More Pictures

Here are some pictures of me attending the beach today. I found this crazy looking sea serpent. The whether was bad so it was super cold and crummy looking outside but this was pretty dope.

Also, the white lady here is seriously the most childlike person i have ever met. her name is Sister Corea. I wish i was like her. She has the biggest heart and would help anyone. Love her!

The two black lady's are miss jean and Vickie. Vickie is a member but her mother isn't. we stop by and give small lessons to comfort jean in her old age; super sweet people.

Transfer 2 - Week 5 - March 25, 2013

Hello Dear Ones,

 

I really wanted to tell a story to you all last week but forgot to. So you know our investigator Dean, the golden, superstar. Yeah so he had this dream back at the end of February but he finally told us about it. I want to share it with you because it just shows how God knows us all individually and what our concerns are, what we need, and in which way we will best understand.

 

When Dean had been praying to know who Heavenly Father was he had been really concerned with who he was, or if he really heard him, or how prayers worked (like going up in bubbles etc.). But after Dean had prayed and he went to bed for the night he ended up having a dream. In his dream he was sitting there with his dad who had passed on and also Jerry McGuire (the muscian, cuz Dean is a muscian and really relates to him and looks up to him). In the dream Mr. Jerry was God. And so Dean was sitting there talking to him and asking him all sorts of questions. One of them being "How will I know this is real?" And God/Jerry gives a chuckle and says "Cuz your daughter will be wearing purple socks in the morning!"

 

Weird right! No! God loves Dean so much that he wanted him to know this was true. In the morning when Dean woke up and he was sitting there eating his breakfast his daughter walks out of her room. When he looked down he saw that she was wearing this big poofy purple socks! So he says to her "You are wearing purple socks!?" And she says, "Yeah, my feet got cold in the night!"

 

Dean knew that it was real. He was just itching to tell us and it was such a sign to him that God was listening. And I know that it is true because I know that I have had my own questions answered in very personal ways as well. God is amazing and he loves us and really speaks to us in individual ways that he knows we will each be able to understand.

 

Further, this week was super good. We were able to have some lessons with some really good potential investigators and last night we invited a lady named Debbie to be baptized! She has been coming to church activities a few times the past couple of months because one of her friends that she works with is a member and when we taught her the first lesson the spirit was so strong. When the invitation was extended I just knew that this is the reason I am out here! To see her and others countenance change when they hear the truth about the gospel of Christ. And the best way to put it was in Debbie's own words that she felt "enlightened!"

It also just proves how important members are to the work. Because with out her friends example and inviting her to activities we never would have been able to find her. :)

God is Great, God is Good.

Love,

Sister Beames

Transfer 2 - Week 4 - March 18, 2013

The Missionary Department has issued an “Adjusted Missionary Email Policy.” It reads: “Missionaries are to write to their families each week and are also authorized to communicate by emails with friends, priesthood leaders, and new converts. Mission presidents should allow sufficient time on preparation day for missionaries to write emails and letters. While in the mission field, missionaries should receive authorization from the mission president before entering into communications, including via email, with converts and others of the opposite gender within the mission boundaries (see Missionary Handbook, 36-17).”

 

I guess I was already breaking this rule by writing friends...whoops. But now it's ok.

 

Hey family!, How the heck are all you guys??

This has been an amazing week. I have learned so much from the lessons we have been able to teach people and for the experiences I have been having with my companion etc. This week we saw so many miracles. It was really awesome. With our golden investigator Dean, we were able to talk with him more about who Christ is and how he is his Savior. And it was really amazing to hear him relate back to us what is his understanding of the Atonement is. He is growing so much and I love watching as he is making changes in life. He dresses nicer, he cleans his apartment more, and he is HAPPY! Aahhh. Love it.

 

We had such a blessing this week. Four of the people that we are teaching came to church along with two less actives we were working with. It was so great to finally see some of our efforts come forth and the Lord blesses us and the lives of those around us.

 

One of the families that we have been working with was super duper awesome. As we were giving them a lesson it was great to hear the mom who is the only member express her testimony and to see her cry as she talked about how being sealed to her family would be the happiest thing that she could do. She has expressed how much she loves when we come over and how she sees the spirit that we bring with us and it is something she wants for her whole family. Someday...

But tonight we go back with them and they are going to give there first family home evening to us. We assigned them the topic of "keeping the sabbath day holy" something that they really need. Hopefully as they give the lesson as a family they can learn and grow together more. Which is a big part of my purpose. Because we won't be here forever and these are the habbits they need to get into now.

