November 30, 2015 Going to Miss Georgetown- First Transfer!

Hey guys!!

Pretty good week this last week!! sister tapley is doing a whole ton better!!! She's been strugglin with the alcohol addiction just because she's been drinking for a long time now. She's met with the bishop and is going to start attending church every week with her two daughters that 9 and 14. They haven't been baptized so hopefully they will get baptized soon. :) i probably won't be baptizing them though. You may wonder why I just said that, well here's why. I got a transfer call yesterday indicating that I am no longer going to be in Georgetown anymore! hahah elder j is staying in georgetown and is getting a new missionary. I'm going to be in stoneycreek!! Hamilton zone! hahahaha i'm going to be with a missionary who's name is Elder Diddy. Apparently he's pretty cool. Elder De Pieza my zone leader said that I'm going to like him a lot. He loves sports and he called him white lightning for some reason, so i'm going to be calling him that from now on! haha he's only been out for 5 transfers so we are both fairly new!!! But we are going to get it done!! I loved Georgetown. It will always have a special part in my heart since I was born and raised there. Though we didn't baptize anyone, I still had the chance to help many people out come closer to God and the Savior. Some of the highlights in Goergetown include: Helping Charles Moody receive his endowment. Helping Sister Tapley turn her life around. Helping Joe Thistle. And giving priesthood blessing to those who need them. I loved my companion Elder Johnson. I honestly didn't think we would get a long at all in the beginning of my mission but now we are really good buds. We had a good time and will miss him. A lot of our appointments were bombed which is quite disappointing but that's ok. I really wanted to see our new investigator Graham with the really nice backyard but he was busy apparently. I'm excited to see if Elder johnson and his new companion baptize anyone I taught in Georgetown!! That would be sweet!! thanks for all of the packages you have been sending me guys! I greatly appreciate it!!! and yes i'm keeping a journal. I write in it as often as possible. pretty much everyday!! So i have a couple of things to say just real quick. I'm pretty busy today with the move and all so this is going to be a short email. Where has Tara and Dan been???? I haven't heard from them at all on my mission? I mean I understand if they hate me and all but I guess it's cool. ;) hahah also I wanted to say something to meggin. if you could send me her address I would love to write her a letter. :) thanks so much for everything you have given me!! I love you so much guys and I think about you and pray for you all of the time. Hopefully everything is going alright. 

Forever and Always,

Love Elder Beddes/Beddis

P.S- B, you look pretty good out there!! I see you have Steph Curry's shoes on. ;) keep up the good work!! I love you 

P.P.S- M, I love you so much. I miss you so much and wish you were here with me doing missionary work. Everyone would be converted to the gospel if they just listened to you!! I think about you all of the time and love the pictures you have drawn for me. I keep them and hang them up!! Keep up the good work and be nice to everybody. Remember the special powers I gave you alright! xoxo love you

Doing indexing in the ward!!!

November 23, 2015 God Knows us Individually, He Really Does

Today was one of the best weeks i've had so far! Things seemed to just fall in place and miracles were happening! We had a great lesson with paul our investigator who is a very slow mover but seemed like he was happier when he said that he prayed and when he read the scriptures! So that's good, we also brought a member to come and teach with us and his name is Jeremy. He was less active for most of his life and just barely started to come back to church with his mom but the rest of the family doesn't go. He is 22 and he is a great guy. He is really debating whether or not to go on a mission. He just seems scared and just afraid of the future. So we talked to him for awhile about a mission and said why he should go on a mission. We built his confidence up and told him how missionary work isn't about you it's about others. He always was a little frightened about not knowing enough and how he doesn't feel like he qualify's but we told him otherwise. He said that he really needed to talk to us about it cause he was leaning towards not going but now he said that he is going because of the influence of me and elder j! we are so proud of him and his decision to go cause he would make a great missionary!! He was soooo excited too when he talked to him about what we do on a daily basis, some of the miracles and cool experiences that we've had! And he decided he is going to go! He's putting in his papers soon! WHOOOO!!! We also had a lesson with the philosophy minor... when we went inside his house we were thinking about dropping him if the lesson didn't go anywhere cause the past lessons haven't been going anywhere really. But we were going pretty hard with teaching, so we get in and he has a list of topics he wants to discuss! hahahah some of them were like why we wear magic underwear, turning our skin from white to black, tithing, law of chastity(that one got really deep and I wish to not talk about that one hahaha), and like other stupid false stuff people put on the internet!! Anyway it turns out that he prayed to know if there is a God a couple of times!! Which was really cool but he said nothing happened! SO we said that answers sometimes don't come all at once but they do come if we have a sincere enough heart having faith not only in God but in ourselves! SO we are going to continue to teach him cause he's somewhat going somewhere! haha We also found two new investigators this week!!!!! One's name is Graham and he has a gorgeous backyard. I show you a picture. He's met with the missionaries in the past and he is christian so we are going to work with him and hopefully get him the water. :) such a nice guy, he gave us cookies and drinks and loves to talk so we are excited to meet with him this week. Dave is also another investigator. He was a miracle actually. We were walking to his house which was like five k's away and a member pulls up in his jaguar and says hey do you need a ride? We were like heck yeah we do!! we didn't say that but we were pumped. so he drove us to dave's house and we were going to see if he was home cause he was taught in the past by missionaries and he had in old teaching record. So we get there and he's like "just intime. I needed you guys" we were like sweet whats up? He needed help putting something heavy on top of his roof which required three people!! He said I was praying for a miracle to happen cause there was no way that I was going to lift this by myself and you guys showed up!! There's a god huh? hahahaaha we said yup and that's why we are here! lol so that was pretty sweet! If we hadn't gotten a ride from that member and gotten there right on time he could have hurt himself trying to do it by himself. Also he said he had to put that up at a certain amount of time cause he something going on that was important! so he's excited for us to come and teach him more about the Gospel!! Miracles do happen!!! We also had the opportunity to go to our mission conference! Elder Perkins of the 70 talked to us!! It was so spiritual and I loved it!!! I got revelation not only for myself and how I can improve as a missionary but also for my area!! It was pretty sweet, he's a good teacher and knows the scriptures like the back of his hand. I want to get as good as he is with the scriptures and have been studying them with every opportunity I can!! I read them a lot in the car! hahah .We met with Sister Hicks!! She is the one who's father died and the family relationships were falling apart. :( she seems a lot happier though when we met with her. We have been dropping off cookies and letters to her and sending her daily scripture texts to gain her confidence and to lighten her up a little bit. we went on a walk with her and it was a very spiritual walk. we talked about the plan of salvation and also baptisms for the dead. she says that she wants to come back to church and once she starts to get back into it she want's to receive her patriarchal blessing also go do baptisms for the dead. we were like those are great goals and we'll be there every step of the way! she was actually going to go to church yesterday with her non member friend!! But it was the Montreal temple redidication! so the church was reserved for those who have temple recommends. it was a good thing we told her last saturday cause she was going to bring her as a surprise!! Sister Hicks is doing a ton better though. She said that we have played such a big role in her life. She has so much on her hands and it must be so hard for her with her two little kids and non member husband not doing anything. hahaha she's a trooper. One of my favorite experiences happened a couple of days ago. So we were going over to less active members houses(which are a TON) and we stopped by a woman who has been less active for quite some time. She opened the door and started laughing at us cause she new exactly why we were there. hahah she's like look i'm never coming back to the church. there's some things that I don't agree with and i've just decided not to go anymore. thanks for coming by but no thanks. Three days later we get a call from her. She was crying. She said Elders I need you to come over right now so i can talk to you. I hate to do this to you guys since you are so young but I need help. So I said of course we are coming over we are missionaries!!! We go over and she starts talking about her problems. She's been an alcoholic for a long while and it's been messing up the family relationship and she's going downhill because of it. She is married to a non member and everything is not going so well for her. She said that she NEEDS to come back to church and completely change her life around. She said if we had not been at her doorstep when we were she could have gone down a path she no longer wanted to take. She wants to change and will start to take addiction recovery classes. SHe set up a time to meet with the bishop and is very dedicated in changing!!!!!!!!! Holy Cow what a cool thing!!!! We are soooooo happy for her!!!!!!!! God loves all of his children and wants the best for us and wants to help us!! He may not show it the way that we want it to, but he truly does. People like that lady is the exact reason why i'm on my mission!!!! I love helping people change their lives!!!! Such a great feeling and want more of it!!!! hahaha I'll tell you one more story cause my fingers are about to fall off typing this much. we were at subway and the cashier was like "hey, you guys have a really pretty temple over there. I want to go in someday. Will you teach me more about it?" hahahah even though this guy wasn't in our area it was soooooo awesome to see how god prepares his children to except the gospel!! God knows us individually, he really does. Life may not go the way we want it, or maybe it's going the way we want and we feel like we don't need him, but I do know that he wants us back with him in the Celestial Kingdom. And he's trying his hardest to do so. He has people like me who are simple and weak and are nothing compared to the glory of him that are trying to proclaim the gospel to those that need it. and we all have that opportunity, it just takes faith. Alma 32 :) xoxox love you guys so much. 

