Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

I have been thinking a lot about about the Conference talk where the speaker referred his perpetually happy roommate.  As a result, this song is stuck in my head this morning.  And now it is stuck in yours. :D

This last week was super awesome.  Sister Lee and I set goals and achieved them!  I am such a firm believer now in setting goals and making plans! (For more on that, see my last post.)  Our success has prompted us to work harder and continue to improve.  This week: more member presents!

On Monday we had an awesome district meeting all about our relationship with God.  I had actually been thinking a lot about this recently, so it was well timed!  First, Elder Ling had us describe how we view a friend.  We know them, we love them, we trust them.  They want what is best for us, and we in return want what is best for them.  Friends are honest, understanding, people with whom we have good communication and a good relationship.  Then Elder Ling asked "is God your friend?  How do you think you are doing in all these areas with Him?"  He continued by illustrating that as we come to know more about our Heavenly Father, it becomes much easier and more natural to approach Him.  I love what the Bible Dictionary has to say on the matter: "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. " (Bible Dictionary: Prayer) When we know Him, we want to talk to Him. There is no more worry about whether or not He will listen to our prayers, or whether or not He will answer them. We know He will, because He is our Father, our Friend, and our God.

How we show our trust in Him, in the end, is through obedience to the commandments He gives us. As we keep the commandments and actively build our relationship with Him, we are better able to recognize the blessings He gives us, particularly related to those of the Atonement.

It was a pretty awesome district meeting. I have to get going, since we are off to the temple today. I am so grateful to have a temple in my mission! It's a pretty incredible blessing.

Good luck as the semesters draw to their ends at your respective universities. Try and take a few moments to go out and enjoy the spring weather!

Love, 

Sister Beer

We went to Union Square (at 14th st) two weeks ago and got Pret a Manger to eat!  I haven't had it since going to London, and it was wonderful.  I had a really delicious sandwich with lots of veggies, made fresh, and a big chocolate chip cookie.  Sooooo good!

We went to Central Park last week, and it was awesome!  We ate Chipotle and played Ultimate Frisbee.

I love Central Park

Of Music and Miracles

[Disclaimer: Sister Beer wrote this last Wednesday, so her performance has already happened. Her sister is slow and just barely got this posted.]

So, this week was awesome.

This upcoming Friday is our Mission Christmas Devotional, in which several of my district's elders are performing.  (Remember when I told you that we have a piano and a flute performance major in our district?)  I have been enjoying listening to them practice and work on their respective numbers over the past week and a half.  On Saturday I received a call from President Morgan asking if I would conduct the music for the program.  I was told to go to Scarsdale on Monday for rehearsal.  He ended the call by saying "I hear you have a flair for putting these things together," and then said goodnight.  I didn't think much of it.  Perhaps I should have.

When Sister Liu and I got to the rehearsal on Monday, we sat with the other performers and President went around introducing each of us and the part we would play in the program.  When he got to me, he said that I would be leading the music in addition to organizing the program! 

At that moment I realized that I should probably be taking notes.

Over the course of the next few hours, I listened to music, talked with President about speakers and topics, organized, directed, and went through the easiest blocking and tech rehearsal I have ever attended.  It was awesome!  I was actually using the training I have been receiving for the past three years to put together a program that will (hopefully) enrich the lives of the missionaries in this mission.  I am so excited to have been a part of it all, and am looking forward to Friday!

In keeping with the Christmas Spirit our Zone made cookies yesterday that we will be delivering to apartments in our buildings we live in.  It was fun to get together and have a Christmas experience.  Cookies are a huge part of my family's Christmas traditions, so I was glad to be able to make them on my mission!  (For those who are interested, we made gingersnaps, chocolate M&M cookies, peanut butter blossoms, and fudge.)

In other news, after a drought of new investigators, Sister Liu and I decided that something needed to change.  After a few companion studies and an awesome companionship inventory, we decided that we needed to pray for faith to find new investigators.  We started working on that, and after a few days, we found one!  We were so excited.  The next day, another one popped up, and the next day there was another.  By the end of the week we had three new investigators, more than we have had in weeks, and two of them were member referrals.  It was incredible, and we know that the Lord answered our prayers.

I'll let you all know how the program this week goes.  Since it will be after the 25th next time I write you (6 days!!), Merry Christmas!

Love you!

Sister Beer