My last week in Southaven...CRASH!

Most of our family was on Trek M-W of this week, including the normal delivery of Kimberly's email. I decided to take my phone, but kept it off most of the time, but we got to read her letter Mon night. :)
 
This week was full of goodbyes and craziness. One of the most exciting things that happened this week was when we went to serve on of our investigators and pulled her weeds for pretty much an hour and a half.  We were all soaked with sweat, it was so hot. It was so gross. But we had a ton of fun. Then she demanded us let her take us to dinner for that, and since we didn't have a dinner and out next appointment canceled we said ok. We were going to follow her to the restaurant, so we backed out and parked to wait for her to back out of her driveway, and on her way other [another driver?] backed into our car!!! The passenger side door hinge was crunched. The door no longer opens all the way. So we had to call that in and take care of that. We didn't have to call the police because it wasn't a crash of any sort. But it was reported and we exchanged information and then we went to dinner. It was really good.  Yummy food, and pretty funny because of the little crunch of the cars. It was great.

Then we went and helped one of our investigators get a blessing. She was deaf, so Sister Havran had to interpret. It was so cool. I love it when investigators get to see and participate in priesthood ordinances. It was great.

Another day we did service at the old folks home here and helped do puzzles with the people there. It was really fun. Apparently I like puzzles a lot. We saw a lot of people this week and said goodbye to a lot of people. We got to see he two newborn babies this week and say goodbye to the families. I really love all the members in Southaven. They were so sad to see me go.

We had so many investigators and less actives we have been working with at church yesterday. It was great. There were 5 investigators and like three less active families that came. It was crazy and incredible. So fun. Then we had to go home early last night so I could pack. It was so crazy, and I had so much to do, but I did get to bed at least close to on time. This week has been crazy. I'm going to the mission home today with my new companion Sister Evans, and we'll get our new missionary tomorrow. It's so sad that I have to say goodbye to my two wonderful companions Sister Havran and Sister Wilson. I love them and I'll miss them. They are both the best.

Good luck to y'all on trek. Tell me all the stories. Love you guys!
Love Kimber

Look at me being all healthy!

I figured you might want some proof of my time there ;)

 This week was pretty busy. Monday we played volleyball as a district for 4th of July. It was really hot. We were invited to have dinner with the Johnsons who just moved here from Utah. Tuesday we had district meeting (because last week I was in the hospital so it didn't happen). It was walk week. Sis Parr took us to our next appointment and took us out to eat. Later that night Sister Pursur came with us to a couple people, and she also took us out to dinner, so that day we had two burgers. They were really good, but then we had to stop eating garbage. Wednesday we walked to Sister Pursur's and did some cleaning for her (Sister Wilson and I got really sunburned on that walk). Then we went to a dinner at the Lifforths, who also just moved into the ward. We got to go to ASL class this week, it's been a long time since we've been able to go. Also, to correlation, which has also been a while due to my being sick the previous week. On Thursday we had zone meeting. It was really good, and I learned a lot of stuff, lots of encouraging things. That evening we went to an investigator's house and Sister Havran cut the mom's hair while we talked . Then she gave us a ride to our next appointment. On the the way though, we found a couple dressers on the side of the road that we really wanted because the furniture in our apartment is pretty sad, so she helped us get it, but it had to stay at her house for a couple days.  Friday we walked around close to our apartment, and we found some pretty cool people. Also Bronzie drove by and gave us a ride to the people we were trying to see. Bronzie is so cool, I really like her. On Saturday we helped a member pack up her house for a while. That was fun. Then we were with one of our young women all afternoon and just went all over. She is so cool, she is thinking about a mission, but she's not sure yet. Then we went and taught a lesson to a little girl in the ward who is about to turn 8. Then we had dinner with a less active family. That night the Elders picked up the dressers in their truck and brought it over. All week we've been moving things around in the apartment to make it look more like a home than a hotel room. With the new dressers and a rug the elders didn't want it looks a lot better. It was really fun. So, no hospitals this week. That was a plus.

Also I had the best thing happen Sunday morning. I was in a meeting and we were about to wrap up when I looked behind me and saw Marie White!! My cousin!! It was crazy. Quite the pleasant shock. We had a lot of fun talking and catching up. The ward had fun meeting her and her husband, David. (David served his mission in the ALRM mission years ago, so on their roadtrip this summer they wanted to take in some of his old areas, including Memphis - and they decided to go to church in Kimberly's ward!). Then the rest of the day we had amazing lessons and lots of fun.

Sister Beckstrand with cousins, Marie & David White

We got these by text from Marie during our own Sacrament Meeting! Thanks, Marie!

Today had been an interesting day. We just finished playing volleyball as a district again, we also invited a couple others to play.

This morning we got the email that has the list of leaders and trainers for the next transfer. I'm training!! Trio training with Sister Evans, and we are pink-washing an area called Sherwood, (in Arkansas,) in the North Little Rock Zone. And Sister Hirschi is going to be one of my Sister Training Leaders. So, many changes starting next Monday.

I'm definitely freaking out a little bit, but I know it will all work out. I'm going to miss it here in Southaven. I love it here. I love all the people, but I know that God is in charge, and he's just giving me more people to love.

 Here's to me growing!!!

