the balance or anything like that!

So Friday we had a special mission conference. Or, I should say, a "revelatory experience." It was so neat! Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum (that word looks weird to me.. eh) of the Twelve Apostles came and spoke to us! I was taught so much by the Spirit. In preparation, President Hall had us read "Ask in Faith" and "Seek Learning by Faith," both by Elder Bednar. They are wonderful talks, and I would invite anyone to read them. I can't say everything that I have learned, but I feel like a changed person. I know that Elder Bednar is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He also spoke to us Sunday at the Deland Stake Conference! It was amazing there as well (oh, and we got to go to the Saturday Adult Session too =]) Some of the main things I have learned are that we are agents and not objects - we are to act and not simply be acted upon; learning by the Spirit and helping our investigators learn by the Spirit; more about how "Faith is the principle of action and power in all intelligent beings;" and most of all about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the thing that has been most meaningful to me - learning about the Atonement.

Dad, I specifically remember you always talking to our family and teaching us not only about the cleansing power of the Atonement, but about the enabling power of the Atonement as well. I think I caught a little bit of it when you were teaching us, but it never really hit me until this week just how important the Atonement is in our daily lives (funny thing is - I am constantly having things brought to my remembrance (John 14:26) that you and Mom have taught me since I've been a child). I never quite understood (and still don't even come close) what it meant to be able to turn to the Savior to draw on Him for strength. I have, however, come to know much more than what I did about it. I have learned for myself. I think that's what every single one of us eventually has to go through, and will continue to go through in this life, in order to really understand and know how to use the Atonement - it isn't really until we become pushed to our limits spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, etc., that we then have nowhere else to turn but to the Savior and His Atonement. That is when we can finally start to grasp in just the tiniest way of what Jesus Christ really has done for us all. I feel like I have used the Atonement in the past, but not nearly in the way I will be from now on. Two of the main parts of the Atonement are to "put off the natural man" and also to "become a Saint through Christ." There is no other way that is possible but through Him. I really learned a lot this week from the Lord.

Elder Larsen is doing great! He is a great missionary. He is super funny too ha ha. We are really focusing on finding people right now, because we have no teaching pool. We weren't really left with any solid investigators when we got here, so that just means the Lord has more for us to find! Finding is fun, although hard and scary sometimes. It's alright though, because the Lord is with us. That's all that matters - His will be done. We don't need to worry about anything in life really, as long as we are trying our best to do the will of the Father. He will take care of the rest. I think I stress and worry and over-analyze things way too much, but I'm learning to just have more faith in the Lord and putting all of my confidence and trust in Him.

Well, I need to write President Hall now, but have a great week! I hope Nate's play went well, and anything else that was going on! Sorry if I forget things... I'm not very good at keeping up on the home life. :P That's fine though, as long as I know that you are safe and happy, then the Lord will take care of the rest. I've got wheat to sift ha ha! Just know that I do love and care about you all immensely!

love,

Elder Andrew Beckett

Daytona Beach!

Hello favorite people ever! I love you! This has been one of the hardest, most trying weeks of my life, and I have been super humbled. I wanted to wait to tell you until after you got the letter from President Hall ha ha :) I am training! Woo hoo! I am super excited and humbled about it. My trainee is Elder Dylan Larsen from San Jose, CA. He is an awesome missionary, and we've had tons of fun together already! I am also District Leader here and "Whitewashing" the area. So we have no idea where to go or anything like that; it's all completely brand-new. Scary. Plus this is my first time on a bike in the mission so we're getting used to that as well. Oh, btw, we are in Daytona Beach! Which is a way cool area!

So, Tuesday morning President Fort (Sumterville Branch) took Elder Stock and I to the mission office to drop me off and pick up their new Elder. Pres. Hall had a meeting with all of the trainers before we met our trainees, and basically just helped us realize what a huge trust the Lord had in all of us to train these missionaries. There were also a bunch of new things they are implementing into training, and had specific material they wanted us to cover over a specific timeline. It makes it nice to know what specifically they want us to cover when, because I guess in the past they pretty much just left it completely up to the trainer. Well, my trainee and I met and then we had to wait at the mission office for a while for our ride from Daytona Beach to come pick us up. We rode back, took our bags up into the apartment, and then the Zone Leaders (Elders Brown & Ellis) took us shopping to get supplies for the rest of that week. Our apartments are SO nice! Wow. They are super sweet. I'd send you pics, but I guess on these computers you can't do that... so it might be a while before you get some pictures :/ I'll send you another cd or something though. And yes, of coures you can look through everything I sent home! You are my family and I want to share it all with you! So feel free.

