Walk Week

This was a beautiful week. The weather was great. Super hot, pretty cool, tons of rain, light drizzle. It was great. We met a lot of great people, and had some really good Spirit led lessons. We have this one man we are teaching who wants to get baptized sooooo bad, but he kept missing appointments so we had a talk with him about that, and it really helped. I love how the Spirit is able to guide us to say exactly what people need to hear to help them come closer to Christ through the restored gospel. It is beautiful. Also, we keep finding more amazing people at his house. I love it! And I had exchanges this week. I went with Sister Zollinger again. And we had fun. The most crazy part was when we came home for dinner, I slipped off the curb and scraped my ankle. But that wasn't the worst part, my sticks (The Holy Bible that I've been marking for the last nine months, and the Book of Mormon) and my iPad fell out of my hands. Now the reason I slipped was because I was standing over a different section of curb than normal. This one had a big hole right where I tried to put my foot. His big hole went into a storm drain sewer thing. My heart stopped as I saw the blue books sliding under the curb. Luckily Heavenly Father is in charge and my iPad landed on its corner against the ground and the tops of the curb, it stayed where it landed, but my poor Bible and Book of Mormon kept going. Then I heard something hit the bottom of the tinned underneath. I quickly squared down to look under the curb, my heart leaped when I saw the Book, but then I realized it was just my Book of Mormon. My bible was the one that fell. It had my beautiful plan of Salvation card in it. My commandments cards. Some things I've been working on memorizing. And all my marked scriptures. We moved the car, and Sister Zollinger pulled out the Book of Mormon (her arms are longer). And Sister Wakolo was on the phone parked in front of us. (Ok, so the STLs live with members, and they are in the Wakolos Ward, and the Sister they live with teaches Jasmine Wakolo piano). We looked around for an idea, and saw a manhole in the ground right over where it fell. Idea!! Let's open it and get my bible back. We couldn't lift it. So we went and asked the Brother they live with for a tool to lift it up. So we got it up and looked down. There was my Bible. In a small stream of water because it had rained in the last two days, oh well, but my plan of Salvation cards were ok, they were in ziplock bags and we could see them on the rock. Then Sister Wakolo came out to see what was happening, and she joined in on figuring out how to get it out. Then the Brother climbed into the hole and got the Bible and passed it up to us. Then we had to figure out how to get him out. He couldn't get back up the ladder on the wall, so we went and grabbed a ladder from his garage, it didn't work, so we grabbed a step ladder and he got out! Then we had to get a hoe to get out the step ladder. It was so fun, and Sister Wakolo was there to join in. And I scared the members' dog because my ankle started to bleed a little from my fall. It was fun, my Bible was completely soaked, but the papers were ok. There was no way to save the Book so I made an art project out of it. I'll just have to start over my marking.

But also this week, the power went out. Some of the traffic lights are still out. Saturday night there was a huge storm and it knocked out our power, and the power at the church. So we had to change where we were meeting, but at least we still got to go take the sacrament. Is was sad though because the man who is super excited about being baptized didn't come because we were in a different building. That was hard, it then we had an amazing lesson last night, so we're not worried.
It was a fun week. We learned a lot. And I want to say that I just adore Sister Brumett. She is amazing and we have so much fun teaching together. I love it!

Love y'all!
Kimber
Sister Beckstrand

My art project!

So much sugar!

