Mission Conference with Elder Ballard

The week was a good one!! On Monday Colten and Diara Webb called us to come over! They had a little scare in the hospital Sunday night (she is due in March). So we gave a blessing and then she asked us to dedicate her home! That was neat. 

Wednesday we went and saw Breiann and Ian and had good fun conversation with them! Some of it was religious which is always good. Went on splits with our Ward Mission and went to see a family named "Wells" and had a fun time! He is the head football coach for Buhl and they are less-active. They just moved here recently and in their previous place they had the missionaries over a lot! So we might start that here as well! 

Thursday we had some great lessons with the Cunninghams, and our new investigator Camille! She is awesome. She is single and at home with her son Gabe (1), but the fiancé comes around every now and then. She has a set of twins (boy and girl, 18) that live in Twin falls and he is going on a mission this summer! So she wants to be baptized before then! I am excited for her she is a great lady and really is putting her life into order! We set a baptismal date for the 28th of February! But that might change especially with her boyfriend living there off and on. Then that night we went to the Webb's (Colten and Diara) and had an awesome time there. He just stopped for a moment and said "There is such a good vibe here and I haven't felt this in 15 years" it hit me so hard that he felt the spirit there. Diara said he never finds anyone he gets a long with this well and they absolutely love us and tell us it all the time! It was a huge testimony builder that we are called to this area because there are people only we can touch and reach out to! It is awesome and days like this make my whole mission worth it. 

Friday we took a trip to Castleford and saw some awesome people. We saw the Lloyd's (less-active) and they welcomed us in and we talked for a long time! They also said they want to feed us (they are chef's haha) and I am looking forward to it! Already have a good relationship with them. Then we went to the Pehrsons! Awesome young family. Josh, Ellen and their cute little daughter Paige (8 months old I think). They are way cool active family. He is an RM and so we swap mission stories lol. He gave us each a tie! he has like a collection of over 100! It was an awesome tie he gave me. Paisley with pink/purple! Then we watched his high school football/wrestling highlights and we swapped sports stories too haha. Ellen felt left out so she said next time we have to watch her dancing videos lol. 

Saturday we were in Twin Falls most of the day! Had Mission Conference with M. Russell Ballard of the 12 and Marcus B. Nash of the 70. They were great and I learned a lot! It is cool to see Ballard act normal and joke around with us! He was fun.

Sunday! We had special stake conference and Marcus B. Nash came and spoke to our stake! Colten and Diara showed up and sat next to us!!! It was awesome and that was like his first time back to church since he was like 15... They are so awesome though. They have scripture study every night now!! I love them haah. It was Papa Kelsey's (the person not the place ahha) birthday yesterday and Mama invited us to come eat with them and have fun so we did and we helped prepare the food and clean up! Mama K is so awesome :) She is the funniest lady.  We gave Mark and Andrea blessings yesterday! They were sick and it was a great experience and they both made comments about how cool it was and how they felt. 

It was a good week and really enjoyed the great moments with people! Remember that Christ is our Saviour and Redeemer! He loves us so much and is always watching over us. As we seek after him in prayer and reading he will come to us! Quote from mission conference: "Christ is only as close as you allow him to be" it is so true! Love and Miss y'all!!

Elder Bean II

Our district, I'm sitting on Elder Risley's shoulders, he's the district leader

Study time at my desk

Lunch, mmmmm

I add pictures to my mission planners

Dinner at the Hutchinsons, Elder Bunker with Steven and Colton,
friends that live with the Hutchinsons

Jordan Hutchinson

Georgia and Tori, Roland was out of town

Inspired Tracting and 3 Big Dogs

So great overall week! Super excited that Ohio State killed Oregon last Monday :) Anyways Tuesday we had a great District Meeting and I gave the Training on How the Book of Mormon Testifies of Christ! It was good and Elder Risley (our District Leader) closed with his training too. He is an awesome District Leader. Like he is such a great leader and way cool guy. He goes home in May but he is so focused still! We have been doing District fasting and praying lately and it has worked miracles! We have already hit our new investigators goal for the month!! Crazy. 

Wednesday we had good experiences with our new technique of Inspired Tracting! We walk around the area around our house and we just knock the doors that we feel prompted to knock and we have found so many less actives, recent move ins, and people looking for a stable religion! We have a lot of potentials now! All nice people too. So we went out to dinner out in Castleford which is like 15 minutes from Buhl (we cover a pretty big area) and we decided to visit some names on the directory since we are using the miles to be out there already. So we went to this house out in the country and our car gets surrounded by these three humongous saint bernards... like off the Sandlot... no joke. I was like uhhhh.. but we decide to get out and they were nice dogs and didn't do anything but rub against us hah. We walk up to the door and this guy steps out and he yells "Come on in Elders!!" so that took us a back. Then we go in and have a talk with him and his name is David K. and he is an inactive guy with a nonmember wife, but he watches General Conference and Mo-Tab all the time! He just says he doesn't like some of the members. That was a cool experience and he said just come by anytime.

Thursday we went on visits with our Ward missionaries in the Clear Lakes ward and Bro. Wood and I went to visit Colton and Diara W. We knock and Diara answers and looks to her husband Colton to see if it is okay for us to come in and he hesitated a lot but we ended up getting in! We had a great visit. He is not religious at all and she is less-active. She is 19 and he is like 22. Bro. Wood started talking about miracles and Diara said "a miracle happened tonight.. he let you in" and then on the way out the door he steps outside and says to us "Feel free to come back anytime". I know for sure that he felt the Spirit when we were there.

