Transfers! And the verdict is...

I am staying in Chinatown!  Yes, dear readers, this means I have been a Chinatown missionary my entire mission.  Not many missionaries can say that they have stayed in the same apartment building for 14 months.  I have served in the three sisters' areas in Chinatown, and will finish in my current area with Sister Chan and Astle.

In other news, Elder Murray has returned to 唐人街.  (That means Chinatown in Chinese.)  Good thing, too.  I have been needing another music brain to help me handle this Christmas program. :) I am super happy he's back.  He's probably one of my favorite people.

Today is the first day of my last cycle on the mission.  It is going to be a crazy one.  With normal missionary work and the addition of a Christmas program, my companionship is going to have to stay on it's toes!  (I had a nightmare last night that consisted of a mission choir with no tenors. I was quite distressed.)  

That's all for today.  The rest of P-day awaits!

Love you!

Sister Beer

Happy (belated) Halloween from the Chinatown YSA!

The highlight of this week was definitely the super awesome Chinatown YSA Halloween activity we had yesterday night!  So it was a few days late...that's okay, it's not like most Chinese people celebrate Halloween, anyway.

But really, it was SUPER COOL.  We had a dinner, then pumpkin carving, followed by "traditional American" Halloween games.  These games included "Guess the Body Part" (with the occasional real hand... Sister Palmer surprised a LOT of people, and I almost died laughing),

 a doughnut eating contest, 

decorating caramel apples, mummy wrapping (the Blairs are definitely the best dressed at the party....), and much, much more.  

Well, not that much, but there was a photo booth.  I haven't had this much fun at a church activity in a LONG time, and I think that people will actually want to come to YSA activities from here on out.

Missionary work continues to be missionary work, and I am excited at the progress we are seeing in some of our investigators.  It is always so exciting to see people start to use the gospel in their lives.  The change in how they act, and even in their appearance, is noticeable and uplifting.  I am ever-grateful to be able to serve here in Chinatown.  I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be.

It is a little strange to think that next week starts my last transfer in the mission.  It has been nice to have my companions so focused on doing the work so there is little to no chance that I will be distracted from it.  My dad keeps writing and telling me that I should run across the finish line, not jog, and that is exactly what I plan to do. :)

Until next week,

Sister Beer

What does consecration mean to you?

This week we had a great zone conference.  It was cool for me to see how the call to consecration in our mission has affected so many people, missionary and non-missionary.  It made me realize  however, how sterile my approach to sharing about our mission goals has been in the past.  It's like I had this mental block between your life and mine because I'm a missionary, and I apologize for that.

I am going to invite you to join in on the growth I have been experiencing in the past three months.  There is a talk by Tad R. Callister called "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" which has been the catalyst for the progression we have had in this mission.  In it, Elder Callister talks about what it means to consecrate ourselves to the Lord.  While it is directed at missionaries, I think there are many ways that members, who also have a charge to do missionary work, can apply these principles in their lives.  I would encourage you to read the talk and see what you can do to become a more consecrated member.  I know that this principle has brought my companionship and our mission incredible blessings, and that it will bring them to you and to your family as well as you start (and continue) to live the law of consecration in ways that you may not have thought of before.

After you do that, tell me about it!  I want to hear what you are doing to be a more consecrated missionary.  Feel free to write me an email, comment on the facebook link or blog post, write a letter, or even just post it on your own facebook page.  Consecration and missionary work are inseparable in my mind, and both bring incredible blessings that we can't even imagine.  So try it out!  Let me know how it goes.  I am excited to hear all about it. :)

Just in case you were wondering, New York continues to be the best place ever, and the trees are more and more beautiful every day.  Thank you, East Coast autumn, for making my life better.

Love,

Sister Beer