January 30, 2017 Straight Outta Kingston- I'm Staying!

This week was a pretty good one. Good news and bad news, but hey that's what makes the week adventurous! Me and Elder Bybee are staying another transfer together!!!! When we received our transfer call that we were staying we like jumped up off of our seats and then starting high fiving as hard as we could over and over again. We were so excited! We are getting 4 new missionaries in the zone so i'm excited to meet them! We are seeing Elder Vargus leave the zone, he's one of my favorite missionaries, and he's going to Toronto for his last transfer. I'm going to miss that guy so much. 

I was mean to Ebe last night. I lied to him over the phone that I was getting transfered which he didn't want to happen at all! We saw him like everyday last week because he didn't want us to get transferred and wanted to spend as much time with us! haha and so when I told him that I was getting transferred there was a lot of silence. He didn't know what to say. It sounded like he was going to cry and at the very end I told him I was just kidding and he hung up! lol So we called him back and he said to never do that again! haha He was pretty pumped that we got to stay another 6 weeks! I love that guy so much! 

We had another in detail discussion with him the other day in the car about the gospel... he's got so much intent. He's been doing a ton of studying of the church and it became a reality to him that we were leaving and so he was really diving deep this past week! After the discussion we had with him, after he had gotten out of the car, I just started balling. Elder Bybee probably thought I was huge baby haha but it was so hard to for me to listen to his concerns about the church. You can tell in his voice that he really wants to know the truth but because of his upbringing in different beliefs it's extremely hard for him... and for me to step into his shoes and the amount of love that I have for him, it was extremely hard for me. I don't think I have ever had so much love for someone on my mission. We are best friends and I just want him to get it and to accept it but it's just very confusing to him right now. But he's trying!

We gave talks yesterday in church. I gave a talk on The Book of Mormon and Elder Bybee talked on Joseph Smith! I accidentally talked for 25 min. and Elder Bybee only had 10... hahaha my bad! They were good talks though, it was really good for our inv. Ebe and Andrew!

Shirley dropped us... quite unexpectedly. She said that she didn't want to join because there was to much to handle. After we had just had the most awesome lesson with her. She started referring to the church as her church... I don't really want to talk about it to much haha but things like that happen and it's ok! That's life! 

Sorry it's kind of short but know that I love you guys with all of my heart! I love the mission so much and I love kingston!! So many miracles have happened! Many people are coming to church! I'm lovin life! 

Love

Elder Beddes       

January 23, 2017 Disgusting Seafood Soup

Hey hey hey it's Fat Albert! It's been another great week here in kingstown. So many great things happened this week! I swear that I say that every week but this one is more so. haha first off Ebe is sweet. I love that guy, I never thought I would make such a great friend on my mission. He read Alma 32 and loved it. He's really mad that we could be getting transferred next week so he wants to do something every day of the week haha! We hit our record for lessons taught in the week! And also Investigators at church! Shirley and her son came to church! (She was a media referral) Had a lesson with her after church and she says that that was the best church she's been too ever. She refers to it as her church now! haha she wants to join as well! Pumped for it!! Andrew who we found contacting at the university came out too! It was the first time in like 10 years that he had been to church! He said it was a ton better than the churches he went to in the past. He wants to go every week now!! Pumped for it!!! Man that's music to my ears! I think that he is figuring it all out! He lost his connection with God after he had stopped going to the point where he didn't even believe. I think it's coming back to him though! I mean... he says he wants to come every week and wants to meet with us more often! 

Let's see here... 

we are volunteering at a soup kitchen. Me and Elder Bybee cut bacon for 2 hours.... that was sweet! Our hands smelt like bacon for two days. It's been good though, the volunteers have been asking questions about the church and what we do. It's good to get the name out there too. Got some new awesome branch missionaries that are wanting to help us! That's fantastic for us! The branch loves us now haha! They fed us everyday for the past like 2 weeks, and the people that didn't like us, now do!! YES!! Lovin this!!! Elder Bybee is getting better at basketball(still a rookie, don't tell him a said that ;)).

It's pretty cold here. Warmer than last winter though! 

The other day we were fed the most disgusting dinner. I was grateful for their willingness to have us over and to feed us but they made some type of sea food soup with like tofu, three different types of fish, some like gushy noodles that looked like throw up.... I was strugglin to eat this. Like it was bad. Elder Bybee was trying so hard to hide his laugh while I was trying to hide my gagging noises. lol ohh man never again please. I wanted to cry on the spot. 