(Response to my quick questions back to her: Um, I'm not sure I'll be senior comp, we'll be in a trio and get the new sister on Tuesday next week. Don't know her name yet. And pink washing is basically whitewashing, like I did when I first got here where both of us were new, but we are replacing elders so it's "pink" washing.)

Look what I had for breakfast a couple days ago...

I also had fresh tomato toss a couple times. So good.

We had to throw him out. :( Goodbye Phil. :'(

Last Week, Hospital Week and FINALLY Back to Work!! Thanks Everybody!

Happy 4th of July!!

This week has been crazy. In fact the last two weeks have been nuts. Last week we talked to a guy named E for two and a half hours. He gave us a lot of dating advice, and him and his wife were so cute with each other it was gross. And they've been married for about 35 years. We literally stood on his lawn and talked for two and a half hours! It was so hot. So they sprayed us down with their hose and then she brought out ice water, and then some watermelon. They were really fun, and I now know a lot of dating advice.

Then one of our investigators has been having a really rough time of it, so we got her a blessing, and it was so cool. Her favorite word the last few months has been authority. It was really cool to see that. I'm excited to
continue to see how that will help her.

We also had a moment when we were going to an investigator's house for dinner when a bunch of cops  drove past us, they told us to turn around because there was a big disturbance down the road, so we had to go another way to our dinner that day. Guys, Memphis is crazy!!!

Then one of our top investigators tried to drop us, but we are still fighting for that. But we are really unhappy about the things she is saying. We have a lot of studying to do for her. (Prayers coming her way!) Then we had exchanges. They were really good, and we had a couple good lessons. And nothing super exciting happened after that.

Until Monday. That day I was super sick, actually I'd been feeling off since the morning of the exchanges. And it got progressively worse until all Sunday night I was definitely running a high fever. So that was a really uncomfortable night. One where I ended up in the hospital the next day. So this week I was in the hospital all week. Seriously, I got out Thursday night.

Then we hit the ground running. We visited a ton of people, and used a ton of miles. But there was nothing else really exciting all week. It was great. And I defiantly have the best companions. They did really good hanging out with me there and not going crazy.

It was a crazy week, but I'm glad to be back to missionary work, back to work. And seriously, nurse Thompson (mission nurse) is the best. It's been crazy. Thank you to all who's prayers I received. I needed them this week. Thank you for all you do, and thank you for who you are. Love y'all!!

Love, Kimber

Hospitalized!

Sister Beckstrand - before mission

FYI - we won't be getting an email from Kimberly this week. We got an email from one of her companions saying that it had been a crazy week, and that Sister Beckstrand will email when she can.  Then not an hour later, I got a phone call from the mission president saying that she was in the ER. She has been sick for a few days, finally becoming dehydrated enough that she had to be admitted. I just got word this morning that she has been diagnosed with infectious gastroenteritis. They will be giving her IV antibiotics and plan to keep her in the hospital for a couple more days.

We sent her on this mission, knowing that there's lots of bad out there. I remember people saying, "Aren't you glad she's stateside, and not in one of the more dangerous missions out there?" Frankly, we decided not to worry either way, because we were turning her care over to God - it's ultimately in His hands anyway, including at home or on a mission, and we know that He takes care of His missionaries. Both Kimberly's dad and I served missions, and experienced this. On my mission in the Philippines, I was attacked by a burgler, and ended up hospitalized, needing hand surgery but I still knew that God had protected me from much worse, and I was okay. I tangibly felt that protection many times during those 18 months, and that has carried over to my faith that He will watch over my/ALL missionaries, even all my children where ever they are and whatever they are doing. He loves them more than I do, they are more His than mine. We know that she'll be okay, whatever God wants that to mean. From her diagnosis, it sounds like she'll be back to work in a very little time, fully recovered, God willing. I am grateful for this age of instant communication - that we know now - unlike my parents who didn't know anything until weeks afterward! ...I think...then again, it's in His hands anyway! Trials are a part of mission life, an integral part of mortal life really, the part that helps us come to know Him when we turn to Him in the midst of the depths, and that is worth any cost.

One advantage, with their companionship a trio, it's easy for them to find a member to come be with Sister Beckstrand while the other two continue with the appointments they already had, and the work goes on in spite of this setback. 

Another advantage, I got to talk to her mission president, who went on and on about what a great missionary she is, and how much she is growing. He is a wonderful, spiritual man!

Another blessing was that Dad & Mom received BEAUTIFUL personal Fathers' Day and birthday greetings in the mailbox earlier this week, and we can read these over and over while we wait for her next email communication!

Mission conference - Hitting the Ground Running! H O T !

First, happy birthday!!! Love you Mom!

This week has been great. On Tuesday we had a mission tour where Elder Arnold came and talked to us. I learned so much (plus I got to see Sister Hirschi). It was incredible. Talk about being spiritually filled. We have so many things to improve on, and we have been so excited to apply all the things we were told to do. You know all those fire sides where you go and get a huge spiritual high, but the you go home and your not sure how to apply all the wonderful things you just learned? Ya, it was nothing like that. We got things to stop doing, things to start doing, and how to apply everything we talked about. It was amazing. He told us to stop scheduling in time for tracking, if an appointment falls through visit the less actives around them, and then if the time scheduled for that area is not gone, then we tract. And even the way we teach, like always always use a pamphlet, and don't leave a,embers house without asking for referrals. It was so good! We all hit the ground running after all that spiritual high. We had a lot of fun this week.

