EARTHQUAKE!

Beck Family!

This last week has been absolutely crazy. Let me drop it on ya'll.

So monday we went to the buddha temple again just cuase there were some elders that hadnt gone yet and wanted to. But then on Monday night my companion elder h got called to be a trainer. So yes, as soon as i finished 'training' him, he immediately got called to train. We picked up the greenie on Tuesday, because for some reason this transfer the greenies came in a week early. So for the last week i have been in a trio, and elder h has been sleeping on the floor. Always sucks. Then on thursday night elder h got a call from the AP, who called him to be a district leader! So when you get called to be a district leader you have to go down to the mission office to get trained on how to do your new job. So we went there early the next morning, and while we were there, president asked if he could talk to me. Oh no right. He called me in to his office, and then asked me to me a zone leader. Oh no right. He then told me that we would be having a 6 hour mission leadership meeting right then and there and that i should stay. Oh no right. So then i stayed for that meeting and met up with my companions later in the day. super crazy. And then that night it got even crazier. We were planning at about 9:15, when it sounded like there was this monstrous crash upstairs. Then we were shook right out of our chairs, and right then it started to click with me that we were having an earthquake. And not just the whimpiest of earthquakes either. I then took cover next to a heavy dresser(and not under my desk cause that is the wrong thing to do) and waited it out. My companions did not handle it so calmly.

The greenie, elder W, just stood up straight and just stood there in shock and did not move a muscle. Elder H gave me the funniest moment of my mission so far. He bolted out of his chair, rain to the corner of the room, realized he couldnt run any farther, then looked up to the ceiling and ran in circles, not really covering his head, just with his hands out like he was ready to catch something. Funniest thing i have ever seen, it was pure instinct reaction, im laughing just thinking about it.

Then once the quaking stopped, i ordered everyone to move out side, where then we tried to realize what had just happened. When we went back into the home, we realized that just a few things had fallen on the walls, some glass had shattered, lot of her little crafts and weird things had fallen and broken. There were whole cabinents and shelves that fell in the garage, and more stuff broke upstairs. When the quake was happening, it was absolutely deafing, it was so loud, it sounded like a jet engine was taking off from the living room. And literally it was so strong that it shook us right out of our chairs. The very floor was jolting around, and it was crazy. We found out that it was a 5.4. So it isnt the biggest earthquake ever, but it wasnt the smallest. And the center of it was about 1/2 mile from our house, so we got the strongest effect. So crazy. Then i had to go give some first aid to the other elders in our district that were huirt from the quake. one elder got hit in the head from something falling, so i had to go bandage up his split head. I patched him up good, that first aid kit really has come in handy. When i went tothe leadership meeting i found out that i would be transfered somewhere new this tuesday. I am going tot he Whittier West zone, and to the city of pico rivera. Taht is pretty close to where i am, but it is going to be cool, i ahve heard good things about that place. And i will be in a zl trio for 1 week, and then im gonna be just a normal ZL. Love you family, have a good week, enjoy the pics.

 

Beck out,

Elder Beck

My Zone

Fun family!

Peace out!
 

Looking tough..but these guys are really sweet!

Elder D...acting like a kid
 

Emotinal recovery, but our bikes still get the most flats ever!!

Beck Family!

This last week has been much better. I am going to be honest, this last week was very tough, if not one of the toughest of my mission. It was so hard, so many things went wrong. We had our baptism that fell through, we were dropped by investigators, our area was in shambles. And things that i never thought would happen happened, as i heard of the passing of Bro Bryge and Bro Coons. It made last week a very tough and trying one. It made me put a lot of confidence and my trust in the plan that we share. It was a very challenging week, and i was very tired. But things are ok, things turned around. That guy that was going to get baptized, T, is still on track. We are still teaching him and we have reaffirmed with him his desire to do this. He is a 28 year old guy that is trying to change his life, and he truly knows that this is the thing that will do it. We just have some things that we need to work through first, things that will just take a short amount of time. But i have no doubt that he will be baptized, i just hope that i am here to see it happen.

We have been biking a lot lately, im starting to count up our miles and not a day goes by that we dont hit 20. Most days are between 25-30. And those are hilly miles. I tried to put on a pair of my companions pants just to see if i could fit into them. My thighs nearly split the seams. They fit me around the waist, and i had lots of room down by my shins, but my thighs straight nearly burst through those pants. It was like spandex. My legs are huge, now i have proof. I'll send some pics of what happens to us though when we bike this much, we encounter many flats. Many interesting flats.