We taught Elders Quorum literally last minute because the teacher was sick. We studied to talk about 20 min before we taught. It was President Uchtdorf's talk about The great plan of our God. Such a good talk. What I learned from it is that something we take the Gospel for granted. We are so blessed to have the fullness of the Gospel here and we don't realize the blessings that could be bestowed upon us because of it. I regret I was like this before my mission not being more grateful for what I had regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so blessed. Blessings on Blessings on Blessings. 

Love you all,

Elder Beddes, Coco, Uncle Drew    

Laundry day!

Elder Paul...he's home right now. :(

January 16, 2017 The Mission Has Changed My Life

This week has been a really good one! I swear that the weeks keep getting faster and faster. There's something about staying busy that just makes the time fly! Me and Elder Bybee are having a blast together! We get along so well and we only have about two weeks left till the transfer is over. :( I would say that the highlights of the week were finding a couple of new investigators to teach and seeing Joe M come to church and his desire to start coming out every week! Brings joy to my heart to hear that! We received an unexpected text from a guy who said that he was wanting to learn more about our church! He was asking some great questions about prophets as well! So we set up a time to meet him at the church to teach him more! Me and Elder Carroll the AP was on exchanges with me and we were able to teach him! It can be hard to teach with somebody that you have never really known and know what their teaching skills are like but everything was just so smooth and the lesson was powerful! He was asking the most sincere questions ever and was really engaged in the lesson it was great! He has a family of 3 daughters that are really young as well! The Lord blessed us with a family! Thank you!! Invited him to be baptized and he said yes with no hesitation! Gotta love it! 

Everything just seemed to go well this week! We taught a lot of great lessons this week to people we've been working with! People are coming out to church! The branch is loving it! The branch is doing really well! I was able to really express my gratitude as I gave a talk yesterday about how much I appreciated them, so hopefully they believe us! The branch has been feeding us a ton more than what they were at the beginning of us being there! So that's good!

Ebe came to church yesterday! Man I love that guy so much! We really have grown a strong relationship these past couple of weeks. He's one that I will stay in contact with the rest of my life. I just wish he could come to BYU-I with me! He's moving slowly but surely! We are going to follow up on what he's been doing so far about The Book of Mormon and praying and such!

I've been doing really well! I don't think I talk a lot about me but I'm loving life! I can't believe I have such a little time left on my mission! I was talking to Elder Bybee about this the other and I was expressing how I still feel like I've been out for like 5 months and I'm just so used to Older missionaries saying that they only have such a little time left... and now I'm one of those older missionaries. It doesn't seem real. But at the same time I still have 7 months so I'm happy! It's interesting to see as Zone Leader where missionaries desires are. You could easily pick out those who have a desire to work and those who don't. Those who actually care about the people they teach and those who care more about what they are eating for dinner that night. It's sad to see... and you can only hope and pray that they aren't like that after the mission.

I gave a talk yesterday about the personal relationship we should have with Jesus Christ and how he can really relate to us all and what we are going through! I shared two experiences to really paint the picture. One was my 8th grade experience moving and feeling so alone! And the other was seeing investigators fall short of baptism after working so much with them and seeing them progress! These are two experiences I've had that have really helped me gain knowledge and understanding of what Jesus Christ went through. Those were tough times in my life but I was able to have someone relate to me and help me through it! As well as my family of course! The mission has changed my life ladies and gentleman, it's changed me! And I owe it all to Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!!! hahaha

Love you all dearly and I think about you all often! Not joking!

Forever and Always,

Elder Beddes, Beds, Coco, Jojinator

Ebe

January 9, 2017 -12 Degrees- No Bueno!

Sounds like everything is ship shape with the fam in Farmington! I hope you had a great birthday and I'm glad you liked the picture! Thanks for sending it back, it looks sweet like that! I was just telling Elder Bybee that story about me shooting on the opposite side of the AAU game. I was wondering what our conversation was like after that game. Can you remember? Me and Elder Bybee are doing really well. We get a long so well! It's super fun! We had a sweet Zone Council the other day and we taught everybody about the new changes of the missionary schedule, holy ghost in conversion, and faith and repentance! IT was really good, the participation was golden and that makes all the difference! We had that huge MLC meeting that takes like 8 hours lol! We played ball before the meeting and so we woke up really early and I only got like 3 hours of sleep haha! Ok so if you remember last times Zl challenge was to eat Scotch bonnets. This time it was to eat a gold fish. For those of you who are grossed out already I would advise that you skip this part lol. So we all had to gulp down a live gold fish so that Elder Cattelain ( a good buddy of mine) would drink a pretty big baby shark. So we all did, mine wasn't that bad honestly it just felt weird going down my throat lol. Elder Cattelain couldn't do it the first time, he gagged it back up lol it was hilarious! But he did it the second time. We aren't sick so thank heaven for that! But it was pretty funny to watch!