Sister Wilson has been out so long, I believe she is going home in the next few months. She is technically from Colorado, but she has lived  everywhere. She's a "military brat" as she calls it. She's a really sweet sister. We were having a tough time this week with trying to figure out how for all of us to be successful missionaries together, and it wasn't working. Then we had a much needed and spiritually lead comp inventory, and we have figured it all out! I have a testimony of comp inventory! We have always gotten along, but now we are not stressing each other out nearly as much, and we laugh a lot more.

Sister Wilson knows some ASL, and she is so excited to be learning it too! It's awesome. I love learning it, and Sister Havran knows her stuff so that makes it a little easier. We are teaching one deaf couple , but mostly Sister Havran teaches, and we try our best to follow along.

And it is getting really hot here now. The humidity is coming too. It was over 100 degrees this week, and it felt hotter because it's humid. I just want to say that I am grateful I came in the middle of winter so I could be conditioned to the heat as it warms up. That's all I can say about it. So many good things this week, and I  love it all!

Love,
Kimber

(Mom's note - I had to rephrase one sentence that didn't make sense, and I hope I caught the main meaning of what she was trying to say. What she is experiencing is the common experience with all human interactions where more than one person are working together - companions, work mates, friends, husbands and wives. Communication solves so much, especially "spiritually lead" ones! I'm glad she's learning how to do that now!)

An incredible Sunday

Probably the most tiring walk week ever. All of our teaching pool was basically on hold this week, and it was really hot. Kind of an unproductive week. But, Sunday was incredible. We got the car back, which was awesome, then we saw a family that we had previously had an anti scare from that we haven't been able to contact since Sister Hirschi left. We were so grateful. We had even fasted for them we were so worried. They had even been looking stuff up and about the church, and that morning they had found Meet the Mormons and watched it! Then we had an amazing dinner with another family of investigators. They are so cool. We've been going over the plan of salvation with them the last couple times, and the mom asked for the scriptures for it so she could look it up and make a lesson plan to teach the girls again. They are so cool. I love all these families that are looking and learning even when we are not there. It's incredible!

This week has been exhausting, but awesome-mostly according to Sunday afternoon. So many blessings! We got saved from heat stroke by some members on Saturday, we were walking and were getting nothing done, it was too hot, and we were smelly. So they came and got us, we went home and changed clothes, then they took us to another members for an hour to do service, then we had dinner with them. They probably saved our lives on Saturday. It was so hot. So we're not doing that again. But adventures all around.

Love y'all! Kimber

Transfers...boo hoo...

This has been a really good, and super crazy week. Last week we got the call that Sister Hirschi is leaving and is going to trio train. She was going to have all week to say goodbye to everyone and pack up her stuff. Then Wednesday morning Elder Cunningham called and said that because the companions of the sister she's training with are going into leadership positions she needed a companion right away, so she has to leave Thursday morning. So we tossed all our plans for the day and started texting people to be able to visit them so she could say goodbye. We ran around all day, packed everything that night, and sent her off with a member because we had to go to a teaching appointment that day morning. We were all very sad about it. Then I was made the designated driver. And I had to drive everywhere. I don't really know the area at all, even though I've been here since January. (This, our directionally challenged daughter!)

Oh well. We were super stressed all week because we knew Sister Hirschi was going, and then she did leave, we had to do everything without her all of the sudden, and we still weren't sure if either on of us were staying or going. But, we made it through. We got hold of ourselves and did it. Then we found out both of us are staying, and we are getting a new companion. We picked her up today, her name is Sister Wilson. I like her. This will be a fun transfer. Starting with walk week. We had a member take us shopping today, and she is totally one of my favorite people. I love the members here!! We got to see Sister Hirschi today when went to pick up Sister Wilson. That was really exciting. I also go to see Sister Pochop, which was also pretty exciting. So many exciting things today.

That's us, figuring out how to missionary without Sister Hirschi

It's been a crazy week. And a good one. I love all that people here. I'm so excited I get to stay and continue to love these people and get to know hem even more. there are so many people we are teaching. This week we walked into an investigators home and they told us that they had been organizing their closets separating their regular cloths form their church clothes. That was so cool!! They really love church. It's been so good this week.

Love Kimber

Our Little Girl Was Baptized and All is Well!!

This week has been so good. And really bad. No members kept any appointments to come out with us except Jaimie...on Sunday. That was it. It was really sad. {From what I've heard, that's very unusual for that ward!)  But other than that this week was incredible!!!We had a baptism!!!!! Rosie is the cutest thing ever! She is part of a less active family, and we've been teaching her for the past few weeks. She is nine years old and our little girl. We always feel like her mom at church, all three of us., because her family doesn't have a car so we find her a ride and take care of her at church. Her grandma is an amazing woman who is coming back to the church. She was excommunicated, but she has the strongest testimony, and she wants to come back so bad! After Rosie's baptism we went by the next day and she told us she had picked a date for her to be re-baptized!!!  I love that family!! They are amazing.

