And the winner is...Chinatown!

Transfers have come and gone, and I am still in my beloved Chinatown.  I switched areas and companions, and Sister Khong and I have been reunited!  By the end of this cycle, I will have been in Chinatown for a full year, serving in all three of the Sisters' areas here.  Pretty cool stuff.

I'm still serving as a Sister Training Leader, and will be over the now 10 (including Sister Khong and me) companionships in Manhattan.  It is going to be a party.  A really tiring, awesome party.

One sad bit of news: Elder Mok, after two years of service, has left us to return to Hong Kong.  I can't really imagine Chinatown without him.  As always, though, we will adjust soon to our new circumstances and the work will go on.  That's kind of how life is.

On the bright side, the incredible Sister Toronto has now joined our motley crew of missionaries!  She is pretty fantastic.  Not only is she a fellow BYU theatre major, but her experience living in Beijing for 13 years makes her an invaluable addition to our zone.  I'm so happy she is here!!

It's hard to leave my old area.  Even though I know that Sister Woo and Sister Toronto (oh yeah, that companionship is happening :] ) are going to do great there, I have really grown to love the people I served.  Sister Woo has been a wonderful companion.  I will always remember how much she supported and taught me in the two cycles we worked together.

But, as they say, onward and upward!  Life goes on, missionary work stands to be done, and the Lord has a plan, so we really just have to trust Him.  As Sister Elaine S Dalton reminds us, the Lord doesn't really like us to be in comfort zones, and knows how to help us to grow to be the people He needs us to be. (See http://www.lds.org/new-era/2012/03/how-to-dare-great-things?lang=eng)

I love you all so much.  Thank you for continued letters and prayers, as well as a willingness to serve in your own areas.  You are wonderful!

Love,
Sister Beer

This is our zone the night before transfers.  I'm going to miss Elder Mok a lot.

The Chinatown Sisters for this cycle!  Sister Toronto is the one right in the middle.

Gardening in the Heights, among other things

I have never enjoyed gardening so much in my life. Tuesday morning I was on a split in Inwood (the upper end of Manhattan, near Washington Heights) with the incredible Sister Barker and we did service in a community garden in the rain.  I haven't been that dirty in a long time, and it is decided that if you are going to garden, do it in the rain.  It's much more enjoyable than in 85 degree sunshine.  It was great to work with the Spanish district up in the Heights as well.  They have some awesome missionaries, including a former Bio 100 student of mine from BYU.

This week was eventful for the Chinatown ward.  On Sunday three wonderful people were baptized, and made covenants to serve and love the Lord.  Despite a really out of tune piano, the service was beautiful and everyone was so happy the whole day.  President and Sister Morgan came along with Elder Foley and Wisher (the Assistants to the President).  President gave a wonderful talk about what it means to be baptized and the commitment these people were making.  It was very inspiring.  Elder Foley had taught one of the women there, and she asked if he would be able to baptize her, which was awesome.  It was great to see them and to see all of the other members and investigator talking afterwards.  One of the best parts of the day was after the service was over, seeing the ward members, missionaries, and investigators all talking with each other.  Everyone seemed so happy to be there and no one was left out.  It was one of the best days of my mission.

I'm just so grateful that we get to be a part of these people's lives, even if just for a moment.  As missionaries, we get to feel just a little part of the incredible love Heavenly Father has for His children, and act in His place as we teach them about His gospel.  What a blessing!

I love all of you!  We'll see what happens next week with transfers... it should be exciting!

Love,

Sister Beer

Consistency is all I ask!

If you don't recognize that quote... I'll tell you after my mission.  Or you can look it up yourself. :)

The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL recently.  After the incredible heat of July, August has been awesome.  I even have been wearing some of my lighter cardigans because it has been slightly cool.  That being said, it's still in the 70s.  It just feels cooler than the 90s, where it was before.

Sister Woo and I are working on consistency with our less actives right now.  For a long time, we have just been meeting with them when they have time, or when we think to call them, but we have decided that we want to introduce the idea of regular meetings, whether over the phone or in person, with our people.  I firmly believe that regular exposure to elements of the gospel will produce an increased desire to have those teachings as a part of our lives.  That has happened with multiple less actives I have worked with over the course of my mission, and I hope that it will work with more.  While it is true that some people need a little bit of time to "come to [themselves]," as the parable of the prodigal son states, we have to be ready when that moment arrives.  Committing many of our less actives to bi-weekly or monthly meetings is a way that I think will help them to get to the point where they have a desire to put the Lord first, not just high on the list.  Or at least, that's what I'm praying for.  Feel free to pray with me on that.

I take comfort in the fact that the Lord "does not work in darkness," and that He invites ALL people to come unto Him (see 2 Nephi 26:23-25, 27).  As a missionary and as a member of His church, I get to be a part of his work.  We also do not have to work in darkness, and if we do, we are actually doing it contrary to how the Lord wants us to.  I think one of the reasons there has been such a huge emphasis on missionary work in the Church recently is because we have to learn this principle.  It's a tough lesson, but a great one once we get it, because it's then that we are able to experience the joy the Lord talks about in D&C 18:15-16.

I love you all, and hope you are having an awesome week!

Sister Beer