Monday, February 24, 2014 "A Week of Growth"

Family!!!

 

No I have not gotten the package yet. I have not gone to Brampton still. We will be going there tomorrow though so no worries haha! I'll get it then. Hey and FYI don't send anything else by mail. I got this letter from the Mission Office saying to tell you guys that so that I wouldn't still be getting things when I wasn't here haha!

 

It sounds like you had a great week last week and that you are celebrating in the best of ways! That's super great to hear!

 

I'm doing so great right now! Ive been really praying and just focusing on the precious time that I have left and its been incredible to just work hard and feel the Lord in my life. The more I draw near to the end, the more I feel the Lord thanking me for what I have done and for everything that has been accomplished in my 2 year ministry out here in Ontario. Its been a great feeling to feel of His love and appreciation in letting me know that my time that I have spent has not been in vain, wasted nor unsuccessful in His eyes. I'm grateful to feel of His love because its the only thing that keeps me moving and going and helps me to really focus on whats really important in life. It actually brings me to think of Pres. Monson's talk "I Will Not Fail Thee Nor Forsake Thee" when he says about the obstacles that he faced after the death of his wife:

"Of utmost comfort to me during this tender time of parting have been my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge I have that my dear Frances lives still. I know that our separation is temporary. We were sealed in the house of God by one having authority to bind on earth and in heaven. I know that we will be reunited one day and will never again be separated. This is the knowledge that sustains me."

The Thing that has helped me more than anything over the last little while has been my testimony that I know that God lives and that His plan is of perfection. He really does have so much more to offer if we just rely on Him and His timing with everything. More often than not, we fall short of what we want to accomplish but I know that through the Lord we can be brought up to the point that God wants us to be at if we just rely on Him with it all.

 

This last week was quite a week of growth. We saw some incredible things come our way and saw the missionaries really catch hold on whats really important. In all my time as a missionary Ive never seen so much growth and so much help from the Lord. He is really moving the needle and pushing for growth out here in the field and I know that He is doing it in all of the world right now. I was watching a clip for Hastening the Work in Europe and Elder Dallin H. Oaks said something that really stood out to me. He said:

"When you are involved in the work of the Lord, the power behind you is always greater than the obstacles before you"

 

I have really come to know that that is true. I don't doubt it for a single second. I know that even in the HARDEST of times, that the Lord will enable us to overcome it. Its real. The Atonement works, i know this because I have felt it in my life.

 

We are seeing some great things happening here in London. If everything works out according to plan we should see a few people being baptized on March 9. We have been working hard and the Lords been placing the people in our paths. Its been ideal. I love this work. I love God and love all that He's done for me. I'm so grateful for my mission! I feel like we are working so hard that everything is blending together and I cant think of anything specific to tell you ha ha other than the fact that we are busting and pounding the pavement and really just finishing strong!

 

I love you all so much! Forever and Always,

 

Elder B. Beyer

Tuesday, February 18, 2014 "Happy Birthday Elder Beyer"

HEY THERE!!

 

This week has been a pretty great one here in London! We've seen some great leaps on the Progression scale! There is no doubt about that! We have been trying to get the Zone focused on the right now and find the gaps and fix them. We have gone on a step by step scale on how to really change this zone and make it better and have implemented some crazy things to help them do that. Its been sweet to see that if we make a big focus on finding then everything else just falls into play and its been really working out to our benefit this last little while. Its been great.

 

Right now we are teaching some solid people and its been really fun to help them. We are teaching a mother and son named Sarah and Christopher! They are working towards baptism on the 9th of March. Its been so funny to teach them. Christopher is 8 and he asked us to find him a suit so that he could look like a missionary and come to church. From then on out we searched high and low to be able to find someone who had one ha ha it took a few weeks and a LOT of time but we got one and he came to church wearing this sweet tiny suit ha ha he was STOKED. They are some really incredible people who are seriously interested in the Gospel and have been truly receptive to the messages that we have shared with them. It was really fun to be able to help them understand that Gods plan is perfect and let them understand that through baptism and being obedient to the commandments would insure that they would be able to live together forever and always! They are some of the most prepared people ever, like when we extended the invitation to be baptized they were just like "yeah for sure" haha it was really sweet! We'll see what happens with them! I hope that everything works out to where they can be baptized!! 

 

As well we are teaching this guy named Chris who is working towards the 2nd of March, he is a super chill guy too from Ireland! Its funny because he looks like what Parker Bass will in like 30 years hahah its funny stuff but he is really cool. He just really wants to follow the Lord and is doing all that he can to do that! Its been really great to see him!

 

Honestly, I have been really loving everything right now. We are working hard and really trying to do the best that we can! I love you all so much! Have an awesome week!

 

Love,

 

Elder B. Beyer

Monday, February 11, 2014 "Zone Training Meeting"

 HEY HEY HEY!

