Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 2:04 PM

This week

     Well last Monday I saw Bob, my investigator from Santa Barbara! He was drunk out of his mind, beat up and homeless. I think he had a friend take him up here since he lives in Lompoc. We got a local bishop to take him to a shelter but ended up getting him a motel room for the night. 

     Tuesday, we had President interviews and also watched "Meet the Mormons" which was really cool! 

     Wednesday, we took Chris Young, a recent convert, and his wife to a lesson with Juan and Shilo. We talked about Eternal families and the temple. We related it to baptism as our first covenant to follow Jesus and invited them to take that step and Shilo said yes! The Youngs shared their experiences, testimonies and connected with them. 

     Thursday, we saw Naomi, she has been stressed because her husband just got out of jail and went back to drug abuse and cheating. He turned himself in this same day. I felt to opened my Book Of Mormon and randomly did so right to Alma 34:40-41 and it says: "And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions;  that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them;  But that ye have patience and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions." It brought her comfort and she took a copy for herself. Just the night before I was praying and felt to ask for guidance on how I could use the Book Of Mormon more effectively. 
     Sunday we Went to see bro Lusby who is LA. He used to live in Layton and is currently an assistant football coach at Lompoc High! Well Elder Beus is from Ogden and also played football, so we hit it off and connected with him really well!

     My companion has been really awesome and a great support for me. We get along very well, talk about our family history and he loves to get out and work. Monday was crazy we were at the insta care and hospital for our entire P-day getting x-rays, a splint and sling and he was patient. 

     General Conference was awesome! In the MTC choir I saw Cameron Peterson from my Layton ward, Dallin Tracy from my Centerville ward and a kid I recognized from Layton high! I loved all the insights I got from the speakers, I have felt my testimony grow in prophets, the Lords appointed servants and in Jesus Christ.

     We have done lots of service at the food pantry and met a few less active members who work there. We also have  worked at members homes but all I really get to do is watch and do what I can with one-arm jobs.
Elder Stout

Elder Zach Beckman

Mon, 6 Oct 2014 13:45

Elder Beckman Update!!

Hey everyone!!! This week was just a crazy week for me and Elder Christensen!   We had like zero time to spend in our own area this week so it was a really fast week for us.  It feels like just yesterday we talked to you guys!!  But it was filled with so many fun things and just a lot of fun things to do!

So this Tuesday was Interviews with president and it was so LONG!!  We were there from 8 am to 4pm doing teaching role plays and area book and planner checks and holy cow!!!  It just took for ever!!  But it was really fun because we got to be around the Porters all day and that was really fun!  But after it was all over, it was time for dinner and so me and Elder Christensen decided that we wanted to go out to Chilis for dinner and so we went there and had ourselves a nice meal to end off the long process of interviews!!!

Next was Thursday!  We helped a guy move out of our ward and he is moving to Utah!!  But it was so ridiculous it started at 10 am, so the only people available to help move was all the high priests and then the missionaries.... so the high priests in our ward are like super old like the guys who walk in with walkers and canes and stuff, so at the move it was 6 missionaries and 6 old guys.  But it was basically us moving this really rich guy out of his house all day!!  I think it took like 4+ hours to do it all, but I remember moving this huge couch up to the garage and after finally getting in there we went back for more stuff and then we come back and all 6 of the high priests are just sitting on the couch half asleep and I just laughed to myself because I don't know why they even came ha ha ha!!!  But ya, that shot like half of our day and so we had to make the rest of the day really effective!!

Next was Friday and we had Mission Leadership Council... that was a hoot as always.  That is where president talks to us all and what he wants us to really work with our missionaries on.  But it was really fun!!  So president pulled me and Elder Christensen aside with two other sets of sisters and told us to prepare a presentation for a new music rule in the mission and we had like 15 mins to prepare it ha ha ha!!   But it was so funny because I thought we were all going to get up and present it, but instead president asked who was going to be the person who presented it and they all pointed to me.  So I had to stand up in front of everyone and say why we should have a new music rule in the mission ha ha ha ha!!!  It was so scary, but super good at the same time.  I must say I did a pretty good job!  But everyone but this one sister agreed with me, but because she disagreed we could not pass the new rule!!  So ya, she basically messed up the whole mission!!  But it's okay, because I am not dying yet about the music, so I will survive!!

And then lastly, it was the Time of year of GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!

What a great week it was!! Hope all is going well with everyone. please don't be a stranger and not write me from time to time!!  I love more than anything to hear updates of peoples lives on Mondays!!!

~Keep Smiling~

LOVE

Elder Beckman

Elder Dallin Stout

Mon, Sep 29, 2014 at 4:44 PM

First week in Lompoc!