 Hello family and friends! This week was again...great! Ok, so I'm actually really tired and have no idea what to say today, or rather how to start. We were very busy this week, but pretty much every appointment fell through. There were good time and bad times. And of course the ongoing drama in the lives our our investigators as Satan tries to sabotage their lives while they are being introduced to the restored gospel. It's crazy stuff. But there were many beautiful moments when we went in to an appointment armed with the Spirit and the love of Christ for these people and then a beautiful lesson ensued completely lead by the Spirit and exactly what they needed at that time. And then we leave that home having been perfectly obedient in how long we were there and why we were there and the Spirit says good job, you are a true missionary at this moment. This is what we do. We go in when they need us, and give them a beautiful and comforting piece of doctrine that will change their lives if they do it, and then promise to help them and we do all we can, but it is ultimately up to them to make the change. They have their agency to act or not, and sadly many do not put their trust in God and just do it, but sometimes they do. And those are the ones we are here for. I remember a particular moment as we left one lady's home and as we walked down the hall away from her apartment I felt the truth of what we do. It is our job to be the Lord's hands on the earth. And we were there for her and Him at that time. The fight is real. And the choice is ours for which side we want to be on. There is no fence sitting, it does not work to pick and chose which commandments to keep, and which ones to forget about. "If not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter of persons;" (Moroni 8:12) but he is not! He is consistent. He expects the same from each of us. His commandments are "adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints." (D&C 89:3) they are meant to challenge us, but all can follow them. "For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10) and if that doesn't make sense then you'd better study it because it is so true. Every time I think I figured it out apparently I haven't because then the Lord teaches it to me again. But at the same time, that's when I need it, I'm so grateful for those moments when I get to learn it again because then we have those beautiful lessons, that is when I really am a missionary because I am not the one doing it, I am too weak to touch their hearts, but I must be humble enough to bring the Spirit with me to those lessons so He can touch their and I follow Him. And it works!

Ok, less serious stuff, sorta, this week we took a deaf member out teaching with us. And it was amazing!! She has the most beautiful testimony. It was so wonderful to read her share it, and she signed the prayer and it was too beautiful to put into words even though we had to for the person we were teaching. Wow, nothing beats how beautiful it is to see such a sweet testimony signed. The re was more felling in those signers that I can put into words. I wish I could sign like that, and maybe sometimes I can, but that would be something the Spirit would do through me, because He did it with her and I was floored by how amazing it was. And it really touched the person we were talking to.
And yesterday Sister Brumett sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" in sacrament meeting and it was wonderful. I also got up there and I signed it for the deaf members of the ward. They loved it! And it was great for them to have their own presentation that would mean something to them. More than just a beautiful musical number for the hearing people that they always get, but something specifically for the deaf to enjoy. It was really neat.

Many beautiful things this week. "To learn and improve is to repent." (Safeguards for Using Technology pg. 20) One time this week we sent this to our investigators and a few members:

  "This is beautiful! When Nephi's brothers were confused about the prophet's revelation, Nephi's counsel was so perfect: 1 Nephi 15:8; 'And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?' How simple!

 "We have the Lord's promise in Moroni 7:26; '...And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that he shall receive, behold it shall be done unto you.' The Lord promises to always answer our prayers as we ask in righteous faith.

  "We love that the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ!
  ~Beckstrand&Brumett~"

I love the gospel. I love how simple it is and how complex. It's great!

Love y'all!
Kimber
P.S. Lemon cake. (Huh?? I don't understand this inside joke?)

Sister Beckstrand

Love them!!!!!

He's Been There Before by Elder Whittle

The alarm bell rings at 6:30, I stumble to my feet
I grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheets

A groan fills the room, is it already time to arise?
It seems like just a second ago, I was able to shut my eyes
The morning activities follow- study, prayer and such
When it's time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much

"We have a super day planned,"
My comp. says with a grin
I lowly utter a faithless breath,
"Yeah, if anyone lets us in."

With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street prepared to
Face another day of humidity and heat
It's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through
My champion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to do

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot
Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "air Box"
We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete
The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet

It's past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep,
Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep
In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray
I need to talk to father, but I'm not sure what to say

"Oh, Father" I begin, "What happened to us today?
I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away
My hands, my aching hands- worn, hurt and beat;
If our area was any smaller, we'd have knocked every street"

"Why on missions are the days so much alike?
The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike
Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me
I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it's very hard to see"

"Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough?
People always laugh at me, and call me stupid stuff
Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack
I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back"

"And what about my family: They don't have much to say
I'm sick of not hearing from home day after day after day
Oh Father, Why am I here am I just wasting time?
Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind"

"My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?"
The way he rides his bicycle, I don't think he can see
Now you have it, I can't go on, I don't know what to do
That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you"

My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bed
I need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day ahead
Sleep start to overtake me, I seem to drift away
Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day