Elder Beddes

'One of my favorite pictures so far. How great is the Temple of God!!!!'

Gingerbread cookie Ice Cream sandwiches!

'My friends'

Short cut to one of our areas. :0

Graham's backyard

Visit from Elder Perkins of the Seventy

Seems like yesterday at the mtc

MTC pic

November 16, 2015 Typical Day in the Life of a Missionary

Thanks for the emails guys!

B, the plays have always been the hardest part for me in school ball. I remember messing up so much with the plays in practices, and the coach and the players would get frustrated and mad. Just remember that players get mad at you cause they want to look goood in front of coaches. It's messed up but it's true. Coaches get mad because they think they are the Cleveland Cavaliers coach. In moments of frustration just remember that it doesn't matter, at all.... that's something I would have wished I'd known a  long time ago. People forget why they play sports, FOR FUN OF COURSE. Have fun, laugh when you do something wrong. That's something Momma taught, when people get frustrated or mad just laugh. Shrug it off and try again. Never be nervous. Learning the plays will come over time. If you are really struggling, go to coaches office and have him or her draw them out for you. That's my advice for you. CONGRATS by the way, I knew you'd make it. I can't believe you met Thearl that is so cool!! Is M flashing me a gang sign?? I'm going to miss have thanksgiving dinner with you guys at our house that's for sure! I do remember Matt! He was a cool guy, is he still in the ward? I'm glad that everything is going alright with you guys!! My typical day looks something like this. Wake up at 6:30, work out, shower, lay in bed for a couple of minutes, personal study, companionship study, Blue Book study (which is a book for new missionaries), call or go by investigators for a couple of hours, lunch for an hour, go track or appointments till like five or five thirty, dinner for an hour, do the same thing after dinner, so track(lots of going to houses and finding all of the less actives in the ward. 15% of the ward directory are active, the rest aren't, so lots of working with them! Then we go back into the apartment at nine. Do daily planning, then that's down time till ten thirty. I usually work out, write in my journal, read scriptures, read letters. :) So yeah that's pretty much my typical day!! I read some of your Thai stories when I printed them outlast Monday!! They are hilarious!! Shotguns and poisoning people!! hahah that's awesome, when did you get your first baptism?? So someone in my District went home early. :( I talked to his companion to get all of the details and pretty much said he was going insane. He felt like his endowment didn't count and that he wasn't worthy to hold the priesthood. He would go in the middle of the night to a different room and pray and shout for forgiveness. He said some pretty funky stuff apparently and said he wasn't a missionary when he was talking to the Mission President. President tried to keep him out but he was just going insane and nobody really knows why. He was a cool dude, wouldn't have expected him to do some of the things he did. He was 14 months out. 