The family that we thought was made anti last week is not. We had a wonderful lesson with them and they are so incredible. So ready for the gospel. The mom had said to us that she doesn't drink or smoke or go to clubs or any of those things, and she said that even though other moms or women her age do not have her morals she's ok with it because she knows it's right. They got to go to a primary activity on Saturday where all the families with primary kids were, and we were so excited for her to meet all the other young moms in the ward with her exact morals and standards. They all loved it! Then they came to church. She told us that the pastors wife of their church had called them and asked them to come back to church, and she got in the car with all the kids and asked them if they wanted to go to that church or to ours. They kids begged to come to this one! We also had a really good lesson with another family is week about families forever because the mom is still really upset about a lost son that happened about seven years ago. They said they would come to church, and they totally did! Afterward when we talked to her she said it was goo, but she seemed a little hesitant. But a little bit later she texted and said that her daughters loved it and wanted to come back next week!

The Primary is killing it! Rosie got confirmed in primary because she was late to church. We missed that, but we love the though of all those primary kids being there for it. Especially all our investigators children. The kids really feel it. The mom with the six kids said that her kids probably like feeling the "good environment" at church!! They all recognize it. The kids are the ones that are getting the families so into it. I love all these  families so much! All these kids are adorable and my favorite people ever! And Rosie is our little girl, we do all the mom things at church. I did her hair, sister Hirschi picked her up from primary, Sister Havran made  sure she knew where to go. Even her little cousin that lives with them. She is also our little girl at church. We just adore these kids.

Teaching families is the best!! It is so amazing to picture them all in with baptismal jumpers, and even in temple cloths for their sealing. I can see it for all of them. I love it!

Love Kimber

Stolen car? New investigators! A family to pray for...

Okay, so her i-pad must be auto-correcting her words, because I had trouble understanding parts of this email! I'll guess, but who knows if I get what she intended to say...

It's the south!

It has been such a good week. We have so many people to teach, and we can totally see the Lord's hand in it all. One time we were teaching a lesson to a little girl who is getting baptized this week, and a bunch of the [newborn old kiss] [neighborhood kids?] that we are friends with came running in and said that there was a cop outside at our car giving us a ticket. So we quickly ended the lesson (luckily it was over already and we were about to wrap up) and went to see what was up. It turned out that the people who's house we parked in front of called the cops because there are a lot of stolen cars that get left around that neighborhood and they weren't sure whose it was and they didn't want to get in trouble for it if it was stolen. So we cleared it up, and just talked to them and the police man for a while. Now we are teaching the family that had called the cops in us. It's crazy how the lord works right?

Also, last Sunday we had a huge family come to church, a mom and her six kids. They have been our top investigators for the last couple weeks and have baptismal dates for next month. They all loved it, and when they left they said bye and we will see you Thursday. Wednesday was their baby's birthday, and her husband was supposed to come home. We were really excited to meet him. We texted Wednesday to wish the baby happy birthday. It was all good. Then they cancelled our appointment Thursday morning, and they wouldn't answer our texts or phone calls. We got really worried that maybe she had been turned anti by someone. We weren't sure what to do because we didn't want to pressure her into never talking to us again. On Saturday we decided to go by her house to see what was up. We knocked, and her husband came out, we asked for her and he went in to get her. When he came back he told us that she had said that she was busy and couldn't come out. The whole time kids were peeking out the window and younger siblings lifting up in the door to wave and say hi. We got in the car and were certain that we were never going to see her again. We kept praying about her and texted her Sunday morning to remind her about church in case she happened to want to go. As we were planning that night we felt like we should just call her one more time. So we did, but she didn't pick up. A minute later we got a call from her, as soon as we answered the phone hung up. After a minute, she called again. We picked up and she said she was so sorry that she hadn't been able to get back to us and that thing had been so busy with her husband coming home and him having to leave again. And we set up an appointment for later this week. Prayers answered! We are so happy.

It really has been a great week. So many amazing things happened. Like running down the road after somebody we wanted to give a card to, only to find out he's Mormon. And going out to eat, making contact with a referral and having some awesome bbq at the same time. And Jimmy continuing to be one step ahead of us all the time. It's so amazing.

Love Kimber

Mud masks!!

 

Us and some of our babies :)

So many amazing investigators in Memphis

Walk week*. We walked a ton this week. It was an amazing week. We walked all over Memphis a couple times, and we have so many amazing investigators in Memphis. Those people are ready. We are teaching this amazing awesome family of a mom and six kids and the husband (yes they are married) is coming back in  town his week. We have yet to meet him, but that whole family is amazing. They are "dry Mormons" in every sense. They have the Spirit in their home like no other investigators do, even a little more than some members. They all read scriptures together and are just a cute happy family. They also came to church this Sunday!! They are incredible! We also had another little girl at church, she is part of a less active/part member family in the ward, and she is so excited to be baptized. She set her own date for next week. We found a lot of other awesome people being on walk week. And Sister Purser saved our lives so much this week. First was letting us Skype at her house since our first idea fell through last minute. Then she signed up to feed us twice this week because no one was feeding us this week. Also Lisa Boone saved our lives by picking us up when we got stranded at the church and in Memphis and feeding us one night as well. The members are so cool here. We are working on getting more people out with us, and they are so willing, just coordinating is so hard sometimes. It's been a really good week.