Friday I needed a break so we went and helped Bro. Hutchinson on the farm! Hard labor is such a good relief from the everyday grind! It was awesome and we got muddy and snowy so it was fun :) That night we had lesson/dinner with the Cunninghams and recommitted Colby to the 7th of February for his baptism! 

The weekend was good and we got a lot of good visits in and such. Sunday we went to the "Great to Be 8" thing for the primary kids getting baptized this year and helped them out. Then we had a great lesson with Mark!  Mark really is seeking for truth and help in his life and the gospel has so much to offer him. He is a great guy. And during the prayer I prayed for him and his daughter Neveah and afterwards he looks at me and says. No one has ever prayed for my daughter like that. Thank you, that means a lot. It hit me then that he cares so much for his daughter and that this gospel will have so much more meaning to him that it can give his daughter something that nothing else can! 

Anyways I had a great week and Love being in the service of the Lord. This is His work!

-Elder Bean II

Training is Awesome and Following Promptings from the Lord

So it was a good week overall! Tuesday we had a great Stake Meeting on Success and finding the Successes in everyone and their situations and working towards having success. Wednesday was transfers! Got my new companion right out of the MTC (not the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.... quote from the movie Suits on the Loose ahha). He is Elder Bunker and is cool! From Georgia, but has an Australian accent that he has had his whole life even though he has never left the states hah. We get along good though! Thursday was fun. His first full day and we went and taught this member family that is really awesome and taught them like practice lesson! Their daughter is getting baptized and so it was good for her and us! Friday was great. Had such a fun district meeting!! Elder Risley is our new District Leader and he is awesome! Great missionary. We then went out to the farm for a couple hours to help Bro. Hutchinson with service and to break in the greenie ahha.

Saturday had a great experience!  We were driving around trying to visit people and either they were busy or not home. Like no one was answering their doors... I was bummed out. So we started just to drive back towards our house to do some area bookwork or something and I saw this girl walking on the side of the road. I suddenly just felt so prompted to talk to her. So we drive ahead and pull over but when we get out she walks past us and had a hood on with her head down and earphones in. So I was like oh well... but then I STILL felt prompted that we needed to talk to her. So I was like what the heck? So we drove farther ahead and went over a street, parked and got out to start walking towards the intersection she would be headed towards. When we turned the corner she had her hood off and earphones out and then I just didn't even know what to say so I was like "Hey" and she stopped and looked at us for a second and then I said "We are the missionaries...do you know much about our church?" and she said 'yeah I am actually baptized but my family doesn't come to church" and then we proceeded to talk and she told us to come over sometime and gave us her address and everything! I was like wow that was so inspired for us to meet her and now she has invited us into her home of her less active family!!! Crazy. Definitely strengthened my testimony. Coolest part is that I have been praying to recognize promptings better and to follow them!!! So then we went out that night and had some good visits with our Ward Mission Leader from Deep Creek, Bro Lloyd. Sunday was good! Had 3 investigators at sacrament and I gave a talk in one of our sacraments and challenged everyone to pray for a missionary experience and for their friends specifically by name! Had great lesson with Mark and Andrea after church and then went to Bishop Schofield’s house for brunch with them and the Cunningham family and taught a lesson as well to the whole family. The spirit was definitely strong there and completely led my words the whole lesson. Anyways it was a good week! The Hutchinsons made us this food called Blushing Bunnies and it is poached eggs on toast, covered in tomato soup!! SOO good. Like I loved it. Well talk to y'all next week! Much love,

Elder Bean II

Elder Bunker and I, two southern boys serving in Idaho

Ready to go work on the Hutchinson farm!

First time driving in the snow!!

New Year's Eve last week

Transfers, Staying in Buhl and Training a New Missionary! Happy New Year!!

So Tuesday was way fun. We went on Exchanges so I was with Elder Bradley the whole day (he is cool) and that night was Tyler Hutchinson's wedding!! They got sealed in the morning and the reception was at night. That was so much fun! He is a great guy for her! Her name is Toni, and the wedding was so like spiritual/emotional! It was great.  Then on NYE we had a great experience of getting a flat tire :))) yay ahha. It was no big deal just put the spare on then went and got it fixed for free.  Then we partied with the district that night at a bishops house and watched Suits on the Loose haha I love that movie. New Years was funish.. Nothing special. then all weekend I got sick so we still did stuff but I spent a lot of time resting and at the Hutchinsons. They were taking care of me and putting all these herbs/oils/meds down me lol. I still feel sick now though but I am improving. Then last night got transfer calls and found out that I am staying here, and going to train a new missionary!! I am excited/nervous lol. Kinda feel like a lot of responsibility for only being out 4 months but I will take it on! I am definitely learning to rely on the Lord more and this will help a lot. The book "Power to Become" by David A. Bednar (that y'all sent me for Christmas) has been helping me open my eyes to that even more! It is great :) I love and miss y'all and it is awesome to be in 2015!! 

-Elder Bean II

A little fun with the bubble gun from Grandma Bean before heading out to work,

Serious mountain of bubbles

What!!

Pro at changing a tire!

Resting with Elder Dickerson, we were both sick. Elder Roth and Bradley went to Zone meeting.

Beautiful Idaho sunset!