Monday, August 28, 2017

1 Month!

Hey all!!
I hit my one month mark this last week!! How exciting! Only 17 more to go! This week was full of spirituality. On Monday we went out with our member and he taught us that if we are feeling anxious it's because we are living in the future and if we are feeling shame or guilt it is because we are living in the past. To feel our best self we just have to live in the present. Take each day an hour at a time so we don't get overwhelmed. At district training we talked about how confidence is key. If you bare your testimony without confidence, no one will believe you. But every time you are confident, the Spirit has to be there. And if you are feeling it, the investigator has to be feeling it. 
 
Sister Beckstrand does not have the gift of tongues and the Lord knows that. That is why I was called English. I started studying a little bit of Spanish this week and cannot speak a lick of it to save my life but I can now understand what the conversations are about and pick up words here and there. I did say a simple prayer in Spanish the other day for dinner, but had to read it. It will come eventually. We had a talent show with the YSA on Friday and it was good! A lot of people showed up and we were able to get a lot of less actives there. They made us do something so Sister Bingham went up and played the piano and I just held a picture of Christ. But here's the thing, it was on a keyboard and it didn't really sound super great so Sister Bingham just stopped halfway through and that was the end of it haha. I love her.  
 
We had stake conference yesterday and it was amazing. The people here have great testimonies. Our mission president and his wife spoke. They are some of my favorite people. They talked about when we buy a house we have to take care of it and if something goes wrong you have to call someone to come fix it. The same is true about our testimonies. We have to constantly be nourishing it, and if there is a leak we have to call our plumber.  He is waiting.
 
We met a Golden Gator this week! Her name is Andrea. She invited us in and as soon as we sat down on her couch she recognized the Spirit. We invited her to come do a chapel tour at the end of our lesson and her face lit up. Friday rolled around and it was almost time to go meet up with her so we called her to remind her and found out that we had her wrong number. So we prayed to know what to do and off to her house we went. We knocked on her door and met her little brother who said she was at work so off to work we went. As soon as she saw us her face lit up and she was so sad she had to work and couldn't come. We invited her to church and she said for sure! Well Satan is real and he is a real jerk. We got a text late that night that said she had to work until 5am and couldn't come to church. We called her the next morning and told her we could still do a chapel tour this Saturday and would love it if we came and visited her at work. Satan is a jerk but God is good.

I know this church is true. I know that as long as we are willing to rely on the Spirit and follow his council we will see miracles. The hardest part of a mission is learning to rely on the Spirit 100% but as long as we are exactly obedient to him, he will send miracles our way. I love it here in Florida. I love the Latins here. I love our YSA Branch and everyone I have met this week. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that through diligent study we can find answers and  come to know Christ more fully.

I love you all and hope all is well outside of Florida! I feel all your love every day. Keep being awesome member missionaries and go to the temple everyday because I wish I could.
All my love,
Sister Beckstrand

DUCKS!
 They are seriously everywhere!

Me and my cute comp!
The picture with the food is my first taste of Cuba. The burger looking one is called Frita Cubana. The other one is basically an omelette sandwich but it was the best thing ever. I also had mamey juice. Mamey is a weird fruit. Look it up. It is wayy good.

 My cute Hialeah home and my new necklace

My Florida Sunshine for this week is...
RAIN! We had a tropical storm this last week. Super crazy! The one pic is out my window in the study room and the other is Sister Murdock backing out our Zone Leaders. It just comes down in buckets. I wish you could see it.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Welcome To Florida!

I made it safe and sound! Tuesday morning we left nice and early from the MTC. Our planes were all right on schedule so we got to Florida at 2:30. We stepped off the plane and went to get our luggage and found President and Sister Garns along with Elders Lewis, Demaan and Durrant. They are all super great. Elder Durrant went home last week though. After being picked up we went to President's house to have our first interviews so he could get to know us. There were 8 of us on our flight and 8 more that were coming from the Mexico MTC so 16 of us total.  After interviews we had dinner and then had a little training and went out knocking! During dinner I had an awesome conversation with Elder Lewis about St. George and the people we know. He played Rugby for Snow Canyon so it was nice to talk. I went out knocking with Sister Thurgood and we got let in to our first house and talked about temples and the importance of church and got a return appointment. They are in the AP's district so I hope all is well for them. 

