I Really Believe This Gospel has Shaped My Life and Made Me the Person I am Today

This week was good! Had its ups and downs but I loved it!! So things are going great in Idaho. It is super pretty at night as the sun is setting! I will send pictures :) It is starting to get cold! Had to break out the jacket! We had a new missionary Training Meeting and it helped a ton! They said things they wish they would of known at the beginning of the mission and it helped a lot!! Elder Cook and I are really starting to get a long better and the work is improving! I had this prompting to contact this guy who was in his garage and we started talking with him about the gospel and he said we can come back in the next week!! My first investigator hah. Oh and we are gonna have 2 baptisms (and maybe more) on Oct. 11th! This 18 year old, Harry, has agreed to be baptized and he really loves the gospel despite his family's disapproval. The mom is coming around though! We are going bowling with them today at 3 so that should be fun! Jesse Carter has agreed for a bap. date! She has known it is true and has wanted it for a while and she finally committed! She is the 15 year old daughter of the Carter's. Everything is going well here with a few minor rough patches :) But I love it here. So there is this new movie coming out in theaters: Meet the Mormons. I don't think it is showing in Texas but it is here in Idaho and Utah! It is really interesting and our Mission President got us a screening copy from the church and we watched it!! It was so awesome and inspiring. It just shows different Mormons and their lifestyles and how they are normal people that live their cultures still. Showed the football coach for the Navy, a bishop, a fighter, and a couple others! Also showed "A missionary mom", that one was my favorite!! Made me all teary eyed but it was amazing :) This weekend is General Conference and I am so excited!! We are having a general authority, Elder Golden I think, come speak to us on Friday! So this weekend will be great!! This family invited us to spend the whole day with them basically :) I really love this area. Oh and I have gained such a deeper love for this gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I think what if we didn't have this? Where would I be right now? How would my family be? I really believe this gospel has shaped my life and made me the person I am today. I know our family is so much closer and there is so much love in our home because of the gospel. It truly is amazing. I love and miss Texas and everyone!! Keep writing to me and send me letters! :) 

Love- Elder Bean II


Meet the Mormons the movie trailer

One Month!! Two Baptisms!!

Saturday was my month mark!! It was way cool. So last week flew by! I loved it. We had Zone Conference on Thursday! Took up most of the day but it was good. Really learned a lot and it helped so much! Friday we had exchanges with the zone leaders! But first we had to go to the mission home with like 14 Elders to help out with a flooding problem. They had cut trenches in the concrete and jackhammered so we had to remove the rock and dirt. Coming out on my mission I thought I was leaving the Ashton work life behind but boy was I wrong! Only this time I wasn't getting paid haha. Oh well it was fun to bond with the other Elders. Met this Elder Taione and he is a way cool Polynesian!! He is playing football at UCLA when he gets back! We were talking a lot about convincing Pres. Curtis into letting us play a football game North Zone vs. South Zone. He told me that during the transfer meeting he thought that him and I were gonna be companions haha. I know I am with Elder Cook for a reason though! Even if we struggle to get along sometimes. Which was why I liked exchanges on Friday so much because on Thursday we had a rough day. But it was great to go out with one of the zone leaders, Elder Nelson, (I was in a truck instead of walking everywhere!! so awesome ha) and just to be able to talk. Really helped a lot to just talk about things with him. Then Saturday things were good with Elder Cook and I! We had two baptisms!! Scott and Lori! Hahah I got blindsided and Bro Mallory, the ward mission leader, called me out to bear my testimony. Really felt like an actual missionary haha. But it was good and the Spirit really was felt in the room. Then I got to stand in on the confirmations on Sunday! Really powerful stuff. Gave this sick woman a blessing yesterday too! It is so great to exercise the authority we are given! Crazy to think I have been out a month! Saturday was a day to remember! First two baptisms and my month mark :) I love it out here and I miss Texas so much!

Love and miss y'all :)

-LOVE, Elder Bean II

It's a Blessing Being in This Area With Elder Cook as My Trainer!

