I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can...

If there was a book that described my life right now, it's probably The Little Engine that Could.  This week has been crazy, and it's only through moments of "Okay, I think I can get through this next day, hour, minute" that it has been possible to get as much done as we have.

It has been awesome.

Last Friday we had a Mission Leadership Council where President Morgan talked about ministering to the people we work with.  Our mission has a goal right now of being consecrated to the Lord, and connected to that goal is another one, for every missionary companionship in the New York, New York North mission to bring someone into the Church through baptism in the month of September.  We set this goal back in August, and September has now arrived.  As a result, President has challenged us as leaders to take a more invested approach to working with all of our people.  (In Sister Khong and my case, that is all of the sisters on the island of Manhattan.)  For this week that meant meeting with each of them face to face and talking about the areas they are working in, along with seeing what we need to do to help them and their investigators progress.

As we have met with each companionship of sisters (nine in total) we have seen miracles that have been happening in each of their areas.  People are popping out of nowhere who want to be taught and learn about Christ.  And not just any people, really, really prepared people, who are ready to make a covenant with God by being baptized.  I am amazed at how much Heavenly Father is blessing us for being consecrated and focused on this work!

Sister Khong and I do have someone we are helping prepare for baptism.  She is a lovely old Hakkanese woman who doesn't really speak any Mandarin and communicates with Sister Khong in Cantonese.  It's been fun teaching her.  I have actually learned a little more Cantonese, which is great for freaking people out when contacting. :)  That language is ridiculous.  This woman's name is Sister Liu, and she was raised on a farm in China so she can't read.  That makes reading the Book of Mormon rather difficult, and since there is no Cantonese recording of the book we got permission to record it with some members of our ward.  It's been a crazy project, and we have about half of it done now, which is awesome.  We taught Sister Liu to use a CD player this week, too, so now she can listen to it on her own.

Through all of this, the scripture Jacob 4:6-7 has been on my mind again and again.  It talks about the faith that is given to us by learning about the Lord through the scriptures, but then reminds us that it is only through the grace of Christ that we are able to see and experience these miracles.  The weakness that we experience by being people is normal and actually necessary to our eternal growth, because it helps us remember who it is we rely on for salvation.  It is one of my favorite doctrines, now.

I invite anyone who reads this letter to remember our mission in your prayers.  Your added faith will bring blessings to the people living in New York in ways you cannot even imagine!

With love,

Sister Beer

Chinatown Moves On

After the big changes last week, we are getting along pretty well, I think.  I love the sisters in our apartment.  Sister Chan and Sister Woo are fantastic, and Sister Khong is a wonderful teacher.  I'm glad she is my new companion!

We are all especially excited about Sister Chan's arrival because she is the first 19-year-old sister in the Chinatown district ever!  She is the start of big changes in our mission, and I am excited to see what she will do.  I had the opportunity to teach a lesson with her on Sunday (we were on a split) and I see good things in the future for her.  Her trainer, Sister Woo, is also super awesome.  She is a focused, dedicated missionary who knows what's up.  Also, she reminds me of Tinkerbell with her short hair.  I love it.

Other than getting used to the changes in our district, this week has been pretty low key.  We celebrated some birthdays (including mine, a little early) this week, which was fun.  The district pooled together and bought me a Pinyin (Romanized Chinese) copy of the Psalms and Proverbs.  I love these two books of scripture, and I am excited to learn more Chinese from them!

This morning in personal study I read about the Stripling Warriors, a group of extremely faithful young men who put their trust fully in God to deliver them from their trials.  They were willing to put their lives on the line for many because they knew that the Lord would help them.  Something that strikes me, however, is the use of the word "deliver" in these passages.  Whenever Helaman talks about their faith or about the battles they fought, he said that they believed the Lord would deliver them.  Not keep them safe, not keep them alive, even, but that He would deliver them. They knew that no matter what happened, as long as they kept the commandments and the covenants they had made, the Lord would grant them eternal blessings, because that is what their mothers had taught them.  All throughout Alma 56-58 we see Helaman use the word “deliver.”  As I read these chapters this time, it took on a different meaning, having less to do with temporal things and more to do with spiritual things.  I know that there were a lot of temporal blessings associated with this story as well, since the Stripling Warriors were kept alive through all of the battles they fought, and were able to maintain the lands they gained, but understanding the spiritual aspect as well has helped me to apply this story better to my own life. As I personally have faith in the Lord, I know that as long as I keep my covenants and keep the Lord's commandments, I will also be delivered.  I, and all of you, will be able to receive the blessings the Lord wants to give us.  I am grateful for that.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week.  Good luck to all of you in the cold - I know it's pretty intense in some places right now.  Make sure not to freeze!

Love,

Sister Beer

Once upon a time, our investigator quit his job...

Yeah, you read that right.  One of our investigators told us yesterday that his boss told him he couldn't have Sundays off anymore to come to church, and he quit!  I was so surprised and happy for him - that is such incredible faith!  We are praying for him now that he will find a good job that will give him Sundays off so he can attend church.  By the way, he's getting baptized in two weeks.  He's awesome.

Speaking of baptisms... remember back in October when I wrote you all about the mother and daughter who came in right before General Conference looking for a new church?  Well, they both got baptized in the last month and we couldn't be happier for them!  They are such a wonderful addition to our ward, and I love them both so much.  I think what has made their conversion possible is the welcome they had into the ward from the other members and from the bishopric.  It has been awesome to see them make friends and become a part of the Church here.

In other news, three of our elders had birthdays this week. (There are twelve people in our district and two thirds of them have birthdays in January and February.  It's ridiculous.)  To celebrate, we had a little party for which I made dessert using the new cookbook that the other sister companionship bought last week: The Complete Magnolia Cookbook.  This cookbook is based on recipes from a famous bakery in NYC, Magnolia Bakery, and oh boy... they are good.  For the party I made pumpkin bars with cream cheese icing since all the birthday Elders love pumpkin.  They turned out so good!  And I thought I wouldn't have cooking adventures on my mission... ha!

This week has been a week of referrals from the mission office.  There are apparently some Mandarin speakers in Uptown Manhattan who want to know about the gospel, and we are happy to oblige.  The other night while we were trying to contact them, one of them gave us the number of another friend who was interested.  Shortly thereafter, that friend gave us ANOTHER number.  So that's right, we got a referral, from a referral, from a referral.  It was crazy.

I have been thinking a lot about the power of the Book of Mormon recently.  In the mission field we are told over and over that the Book of Mormon, along with the influence of the Spirit, is our most powerful conversion tool.  I firmly believe that through reading the Book of Mormon, we grow closer to God. If any of you are not currently reading the Book of Mormon, start now!  It is never too late.  If you have read it before, read it again!  President Gordon B. Hinckley told us that no matter how many times we have read the book, as we read we will find new wisdom and guidance.  I know that is true.

I love you all!

Sister Beer

P.S. I just want to give a quick shout-out to Sister Murray who I hear has been reading the blog.  Hello!  Your son is pretty awesome, and we are lucky to have him here in Chinatown! :)

P.P.S. [A note from Caitlin's dad] 

Here's a write-up from Meridian Magazine on Caitlin's Christmas dinner!  I saw it because they had the photo of her companion, Sister Liu (the last picture in the article), highlighted in the day's summary, and I recognized her.  
 
Caitlin confirmed this was "her" dinner, and said it would OK to put this link in her blog.
 
http://www.ldsmag.com/article/1/12046