Man!! 

We got a sweet LA named Joe to church the other day who hasn't gone in like a year! He loved it! He wants to start coming out more too! I love this guy so much, he's got the shakes but his testimony is rock solid! He usually teaches us instead of us teaching him! haha 

Ebe is sweet as always! We told him that he just needs to read The Book of Mormon. He read the introduction and he said that he understands what it is but is having a hard time with the desire to read it. He's just having a hard time adjusting I think since it's all new to him. But he is getting somewhere. I love this guy so much. We were making plans for after the mission to hang out haha! 

Well just like Jake i'm getting a little chub chub but that's alright. We will burn it off together! lol It's hard especially over the holidays ok!? I'm ashamed of myself but I will regain my six pack back! With the Lord's help anything is possible. Chase is doing pretty good. He's a Zl right now. He's always busy on Pdays or something like that so he has a hard time even emailing me. But he seems to be doing good! 

I have to keep this one pretty short. The week was pretty good. Got to see a couple of new people! Sister Hobbs from the StoneyCreek ward came and visited me and Elder Bybee! She's so cool, I love her so much! She took us out to dinner and we caught up! She's so amazing! In sacrament meeting I bore testimony of my stupid mistake I made of putting diesel in the car. ;) everybody thought it was hilarious!! It was an overall good week! I love the letters you guys send me and the emails! I'm grateful for all that I have. I've been blessed my entire life, and I'm grateful for the all of you! Oh and my driving in the snow is fantastic! I love it so much, you'd see me drifting around corners if you saw me. ;) The weather is really cold over here.... -15 yesterday. No bueno... oh and as well we are trying to regain the members trust here in Kingston. I think that is one of mine and elder bybee's roles here in kingston is to regain members trust since there were some experiences in the past of missionaries doing some no no stuff. SO we've been givin lots of cookies and letters to people and we've been seeing a big difference! It's amazing! So just an update of how everything is going! love you all! 

Forever and Always,

Elder Beddes, coco, diesel   

MLC

 Elder Bybee

Leadership Missionaries!

January 3, 2017 NEW YEAR!

Thank you for the lengthy emails! I love how they are always in great detail! So to answer some of those questions you guys sent me... our investigators are doing alright. Still trying to build up the area! We came into the area with nothing really lol just like the other areas I've served in! haha but it's good we are doing our best! Ebe is amazing, we had another long lesson with him about the plan of salvation. We used a lot of bible scriptures to back up some of the truths up and he finds them really interesting and I think we are progressing with him! The media referell we received awhile ago has been really sick lately so that's no good. But we do have an appointment with her this Saturday hopefully! The weather has been pretty cold lately! Reminds me a lot of last winter but not as bad as Sudbury! Holy Cow that Root Canal story is awesome!! Blessings on blessings on blessings!! I'm doing really well, Elder Bybee is fantastic! We get a long so well! I know him like the back of my hand! Our week was pretty good, nothing to exciting to be honest! We were able to set up some appointments with some part member families that we haven't seen yet so we are excited about that! We were able to get into some doors that have been tough to get into!! New Years Eve and Day were interesting. You don't really do anything as missionaries to celebrate haha just chill and talk! But it was good, I'm excited for the new year!! My personal goals are to reactivate a family, baptize 5 more, gain a better understanding of the Plan of Salvation, email past companions every once in awhile, email converts couple of times during the month, get ripped, and keep my apartment clean always!! I think I can do it!! Sounds like you guys had a great celebration! Those jello cups look amazing I miss those so much!! Ebe says hi by the way, he was so excited that you guys wanted me to say hi to him! Me and Him are really tight, I plan on visiting this guy after the mission!  

I'm teaching Elder Bybee Basketball and he's getting really good. WE go in the mornings and I just tell him to do some basketball drills and it's like i'm coaching. Totally reminds me of the times we practiced together. I'm grateful for all that you guys have taught me(mom and dad) and I may have had a bad attitude about it at the time but I'm grateful for all that you do and have taught me! It wasn't until I experience something especially on my mission when I start to realize why things were taught to me. 

