Agency and Choosing the Right

Adapted from the talk I gave today in Sacrament meeting:

One of the clearest, simplest explanations of the Plan of Salvation is in the pamphlets distributed by missionaries to investigators of the Church.  The doctrine is taught so directly that it is just about impossible to misunderstand what the Church teaches. This is especially true when we read about the doctrine of agency.  This booklet teaches that agency is the power each of us has to make choices.  Furthermore we read: “An important part of God’s plan was for you to come to earth to receive a physical body and to learn to make correct choices. You would not remember living in Heavenly Father’s presence, but He would give you the ability to know right from wrong. You would be able to recognize His love and truth. Through your experiences and trials, you could learn to make right choices consistently. With the help of Jesus Christ, you would be able to return to live with Heavenly Father when your life on earth was over.” (Plan of Salvation Pamphlet pg.3)

There is a sentence in that paragraph that sticks out to me every time I read it: “Through your experiences and trials, you could learn to make right choices consistently.”  One of our main purposes in this life was to learn not just how to make choices, but how to make the right choices.

So here is the question: how do we make sure we are making the right choice?  Because just like actions bring reactions, choices bring consequences, and we are looking for eternally happy consequences.   How do we properly exercise our free agency, and bring ourselves closer to Heavenly Father?

An incredible example of inspired decision-making is Nephi.  It is no mistake that the Book of Mormon starts with Nephi’s compelling and powerful testimony.  From the very beginning we know that all of Nephi’s decisions, or at least the ones he felt were important enough to engrave on metal, were influenced by what he had been taught about God by his father and spiritual leader, the prophet Lehi.  In 1 Nephi 3:7 he tells his father “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”  The first rule in choosing happy eternal consequences is to keep the commandments.  Nephi knew that.  Even when his brothers were conspiring to kill him because of his righteousness in the face of their wickedness, he knew that.  In the end, he was blessed for his faithfulness.  His family reached the Promised Land and flourished.

Nephi teaches us another important principle concerning correct use of agency when he decides to learn the truth about what his father taught him.  In 1 Nephi 11 we read about his encounter with the Spirit of the Lord.  In verse one, he says: “after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord [...].”  Now, Nephi obviously makes many decisions in this process, but I want to point out a couple of the really important ones.  First, he seeks out truth.  He decides that he wants to know what is true, what is not, and what he should do as a result.  Then what he does is remarkable: Nephi’s first action as a result of this decision is to ponder and study the words of the prophets.  He thinks on the words of his father as he prays to the Lord for an answer.  The result of Nephi’s thoughtful study and prayer is one of the most remarkable and beautiful visions recorded in scripture.  Rule two of choosing happy eternal consequences is to study and pray, allowing the Spirit to help you learn and make choices.

Another remarkable thing we learn from this encounter is just how much Nephi trusts the Lord to steer him in the right direction.  The Spirit inquires as to Nephi’s desire and to his belief – when Nephi explains that he believes and wants to better understand the words of his father, he does not tell the Spirit how he wants to learn about these things.  Instead, he trusts that the Lord will help him understand.  There are even some parts of the vision where Nephi seems a bit confused as to what he is seeing.  He is asked questions he doesn’t understand, and he is okay with replying that he does not know the answers to everything.   This leads to rule three of choosing happy eternal consequences: trust that the Lord knows what He is doing, even if you don’t right away.

These three rules, keep the commandments, study and pray, and trust the Lord, will help us as we exercise our agency and make the most important decisions of our lives. 

This is not to say that every decision we make will be easy.  Sometimes the Lord lets us make choices without clear guidance.  This is normal! Just because you don’t feel like you are receiving clear revelation on what to do, don’t worry!  This is okay!  In many cases, this is a sign that the Lord trusts you to make the right choice, or that there is more than one right decision to be made, and really you just have to pick something to get the ball rolling.  As long as your decision will lead you closer to Him, it is hard to go wrong.

My last thought I want to share with you is what happens when our decisions lead us away from Heavenly Father.  It happens.  It is a part of life that we sin and make mistakes.  The Lord knew that from the beginning – it is why from the foundation of the world He provided a Savior for us to atone for our sins, giving us a way to return to Him.  We shouted for joy when we found out we had the chance to come to Earth and have a body of our very own – I can’t help but think a part of that joy was related to the fact that we would also have a chance to return to Heavenly Father and live in a perfect version of that body forever.  If you have done something that will prevent you from having that happy consequence, remember that you still have a choice, even now.  Use your incredible gift of free agency and choose to repent.  Alma teaches us that there is nothing quite so wonderful as repentance.  In Alma 36:21 he says: “Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.”  What a difference a choice can make.

Agency is an incredible gift.  Use it for good.