Oh, so after we got some food, we went to a neighborhood (Elder Brown took us there in the car) to do some tracting, and told us to start on one street. The first house we knock on, the man opens up and invites us right in. He is getting pretty mad at someone over the phone, arguing how they "owed him 50 G's and he's going to have it by the end of the week." Well, there was another guy in there who was playing with some pretty big knives on the couch. He also had a gun. We were just kind of wondering what was going on, and if we were going to get stabbed or shot or something, when they started laughing. Apparently it was a setup and we got "punk'd" ha ha. It was pretty funny. I guess one of the guys, Josh, who was in on it put it on youtube. Search "Breaking in the New Elder" and the channel/user should be something like "metalagainstmetallic" and you'll see us on the video! Let me know how it is... The other man in the movie, the one on the phone is called "Grandpa" and he watches out for the missionaries a TON! He has already taken us out to eat twice this past week, and apparently feeds the missionaries all the time. He is super nice and always making sure we have everything we need. I guess they do that trick to all of the new missionaries.

Being on a bike is fun! It's super tiring though, and it takes a while to get around. We will be in good shape though by the end of this transfer! Well darn it :( My time is up. I'm working on a tape to send to you with more details about everything. I love and pray for you all. Keep on keepin' on! The Lord is real and loves us. Elder Larsen and I have seen that this past week; He's really led us to some neat people. Love ya bye :)

-Elder Beckett

p.s. Church was fun, the ward is great! Now we just need to get to know them better.

Goodbye Sumterville :'/ Hello Daytona Beach!

Hey family!

Well, like the subject says, I am being transferred. To the Daytona South area, in Daytona Beach, FL. My mailing address there will be:

Elder Andrew Beckett

168 Integra Shores Dr. #303

Daytona Beach, FL 32117

I am sad to leave Sumterville and Elder Stock, but it will be where the Lord wants me. I am excited to go and work there too! Guess what... I will be living in a four man apartment, and in a car-share area for my first time! Leesburg and Sumterville are both two-mans. And full car. I am excited to bike, I hear it's a blast! And... Elder Lancaster Brown, my trainer, will be living in that apartment also! He is a Zone Leader over the Deland zone, and I will get to live with him until he dies in May (missionary die.. not literally)! How cool is that?!? Ha ha I am so excited. I talked to him on the phone the other day, and he told me that our apartment is the 2nd nicest one in the mission, we have the best gym in the mission (Mom, Mindy, Allie - I'm going to get buff! No more scrawny ronnie! ;), and the ward is crazy. I'm assuming he meant crazy in the best of ways :) It will be weird coming from the country to a big city! Also... the only thing everyone has been telling me when I tell them I'm going to Daytona is, "Oh, better stay in your apartment. It's almost spring break there, and girls will be all over the street." Great. That's alright, me and my comp will just wear blinders and own Satan. =] The Lord has work to be done.