We slept in a hotel down the street that night and went to the chapel in the morning to meet our trainers. I met Elder Lantor! He is training. My companion's name is Sister Bingham. She has been in the mission for 7 months and is from Sandy Utah. She is a Spanish missionary so I will start learning Spanish tomorrow. We are in the Miami Lakes YSA Branch in Hialeah. I have learned so much from her the last week. Everyone says I came at just the right time because President Garns is switching the way we teach from how President Richardson did it so we are both kind of on the same page. But it's everything I learned at the MTC so I have helped her as much as she helps me. We went back to our little house after. It is so cute! We share a house with the STL's Sister Diamond and Sister Murdock. We got to go knocking and OYMing (Open Your Mouth) that night and taught a couple lessons. I learned really quick that most everyone here is Catholic or Baptist and loves Jesus so it's nice to have common ground. 

We have a super awesome member that comes out with us and teaches us soo much! He served in Mexico so that's nice cause he can help Sister Bingham teach in Spanish. I just nod and act like I know what is going on. I got to give a talk on Faith in Sacrament meeting yesterday. The members in the branch are so awesome and love to come out with us so that's really nice. I got to know everyone pretty quick. Knocking isn't super effective for us because we are just YSA but school starts this week so we will go walk around campus at FIU (Florida International University in Miami) a lot this week and MDC (Miami Dade College) starts up next week. 

My first impressions flying into Ft. Lauderdale: It is so green. It is soo beautiful. And it is soo flat. The sky just goes on forever and ever without being interrupted by mountains. The sunrises are so pretty especially through all the palm trees. I found my first palmetto bug in our house the first night. And woke up to 3 more. We found out that our hose is leaking so some guy brought some fans to hopefully dry it all out so the plumber can come fix it. There are iguanas everywhere!! And they are huge!!! I am in Hialeah so it's not super likely I will see any gators while I am here. But we are looking for investi-gators! Cheesy, I know. The missionaries here are awesome. I miss my MTC district but love hearing from them and seeing how they are doing. 

Miracles happen! People always told me to be exactly obedient on my mission and now I know why. When you are exactly obedient it gives the Lord room to bless you. We have seen so many blessings this week. We don't have any gators yet but we are following up with a guy named Frank tomorrow so hopefully he will be baptized. Here in the Fort Lauderdale mission we teach repentance and baptize converts. I was reading about Samuel the Lamanite the other day. He didn't know any of the people he was preaching to but he knew what was right and cried repentance unto the Nephites. When he was done many were baptized but they never heard from him again. That's just like a mission. I wont be here for long but I can talk to everyone I come in contact with because they will probably never see me again. 

I love this Gospel. I love this work. I love all of you and feel your love everyday!! I hope all is well and that everyone is doing well in school!
All my love,
Sister Beckstrand

p.s.  
I'm gonna do this thing called "My Florida Sunshine" every week. Basically it will be something about Florida that has made me happy. My Florida Sunshine for this week is the ducks! They are all over and just own the place! It is so awesome! I will be sure to take a picture of them today so you can see them next week!
Also, I advise none of you to lose weight on your mission. None of my pants fit anymore. But its cool. Belts are my best friend.

Also, I am in a car. Sister Soto left me a box of clothes as well so that is super great.
1: My cute little district!  In our mission we DAB. (Date and Baptize)
2: My room. It's not hard to figure out which bed is mine. (neat freak that likes elephants)

Friday, August 18, 2017

Email from Brother Burdick

Below is a tender mercy from Brother Dean Burdick.  He is from St. George and he and his wife are on a mission in Ft.Lauderdale Florida.  He knew I was wondering about who Sophie's companion was and where she was assigned.  So, out of the kindness of his heart he took these and sent them to me.  I am thrilled!

Look who showed up here in Southern Florida!!! The bottom picture is with her companion, Sister Bingham from Sandy, Utah. They are working in the Miami Lakes Young Single Adult Ward in Hialeah, Florida. By the way, I don't normally dress like that. But I do when it is 95° and 90% humidity and I am spending the entire day in the bicycle garage with the departing and arriving missionaries.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

She made it!

