LIVE STRONG

It's good to be back talkin to y'all!

This was filled with service and some good lessons.

Friday morning we went to help our cook move some dirt. The gutter in from of her house fills up with dirt due to the runoff of water. They live on a slant and when they built their house the front didn't have enough dirt nor one side. So we dumped the dirt in front to level it up a little more. They have been doing this for a long time just to get it all leveled out. The side of the house still needs lots of dirt but little by little it'll get there. 

Later that day something cool happened. We went to help our buddy Hno. Thomas with his house. We were taking things down from his roof platform thing. We got it all done but went over time and our hour we set apart to look for new people was gone so we went to our next appointment. During that appointment a friend came over and we were able to teach her and the family together. She said it would be OK for us to visit her in her house and would like to hear some more. We missed our time to find people because we were serving and the Lord saw that and blessed us in another way that we weren't expecting. Service brings blessings! 

We had another powerful lesson with the Lino Family. Hno Thomas and his wife came with us this week to help teach. We taught about Baptism and the Holy Ghost and the spirit was there helping. As we were all sharing our ideas I could feel peace in their home but more than anything I was just happy. Like stoked happy. It was interesting because normally when I feel the spirit it's more of a calm peaceful feeling but during that night I was super happy! ALSO GUESS WHAT!?! They all came to church yesterday!!! The whole family came and they all looked so good! The guys in their white shirts (we've gotta get em wearing ties too) and the ladies of course all dolled up. We're so happy for them!

Yesterday we had a cool experience. So about 2 weeks ago a member introduced us to a man that recently had a stroke which caused paralysis in the right side of his body and which created it difficult to do basically everything including talking. He can hear perfectly normal which Is good! But  since then there's been many hard things happen to him but the member went with us to help brighten his spirits. He also asked us to take him for a spin around the block just so he can get outside and relieve all the stress that has been bottling up. These last two weeks we've been going over to take him for a spin but the weather has been bad or the situation isn't just right. But yesterday the conditions were perfect! We were able to take him out and walk around the neighborhood in his wheelchair. We didn't really talk much because he can't really respond so we were there to enjoy the fresh air. He was super happy to be out and to see lots of his friends. They didn't know what had happened and they said they were gonna go visit him this week. He was pretty content :) His situation has made me think more about how precious it is to have a working body. To have the health that I have and the strength everyday. Our bodies are such a blessing that we don't normally appreciate until something goes wrong. For that reason God gave us the Word of Wisdom to take care of our bodies. Show God that you appreciate your body by exercising and eating healthy. As you do you'll have more energy and strength to, like Lance Armstrong's brand, LIVE STRONG.

Love y'all

Elder Beardall

Busy

Wazzzup Fam?

This week was filled with ton of things but i don't have much time so this may be short.

We had Zone Conf Thursday. We also had interviews right before cuz they're all weird here cuz we're all spread out by like 2 hours each. We had to be combined the 4 from Trujillo for most of it was together. Then personally we had like 3 minutes. IT was weird but i guess how it is here. I also forgot my notes from conf so I'll bring it next week

WE had divisions with the other Elders from Trujillo this week. I went with Elder Beck and it was so fun. We had some great lessons. For dinner we went to a restaurant that extends out into the bay. We got some good pizza and a nice view. It was fun. Elder beck is the coolest person i have ever met, friend for life thats for sure! 

This week I think I got food poisening becase we were in the house this weekend throwing up. I'm feeling a little better today but we'll see how things go this week.

LOVE YALL

Elder Beardall

Being an Example

Woah week 2 here finished in the blink of an eye. We're working so hard here that I don't feel time pass at all.

This week we were able to visit the Lino Family (the family I talked about last week). I love visiting them because they're just so happy to hear what we prepare. When we get there they ask what we are going to teach before we say much and during the lessons they pay attention the whole time. This last week we read the book of Mormon with them and we specifically read the Introduction and now they all have their own copy and are going to read this week. They couldn't come to church yesterday because they had a family member go to the hospital but they said they're not gonna miss next week.

