Well hello everyone!
Wichita has sure had a
power packed time this weekend. We seemed to have a ton of stuff going on,
highlighted by a visit from Elder Bednar. Maybe it is just this area
here, but things have kicked into high gear and miracles are abounding. Every
day is sure a great day to be a member of this, the Lord's church, and even
better being a missionary!
So I will try and lay it
out to you in fairly chronological order. The first major miracle happened
on Wednesday. We had the chance to go and serve at Deseret rehab center,
which is based out of Utah. It is basically a place where nice old folks
go to recover from nasty stuff that happens to them, such as surgery or other
things. Anyway, there was this very nice old man whose name was Ramon
Julio Paz, who speak nothing in English other than "me no speaky
ingles." All the other (5) missionaries tried to go and talk to him, but
spoke no Spanish, so after finishing my conversation with another old lady, I
got to try! The Lord truly blesses those of us who go and act trusting in
him. It was so cool because I was able to learn a ton about him, as well
as really help him be a little happier. Sadly, he told me that no one
else in the complex spoke Spanish, so he was very happy to be able to
communicate with someone again. It was truly a testimony of the Lord's
work as I only barely understood maybe a fourth of what he said, yet he was
able to feel the Spirit with me and smile.
Friday was
amazing. Elder Bednar came and gave a training to our mission. It
was amazing to see a very different side of the Apostle I have grown to
love. He was so personable and happy with us, helping us laugh and
telling us some personal stories he asked us not to pass on. It was truly
amazing to hear him expound on doctrine and give wonderful answers to our
questions. The major concepts that he drove home to me were: 1. We are
agents, sent here to act, not to be acted upon; therefore we should act as
agents in all we do, in prayers, studies, thoughts, and deeds, and, we should
treat all other people as agents as well, in our teaching questions and other
interactions with them. 2. I learned that faith is action. We
already know 99% of what we need to do, and now it is up to us to act and
exhibit our faith. It is not faith if we believe in something but to not
act (as agents!). And, only after the action of faith on our belief will the
power and miracles come into our lives. I must also say that after his
testimony, the Spirit of the Lord was there in an incredible way. I truly
do love this work and the feelings happiness and joy it brings to
everyone!
Sunday was also pretty
awesome because a part-member family came to church for the first time since
they have been in this ward. Even better was that our ward rushed over to
meet them and become their friends. Boy, I wish you all could have seen
the smiles on their faces!
I know that this is the
Lord's work! I know thanks to a personal witness from the Holy Ghost that
the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I testify that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I witness that He
loves all of us, and commands us to do what is right for our benefit. I
know, without a doubt, that happiness comes as we live the Gospel. I so testify
in the name of Jesus Christ.
I love you all very
much!
Elder Beckstead
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