Moving, President Wakolo our Companion, and a baptism!!!!!

Guess what we got yesterday (Saturday afternoon)?!

Hey, I'm emailing today, right now, cuz Sister Evans goes home on Monday...

This week has been crazy!! Monday was nuts! We finished emailing, and were driving up with our groceries when the office elders called, and told us we were moving. The next day. So we rushed home and started putting everything in ziplock bags and garbage bags. And we had to vacuum and lay out all our drawers and get the whole apartment ready for spraying. Our plans went down the drain and we cleaned and packed all evening. The elders came and sprayed the apartment. We slept without sheets because we didn't want to get them dirty (get bed bugs on them and have to wash and dry again, like we've been doing everyday since we've had them).

Giant garbage bags!

Then on Tuesday we had to cancel most of our plans. We did get to see Donna and Chelsea. So two lessons all day. Yay! They were really good at least. Then we had to go to the laundromat to dry ALL of our clothes and kill any bugs still on or in our stuff (that took two days). Then we actually moved to our new temporary apartment while they look for a new one for us to move into. It's a nice apartment. It's the apartment meant for transfers/trainers. So next week there are going to be six sisters there, (if we're still there). 

Wednesday was cool. Seriously. We had a great lesson with Donna. She has changed so much! You wouldn't believe how different she is now. She laughs and she smiles. She loves it when we come over. Then we went to the church and had a great lesson with a less active couple with President Wakolo. That was a wonderful lesson. It's so inspiring to be with President and to watch him teach. The Spirit there reminded me of the temple. It was amazing. Then Donna came to the church to have her interview. We were seriously with President pretty much all day because after that we had to go back to the laundromat and then the apartment to catch up on 12 week. (?)

Thursday was another adventure. Just before studies we read an email about MLC (missionary leadership training) and found out that we had to be at the church to get two sisters who weren't part of it for the end of the morning until mid afternoon. So we went there and studied with them. Then we found out that we had to do some more cleaning in
our apartment and get ALL of our stuff out so they could spray again before they shut down the apartment. So we had to go on splits with Sister Lange and Sister Kirby (the two sisters we had to be with). Sister Esplin and I cleaned while Sister Evans took the other sisters to our lesson. After that we went to a lesson that fell through, so we went back to the church to figure stuff out for today. We got to see all the leaders on the mission. I saw Sister Hirschi!! And Sister Decker! And Sister Pochop (who goes home with Sister Evans)! It was so great. We also saw President again. Super fun. 

On Friday we ran around trying to meet people, but not much happened. Then we had a lesson with Donna and her home teacher and visiting teacher. It was so good they are perfect for her. They have so much in common. Then we went and had dinner with a less active. We went home and did preventative measures against bed bugs at the temporary apartment.

Today Donna got baptized!!!!! It was so good. There were a lot of people there. What a great way for Sister Evans to end her mission. Donna is the best. There were so many people there to support her. There would have been a lot more, but a lot of people went down to Louisiana to help with the flooding this weekend. It was a really good baptism. I love Donna.

It has been such a good week. So much has happened, and we have all learned so much. It's going to be so hard when Sister Evans goes home. We have had so much fun. I just love it here! And I love learning so much from the scriptures and being able to read them so much. Every verse truly does apply to us. It's so cool. The other day I was reading Alma 19:36, and I was just thinking that right there it tells us how to get that blessing to "pour out his spirit upon them,...his arm is extended to all..." That whole chapter just describes ways of receiving those blessings. It says "and thus..." It just tells us what to do! I love it. So many learning opportunities.

Love Kimber
Sister Beckstrand

This is the best one. Donna!

Our district

Little Rock Arkansas Capitol

Our Threesome Companionship

Beautiful Arkansas 

A cute southern home

The Zombie Apocalypse & Baptist Missionaries

Gorgeous missionary, gorgeous country

This week has been full of highs and lows. But the best part is at this Saturday we are most likely going to have a baptism. Just in time for Sister Evans to go home next week.