I'm standing alone on the hill. The view is very nice
A man walks to wards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ"
Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet
"Arise," He states, "Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak"

My attention's towards my Savior, total and complete
He says, "Your mission is similar of what happened to me
I understand how you feel, I know what you're going through
In fact, it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you"

"I even know how you felt when no one listened to you
At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do
I know you don't like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet
Just remember the donkey I rode wasn't equipped with 21 speeds"

"I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hate
I remember when I sweat blood from ev’ry pore, oh the agony was great!
I see you don't like your companion- you'd rather have someone else-
I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth"

"It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you
I remember when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews
So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack
I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back"

"Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day
I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way
It's hard not to hear from home when your family's not there to see
I lost communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?"

"We have a lot in common, but there's a difference between us you see
I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me"
He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His love
With tears in my eyes I watched as He went back to the Father above

I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head
I listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed
My companion let out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!"
I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!"

No matter what we go through,
When we feel we can't take more
Just stop and think about Jesus Christ,
He's been there before!

By Elder Troy Whittle
Texas Houston Mission

(Sent by the Zone Leaders to Kimberly's zone.)

Happy Easter 🐣🐇🐰

Sorry for my novel last week, this week should not be nearly as long. Mostly because I do not want to take that much time to write a letter again, writing is not one of my talents. But this week was really good. There were quite a few miracles, and Sister Brumett and I learned a lot about the Spirit this week. And we had some really good revelations too.

I love this place. The people are wonderful. We are teaching so many amazing people. Our teaching pool has tripled in the last two weeks, and now we are struggling to keep up. It's a good problem to have, but it is a learning curve.

Let's see... highlights of the week, Monday we taught a super cute family and they loved it ❤️ they are so going to the temple soon, we can just see them there. They have all the right questions and desires. Tuesday we took our recent convert and his wife to the family history center again, they loved it. And there was chocolate cake there. Mmmmmmm. Then we had one of our investigators come to the Relief Society activity that night and it was all about scripture study, and everyone was challenged to read the whole Book of Mormon by the end of they year. That was so great! Then on Wednesday we taught Book of Mormon class, and I have to say, I LOVE ETHER! It's the best! We talked about Ether 4, and I really love verse 12 because it talked about how every good thing comes from God. EVERYTHING that is good is because of God. That's a thought to think about. You could take years trying to process that one.

And then on Thursday we had an amazing zone conference. I learned so much, and I set a lot of goals. It was really neat. Also, we filled Easter eggs with our recent convert and his wife, mostly his wife, and she loved it! She is so cute!

Friday was pretty normal, but one highlight was when we called our investigator to invite her to church she said that she was reading the pamphlets just as we called! It was so exciting! I love her!
Saturday was our exciting day this week, and the day we learned a lot about the spirit. It started with a ward choir practice that was super fun, we sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" (and it was gorgeous). Then we went off to our day. First we had an incredible lesson with another beautiful family. The father was so ready for the gospel, and he really wants to get closer to God and be the kind of family man he is supposed to be. It was so good. After that we had a creepy encounter with a man that we felt we had to leave right away, so we walked away and said a prayer of sort of comfort and helping us move on with our day. Then we went to go see our investigator that is supposed to get baptized this Saturday, but the whole time we were talking to him there was this negative feeling and he was back to his crazy self before we had been teaching him the gospel. It was pretty freaky. Then Sister Brumett felt prompted to bless his home (which is a tool that was described to us at zone conference) and when we did that that negative evil feeling was gone, and the investigator was back to himself, a man filled with light and the gospel changing his life. It was beautiful, and the difference was powerful. After that when we were sitting outside our next appointment we still felt a lingering negative feeling, and we sad a prayer to send the evil spirit around us away, and when we used the name of Jesus Christ it left and peace filled the car. Again, that difference was palpable. All that day we bore our testimonies powerfully in that name of Jesus Christ. I know it affected those we talked to, and it definitely strengthened my testimony and knowledge of the Spirit, of how God gave us each situation-and in that order-to prepare us for the next one, of the power and influence that not only we as missionaries have, but mostly of the use of the name of 'Jesus Christ'. The authority that name gives us over Satan and his followers. That whole experience was frightening, but beautiful. The Lord is in charge, and Satan's power is pitiful. All he can do is frighten us, but he cannot withstand the power of Christ. Sister Brumett and I were reminded of Alma 30:48-50, 60, it's true.

