It's July Already!

Dear Family,

The weather here is like the middle of July and I am roastin'!! 

Anywho, let me tell you about this week:

1.We had divisions with our Sister Training Leaders and I got to work with Hermana Nielson again!!!! Everytime we get to work together I always feel like I am companions with McKayla. She's got that same weird personality ;) We talked about the food we missed (rootbeer floats, oven baked cookies, and egg salad sandwiches to name a few) and how all but two months of Hermana Nielson's mission we have been in the same zone. She taught me a lot about confidence and taught me a few excercises I can do :) 

When we finished divisions we went to the Fuentes House and to our surprise our companions had made pupusas (a food that they make in El Salvador and Honduras) and left us beautiful flowers. Pupusas are like Gorditas here in Mexico. Its basically a fat tortilla with cheese and beans inside and you cook it, put salsa on top and YUMMMMM. Don't worry, I am learning how to make them! 

2. For a while, we had a lot of our investigadors come to church and come by themselves but now we are starting to have problems. We make plans and everything is set to go until the morning of when we reconfirm the plans for the hundredth time and it turns out that they can't make it. 

R and M have decided with their parents that they are going to wait until their parents return to be baptized. They have no idea when they will be able to come back. I hope they get baptized before Cambios and they change me. 

A we haven't seen all week because she has been busy working. 

E couldn't come to church this week because her dad came to stay for the weekend and doesn't let her go to church for complicated reasons. 

Somehow I have remained absolutely calm through all of this and I am not stressed, I just don't know how to solve every problem.

I have learned, more than anything, this week about prayer. Moroni 7 talks about how we should pray sincerely or our prayers don't make it to God's ear. It hit me so hard and I realized that I need to talk to God with more sincerity so that He can hear my prayers and that the answers and blessings come. When we pray half-heartedly we recieve our answers and blessings half-heartedly. Think about that one for a while. A prayer so simple and sincere brings blessings so much bigger than the simple but sincere words that left our lips and reached the ears of our loving Heavenly Father. Ask sincerely and with love and you will recieve blessings from our Perfect God, Perfect Father who gives sincerely and with love that is bigger than humankind can imagine.

God loves you. Don't forget to pray.

have some good days,

Hermana Beardall

Oh How Great The Plan of Our God

Family.

Let me tell you about A. Finding A was a miracle in itself. My companion and I wanted to be very specific in asking God to help us new people to teach and so we fasted specifically to find someone who lived in a Privada (gated community). Days after we had cambios and Hermana Guevara came, we recieved una referencia:Familia Correa Reyes. When we went to visit them we discovered that they live in a Privada.

Friday in the mornin we went to teach A. We taught her the Plan of Salvation. Little did we know, it had been 8 years to the day that her baby boy had passed away. A continually asked us in the lesson how we knew what she was going through. We told her that we didn't know anything but because we are on the Lord's errand and she was recieving God's message that he had prepared for her.

Our first visit with her she told us that she couldn't put another appointment until March 4th and that it would be almost impossible to come to church with us. We saw a change in her that no man can make in himself without the hand of the Lord.

My testimony grew a little bit stronger and taller as we heard A accept an appointment this upcoming week and to come to church with us, even if she could only make it to the first hour. I know that God works with his servants in his vineyard (Jacob 5:72) with his hands in the soil, preparing and givingthe nutrients that every one of his trees needs. He never gives too much or not enough, but just right and in the very moment of need.

The Plan of God is REAL. Not only is it real but it is perfect. God created a plan perfectly perfect for his children who in their imperfections are perfectly striving to become like Him and the end result is absolutely perfect. Our happily ever after isn't impossible but perfectly reachable.

Oh how great is the plan of our God (2 Nephi 9:13)

With love,

Hermana Beardall

A Week of Love

Dear Family,

First things first, BAPTISM.

It went pretty well. I had to play the piano because nobody knew how to sing the songs that E. chose for her baptism. Hehe I didn't know how to play them either :) She also asked me to give a talk on the Holy Ghost.