She arrived in Florida and I guess her p-day is Monday.  So, we assume we will hear from her then and find out which part of Florida she is going to be serving in.


Monday, August 14, 2017

Off to Florida!

 It's been a bittersweet week as we've said our goodbyes to our
teachers and district that left this morning. We leave at 2:30 tonight
so we probably won't get a lot of sleep. But I'm so excited to get to
Florida!

Day 14
Our roommates left super early this morning so we slept in till about
8. Aunt Juanelle, CJ, Nick, and Jenna all came and did a tour so after
starting laundry we went and found them. It was so cool to see them
one last time. We went as a district to the temple. I'm not sure how
often I'll get to go to the temple in Florida, or if at all, so it was
the last time for awhile. Elder Sitati and his wife spoke at our
devotional tonight. They are both converts so it was cool how our work
can really impact lives.

Day 15
We got to help host today!!! It was so much fun! It was nice to be a
welcoming face for the new sisters. Because we got to help host we
didn't really have class so not a lot happened. We got a new TRC
today. She's pretty cool but doesn't really get into the lesson so
it's pretty frustrating. We got 4 new roommates today. They are so
awesome. 3 of them are from Arizona. I don't remember where they are
going. They have so many questions it's awesome. It's cool to be the
big kids on campus even though we've only been here for barely 3
weeks.

Day 16
Today we had infield orientation. They basically sit us down for 9
hours and tell us what it's really going to be like out in the field.
Haha it's not actually that bad. There are different workshops we do
that get us involved. We talked a whole lot about getting members
involved, street contacting, the 12 week program they have us do, and
basically show us how our first week might look. It was really helpful
and gets you re excited/nervous for what's to come. I met an Elder
from Fort Lauderdale that is serving in Salt Lake. It was cool to sit
down and talk with him about what's in store. We were so pooped after
orientation and didn't have anything after dinner so we went and took
a nap before we had zone prayer.

Day 17
Last Friday here at the MTC. I woke up to an email from mum at 2:30 am
saying she had just got tickets for 9:20 and were driving straight
here. I was so excited! Me and Sister Goldstein left class and went
and found everyone. I ran into Emma first. That was awesome cause I
didn't really get to see her before I left. It was nice to take a
break from class and walk around with the family and talk about the
MTC. I'm going to miss everyone in Florida but 18 months are going to
fly by faster than we all think they will.

Day 18
Saturdays are great and all but they get so boring. We had 3 hours of
study time between breakfast and lunch. That was pretty nice. Today is
our last day of classes. 13 of the 16 in our district are leaving
Monday morning so Monday is kind of like a pday for us. We had a
really good experience in class today. We had Missionary Toast with is
basically the opposite of a Celebrity Roast. So we went around to
everyone and said an attribute that we think they represent best. It
was cool to hear things that we don't see in ourselves. We taught our
last TRC today. They were great but I'm ready to be done with them.

Day 19
Last Sunday. Last day together as a district. Me and Sister Goldstein
taught relief society on Agency. It was pretty good. M. Russell
Ballard showed up and gave us our devotional tonight. He talked about
conversion always starts with what we feel. We watched Consecrated
Missionary tonight. It was really good. Talked about how we have to be
willing to sacrifice everything to the altar so Christ can help us.
Also talked about how we have to run the full marathon. You can't give
up once you see the finish line. After films we had a district prayer
with our district (32A) and district 32F. We all showed up the same
day and we're leaving together so we had a testimony meeting together
and then said our goodbyes. It was hard to leave them but there is
work we need to do. The field is white already to harvest.

Day 20
Last day at the MTC! We leave at 2:30 in the morning tomorrow. Today
is kind of like our last pday. We get to do our laundry and pack so
we'll be ready to check out and head to the airport. Next time you
guys hear from me I will be in Florida. I love you all and can't wait
to go out and do the Lord's work!


1: Your cute missionary host.  We were constantly working so this is
the only picture I got.
2: District picture with Brother Hollingshead. He is wearing the blue
tie standing by me.  White Tag.
3: Brother Jenkins. Also standing by me.  White Tag.



Tuesday, August 8, 2017

More Pictures

Here are her later in the day photo's.  I guess I just get to excited to post her letter.  I need to wait until the every end of the day.