Sunday was a beautiful day where we were able to be guided by the spirit again to make sure we have a priesthood holder with us the next time we plan to go over there, so we decided to wait a day before going back to our investigator's house. So we went somewhere else, and were able to be an answer to prayer, to give relief and fill a home with the calming Spirit of a lady who was having a rough day yesterday. It was great.

This week was full of miracles, and many blessings.

Another revelation this week: Keep the Sabbath Day Holy (this is not the only part of it, but this is something we figured out together with the spirit during weekly planning): This is the day that your family learns to love each other. If you always do everything the same everyday, your family does not learn to love each other. This is the day set apart for your family to learn to love each other. This is the day set apart for your family to learn to love and to have peace in your home. You need a break from the world constantly bombarding you with false views of family life. You need time to heal your family and protect them from the week's attacks. That is what we are asked to specifically not compete, work or spend money on the sabbath. Also I found this fun scripture this week, Nehemiah 13:15-22, it's a big deal. (I love the Bible).

And more revelation, this was something that we thought about a lot: "I am the same yesterday today and forever." 2 Nephi 27:23, with Christ, you know who you're getting everyday. You can always count on Him to love you unconditionally. You never have to wonder how He feels about you from one day to the next. There is never going to be a day where He suddenly hates you. There will never be a time when he no longer loves you. He never changes! He is our rock and our salvation. Look unto him for all your answers, because He has them! And He is perfect. And He has absolute perfect love for you!

This gospel is beautiful. There is so much to learn, and yet so little. You could understand it all, but never fully grasp all is means. It is complex and perfect. It is simple and easy. It is a blessing to know about and I am grateful for the opportunity to share it, 2 Nephi 2:8!

And of course, because yesterday was Easter I must share this scripture that I love, "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." D&C 76:22-24

Love y'all!
Kimber
Sister Beckstrand

A good week! 😊 Feeling the love!!

More hats!

I love her!!!

District picture

This week was crazy! It was walk week, and it was super busy and productive. There was also a lot of weird stuff that happened, but it was all really amazing in the end. It all started out Monday night. We went walking, and as per our goal of truly talking to everyone, we found quite a few new investigators. For Monday night. One of the guys we met was walking down the street, and so we walked home with him talking about the restored gospel and such. It was super fun. He's a nice guy.