 

 

How's everything been? Things here are super good for me on the Canadian front! We are starting to see some wonderful things and are picking up the pace with the Work! The Lord has placed some super prepared people in our paths and we are seeing the fruits of it for sure! Its been super awesome! This one day we were just so sick of not having investigators haha I mean, every single one we found would bail on us and it would just turn super sour and not work out at all... so from there we just went and tracted some apartments.. there we found some decent people nothing special and found this lady who wasn't interested but told us to go upstairs to her friend.. so we go up there and met Sarah. She is like the most solid person in the world! She is looking for a church for her son, and is really trying to understand Gods purpose with everything... I mean.. incredible person! Its been really great to teach her and to get people in there to meet her, but we are really looking forward to what the future has in store for her and her son Christopher! As well we went down a couple floors and found this guy named Chris.. He is just looking for a peace of mind and conscience and everything! It was like a testimony in itself that the Lord is really preparing people to receive the Truth of this Gospel. Its been super fun just running around and working our hardest but at the same time really focusing on what the Zone needs and trying to get them to feel the blessings of working hard. The Zone has taken a HUGE step forward and has maintained the Growth that has been established since E' Bramwell and I arrived. Its great to see the zone average 50 new investigators a week and have plenty of them progressing towards baptism. I love to see what the Lord is doing and how He works!

 

Zone training meeting this week was great. For the opening portion of the meeting, Elder Bramwell and I instructed on how to set expectations with investigators of coming to church three times before they can be baptized, prior to picking a specific baptismal date. In order to demonstrate this to the zone, Elder Bramwell and I bought a bag of candy and held it up at the beginning of the demonstration. We asked Elder Hewitt (one of our District Leaders from England) to come up. Once he was up, we asked if he wanted the bag of candy, in which he responded Yes. We told him that he would have to run around the pews in the chapel a few times and we would give it to him. Being Elder Hewitt, he said never mind and sat down :P. So we asked for a volunteer and Elder Williams, who has only been in the mission field for two weeks, threw his hand up with greenie fire. As he came up, we gave the same instructions. Elder Williams ran around the pews twice and then stopped with expectations of receiving the candy. I turned to Elder Bramwell confused and asked him if we forgot anything. Elder Bramwell quickly remembered that we meant for him to do it three times. So off Elder Williams went, running around the pews three times. When he returned, we forgot one more thing. On the second round, he was suppose to do it backwards.We repeated this process, two or three more times. Hoping on one leg, counterclockwise, and crawling. In some ways good, some ways bad...Elder Williams did anything we asked for the bag of candy, however it was frustrating that we kept changing the requirements.This demonstration represents how missionaries often set baptismal dates. Often times, the investigator will have no clue that they need to come to church three times before they can be baptized. Investigators will select a specific date for baptism, and then are disappointed in the weeks to come to find out that because of scheduling conflicts or previous arrangements they cannot make it to church and then are disappointed at the fact that they cant be baptized. Then the date needs to be reset and will most likely be soft. It was good because Elder Williams kept going and was "elect" in the sense that whatever changed in the equation, he was willing to comply so he could receive the incentive. However, it was bad because it did not truly represent how normal investigators would act. If we as missionaries kept changing the expectations, they would give up and quit just as Elder Hewitt did, because in their mind, the reward is not worth the effort. We should instead, let the investigator know of the church attendance requirement, and then pick a baptismal date that works with them.The zone loved it and brought some good energy to start off the meeting! The rest of it turned out really well and it helped set the tone for the rest of it. My favorite part about all of those meetings is when I get the chance to bear my testimony at the end. I really know that what we share has changed my life.

 

I really love being a missionary its the greatest thing ever. I hope you all are well.. I'm sorry if my letters suck, I'll be honest my desire to write them is pretty low hahah I love you still I promise!

 

Forever and Always,

Elder B. Beyer

 

Monday, February 3, 2014 "It's a Miracle"

HEY HEY!

Hate to burst the bubble but I really doubt I get that package before the 17th ha ha we just went to Brampton and wont be going back for a while! (His birthday package!)

Troy looks great I'm super happy for the character! I hope that they are doing well.

Things this week were good! We really didn't see the great results that I would have liked to see but it was still really great to see what happened. We had a Leadership meeting in Brampton and it went really well for us, the thing that is crazy about everything is that we had only a few days to be able to go out and work in our own area.. but it was a great learning opportunity in itself ha ha. We just pounded the pavement again and went out searching for the elect day after day and really didn't find anything but Muslims... I love how firm they are in their faith, but its so closed off to what God really wants to the point that its beyond blind faith! And they are very... stubborn and set in their ways.. so that's all that we had day after day after day...and it was a bummer because we weren't teaching lessons, we weren't finding people who would listen and we weren't seeing the success that we wanted.. SO.. we just kept on trying our best and kept going. Sunday comes around and really haven't found anyone too prepared that week, and we both fasted and fasted that we would find someone prepared to be baptized this transfer.. and we got home from church, ended the fast and went on our way. Well within the hour we ended up knocking on some random guys door who was beyond incredible. We talked about why we go to church and how we need to base ourselves in Christ and the Restoration etc, and he said "You know, the only thing I don't believe in as of right now is Joseph Smith... But who am I to say he's not a prophet when I don't know anything about him right? As long as you believe in God as our Father, and Christ as the Son, I'm more than willing to hear what you have to say." It was a MIRACLE. I hope that we can see some great things in the upcoming weeks here in London!

Things are going great right now, still working my butt off and really trying to do my  best. There have been a few times where I've been pretty cheesed at my performance, but the thing that I have come to know is that the Lord doesn't necessarily want us to be exactly perfect... He just wants us to understand when we aren't and then make the change and start fresh. I love repentance, and the joy that it really does bring into the lives of the people I meet as well as in my own life. I love being able to partake the sacrament and feel that cleansing power of the Atonement. I know this work is true and love helping others to be clean of their sins through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love you all, let me know if there is anything I can do to help you out!

Forever and Always,

Elder B. Beyer :)