1: My district minus 3 that got sick and couldn't come to the temple.
2: The temple with the super pretty flowers out front across the street
Okay, I had to take a picture of this and explain why it makes me laugh. This is a statue of Samuel Smith, Joseph's little brother, he was the first missionary.   He's got his bag of stuff over his shoulder ready to teach.  If you look to the right you can see the dungeon looking door, that is the laundry room.  Every time I walk past this I imagine him taking his laundry to the laundry room. They could've put him in a better place.


MTC Tour

Here are some picture's that people have sent to me that have gone on the MTC tour.  It's been so awesome having Sophie there while this is going on.  I am on the Missionary Momma's Facebook Page and it is so incredible.  Anyone who is a member can put a picture on it or ask for prayers for their missionary, or advice, or just about anything.  This is where I have gotten some of these.  I even received a video of her just walking by on the second day she was there.  It was awesome.
Her Companion's mom put this one on there.
My incredible sister took their entire YW group on a tour and Sophie met them in the lobby!  They snuck her in some contraband.
Sophie was a tour guide on another day and a stranger posted this one.  I was super stoked.                          
Then another day, this one showed up as the last picture on a mom's post of 20+ picture's of her tour.
Then today I got these three great pictures.  I am so blessed that Sophie was able to go to the Provo  MTC at this time.  There are 14 MTC's in the world and if she would have learned a language, like she wanted, then more than likely, she would have gone to one of the other 13.  This has been amazing.  What an incredible experience she and we have had with her there.  She has 1 week left.

Why Do Missionaries Have Such Big Bladders?

Cause they only have one P-day!! Last one for me here at the MTC! 

Day 7:
A week ago today was my first p-day. It was so nice to finally be able to send some emails and go to the temple. Before dad dropped me off he told me that the MTC is next to the temple in terms of feeling the spirit. When you get to do both in the same day it feels like you are going to explode. It was so nice to go do a session. I miss the St. George temple. The Provo temple is huge! They have 6 endowment rooms and have a session every 20 minutes. It's really convenient for us missionaries.  Having Tuesday p-day is awesome cause after p-day ends we get to go to Tuesday night devotional and don't have to worry about class or TRCs. It's way nice. Sister Bingham is the one who spoke at tonights devotional. It was so amazing. She talked a lot about being diligent. A lot of the firesides here are like a loving slap in the face. 

Day 8:
Sister Goldstein had a doctors appointment this morning so we had to miss class. I just sat and studied my PMG while I waited for her.  After lunch in class none of us could focus. We all had a case of giggles and could not stop laughing at the dumbest things. At this point we had finally made it through a week and were starting to just be exhausted. It was nice to just sit and laugh though. It really helps to relieve stress. They weren't lying when they said laughter is the best medicine. After dinner I got to see the Rogels! For some reason I was under the impression that it was just Abby and Aunt Paula coming but as soon as I saw the young women getting off the bus and I recognized some faces that I realized they were all here. It is so cool to stop and be able to talk to them.  

Day 9:
Today during class we had one-on-one teaching opportunities with the other Elders in our class.  I got paired up with Elder Evans who is super awesome.  It was nice to be able to find scriptures that can help with each others problems.  We all grew closer as a district today. After dinner our district got to help with tours! When we do tours they basically put us at a post and tell people where we are from, where we are going, and where they are supposed to be going.  I was at the end of the tour so it was funny having people try and guess where I was going. I love being able to talk about Florida because it gets me so excited. Random people also ask to take our pictures and I guess you're getting them some how so that's super cool! 

Day 10:
Finally made it to double digits! We had our Friday morning service this morning. We got to clean bathrooms and do a whole lot more vacuuming. We taught our investigator Mary for the last time today. It was so nice. She started crying cause the spirit was so strong. It was a neat experience. We got our travel plans today!!!! Most exciting part of the MTC thus far! We leave next Tuesday morning from the MTC at 2:30am. Our plane leave Salt Lake at 5:55 and lands in Minneapolis at 9:20. We then leave Minneapolis at 10 and get to Fort Lauderdale at 2:37pm. There are 8 of us in our travel group and I am our travel leader. So that'll be interesting. We had personal interviews with our teachers today. I got to meet with Brother Jenkins and he said he has really noticed how I've become more confident in the way I teach and participate in class. It was a real confidence booster.  I think a lot of it has to do with trying to get my companion to talk to me but hey, whatever works, works. I saw Jordan Vane today and his wife during tours! It was such a surprise! I ran over and gave him a hug. I also met some missionaries going to Perth. One of them is from Dixie High School. His name is Alec Vaughan. He said he knows the Wells. He is doing so great here. It was so nice to be able to talk about family, especially the ones in Australia. 