We got Paul to go to church with us!!! It was a good experience, I was hoping there would be speakers, but it was the primary program. But it was equally just as spiritual. I love listening to the little children sing, it automatically brings the spirit in and it made me cry. They are so innocent and pure, and though they may not know fully what they are singing and talking about, they truly are trying to be like Jesus. :) I don't know what Paul thought of it and we are going to talk to him more about it in our appointment with him tomorrow. I really liked the letter that you sent me mom about Grandpa. I laughed so hard when those incidents happened to him and he kept cool and calm. It's all about attitude and I really needed that letter so thank you. Come what may, and love it. Jen Hicks hasn't been doing so well. She apparently ended her relationship with her mother and sister because of the death. She is doing day care also, and her husband is always working. I feel really bad for her, but I had the privilege to give her a blessing of comfort. We gave her a blessing in 30 degree weather outside which was freezing, but she said she wasn't cold at all when I was giving the blessing and as soon as the blessing ended she was freezing! haha it was kind of funny, but a really spiritual moment for me. She said that she has been feeling a lot better. I also had the opportunity to bless Sister Sale, the blind lady, she has not been feeling very well. I feel bad every time we go over cause she is always so generous. I love her dearly, the missionaries went to her house fifty years ago and converted her so she loves the missionaries. haha I love the Priesthood!!!!!!!!! We also had an unexpected family come to church.  returning member ronald fox and his family came to church!! Random Miracles!! We are going to meet with them soon, they are so cool!! We have appointments with two new investigators that we found this past week. Graham and Ryan. Graham is a nice guy that has met with the missionaries before and wants us to come back!! Ryan who is a preacher/minister for a church. An "ordained deacon" is what he said so we are excited to meet with him, he is a nice guy, but interested for what happens! hahah we tracked in Glen Williams the other day! It's quite creepy but it was fun!! You guys should check it out on google maps, it has a ton of trees!!!! Creepy at night. Anyway that was pretty much my week, working hard, and keeping my head up!! I love you guys dearly. 

Elder Beddes

Me breaking my hamstrings trying to reach for my toes. :)

 Creepy Glen Williams area

November 9, 2015 On the Downside Sadly...

Haha hey guys,

I loved the emails that you sent!! Thanks for thinking of me and trying to help me it's so great!! I'm glad that A had such an awesome birthday!! YOu look so tall next to your friends haha!! That cake looks so good!! Grandpa!! Who are you?? You aren't the same person!! hahah he looks good, I like it. I'm trying to grow facial hair also on mission, think it's a good idea? ;) Well this week has been more on the down side sadly. It seems like everyone that we wanted to happen didn't happen. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I have to email something sad every once in awhile. We went over to Joe Thistle's house and you can probably guess what happened. He opened the door and said he wasn't feeling good and said he's been throwing up. He said he felt really bad though everytime we come over he tells us it's not a good time. Brother Ayers the ward mission leader, we had him text joe and see if he wanted to go to church, and Joe said he would come. And guess what, he didn't end up going. Oh when we left the doorstep to his house, he said that he would call us when he felt better, so that was another dagger to the heart. I don't know what will come about with him. This week I've really noticed how there are a ton of people that are just so caught up into the world that they are blinded. It seems like everyone is smoking here Georgetown and partying. I'm not trying to sound negative at all it's just COMPLETELY different from what it was like in Utah. I didn't really realize till I came out here how much different the people would be. It seemed like everyone in our neighborhood is Mormon and then here it's like two active families in all of Halton Hills!! It's definitley wakened me up, it's just more motivation to keep moving and trying to help as many people as possible. It seemed like all of the people we were going to teach bombed the appointments! haha we got to find a new investigator who's name is David. He's a very interesting man, we taught him in his back yard. All he wanted to do was argue it seemed like. He criticized us of pretty much everything. He said some really false doctrine and we tried to clear it up, but he was so hardhearted that it was impossible to talk to him. He prays to rocks... its a bit funky. So we are probably not going to go back and teach him, haha. He's just so lost and we tried to give him a hand but he thinks he's alright where he's at. It's sad. We had a lesson with Patrick again. The philsophy minor. We taught him the The Gospel of Jesus Christ. or atleast tried to teach him. He couldn't get passed faith which is pretty much the first step. We had a TWO AND A HALF hour lesson with him. We bore testimony we gave him scriptures we related it to politics which he loves but he just doesn't get it. So at the end, it was getting pretty deep, and the discussions that we have had with him have always been really deep, I asked him the simplest questions cause that's what the spirit told me to do. I asked him, What do you think it will take to get to Heaven? Why is it that you need signs in order to believe in God? What is faith to you? Questions like that. And I really got him thinking. I said why don't you look for the answers to those questions in this here ole book. ;) The Book of Mormon will answer all of the questions that you have. And I said if it's going to be signs that you are looking for, then I don't know what to tell you. If this Book of Mormon and the bible isn't good enough signs for you, and even us being here teaching you isn't, then I don't know what to tell you. Then we gave him a specific verse about faith. I just don't know where he is going, he's just so blinded and lost, and that's what happens when you study philosophy sometimes. it's sad. Brother Ayers isn't the Ward mission leader anymore!!! :( i'm gonna start crying, he was sucha good guy, and I'm going to miss his cooking ALOT!!!!! So bummed but that's alright. Seems like the new one is pretty cool. Another horrible thing happened.... all of North America has been given a rule to not play any sports with the ward. So no basketball and badminton.... anymore.... :'''''''( i'm officially crying right now. hahah no more working out for me!! I'm going to start sprinting in the morning like dad did. we can't do it at night cause we are supposed to be in by nine pm. I had a memory pop up in my mind during the week that I will cherish forever. Dad I can't tell you how grateful I am for you. You are seriously a hard worker and your love for your family is so Christ Like. You have been my best friend and always will be for the rest of my life. the memories that I had were of Mississippi. I remember going to this Bamboo forest with Seth to get some bamboo. I remember a wild turkey running through it, it was pretty cool! I remember being in the forest with you and seth and you telling me to go get something in the truck for you. I felt so honored to do it cause you put your trust in me. I remember that like it was yesterday and it's something that will stick we me for the rest of my life. You have always put your trust in me and had so much confidence in me, whether or not I didn't feel like I could do something. For example, another memory that goes a long with confidence was when I was trying out for a baseball team but I had broken my wrist and thought that I couldn't try out. So instead of thinking it was the end, we went to the church and practiced batting and catching with my opposite hand cause I couldn't use my other. And though I felt like I was never going to make it cuase I wasn't actually proving that I was capable and talented, you had me try out cause You had confidence in me. So a big thank you to you. And I love you. Mom, why is it that I get to have the best mother that this earth has ever seen? I am SOOOOO blessed to have someone like you that genuinely cares about me and wants me to be the best that I can be. One of the best memories that I have had with you was when it was my special day. ;) you took me to get ice cream and it was just you and me. And I remember you asking me if I had any questions about anything. And you said that I could tell you anything i wanted. I thought that that was the coolest thing!!! I can feel your love and prayers everytime I kneel down. There's something about a mother's prayer that i cannot describe. It's one of the most powerful things on this earth. Your testimony is soo strong. You may not think it, but I PROMISE that it's something that can't be lost or broken. You are so strong, and you're example to me is something that i will be forever grateful for. You love and care about everyone!! xoxo lots of tracting and trying to find!! SO much walking, it feels so ooo good to lay in bed after a hard day of work and just read a letter!! So that's been my week so far. I'm going to keep positive and keep working hard!!! Love you all. Tell M that I was going through the same pain that she is, and that it'll go away. Tell her to be brave. 