Funny story that happened yesterday. So last night I was chillin in my hammock and I had shut the screen door so bugs wouldn't get in. All was calm and I was enjoying the rain and the cool breeze when the phone rang. My comp was in the shower so I had to answer it. I struggled to get out of my hammock and didn't remember that I had shut the screen door. As I was rushing to the phone I burst through the screen door but super confused that there was something in my way. I had popped the screen door off but don't worry I got to the phone in time. After I hung up I had to go back to fix the door. All is fixed and back to normal.

Last night at dinner we were talking to Bro. Thomas (a member here) during and after dinner. He works on cruise ships and his work is 6 months at a time but right now is his break time. But he shared a lot of cool stories that had an impact on me. On the boat he and other Christians (not from the same churches) get together and share topics about the Bible and have a Family Home Evening like gathering. He said that it doesn't matter that they're from different churches, they all believe in Jesus Christ and his teachings so they share about that so lift each other spiritually while they're out at sea. I loved something that he said. He doesn't tell people he's "Mormon". He just shares talks from the Liahona magazines or talks from conference or from the scriptures. He prayerfully prepares the message and takes out things like Bishop or names like that but it's not cuz he's ashamed. He wants the people he's sharing the message with to be able to be uplifted by the message and not be focused in other things. He says that people always thank him for sharing and they always feel good after he shares. He doesn't share that he's a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because he's ashamed. He does that because he wants people to focus on the message and spirit that they feel instead of getting caught up in the "Mormon" stigmas. Through this he's been able to help people see that the Church isn't what most people make it out to be. We really do believe in Christ and all he has done for us. Sometimes we don't need to say we're members to be able to then share a spiritual thought. The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't just a church. It's a lifestyle. As we live the teachings of Christ we will be able to help people find true Joy and guidance in their lives. Be an example to those around you.

Elder Beardall

TRUJILLO

Heyooooooo! 

So lots has happened this week so hopefully I can get it all down.

First off FELIZ AÑO NUEVO! 2019 has got lots of promise to it and I feel like its gonna be a good one! 

Next item of business,  TRANSFERS CAME!! I had to say goodbye to my fam in Pineda which was hard cuz we all grew so close! Love 'em! Wednesday I had to pack my bags and head out early Thursday morning to get to a little place I'd like to call paradise! An 8 hour bus ride and I arrived here in Trujillo. I've only been here 4 days and I am pumped to be here! It's kinda like Ceiba but now I've got both the mountain and the beach in my area! Yesterday we were walking to an appointment and we turn the corner and there it was! The sound of the waves gave me CHILLZ! We live so close to the beach too which is awesome because there are lots of cool breezes which is highly appreciated with this heat! The apartment is NEW! Like not even a year old I'm pretty sure. Everything is clean and if I wanted I could walk barefoot in the house. FINALLY a nice house haha. We also always have water with pressure. There's also a closed balcony where I hung my hammock to enjoy the cool breezes! The center is also like 4 blocks from our house which is nice. My comp says it's super secure here so I'm gonna keep my camera in my pocket to snap some quality pics. Stay tuned! The members here are AWESOME! The majority of the people here are black but I couldn't be happier cuz I love em so much! They're super relaxed and their lifestyle is awesome! There's a good vibe here in the ward too which is good! Oh also the people here play basketball and let me say that they can play! We played Friday night with some investigators and I realized that I'm rusty on my balling skills. The good thing is I'll get home and be able to ball it up. I'm super STOKED to be here! 

We also have some awesome investigators. My first lesson here we go with a family with a member and it was awesome! The spirit was so strong and the member knew just what to say. I sat there egging him on (wait is that a phrase?) HE HAD NO FEAR TO SAY WHAT THE SPIRIT WAS TELLING HIM!! At the end we put them on date for February and they accepted! They also came to church yesterday and loved it which is exciting!