Reflections of a Returned Chinatown Missionary

I wrote this yesterday, but lacked the internet signal to post. :)

--

Dear Readers, 

Sitting in the Chinatown chapel with an afternoon ahead of me, it seems only appropriate for me to write a blog entry.

It’s been four months and seven days since I returned home from my mission in the New York New York North mission.  My mission was a time of immense growth and spiritual development, and the last four months have been a crash course in real-life application of what I learned there.  Going back to real life, even real life at a school run by my church, has been somewhat surreal.  There have been nights I have cried myself to sleep right alongside the days I have been so grateful to be home I could explode.  I have thrown myself back into my creative love, theatre, and been a part of incredible productions, using much of what I learned as a missionary to fuel my actions and my art.

I have become the return missionary I swore I would never be, one that jumps at an opportunity to swap mission stories, or to just tell them to (mostly) willing audiences.  I realize now why return missionaries tell the stories.  It isn’t to draw attention or to brag about what we have done, it is so we will never forget the lessons we learned and the Spirit we felt while serving.

As a return missionary, it is harder to find specific times to study my scriptures and have good conversations with my Heavenly Father.  There isn’t a little white handbook telling me what I have to do every day, defining success so I cannot misunderstand.  What there is, though, is satisfaction at doing what I know God wants me to, joy in temple attendance, and a whole slew of wonderful experiences that are helping grow my testimony even more.

Coming home from my mission was hard.  I wasn’t sure how I could be as happy as I was when serving.  Looking at my life now, though, I am happy.  I still see miracles every day.  I am inspired by the incredible people who surround me, and I am so grateful for their influence. 

So thank you, people that I love.  You make my life a better place.  Thanks for supporting me both on and off the mission, and helping me to be the person I want to be.

Much love,

Caitlin

Hello, World. It's been a while.

A month ago, I walked the streets of New York City, teaching people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and His love for His children.

And just like that, I am back in Utah going to school.

Transitions are weird.  Sometimes they are incredibly natural, and easy to understand, like seasons changing.  Sometimes, they are not natural, like being abducted by aliens.  My transition has been somewhere between the two.  On the one hand school is great, and I still love theatre (in case anyone was wondering), but on the other hand, the change is pretty huge.  Civilian life is not like missionary life.  It just isn't.

And that's okay.

As much as I love New York and Chinatown, I know that this is the place that I have to be right now.  That's always been how it is - we do as much as we can in one place, and, when He knows we are ready, He takes us to the next one.  My mission was awesome.  Exactly what I needed.  And now I'm ready for the next one.

So, hello BYU, hello theatre, and hello social life.  Hello, World.  It's good to see you again.

Each Life That Touches Ours For Good

This is my last mission entry.

I apologize for my lack of blog posts recently.  As some of you (or all of you, depending on what my mother has shared from her letters) might know, we have had a mission Christmas devotional that I have been preparing for, and this last week we performed.

It was incredible.

I don't think I have ever participated in a more spiritual devotional where people testified so clearly through the music they performed. Every song seemed to build upon the last, until we reached Elder Murray's incredible arrangement of Joy to the World which was performed by all the participants in the program. (That includes three violins, two flutes, a viola, a cello, an organ, and four-part choir, by the way. It was a LOT of fun to conduct.) Four measures in, I could feel the Spirit so strong, pushing us forward in the performance. The song built and the choir hit every entrance just right - it was incredible.  At the end of the song, the choir sang out their final "joy!" followed a measure later by the instruments to fill out an incredible chord, and then there was silence.  During the closing prayer, I could hear sniffles throughout the entire congregation.  I was probably the worst offender, though, sobbing on the stand.  I don't think I was too loud.   No one said anything, at least.

The entire performance was so moving, so inspired, and so exactly what our mission (and I) needed.  I was caught between grinning and crying for the rest of the day as I said my goodbyes and reflected on what had happened.  Elder Hurst did wonderfully singing "O Holy Night" (and singing two A4s to boot), "In the Bleak Midwinter" bore incredible testimony of giving ourselves, consecrating ourselves, to the Savior, and every piece in general just brought the Spirit so strongly.  Especially Joy to the World.  I was so happy.

The next night we took all the small groups to the Olmstead chapel in the Bronx to perform at their Christmas open house.  It was a humble evening.  There were about as many missionaries there as members (they have a lot of missionaries there, like Chinatown), and the numbers performed by the ward were not necessarily in tune, but they were honest.  The people were bearing their testimonies through song, which was incredible.  I was especially touched by a man who was not even a member of our church, but wanted to participate in some way.  He asked if he could play his trumpet and sing for us.  I don't remember the song, or even the tune, but I do remember the Spirit that entered the room as that man bore his testimony of Christ to us.  The entire night was so sweet, so wonderful, all because the only thing any of the performers or listeners were there for was to bear testimony of the Savior.  I hope I will see many more Christmas programs like that in the future.

