Wow, I can't believe that I already am emailing again. It feels like I didn't do much, but then when I thought about it we have done a lot! The craziest thing we have done is teach 3 lessons, all in Spanish. One of our teachers was 'Jorge' and acted to be an investigator. It was so nuts. The first lesson was really hard... but it got a lot easier. It was definitely a wake up call to work harder. That was between last Friday to Tuesday.
Sunday was a nice rest. I got to take a short nap and finally rest. It was
just a nice day not being in class and being able to relax. Every week we are
asked to prepare a talk in Spanish for sacrament meeting and then they will just
call on 2 people in the meeting to speak.
This week has been really weird, we have had a lot of resting time. Our
Tuesday night devotional was great, we got to go to main campus and listen to
someone from the Missionary Department of the Church. his talk was really great,
he spoke on keeping our speech and communication uplifting and positive.
Christmas was very nice in the MTC! We went up to main campus, and stayed
there all day. We were given a home room where we got to got rest in between the
events. First there was a short talent show. Some of the acts were cool and
entertaining, and some we could have lived without. Then we got to hear from
David A. Bednar! His talk was really cool, he started with a single principle,
that we all have the power and ability to act and not be acted upon. He
explained that we have to treat investigators this way too. Then they passed out
200 cell phones to the 1,800 missionaries and we texted our questions. It was a
big Q&A meeting, and missionaries from the other MTC's were also able to
send in questions. Elder Bednar had all of the texts sen to his i pad and then
read and answered the questions. It was really cool that he had his wife answer
a lot of them while he stepped down. One question he answered was especially
important for me. Someone asked what the best missionaries were like and he
answered that they got out of the way, got over self-centeredness and know that
the mission is not about ourselves. He explained it didn't matter if we weren't
happy or comfortable at times because we are not out here serving to be
comfortable o happy, we are here to help others. I heard a cool quote that kind
of correlates. "A missionary is someone who leaves their family for two years so
others can spend eternity with theirs." I really like that.
The rest of Christmas was really cool. We had Christmas lunch at the
cafeteria and it was pretty good! The stuffing was really good, and it was nice
to get a Christmas meal. We heard from a jazz band who was led by a professor
from BYU who is apparently one of the best sax players in the world. So I really
enjoyed that, while others didn't really seem to appreciate it. We then watched
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas program from last year. Everyone kept
talking, and it was hard to listen. It really tried my patience, but the music
was amazing.
My mission President is the man. His name is President Tyler and he is so
knowledgeable about the gospel. His insights and advice are really valuable. The
older Elders in the zone say to always have notes out when he talks, its really
funny, but also true!
So my visa apparently came through. I got a travel itinerary to fly out on
the 31st, but it was then recalled. Apparently I'm supposed to hear back again
soon, so I'll probably be out of the States in a week or two. I am so
excited!
My Spanish is really coming along. I can't believe that I can communicate
and convey my ideas in another language. Its really a blessing that things are
coming along so well. I can't wait to get into the field and begin helping and
teaching people. I keep hearing good things about Colombia and I'm super
excited. Also its warm there. Its freezing here, I'm ready to wear my
short-sleeved dress shirts.
I just want to end with a short testimony - I know that God lives. I know
he loves us and wants us to be happy. I know that with faith, He can help anyone
change their life and be happy. I know that I am happiest when I stay close to
God. I know that I am doing the Lord's work and that the Book of Mormon is
true.
Thanks for reading!
Elder Beck
The pictures: All of my note cards, there are more now,
One is a picture of my district.
One is a picture of my companion and me, and then one with some guys from
my zone
One is the picture of all the junk food we have and then the last is me
double-tagging it.
