Mar 11, 2013 I stayed!

J

 I’m still here in Nova Granada and it feels so right that I have a little bit more time in this wonderful area with these fantastic people.  I am excited, too, that I’m training!  An Argentinian!

Elders Lucas and Bean

Yes, I now have a “son” [nickname used by missionary trainers for those they train]:  Elder Lucas from Argentina.  J  It’s super cool, and a little scary being the senior companion with responsibility to lead and teach/train, but still, I love it!  I’m learning a lot—sometimes I think I’m learning more than my new companion.  I’m trying to set a good example and show this new elder what missionary work is all about. It’s awesome being reminded of what I was experiencing and how I was feeling only four months ago.  Time...wow.

Anyway, what I learned from Elder Nielsen was to be bold, really friendly, to conjugate in all the weird tenses (subjunctive, imperfect, conditional, etc.) and to simply do your best every day.  We had a great nine weeks together – thanks, Elder Nielsen J.  He and ten other people left out zone this transfer. And guess who is now in my zone?  Elder Barton, my companion from the CTM!!  J  Cool, huh?!  And!  I got a letter from Sister Whitaker (also from my CTM group) and Elder A. Wheatley. Thanks J. 

My twin sister Emily is going to enter the field tomorrow, and I hope and pray that she gets through the hard times and loves the good times!  She is so cool.  It’s so cool having a twin on a mission at the same time as you.  Andrew, Matthew, am I right or am I right?  Baha.  But yeah, good luck out there, Sister Emily!  J 

Well, that’s about it for this week.  Here’s some profound advice for anyone who wants a better life:  

Do what is right.

Hey, I love y’all, and I mean it.  Until next week - Love, Elder David Bean

March 4, 2013 “1/4”

Hi, everyone.  As of today I’ve been on a mission for six months.  Six months!  That’s one fourth finished, fulfilled, done!  It went by so crazy fast...

Anyway, this entry will only be ¼ the usual length!

We had a special conference with Elder Mazzagardi.  Foi ótimo – It was great!

I got letters from Mom, Sister Emily, and Aubrey S—Thanks much!

The work is so great (I probably say that every letter, huh...?!) – I just love it here.  Elder Nielsen and I met a lot of new people this week.  We’re marking baptismal dates, doing all we can to invite souls unto Christ.  It is interesting that a portion of our investigators include kids (pre-teens).  That makes me think of 3 Nephi 9:21-22 where the Savior says, “Behold I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.  Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God.”

I’m so happy serving a mission.  It is very fulfilling.  Also, I love this area!  I’m really nervous about this next transfer...I don’t know what will happen, but I know the Lord is in it.  Tomorrow I discover my fate—will I stay?  Or will I go?  Stay tuned and find out next week. J Love y’all.  I’ll be home before you know it.

Love with all my heart,

Elder David Bean    

Feb. 25, 2013 Happy Birthday to you! Happy "birth"-day to me!

First things first:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!  J  Sure love you, and I’m so grateful for you, your example, your support and love.  Hope you had a fantastic day! 

Second things second:  I was baptized twelve years ago on the same day as my mom’s b-day.  J  It was cool talking with our investigators about what my baptism was like and how special it was.  I remember so much about that day from so long ago. 

Our district leader has challenged us to invite someone to be baptized every day, and that has helped us keep our focus and purpose in mine:  share more about this special ordinance/covenant which Jesus showed us by His example and Word is a commandment. 

Elder Nielsen baptized a woman this week, and she has a miracle story that is super cool!  She had been investigating the church for about a year, and had never felt like it was her time to get baptized.  She and the missionaries had been praying that she would be able to find work, which she found, but worked on Sundays.  Elder Nielsen and I challenged her to find a job where she didn’t have to work on Sundays.  So, one day last week, she left her house to go our and find a new job…which she found!  She showed her faith, and that same day she found a job that was better than the first, and that didn’t required her to work on the Sabbath. J  I believe in miracles!  And it gets better!  As she was riding the bus home after finding the new job, she said a prayer to thank God, and as she opened her eyes, she saw us, the Elders, walking down the street.  She felt a strong prompting that she should move forward with baptism, and the next day, asked us if she could be baptized!!!  We were like, “Wha--at?  Are you serious?”  And then we realized her faith and God’s hand in both her new job and her decision to be baptized. Wow –very powerful, and so cool.

