Breaking the rules already

 So I'm definitely not supposed to be emailing right now but I will forget this if I don't.  The tours are kind of in the way of everything but are super cool!  CJ and Abby should definitely come take one.  Well everyone should.  I look everyday to see if I know anyone cause someone always does.  So I'm here to tell you that the best time to take a tour (so I can see you and you can see me) is any day (except Sunday and Tuesday) at 12.  I have lunch with my district from 11:45-12:30 and we always sit right where the tours walk through.  We are usually all settled by 12 and the very first place you go on tour is through the cafeteria.  So!  That being said, let the whole family know please!  And the Westovers.  I would love to see them.  And I will definitely give anyone a hug who comes through!  I love you all!!  P-day is tomorrow so you'll here from me then.  I have a tablet here and can check my email whenever and have loved hearing from you all!

All my love,
Sister Beckstrand

Ist email!

Hey!

I'm here. Haven't met my companion yet but I should soon. When you show up there is a lot of stuff that they make you do but it's cool. My p-days are on Tuesday while I'm here so expect emails then. I love you all!!

Love,

Sister Beckstrand

MTC here we come!

OK, So here is some advice for any family that is going to drop their missionary off at the MTC.  If you want to have an enjoyable experience, go to the Provo Temple first.  Arrive at least a half an hour before your drop off time.  Give yourself lots of time to not be rushed.  Go up by the temple.  Don't stay down on the lower grass by the parking lot.  The spirit is by the temple.  It's quieter.  The very first thing to do is find a family that needs their picture taken and offer to take theirs if they will take yours.  Group pictures MUST be done as soon as you get there!!!  If you wait, then you will start to cry and will be puffy in the pictures.  Then take pictures with the missionary next.  Start with whomever is going to cry the most first.  Walk around.  Enjoy the mountain and the time you have together!  Doing this instead of just going straight to the MTC gives you some peace.  It gives you time to properly say goodbye because you WILL NOT have it at the MTC and you won't want it there.  This is the time and the place to hug and cry.  Get it out here!  Because when you get in your car and drive straight across the street, you need to put a smile on your face and be the firm foundation that your missionary needs.  I promise that making a trip to the temple together before you go to the MTC will make all the difference in the world to you and your missionary.  The first thing we did when we got to the Provo Temple was re-create the picture we took when we dropped off Shayne.  hehehe.

 We kidded Josh that he still weighs the same as he did back then.  He just grew.  Ben was the happiest about this picture.  He's been measuring himself up against everyone. Everyday.  It's obnoxious.  It was March in Shayne's photo and about 60 degrees.  Today wasn't bad but it was still 90.

 David has been Sophie's intern when it comes to selfie's.  He's taken a bunch of her pictures with her phone including the one of her holding out her Book of Mormon that we used for her invitations.  So, this wasn't a surprise when this happened.

 I found this cute little bench to take her picture.  Ashley was able to meet us there and go to the MTC to see Sophie off.  Ashley is playing basketball for BYU and just lives down the road from the MTC.

 So since our last name starts with B, Sophie was in the first group to show up.  12:30-12:45pm.  We pulled up at 12:35 and instead of having all of the missionaries lined up where they usually are, there was this.  We weren't sure what to do so we followed the cones and saw a guy wave us down into the underground parking.  So, down we went.  We also noticed the KSL news team there shooting some footage. These 4 new 6 story buildings had just been completed and they were doing an amazing story on them and all of the new missionaries that they were going to support. 

 As soon as we got into the parking garage, we saw the line of missionaries just waiting, with all their smiles, to help the next person with their luggage.  When you first drive into the MTC they ask you if you have a Sister or Elder that you are dropping off and they put a pink or blue Post-It on your windshield according to which one is in the vehicle.  So as we past by, waving like crazy with our windows down, saying high to everyone, the next Sister missionary in line followed our van down the line to help Sophie out.  Her name was Sister Smith.  She was super nice.  Sophie gave everyone a hug.  Josh started to cry again.  Sister Smith took our picture and they left.  It took all of 2 minutes.  It does not need to take any longer.  It shouldn't.  Get in, Get out, Get them on with the work of the Lord.  With a little shout of, "Woo Hoo Sister Beckstrand!"  We jumped back in the car and were off.

 I want to add one more piece of advice here.  Don't ever say, I MISS YOU.  You both know that you will miss each other.  Those words are just an opening for Satan to throw his #1 tool at these missionaries...homesickness.  They don't need it.  YOU don't need it.  We say, "Work hard!" instead.  (It's like using a code that Satan doesn't know about). It uplifts them instead of bringing them down. The three little words that you should always say are I Love You.  

Go get em' Sophie!  Have fun at the MTC.  August 15th she leaves for Florida!

Setting Apart and Saying Goodbye

Josh took this picture while we were in Stake President Ellsworth's office.  I think David was talking about how excited he was that he gets Sophie's room. 