Day 11:
Saturdays are so long. It's weird cause we'll go all week from one thing to the next and then there is a lot of free time on Saturdays so we have to find stuff to do cause you can only do so much studying before you go crazy. We had a come to Jesus today in class and talked about why we are really out here. It was another loving slap in the face. They really know how to do that here. We took a nap after dinner before class cause we wanted to be able to focus. In class we wrote little pump up lessons that we can give ourselves when things start to get hard. I felt pretty sick that night but 8 hours of sleep really does the trick.

Day 12:
I love Sundays. It was fast Sunday so it was cool to listen to testimonies. We didn't get to do a temple walk today but we did have an awesome relief society lesson. We talked about the creation and the fall. So many times when we talk about the fall it is all centered around Adam. When you watch the temple videos, Adam never makes a decision without looking to Eve for help.  As sisters in the church we can't let the Elders and brothers get all the credit. Ever was made as Adam's second half; she completed him. Mrs. Incredible said it best in her interview: "Girls, come on. Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don't think so."  The Elders are awesome but we have just as much power and ability to bring others unto Christ as they do. In the videos when Satan gets in the way Adam and Eve always look at him with a look of "Who are you to get in the way of my Eternal Salvation?" I think a lot of times it's easier to just let Satan get in the way but we have to be strong so we can return to our Father. After our devotional from Dallin H. Oak's daughter we all watched Character of Christ as a whole MTC. It is a devotional that David A. Bednar gave a couple years ago on Christmas here at the MTC. Once it was over we had the nice surprise of him showing up with his wife and answering questions. It was so cool and once again, the spirit grew even stronger that night.

Day 13:
So I've come to find out that if I just talk a whole bunch Sister Goldstein either has to talk back or listen to me talk all day long. It's working. I love p-day eve because I start to get everyone's emails and I get to hear how everyone is doing. In class we worked on asking questions that get people to think, soul search, and commit. It makes lessons a lot different. We ate every meal today as a district. It's gonna be hard to say goodbye to them next week as we leave the  MTC. We had an awesome TRC today and she asked a lot of questions that got us thinking about the things we believe. It was a real testimony builder. In class we talked about how we were all created and it made me think of Veggie Tales when Larry said, "God made everything out of nothing. He just went *raspberry* and there they were." That really is the simplest way to put it. That's not the full truth but it isn't exactly wrong either. 

The MTC is soo amazing. For all of you preparing to serve missions, I have some advice for preparing for the MTC. Read chapters 1, 2, and 10 of PMG. It will help you so much as you start out. You will have time here to read the rest of it. Also, become familiar with the 5 lessons. I know you all know what they say but become familiar with different ways to teach and different scriptures to help invite the Spirit to testify. I absolutely love this gospel. I am so excited to head to Florida next week and teach what I know. I hope you all are doing well!! I feel your prayers and know the Lord is watching over all of us.
All my love,
Sister Beckstrand
I didn't take a lot this week so you'll have to use pictures that you got from people seeing me on tour. 
I will take a district picture later today at the temple and send it to you.  

1: My view everyday. This courtyard is one of the best places to study. It is almost always quite no matter how many people are wandering around. These buildings are 6 stories and hold all of the classrooms.  
 
2: My Pixie Coves! These shoes are so comfy and I have about 5 people ask about them every time I wear them. Thank you so much!
3: My roommates that left last night so we didn't get very much sleep cause they took forever to pack but I will sure miss them! Left to Right: Sister Goldstein, me, Sister Spendlove (D.C.), Sister Recor, Sister Jones, Sister Nelson (all going to South Carolina) 
4: This is the last picture I'll have with this sweet kid for two years.
  5: I finally saw Victoria today! The three of us took a picture cause we're all from the same stake.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

More Pictures!!