Transfers will be on April First. That doesnt mean that i will be sent out of whittier, that is just the next soonest time that it could happen. And who knows if i will stay a district leader or not, they like to change those up often.

 

And im glad that my letter was good. I really hoped that it helped people just a little bit. I wanted to do the only thing i could to try and help out. And again, i want you to know that i meant everything that i said.

 I had to buy another tube for my bike and patch kit.(you can put this in big family letter) Mom, for real, our companionship has the most flat tires of any living missionary companionship in the world. Kid you not. We can not ride our bikes for more that 8 hours without one of us getting a flat tire. WE then try to go as long as we can before we have to change it, we fill up at gas stations and stuff, but eventually everything goes flat, and we must then fix it. I have used so many tubes this transfer, and they all have been patched many times. Whittier is the place that destroys bikes, worst than compton for sure. I believe iti s the hills, it makes you put a lot of pressue of your tires, so all of the glass and thorns are instant death.

When i see a picture of you, i say "that one is MY momma." For real, you are like the coolest/bestest mom out there. Love you mom.

 

Beck out,

Elder Beck

 

Really, Really???

I can't believe what's in the road!

We fix flats, and preach the gospel!
 

 

Tribute to 2 Great MEN!

Dear Family and Ward Family,

Whatever I had to say just feels like it wouldnt be enough to respond to the news that I have recieved today. I will be honest, today was already quite a difficult day for me. Yesterday was already heartbreaking. We were supposed to have a baptism. It was one of the most sure ones i have ever had. He had passed his interview, he was keeping all of his commitments, and his testimony was already very strong. But yesterday at church he was feeling very sick. He was feeling sick because his conscience was weighing down on him. He then took us outside and broke down and told us that he couldnt be baptized. Not everything was as good as we thought it was. It was heartbreaking, we had to call off the baptism at the last second. So I will be honest, this wasnt already the best of mondays for me. We will continue to teach him, and we will help him until he is ready for baptism.

But hearing that news  from ya'll this morning was hard. In fact it brought tears to my eyes, even now as i must try to type this. This has been a trying week for me, but in no way does it compare to what their families must be experiencing.

 

The following is what i sent to the bishopric, but this version has a few more things added. Please make sure that they see this, in both wards. And also, if appropriate, let their families see this. This is the best thing i can do for them now.

 

I am heartbroken.

Those 2 men played some of the most important roles of any people in my life.

More than just good examples to me, they were both friends and mentors.

I can not express how sad I am... truly.

I dont have the words to express myself.

My young mens leaders made some of the biggest impacts on my life, things that they could never have known about.

They changed me and helped me become the person I am today.

Without doubt I can cite them as reasons for my missionary service, for more of my love of the outdoors, and my love of this gospel.

Let me add my testimony of these good men. They both forever changed the course of my life. When I did not want to go to church, or to scouts, or to anything like it, these 2 men were often the reasons that I went. And more importantly, they were often the reasons that I stayed. I can remember many fun activities, many campouts, and many good times. I can vividly remember trying my hardest to throw Bro. Bryge out of the raft at high adventure. I can remember climbing up White rocks with him, and him following me up this crazy crack in the wall just because he couldnt let me do it along. I remember the best capture the flag games with Bro. Coons and him 'recruiting' me for his turkey bowl team. Yet at this time what i remember the most of them were the talks I had with them as we drove to and from these various activities. That is what i remember about these men, because that is what made a difference in my life. When they talked to me, when they inspired me, when they helped me get my head on straight, those are the times that have changed my life. And they were both involved.

To their families, I would just want them to know, that because things like this happen in the world, that is why I am serving a mission. The single most important thing to me that as a missionary i ever talk to people about is the family. My family is the most important thing in the world to me.

Because of that, I am here, sharing a message that will bring other families together forever. Because I can not imagine living without my family, I am here to share that same goodness with others. I do not know why all the bad things happen in the world, I have wrestled over that question for a while. I do not know how things like this fit into the great overall plan. But what i do know, what i do testify of, is that God does not leave us in these times. In fact He is closer to us during these times than ever before. There is nothing I can say that you all as members do not already know. But just know this, that I serve my mission, so that people can have 1 source of comfort in these types of times. People hurt, and God hurts with us. Families weep, and God weeps with them. Their dedication to me as a young man is one of the reasons that I made it to missionary service. Because they spent a little time away from their families to help me, I now spend a little time away from mine, to try and help others.