This is the after picture that the Stake President took for us.  Josh, JoEllen and Brad all cried while we were in the office.  Which in turn made me cry.  But I think for the most part Josh was the worse.  It's just because he won't see her for 3 years because his mission will over lap hers by 6 months.  They are only 15 months apart and have been like twins their entire lives.  Even when Sophie graduated from high school, she still ended up coaching the High school swim team so she spent a lot of time with him and the kids at school.  Minus eating lunch together every day they still saw each other 20 hours a day instead of 24.  Right after this picture we threw her luggage in the van and headed up to Lehi, where we had a big dinner with all the cousins and Sophie got to say a last goodbye to all of them. 

The next morning we woke up to a wonderful breakfast by grandma.  Sophie gave them and Abby a hug goodbye and off we went to the MTC.  It was just a coincidence that they all matched.

Farewell

Sunday July 16th, 2017!  Once again we had a huge family get together.  

The night before we had Josh's Eagle Court of Honor.  You can see more about that on my blog.  We had John, Brian, and their families and Grandpa Beckstrand and Aunt Carol Nan.  Then because Andy and Sarah and their family were in Lehi on summer vacation they were able to make it too!  So every member of my family was together for this inspiring weekend.  Things like this never happen again.  That's why it's so incredibly important to make them a priority.  I am so overwhelmed by the love and concern of our family.  I hope and pray that our children see this example and always cherish it as I do and make it a priority in their lives too.

 Sophie gave a wonderful talk.  Her topic was Heritage.  She combined it with the Pioneers since it was close the the 24th of July and also the Temple since she wanted to talk about her experience working there.  She was funny and eloquent, except when she said that it would have "sucked" to be a pioneer and walk all that way.  She talked for a good solid 25 minutes.  I was so impressed.  After the meeting was over my family went into the gym to take a family picture, since Andy's family was in town.  We had nearly everyone in the picture too.  David had already started to walk back home with Henry and Evan and no one wanted to go out in the heat to chase them down.

 The kids and their spouses.  We should have put JoEllen on our side.  I don't know why we didn't.
 

My amazing friend Sarah Miller made this cake for Sophie.  She asked her what her favorite flavor, filling and color was and this beauty was created.  It was delicious. 

 And here are these guys and their pictures.  I am pretty sure that they have to have someone take their picture at every function.   At least they understand the importance of family.   And those smiles!  Might as well take as many pictures as you can when you look as good as they all do.

Called to Serve

This is Sophie.  She has chosen to set her life aside for 18 months and serve a mission for 

 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

She got her mission call on March 16th, 2017.  It was right in the middle of our Spring Break and we had just gotten back from an awesome trip up north, temple hopping.  We stopping by Canyon View High School on our way back home to watch Josh's soccer game and by the time we got home we were tired and worn out.  Shayne and Konnor had stopped by to say hi around 9pm and asked if Sophie had gotten her mission call yet. We said that we hadn't even checked the mail.  None of us thought it would be here yet so we didn't worry.  But, Sophie went out to the mailbox and came back in with a big, white envelope!   So, we called everyone and told them to meet at our house the next night if they wanted to be there when she opened it.

We had put dots all around the globe with everyone's names on it on where they guessed she would be going.  It was common for people to guess the mission that they went on.  So, Joel guess Italy, Steve guessed New York, Kyle guessed Florida.

Not only was it just Florida but it was Kyle's exact mission.  Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Originally she had wanted to learn a language but after Jan and Paula, both told her how lucky she was that she DIDN'T have to spend time doing that, she felt better and was ready to work!

 

Her date to enter the MTC was July 26th so she had awhile but she wanted to hurry and receive her endowments so she could work in the temple before she left.  Which also made it super nice that everyone could come down here for their Spring Break a couple weeks later so we could all go to the temple together.  April 7th, 2017.  The lady in the first picture was that lady who helped Sophie through everything that day.  She was just leaving that same time we were, so we took a picture with her.  She was an angel.

We were only missing Andy, Sarah (Texas) and Casey(working).  All endowed, card carrying, members.  That is quite an incredible feat.  All 7 of my parents kids and both of the married granddaughters and their husbands.  Kyle is not featured in this picture because he is the cool uncle who hurried home to grab the rappelling stuff and the kids to take them up to the Sugarloaf to rappel before we all headed out to Brad and Ashley's to celebrate an early Easter together.  They had a blast!

Sophie said that she had "progressed to the other side of the temple".  Up until this point she had never taken a picture from this side of the temple.  She had always taken them from the baptistry entrance side or the front.  She felt quite grown-up.

A couple weeks later she started working in the temple on Friday mornings and said that it was the most important and wonderful experience of her life.  She feels it helped her prepare more for her mission by understanding that baptism alone is not the goal on her mission.  The temple is always the goal.  We are so proud of her and are excited to see her experiences and service.