week #99 Monday, Jan. 26, 2015

Dajiahao!

 

Hey everyone. It's been a great week. I love the work (as usual). But really this week was superb. W was baptized!!!! I was worried a lot this week because this week he had class all week, so we couldn't see him until Saturday. But then we went and visited him, he had already got his dad's signature, was excited for baptism, and was really receptive to the 5th lesson. He had a great baptismal service. A family gave him some church clothes so he can wear them every week to church. Success!

 

Another cool experience this week was with an investigator, he came to the church, met with us, and he brought his girlfriend, they sat down with us. We discussed the gospel of Jesus Christ and then we asked them what they thought about baptism. They were pretty willing, we asked if they would set a date and they did. They set it for the end of February, so I'm pretty excited for them, It'll be cool if they both join the church together. 

 

So this week is the week of virtue. As I reflected upon the 6th chapter of Preach My Gospel. I saw that a key part of virtue is repenting quickly. I thought about a few things I could do this week to exercise my virtue. I decided I want to memorize a hymn in chinese and second in order to be better about repenting. Every time I eat I will think about things I need to repent of. I hope that by doing this I can be more virtuous and be able to be a greater tool of the spirit for the people in this area. 

 

I also had a great opportunity to do missionary work with Elder Gassman, he came down for interviews and went on exchanges with us. It was so great. He is such a great missionary. Glad I got to be his companion, even if it was only for 3 weeks. That's something I have been thinking about recently, is how blessed I am to have the companions I did. I have been blessed to be surrounded with greatness. From my MTC district, to my trainer, to all of my companions, they are all great missionaries. They have inspired me, have led me to be a better person. I will always keep them in my prayers. I set a goal a long time ago... I decided I was going to help each one of my companions make it to the celestial kingdom. Until now, I didn't really understand how much that has influenced my relationship with all of my companions. Having eternal vision helps you realize the small problems don't matter, it doesn't matter to you if your companion is a little messy, he contacts strangely.  If you know you know that your going to be around for a lifetime, you start looking more for the positive things about each companion. You start to see how they help you more than how they annoy you. I know I was put with each one of my companions for a reason. All 13 of them are great missionaries. 

 

I know this work is God's, I know he has put us with speicific people for specific purposes. I have learned from each one of them, I know the church is true. The more I learn of Heavenly Father the more I love him and desire to be better. 

Keep pressing forward and Keep being Awesome!

 

I love you all so much!

Elder Bean

week #98 Monday, Jan. 19, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

 

The week of hope was a good success. I am well pleased. This week I think I'm starting to understand the role of commitments and following up a lot more. I've been focusing a lot more on inviting my investigators to do things that will help them develop their faith. I've been setting up times to follow up with them. I've been trying to help these people see the changes they are going through. It is something I've struggled with throughout my mission. Following up really is necessary.  I loved Elder Ballards talk back in April of last year when he talked about "Following Up". 

 

Our investigator  will be baptized this saturday! I'm so excited. The ward has been on top of it. They are super excited for him. We've also finely been meeting some less actives who are willing to meet. WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS!!!! I am loving the work it is going great. 

 

So ya. I'm sorry I'm running into walls while writing this letter. I know that the church is true. I know that this is the Lords work. The church has been restored. Jesus Christ lives, and families can be together forever. Life is to beautiful. I love seeing investigator's realize how great this gospel is. I love being able to work alongside some amazing members on a daily basis. I love my Savior. He has done so much for me. I love being a missionary. I pray for everyone of you. Keep up the great work. Keep praying, keep loving. keep being awesome.

Love you all,

Elder Bean

week #97 Monday, Jan. 12, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Well what a great week we had. I am loving the work. It is great. We have been working hard and we are seeing successes. We met with a great family this week who was all willing to meet with us again. The father is a baker and gave us plenty of treats to bring home. I'm super excited to work with them. The father has asked that we give him american recipes so if you think of any to send... He'd love it. 

 

This week I have finished yet another goal... I have read the entire standard works on my mission. That's right, I read the new testament the first half of my mission. I spent a good 8 months on the old testament (and pearl of great price). and In the last 5ish weeks I have now finished the Doctrine and Covenants. The church is true. I love the scriptures. They are all amazing. Read them! Please read the scriptures if there is anything someone should get from my letters, let them know that the scriptures really are some of the greatest things in our possession. I love it all. From the Book of Mormon being one of the most life changing books in the world. The most true and un-altered scripture we have. It is the pure word from God. I will ever be greatful for it. Then the New Testament. So much is in that book of scripture. I love reading about the Savior, how he responds to his disiples, how he shows so much love, so amazing. Then the Old Testament. Has some of the craziest most epic stories that are ever written. There is no way they aren't true. The prophets of old are such a proof that we need prophets in our day. Then the Doctrine and Covenants are such an inspiration. They are straight from the prophet's revelation. He spoke with God. Joseph Smith is a revelator, prophet and seer. He is God's chosen servant and the church has been restored on the earth. I know that all those books are from God. I know because I have read them for myself. I have felt the words radiate with truth as I study them. I know God does reveal his word to us in these days. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Love you all!

Elder Bean

week # 96 Monday, Jan. 5, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Well it has been a great week. I felt like it was just filled w/ goodness. We have some great investigators. Please pray for them. Updates on them Warren is awesome. He's 11 he is loving church, comes every week, he prays, he reads, he doesn't have a problem w/ word of Wisdom. He's looking solid for his date on January 24th. L,  we got a hold of his son, L doesn't speak Chinese.  His son said that his dad had a great time at church, wants baptism and is so excited about he offered to take him to church this week on his own. But here's the crazy part. I know him. He played basketball once with Elder Gummow and I. I was pretty shocked at how small the world is. Then V is an english student who has been meeting with us outside of English class to discuss our church, the BoM, and God. He's starting to see changes of his understanding of God. He is great.

 I've started outlining the next 10 weeks. I'm pumped. I have a bunch of different things that I believe will stretch me. My companion is excited because he loves to push himself. So this will be very easy. So here is a great miracle story for the week. We were out in our secondary area. We were going to visit 3 less actives and an active member. But on the way to the active member, a 17 year old stopped us and asked if we knew where we were going. We didn't quite know. We showed him the address and he said he knew a short cut. I still don't know if it was a short cut but it was very nice, and so we followed him. Then he said just to keep heading straight and we'd find it ourselves. Well we got lost....we asked a betel nut shop where to go they pointed us in a direction. And then there was a giant tractor tearing up the road and we were told we couldn't go forward. But we saw someone nearby so we started talking to him. As we continued to talk he was impressed that 2 twenty year olds were trying to help others believe in God. He felt no one that young could really believe in God. So we told him we'd share how we know. He said, well come to my house and you can sit while you share. We went over immeadiately sat down, and shared some scriptures, told him about praying to know if they are true, if God exists, if there is life after death. He was ecstatic to try it out. We set up a time to go visit him again next week. So overall it was pretty amazing. 

I'm loving the work, loving the 10 week plan. This week I'll be working on Faith, praying and trying to do as much as I can in every day. I know this is God's work, I know he has a plan. This church isn't just true, it is amazing, and will lead ALL people to happiness and peace in this life and the eternities. 

 

I love you all

Elder Bean