Wow, this week has been one of my favorites but one of my hardest as well. I loved it because it was in the fantastic area of Sumterville! What a privilege it has been to come here and learn from and serve these people. I have truly grown to love them. It really didn't hit me how I felt about leaving until yesterday when we were sitting there in sacrament meeting right at the start of testimony meeting. I was planning on bearing my testimony, but I figured I'd just wait until there was a pause, or just go about halfway through the meeting. The first counselor asked me after he bore his testimony instead to just come up after him and share my testimony.
Well, I got up and I couldn't speak! I had to just stand there for a minute and enjoy the moment, looking into the faces of these people that I love so much. I felt like I was leaving home all over again, leaving my family. I had spent the last 6 months of my life here, and learned so much from the Lord while being here. I have no doubt that I was sent here for a reason, and these great people have been such a blessing and joy to serve with. I bore my testimony, thanked them for who they are, encouraged them to keep the missionary work going forward, and sat down feeling an overwhelming love for these people.
By the end of the meeting, I realized that it wasn't just my love that I was feeling for them. I was truly feeling the love of the Savior for them. It was a wonderful, beautiful thing. I realized this as we were singing the closing hymn, "I Believe in Christ," one of my favorites. I felt an outpouring of the Spirit as we sang, and it was almost as if the veil was lessened just a tiny bit; just enough for me to catch a glimpse of how much the Savior really loves me - how much He has done for me. I was brought to tears and couldn't sing as I read the words of the hymn. I don't cry much, but this was one of the few times in my mission so far that I was brought to tears. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me, and that my Savior Jesus Christ loves me too. They love all of us, unconditionally! I have many, many weaknesses, but He patiently guides and teaches me each time I make a mistake - never giving up on who I can become. I am so thankful for the honor and blessing it is to serve as one of the Lord's missionaries. This truly is His work, and He leads and guides everything we do. We can't do it without Him.
I am excited for my new assignment! I know that the Lord has great things He will accomplish as my new companion and I love and serve Him with all of our hearts, might, minds, and strength. I have been thinking a lot about how I am nervous for the unknown. I think that is probably the greatest source of fear - not knowing what will happen or what is going on; what an outcome will be. However, I have also come to the realization that the Lord knows all, from the beginning to the end. He is my rock, strength, and salvation! He will help us as we go forth with faith to do His will. He will lead and guide us through His Spirit to know what to do and where to go. That is something that helps me in the times when I realize just how far I fall short, or how inadequate I am - to know that Jesus is the Christ! He has overcome the world, so why should we fear? We shouldn't. We should just keep going with our faith in our God, knowing that He will provide the way. He always does. He can make up the difference of our shortcomings if we turn to him with full purpose of heart.
I love my life, my family, my mission, and my God. I am so thankful to be here, to know that this is where the Lord wants me at this time. I know He is leading this church through revelation, and what a blessing to have a testimony of that. He has not in the past, and never will leave us alone. He would not do that. Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's prophet on the earth today, and we get to hear him speak soon! How exciting :)

I am so thankful for Elder Stock, he has been such a wonderful companion for me. I have learned a ton from him and we are great friends! I am sure my next companion will be wonderful also, and I am excited to work with him. Well, my time is up, but I love you all! I told everyone this past week just how excited I was to come back with my family and introduce them to everyone. You will love them! When we come back, we'll be going to the Sumterville WARD for church in the NEW BUILDING. I am excited :]

"Keep on keepin' on" as Brother Coleman always says! Have a great week!

love, Elder Andrew John Beckett

Hey, I'm a missionary! Cool huh?

Hi!

Another great week in Sumterville. Cool fact: we might be moving from Bushnell to Sumterville, just up the street from the Bs. Not-so-cool fact: I'm most likely going to be transferred (I'll find out this Saturday, March 5th), so I won't get to experience the new place. That's alright though, the Lord will put me where He needs me most. It was kind of neat though seeing the Lord's hand in moving and everything. Sumterville is more central to our area, and is where the Church is located. Sister B noticed that a house just up the street from them was for rent, and so she called us to have us talk to the mission leaders and see if they wanted us to move there. We called, and it "just so happened" that our lease for our current living quarters is just about up. The new place we will be moving to is a lot cheaper as well. Long story short, it was pretty easy to see that the Lord had His hand in things.

I got to go on exchanges with Elder Thomas (Bailey D, from Montpelier, ID) up in Belleview. It was a blast! We had talked about that in the MTC (we came out together) and thought, "Woah! What if we got to be companions at some point? Nah, that would never happen." Well, it did, even if it was only for 24 hours lol. Still super cool though, and I learned a bunch from him. He is a great missionary.

Our district is on fire right now - our whole zone really! We are excited for the work, and everyone is setting dates left and right.

Sunday night we set a baptismal date with T for March 12th. She is super excited and we are too! The Lord is really blessing us. Now we just need to keep working hard, fighting Satan, and help people see that this is the only place where you can find true happiness.