Love,

Elder Beddes

Also look up the Canadian Tenors.

the songs: Hallelujah

Ave Marie

The prayer. 

Beautiful songs.

November 4, 2015 Happy Birthday!

Dear A,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I did not forget!!! How are you? I hear you are doing pretty good at the sports you are playing!! KEep practicing cause you are already a superstar!! YOu are getting so old, I can't believe it!!! Seems like yesterday you were spinning on your swing in Idaho. You used to love that thing. I didn't like it cause it likes to fly in the air and hit me the head for some reason. Anyway I hope your dreams come true with this wonderful birthday you are going to have. I think about you often and Love you soooooooooooooooooooooooo much, you have no idea!! Keep mailing me and I'll mail you back!! Something that I love about you is that you are soo hardworking. You do what everyone tells you to do and more. You help people out when they are stressed or overwhelmed. I've noticed that frequently about you, and you are greatly blessed for it!! You are very pretty too. I wouldn't be suprised if the boys at your school are in love with you. ;) Anyway I love you so much!! Happy Birthday my sweet sister. 

Love, 

Elder Beddes

November 2, 2015 Day by Day by Week

Hey Family!

This week has been pretty good and busy!! I'll start with the first appointment that we had with Aukje (the saved by grace investigator) and we taught her the Plan of Salvation. The spirit was so strong!! She didn't know what to say when we were talking to her about the after life. She was a little thrown off when we told her about the three degrees of glory. She was confused and was a little frustrated about the whole thing cuase she is so set on the fact that if you believe, then you will be saved. She said that she is going to do her homework and find some scriptures in the bible that prove her point, so we are going to be ready for them and have our own scriptures about faith and how it needs to be acted upon. SHe is such a kind lady and loves us coming over, she is just so nice. We really hope that we are planting seeds and that she will want to act upon her faith. We are going to bring up baptism to her next time! We had an appointment the next day with Michael Spenc (returning member) and we talked to him about the Plan of Salvation too. It was kind of sketchy cause we went to his apartment complex and we couldn't get in because the whole building was locked, so we went into the backyard where we usually have our appointments and stood there for a couple of seconds looking for him. And all of sudden he appeared out of nowhere and told us to wait for fifteen minutes so we went back into the car to wait and we looked back and he was talking to someone in this creepy car. Pretty sure it was a drug deal that just went down. Anyway he came got us and we had a lesson. In the past we thought he was just slower and had some type of mental disability but the more we have lessons with him the more we think it's drugs. He seemed higher than a kite this last time. We asked him some questions about the plan of salvation and he had no idea what to say. We asked if everything was ok and if there was anything we could do for him and he said, "Well.... uh....I'm just going.......toooo..... take things day........by ........day........by......weeeeeek". hahahahah he was so out of it. All I said after he said that was "Yeah we do the same thing" hahahaha "take things day by week" hahaha it was a fun experience. We are going to keep working with him and talk about the word of wisdom with him so we'll see how that goes!!! Guess what??? On Tuesday I remember praying really hard for Joe Thistle cause I really didn't want to just drop him cause there's something in him that I can't just let go. THen the next morning we get a text from him saying, " Hey guys, I've been really sick with my Parkinsons lately and haven't been able to text you cause my hands shake and my eyes are blury." "But can you guys help me out with something. My car is fifteen minutes away and I can't get it." SO we had our mission president go and get him and he said it was a good talk. Joe said we can come back and teach him with the mission president. We went by the other day to hopefully talk to him and he answered the door and looked way tired, so he said that he was way tired cause his Parkinsons has been causing him not to sleep. His head was shaved cause of the doctors. He said we could come back in a couple of days though, so we are going to go by today and hopefully he will talk to us!! He's back on the map. He said he's taking some anti seizure medication and he said that it's making him stronger!! Something that Charles Moody said that was hilarious in the endowment room was when he stood up and there had to be other people that had to help dress him cause he was a larger fella. He said in a louder tone, "You can dress me up, but you can't take me home!" hahaha i was trying so hard not to laugh!! He's such a good guy and hilarious! On Thursday we were driving back to the apartment and we were on the bridge and we saw this police! SO we were wondering what happened, and we drove closer to the action and the guard railing was broken. A car went off the bridge into the river!!! It was crazy!!! I didn't here anything about it cuase we are missionaries and we don't know anything about the outside world, but did you guys hear about it at all? We have three new investigators that we found this last week!!! We are going to have an appointment with each one of them this week, so we'll see how that'll go. It's sweet how God just provides them for us!!! Little effort is made, God does the rest. SOmething sad happened this past week but it was also a spiritual experience. Our returning member (Jen H) father passed away unexpectedly. She was heart broken... she texted us saying that he passed away and asked when the soonest time was for her to baptisms for the dead for her father. But there is this rule where you have to wait a year to do it, so we had to tell her that and it broke my heart. She had the service for her father the other day and her husband called us and said to hurry cause she really wanted to see us. So we went and saw her dead father and she was balling. But I said can I say a pray for you sister hicks. And she wanted to. And so I asked God to bring peace to her and her family. And she felt a lot better and stopped crying. She had me getting a little teary eyed and when I said that prayer everything just felt better. That's been my week so far! I've been working really hard with studying the scriptures. There is a lot I don't know and i'm really studying!! Hope you guys had a awesome halloweeen!! You guys looked so awesome!! Dad you made me laugh so hard, you looked sweet!!!! hahaha I sure do miss you guys. Did M get her Ponyo picture? haha I love you guys so much and I pray for you everyday. I'm excited to learn more about your mission Dad!!! 