 

As for one other investigator Helen, we ended up dropping her. We gave her a church tour and everything that we talked about she said was the same as in her religion. I am disappointed in the fact that she can't see the difference but maybe right now she just isn't ready to take another step. But that is why I am greatful for the area book that we can keep track of these people so maybe in the future she can be contacted again.

 

God is great, God is good. Take Care!

Love,

Sister (Sun) Beames

Chalet and Sister Williams and their district meeting

Transfer 2 - Week 3 - March 11, 2013

Hey everyone!!!!!!

 

How is everything going at home?

This week was pretty eventful. On tuesday we ended up going to philly for a zone conference and some training. While there we were able to have a guy Via Sechehema. He is like the first counselor in our stake presidency here in Jersey, but works up in Philly for the news. Really he was AMAZING! I say that because of him- he is the reason that they are building a temple in Philly. Through his example and him becoming friends with the mayor there he was able to share his experience. It was amazing to listen to him speak and I know that God really has specific people here for a reason.

In other news, I had my second exchange of my mission. I was able to stay here in Cape May and lead out the area while my companion went up to Woodstown and another golden/greenie came down here. Needless to say there were two goldens rocking south Jersey. We were able to prepare what we thought were amazing lesson plans for some investigators and less actives and were so pumped to go teaching. Through the experience of working together we did a review of experience here so far and there are things we want to do better and change. We feel like a lot of missionaries get in routines of how to teach lessons or where to go or activities they do each day. Example we saw of this were simple, (e.g, teaching the plan of salv. lesson to two different people with completely different problems the exact same way). We no longer want to be caught up in this. We really were able to grow from the experience- even though we didn't really get to go out to our appointments because the bridge to the island was flooded and there was a crazy storm going on.

Anyways, I'm kind of getting nervous. Everyone is talking about the number of missionaries coming in this next transfer and how all of us will be training eeek. That will crazy. Especially just to think how so many of these people didn't start training until 6 or 7 months into their mission. But if God really have that much trust in me then all I can do is get ready and prepare myself to the best possible.

Finally at the end of this week I had to give a 20 min talk in church on Sunday. We found out about this on Saturday. Crazy right. Something I was not expecting at all. What is even more crazy is how I seriously am more afraid to give a talk in church, than I am to go talk to a random stranger, ask someone to be baptized, or to tell someone to repent and come unto Christ. Why the heck do I have a fear of hearing my voice projected at a pulpit over missionary work I have no idea. Though, the talk went ok. I know that Heavenly Father really was helping me too seeing how I planned it the night before during my prayer as I was getting ready for bed.

 

I love you all!! Hope you know that.

Love,

Sister Beames

Pictures

 Being obedient.

Transfer 2 - Week 2 - March 4, 2013

This week was crazy awesome. I felt super sick all week and for some reason can't get over my cold. I received a blessing and so things have gotten better but for a while there I was super plugged up and felt like I was going to die...partly.

But back to the awesomeness. I think I told you about our investigator Dean. Well he is the budda guy who always asks about where our prayers go, how does god hear them, who is god, where is god??? And all this ridiculous questions that are important, but I don't really know how to answer because I don't know where God is all the time or exactly how he hears our prayers or if they go up in bubbles etc. But about a week ago I ended up just asking him what would happen if Jesus Christ had never came to Earth and suffered for our sins or what would happen if we didn't have a God. And then after I asked that I was like "shoot, why the heck did I ask that cuz now he will just think that he would go back to Budda or some other religion!"

But...It was way cool. On Wednesday this week when we returned to meet with him, he told me that he had been thinking about that question I had asked him all week! I was amazed. It actually worked. He said he has been trying to read more and to say his prayers with more intent and he said that he had a dream. I'm not sure what all happened in the dream because he didn't share all of it with us, but he wrote it down and had it there in his notebook! It was amazing to see the spirit work with him and to see him begin to change. He has stopped worrying so much about how it all works and his faith is starting to grow. We then went back to meet with him on Saturday and we watched the movie Finding Faith in Christ and though it was kind of cheesey he said how he liked how it focused on the positive things that Christ was able to do rather than the whole crucifiction or gorrey things that are in some movies that the world puts out. And he finally came to church on Sunday! He said that he fasted and he also really enjoyed the testimony meeting and being able to hear from all the people of all different ages. We were then able to give him a small tour and show him the baptismal font. I am so excited to meet with him further. I know that as we have been praying for him that the spirit is working in him and that he is able to find answers for himself. This is a miracle.

In other news we were able to find several other potentials while tracting and are going back to meet with one of them today. The Lord has prepared these people and all we have to do is find them, or be examples so that they can find us!

Take care everyone!

Love,

Sister Beames