Then on Tuesday we started out with a miracle ride to district meeting, and that was just great. Lots of inspiration coming there. Then we were also able to get a miracle ride to our next appointment. It was a deaf guy and his son! We had a good meeting with them, and it was super fun to start teaching in sign, we were voicing at the same time, but it worked! The gift of tongues is real people. Then we started walking to the next person we wanted to see. And we did a lot of talking and finding as we walked. One sad part is we talked to this old guy, he's actually a pastor for a church, but we talked to him about the Book of Mormon, and he refused to take one. He felt the Spirit with it, and he agreed with the scripture we shared with him, but he was not interested in reading it. It was so sad. Someday he'll need it though, so hopefully he'll have another chance to take it. We really found a lot of people that day though, and mostly on that walk to our investigator's house. Also, this woman is amazing! One of my most favorite-est people ever! P is so funny, and so fun to be around. We were talking to her about things and she asked us if we needed anything to drink, and Sister Brumett asked if she had any water. P paused and looked down at her cup of water and said, "No, I haven't got any water." And Sister Brumett replied that that was a bad question and could she have some water? To which P said of course, and then she offered cranberry juice as another option, and so of course I took that one. She reminds me a lot of Grandmother. Then we continued talking-I think we were asking about the priesthood blessing she'd received a couple days earlier and asking what she felt from it, and then about helping her with anything she needed service-wise, and then talked about how she loves trees and rocks and flowers and just beautiful nature that Heavenly Father gave us -and we got onto the subject of how we didn't have a ride home and were quite stranded at her house, and so she offered us a ride. We gratefully accepted and we all got in her car. She had some white sticky stuff on her steering wheel that she said had come from an ice cream cone that was too soft and she hadn't gotten to cleaning if off yet, and of course now that we were talking about it we all had to go out for ice cream too now. So she took us to her favorite place and got us all a cone. One the ride back we talked a lot about temples and eternal families and how in order to go there one had to be baptized. She's been contemplating baptism for a long time, but hasn't committed yet, but by the end of our ride home we had committed her to look at a calendar and pray and ask Heavenly Father when He would like her to do it. It was such a wonderful time with her, and the Spirit was so strong. I just love her. Sister Brumett told her that the temple is better than trees and rocks and flowers and that she should try to get there as soon as she can because there is no better place on earth, and I totally agree. Then we went to do some service at the library. I just love libraries. They are so amazing, even though I cannot partake of their blessings at this moment, I still appreciate them. And the librarians there are so nice! I love them all, and we gave all of them cards with the link to he amazing new Easter video (which y'all should watch if you haven't yet-its amazing) and told them a little about it. I just love those people 😍. Then we got a ride from a wonderful member that is just a hoot to be around, and we met her for the first time when she picked us up there. I just love her. She took us to our next appointment who ended up not being there, which was weird, but then she took us back to the library after that because I ended up leaving my bag there and we barely made it there in time before the library closed, so all went well, TENDER MERCIES!!!😁 And then we saw Dick and Linda. They really are some of the best people ever! I love them. And it makes their day when we go by, and I love being able to stop by everyday for a few minutes to keep them uplifted. They are so cute!

And then came Wednesday. This is the day it stared to get really interesting. We were in the middle of trying to plan for the day, and were doing a terrible job of focusing when President Jones called and said to go over to the Hermanas apartment because Hermana Quigley was going to spend the day with us and then her companion was going to spend the day with the STLs. This was rather surprising, but we grabbed our sticks (Ezekiel 37:16-19) and ran over there. Then we continued to attempt to plan while we were all sitting there very confused as to what was going on and trying to figure it out and waiting for the STLs to show up. When they got there we went back to our apartment and finished planning, adding in the Hermanas appointments and our plans magically fit! Heavenly Father and the Spirit knew, that's why it was so rough before. Also, even though it was our walk week, it was not their walk week, so we now had a car to work with! Yay, life became so much easier, but we still wanted to focus on finding, so our goals were heavily focused on that. Then we went and taught a lesson to a Spanish investigator for the Hermanas, and I am thoroughly impressed with Hermana Quigley, she's only 8 weeks old, and she was able to teach a whole lesson in Spanish without any previous training. I understood nothing of course, but the spirit was strong. It was fun. Then we came home for lunch and language study which I totally enjoy, I love learning ASL. After that we went to contact some investigators we hadn't seen in too long, and met one of them and her cousins, we had a really great lesson one, and set a date with them. They are really cool, and they really liked the message of the restoration. And Hermana Quigley's testimony really got them. Heavenly Father is definitely in charge. We saw another investigator and did many other things that day,  one of the most surprising things was at the end of the day, after Book of Mormon class (by the way we talked about Ether 3 this week, which is my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon because of the incredible events there. I love that book!) we found out that our little trio would last the night too. So we all went home, and grabbed Hermana Quigley's stuff from next door, it was useful having her apartment right next door. It helped with food and stuff.