Love Elder Beddes 

Seneca, Missouri (actually Georgetown, lol)

I hope you are proud of me Dad... I'm experiencing pain like never before...... hahah ;) 

 Locked outside of our apartment the other day! hahaha

October 28, 2015 Georgetown (Handwritten)

Dear Family,
I sure hope you like my emails! I try and put as much information and pictures on there as I can! I tray and make it so seems like you're right there with me when I experience things! The very first day I drove into Georgetown, we were turning onto the street where the apartment is and this older guy who had a cane stopped us. So I rolled down my window and I said hello. And he said, "hello can you give me a ride to house down there the street." I couldn't tell what accent he had, but it sounded German and he knew little English, but I was picking out what he was trying to say. So I said, "oh you want a ride to your house?" He said, "Yes, can I get in the back?" And I said, "well the back is full of luggage and there isn't any room." Then he said, "oh, ok that's fine." And I'm like "ok, sorry about that" and he looked confused. Then he pointed to the back of the car and said, "Can I have a ride?" So then I tried to be more simple with him. I pointed to the back and said, "No room in the back, to much stuff." He nods his head and looks down  at the pavement. We were in a hurry for something so we had to go. So I said, "ok sorry about that, maybe we will see you later." He says, "can I have ride in back?" Out of frustration, I look at Elder Johnson and said "just go" and so we drove off. I smiled and waved at him and I looked back, he started walking off to his house. So that was the very first person I talked to in Georgetown! Some old crazy guy! Haha! That conversation with him literally took 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure we went back and forth saying the same thing for at least 5 minutes! Pretty funny though.
I sure am eating a lot of different foods here! It really is diverse up here!I've never seen so many different people in my life! It's like people from every country gather here! It's pretty cool to talk to people of a different race and to try and understand what they are trying to say. I have the hardest time trying to understand a family from India! I think I'm told you about Montaj and Ravi before. I just found out that they want to feed us every time we go even. They have this 3 year old kid that loves me and  it's so cute. Ravi isn't baptized, but Montaj is. Ravi says that he knows he should be baptized, but he doesn't want to stop drinking and smoking because his friends will make fun of him. He knows that he is making a big commitment, so we're working with him! Very nice family though! I was in the mission office the other day and I saw a bunch of yellow pamphlets for the new missionaries coming in this upcoming transfer, and guess who's name i saw?? Sister C., the girl I kissed at EFY!! It's going to weird! Anyway, I just had an appointment with Charles Moody, the guy we're taking to the temple! Apparently it is very rare for a missionary to help someone to receive their endowment their first transfer. So God has blessed me greatly and it feels good! And though I haven't be able to baptize Joe, he will in the future, I just know it.
I love you guys dearly,
Elder Beddes
PS- Some good Christmas gifts would be more skinny ties and two more pairs of black slacks. The tan golf pants look like they are white sadly. Thanks!!! Love you guys so much!

Dear A,
How are you doing? Doing alright? I think about you all the time and think about all of the great times we've had. I do regret not playing with you more. I'm really sorry. The more time you're away from your family the more I realize how much of bad brother/ son I was. I would have loved to play more basketball and volleyball with you and watched more movies with you and taken you out for a drink more. One of the memories I will remember and cherish forever is sleeping outside on the tramp with you and talking about the stars and just asking questions about each other. I absolutely loved that. A you are very blessed. You have a lot of talents and gifts that a lot of people don't have. One of the things I love about you is that you have a great desire to do what's right. You always strive to the right thing, even though it may be hard, but you still do it. Dad has taught me a lot about Integrity. If you don't know what that is, Dad will be more than happy to tell you cause you already have alot of it! You are one of the kindest people I know. You are always willing to help others and God knows you are doing a great job and is very proud of you. I pray about you every night. I miss you but we will see each other shortly! XOXOXOXO
Love,
Coco

Dear B,
I want to say thank you first off. You have been an example to me my whole life even though it may not have seen like it, but you were! The more I think about how I treated you, the more I frown upon myself. So I give you a great big fat sorry for the times I acted like I knew it all or was the big guy in town. You are one of the most genuine, kind-hearted people I know. You have the ability to make others feel good about themselves and are so kind to everybody. I think that's why people want you to babysit for them all the time because they are impressed with your rare talent. One of the memories that will stick with me for time and all eternity is you kneeling down beside your bed praying to your Heavenly Father. I don't know if you know this, but I have started down beside my bed instead of on top because of the example you are to me. I sure hope that High School is going alright for you. I know it can be overwhelming, but you can do it! I spent so much time in the library doing stupid homework assignments or studying. Don't get caught up in the crowd. The crowd portrays the library as the last resort they would ever go to just because they always want to do what their other friends are doing and that is going to lunch or just plain out not wanting to go because they think that's where all the 'nerds' and 'gamers' go which.... is kinda true. Haha, but I didn't care and neither should you :) I love you so much!
Love,
Coco
Ps- I think it's great idea to try out for the bball team, but don't get sad if you don't make it because High School sports can be very political and really, it's just important. Love you!

Dear M,
This is my favorite movie to watch with you, M. I will never forget watching our favorite movies together. When I get back I want to watch a lot of movies together, ok? I can't wait! How is school? How is Spencer? Are you being nice? I sure do miss you, M! It was hard to leave you because I love you so much! I did it because I want other big brothers to be nice to their little sisters too! I have your picture hanging up in my room and it protects me at night and keeps me safe! I love you with all my heart!
Your best friend,
Coco   XOXOXO
Ps- I still hope you have your love coin I gave you! Special powers!!! ;)