 Crazy week! At transfer meeting I was able to see almost all of my past companions. Elder Sandholtz (one of them) is going home and gave his last testimony to us. This week has been quite eventful in my new area. Elder Beus has taken me to meet some of the people in the area for the first few days. The ward is very great, we share it with Elders Thornel and Hurst. We are in a 4 man apartment with them and its awesome, we get along very well. 

     My companion Elder Beus is awesome! On Saturday we were riding into town on a bike path and I was going very fast. I took a sharp turn with my brakes locked up and slid over a small gutter, gravel and hit hard into a cement wall. My left side was banged up but I stayed on my feet. I couldn't feel much pain because of my adrenaline rush so we rode to the church and cleaned up. we left a message for the Elders to come get us before our phone died and I iced my elbow until they came a few hours later. By then the instacare was closed so we went home and my comp made me a sling out of a scarf. I went to church Sunday and continued to ice my arm. The wrist thumb and elbow were swollen and my hip had a big bruise. I just got treatment today, the doctor x-rayed my arm and he is confident that my elbow has a hairline fracture. so he made a splint for my arm and got me a sling. We just now got back from the hospital where a recent convert is in the ER and wanted a blessing. So I am typing this one handed, its been a crazy day but Elder Beus is patient and has been helping by doing things for me.

     I definitely know that the Lord is looking out for me. The Dr. said a guy wiped out at the same place I did and was in the hospital for 3 months! Elder Beus was behind me at the accident and said that it was graceful, the best way I could have crashed. So I'm counting my blessings, I have a testimony that the Lord watches out for us, loves us and that this work truly is his work.

     We have been able to do 9 hours of service for people this week, I have met some terrific people doing so and it feels great to be helpful everywhere we can!  

With love Elder Stout

Elder Zach Beckman

Mon, 29 Sept. 2014 13:56

 20 years later......

Well everyone it is about that time of year again!!! Super Stoked for General Conference and all the joy it brings to everyone all around the world!  But I know that I will be able to get something that is just for me and that is what I love most about it!!  So to start off my letter I wanna challenge you all to write down a couple of questions that you have and really look to see if they will get answered in conference, because I know they will!!

Now with my letter I am going to keep it a bit short today because i got lots to do today!!  But this week was a lot of fun!!   Filled with all sorts of fun stories that you will get to hear after my mission, but I will share a few that happened this week!

So, first story is that we were going to pick up this old man in our ward to come out teaching with us, and he lives in this old folks apartment complex.... so it is filled with old people everywhere!  So on the way in, we see this old woman outside her apartment trying to get in, and she was having a really hard time.   So we went to see what was up and found out that she was locked out!!  So I looked at this situation and thought what a perfect opportunity to have permission to see if we could some how break into someones house!! ha ha!!  So I looked at Elder Christensen and said, "All righty, let's break in to this woman's house some how!!" ha ha ha!!  So we pulled out a credit card and were trying to get the back sliding door, and that wasn't working and Elder Christensen tried picking the lock to the front door because he knows how, but he wasn't able to!  So I went out back to the window and I basically pried it open with my fingers, and was able to push out the window and we climbed in through the window and Saved the Day!!!  It was funny because this whole thing probably took like 20 minutes and we had gathered a crowed of old people, just watching us, and trying to give us pointers on what to do!! ha ha!!   But it was so funny to see them all out on the back lawn with their walkers and wheel chairs and canes and what not! But, it was a great time and a lot of laughs!

So next story... I was with Elder Christensen and we were teaching Brian and Tiffany, some of our investigators, and we had planned to teach them about the atonement and how it can carry them though their tough times in life!  It went so well!!   We talked about how Jesus has suffered "all" the same things that they have gone through and how they can always have Him help them through it!!  And they were super receptive to it and really want to become a more happy family and really progress in this gospel!!  I am super excited for them to get baptized here in the next couple of weeks, so keep them in your prayers!!!

That is about it for this week!  So, I hope you all have a great week and have a great General Conference!!! LOVE YA

~Keep Smiling~

Elder Beckman

PS. Sorry No pictures today!

Keep Brian and Tiffany in your prayers, that they might be baptized and find joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elder Seth Garner

                                          Elder Seth Garner and Private Michael Watts at Cake cutting 
                                     ceremony for graduation from the Marines!
                             


 Tue, 2 Sep 2014 12:08

I think that I can say I am at a good spot in my mission. Ever since I started, I know I have been blessed to see the hand of God work in the lives of many... But right now, I feel like it is more evident than ever! I cannot even describe the joy that I have because of the things I have seen and continue to see daily. I am trying to consecrate myself for this last big push, because I know that my time is running low. My life continues to change forever as I have been apart of the greatest work. And to think that God has privileged me to be apart of it? Holy smokes, I count my blessings everyday that I get to be His instrument!