Friday night 2 of our investigators/friends (they haven't really accepted to be taught yet, but we've talked with them and done service for them, teaching is coming next :) took us to dinner at the Coyote Rojo, a delicious Mexican Restaurant in Bushnell. I ate there my first day here with President Fort and Elder Rice. It reminds me a lot of Casa Del Rey, although it's not THAT good. You can't beat Casa. It was fun though. The next morning Scott had us come give some service on his property for a few hours; he needed help adjusting a tree stand where he hunts hogs. That was pretty cool.

Saturday night was a blast - we got to ride with Lester and Mary and go to the Saturday night session of Stake Conference! It was so good. Elder Kevin W. Pearson and Elder Robert C. Gay spoke. They did a wonderful job and I learned a lot of things. President Hall and Sister Hall were there and bore their testimonies. L and M had a great time and enjoyed it. I think it was especially good for them to see the Stake Center full of saints - there is strength in knowing that TONS of our brothers and sisters are spread all throughout the world and know the same things that we know to be true! We never stand alone. The Sunday session was excellent too - most if it was just taking care of reorganizing the stake presidency. That is always interesting to see. President Carter, the former stake president, has been called to be a mission president in the Buenos Aires West mission.

________ :) inspired me tons to work even harder to find the elect! They are out there, the Lord is preparing them, and it's just up to us to teach them the truth! That is why members are VITAL to missionary work - they already have the relationship and friendship set up, and know someone who is in need of the truth. We can only knock so many doors in a day, and that tends to get old pretty quick. We LOVE teaching, and if the members help us get people to teach then we can be much more effective. I am getting the feeling that the growth rate of the church is just about to explode and people are going to be getting baptized left and right. That has already started, but it is going to only continue to grow! The work WILL go forth whether we do our part or not, but we want to have no regrets. This truly is the most important thing anyone could be a part of - the consequences reach far into the eternities. I am so thankful to be here and be doing this.

BTW, I think I'm about hitting that stage where I am forgetting what "normal life" is like. It's really weird. All I feel like I know is missionary work. You hit some weird walls in your mission, and you really become a changed person. They are for the better of course, but I feel like my perspective on life and people and everything is constantly being switched up pretty good. Anyway, just thought I'd throw out that random thought. I'm really behind on letters right now, so sorry if anyone is waiting to hear from me. I'm not sure if I'll get to write any today or even next P-day with cleaning, packing, and other things we have to get done. I kind of wonder how they expect us to get all of our "me stuff" done on P-day, clean our apartment, clean our car, do our laundry, shop, write letters, have fun, and just relax. There is no time! P-day is the fastest day of the week, and we only have from 10-6 to do those things. Plus if you take out lunch and dinner, changing, etc. it makes it even shorter lol. That's alright though, it is for a good reason. I'm not here to focus on me, but to learn to forget about myself and focus completely on other people. I love it, and I know that I will be truly happy if I do. It's just a continual process of trying to better myself and work harder, being more obedient.

I love my family so much. You mean the world to me, and I pray for you by name regularly. Keep the faith and stay strong! Satan tries to make us think we are alone and weak, but that is never the case. You always have family and friends supporting you, whether on this side of the veil or beyond. The Lord is always there as well. I have a testimony of the scriptures, and know that they are true! We really can find answers to our questions if we diligently search, ponder, and pray over them. I love the topical guide more than ever before. It is a missionary's best friend :) Have a fantastic week, talk to you soon!

love,

Elder Beckett

p.s. If you mail anything to me, it would probably be best not to mail anything after Wednesday to the Bushnell address because of transfers. I'll let you know next monday if I'm gone or what for sure. Love ya!