Along with the Christmas program, we have been fitting in as much missionary work as we can.  I love being a missionary so much, and I have learned so much in the past year and a half.  I am incredibly grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me this chance to serve in Chinatown, NYC.  This place, these people, and this work are where I have had many of my most cherished memories and experiences.

At the end of one's service in our mission, the elders and sisters commemorate the returning missionaries' service by singing "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good."  I have grown to love this song, and I think one verse in particular applies to the friends I have made here in New York:

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christlike friends, 
Whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

To the many people I have met, and to all who have supported me over my last year and a half, I love you.  I love my mission.  I love the closeness I feel with the Lord.  I am grateful for the chance I have had to grow closer to my Savior and to know of His love for each of his children.  I know He lives, and that His work and His glory really is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39).  Thank you, all of you, for helping me to have this experience through your actions and prayers.

With love,
Sister Beer

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

To be brief...

Chinatown is still here, we are still doing missionary work, and the pork buns are still delicious.

Do I need to say more?

Okay, maybe I'll say a little.

We have been contacting SO MUCH recently, and it has been awesome.  I think we have been on the streets more in the past couple weeks than I was my entire last cycle.  Hallelujah!  We are finding people who are interested in learning about the gospel, which is great, and we have seen some pretty awesome miracles as a result of our diligence.

Including yesterday, when I went up to the dentist with another sister who needed some work done and had a half hour long conversation in Spanish with a wonderful Peruvian man.  He was patient with me, and I was surprised by how well we communicated.  He even took a mormon.org card at the end of our conversation.  Next step: meet missionaries that actually speak Spanish.

We have had our fair share of awkward missionary moments as well, including an acupuncturist that I contacted massaging my ear in the middle of the sidewalk because I was "too cold" by her definition.  Yep. That happened.

Despite the crazy moments, the Lord loves His children.  That's about what I've learned in the past few weeks.  And He always will.

Love you!

Sister Beer

In Which the Chinese Missionaries FINALLY Arrive.

They are here. :)

Yesterday Sister Lee and I went up to the mission home to welcome the
arrival of Sister Chan, Sister Chen, Sister Astle, Sister Palmer, Elder
Atkinson, and the ASL Elder Anson.  It was awesome.  I was so happy to see
the 陈s again, and the new missionaries are fantastic.  It was special for
us to see them come out of the terminal and welcome them to the mission.  I
love Sister Astle already, and I am super excited for her, Sister Chan, and
I to start doing missionary work together.

I can't let this week go by without saying something about General
Conference.

It was amazing.

Also, I loved how in Russell M Ballard's talk he challenged the whole
Church to invite at least one person to come unto Christ before Christmas.
What an awesome invitation!  We get to help someone that we care about, be
it a friend, a family member, or anyone else we know, feel a little bit
about how we feel about our Father in Heaven and His plan for us.  I'm in,
how about all of you?

Today is a short letter (lots to do!) but remember how much I love all of
you.  We are so loved by Heavenly Father.  He wants the best for us, and
for you.  Don't forget that.

Love you!

Sister Beer

We use these little bags from a store called Muji to store
contacting materials, and I bought new one last week because the one I got
when I arrived in Chinatown was starting to break.  Also, it may have been
a bit dirty.  Oops.

New Sisters!  From left: Sister Chan, Sister Lee, Sister
Palmer, Sister Astle, Sister Beer

And you thought LAST week was good....

Man, life here just keeps getting better and better.

The evening after I last wrote you all, I received a call from President Morgan.  I have been released as a Sister Training Leader and called to be a trainer in Chinatown.  I am going to train again!  Her name is Sister Astel, and I am SUPER excited for her to come.  What's more is that Sister Chan is coming back from Temple Square and will be the third in our happy tri-panionship.

"Why isn't she here today?" you might ask, "isn't today transfers?"  

Yes, it is transfers today, but the MTC didn't want to let Sister Astel and her companion out of the MTC a week early, so they are keeping them and instead Sister Lee (who is also training) get to be companions for a week while we wait for them.  AND we get to go to the mission home to pick them up.  My life is awesome.

We did say goodbye to Sister Woo today, which was hard.  I love Sister Woo and am incredibly grateful for the example she set for me through her service.  I learned lots from her while we were companions.  With her leaving I am now the senior sister in Chinatown, which is a rather strange feeling.  When did I get old in the mission?