Well, maybe some explanation of why I feel this way would be a help? I will recall a few miracles I have seen over these past days. Thursday the 28th we attended the MCRD cake cutting ceremony for the graduating Marines that the church hosts. Private Michael Watts was in attendance with his family, who are all not members. He hadn't told them of his experiences regarding church at the MCRD, and they were unaware of his baptism. As I stood there when he sprung the news on them right there at the ceremony, I was touched as Watts explained his story and bore his testimony to his family. He has an incredible conversion story that was able to touch the hearts of his family (especially his mother), who were grateful that he relied on God to get through such a rough situation. Watts didn't hesitate to share the story of the first vision either! Unfortunately, that was the last I saw of Watts and his family, but I know that he will be a great influence on those who are broken and need the power of the Atonement in their lives. That sweet eighteen year old kid has forever changed my life!

Over these past weeks I have been teaching another recruit at the MCRD, Recruit Winstead. When he came to our services awhile back, he immediately explained himself. He was a prayer leader for the Catholic church, which just means he was to lead the Catholics in his platoon in prayer at night and be a spiritual support for them. He asked if he could become an LDS prayer leader instead. Winstead explained that all his life he was raised Catholic, but knew deep down that there were things about the religion that weren't right and that there was something missing. He had found the LDS church just before leaving for boot camp, and said that as soon as he walked into the doors of the chapel, he felt what was missing at the Catholic church. He recognized the Spirit and knew that it was from God. He asked me when he could be baptized, we set the date, and he was baptized this last Sunday. I even had a similar situation this last Sunday with a new recruit, and overall there should be five young recruits entering into the waters of baptism this next Sunday.

Having the mission president and his family in your ward is a bit of a perk. Sister Schmitt invited a non-member over to dinner and had us teach her there. She is thirteen years old and has a very horrible family situation. There is no support at all and her family is not a good influence. Her name is Yamira and she has been living at a members home who took her in. We have been teaching her for about a week, and she has accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 27th of September. The Schmitts have been an incredible help, and they truly love and care for her. It is so cool how the standards of the gospel can help keep anybody safe from the harm that comes from the adversary.

                                                  Elder Garner at Anthony Merchison's Baptism

We had been teaching a fourteen year old boy, Anthony Merchison, who is one of the most smartest, sincere kids I know. He had been preparing to be baptized for quite some time, and he finally made it! It was crazy because we weren't in our area for that entire week, and didn't really know if he was going to get baptized that Saturday. While I was out of my area, I called him up, he said he was good to go, so I made a few more calls and got it all set up, then right when we got back, we got him baptized! Anthony is now the only member in his immediate family, but since his baptism, his parents have been to church twice, and Anthony has received the priesthood! Man, I love that kid!

                                        Elder Garner at Kidaysha Cook's surprise baptism 

President Schmitt gave us a call last Saturday morning, and asked us for some help. He had received word that there was a Marine who was a member of the church who had gone through the MCRD back in March, and had finished his training up North. His wife and family were coming into town to see him for a few days before he had to go back, and had requested permission for the wife to be baptized while they were in San Diego. The Marine had no idea that his wife had been meeting with missionaries and wanted to get baptized. President Schmitt asked us to piggy back off of a baptism in Santee, meet the family there, and get her baptized and confirmed... It was so cool to be apart of this families experience of the only nonmember in the family getting baptized, and what was even cooler was the Marine husband was totally overwhelmed by it! President Schmitt asked me to baptize her and Elder Myler to confirm her a member of the church. After that, they had to head home to Arizona while the Marine stayed in San Diego.

Last night we met a man named Josh Young. He was referred to us by the Spanish missionaries who contacted him. As soon as we met him, he whipped out his Book of Mormon and told us his story. While he was in jail for six years, he watched a program on KPBS about the Mormons and became interested. His rack mate happened to have a copy of the Book of Mormon and lent it to him. Josh decided to read a few pages that night, which soon turned into chapter after chapter, and over a span of three days, he had finished the book. At the very end of the book, he got on his hands and knees and told God that he wanted to follow his will, and asked that if the Book of Mormon was contrary to the Bible to let him know, so he could get on the right path. As soon as Josh prayed about it, he said that the Holy Ghost burned like fire inside of him, unlike anything he had ever felt. He had read the book three times after that, along with the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. He has been out of jail for about two years now, is married and has a son. He knew more about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon than I did, and he said all he had to study were those three books! He said that he just didn't know what to do next or where to go. He also said that he didn't want to do anything luke warm, and wanted to be in it 100 percent. We invited he and his wife to take the lessons and to learn more, and you could tell that when we talked about the healing power of the Atonement, it meant something to Josh. I cannot wait to get back there and show him what he has been waiting for for a long time!