We had a few problems my companion and I to fill the baptismal font but in the end there was water. The boiler didn't work and so the water was FREEEEEZING!!!!! I felt so bad :) In the end it was a beautiful experience for her and for her family that aren't members. Her brother, M. is even more excited to be baptized!!! What a beautiful family!!

This Thursday was my companions birthday so I asked the Hermana Perez that gave us the Comida if we could sing the mañanitas (spanish happy birthday). B and K sang and gave her a pinguino too (chocolate twinkie thing...)

This week I have had many opportunities to learn about weaknesses and finding hope to overcome them and become stronger. I was reminded of  a quote from Pres. Utchdorf:

"The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward.

Hope, on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear."

When you pass a trial in your life, don't forget to look for the hope that helps you out, living and happy. My companion taught me that maybe it is a weakness now but God is strengthening us right now so that we can make is a strength when we really need it. This is a life of preparation and you can't loose hope in any part of the path. 

I HOPE you have a great week,

Hermana Beardall

 ^^^IT CAME THANK YOU!!!!!!^^^

^^^Let Spring begin in Mexico...^^^

 ^^^Zona Celaya Norte^^^

^^^Celebrating her first of two birthdays in the mission!!!^^^

^^^My companion made me valentine breakfast :) I love her!!^^^

WEEK ONE

Ok so this week has been a little crazy. I have a new compa Hna Guevara from El Salvador and she has 3 months in the mission.

We had a miracle. Hna Plata and I had been praying and fasting a lot so that we could find new investigators and start to bapitze every week. Guess what? Almost every day this week (minus 2 days) we found one or more new investigators. GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS and I hope you never forget that.

We have been preparing E for her baptism that will be this upcoming Saturday! She is more than excited and is taking the opportunity to be a missionary with all that she is doing to prepare for the covenant she is going to make. Her sister R decicded si or si she will be baptized 7 Marzo even if her parents can't come. We also started teaching their brother (11 yrs old) M and he wants to be baptized too. Even though she lives far away, their mom is reading the book of mormon and is trying to get in contact with the missionaries. It is amazing how the gospel changes and unifies a family!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!

Whelp, pics and stories about the baptism later!! Thanks for all of your prayers especially those where you asked that we could find people to teach. Your blessings will be grand and glorious.

I love you tons,

Happy day of love or like it is here in mexico, day of friendship,

Hermana Beardall

^^^HUGE DOG. only is 9 months old (still is gonna grow!!!!)^^^

 ^^^Meet the mormons comes to MEXICO^^^

^^^ Hna Guevara^^^

^^^Making Carlota or Lemon Pie (yes I have the recipe)^^^

CAMBIOS

Because I fixed my memorycard and sent pictures I don't have much time to write. But I just want to inform y'all about the changes o CAMBIOS.

I stay the same and I will be reciving a new companion. I can't remember her name but she is from Mexico.

La Hna Plata is going to open up SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE once again!! I am so happy for her and I know she will be great. 

See you next week! Be strong!!   

^^^Evelyn y Renata^^^

^^^Karla y Blanca^^^

^^^Churros. Its like veggie chips with tomato and salsa. DELICIOUS!! (7pesos)^^^

^^^Hermana Mayra^^^

^^^Hermana Mari y Hermana Mari Lara^^^

^^^Blanca, Karla y los Elderes^^^

  

Blanca could never be whiter

Dear Family,

BAPTISM!!! YAY!!!! Like I said, Blanca could never be whiter- clean from EVERY error or stain she has ever had in her life. CLEAN. 

I think my memorycard has a virus or something because even though I can see the pictures in my camera they don't show up on the computer. DAD?!?!

Anywho, you will have to imagine the baptism without pictures.

It was a powerful baptism. Blanca's son Victor is an investigador in another ward and doesn't want to be baptized. But when he gave his talk about baptism, you could tell that he knew that it is necessary that he gets baptized. We will have to see when he takes a step of faith and hopefully it's soon! After, her daughter in law gave a talk about faith and WOW. For being a convert of four or five months, she has a strong testimony and she doesn't lie. But although the talks were powerful that isn0t what I am trying to get at. Blanca felt the spirit so strong that she began to cry. She doesn't cry. Hardly ever. I had the wonderful blessing to lead the hymns and see her face and see that she really knew what she was doing and that she had found and FOLLOWED the truth of God.  

