December 10, 2017

Hello Dear Family and Friends! Transfer calls were Saturday.

Our whole 4 man house is staying, which is awesome! We are having a fun time together-- usually at least one person transfers it seems, but all 4 of us will be here for at least 1 more! 

Good week this week--to go along with the "Light the World" activity we are doing additional missionary based challenges for the members. So we made little boxes that look like presents, and filled them up with papers that say things like "Invite a friend to the Christmas Sacrament meeting" or "Give out a Book of Mormon to a friend for Christmas" for adults and " Say prayers with your little brother/ sister before going to bed" or "visit a lonely or sad friend" for children. The challenge is to complete them by December 31st. As they complete these activities and the ones on the calendars, they put star stickers on this world map which the other elders and sisters in the area made. So little by little our world map gets full of stickers as we light the world!

To get the members involved, we went to almost all of their houses last week, and sang carols to them, then gave them the challenge. They were excited and enthusiastic to participate! It was really fun to visit them in their own homes-- and they were all so kind to always give us snacks and things. Especially fruit. It is a part of Korean culture to snack on fruit a lot, or eat it as dessert. So the members just keep cutting apples, persimmons, Korean pears, etc, and even when your full, there are five more in the bag and they show no signs of slowing down. I love fruit though, so it's great! :)

One highlight of the week was meeting A_. He said that his wife wouldn't be able to come to the meet us because of their newborn baby, but they showed up together! We taught about faith, and acting in order to strengthen and grow our faith. We invited them to pray together as a family, and they accepted! It is so neat to teach A_ and his wife-- A_ has no religious background but his wife grew up going to church. Both of them are just good through and through, very loving, and down to earth. Please pray for them this week that they will feel the Holy Ghost as they read the Book of Mormon, and feel the truth of the Restoration as they read the pamphlet we left with them. Thank you!

A quick little message-- as we have been doing our Book of Mormon mission challenge I again found, to me, the coolest person in the Book of Mormon-- Captain Moroni! I looked through the verses about him and found some of my favorite things. In Alma 48 it tells the story of how Amalickiah uses deceit, murder, and flattery to become king of the Lamanites. It then contrasts that with Moroni, who, at 25 years old, was commander of all the Nephite armies. He was a trusted and loved and powerful guy! Why?

1) He remembered God. It mentions time and again how he knew where his success came from, that men like Moroni shook the powers of hell, that the devil had no power over him. Before Moroni prepared his armies he "prepar[ed] the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God" (Alma 48:7)

2) Moroni didn't tear down. He strengthened. He didn't delight in bloodshed nor did he attack others if he could avoid it. (vs 10-13) He  built others faith, hope, and love, helping them remember who they were, the fight they were causing for, and inspiring them to fight out of love for God and family rather than hatred.

3)He was smart. In fact, the scriptures say "perfect understanding." (Alma 48:11) And it is shown in his actions as he is always one step ahead of the Lamanites. 

4)Physically fit and strong (vs. 11)

5)He loved his country and did all he could to help and serve it (vs11)

6)He was grateful for all he had been given. His heart did "swell with thanksgiving to his God" (vs 12)

I love Moroni! And I am so grateful for the men and women like you all  in my life who live these same attributes and inspire me to be better. I invite you all, and myself as well, to pick one of the characteristics of Moroni that you may lack in, and try for 1 day to improve at it! Just one day :)

Love you all so much! I have about 25 minutes left so I will try to quickly answer your personal emails. It is kind of slow sometimes because we only have one computer so I had to email on the phone. 

Love,

Elder Beckett

Week of Miracles! (Dec 3, 2017)

Hey family! 

Wow! I don't know how, but we are seeing some great things happen! God is continuing to bless us here in the Haeundae area so much.