Last week we had a sisters p-day and we played a lot of fun games with all the sisters in our zone. Lots of fun things. Also, if there was a zombie apocalypse and I could choose one person from the mission to be on my team, it would be Sister Hirschi. And Sister Esplin would choose me. I feel like that would be a fun experience.

The next day we had a more good lessons. There was an emergency lesson, that messed up our day for the better, with the lady we had the lesson over the phone with. She never keeps appointments, but we had to see her, so we dropped everything and went and saw her. It was a good lesson. Lots of lessons that day were good. Nothing too exciting.

Then it was Wednesday. That was a good day. Zone conference. All day. Seriously. From nine to six. It was so good. So many good inspirational lessons. Also, we had a testimony meeting where president had every single missionary bear their testimony. It was going to be for an hour. But, there were three zones here. All of the missionaries in Arkansas were there. It definitely took two and a half hours. It was so good. President asked us all to bear our testimony of the Savior. The Spirit was so strong. So many powerful testimonies. Also, thinking about it, in the two days (Wednesday and Thursday) every single missionary shared their testimony of the Savior for each other to hear. All together (Thursday was the day that the other two zones on the other side of the river had their zone conference) and it was so good.

On Thursday we had a had a bed bug scare again, so we were super stressed and tired and just feeling kind of depressed. Then we had one of our investigators drop us. With members there. It was a little awkward, but we had to deal. Then we went and had a great dinner with some amazing members who are such cool people. Then we went to the church and did a service with the Relief Society of packing backpacks for the homeless. It was really fun, and we had a great time talking to the members. Then we played a little volleyball before we went home. So overall, the day ended on a fun note.

Friday was so good. We had an amazing lesson with an investigator who is planning on getting baptized on Saturday, and she said that "if everyone lived by the principles taught in the Book of Mormon then the world would be a much better place!!!" It was so cool. I love her. (Mom's response to that was, "Be sure she knows that sometimes the members forget that too...")

And Saturday was a really interesting experience. We had a couple guys knock on our door during lunch. Turns out they are baptist guys who are sharing the word. It was an interesting experience to be on the receiving end of knocking doors. But another interesting thing was to see how they were doing it wrong and not being very nice about it. For real, only in the south! But they were doing good, sharing what the believe. It was a little funny though, when we opened the door the guy saw our wall that had a poster on it that said Mormon.org, and he was like, "so I guess you're Mormon?" It was just an awkward experience. But then we had a great day filled with missionary work that was really fun.

Finally Sunday was awesome. Mostly. Pretty much awesome. Church was so good. So many people there. Donne, the one getting baptized on Saturday (not to be confused with Dana, a different investigator) was there. Also a few less actives we have been working with. One of the best was Chelsea. She has been coming for three weeks now. She is pretty much completely reactivated, and pretty. It's just because of knocking on her door at 8:50 pm and not wanting to go in early. I have a testimony of staying out until 9:00! It is so important. Those ten minutes are miracle minutes!!! Obedience is key.

Seriously, it's been a great week. I've been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon, and it is incredible. And this week I started really reading the Old Testament, and I'm definitely obsessed. My companions are a little annoyed of me saying that I just love the Old Testament. It's just so good!!! All of the scriptures are. Also, I read a really cool quote this morning:

“The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was called Israel, is a vivid representation of the great truth that ‘all things work together for good to [those] who loved God.’ (See Rom. 8:28.) Joseph always seemed to do the right thing; but still, more importantly, he did it for the right reason. And how very, very significant that is! Joseph was sold by his own brothers as a slave and was purchased by Potiphar, a captain of the guard of Pharaoh. But even as an indentured servant, Joseph turned every experience and all circumstances, no matter how trying, into something good.

“This ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances. People like this cannot be defeated, because they will not give up. They have the correct, positive attitude, and Dale Carnegie’s expression seems to apply: If you feel you have a lemon, you can either complain about how sour it is, or you can make a lemonade. It is all up to you.” (Hartman Rector, Jr., “Live above the Law to Be Free,” Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 130.)

Sorry it's kinda long, it's from the institute manual. There are so many treasures there. I love it!! Mmm, so good.