Baptisms and chickens - can life get better? =]

Hey family! I love you all! And I've almost got a tape filled up both sides... so it will be coming in the next while. This past week has been great! The weather is beautiful here as well. It's actually starting to get a little too warm possibly.. it was up in the 80's this past week. I am loving the blue skies and green everything =]

Ok. Guess what. Are you ready? L and M were baptized on Saturday! It was SO neat. Definitely one of the very best days of my mission so far. Baptisms are the best! It always pumps me up and gets me super excited to go out and find more elect people. I saved a program to remind me of the great day. Afterwards they (L and M/the Bs) took us out to eat with them at Osaka's. It is a Japanese steakhouse like Tepanyaki's! I was thinking of you guys when I went there and was like, "Cool! Now I got to try it out like my family too ha ha even though we are on different sides of the country." The food was fantastic though and we brought home TONS of leftovers. Oh, something kind of funny - we got there early to fill up the font, set up chairs, etc. Well, after the font was filled like 5 inches or so, we felt the water coming out of the faucet and it was cold. We ended up boiling a huge pot of water in the kitchen and carting it down to the font, as well as filling up like ten pitchers with hot water and making probably 7 trips from the kitchen to the font (the kitchen water heater was separate from the font one). The water ended up being just perfect! Leesburg's baptism went well too! Our district has had an awesome transfer so far; the Lord has really blessed us. We had the baptism in their building because Sumterville's building isn't build yet, and the one we are using doesn't have a baptismal font. I will have to take some pictures of it to send. Also, Elder Stock and I were able to confirm M and L in church, which was another spiritual high.

I really love the Ss. They are such wonderful people, and I continuously thank the Lord that he gave me the privilege to see them accept the gospel. Sunday they came to church and L asked me who he gives his tithing to. No reminders or anything, they just remembered and willingly paid! That is when you can tell someone is really converted - when they start taking things into their own hands, don't need reminders or constant follow-up, and are happy about it. :) We will be coming back to visit them for sure! Oh, and the best part of it all is... that in a year from now they can receive their endowments and be sealed in the Orlando temple, and Elder Stock and I will both be able to go! YES! That will be the best! It's always great to have something to look forward to.

Hey, thank you so much for the Valentine's package! I loved it and the letters and talks and little quotes and everything! I keep the quotes on my desk and change through 1 a day. You guys spoil me. Thanks!

You asked what I would like for my birthday? Hmm.. honestly I don't really need anything. I might once my year mark gets closer, or after this coming summer, but for right now I'm doing just fine. You could send me a tie or two if you want (polyester is best so the rain won't ruin it). Really though please don't get me anything because I'm just fine. One thing I would love from you is to... find someone to invite into our home and have the missionaries teach =] That would be so cool! You would all be such a great fellowship family and could help teach and testify. So, that is what I would really like from you is to just hear back that you have found someone to have the missionaries teach in our home. The Hs would be a great family! You could pray and fast for them, or just for whoever the Lord has in mind, and then He will lead you to find them. It may not be who you expect either! But I've seen it all the time here as members really have a desire to do the Lord's will and share the gospel. They pray and fast and do everything they can to find someone, and then they do! Even if people have said no in the past, it won't hurt to try again. That is what Brother B did to his sister, and after 20 years of saying no she finally said yes! The Lord can work miracles. Oh, and I'm sure you know, but sometimes it can be a really slow process. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. It may just start with having them over for dinner or something like that, but it will grow into a lasting friendship if you let the Lord do His work! But that is my invitation - over the next while to find someone who is ready to hear the gospel. Also, it doesn't need to be a non-member (do they have those in Utah?). It could be rescuing a lost sheep and bringing them back to the fold. It's all the Lord's work :)

We actually had a neat experience this past week where the Lord led us to some wonderful people who had been members of the church a long time ago, but left because they were offended. It always breaks my heart to see people who have fallen away because of that. They are definitely prepared though to hear and accept the gospel again, and I can't wait to see where things go! It was interesting how we found them... we were out tracting one day, and got a return appointment with a guy. Well, when we showed up the next night for our appointment he wasn't there. His neighbors were though, and they weren't home when we'd been there previously tracting, so we decided to talk to them. A lady answered the door, and we'd actually met her before. It is amazing how the Lord places people in your path. We went in, talked with them for a while, and left them with a prayer. They are wonderful people and are super positive about everything! Great examples to me of the attitude I should have about life. Oh, and they are excited to have us come back.