Love Kimber

* We learned during our Mothers' Day Skype call that the four missionary companionships in their district share three cars, (or something like that,) so every fourth week is "walk week," and they have to get around either on foot or catch rides from members. Crazy when some appointments are far away, but develops character, right?

Mothers' Day Call!

We sent her a list of questions to be prepared for. Here's the email I sent her, and some of the discussion we had with her about the questions on Skype.

~~

A few questions we have come up with for today's call...I'm sending them to you now in case you want to think about some of the answers before then. Can't wait!

Do you do all your cooking or do you ever eat with the members? How often.... (Regularly, nearly everyday eat at the members'.)
Do you eat traditional "southern"foods? Like jambalaya or hominy or grits or chitlins or catfish? (Some, but since there are so many Utah natives here for the dentist school, many of the members serve what we are used to.)
You're really eating potatoes too?! (Discovered that it's mainly baked potatoes I don't like.)
What are some of the unusual things you have eaten and how are you handling it?

How often do you meet with the ward mission leader? How closely do you work with ward and stake leaders? (We work with them A LOT. At least weekly, but usually more.)
How often do you get referrals, from locals, from far away?
Have you had any obvious results from The Book of Mormon Musical experience? (So far we have only heard of one story...)

What is your study time like now? How long? What do you study? How do you decide what to study? (Having Sister Havran with us now, we have added an hour of language training (ASL) to the routine which includes personal study, companionship study, language study and planning.)
What is your daily schedule like? How does transportation affect planning? (There are three cars for four companionships, hence every fourth week is "Walk-Week," and that week takes a lot of extra planning and counting on members to help them get further places.
On an average day, how many people do you talk to for the first time?

How does your system of goals and reporting work? What is it called? (Dad's was Standards of Excellence - SOEs.) What is easiest? Most difficult? (She showed us their planning program on her IPad, and how long their contact list is - HUGE, including contacts from previous companionships. She said that they hardly have time to follow up with former investigators though, because the new ones are so ready so quickly.)
How often do you talk to your mission president? The DLs? The Zone Leaders?
What are the STLs role in the mission?

What have you learned from Sister Herschi?
What are you learning from Sister Havran? (We don't know anything about her yet, where she is from, how long she's been out...are you all doing ASL work with her there too?) (She's from Oregon - Salem? - and has been out longer than either of the others, I think...can't remember exactly what was said. We did get to say hello to both of them, and Sister Herschi told us that she goes to BYU, so we will definitely be able to meet her someday.)

How often do you teach? What is it like? (Several times a week, and lots of visiting opportunities.)
Describe the best & most unusual. What is difficult?
Dad has more questions about teaching...he'll ask later

You often comment that you have many people you are working with who "are so ready for baptism". Why do you think that is? (We touched on that a lot earlier in the conversation.)

Are there/have you had any situations where you wish you could counsel with your parents?

Uncle Dan-What us the biggest difference between the people of Mississippi and Utah? (That the people in the South talk so openly about religion and especially about Jesus Christ. She LOVES that, and encouraged all of us here at home not to be embarrassed to bring Him and the Gospel up in everyday conversations. AWESOME advice.)
Isaac-Are more people there taller or shorter than you? (Similar...)

Talk to you SOON!
Love, Mom

45 minutes went very quickly, and it was lovely to be able to talk "in person" with her again!!

Busy Trio On

Super short letter this week, but that's okay - Sunday is Mothers' Day - 40 minutes Skype!

Hey all! It's been an awesome week. It's super fun having Sister Havran as part of our companionship. She balances Sister Hirschi and me out because we are so different. It really is the best. We have also been so busy. We keep finding amazing families who are so ready for baptism. It's so cool. The people here are so ready for the gospel. Twice this week we drove up to an appointment, and there were about twenty kids in front of the house playing. Both times! It was nuts. We have had such a fun time. And I'm getting better at teaching. It's so great

Love Kimber

P.S. And Claire, the rain has not really let up. Sometimes we get sunny days, but there are still a ton of rain showers. But it's not as heavy as it was a couple weeks ago.

Memphis Zone April 2016

Trio Two

Super short letter this week, but I can't complain - we got a letter in the US mailbox this week too, with lots of news for everybody! If I get to it, I'll try to share some of that too.

Bye Old Trio!

This has been an interesting week. We had a lot of lessons with our solid families fall through. But we had a lot of good lessons with other people and awesome families. That is really it in a nut shell. Sister Pochop ("Pokeup") is gone as of today. It is transfer week, so she got a new companion and is back to her area, so we'll miss her. But , as it is transfer week, we got another companion! So we're still in a trio. Her name is Sister Havran, and she is an ASL missionary. So as far as I know, we are a zebra companionship now, (like English with ASL, or English with Spanish, or Chinese with German - just two languages in a companionship). It's going to be really fun. She's really cool. We went up to the temple today and switched around companions and said goodbye to the departing missionaries. We also got to take a 5 generational picture with me, sister Hirschi, sister Wood, sister Pochop and sister Zent. That's the order. It was great. Super fun. It was a fun week.

Five generations:

Sisters Zent, Pochop, Wood, Hirschi, Beckstrand. 

All in order too!

Love Kimber

Zone leaders, district leader and his companion, and us.

Like my t-shirt? It's from the sisters leftover bag.