Also, this morning I woke up to a bunch of bed bug bites all over my legs. They're back. And they're evil. So were stressed about that again. So I super feel that the quote super applies.
Anyway, thanks for all you letters of love and support. I love you guys, and keep up the good work!

Love, Kimber
Sister Beckstrand

Sis Esplin & Sis Beckstrand

Walk Week, Bikes, Exchanges...and Discussions by Telephone?!

Guess what? This week was the first time I have ridden a bike all mission! it was only to the leasing office of our apartments and back to our apartment because our ride was here. But, it was very fun. This week was walk week. It was really exhausting. But not too bad, we just had to coordinate rides with members a lot.

Dinner!! Probably the best part of the day. It could happen. Plus Sister

Hugentobler is the cutest lady ever! We just love her.

 The ward is is really great. They are all so helpful. The only issue was that because it was the week before school starts there were a ton of people out of town. So that was hard, but other than that we had a lot of help.

We also went on exchanges! Sister Esplin's first exchange! It was great. Sister Hirschi came down here with Sister Esplin, and Sister Evans and myself went up to Conway with Sister Skordas. We had a great time. Lots of things learned, and great relationships built.

Ok, I don't know what to write about this week. It was a good week. It rained a lot. That as fun. We had great lessons with people. We also had my first two lessons over the phone. They really work. Plus they were with the same person. I feel like that will be a useful tool in teaching that I'm going to keep using. Lesson over the phone are great for people who are always busy when you are over, and people who are never home. And they work out surprisingly good. It was fun.

Sister Esplin has been feeling sick this week, so we had to stay in one day. But because we are a trio, we were able to have members go out with one of us healthy ones go to appointments that we had scheduled that day. It was a really great stretching opportunity for me to go out and be THE missionary in the lesson who had to keep it on track and end with a good commitment all by myself. The member was a great help.

Also, as of today, it's been two weeks since we've been bugged ;) by the bed bugs!! Looks like we might be in the clear (keep your fingers crossed). It was a really great week.

Arkansas is beautiful!

Love Kimber
 

Look what we did! President asked us to make it look pretty, so we did our best.

Before...

After!

🌂⛈🌦☔️

This week was super busy. We have had really good lessons with a couple investigators. We also got a referral of an investigator that has been working with missionaries for almost a year. She really wants to work with sisters, and we have high hopes for her. She set her own baptismal date for the 3 of September. It's so exciting. We are working closely with three people that are really close to baptism. One of them just needs to set a date. She (well really two of them) could baptized this week!

There were a lot of promptings that we could really notice this week. One day we were out trying to contact a member way out in the boonies. And they didn't answer, so we knocked on another door, like we're asked to. A guy came out and we started talking to him. Then he went over to his car and tried to open it to get something out, then he said he was going to go inside to get the keys and said to wait for him to come back out. While he was inside Sister Esplin said this didn't feel good, Sister Evans and I agreed, so when he came out we just gave him a card and left. As we drove away we looked at him through the window, and he was holding this giant knife. It was crazy!! We were just so grateful for the spirit that day. 

It also rained a ton this week. We really needed our umbrellas ☔️. I have to say, I love all the rain. It's really fun to walk through it, with and umbrella and without. It's super fun. Even when the roads are flooding (which they seriously do here every time) and it's a little scary to drive, I love it!! Especially the thunder. Lightening and thunder is incredible here. There is a member in out ward who's house was struck by lightening a couple weeks ago, and she said that she looked out the window when that happened and she could see the blue and orange electric waves going around and around the house. Really freaky to hear about, and incredible show of mother natures power. All week I have been thanking Heavenly Father for his beautiful gift of this world. It truly is gorgeous.

Love Kimber

Sister Beckstrand

Now this is serious commitment!

We are now off chocolate until Dana quits smoking and is baptized. Pray that she has the strength she needs!

We are now off chocolate until Dana quits smoking and is baptized. Pray that she

has the strength she needs!

We are now off chocolate until Dana quits smoking and is baptized. Pray that she

has the strength she needs!