The other incredible thing to happen this week was the baptism of seven incredible people into our ward.  I was reminded of Doctrine and Covenants18:10,15-16 as I saw them enter the waters of baptism and make a covenant with God.  I have never been so happy for anyone before!  I know the change that many of them have gone through to follow Christ, and I admire them for it.  Being a member of the Church is not easy for many of the people we teach, but the people that are willing to make the sacrifice receive incredible blessings as a result.

To avoid the risk of going to long and becoming uninteresting, I will leave off here.  Missionary work is the best.  I am excited for the future with my new trainee, and for the avenues that the Lord is opening for us to progress with His work.  I love you all, and will write again next week!

Love,

Sister Beer

BYU Theaterites.  We're pretty awesome.

One day Sister Woo and I bought matching shoes.  Also, this looks like it belongs in a wedding album.

...And then sometimes you have the BEST WEEK EVER.

So... it was a pretty fantastic week.

Thursday I went on a split into my old area with Sister Toronto, and it was awesome. She is great.  And a fantastic missionary.  Are we surprised?  No.  Not in the least. 

Also, we ate mooncakes together, because it was Mid-autumn festival.  We found some pineapple ones that were far superior to lotus paste.

And then there was Stake Conference, which was just great.  (Here's the view from our Relief Society president's rooftop.)

Something I learned this week about New Yorkers: they all love to talk about the city they live in, and to talk about it really, really fast.  Faster than any translator would ever want them to.  I know, because I was sitting right next to her as she did it.  (Sister Khong did an admirable job, by the way.  But we are still requesting the speakers give their talks to us beforehand next time.)

Perhaps the best part of the past week, however, is the Mission Conference we had on Monday with Elder Bruce A. Carlson of the First Quorum of the Seventy.  What an incredible day!  He talked with us about the difference between being justified (having stopped sinning and repented), and being consecrated (actively working to do exactly what the Lord wants us to, or Alma 53:20-21).  Other topics for the day included what it means to be successful (even though many of His converts fell away, I think we can all agree the Savior was successful, right? He opened His mouth and followed the Father to do what was required of Him), how to "be of good cheer" in the midst of a storm, and what it means to be a leader.

All in all, it was a great day.  And a fantastic week.

Being a missionary is the best.

Love,

Sister Beer

BONUS:

So our P-day activity today was making pretzels for our Sundae Sunday night this week. This is living proof that cooking adventures can indeed happen on a mission.

Next step: dipping potato chips in chocolate. :)

Love you!

Sister Caitlin Beer

Missionaries... on Facebook?!?

Yeah, you read that right.  I am officially approved as an online proselyting missionary.  That means I can use Facebook, email, Skype, and other technology as proselyting tools.  That means that you all will soon see me posting almost daily to my Facebook account about gospel subjects and other fun, missionary things.  This is an incredible step forward in missionary work, and we are one of the first missions that has been approved for online work.  There are some rules, and I figured I should let you all know some of them.

1.  Facebook and other internet based sites (like Skype) are to be used as proselyting tools, not as social mechanisms.  I still won't be able to respond to messages, posts, and such until I am no longer a set apart missionary.  But I still love you, I promise.

2.  My Facebook account must be missionary appropriate, which means removing or hiding any non-missionary appropriate pictures, posts, etc., so if something that you put on my timeline disappears, it's not because I don't love you, it's because I'm trying to help spread the gospel.  I promise.

3.  You can still communicate with me through email or through regular old snail mail.  It is still true that missionaries love to get mail.  Time and new technology have not changed that fact.

That's pretty much it.  We live in exciting times, my friends.  Missionaries on Facebook... who ever thought that would happen?

There are other big changes coming to happy Chinatown family, including the introduction of what is called the Model District, a program that lowers area boundaries and allows missionaries to work as a unit, not solely as separate companionships.  We are the third district in the mission to start this new program, and I think it makes a lot of sense in a place like Chinatown where there are so many missionaries in one ward.  This allows us to pool our resources teaching investigators and members, as well as helps us to improve our unity as a missionary force with ourselves and with ward leadership.  A huge focus of the Model District is doing exactly what the ward, specifically the Bishop, asks us to. And that is exactly what we are doing.  Big changes are coming to Chinatown, I can feel it.

Amidst all of this, Sister Khong and I continue to go on splits, teach lessons, and find people wherever we can.  It is times like these that I think about what an awesome opportunity it is to serve a mission, especially where I am and when I am.  Recently I have reflected on my life and noticed very clearly instances where the Lord has provided experiences that would help to prepare me for what I am doing now.  Sister Hinckley once said that "Everything you are doing now is preparing you for something else."  That is incredibly true.  I have seen it in my life, and I continue to see it as the Lord gives me new challenges and blessings here in the mission field.  It almost makes me wonder what he is preparing me for next!  But we'll let that adventure come when it will.  For now, missionary work.

I love you all!  Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Beer

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

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.