Even though her water was FREEZING and she had to wear a suit instead of a dress, it was clear that she felt the power of Heaven confirming and rejoicing in her decision to be baptized. 

As for Evelyn y Renata, they are doing really well. They understand everything we teach them and they are preparing with all their strength for their baptism. Evelyn is ready to be baptized any time now, but Renata wants her parents to be present at her baptism, but with difficulties that their family is passing for right now her parents probably wont be able to return home until March at the soonest. Outward forces are creating problems for their family and the two of them live with their Gma Mercedes. We are going to keep preparing the both of them with prayer and fasting and we have high hopes that all will turn out well for the Villafuerte sisters :)

I wanted to share with you something that my mission president, President Mejorada taught me this week in our conference with him this past week.  Sometimes we find ourselves with the question in ourselves if we have faith like Nefi or cualquier prophet in the scriptures or of our times. Well, I am going to tell you  what Pres. Mejorada said,

"If you have to ask yourself if you have faith like Nefi YOU DON'T. If you have faith like Nefi you don't have to ask yourself, you simply know you have to act according to the faith you have."

If you want faith like Nefi, don't ask yourself if you have it- WORK FOR IT. Faith without action is dead. 

I hope your week is SUPER FANTÁSTICO,

Hermana Beardall

U N O.

Dear Family,

This week has been amazingly crazy! Let me tell you a little about it.

E. Y R.: We started teaching them this week and WOW I can't believe the ways the Lord is preparing his children to hear the gospel. They prayed to know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and all that we are teaching is true. They said they couldn't express their feelings perfectly but that they had felt a little tap of the heart confirming again that what we taught is true. They will be baptized Feburary 14th yay!

B.: here comes the week of trials. Just like with her grandaughter K., we are heading into the week of trials. We have already started with one BIG HUNKIN PROBLEM. The baptism was all planned and everything and then our bishop tells us that we are going to have stake conference the same day as B's baptism. This caused problems because her son who is a member is coming from far away to baptize her can only come Saturday. The bishop said that we are NOT going to postpone her baptism one week more and now (after many phone calls and lots of thinking) are going to have her baptism in the morning on Saturday. I hope all goes well! Promised photos and story coming next week.

Hermana Leonora gave us a reference to visit her daughter. They have had some rough spots in their relationship and she hasn't seen her daughter in over a year. We went to visit G and she asked us all confused who sent us.  Luckily we brought with us a member who lived close to Hna Leonora and knew G when she was little. She helped saved the day (because Leonora doesn't want her to know that she sent us... :) She accepted to hear our message and we put an appointment to return this week. We'll see how it goes!

We went to San Miguel de Allende (again) to help our fellow companions. It was good to see some familiar faces and to talk to a few members. They are pretty impressed that I can finally speak spanish :)

I honestly can't believe that I almost have one year as a missionary. To tell you the honest truth, this has been the hardest but most rewarding year of my life. I can't think of anything more to say but I know that the church is true.

Living the gospel brings happiness into your life that fills your spirit. There is no need to go back to our Heavenly Home hungry when we have the gospel to fill us. To be honest, there are days when I lay my head on my pillow at night and while I reflect on my day I feel like I have eaten way to much (spiritual food) but the magic of it all is that my stomach doesn't hurt :) The magical thing is that I could keep on eating. A year full of days like this eating like I do (we are still talking about sprititual food) I should be extremely fat, but the magic of it all is that it only makes our spiritual light shine bigger and  brighter. 

The mission really is magical.

I hope that you can take this opportunity of a new year to reflect on your obedience to the gospel. I hope you haven't decided to go on a spiritual diet but that you live a thanksgiving feast every day, that you feast upon the words of Christ. I hope that you can sleep at night feeling full but the capacity to keep on eating. 

THERE IS NO NEED TO GO BACK TO OUR HEAVENLY HOME HUNGRY.

Eat and be full,

Hermana Beardall

your proud and happy full-time missionary