Our little greenie is always stuffed in the back with a ton of stuff (it's worse 'cuz of the bed bug stuff, so we have a lot of our things in the car).

Isn't it beautiful?

A silver lining...

Bed bugs. Trunks. Passing out. Flying copies of the Book of Mormon...Missionary Life

Gosh, y'all sound like your having a lot of fun. Did you know that I make little bowls of fresh tomato toss every now and then. And it's really good. I even did parfait once.
But we've been running around too much in this new area to be able to completely settle in yet. Can I just  say, this week was crazy. Missionary work, and life wise. We had a lot of amazing lessons this week. We are teaching some pretty amazing people who need the gospel and I can't wait to share it with them. I love how excited the ward is for missionaries, we had so many member presents this week. We really only had maybe one or two lessons without a member present. It was so good. Also we had someone to church yesterday!! It was so cool. She really liked it. I'm excited to continue teaching her. We also went on splits for my first time actually. And we did it twice! Because there is so much to do and the members are so willing to help out. I love it when during dinner the members tell is to bring them to lessons and are basically begging us to take me out. It's so fun to have so many want and ask to go with us. Also having a ward missionary who drives and has no job currently and doesn't have anything to do is super helpful. Unfortunately she leaves for Samoa tomorrow and then off to college a few weeks later. So she's is off having a life now. :/ but we are really excited for stories about Samoa before she goes to college.

So, this week we moved out of the hotel because the bug guys said that they couldn't find anything in the apartment. So we moved into the apartment, despite our trepidation. And we definitely have bed bugs. We saw a few. We are getting bit every night. No fun really. So we are living out of garbage bags that hang out in the car. Ahh, the stress of bed bugs. So the next huge drama that happened was because of our living out of the car is that we have to get our clothes out of the trunk every night for the next morning. And Friday night, Sister Evans accidentally closed the trunk on my finger. And then Sister Esplin dropped her iPad, she now has a crack in the corner. We opened the trunk quickly, and my finger looked a little squished. And it was bleeding a bit. So we went inside. It didn't look too bad, just pretty squished. We weren't sure what to do, so we called the mission nurse to ask. She said to send her pictures and if it looked like it needed stitches. I said no, it looked ok, but we weren't sure. So we hung up and took some pictures to email. Meanwhile Sister Evans said that she was feeling lightheaded. So Sister Esplin told her to sit down and drink some water. Then while Sister Esplin was trying to send the email of pictures Sister Evans passed out!!! I was stuck at the sink with my finger so I couldn't do much. Sister Esplin was a boss and told me to call Sister Thompson (mission RN) and was helping Sister Evans trying to wake her up. So I called Sister Thompson right back and told her what was going on. Sister Evans is ok, just no gore or anything for her - ever! And my finger started looking less squished by this time, so everything turned out ok. My finger is fine, just a cut and a bruise. Sister Evans is ok, just not around fingers stuck in trunks. And Sister Esplin handled everything like a pro. Our greenie has had a dunk into missionary life from the very beginning. (Not that finger getting squished in normal.) So everything is ok.

But, funny story, on Saturday we were driving out of a parking lot and our windows were down cuz it was hot. and Sister Evans had her Book of Mormon and Bible and iPad on the dash and when she turned they flew towards the window. She barely caught the iPad and Bible, but the Book of Mormon went flying out. It was pretty hilarious.

For real, this week has been an adventure. Guys, missionary life is weird. And super fun. I love it.

Love, Kimber
Sister Beckstrand

She and I went back and forth a bit by email, and she explained that her mission president was aware that they were living out of their car, and that he had just given them permission to get a new apartment. Whew, on that.  I also sent her a picture of three teens sleeping through family scripture reading, and she wrote back, "Haha, I remember that :) I don't do it anymore though. Study time is too valuable for sleep." My response, "Yeah, your study time has a real purpose now, huh!?!" Her response, "Yep!" What a new life she's living, love it!!

This came in a text message Saturday from "a ward missionary serving with your wonderful daughter...I know parents like pictures... Your daughter loves and misses you!" :)