There is an awesome American family in our ward here in Haeundae called the T__. What an amazing family. They participate so much in the ward here, even though they don't speak much Korean, by blessing the sacrament, helping in the primary and with family history, etc. They have two little children who are adorable. Well, they referred some friends they know from the military here a while back to the missionaries. The parents were both baptized in America, and grew up in Utah, but have moved around a lot due to military service, and church activity has been difficult. None of their 4 children are baptized.

This family came to church one time, a while back (long before I came to the area), but they fell ill during the next couple weeks and weren't able to come again after that, and lost contact with the missionaries.

We decided to pay them a visit, drop off a Thanksgiving treat and surprise them... that day happened to be Krispy Kream's special day, so we took them a dozen donuts. The hard thing is all the apartments are locked, but someday happened to come out right as we entered, so we were able to get in!

We just briefly talked with Brother S__ at the door, gave him the donuts, then left. Then this week we made them a little Christmas message card for their fridge, and dropped it by with a Light the World calendar. They were super nice, and we made an appointment for Saturday!

Then Saturday we met-- their kids were so polite, smart, and sweet! We had a little family home evening with them, taught about prayer, and sang "Families can be together Forever". It was a very spiritual meeting, and I think we will be able to continue teaching them! We all had a fun time playing ping pong and piano together after, too. So we will be able to teach their family the Gospel! And Sister T_ texted us saying that Sister S_ really likes us and wanted to do a Christmas gathering together.

Here's a selfie with our mission president!

Then our Australian friend, A_, was able to meet again on Saturday-- we ate this Korean kind of soup together. But his wife and friend came, too! So we were able to introduce that we were missionaries and give one of them a Book of Mormon! I love families :) Please pray for these families we are teaching to feel God's hand in their life, as well as for us to be guided to teach according to their needs.

My last companion came back and visited our area with his girlfriend a few weeks ago!

I want to share a quick testimony with you all-- I know that as we put our focus on serving other people, even when we feel like we may not be able to deal with our own challenges, that a special power, spirit, and authority will come into our life that does not come any other way. 

As Andy told me in his email today, "I always am reminded again that I need to turn outward more, to ask that same question. Whenever I get in trouble, or down, or feel lonely it is typically because I am turned too far inward instead of focusing on loving and serving God’s children in need."

I have noticed a special mantle, difficult to see in an ordinary situation, that comes upon young missionaries as they teach about Christ, upon mom and dad as they counsel and bless their children, upon a young bishop trying to help a struggling member, and even upon children as they reach out to comfort a lonely friend.  I believe that God doubles the measure of His spirit that he allows us to feel when we are helping more of his children than just ourselves. And so I invite you all to participte in Light the World-- look at Mormon.Org, and try to complete at least one activity each day. But not only that, speak real with those you love-- be honest how you feel, and work through problems, concerns, and fears together. Encourage and compliment each other. Express to those around you the reasons you love them. Light the world! 

Love you all! I love this missionary work. I love God, and our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Love,

Elder Beckett

Feeling the Blessings and Guidance of God! (Nov 26, 2017)

Hey family! We have new mission rules. One of them is that I will only be able to skype for 40 minutes, and another one is that I can only send one personal email per person per week. Just wanted to let you know! So if you have anything you need answered please make sure you include it in the first email you send to me so I can respond better.

This week, and today alone, we have really seen God's help and hand in our lives!

During the last few months, we have been blessed with investigators little by little, but this week we had a few more people who are willing to meet with us and hear our message who kind of all seemed to appear at once! Also, 2 investigators came to church yesterday! Here are some cool things that have happened:

When I went to Youngdo on an exchange a week or two ago, Elder S__ replaced me here in Haeundae for the day. Well while he and my companion were on the way to visit a family, he said hello to a man sitting next to him on the bus, who was from Australia. They had a great conversation about God, and the Book of Mormon. When the Australian man, A__, stood up to get off the bus, Elder S__ said, "Hey, can we get your number to contact you later?" "A__ looked at him and said, "If you can remember it!" And then A__ told Elder S__ his number, and got off the bus. Well Elder S__, as soon as he heard the number, kept repeating it to himself over and over, trying frantically to remember it (in Korea the numbers are 010-####-####, so kind of long) but, much to his dismay, when he called, it was the wrong number. Well my companion Elder K__ had heard A__ say it, too, so they worked together to try to figure it out. They called so many people, wrong number after wrong number after wrong number. Then Elder S__ decided to give it one last effort. He called 5 more numbers, then heard, "Hello?" instead of "yoboseyo"-- he had found A's number!