So that was just Wednesday, on Thursday we had more fun things. It didn't start off super fun though. After our studies (which were great as always) we went to grab some food from Hermana Quigley's apartment and on our way back Sister Brumett felt prompted to go by Dick's to see if he was ok. We walked up at a time when he'd given into some temptation, and was feeling really down. We were so sad that he was struggling and we said that we would be back in an hour or so after we'd eaten our lunch and seen somebody we had an appointment with. During lunch we thought of a plan, and we were so excited to start with him. We stopped by after lunch to see how he felt about it and then went off to accomplish it, and see the person we had an appointment with. On our way back we stopped by the church to grab a wheelchair and see if the Family History Center was open, it was technically closed, but a member in the ward was still working in it, and they said we could still bring them. So we ran home to get Dick and Linda (the wheelchair was for Linda since she couldn't walk all the way to the church). They loved it! The whole walk there was so fun for them, and they weather was just beautiful. And Linda and I got there before Dick and Sister Brumett and Hermana Quigley, so she called them slow pokes! She is so cute! And they just loved it there! At first we were a little rushed with time, we had an appointment to get to, but we felt that this really needed to happen. And then our appointment cancelled, and it suddenly worked out to give them what they needed. And they really just loved it so much! We are so excited to take them back this week. After we took them back home we went back to P's house and did some exercise for her again. And then she took us out to ice cream again. I love her! Then we saw our other investigator, and it was pretty rushed with him, and we felt really bad, but it was so good that we got to see him. So that morning during exercise we received a phone call that brought information that Hermana Quigley's companion was going home the next day, so we had to then go meet up with them to give them the key to the apartment  so she could go pack. Then our appointment fell through which was sad, but we got to go try another person that ended up not being there, but it was good stuff. The we went and got dinner at chick fil a, and then played volleyball with the Ward during dinner. It was so fun.

Then Friday came, we got most of our weekly planning done and then had to run out to an appointment, which also fell through, but we talked to an amazing lady, and started to teach her too. She is so great! I'm excited to keep teaching her. Then we went and had an amazing unplanned lesson with an investigator we haven't been able to see in a while. I love teaching by the Spirit. I learn so much, and it actually teaches the person what they need to know. Plus, there are things that I can say as a set apart missionary that I would not have the authority to say if I were not such. I feel like I learned a lot about the setting apart this week. There is a cool quote I found in PMG (Preach My Gospel, missionary study guide) this week that really helped me understand it, "The setting apart may be taken literally; it is a setting apart from sin, apart from the carnal; apart from everything which is crude, low, vicious, cheap, or vulgar; set apart from the world to a higher plane of thought and activity. The blessing is conditional upon faithful performance” (Spencer W. Kimball). It really is true, and from that we can say things that no one else can. It was amazing. Then we went to do more service at the library, but as we were walking in we met this wonderful woman in the parking lot, and we started to teach her right there. She has an amazing desire to learn, and she had all the right questions. She is so excited to meet with us again, and we can't wait to share more with her. Then we had more productive things happen including contacting a referral who ended up being amazing and we are going back soon. And then right as we were coming in for dinner, Hermana Quigley's new companions arrived. They took our Quigley away! It was so sad! But we truly enjoyed having her with us for those few days.

And finally Saturday, we were able to get a member to go with us to contact some people we planned on seeing, we had fun with her, and she was able to take us to a deaf family's home and we got to meet them and talk to them a little bit. They were super nice. And then she dropped us off at a less active lady's home for her granddaughters birthday party. It was fun, and we were able to help her out a bit with it. And then after that we were able to coordinate a ride home from a member, and then go see Dick and go out walking again. It was a good day,  it a little less eventful than the day before. Also for some strange reason we were exhausted that day. It was a relief to go to bed.

And then on Sunday morning we were refreshed and ready to go again. We had a wonderful time at church, Sister Brumett is a great interpreter. I love the deaf people. And the sacrament was beautiful. I've been studying the sacrament prayers this week a little, and I thought it was interesting that it is blessed and sanctified for the souls. Not done thinking about it, but I think it is interesting that we bless it, like the rest of our food for our bodies, but then we sanctify it for to bless our souls. To renew our covenant with the Father. And it is especially powerful during a Fast Sunday because then your boys (body?) enjoys it even more, and your spiritual side is already being fulfilled, and then during the sacrament it is the most tangible physical way to feed the soul, and I just think that is beautiful, and there is definitely more to this, but I'm not done studying it. After church we got a car again! And it's another one of those fancy cars, Chevy Malibu. I'm a spoiled missionary. But it was great because we got to go out to see some people, and had a wonderful visit with a sweet lady who is less active, and she invited us over to dinner for Easter! I love her!!