 For some reason it only lets me send 2 or 3 per email.
1&2: Esther and the smaller version of whats on the wall across from her. I walk past this every day.
3: I'm going to Florida!!! 

 (Esther is Sophie's Hero.  She had a poster of her hanging in her room.)
1: Me and my cute companion! This is the skirt grandma made me. It didn't quite fit when I tried it on the Tuesday before I left but I put it on yesterday and zipped right up.
2: Me and my companion and Elder Helske and his companion. They had just got done eating so we had to get a picture. 
3: Your super cute stylish missionary heading to exercise time



Finally figured it out

She figured out her camera!!!

Pic 1: Me and my companion Sister Goldstein
2: The view from my classroom
3: My super cute district
4: My stupid bug bite
5: They have these pictures on the walls in the new buildings. Across from them are the scripture that goes with it that refers to missionary work. This is Moses.
I emailed her and said, "Hey, don't forget to do a tag picture (a close up picture of just your tag) while you're in the MTC.  You need one in each area that you are transferred to in front of something that will help you remember that place."  Her reply...Here you go.  My reply..AWESOME!

Week 1 - Baptism By Fire

Hey all!!
First week in the books! Let me tell you, it is one of the most overwhelming things. But week 2 is already calmer. Warning: this email is kind of long but a lot happened so bare with me.
Day 1:
Drop off day.  We pulled into the parking garage, said goodbye, and off I went. My host said that was the second week they have ever done drop off that way so everyone was kind of all over the place. We walked up the stairs onto campus and the first person I saw was Caden Butterfield! He came over and shook my hand and welcomed me to the MTC (just like the next 300 people I saw would do).  I saw Mark next. He and his companion were on his way to class and stopped and said hi.  It was super comforting to see some familiar faces. My host then sent me into a building were I was directed to about 15 different people giving me information and whatnot. I was given a tablet to use here at the MTC and then was sent to find my host. She then took me up to my room, we dropped my bags off, and she took me to my classroom where I would meet my district and companion.  My companion's name is Sister Goldstein.  She is Hispanic, 25 years old, from Texas, and is soo sweet. Once we had our whole district there we went to our first meeting with all 737 missionaries that entered that day. We had a sister join us because she couldn't find her companion. She is from Texas and is going to St. George!! Keep an eye out for her! Her name is Sister Davidson.  Our group so far is the biggest in MTC history to ever enter in one day.  Districts here usually only have about 8 people. We have 16. There are 2 sets of sisters and the rest are the coolest Elders you will never meet in your entire life. I absolutely love my district! After our meeting we went to dinner. Probably the most overwhelming thing so far. There are about 3,000 missionaries here and about 1,500 in the cafeteria at a time. I've never been a room with that many people so it was pretty wild. We had a meeting after dinner on effective ways to teach. I got bit by a mosquito on the top of my foot during said meeting. I'm not even to Florida yet and they are already getting me. It swelled up pretty bad but it didn't really itch. After that we went back to our rooms and started unpacking and met our roommates. They leave next week but are so nice.
Day 2:
Today we got to know our district a little better and make some district goals. Me and my companion and one other Elder are going to Fort Lauderdale. The others are split between Portland Oregon and California. We had a lot of free time today. For about an hour I got to talk to the elders about rugby.  It was so stress relieving. One of the elders in our district played in high school so it was nice to be able to not worry about missionary life for a minute. We taught our first investigator today! Talk about baptism by fire.  They don't ease us English speaking missionaries into anything. It's pretty intense. We learned how to teach the restoration in 2 minutes. It's hard. But by the end of my mission I know it'll come naturally. We got to meet our Branch Presidency and their wives tonight. They are so nice and loving.  I love my branch. And district. And zone. They are all pretty great.  
Day 3:
My teachers names are Brother Jenkins and Brother Hollingshead.  My shift coordinator at the temple's last name was Hollingshead so I think about the temple a lot.  The view from our room is also amazing. We can see all of campus and the temple.  So it's nice to just sit and look at it sometimes when I can't focus. I put $20 bucks in my scriptures right before getting dropped off and totally forgot about it and didn't think I'd find it till later in my mission. But today we were preparing a lesson and I wanted to use Acts 17:29 and low and behold, I open my scriptures and find 20 bucks! One of our district goals was to eat lunch together so that's been fun.  We talked about Disneyland the whole time today.  We do these things called Book of Mormon reads and they are my absolute favorite! We do them as a group and it's cool to receive revelation and to here everyone elses insights 