Oh yeah! Chickens. Ok, so this past week we had a service project. Some members asked us to help them out with their chickens. By chickens they meant 7 roosters in a coop (as you can see from the pic). Well, this was definitely an interesting service project! We climbed in the coop, caught the roosters, and then beheaded them on a chopping block with an axe. I'm pretty sure they knew what was coming, because they sure didn't like us coming into their coop and grabbing them one by one to take them away. They were pretty resistant and would try to peck and scratch us. Sometimes they'd back each other up too, but we triumphed. I don't like killing things, and so I prayed that they wouldn't be in pain or anything. I don't think they were; it was a pretty quick process. I guess it was a good experience to have? I learned what to do if we ever need to raise and eat chickens now. My shoes need to be washed. Life in Sumterville is the best =)

Well, have a great week! I love everyone. Also, I can't believe it is week 5 already. Crazy. Sauce. Aaaah.

much love,

Elder Andrew John Beckett

Poor thing.

Catching the roosters! :)

L and M's baptism!
Ha ha. Funny side story:

The first is of me and "The Whipper." His real name is Isaac, ha ha, and he is T's dad. He is 91 years old! Elder Stock and I went to teach T one night but she wasn't there, so we just decided to talk to I for a while and teach him. If I already sent these pics and told the story sorry.. Anyway he told us a story about how back in the day he used to get in fights a lot. So much that people started calling him "The Whipper." He'd be walking up the street and they'd say, "Watch out! Here comes the Whipper! You better stay out of his way!" Here is a story he told us (warning, it's a little violent):

"One time I was shootin' dice with some guys. There was a big guy that I was playing with. I won, but when the game was over he wouldn't give me my money. I got real mad and walked away thinking what I could do to get him. I found a broomstick close by, and I tip-toed real quiet up behind him. He was still kneeling down playing dice on the ground. Well, I got up to him and hit him as hard as I could on the back of the head! Then I told him never to do that again and left."

"Wow I, so did you get your money back then?"

"No, it was just fifty cents."

Ha. Ha. Wow. Lol We were laughing our heads off and couldn't believe it. Anyway, he is quiet the character.

Exchanges, Interviews, Zone Confrerence=Fun Week!

Hi low mini mini cow cow mmm chow chow piggie wow wow yoo-hoo! Is that right? Ha ha I just remembered that. It's so weird - I have the most random things pop into my head sometimes out of completely nowhere. Things that I remember from like 3rd grade. Like the other day I started singing a whole N'SYNC song word for word, but then I realized I was and stopped. They aren't quite approved lol. Anyway, I don't know if it's like that for other missionaries, but my memory/thinking/neuro-operative system (sounds like a cool word - probably not correct) I think has changed a ton since I've been out.

Oh hey, Mindy, did you get a spot at Regency with your friends? Hope so! If not that's ok; that just means that the Lord has other plans for you in a different place where you'll be even better off. Also how did your midterms go? Hey! Congrats! You did get a spot! That is a huge blessing =] Let me know how it is, and watch for a spot where I might could live (that's southern ;) in a while. And YES, I DID get your valentine! That was so fun! Thanks! And I love that picture. It's actually on the back of one of my planners. Now I have a fun puzzle to put together - plus it has a nice note from Melindy on the back.

How has Dad's back been? I am so sorry to hear that! I didn't even know that he was hurt. How did he hurt it? I'm sorry Dad. I will keep you in my prayers for sure. Please be super careful! I'm still planning on going backpacking with you in the summer of 2012! That's in about a year and a half Dad so be ready, it will come up faster than you think ;) And Mom/family, thanks for the package that it sounds like is on the way. You didn't need to get me anything, I'm doing great! I feel so blessed and am loving life. I really have come to realize just how much we all have. First of all we have the Gospel, which is the best blessing we could have in our lives, and then on top of that we are physically and temporally blessed as well! I have really been learning to take better care of the things that I already have, shop the deals, distinguish between wants and needs, and much much more. Being here on the mission is the best experience I could've asked for, and I am still constantly having my eyes opened to just how blessed I am to even be here. I have no doubt the Lord sent me here for a purpose, and His hand really is in everything throughout my life (whether I realize it or not). I would be so lost without Him. I am thankful for the trials and experiences that I have, because they are specialized and customary to what I need most, when I need it. The Lord really knows me.