Well this week we contacted A__, as he was found in our area, and he agreed to meet! We were super excited to share the Book of Mormon with him.

We were in the 달맞이 part of our area, where he had said to meet him. But we weren't exactly sure where to go-- he told us the name of a cafe, and after walking almost everywhere we could think we still couldn't find it. To make things worse, A__ wasn't responding to texts or calls. So we were not only worried about not finding the place to meet, but now we were also worried that he might not show up.

We met some nice people who showed us where the place is on Google maps, and then we headed out. We found a similarly named place, but weren't sure if it was the right cafe... and A__ didn't respond still to our calls. After the time we had agreed to meet passed we decided to see if there was a different location he could have been talking about--we were close to giving up on the appointment, but we decided to push forward. So we kept walking up this long road that was slightly uphill, a scenic road kind of by the ocean. We were sweating in the cold weather, a little worried about the appointment. And then we found the place he had mentioned, just a little ways farther than expected! We called A__, he answered, we met, and had a great talk about his life, his family, and God. We plan to meet him again this week. Cool miracles!

So things are going well here! If you could please pray for A_, and Y_, that would be great! Pray for their hearts to be open to the Gospel, and especially for them to feel the spirit to know that power of our message.

Lastly, I want to share something interesting I noticed-- we are reading the whole Book of Mormon by Christmas, and I am learning so much... Nephi quoted Isaiah like this,

"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon [Jesus Christ], the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth;"

I am so grateful for a God who doesn not judge unfairly, based on appearance, on rumor, but who looks upon the heart. I know his plan for our happiness is perfect. I know he knows all things. I know he wants to save all of His children, and he made a plan the will save the most of us possible. I hope we can trust in that plan and share it with others this Christmas season!

Love,

Elder Beckett

P.S. I am trying to upload pictures but it isn't working. So I will send some later. Love you all! Have a great week :)

Phone Lessons & Church Attendance (Nov 19, 2017)

Hey Family!

Me and my buddy and companion, Elder K! He is a super good good guy. It was his birthday last Sunday, so we had a cake!

We are seeing some good progress here! We haven't had many investigators to work with so far... it has been a little tough. But 2 weeks ago we were able to meet with a man named C__ who met our missionaries at the temple in Utah. We received his contact information last transfer, then finally met. He is a very sincere, kind, and good man, with a family. He is really interested in learning about the gospel, and always seeks ways for self improvement. But because of his busy business schedule he travels around a lot and so we have actually only been able to meet him one time. But he called us and said, "Hey, so I can't actually meet with you much, but I really want to hear your message and learn about the gospel. So even though we can't meet, I want to talk to you over phone to be able to hear your message." We were thinking, "of course, great!" So we have taught him a bit over the phone.

I went back to Youngdo this week on exchanges with a new trainee there. While there, I got to see a recent convert and several members! It was awesome.

We also have a great investigator named S__ who is my same age. We originally met due to his English interest, but we have become close friends. We have only been able to teach the Plan of Salvation, but he came to church yesterday and had a good experience! So things are going well here. We are working hard and praying hard each day to find, to work as tools in the Lord's hand, to better love and serve those around us, and to speak the things God would have us speak. I know he is with us and that we are on his errand--I can feel his influence each day, though sometimes it isn't in the moment, but it is after it happens, when I reflect on my day and see God's guidance.