Day 4:
This morning we went and played volleyball with our roommates. It was pretty fun. I also got myself a little hymn book! They didn't have maroon so I got a brown one cause it's pretty close to the same. I met some Elders today going to Perth and I met a sister going to Vanuatu. It was cool to talk to her for a minute. She is going to love it there. We had a lot of free time today.  I love getting to know my district. I will miss them but I'm so ready to go to Florida. We talked a lot about prayer today.  My testimony of prayer has grown soo much in the past 4 days it's crazy. I know for a fact that praying works. 
Day 5:
First Sunday!!! Really hard but wayy nice. Everyone here tells me they love my "St. George skin". It always makes me laugh.  Also, no one told me that BYU creamery comes for lunch on Sunday and Wednesday! Definitely the highlight of being here so far. After lunch we went on our first temple walk. Our branch president went with us and we talked a lot about Initiatories. He said that he believes our birth is our first initiatory. The first thing that happens is we are washed and blessed. He also said he believes our baby blessings are an exact repeat of the blessings we got in heaven right before we came down. It was a cool thing to ponder on.  Today was kind of hard because we had a lot of time to sit and wait before meetings. My companion doesn't really like to talk so it feels kind of lonely sometimes.  I see a lot of people from Pine View and it's nice to talk to them but it's just me and my companion on Sunday's so it's kinda hard.  We had a meeting called Match the Message. It was basically a meeting on modesty for your mission. At the end we watched a video of David Archuleta singing If The Savior Stood Beside Me.  The last verse really hit me and I sing it to myself every night before bed. That night we watched a video called Character of Christ by David A. Bednar. Seriously life changing. It's an MTC exclusive video.  It was amazing.  
Day 6:
We taught our first real investigators today. They call them TRC's but I have no idea what that stands for and frankly, no one else I've asked does either. We have two of them a day.  The first one we taught was kind of rough and put a damper on our moods a little but the second one was amazing.  In class we talked about how we can't let our altitude fall because of disappointments and how you just have to keep pushing through. I ran a little over a mile this morning. It was refreshing. Also, I've lost about 3 pounds in the last week. I have to pin all my skirts or they fall down.  The Elders gain so much weight here because they eat so much and then complain about the food later because it makes them sick. The food is pretty good. And the endless supply of fruit is my favorite thing! They have flags up on campus and they get changed everyday so it's cool to try to find out what the weird ones are.  I just wish they would put up the state flags. 
Day 7: 
We did our laundry this morning and ate breakfast and we get to go do a session at the temple after lunch.  Definitely looking forward to that. 

Missions are tough. Nights here are freezing. A word to all those preparing: ask for an extra blanket. They help with sleepless nights. It only says the word depressed twice in the Book of Mormon. Once in Alma 56:16 when Helaman is fighting the Lamanites and again in Alma 26:27 when Ammon is serving his mission.  Missions are hard. They are only hard because you have to trust in the Lord 100%.  That's something we aren't used to. But missions are soo rewarding.  In just the last week I have felt the love of everyone and have been blessed in preparing to teach by the spirit.  The spirit here at  the MTC is so amazingly strong.  Sometimes it gets hard but you look down at your tag and remember that you aren't here for yourself but you're here to serve the Lord and do his work.  I love you all! I love reading all your emails throughout the day. I always seem to get one when I start to get down on myself and I feel all your love and prayers.  For those of you preparing, stay excited!! It's been the best week of my life so far and I am so excited for what the next 18 months will bring me!
All my love,
Sister Beckstrand
Here this is the only one I have on my tablet. My camera is trying to connect. This scripture is on the wall right outside my classroom so it's cool that I get to see it everyday.
(this is the scripture on her plaque)

One Day More!!

Well friends, the time has officially come. I don't know where the last 18 months went because I honestly feel like it's on...