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

Splits and meetings and splits and meetings and splits and meetings and.....

Starting this cycle we have eight sister companionships in Manhattan, which means that we average about two splits a week.  Add onto that the zone conference, leadership council, and other meetings we have and it makes for a busy next few weeks.  We'll see how much time Sister Woo and I have to breathe.

All that being said, it beats having an empty schedule.  Never a dull moment as a Manhattan missionary.

Actually, I really love splits.  It is sometimes difficult to be away from my companion as long as I have to be, but there is so much learning that happens on exchanges and I really enjoy getting to know all the sisters here in the city.  We have some awesome people here, and they all have incredible stories of how they got on a mission, and why they have decided to stay.

That has been something I have been thinking about recently, actually.  So many people talk about why they come on missions.  What interests me at this point is what keeps people serving.  Why do we continue to serve, even when it is difficult?  This isn't restricted to missionary work, it's encompasses any calling or service within the Church, or really any responsibility that we have in life.  What keeps us going?  For me, I think the answer lies in the blessings that I see in my life and the lives of others.  Too many good things happen as a result of doing what the Lord asks.  And to add on to that, every time a good thing happens I realize even more how much the Lord cares and how much more I want to serve Him in return.  It's an awesome cycle.

I would love to hear what you all have to think about the subject.  What keeps you going?

You are an incredible group of people.  Thanks for your love and support as we serve!

Love,

Sister Beer

Aaaaaand:

Finally some pictures!

Sister Woo and me in front of Yankee's Stadium at the ball game.  Super fun, by the way.

 

The subway is sending subliminal messages!  The coolest thing about this picture is that about two weeks later I sat down on the subway, looked up, and saw this EXACT seat.  New York dream number 12 of being on the same subway car twice fulfilled, right there.

I got a haircut!  It's pretty short, now.  I cut off about 7 inches, so I have a lot less hair now.

We went to The Art of the Brick exhibit at the Discovery museum today, and it was super fun.  There were a whole bunch of pieces of artwork that were all made entirely out of Legos!  Sister Woo, Brother Chen and I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

110 in the Shade: in which Sister Beer gets a watch tan

Okay, so maybe it isn't that hot, but I do have a watch tan.  And it's still really hot.  Yesterday was 92 degrees F with really high humidity.  Walking outside was like walking into a really humid oven.  Or a steamer.  You pick.

With all of the craziness last week, I forgot to mention that we have a couple of new missionaries!  Sister Tung hails from Northern Taiwan, and is super awesome.  Sister Lee is training her (my little girl is all grown up!) and they are doing well, from the looks of it.  Sister Tung has graduated from college with a degree in social sciences.  We are super happy to have her here. :)  There is another elder coming today, but I haven't met him yet.  He was in the MTC a week past our transfer day, so Elder Cook (his trainer) got to go up and meet him last night.  We talked to him on the phone yesterday when Elder Cook, who is also our District Leader, called to see how our day went.  I would tell you his name, but then I might embarrass myself by spelling it wrong, so I'd better wait until next week.  Actually, Elder Radford just walked by, so I met him and asked him how to spell his name!  He seems pretty cool, from the 30 seconds I talked to him.

I don't have too much time (when do I ever these days?), but I figured I would leave with some spiritual food for thought.  This week we taught a lesson in Relief Society all about preparing for disasters.  I realized as we taught that spiritual preparedness is just as important as physical preparedness.  It was good to think back at how my parents helped me to prepare spiritually for times of trouble.  One of my favorite scriptures for those times is 3 Nephi 22:10.  I'll let you go look it up and think about it on your own time, rather than boring you with my commentary.

I love you all!

Sister Caitlin Beer

Just a short one this week.

[An excerpt from a letter to Sister Beer's mom.]

As for my devoted readers, let them know I love them as well, and that even though I haven't been able to write as frequently, they can take that as a sign that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.  Going on a mission is the best decision I have ever made.  I am glad I am here and busy!

Sometimes life is super busy...and then you have a barbecue.

Yep.  That's pretty much it.

P-Days are fun as a Chinatown missionary. The zone likes to have fun together, and that is exactly what we do. Today on the docket is a barbecue at the East River Park, with frisbee and kebabs, with perhaps a little grilled pineapple on the side. That is, however, if it doesn't rain us out. There are supposed to be thunderstorms today.  As good missionaries, however, we have a back up plan of stir fry at the Blairs' with some broiled pineapple skewers. That still sounds pretty delicious to me.

My lack of letter last week (that has been happening way too often) is due to us going to the temple. It was a great experience, as always, and gave me the spiritual boost I needed for the rest of the week. Some weeks are harder than others, and this was one of them.

Luckily I have an inspired mission president who shared D&C 123:17 with me in our last conversation, and an inspired mother who provided me with a wonderful Elaine S. Dalton quote at the beginning of my mission. These two things, along with some fervent prayer and study of the rest of D&C 121-123 have been crucial in helping me through difficult times in the past month. Growing is difficult. It has to be, or else we wouldn't learn anything from it.

Big changes are coming to Chinatown, including two of our native sisters leaving to go to Temple Square for a couple of transfers. Who knew they could do that? I didn't, for sure, and it totally threw off everything that I thought would happen this next transfer! I guess we'll find out on Saturday for sure what's up.

Also, a BIG congratulations to Sister Toronto who will be joining us in Chinatown later this year! I heard about the call from Sister MacKay, who knows the Toronto family. It will be fun to see someone I know from school in the mission, and I know Sister Toronto will be an excellent addition to the Chinatown Zone.

I love all of you, and I hope that you are having a wonderful week!  Stay cool for summer - New York is heating up fast!

Love,

Sister Beer