Oh, apparently there is a holiday going on today? Something to do with romance? Eww... girls have cooties... ha ha. Being a missionary is where it's at! You have such a worry-free life. You don't have to worry about anything for yourself, you just get to help other people out with the problems they are having. Clarification: I'm not talking about romance or romance problems. Anyway. I think the Lord is extra-likely to give you revelation on how you can help someone else in their life when you are going out of your way to help them. Of course he gives us revelation for ourselves and how we can help ourselves too, but to me it almost seems like for that we really have to show Him that we want and need it before we qualify. However, it seems that things come so much easier when trying to help those around us. Just an interesting thought.

Hey, sorry if any of this is repetitive when I finish and send my tape home. I have a hard time remembering what all I talk about on there. That's alright though, you can just get to know some of what's going on a little better right? :P

Monday through Wednesday I was on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Matthews. He is from Portland, Oregon and is a wide receiver for BYU. He is really tall, but Elder Brown still has him beat by an inch. WOW, speaking of which, Elder Brown goes home this May! That is crazy! He hit his year mark like right before he started training me. Time goes by so fast. Anyway, I learned a lot from Elder Mathews and he is a great Elder. One thing I got from him was a talk/letter written from a stake president to his son on a mission. Elder Zivic apparently gave it to the elders during leadership training when he was here. It talks about "Personal Purification" and this is the basic idea: you pray and fast for 24 hours for the Lord to reveal to you habits you have that are poking at the Spirit, ways to be more obedient, etc. Then at the end of your fast you come before the Lord and make a list of specific things that come to mind. You covenant to not do those things for 40 days (a 40 day fast... get it?), and then you will be happy and have overcome those things and you will have real spiritual power. Isn't that awesome? I think so. Elder Stock and I started it on Saturday.

Zone conference was incredible! I am constantly more and more amazed at just how inspired President Hall really is. He is a wonderful example of a Christ-like person. One thing I thought was really neat that he mentioned in Zone Conference was that he has been blessed to see us closer to how the Savior sees us than we can even see ourselves. We also learned about personal honor (see the BYU-I personal honor sheet), contacting, change, accounting, and now we have texting. It's the same rules with calling though so I can't text you guys lol.

I went straight from Zone Conference to an exchange with the Leesburg Elders (Carmack and Haack) and that was a lot of fun. I did my first baptismal interview with J M, S's Mom. She is a wonderful lady and ready to be baptized! I was kind of nervous at first (it was my first one), but it ended up being a great experience.

Saturday we had an awesome service project at the Gs. They are building some rooms on the back of their house, and so the priesthood in the branch organized this project to help them out. There was a great turnout and we got a lot done. I was eating, drinking, seeing, and breathing insulation. It actually wasn't that bad though! Elder Stock and I put in all the insulation for the two rooms (on the ceiling anyway), and it came in the rolls. I'll be pro to help out at home when I get back if it still needs to be done when I come home! We also hung some drywall, did the wiring, and re-did the roof. We meaning the branch and us; we aren't allowed to help out with some of the things like on the roof. It was a blast though and Sister G made a delicious lunch for everyone.

Well, "My life is gooood! Real gooood!" - Nacho

I have been speaking like Nacho sometimes ever since I read Skylar's quote a while back lol. But seriously, life is the best ever. This really is a probationary time to prepare to meet our Heavenly Father again. Let's not waste it. There is so much good to be done, so many of our brothers and sisters to be helped. Life can't be about us... we have been blessed to be in the position that we are in only so that we can help others. We need to help them; it is our privilege and duty. Everyone needs to come to Jesus Christ and accept the fulness of His gospel. Thanks Mom, Dad, Mindy, Allie/Shaniqua ;), Nate, and Seth for your love and examples. You reaffirm my faith constantly that the Church is true, that families can be together forever, and so much more. Hope you have a great week! Remember to CPR (Church, Pray, Read)! And CTR! They go hand in hand. I love you!

love,

Elder Andrew John Beckett