200 Days in So-Flo!

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a great week so far out there in the real world. This week has been a great one. I officially hit my 200 day mark this week! It is crazy to me that I have been out here this long. It sure doesn't feel like it. 

Last Tuesday we had a super awesome District Training. We talked about the importance of setting a baptismal date with our investigators. It isn't just so we can count them but it gives them a goal to lean towards. A vision. In swim at the beginning of every season we would set goals of times we wanted to hit throughout the season. If we wouldn't have done that then there wouldn't have been anything to work towards. A baptismal date is the same thing. We have all been scared to set dates for some reason but we have been called to the Florida, Fort Lauderdale Mission to teach repentance and baptize converts. So that is what we need to do. 

 

Wednesday we had service in the morning at the food bank. That is always fun. The staff there is just so fun to talk to. When I get transferred out of this area at some point I will miss them just as much as I will miss my little branch. We ate dinner with one of our members that night. She lives right in the middle of a street called Sistrunk. Sistrunk is a red zone in our mission which means no one is allowed to tract there but we can still visit our members. It is basically the ghetto of Ft. Laud. It's a great street to drive down. We saw a family of raccoons before we went to see her so that was fun. Our member, Sister Whitney, is from Peru and Latins just love to feed the missionaries. Too much. We started with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and thought that was going to be it. It definitely filled me up. But then she brought out a huge plate of salad and potatoes and meat. And then to top it all of she made us eat a bowl full of horchata for dessert. I thought I was going to burst. That night we had our Book of Mormon class. Claudio showed up late but walked in with a huge smile on his face. Afterwards he showed off his new vial of oil and told us that he was just called as the new Young Men's President in our branch. We were so excited but he had no idea what that meant. 

 

Thursday we went on a mini exchange with the sisters to knock doors and then we ate lunch with them in the park. This is Sister Noftle's last transfer and Sister Tyrrell goes home next transfer so we have just been trying to have the best time that we can while we still have them. That night we went and got ice cream with Claudio and explained to him what it meant to be the Young Men's President. Needless to say, he is pumped about it and the boys are just going to love him. 

 

On Friday one of the ladies at service asked us exactly what it is we do as missionaries. We explained what we are and do and she loved it so much that she ordered us pizza haha. That night while we were knocking we met some cool people and taught some awesome lessons. One of the girls we found that night is named Shadade. I will talk more about her when we get to Sunday. She said she was having a hard time with her mom for the last week and just wanted to have a good relationship so we taught her the restoration and said a prayer and told her we would come back.

 

Saturday was a full day of fun experiences. We started the day with a comp study with our district leader Elder Mell. I love our leaders. He told us everything that we needed to hear that day. Then we went and finally had a lesson with Jamie. She has wanted to get baptized for the longest time but can't figure out how to give up smoking. We told her that if she really wanted to get baptized then we could help her stop and so could Christ's Atonement. We gave her two dates to pray about and then we were off. After we ate some lunch we headed to the park for an inter-faith event. Basically all the churches from the area set up booths and people could go around and ask questions and just learn more about everything. We had a family history booth there. It was a lot of fun. Before we left everyone got in a big circle in the middle of the park and held hands and we had a big prayer circle for a solid 15 minutes out in the sun. An experience I will never forget. That night we made a pit stop at Walmart to buy some biscuits and gravy because Sunday was Sister Noftle's birthday and that's all she wanted. We found out very quickly thought that we aren't moms and only know where sandwich stuff, tortillas, and ramen are in Walmart. So we had to find a mom and ask her where we could find gravy. It made me a lot more grateful for all the moms out there in the world. Especially my own mom. 

 

Sunday morning we woke up a little early and made biscuits and gravy for Sister Noftle. She loved it. Then we headed to church. Claudio got to come in to Branch Council with us. It made that meeting a lot more exciting. He is going to be great. Our church was double the size it usually is because we had a lot of people going on a cruise this week. I love when we get cruisers from Utah. They are so fun.  After church we got to meet with Jamie again.  She officially is going to be baptized on March 3rd and we are so excited for her!! But she is so ready and we are excited to help her. We came home and made a cake for Sister Noftle and then went knocking. We ended the night visiting Shadade. She hadn't kept her commitment but the Spirit told us we needed to read the pamphlet with her. So we took it page by page and explained it a little more. She loved it and she was the one that invited us to come back and can't wait to come to church next week. It was a great end to a long week. 

 

Life here in the FFLM is awesome. Sister Reidhead is the best trainee I could ask for. I am pretty sure I learn more from her than she learns from me. That's okay. She's the best. I hope you all have a great week this week and find the time to go to the temple! I commit you all!

 

All my love,

Sister Beckstrand

Florida Sunshine: This little ladybug we found while knocking!! I have never seen a ladybug here and it really just made our day. 

p.s. I forgot. Real Quick. Next week we are going to the TEMPLE!! So our p-day will be on Friday because that is the day we are going. So next time you hear from me will be then. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Our Zone

We are always next to water wherever we are and it always kills me

Us chilling at the park after dinner

 

Racoons we saw

Our booth at the park

The Elders playing tug of war at the park