August 3, 2016

Hey Family!

Things are going pretty well here :).  I love so much hearing from all of you! First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENZ!! You are so sweet!  You know what was a tender mercy? I just barely TODAY found your note that you hid in the journal you gave me! And it meant so much to me. I felt like it was your birthday gift to me (backwards, haha) near your birthday! I'm so grateful to have you as a sister.

Me and my Zone Brothers

Me at the Temple

I got a new comp last night. Elder S from my district has been doing really well in Korean, and both of his parents are Korean, so they moved him to the native district, and pulled me from the threesome to be with Elder W from Hong Kong. His native language is Cantonese! Super nice kid:)  I will miss being with my other companions, though. My old comp, Elder St and I always got told we looked alike, haha! I'm still in the room with them, though.

This is me with my new companion, Elder W

So one cool thing is that Brother D, who is one of the most experienced MTC teachers, told me in the last couple of weeks that he spoke to both President Shin, Allie's previous mission president, and Sister W, Allie's trainer. Both of them talked about how amazing of a missionary Allie is. They said she is so happy and things. Anyway, I KNOW SHE IS! SHE is the best missionary I think.  Allie--thank you so much for sending me the packages! I loved the quote and the picture of the Savior, and the Korean candy was so sweet! We are going to eat it with my native Korean teacher, who completed his mission last December.

A mess I made at my residence trying to open the Korean candy Allie sent...

The sentence on the board is about me eating the squid Allie sent, translated into Korean!

I love you all more than you know. Sorry for the sporadic email. I have to keep running to check on my laundry.  Also, is there any possibility of dropping off some chopsticks and kimchi for me?  Haha, I understand if not. It just sounds really delicious sometimes ;)

Elder Y is one of my best friends here at the MTC. He's from Herriman and is so smiley, haha!

Dad, an elder in my district told me a joke pretty much just for you (at least it made me think of you:))  "Never run on the street--if you run in front of a car you'll get tired. If you run behind a car you'll get exhausted."  *Insert here Ryan's little rarrararara laugh*

This is Elder F, who worked with Karissa and I played tennis with in St. George!

This is me with some of my zone friends eating lunch today.

 I love you all so much. I will try and write letters, but it is sooooo difficult to do everything we are supposed to do on p-day and write letters too.  But before I go, here's a spiritual thought of the week:

18. And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

19. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

20. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

21. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

This occurs after Israel has turned away from Heavenly Father--they chose to trust in the Egyptians, the world power of the time, rather than turning to God in their time of trial. Yet, even though they turned from the Lord, he patiently waited for them to turn back. To me, this scripture is very comforting and strengthening, that the Lord hears my prayers and answers them. He doesn't leave us alone--but sometimes it appears that way to us. He sometimes needs to hide his hand to prove our

loyalty. Even the Savior had to experience that. The footnote explains the teachers as the Lord. I know that he is there for us; I know that he guides us. He has mercy on us, and someday he will dry our tears.

Love,
Elder Beckett

This is Brother & Sister E from the Branch Presidency (my MTC grandparents!)