From her letter to Mom & Dad about Sister Pochop - this mom is so grateful she's had this experience!

I've been struggling to be more comfortable talking to people, but I'm getting better. I still don't like it, but I am praying and learning ways to get over it. So while Sister Hirschi has no idea what it's like not to have something to say, it's nice to see someone who has been out for a while (14 months) and is just as good a missionary without being as outgoing. God knew what He was doing putting her here for a bit. She has some really good input for the work and has improved my confidence as a missionary.

So lots of learning and lots of fun here. And Trios are fun. I love you guys...

A Trio with Great-Grandma!

This is the three of us, Sister Pochop, me, and Sister Hirschi

So, this week has been interesting. And the same as before. Lots of work. Not much to tell. One time we visited a member who's husband is less active, and he is into ham radio, we talked for a while about it. It was really interesting. Mostly because Grandpa is into the same thing and I got to make that connection and we had a really good conversation about it. This week we have been in a trio. Our other companion is Sister Pochop. She is awesome, and her outside opinion has been very helpful. She is only with us for about two weeks. She is my "great-grandma," in mission life/mission lingo. She trained Sister Hirschi's trainer. And she used to be an STL, (I looked this one up - "sister training leader"- The sister who is over multiple sisters,) so if we ever have questions about things, she's got the answer, usually. Also, this week, I was in charge, as part of, and the end of, my training. It's stressful, and I usually don't like it, but I'm surviving and getting better at it. Also we have exchanges tonight and tomorrow, and I'll be the one taking over the area for that. It's going to be fun, and interesting. And all the leaders, zone leaders and STLs and APs, are being switched and moved around. Lots of things going on. And we are teaching three awesome families that are all totally prepared to hear the gospel. Life as a missionary is seriously busy. And really rewarding. We had a whole family at church yesterday. A WHOLE family! It was awesome. Lots of good things in the Southaven area.
Love you all, Kimber

Exhausted, Soaked, and Blisters

Not much this week, and in fact this makes me tired just reading it! 

It was a very long week. And super exhausting. We were on walk week this week. And a lot of the people we needed to see this week live in Memphis. So we spent a ton of time walking around Memphis. We also got dumped on by rain, we were completely soaked. That's really all that happened this week. We walked a ton. I got a lot of blisters. A relatively new experience for me because I usually avoid situations where I could get them. But there was no avoiding it this week. However, I have found that I can walk pretty much all day and survive it. I don't even get too sore from it. But now we have a car again. And it's huge, at least compared to the sedans that we usually drive. I'm not sure what it is exactly but some sort of hatchback. It's taller and the doors are heavy, and the whole thing has more room to it. Not that any of that is important. Our district is getting so much done. We had another baptism on Saturday, it was the Elders though. We do have some people on date for the end of April and the beginning of May, and we are really excited about it. We have a bunch of awesome people we are teaching. A few families that really want it and are ready. Our next thing with all of them is getting them to church. That is always a struggle. It has been a good week we have kept busy and there are a lot of awesome people to teach. Southaven is totally the best.

Love Kimber

April Fools' Oreos, Squishy Pigs, and GC is all about Missionary Work!

This letter requires a preface - from my letter to her: "Our household has more than doubled now - Uncle Dan and Aunt Karen and family and all five of their children moved in this week, oh, and [their dog] is staked in the back yard.  It truly is joyful chaos. They put all their stuff into two storage units out in Lehi, and all but [one son] are sleeping in YOUR bedroom!" ... they don't plan to be here long, but oh, the joy and chaos we are enjoying for a time. These are the cousins - kids ranging in age from 17-4 - we get together with VERY regularly, and are big time favorites of Kimberly's. She'll miss this, so it's a good thing she is is LOVING what she is doing and where she is!

 

That all sounds like a ton of fun. Give everyone a big hug and kiss form me! And take a big family pic too ;p and mom, I'm not sure what album it is, but the one with count your many blessings. And go ahead and try emailing it, if that doesn't work then mail it I guess. Also, I am now able to read email all week long, just not reply until Monday, so don't hold back any time you want to write. And it's totally fine to talk to members and stuff. Just in case you didn't know. 

Brother Foote really is amazing. I was telling him and his wife about the book Uncle Karl wrote, Anna's Prayer, who is both of our ancestor and they said they might want to get it. That was really cool. 

Nothing big happened this week. We did give the Elders messed-up Oreos on April fools, and one of them actually ate one. We had replaced the cream inside with a mixture of soap and flour and toothpaste. It was pretty funny. Speaking of funny, Sister Hirschi has this rubber squishy pig that she plays with, and it's really fun to throw at the ceiling and see how long it sticks, but it only works on popcorn ceilings. A couple weeks ago she brought it to game night on accident, and we started this contest with the Elders to see how long it would stick. So after the last session of conference, we were all at the church and she threw it up at the ceiling. The. Brother Stone, second counselor in the new bishopric, made a joke about throwing it onto the chapel ceiling. It was pretty far away and looked pretty smooth. But Sister Hirschi wanted to try it, and it didn't look like it would work, and it was really far away, so she threw it really hard. And it stuck. For a long time. It was really stuck. Super high. We were all laughing really hard. Brother Stone, some young women who were still there, and all the Elders, and us. It was really funny. Then we had to find a way to get it down. It took about twenty minutes, we were throwing things at it, Elder Claridge was rolling Sister Hirschi's coat up into a ball and throwing it, we all tried throwing pens. Nothing worked. Then Elder Niko came in and threw a tissue box at it and it came right down. It was so funny. And now we know never throw things in the chapel. 