October 26, 2015 God Loves Everyone

Hello Family,

This week has been a good week!! I usually write on a piece of paper the highlights of week and then bring it to the library so I know what to say but I forgot it!! So bare with me! The highlight of my week has been Charles Moody! He was the returning member we took to the temple last saturday! It was such a great experience! Charles Moody got baptized in 1999. And it's been sixteen years till last saturday he recieved his own endowment! What a glorious memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. He just needed a couple of missionaries to bring him up and to give him a little push and he was all for it! He was so ready to receive his endowment! I love him dearly, and my thoughts turned to my own endowment as I watched Charles at the temple! Brought me to tears as I pondered upon the time I was sitting in the Celestial Room with my mom and dad! I remember the spirit being felt so strongly. And though Charles Moody's parents weren't able to make it physically due to them passing away, they were for sure there spiritually. I could feel it, and that was the only thing that was on my mind while sitting with him in the Celestial Room. How great was my joy!!! This is why I'm out here, and why i'm a missionary!! haha well if you remember last week I was talking about an investigator that was at the library with us and he wouldn't stop talking. Well it turns out the people in his area were working with him, and he indeed less accountable. But one of the most spiritual experiences that I've had on my mission was here in this library with him. As we were walking away and as he followed and continued to talk to us, I had this impression to turn around and look at him. So I did so, and I could just tell that something was wrong. And as I was thinking that, he said, "Hey guys, is it ok if we can say a prayer real fast for me?" And I said of course, what's wrong? And with the conversation that we had with him before we left, we talked to him about the missionaries that he had met with and how there was someone there that he was scared of and that he didn't really like( I think it was a member that came with the missionaries), and he was really concerned that that same member would be there when the missionaries would come. So in the middle of the library, crowded library, the three of us stood and said a prayer for this humble Christlike guy, and as I closed the prayer and said Amen. I put my hands on the persons shoulders and said "Keron, there's nothing you need to be afraid of. You are a powerful son of God, and he loves you and cares about you. He wants you to pray to him and he wants to help you. Don't be afraid of anything." And he was astonished, it was as if he had no idea that things I was saying were true!! And he responded with a big grin on his face, "Really?? Thank you so much!!" And he was off! I know that the spirit was present in that public library, and that God loves everyone. Especially the little children and the less accountable ones cause they illuminate the love of God so strongly and they teach us all something important. We need to be like them! Humble, submissive, meek, and lowly in heart. I can't remember what scripture that comes from but I think it's in Matthew! :) Well I think Joe is missing in action. We went to bring him brownies and he wasn't home so we set them on the porch with a kind note saying how much we care about him and stuff. So we were expecting a text but we never got one. so we drove by to see if he got them, and they weren't there! So I think he got them. But we haven't recieved a text from him. So we texted him and he hasn't responded. This all happened in about two weeks and nothing has happened. So I don't know what the deal is with him. I'm quite sad about it, but we must move on. Patrick. I had a lot of time to ponder about his questions, and I feel to say that me and Elder Johnson know how to answer them. It's pretty much what you said Mom, which was amazing! Thanks for caring about the people I have been teaching! Pretty much the answer I could give him about the agency thing is that God may know what we are going to do and he may know what the map is for us all, but he didn't make that map. We made it ourselves. And it's up to us and our own choices to get to that buried treasure. He may know what we are going to do in the next five seconds but he has nothing to do with it. It's all us. So i'm grateful for the answer that I got, and it's another testament that prayer works!!! haha I love you guys so much!! B, I say go for it! Try out for the bball team. M, good job with basketball!! Don't be nervous, you play basketball to have fun! Keep practicing! My favorite pair of shoes are the slip on ones. They are the easiest to get on! haha and yes I will send the stamps to you. I'm glad that the ears are working! How is work? Are you overwhelmed? I know you and dad are busy so don't over do it. I will send a pic of me stretching dad hahah! It's not lookin so good, but I will be able to do it! I yes I think about the times that we spent togther all of the time. It's weird cause I get these random memories pop up in mind about the family and the past. It almost saddens me that we had such a great time, but they are happy thoughts too. It's weird to think that I'm grown up, but every one has to go through it. Dad if you could send me some of the experiences that you had on your mission and all the details in the mail that would be great! I want to know everything about it! Thanks so much for the letters and emails you guys send me!! I love them, I really do! I love you all. A, keep working hard! You are doing great! Mom, I love you so much. There isn't a day I don't think about you and the times that we had. One thing you guys ought to know is that a big chunk of the reason I'm out here is out of respect and honor for my family! It's hard, but once I think about the reasons I'm out here all of the negative thoughts go away! 

Love Elder Beddes 

Some of the excersises I've been doing are push ups sit ups, and jump roped. badminton and basketball too. I will do the scripture challenge too. I've been ponderizing a scripture every week! Also for Christmas, i could use a gps. For when I drive in the future! Thanks for all that you guys do! Thanks mom for the talks that you have been sending me! I absolutley love them!!!!! Keep sending the mail cause it makes my day happier and brighter!! I love you guys with all of my heart. I pray for you guys individually every day. Wish me luck this next week!!!

Happy Halloween!!!! Have fun!!!!!! B, I went tricker treating every year, you should do the same. ;) I love you guys so much, hopefully these last emails are up to your guys's satisfaction! If not let me know! oxxoxo

Badminton

 "Look familiar???" (Colten has his own huge collection of various soda pop bottles)

Charles M

"Doesn't the guy on the left look like an oompa loompa from the charlie and the chocolate factory? hahahahaha"

Me and Elder K

October 19, 2015 Why did God give us our agency?

hey guys! 