The good that has, and will, come from these 2 mens lives will never be known. The lives they have affected are many, and with strength I can say that the universe is a different place because of their 2 examples. At the least, I will forever be different because of them. I will never forget them. Neither will any of you. The impact that leaders have on the youth is great. The impact that good leaders have on youth is life changing. The impact that these leaders had on me falls into the latter. And no doubt they had the same type of impact on others as well.

God is so real. His plan is so loving. I will never claim to understand it all, but what I can understand for now is that everything will be made whole again, even families. These men were important to me, but surely even more so to the families that they have left. If it is any peace I can bring, it is this. That because they believed in eternal families they were members of this church. Because they were members of this church, they impacted my life. And because they impacted my life, i now serve a mission, so that others may also believe  in eternal families. Their impact will be felt throughout time and eternity, and it starts with us. Let us all be better people for knowing them, for I am, and i know that everyone else who knew them is as well. My heart breaks because of this, but it is ok, everything will be ok. I know it.

If you can make sure that both wards atleast get this email I would appreciate that.

 

I really dont have anything i could say after that. Nothing else really seems all that important. Maybe if i remember i will tell ya'll next week.

I love you family, truly i do. I love every one of you. And that isnt just something we should say or feel at times like these. Rather, it should be made known by the way we talk and live everyday. My family is the most important thing to me, more important than anything else. You are what matters to me. You, family, are the reason.

 

Beck out,

Elder Beck

Hard work does pay off

Beck Family!

So ya'll this last week was pretty good. We got to do a good bit of teaching, and i knocked out a few more exchanges that i had to do. I really do like exchanges, getting to go into another area and work with another elder for a day and meet all of their investigators is pretty cool. It feels like a vacation, except you still work, and you no longer have any of your stuff, and nobodies food is as good as mine. Still, its fun. So we had some really good lessons with our investigator T this last week. We have been teaching him for about a transfer, and he is supposed to be baptized this Sunday. We are super excited, he is super prepared. We found him just contacting, and he ate up everything we told him. We got him reading in the Book of Mormon and praying about it every time he read it. We would read the last 2 paragraphs of the introduction with him before everytime we read, and we told him to do the same thing. And guess what he actually did it, cause he is accountable. And funny thing, when you actually do those things you recieve an answer, and that is what happened to him. And so now he has the strong desire to be baptized, because he knwos there is no other church that can do it. Its a great promise the BOM has, it is unfailing and it works every time. And i dont mean that it is a sales technique that works every time, but rather it is a promise from God that is valid every time we prove it. We got him to meet more people in the Ward, and we are all just super excited for this Sunday. Me and Elder H have worked really hard here. We have been out talking to people all day and trying so hard to find prepared people. Honestly, we were not having the numbers success that i have seen before that has followed myu hard work, and so i alsmost got discouraged here that the hard work was not paying off. But we stayed at it, for weeks really, just working as hard as we could, not seeing anything immediatley come from it, but knowing that it would bring the fruits eventually. And we stuck it out, and now we are going to have a baptism this weekend, and it feels so good. I'll tell ya'll how that goes next week. This week we also got to do a bit of service for our investigator J. We helped build his fence, which had gotten destroyed during the rainstorms of last week. man it felt so good to wear jeans and do service, that is really good diversion. But it let me know how white my neck is. for real, i have a gnarley tan line from my white shirts that goes half way down my neck. So my face and half my neck are beautifully tanned, and just below that is ghoslty white, and that is what was exposed to the sun, and that was shocking. That was fun. Well love you family, have a good week, i'll have some picutures next week for ya'll.

 

Beck out,

Elder Beck

The 99cent store can restore you

Beck Family!

So this week has been pretty great. I went to a leadership training from our mission president last tuesday and that was sweet. For real, i have the best mission president ever. in the world. period. And at that training i learned that i have the most exchanges to do out of anybody in the mission.

district leaders do these things called exchanges were we go to work with another elder in their area for 24 ours, and while i do that one of the other elders comes to my area for the day. So it is just a switch up for a day. But i have to do that with every member of my district, and since i am a district leader the zone leaders have to do an exchange with me as well.

So i found out that i have to most of these to do in the whole mission. I have 9. So that is 9 days out of the transfer tthat i do not get to work with my companion or work in my area. That can be really hard on the area to leave it so much and hard on our investiagorts because they are constantly being taught by different people. But lots of miracles have still happened, even though i am gone from my area 2-3 days a week. This last week we had 2 investigators come to church! We worked so flippin hard to make that happen. They both really liked it and have commited to come back. They have baptismal dates and are working to make them. One of the guys names is J, and i could just see him being such a perfect member, he just fits in. He loves us and has given us a ride home in his truck a couple of times. That is really nice cause we live like 3 miles from his home, and those are 3 miles of gnarley hills, so when we throw our bikes in his truck and he gives us a ride home, that improves our whole day. me and elder H are still just killing it. For real, missionary work is so much funner when you have a good companion. You can actually enjoy the work and get stuff done at the same time when you and your companion are on the same page. 1 of the things we have started to do more recently is going to the 99cent store. Whenever we get really depressed because everything falls apart, we will go into there and contact people, and get ourselves a treat.

