Miami Heat

Hi friends! This week has been quite a doozy. The heat has been coming fast but luckily it waited until August so it will get hot for a couple weeks and then start to cool back down again. My favorite thing about Florida though is that the wind is cold. Plus you are sweaty from the humidity so when the wind blows just right you get a little whiff of cold. I love Florida. Well we didn't do much last pday so I'm just going to start with Tuesday.

Tuesday was actually pretty boring but we did have a super cool lesson with this guy named Wilson. We just said hi to him and he asked us if we were insta famous. We just laughed and then he asked us if we could say a prayer for him. We ended up teaching him a whole bunch of different things and he just kept freaking out about how cool everything was. We weren't really able to continue teaching him this week but one day he'll understand the truth. That night we had dinner with our member Eric for his birthday. He got this Argentinean food for us and it was actually really good. I don't rememeber what it was called so don't ask, lol. That night we tried to go find people at UM but it was super empty. This upcoming week and the next are going to be a little slow because both schools ended this week and there are two weeks off before the fall semester starts. But God will always provide a way for us to find the people he is preparing. 

 

Wednesday morning we woke up and got ready for zone training. Sister Dees and I did a training on how to make use of prime member time at church so we can do as much missionary work as we can in those 3 hours. Missionary work cannot be done without the members. It's almost impossible to find people to teach without the help of members so if you know someone right now who maybe even has the slimmest chance of saying yes, ask them if they wanna meet the missionaries. The worst they could say is no and you will get blessed no matter what. The Zone Leaders gave a training on how to find those that are committed. Sister Dees and I have seen that we have been teaching a lot of people but none of them really understand the importance and aren't keeping commitments but we are working on it so, esta bien! We did a bunch of finding and studies that day and then we had dinner with our member Grant at Chili's (shout out to number 13) and then had a lesson with Ernie before institute. We didn't have a ton if time to teach him but we came to the conclusion that he's going to wait until he's in Orlando to get baptized so we are just playing it slow right now. 

 

Thursday morning we spent at Miami Dade. We saw Wilson one more time but it was a weird lesson and we talked all about repentance. We were supposed to have a bunch of lessons that morning but they all fell through so we spent a lot of time talking to people. We saw Ernie that afternoon and talked all about prayer. At the beginning of my mission I had a district leader that committed us all to take time before our prayers to ponder on what we would pray about and then to take time after to think about it as well. That has stuck with me my entire mission and I have seen how much more sincere my prayers have been as I've taken time to do that. I invite you all to try it! I promise you that you will find answers to your questions as you allow God to respond to you. That night we had dinner with our member Chris. His dad owns one of the biggest fish companies in SoFlo so we had crab! It was the first time for me and I was a little nervous cause I know mum is allergic but I am alive so all is well! However, if I had the choice between crab and something else, I would pick whatever the something else was. But it was pretty good for my chance at trying new things. That night we got in contact with the Sister Missionaries that are serving in Orlando in the ward Ernie is moving to. They are awesome and we have no fears that he will be taken care of up there.  :)

 

Friday we had our Mission Leadership Conference! I love being the eyes of the mission and coming together with the other leaders and understanding just how much out mission has grown in the last year and how far we've come! We talked about the importance of role playing, planning, and understanding the Doctrine of Christ. We have been working on those 3 things for a while and we are finally seeing some improvement in how well our skills are as missionaries so we can have more room to follow the spirit. After MLC we had to stop by the Sunrise house to grab something for a sister and Sister Reidhead was there!!! It was a nice surprise for both of us to be able to see each other. I love that nugget with my whole heart. That night we had dinner with Kevin's family and then went with them and the branch to go bowling!! It was such a great time and we had such a great turn out! Our friend Kaity came and it was really good to see her again and hang out with some other returning members. Bowling always has to be followed by Denny's so we made a pit stop on the way home. It was a lot of fun and a lot of great memories were made as Sister Dees whooped all our trash. 

 

Saturday started out good! We had service at the Methodist church handing out food. There were a ton of people there this week which was crazy so it flew by because we were constantly signing people in. My limited Spanish is coming easier haha. We ran home and changed and then headed to a blitz to knock with the other district in our zone. It was a fun time but the heat is definitely coming. After the blitz I felt super sick so we went home and I slept for like 12 hours because my body didn't want to move. Thinking back on it, it may have been from the heat and not having my water bottle... don't worry mum! I use my water bottle everywhere we go. Staying hydrated is the most important thing.

 

Sunday morning we woke up nice and early and got ready for church. We had our studies and such and then headed to the church. As we were waiting for our Branch Mission Leader to show up, another member from one of the other wards passed by. We introduced ourselves and he goes, "I'm Brother Burns!" You've got it right friends. This is the guy that donated the Dixie State Basketball Arena and why it is called The Burns Arena. I finally met him and he expressed to me how much he loves St. George and Uncle Kyle. It was fun to finally meet him. Turns out, he knows the President of UM really well so we will be getting in contact with him pretty soon to see if we can get something set up on campus. None of our friends came to church but fast Sunday is always my favorite on the mission! It was for sure a spiritual day. One thing that I really liked about church was that Sister Dees made the comment that when Joseph Smith was in the Sacred Grove and Satan was trying to destroy him, all he could do was close his mouth. The worst thing Satan can do is close your mouth but we have so much more power over him. If you get scared to share the Gospel and don't know what to say, just know that that is Satan trying to stop you because something good is going to come out of it. We had dinner with the Browns that night and they told me everything I need to know about Disney World and the best time to go. So if you need advice or are planning a trip, I'm your girl ;) We ended that night knocking with the sisters in our zone. Always fun times. We found a family that they are going to start teaching tomorrow. I love when miracles happen. 

 

I know that miracles can happen at anytime and in anyplace as long as we have the faith necessary for it to happen and we can't expect it to come all of a sudden. Fairy Godmother once said, "Even miracles take a bit of time." Don't be scared to ask God for a miracle. But when you ask, be prepared to work for it. Make the time to go the temple and read your scriptures and pray this week and I can promise you that God will help you talk to people so miracles can happen. I love you all so much and hope your week goes well!! Keep being awesome!

 

All my love,

Sister Beckstrand

 

Florida Sunshine: The University of Miami!! We are here all the time (sorta) and I have grown a love for it here. With everyone being gone we have had chances to take pictures. 

p.s. The first pic is where Drake filmed his song "God's Plan"

My zone: (Left to right starting in back) Sister Chugg, Elder Hassle, Elder McCombs, Elder Mata, Elder Taiito, Elder Gazdik, Elder Duvall, Sister Holbrook, Myself,(Front) Elder Acosta, Elder Lopez, Elder Mendoza, Elder Te Hira, Sister Dalton, Sister Dees, Sister Remund 

 

Bowling with the branch!! 

 

Sister Dees and I on our way to service (feat. Uncle Kyle's hat)