Everything is going alright here! I'm going to answer your questions first momma so I don't forget. With kobe I think it was just a basketball card, a shirt, and a flag? Pretty much the lakers stuff. Grocery Shopping is going well! Lot's of macaroni and noodles but the ward has blessed us a lot with dinners and people love taking us out! For laundry we go to another set of elders house and they have a washing machine and dryer. And yes we are cleaning the apartment! haha it can be cleaner though. ;) We get up at and go to bed at. As soon as I wake up I go to take a shower. it helps me wake up. Currently I'm sitting with a guy that is a little handicapped in the library and he loves the missionaries and he wants to learn more. So he keeps asking questions and it's extremely hard to concentrate haha. We keep answering his questions and keep telling him that we can talk to him but he isn't comprehending the fact that we are in a hurry emailing you guys. ahhhh he keeps talking so if this email is hard to understand cause it's hard to type and to read and listen at the same time! haha so my week went something like this. We had dinner with a guy that's a member. He's like seventy years old and we had never met him in our lives, so we met him at a restuarant called swiss chalete. He was sitting in the back of the restaurant and he looked so cool with like a spy hat on and he had a long coat on and he totally looked like a spy! He was soooo awesome, he told us his conversion story and it was awesome. I'll tell you a little about it. When the missionaries came over, Bro Mclellan's wife was the only person that was home sooo she was the only person that listened. So when Bro Mclellan came home and found out that his wife and kids were listening to their message he told them that he will shoot them and the missionaries if they every came back. He said he didn't know what came over him, it wasn't normal that he said what he said. And he knew it wasn't true. But the missionaries rang on the doorbell a couple days later and he let them cause he couldn't say no for some reason. He was hard hearted and didn't accept the messages that they were teaching them, but he decided to pray about it and he got an answer and he couldn't deny it. :) There was more to it but that's the brief story. So he was a good guy and he was a stud, he looked so sweeett. Well nothing's come about with Joe Thistle. I don't know if I told you guys what he texted us when he asked if we could come over and teach a lesson. he said that he needs rest and if he were to listen to a lesson it would cause his head to hurt really bad so he's scared for us to come over cause he thinks that he will have bad migraines. He said that he has had 4 seizures from the time that we taught him for the first time. So hopefully he doesn't think anything negative about us. He straight up told us that he loves what we are doing and that he has this sincere desire to be baptized.... so I don't know what to do with him. I've been fasting for him and praying so much for him. Have any suggestions? We are going to go over and give cookies again and see how he's doing. We just wanted to give him a break and see how he's doing. We haven't seen him for three weeks I think. And it's soooo brutal. But Grandma Beddes sent me a letter that had a scripture in it that I really like. It's Alma 26:27 and it talks about patience! hahah it's so hard to wait!!! I bet you had a lot of disappointment on your mission Dad is that true? how many did you baptize? How many areas were you in? How many companions? So to tell you more about my mission and what we are doing, you probably have figured out that my mission is sorta different from others. We are working with returning members and New Converts a lot more. Something that will probably shock you is that 70% of converts go less active sometime in their life. And 50% of converts go less active in the mission specifically. So we are working really hard with those type of people and trying to get them to the temple. We are still working with investigators and getting them into the water but we are working a lot with less actives. Paul is not keeping his commitments...:/ we have told him pray about the things we are talkin about but he never has. We have called him to remind him about every other night, but we have asked him to pray several times. He said he will start reading the Book of Mormon again. He's read it already but he looks for the historical side of it. We are going to see how committed he is. I think he might be listening to us just to listen and learn. I Don't think he has that sincere desire which is sad. We are going to the temple!!!!!!!!!! Charlie Moody is receiving his endowment and we are excited for him!!!!! Transfer calls were yesterday! me and elder J are staying!! I was actually hoping we would stay. I can see a ton of potential in this area! It's actually kind of sad when we talk to people in the ward and people that are close to our area cause they say that they know that this area is a tough area, so it's kind of negative but It's motivation in a way for me just to prove them wrong. I could see Mumtaj going to do baptisms for the dead!!!!! and sister h doing baptisms for the dead and receiving her own endowment!!!!! And a baptism for Joe!!! So those are my goals for this transfer and I know that it's possible! Turns out Michael S is baptized!! We figured out his birthday and he was baptized in 1995! We met with a new investigator today! His name is Patrick and he is like 23 and he's way chill! He wants to learn about our religion. He knows a lot about the church but has his concerns. It was the most deep discussion I have ever been in, same with Elder Johnson. We were there for 2 and half hours!! he loves us though! One of the questions he asked was "Why god gave us our agency when he knows already what we are going to do?" He knows exactly what we are going to do and the choices we are going to make so why do we have our agency when he already knows what we are going to do? is pretty much the type of questions he was asking. So he would love us to come over again and to talk more about it. The stamps that you sent me momma don't work!! haha sorry

I sure do love you guys and love the emails that you have sent me. I am running low on time so I didn't have a lot of time to email. I miss you all and love you dearly. OHHH nooooooooo the computers here won't allow me to put pictures on the computer!! I'm so sorry, I will send you double the amount next week. I feel so bad

Love Elder beddes

Spiritual Highlight of the week-

I was sitting down studying in the New Testament the other day and I got this prompting to check some notebooks full of potential investigators. So I reached out and got it and opened it! There were about 50 progress records full of names of investigators, so I flipped through them all. And I felt inclined to call this guy named Patrick!! And it turns out that he answered his phone and said yeah come on over! So we did! and it was great appointment! I also called a woman named Deborah and she said we could come over and teach her on Sundays!! The Holy Ghost is real!! haha it was really interesting cause the feeling and thought I got was so amazing and I knew exactly that the Holy Ghost was prompting me do what he told me to do! It was a great time and we found two new investigators!

I love you all

From Aiden, a youth member from Georgetown, Canada

October 13, 2015 Seeing the Light of Christ in Others

(Due to the Canadian Thanksgiving Holiday, letters were postponed a day)