It helps. I have spend apporximantely 15 dollars at the 99cent store this last month. Yeah, a lot of things fell apart. But we get to talk to lots of people in spanish in there, and get lots of adresses and names of people to  visit later.

But anyway, things are still going good and this week is gonna be a good week. Also, sierra i am still waiting on your letter. Dont think i forgot that, i am like the accountability king, i follow up on my invitations.

missionary skill just applied to the real world, yes that just happened.

Anyways, i love you family, and have a good week.

 

Beck out,

Elder Beck

Rough weeks are good for missionaries

Beck Family!

So hopefully today i have made up for 2 rough weeks of email in a row.

Today we havent done anything crazy for p-day, just tried to recover a little bit, because we are aboslutley trashed. For real, im exhausted. I hear from other elders that being a missionary is the hardest thing they have done mentally and spiritually, and i agree, but i could also qualify it as the hardest physical thing as well. And if nobody agrees with that, you should come be my companion for a week. Its not like any single activity we do is the hardest thing ever, but it is the complete consistency of the activities we do that is aboslutley draining the very core. We bike lots, we bike hills all day, we often have a 4 mile bike ride sprint every other night to get back to the apartment on time. That makes me go to sleep really quickly. We run hard in the morning every morning.

And for every single moment we spend outside of our apartment, we spend it with purpose. Whether it is biking or walking or contacting or teaching, everything we do has a distinct and specific purpose. There is no time to relax or to just wonder what we should do next. i believe that since every day is so purposefully planned that is just draining. Recovery time does not exist, rest is a distant memory, and laziness does not exist in the terminology. I love it. We are sustained completely by Spirit energy, and i know that the fruits from our hard work will follow. Maybe it isnt the hardest physical challenge i could imagine, but i have never been more tired in my entire life. Ever. I hope that i sent enough pictures to make the new digital picture wall, choose some good ones. We have this investigator right now that is doing really well. He has a bap date and is moving well to make it. He keeps all of our commitments, and is just an accountable little bugger. Also, he is the guy with roosters, so thats cool. But we have had a lot of good lessons with him, and he really like church when he came. Good things will happen, our hard, but smart, work will turn into things i know it. Me and my comp just yell at each other all day 'Cant Stop! Wont Stop!" Thats the attitude, and we are rolling with it.

Thanks for everything family love ya'll.

 

Beck out,

Elder Beck

Elder Beck does look incredible :)



The rooster on a leash

Welcome to my lair, Mr. Bond

Who knew there was a light house in Long Beach!

So this is a way for missionaries to make contacts with people.  They ask them about their pepper plants and then try one!  I think the people are more impressed with these gringos!

Dallin and his comp. got to go to this Budda temple

Great place to study

Stone face

Pres. Day and all other Monday Holidays :(

Beck Family!

Yep thats right, it is another federal holiday that falls on monday. So what does that mean? It means that all of the libraries are closed, and that if any missionaries want to email they must use the family history centers inside the stake centers. And we all know what levels of computers these places have, stone age! And of course the stake center has to be shared by 2 zones, over 45 missionaries, so we all get aproximatley zero time to read or respond to emails. Not cool at all. But whatever. and because of that i also will not be able to send any more pictures today.

Booo.

So we had transfers this last week and i am staying here in Whittier with elder H for another transfer. Im actually really excited. I have really liked working with elder H and we get along so good, we are just having a blast out here every single day. And we still do not have a car, so we will continue to cover the largest and hilliest area in the mission solely by bike, cause we are to hard core for anything else. My entire district is also staying the same, which is super rare. Remember, i have 10 elders in the district, and not a single one of them moved during transfer, so we are all still together working in whittier. We are working with the ward super good now, and members have been coming out with us and it makes out lessons so much more powerful. Also, i will never send an email that says do not send me stuff, espescially jerky. Im a man afterall, there is no threshold for jerky, so send me all of the stuff you desire, i will never complain. Thanks for everything family, i love you all, and i have loved the handwritten letters from you. Thanks for everything.

 

Beck out,

Elder Beck