And then the most beautiful lesson all week (maybe because it happened just last night, but it was incredible), we saw C, and he's been in a lot of pain the last few day, and he's having surgery his Tuesday, and we felt prompted to offer him a priesthood blessing. So we called the ward mission leader and as he was figuring it out we gave C a beautiful lesson completely by the spirit. It was a word of wisdom lesson, but the most beautiful way I've ever done it before. We started with the plan of salvation, with how we will get perfect bodies back in the resurrection and how when we lived with Heavenly Father before we accepted to come to earth and receive our bodies. We talked about how it is a gift from God and we accepted his directions. And then we talked about the instructions he's given us for it and we focused hugely on the blessings. He accepted it all and completely agreed with it. He is such a humble man, and the Spirit is working so strongly with him! Then the ward mission leader called and said he was there with an elder from the church. And they came in and gave C a beautiful blessing. The priesthood is amazing, and I just love this place. I love the people we are teaching, I love the ward, I love Arkansas. The Atonement is real! And the scriptures are the most wonderful things ever! I don't know how I lived without them! I barely touched them before, but now I can't put them down! Thank you for all your prayers, and thank you for making it to the end of my incredibly long letter, I love y'all and hope you have a great week!

Love y'all!
Kimber
Sister Beckstrand

Here we are again

Aren't we cute?!

Ice cream cones!

Mmmm!

Threesome in the park

What a week

That's my companion! (Sister Brumett)

So, y'all remember how I'm training a brand new sister? Ya right! She's  training me! She's amazing. It's super fun because we are both so excited about the gospel that we really do just spend hours talking about it and how it blesses lives. It literally solves every problem. Seriously, like what Elder L. Whitney Clayton was saying yesterday, it's the little everyday things like reading the Book of Mormon and praying that truly makes all the difference. I can totally see that in the lives of those around me. There was so much gold shared in this last general conference. Saturday was all about the plan of salvation and families! It was so beautiful.

This week was just incredible. One other amazing wonderful thing that happened was that I was able to go to Bartlett and watch a family get sealed! It was the family of a man that Sister Hirschi and I baptized last year. They are incredible, and they were so excited for it. And their little girl is so adorable. She has grown so much in the last year. And she's talking in full sentences now too. She loved it all. And it was so great to be able to see Sister Hirschi again and even meet her parents. That was fun. 

Remember this? (2016)

One year later! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (2017)

And Sister Hirschi went home this week, but I got to see her again there and meet her parents too! It was so fun!!!

It was just a wonderful amazing week, that I will always remember. 

The gospel is true. It's real. Again, I love what Elder Valeri V. Cordón said in general conference, "No achievement in this life, as important as it may be, is as important as learning the language of the gospel" applying the gospel in your life is the single most important thing you can do. It's pointless and dismal to live without it. 

I love it!!

Love y'all! 

Kimber

P.S. Did ya catch that President Wakolo got called as a General Seventy? And he totally walked up with his sticks!! (i.e. scriptures, Ezekiel 37:16-19). (Link here to news report.)

That's my mission president!

Heavenly Father's artwork

Mom here - I received a text on Friday night:

I just saw your amazing, beautiful, missionary girls at the temple. I gave them all giant hugs from you!

(I recognized Sis Beckstrand, Sister Lloyd, Sis Hirschi (wait - she went home this week?!)
and on the far end Sis Brumett, her current comp)

My response was:

Love it, thanks!

Followed by the explanation:

This is Melissa (Sis Hirschi's mom). She got home Tuesday night and we flew back here Wed because she and your daughter's convert J__ P__ and his wife got sealed tonight. Even though it wasn't in your daughter's area Pres Wakolo let her come to the temple and see it. The girls were so cute and happy to be back together!

And my relieved response:

 I was really confused when I was sure Sis Herschi had gone home already! Wow, but it sounds like a neat opportunity.  I'm glad you got to go back with her! (And I was trying to figure out how they were able to be in the temple now...) Thanks for clearing that all up. 😉

She and I continued on for a few texts...but wow, what an opportunity!

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.