Well fam,

I hope you know that when I'm done with emails I send you guys, my fingers feel like they are going to fall off!! I try and put as much info in there as possible! This last week was a pretty good week!! We had zone football at Presidents house in the backyard and it was pretty fun. Pres told me I had a pretty good spriral on the football which surprised me because I have the hardest time throwing it but I did it somehow. Lots of missionaries were there. I socialized it up with a lot of them. The best friends that I have made so far on my mission is Elder Shaffer, and Elder Oldham. They are exactly like me. they are in my zone and we get a long so well, it's kind of nice to be around them every once in awhile. Did I tell you that we went bowling last Monday with the zone? I'll send a pic. I'm standing right next to Elder Shaffer, it was blast!! We do zone service for Salvation Army every Tuesday morning, that's why I'm sending you this email right now. We basically go and do garden stuff. Pick the peas, do carrots, tomatoes, and other garden things, not fun but I get a good feeling after. The Sprikerhoffs had us for Thanksgiving on Saturday and Sunday! They are so kind, I love them so much. We baked cookies. Have you been talking to Sister Sprikerhoff at all? She reminds me a lot of you! She loves the missionaries because she has one out the same time as me. :) Oh, I had this amazing idea to bake cookies for everyone that we are working with, so investigators, less actives, returning members, part member families and even active members and families. They love it! Joe Thistle said that he needed time to rest, so that's been his excuse for the past couple of times that we have called him, texted him, and went over. Everytime we go over he answers the door, he looks pretty rough and sick. I really do think that his parkinsons is doing bad stuff for him. I've never fasted and prayed so much for anyone, and I hope it's working. I gave him the uchtdorf talk that you sent me mom about why anyone would join our church. he really enjoyed! But we have been giving him space for the past week, so hopefully he feels better by tomorrow. We have thought of everything we could do to help him. Offered a priesthood blessing but he said he needed rest that's all. Gave him cookies. Asked if theres anything we can do. Been nice to him, fasted and prayed for him. Any others suggestions? It's kind of sad to think that he was going to have his baptism the other weekend and then this past weekend but they both got dropped... but oh well I really do envision this guy in white clothing getting baptised. :0 We found a couple of new investigators. Patrick and Sajeena, going to meet with them this week and talk about the gospel with them!! Aukje is a hardcore bible fanatic. She's a die hard been saved by grace type of person. I don't think she'll budge... haha but I challenged her to pray and read the book of Mormon. We have an appointment with paul tonight, last time we challenged him to pray everyday even though he said he didn't even pray the last time we asked him to, so it's a big jump for him haha but we call him every other night to pray! lol gave him cookies and really enjoyed it! I went on exchanges last Tuesday with an Elder named Elder Monson. He has adhd. So my companion exchanged with his companion and I exchanged with his. I drove for the first time, they live in downtown Brampton and it was crazy! Tons of traffic but it was a cool experience. I don't know how Elder Monson's companion has done it for the past couple of transfers with him!  You probably know somewhat about adhd. He gets sidetracked a lot, talks to himself, walks back/forth, if you say something to him and it triggers something in his mind, he'll start yelling what you just said maybe like a song or a quote or like a movie. It was an interesting night hahha but I have the highest respect for him! He's got heart, and he is an inspiration to us all! President called to do weekly planning with us, so that was interesting. He was impressed with me though, the way I did the whole thing and the things I said. He's a very nice man, I love him! I thought I had some like hoodies for the winter, did I not bring any? haha I have the sweaters! The jackets are awesome by the way thank you so much! So the highlight of my week is Charles Moody!! We got him to his next saving ordinance!!!!!! He is going to get his temple endowment next week!!!!!! We have been working with him to get him ready for the temple, he was baptised only last year, and he had his bishop interview this last sunday!! I'm so pumped for him!!!!! He's a great guy, he's taken us out to a place called Harveys. It's a hamburger place, it's alright. We went to place called Tokyo Macky, it's buffet sushi and chicken. I don't like the sushi but I love the chicken!! It's kind of pricey but so worth it!! I love the letters that you guys have been sending me!!  I love them! Still trying to work with Michael Spenc and Sister Hicks. We are meeting with them this week. We go on walks with Sister Hicks and we are working with her in receiving her own endownment too! She's almost there!! Michael Spenc says that he was baptized at age eight in the church but I don't know about that, so we are working with that and trying to figure out if he really was! hahaha I've been doing a lot more working out that's for sure!! I found a jump rope in the apartment and I have been jump roping a lot lately! I have been reading in the new testament, and love the stories of jesus!! I feel the spirit so strongly when I hear about Jesus Christ and what he did for us. He did so much for the people, and its so heartwarming. A couple of people really reminded me of Jesus a couple of days ago. We were in the Relief Society Room on sunday looking at dinner appointments and I was eavesdropping on a couple of sisters in the ward. One of them asked if she was ready to go home because it was the end of church. And this lady, who was blind and very elderly, asked if the Elders are doing alright and if there's anything that she could do to help us. And the lady said everything was ok and that we were doing alright, and I turned back around after hearing that and went straight to the tissues because she was so Christlike. I felt the spirit so strong, I knew the Savior was so proud of this blind elderly lady. Man I'm tearing up just emailing this to you. :) haha she was kind, I can't tell you the feeling I have for such a kind selfless woman. She has impacted my life, and she doesn't even know. Another experience I had was during sacrament meeting. I was sitting there pondering the week I had and the role the savior played in it. I looked up and I saw this cute boy with downs syndrome passing the sacrament. And after he was done with his section, he stood in line and began to hug every other deacon and teacher who was standing in it. I saw Jesus once again. This cute down Sydrome boy probably of the age of 14 loved what he was doing and loved the people he was with. I will never forget these experiences nor the experiences that Jesus had because the experiences that I had with these two great saints reminded me fully of the times of Jesus Christ and his mortal ministry. We must not forget what he did for us!! :) Remember to pray and give thanks and to also poor out your concerns to Heavenly Father and to Jesus, because they want to know about the things you are going through. I testify that they are there, and they do listen to your prayers. Whenever I hear an investigator pray momma, I think of us singing our song at my baptism. "Heavenly Father are you really there? And do you hear and answer every childs prayer? Suffer the Children....." "Pray he is there, pray he is listening....." I love you Mom, you play such a big chunk of my life and I owe so much of it to you. My dear sisters... I can't tell you how much I love you guys. Some of the memories I remember with you guys are when I was lying in my bed, thinking about the next day, and I remember each of you walking into my room on separate days saying" Coco its time for prayers" and out of frustration and anger I got up grumpy as I was, and I tried to show it too, just to make you guys feel bad. I can't tell you how much of a mistake that was and how sorry I am for doing it. You guys have blessed me so much, and I thank you so much. If I had a choice now and had realized my mistakes earlier, I would have gotten out of my bed, kissed each of you, and said "Thank you for getting me because family prayer is one the most important things I could be doing."

Love you forever and always,

Elder Beddes

Dear M, you are so kind and I love you so much! I am talking to people about jesus and god. I wish I could take you with me on my mission and I would have you say "I want you to be baptized" and then they will, cause they can't say no to you. ;) I love you lele I will be a good missionary, only because you told me so.

Love,

Coco

Brampton

Zone Football

 Sister Sprickerhoof and Fam

Office

 Bowling

After tracking in the pouring rain Haha!

Posted by the mission Pres. "Happy Day after Canada Thanskgiving Day! We had Weston and Brampton Zones over for our second annual Turkey Bowl! Great fun to see their enthusiastic play!"

Can you see Elder Beddes???