That is the most exciting thing that happened this week. We did get a lot of members out with us. We met some people that we haven't been able to see for a while. It was a good week. And this week is walk-week again. Our phone got wet a couple days ago, and it wasn't charging anymore, so we weren't sure if we'd have a phone this week, but we checked it out today, (had to wait for P-Day, I guess,) and it's all good, we just had to get a new battery. So no reason to panic, we have a phone with a brand new battery for walk-week. This week should be fun, we'll get a lot of members out with us hopefully. 

General conference was absolutely the best. Basically everything applied to missionary work. It was great. And being completely honest, it's nice to sit for four two hour sessions and do nothing but watch the tv and listen to the prophets speak. I loved all the talks, and I am definitly going to have to read all the talks over again. For most of the talks just put "investigator" in for all the people it's focused on, and it totally applies. Like the one about teaching children to pray, and Elder Bednar's talk about saving ordinances. And the whole thing really. It was amazing. It is such a blessing to have prophets and apostles today that can speak to us, and do twice a year. General conference is really the only holiday we have as missionaries, and it is so great! I loved it. 

Then, partly because it's spring break, I got her message just after she sent it, so we went back and forth several times, including a personal message from her 4 year old cousin who ADORES Kimberly and wondered why we can't just call her and bring her home right now. It helped, and I think Miri will be okay now. She also has a big foster brother who has been out on a mission for over a year now, so she kind of understands. This is kind of a perfect dichotomy having them live in HER bedroom,  her "best buddy" cousins she would be in heaven to be here with, but she wont' be joining us until they are VERY LONG GONE. But she is really okay with this! Her heart is exactly where it is supposed to be, and that makes us very happy!!

During conference, another cousin (Brandon/BYU) joined us too. Miri is in the center.

A letter from the Ward Mission Leader...

My name is Jason Foote. I am the ward mission leader in the Southaven Ward, where your daughter is currently serving. I want to tell you that she is doing amazingly well. She is loved by our entire ward and does so much in the Lord's service.

 

As soon as I heard her name, I quizzed her on her family history. My great-grandmother was Della Lovisa Beckstrand, daughter of Ida Lovisa Beckstrand. She told me that her uncle, Karl, had written a children's book about Anna Beckstrand and was working on one about Ida Lovisa. That got me pretty excited. I have heard those stories growing up and have always loved them.

 

I actually served in the MTC with and Elder Beckstrand as well. He would have been in the MTC in August 2009 and served in Argentina. I've lost touch with him - you don't happen to know who that would be, do you?

 

Anyway, I'm side tracked with getting excited about family history. It is fun to be able to serve with my 3rd or 4th cousin or whatever we are. She is an excellent missionary. She and her companion are having great success and are such a blessing to our ward and the people here. They are so loving and so quick to serve, and willing to do anything they can to help God's children here. There have been 2 sisters in particular that I want to tell you about, whose lives they have touched.

 

One is a sweet recent convert named E. She has a difficult living situation and lots of family conflict. Your daughter and her companion, Sister Hirschi, visited her again and again and again and finally discovered that things were much worse than anyone in the ward truly knew, and called me to let me know what was going on. We were able to mobilize the ward to help this amazing sister out, and the Sister Missionaries continue to be a huge support and blessing to her.

 

The second sister is a single mom of 6 kids named Q. She has a great testimony but is very poor and has no way to get to Church, but a great desire to come. She had some emotional problems recently and was briefly admitted to a mental hospital. Her "one call" was to the Sister Missionaries. Because of their friendship with her, we were able to figure out as a ward what was going on and get help to her and her family.

 

And I'm sure she has told you how she has used her ASL to help the half a dozen deaf members of our ward! It has been amazing to see how the Lord continues to bless us with missionaries and members moving into the ward who speak ASL. Those members are very near to my heart, and I am so grateful to your daughter for her help in befriending and interpreting for them.

 

Thank you so much for raising such an exceptional daughter and helping her to have a desire to serve a mission. She is in good hands - the Lord's hands, but also the hands of the Southaven Ward where we love her very much.

 

--

Jason Foote

Brother Foote is the man in the center signing. 

This is the kind of letter that makes truly touches parent's hearts! What a sweet letter to receive this week! This letter is included with Brother Foote's  permission.

What a week!

This week has been so busy. We got so close to the standard of excellence. If our baptismal dates had not dropped, we would have had it. Oh well, it was still productive. The best part probably was J's baptism. We had specialized training on Thursday, and while we were there we were made known of a part of the word of wisdom that we did not know about. It was a new thing that just came down from the top and we thought that maybe J was doing it. We freaked out, texted his wife and she said he did. So because president was there and we were sure if we asked him to stop right then he would. And because he would have earlier if we had known about that new criteria for baptism. President said that only because he has such a good support system with his wife and her family that he would be okay for baptism if he committed to stop. So after the training we ran to his house to talked to them about it. He was really unhappy and said he could not, it would take another month. So we apologized and said we'd keep meeting with him and set a new date. Then we went to our next appointment. His wife called us about half an hour later, and said that as soon as he calmed down he was shown a scripture, and he prayed about it, and now he was all good to go. He was able to be baptized on Saturday just before the women's conference. It was awesome. Made even more so because of that experience. It was awesome. 