So it being new year I've had time to ponder on what I accomplished in 2018 and what I wanna do in 2019. I've never been one to set goals but I've decided to set some. But sometimes setting a goal for 12 months, 365 days,  is a long time. So I decided 6 month goals is something better to start out at. Then in June or July evaluate the goals and make more for the rest of the year. Goals are super important!! If we don't set them, what are we going to be working towards? Will we really be able to reach our full potential or will we just be set on cruise control? Last week I received a letter from someone in which they shared something that was so good I'd like to share it. Talking about improving for this next year they said,

 "AND I KNOW, BECAUSE I TEND TO HAVE A PERFECTIONIST MINDSET THAT ITS GONNA BE HARD FROM THE BEGINNING. IM GONNA STILL BE WEAK. IM GONNA WANT TO STOP TRYING. BUT THAT'S WHERE JESUS COMES IN. I BELIEVE IN HIM. AND I BELIEVE HIM. HE SAID HE CAN MAKE WEAK THINGS BECOME STRONG IF I HAVE FAITH IN HIM."

I hope that this year you'll all be able to make your "weak things become strong". Rely on Jesus and become STRONG

Elder Beardall 

Año Nuevo!!!!!!

So I didn't feel this week and I feel like I was just here writing but hey I ain't gonna complain haha

It was so good to talk to da fam! Everybody is growing up so fast. LOVE YOU FAM! 

So this week had a bunch of good things and a bunch of bad things. Let's start with the bad so we can end on a good note ;)

So this week we literally had nobody to teach!  Our agendas were empty and blank and yeah terrible. We tried to go visit some investigators but they were with family or not there...... But we didn't give up so we visited a lot of members this week. I love em so much! Having 6 months here in this area has helped me build lots of good relationships and I feel like I've got a huge family here. We were able to get to know them even more and we actually learned a lot. They taught us more than we taught them. So I guess a bad thing turned out to be a good thing. The Lord works in mysterious ways! ;)

Another bad thing. I almost chopped my finger off. So one of the days that we had nothing in the schedule we decided to deep clean the house cuz it was starting to smell like dust and so we took some time to do that. We got it all cleaned up and we actually reorganized lots of stuff which made the house feel bigger and better. So this house is all tile but like super old and it has lost it's glossy shine (if it had one in the first place). So we just dumped a ton of water on the floor and then started scrubbing with the brooms. It looks decent but I forgot to take before and after pics. As we were finishing up I was placing a fan so the floor would dry faster. This fan is super good because it blows a lot of air and well there's a defect to it. There's no protective case to it. As I was reaching to adjust the angle of the fan, one of my fingers got loose and ran towards the blades and CRACK! The fan stalled for a second and instantly pain and pressure pulsing through my hand. Blood gushing out I got to the sink to clean it up. Haha sorry gorey story but yeah. My fingertip was numb for about 2 days haha but I'm good now. It's healing surprisingly fast which is a miracle because the cut was super deep. I'll send pictures in a separate email so if you wanna see it you can but if you've got a weak stomach don't look ;)

Now onto the good things! So shout-out to Santa for hitting Honduras. There was some candy and well also a little coal but hey coal is useful here! But Christmas was awesome! We were able to visit tons of members and they all invited us over to eat tamales and sandwiches (weird tradition but they were really good!). Some of them even had made a full on meal with baked pork, salad, potato's, rice. We were stuffed! We also lit some fireworks off which was really fun. They're some that are unreal. They call them mortars and they look like sticks of dynamite and well when they explode they sound like dynamite too haha. They're so loud and strong that you can feel the force pushing you back and your ears ring! Tonight's new year's eve so I'm hoping there will be round 2.

We had a baptism! But not anybody that I've explained before. So the thing that happened was a family here has a daughter that was living with a guy and they wanted to fix things a do what's right so the daughter invited us over to teach her boyfriend (now husband) to receive the lessons. They lived in a different area but the missionaries never went there so they came here to Pineda to be with the fam and asked if we could teach him. We taught him 2ish lessons then told the missionaries in charge to go visit them in their home. So they took over and they stopped here and continued there. Well time passed and Tuesday this last week the elders from that area called us and said that we were gonna have a baptism. We were confused at first but they explained that Olman (now our convert) and his wife had moved into our area with their fam that already lived here. So they got married on Friday in their home with us missionaries and their fam and then Saturday he got baptised. He was so happy to do what was right and he's so prepared. He loves the gospel and not just for his wife. He's got a bright future ahead of him!

Love you all!!

Elder Beardall