Know what else is cool?  Getting letters from my family, Maren (good luck in the MTC!) Sister Olivia, Bao. Ashley M, Seth M, Aunt Jody, cousin Will and my wonderful Grandma.  Thanks, too, for two packages from the best mom in the world!  A new Preach My Gospel, some candy and muffin mixes definitely made this missionary feel loved.  And seriously, guys -  all of you people writing -  you’re so great!  Your letters really keep the spirits up. The love is real.  J

So…we have an investigator who owns a restaurant, and he’s going to invite all his employees to listen to our lessons!  How cool!  I accept. J

We also had interviews with President Martins a few days ago.  Our time was scheduled for 11:00 am, but we didn’t get to meet with him until 5:00 pm.  Ha – six hours waiting in the same chair for two minutes speaking with him!  Baha—but I got to know the other members of my zone really well.

So…to wrap it up:  The work is super good!  The ward is starting to get really involved, and we’re teaching a lot of people with potential to move forward in accepting the Gospel. As missionaries we are called to find and teach people who want to come closer to Christ.  It is a little sad that not everyone progresses to that point, but all of Father’s children are under His care and watchful eye.  In general, Nova Granada is progressing super well. It’s exciting to see the momentum of this “stone cut out of a mountain” as it begins to roll forth. J

Hey, I sure love and miss you all.  Be good.  Search for opportunities to sever, to be better, to grow.  Until next week, Love, Elder David Bean

Feb 18, 2013 “And I say, ‘Hey! What a wonderful kind of day!’”

NOTE from Elder Bean's Mom:  We finally got a whole bunch of "blog" letters!!!  I'll post them as fast as I can (they come handwritten and I get to type them).  You will recognize from the news he recounts the background stories to some of the pictures I have previously posted.  Have fun matching the pictures to the blogs!]

 Hey, everybody!  God is good!  And so was this week! J  I baptized a woman last Saturday, and it was super special.  She is the mother of two, has a good husband, and she is setting the example for her family.  Her story:  she has a sister in the other ward, and for some time now she’s been visiting that ward with her sister.  So what she needed, more than anything, was a friend in our ward, connections, etc., to have the desire to switch over [members of the church attend the ward within their prescribed geographical area].  And now, we experienced a miracle.  When we first arrived for her baptism, there was no one there. We went upstairs to find her  some baptismal clothing (a white jumpsuit), and we discovered the entire Relief Society from our ward finishing a meeting! J  We invited them all to come downstairs and watch the baptism,  and show their support, and they all came.  It was perfect!  The new member met the Relief Society Presidency, and many, many new friends, and other women who will help her with her kids, etc.  It was exactly what she needed – such a tender mercy. J  Her husband came to the baptism, and attended church the next day to watch the confirmation.  He really liked it, and he felt the Spirit. 

That same Sunday, another one of our investigators, with tears in her eyes, finally made the decision to go to church. She loved it and felt the Spirit, and said she is going back!  J  The recent converts I’ve been able to work with are getting stronger and stronger [in their faith in Christ], and they’re changing more and more [putting off the “natural” or worldly self, and becoming more Christ-centered].  It is seriously miraculous to see.

And!  I hear that my twin sister Emily is still keeping on, keeping on in the MTC in the Dominican Republic!  J  Like always, I’m so proud of her.  

The work here is progressing so well!  It’s Great (with a capital G)!

So…the night after the baptism of this woman, Elder Nielsen and I were about to do another visit before returning home, but just as we were about to enter, we got a call from some members who said that the woman who was baptized a few hours ago was suddenly super sick – and that we needed to help her, to get to her fast!  Without a second thought, Elder Nielsen and I ran (literally sprinted) twenty minutes to the other side of our area to her house (we were half expecting to cast out devils that had gotten hold of out convert), but when we arrived, we found her, her husband, her two children, her sister and other family members and friends all smiling and looking perfectly healthy.  They started to laugh as they revealed some pizza and soda.  Uh-huh…they had tricked us to get us to come to a party celebrating her baptism!  And they knew we wouldn’t have come if we had known it was a party!  It was kinda cute, a little funny, but mostly…painful!  [That was a long, frantic run to her house!].  Some people!  J Baha!  But the pizza here is really good.  There are like a million different types, too.

Okay, one last bit of interesting news:  We had a temple trip scheduled for this last week, but President Martins called the zone leaders to let us know that as a mission, we weren’t worthy to go to the temple.  He said that individually, there are many of us who are clean / temple worthy, but as a mission, we need to be more obedient.  Wow!  It was a shocker, but I think it’s cool we are going to be “raising the bar.”  Elder Nielsen and I have already made a list of the few rules we weren’t fulfilling with exactness, and started working on them.  We can already see a difference in our work.  Obedience = blessings.  Just be obedient, people!  This life is really simple: obey the commandments, and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. J

It feels like we’re starting a new phase for the Mission Sao Paulo Norte.  J

Well, until next week, that’s all for now, folks.

Yours truly, Elder David Bean