Soo this week went great!! So my first week was an adjustment week, I felt overwhelmed and my mind was going crazy cause of the drastic change and all. But this week was way better! I am so much more comfortable in the area and with all the people! Soo we were at a service project on Tuesday and there was country music playing :)) made me think of home! Soo just a run down on some people here. Mardall is an older lady that has gone through more than anyone should ever go through but we visit her a lot and she says to call her Momma Mardall :) She is kind-hearted but has an interesting personality.. haha. Her faith is growing and it is so great! We were reading in Alma 34 with her and I testified and the Spirit was so strong she started tearing up. It is moments like these that I love being out here. Then there is Scott who is getting baptized on Saturday! and Lori is getting baptized on this Saturday too or the next! They are great and they love the organization of the gospel and their faith is growing!! So our ward momma here is Sister Truscott :) She takes care of us and she is in her 60s. She feeds us anytime someone cancels their dinner appt. or if we are hungry or anything! She gave us a box of 8 hamburgers for the week since she will be out of town. The Wixoms are like our grandma and grandpa. They give us so many rides places! They took us to eat Saturday and then we went to stake conference that night and Sunday morning with them! They are an older couple and are so funny :) She has the cutest personality and he is funny and cool to be with! The people in this ward are so great I can't say that enough!! It is definitely a blessing being in this area with Elder Cook as my trainer! He is great and we are getting closer! The guy has been through a lot and he has so much faith it's amazing. We still see the Carter's a lot! They are like our family here and they aren't in the best situation but they still offer to do anything they can to help us. They are less active and we are teaching their daughter Jesse. They have great hearts though and they are funny to be with! So as I mentioned before we had stake conference this weekend! It was great. President Harris is pretty close with us and we talk a lot (we are his favorite missionaries haha). He gives great talks on hastening the work and stuff! He uses object lessons so it was interesting and pretty interactive! We have a good week ahead of us! Zone Conference on Thursday with President Curtis, and then exchanges on Friday with the Zone Leaders! and then Baptisms on Saturday! I am having a good time out here. Really loving the work and staying focused really helps it go by fast. I am already in the 3rd week of this transfer!!! SO CRAZY! I miss everyone!!

Love, Elder Bean II :)

Here are some pictures from the MTC that Noah sent today, along with some pictures in Idaho.

MTC district

Look who I saw in Provo, Will Leishman from my Stake back in Texas,
He's going to NY, NY Mandarin speaking.

Modern art piece.... Noah said they're not all his

The apartment

With my companion, Elder Cook

First Week in Twin Falls!!

Sooo I finally made it!! Twin Falls is a beautiful area. The town has a small town Willis feel to it so that's nice! Except they have like no food here.. butttt I am in the Twin Falls 24th Ward and everyone says its the best ward in the mission and after only being here a week I can tell it is true!! They absolutely love missionaries. They feed us so well and always help out! The ward missionary leader is such a cool guy! He is willing to help us in any way possible. We don't have a car cause our area is small enough to walk places, but we almost always have a ride from member's, investigators, or other missionaries! The stake president here is suppperrr big on member-missionary work. He asked everyone to fast on Sunday for missionary opportunities! Oh and baptisms aren't that high in the Twin Falls mission, on average of 1 a month, but in this area it is super busy! Partially due to the missionaries before they really stirred up the work. We had 3 baptisms last month and my companion and I just scheduled 2 for this month!! My companion is Elder Cook. He is District Leader in this area and also my trainer. I have to be patient with him cause I am a fast paced Texan and he likes to take his time. I have grown to love being here with him though! The people here absolutely love him! They all talk so highly of him and he is a great missionary and the spirit definitely speaks through him. He has a lot on his plate, just became DL and trainer all in one week so I do all that I can to help him! (the joke around here is that the DL's companion is like the bishops wife ahha). Our apartment is big and has a lot of space... It is just kind of.. dated.. lol. But it has everything we need and it is actually really comfortable! But moving on to other things. The high priest group leader here is Bro. Parkhurst! He is a way cool guy! He is old but he has a funny sense of humor and he comes with us a lot. He has a strong spirit and when he speaks he speaks with such power. He is one of my favorite people in the ward! All the members are great though. I have met mostly all of them and I love them all. They are great people and just love Elder Cook and I! (Everyone love my color of hair here. They like it because its not pure red head, its like auburn and they say I must be royalty cause of it and my blue eyes lol). So our area covers like 3 nice neighborhoods, some farmland with nice houses, and then this trailer park that is actually pretty nice for trailer parks. My favorite family lives in there! They are the Carter's. The dad is recently come back to activity and we are teaching his wife and daughter. We are over there a lot. They love us and they are so fun and cool to be with. They cook for us a lot and always overfeed us :) and they buy a 2 liter bottle of soda for each person haha. So they definitely take care of us and love having our company. This member family, the Rasmussen's, feed us every Friday night! Well they are signed up for the next two months ahah. They fed us steak and potatoes.. soo good! And Elder Cook says they always make some great food. The mom and kids are originally from Argentina and the Dad went on his mission there and met her! I told him that my dad served there and he wants to know what part! They have a German shepherd mixed with husky!! Reminds me so much of Kovu :/ Anyways there is so much to tell that I probably missed a lot of important stuff but I love and miss y'all!! Thanks so much for the package, I got it on Saturday!! Made me super happy to get the pictures, letters, and treats :) 

Love

-Elder Bean II

Elder Bean with President and Sister Curtis