I have seen so many miracles over these past days... It is unreal how much God cares about ALL of His children, and how well people are prepared. Once again, I can't believe that I get to be apart of it! Our mission wide training exchanges are over, and we will be doing transfers and zone conferences this next month. I love my mission, and I love the Lord!

Love,

       Elder Garner

Elder Zach Beckman

Mon, 22 Sep 2014 13:22

Elder Beckman, The Fishing Missionary!!



Well Hellooooo Everyone!!!

Things have been going great here in the great Land of Cherry Grove! I recently Got a new companion, Elder Jordan Christensen!!!  He is from Oregon and is a way sick missionary!  It is really funny how similar we are!  He is super laid back and chill and doesn't get stressed about anything and is just a way fun person to be around! But that also means that I lost Elder Price..... :( it was so sad to see him leave.  You have no idea!!   The first couple of days of him being gone, I was super sad and missed him a lot.  I really loved serving with him and it was kind of like leaving family all over again.  But I feel I will feel the same way for Elder Christensen too.

So this last week was sweet we got a lot of people to church and just had some really fun times!!  We have been meeting with a returning member, Allen, a lot lately and we have actually helped him get his Temple Recommend and he is going to come with us to the temple next month!!  I was super happy for him and we just had a great time with him!  Along with Allen... he is a super awesome member missionary!  He was the one who introduced us to Deanna and Anthony and he is now helping us teach his little brother Damien!!  It was awesome we set a lesson with Damien and Allen said that it would be more fun if we went fishing and then had a lesson on the shore of a lake.... So I thought about it for about half a second and said '' OF COURSE!!!"  So we went to a lake with some members of the ward and had a sweet time fishing and talking about the church!!!  Damien came to church the next day and had a great time because of all the boys who came fishing!!   It was so cool to see him so happy with friends now.

Last Story was going to transfers to pick up Elder Christensen... Allen was supposed to drive us up to Dayton for transfer meeting and so in the morning we get this call from him saying that a drunk driver hit his car and now he can't take us.... so, at like 7 am, we called like 20 members asking to take us up there and they all said no.  So we were out of luck and said forget it, we are just gonna drive the mission car up there and just have to sacrifice miles for the month!  So we did and it was all ok in the end.  We got the miles written off and it was all ok in the end. But Holy cow sometimes when one little thing goes wrong it can cause so much stress ha ha it is nuts 

But that is about it for my week I will be sure to have an awesome letter for you all next week!

KEEP SMILING

LOVE,

Elder Beckman

Elder Justin Thiel

This week was better then last week. I found out on Saturday that my companion is going to be transferred on Tuesday and that I will be training a new missionary again.  I'm more excited about it this time around.  It should be a great experience. 

One thing that Elder Kopischki told us to do when he came, was to memorize 42 scriptures for the 42 principles that we teach as missionaries, so I have been working on that all this since Friday.  I have 10 memorized so far. The ones that I memorized were: Malachi 2:10, Genesis 28:14, Amos 3:7, Isaiah 59:1-2, John 3:5, John 3:16-17, John 15:16, Ephesians 2:19-20, Hebrews 5:4, Moroni 10:3-5.  I still have a long way to go, but we are to use the scriptures when we talk to people, so that should really help me out in the work.  (Maybe you all could look them up and memorize them too!) :)

We had some awesome experiences this week.  We were sitting at the end of a street trying to figure out what we were going to do on Tuesday around 2, because an appointment had fallen through, when someone who we taught 2 months ago pulled up in a car next to us and asked if we could come to his house to teach him.  My companion and I were a little shocked at this, but we readily agreed.  When we got to his house, we taught him and his girlfriend who seemed really interested in the Restoration of the Gospel.  We taught them again later in the week, about the Book Of Mormon and the girlfriend had some really good questions and really wanted to read it.  It was a really cool miracle!

We had a church tour with our investigator, Lee, this week.   We showed him around the building talking about the different organizations in the church and explaining some of the pictures and what they represent.  The most powerful part was when we got to the chapel.  We talked about the sacrament and invited him to pray.  After he prayed, he got up and asked if he could say something and we agreed.  He said that he could feel the Spirit of Christ from the moment that he walked into the building, and that he now feels comfortable with coming to church and bringing this family with him.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to come to church this Sunday, but we have high hopes for him.

I'm sorry to hear about Matthew.. I know how he feels, because I have had many of them myself and I know that it is not fun.  How did he get it?  It sound like things just weren't working for you guys this week, with dad's back and the dryer.. that's awesome that Jacob gets to go to the dedication of the temple!  That should be a really cool experience for him.  Did he get to go to one of the open houses?

I hope that the weeks start to get easier for you guys.  I love you and I will keep you in my prayers.

Love,

Elder Thiel