 

Earlier that day we went and dyed Easter eggs with a member family. They were super fun. The kids are super cute. We had a ton of fun. That was our biggest Easter thing. 

 

 

They are such a cute family!!

Today we went to a peak and played soccer. I did pretty well, and I have also been getting better at volleyball. It's all because Sister Hirschi is a sporty person. But it's pretty fun. 

 

It was a really great week.

And Phil is still awesome.

 (Apparently, she has to send a pic of Phil EVERY week. I'm just grateful she's sending so many pictures! I'm also trying to do better about sending pictures of us and our goings on every week too - not to make her homesick, but to help her keep up to date with the changes she'll miss otherwise!)

Extra post by MOM

This is NOT Kimberly's letter for the week, but a post by her mom.

Posted by Richard Floyd on the Arkansas Little Rock Mission Moms FB page, together with several beautiful photo collages:

"...in the spirit of President Ezra Taft Benson's challenge some years back to "flood the earth" with The Book of Mormon, the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the Arkansas Little Rock Mission did just that in Memphis this past week! Over 2,000 copies of The Book of Mormon were shared with attendees of the Book of Mormon musical, as well as others passing by the Orpheum Theatre (March 15-20). Thanks go to some 230 members who shared copies of their written testimonies which were duplicated and inserted in every copy of the 2,000 books. Over 6,000 pass-a-long cards were also distributed! Sixty-four missionaries serving in the two Memphis zones participated in this grand endeavor, with an average of 14 to 20 assisting at each of the eight shows for approximately 5 hours for each one. Heartfelt appreciation for each of the eight wards who provided meals for the missionaries!

Many tender spiritual moments were experienced by the missionaries as they shared their testimonies of The Book of Mormon, the Savior and His Church restored! The response from most of the theatre patrons was simply amazing! May we all pray that those who have received or will order a copy of The Book of Mormon will follow the invitation found in Moroni 10:4-5 and will seek to know for themselves the truthfulness of this sacred volume of scripture!"

I found our missionary in this collage EIGHT times - can you find them all?

I'm so grateful she got to be part of that marvelous experience. The missionaries did a lot of singing of hymns, which was a powerful testimony to many attendees. Missions are the greatest!

~~~~

 
Then I got a couple of texts on Thursday evening while I was at a school production, and not recognizing the phone number, I didn't take it until intermission. Then this is what I found!

Kimberly and Blake quilting. :) [LB]

Me: This is WONDERFUL! Is this from a member of my daughter's ward? Thank you!!!

Her: Yes. I'm the self designated Ward Mom for all the missionaries. LOL. Your Very Welcome. [LB]

Me: Again, thank you for mothering our girls! I'm so glad that you shared. I'm crying right now, during the intermission of a school play (the one my daughter wanted to see.) I don't cry over her often. She LOVES quilting.

Her: Awe, she's tearing up, with a smile on her face. They had to leave. :)

Me: :) Bye Kimber!

Big sigh!!

I'd heard of this happening, especially stateside, but whew.

What a week! The Book of Mormon Musical Street Contacting

 

 

You guys are having so much fun. (Cousins are here for two days...) I love hearing about it all. I don't have a ton of time here today, so I'm going to jump right in.

 

This week was crazy and so fun. The Book of Mormon musical was in town, and sister Hirschi and I got to go three times. It was awesome. We got to bed at twelve forty one night, another at eleven forty or something. It was totally crazy! Since that was our main focus this week, and since we had such late nights, our other days were not quite as good, and lots of people were not there. All we did this week was the play, and then just member work. At the play we handed out cards to people as they went in and told them we were giving out real copies of the book after the play. Then we just passed out cards the whole Tim, and we sing hymns to all the w,piers during the intermission. And then we handed out books to everyone when it was over. We were stationed at corners and down the road very carefully. It was so fun. We had some awesome conversations. I did pretty well at not being shy and just going for it.

 

The first night we got there a little early and so we walked a bit down Beal street, and we met this guy who said we weren't Christians. It was pretty funny, he as talking about casting out Devils and all that kind of stuff. Memphis is so crazy. Another time another sister and I were put together, and this guy came up and said that there was no other testament of Jesus Christ, and we had to be careful and rethink our lives. Then he prayed with us that we would recognize our wrongs and find he right path. It's sad when you meet people who are not excited to think that there is more scripture. But I am glad that he cared enough to try to help us, even though he was wrong. One of the best things was when we met this lady who when we talked about the book with her she asked for one and she was so excited to read it that she was bouncing in her shoes. It was so cool to she that kind of excitement to learn.

 

It was an amazing week, and I really wish I had time to say more, but I do not. I love you guys. Good luck to the Felts on finding a house, congratulations on the house (if I haven't said it yet), and just keep being the best family and friends anyone could have! I love you!! 

.... Pics of the week:

This was my crazy fun week (no selfie from the third day) it was so awesome,

once in a lifetime experience. So good.