I finally got to get this special nutella fish shaped pastry that I've wanted to try for a very long time...Sister C in Youngdo only sells them in the winter, so when I was there before I couldn't eat them. But I got one!

I love you all, but I've got to go. Have a great week!

Love
Elder B

Christmas Message (Nov 13, 2017)

I know it isn't Christmas yet. But I have to prepare a Christmas message for the ward, so I am sending it to Brother Baker and you all for my message this week.

It is interesting to me that the shepherds in Luke, Chapter 2, were described by the writer as being "sore afraid."

There are periods in our lives when we too are confused by things in our lives-- confused because we don't know exactly what is happening to us, or confused because we don't understand how somethings could happen to us-- but the message of God to us all is the same:

As the angel told the shepherds that night long ago, he also boldly resounds to each one of us,
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord...on earth peace, good will toward men."

Because of the Savior, we too are able to seek, and find, peace in our lives. In the scriptures the Savior is called "a light", "the Prince of Peace" and "the Son of God". 

This Christmas season is a time for joy, gratitude, forgiveness, and peace-- and while many can feel the Christmas Spirit, there are some who, due to life's concerns-- unemployment, family difficulties, loss of a loved one, and the list goes on-- feel heartache, anxiety, and even fear.

To those who feel this way I would remind you of Isaiah's description of our Savior as one who was " despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief". As the Savior prepared to atone for the sins and pain and sickness and sadness of all mankind, he was described by Matthew as "sorrowful, and very heavy". 

And yet despite that, he succeeded. He, as Isaiah said, bore "our griefs, and carried our sorrows". He overcame! He had all the salvation of the world on his shoulders, and he rose to the occasion. It is with his understanding, the understand of how each one of us feel, and think, and hope, and fear, that he gains the authority to command us, as he did the waves of a stormy sea long ago, "peace, be still."

I hope we seek to echo the angels call this Christmas season, to rejoice! To spread peace on Earth, because of Him who has descended below all, and then risen again. To love, to serve, and to remember our Savior of the World, He who knows us, he who succors us, He who loves us.

I know that that is true. And I share that in His name, even Jesus Christ, amen.

LOVE YOU ALL! Have a great week!

Transfer 11, Week 2 (November 5, 2017)

Hello everyone, I'm doing good! Things are getting a little chilly here, I will have to start wearing my coat soon. But the smell smells so much like fall! I love it! I'm doing good! We did our weekly cleaning this morning (the other elders may think I am a cleaning maniac because I kind of whipped everyone into shape BUT the house looks better now), I hung up my laundry to dry, now we are emailing, I will get a haircut, then we are heading to meet my trainer Elder L, and also Elder Y for lunch. We went to their area yesterday for a meeting with the stake leaders, and met a man who is the boss of a samgyupsar restaurant, and he sounded interested in the gospel. We we are going to eat together. That'll be fun!

It is pretty fun to have a B-Team (another set of elders living in our apartment). They are super funny and everything is lively at the house!

My new companion is such a good, good missionary. Wow. He has such a pure desire to be obedient and do the work, and is super positive, and talented in everything, too. We are having a lot of fun together. And he loves ice cream! So we are eating lots of ice cream. 

Time is short, but before I go I want to share one quick thought:

I think it is so important that in life we remember who the real enemy is. Sometimes we can get so competitive with each other, comparing and hating or bashing... there is a definite spirit that we feel sometimes that is just... negativity. Everyone has felt it before. But we are all in this life together-- and we can all be most successful and happy when we work together and just try to love each other, purely. The pure love of Christ.

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul says,"  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

I know that as we center our lives on Jesus Christ we will live the most fulfilling lives we can. Because we will live for so much more than ourselves.

Love you all! Find a way to serve those closest to you. Be generous with compliments. Be frugal with criticism. Try to understand others, to ask questions, before assuming we know others intentions. These are things I am learning time and time again.

Love you.

Elder Beckett