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