We taught Elders quorum on Sunday last minute. SO we threw something together and we wanted to talk about the sacrament and how we can make it more personal to us. I sadly didn't take it as seriously as I should have before the mission which i fully regret, but know I can say that I understand! Preparing for the sacrament is very very important. Not just expecting the day of, but remembering and looking forward to it throughout the week will make your experience so much better! I'm grateful for the chance that I have take the sacrament to remember the most important event of all time and how personal it can be to all of us. Christ died for us so we can live. Christ atoned for us so we can be made whole and experience true happiness as we exercise our faith and repent! The Gospel is true, I would be hopeless and without purpose and meaning in my life if I didn't have it. I repeat that last sentence once again lol I would be hopeless and without purpose and meaning in my life if I didn't have it. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Beddes,Coco, Jojonator 

Swag

 Elder Vargus going hard with a light sabor!!

December 27, 2016 Diesel

Wow what an amazing week! One of the most spiritual and fun weeks on my mission so far! My favourite days were definitely Christmas and Christmas eve. I don't know why but me and Elder Bybee were  having a hard time believing that Christmas was coming up. And we had some negative experiences happen in the Branch and it was kind of getting us down. It wasn't until Christmas eve when a family in the branch invited us over and  gave us dinner and played games with us and surprised us with gifts. She had contacted me and Elder By bee's moms and asked if she could make our Christmas better and so my mom sent my favourite brownie recipe to her and she made them for me! I just started to tear up when they surprised us with the gifts and the brownies. It was such a spiritual experience for me! That family is the best, the mother had given me a book that she felt like giving me and it's amazing! I felt so special haha! And then we got some surprise gifts from other members in the branch. And then I got some amazing gifts from my family!! People were so kind to us during Christmas. We had like 3 dinners on Christmas! Haha the Harvey's made the best and biggest meal ever. They are so kind! They say hi by the way!! They have a missionary out on a mission right now in Mexico! 

I appreciate all of the thoughts, letters, and prayers people have given me during this Christmas season it means a ton! I was thinking a lot about family and friends and how grateful and blessed I am to have all of you guys supporting what I am doing! The service at church on Sunday was spectacular! Lots of musical numbers that touched me deeply about the Savior. I'm grateful for him and all that he has done for all of us. I can't believe that that was my last Christmas on my mission. The time is going by to fast. It really is. I can't believe it. 

Played some basketball with my favorite inv. Ebe. I didn't think I would make a best friend teaching the Gospel haha but I was proven wrong. Me and him are so tight and we have so much in common. He just needs to get baptised!!!

We have another solid inv. She is a media referral who requested a Book of Mormon. She's so solid, and I can't wait to start teaching her! She's going to get baptised for sure!!

My momma wants me to share an embarrassing moment I had on my mission... and I'll try and share it as simply as possible. Mom you can elaborate on it if you would like. But our car was really low on gas and so we pulled up to a gas station and I pulled the pump out and put into the slot and it wouldn't fit. But I was still able to put the liquid in the tank some how... so we started driving and then the car started stuttering and then it shut down. So we were in the car for about an hour trying to seek help in the freezing cold. Finally we were able to put it in the shop and it turned out that I had put diesel in the car.... lol and the next time one of my missionary friends had me share my experience with 50+ missionaries and our mission president and other church leaders and they all were laughing at me because of my mishap lol. And now... my nickname throughout the mission is Diesel hahha but it's all good though. It was just funny to see the mission president and his wife and a bunch of missionaries laugh at me and make fun of me and in a sarcastic way in front of everybody. Now I know there are a ton of ways that you can relate this to the gospel and I will leave it up to all of you guys but I was thinking that you need to take a step back and check/think twice before you do something stupid and think of the impact it could have on your life and others.

I'm grateful for everything that I have including the struggles and weaknesses because I couldn't progress and become a stronger person because of them. I'm grateful and know that the Savior lives and you would be surprised of how much the Savior knows you and how close he is to all of you. Throughout the Bible and the Book of Mormon there are many scriptures that talk about how the Savior's arms are always outstretched despite the stupid things we could be doing and the dumb choices we make. He doesn't give up, and neither should we. Don't lose hope! You keep going! Remember who you are and why you are here! Go out of your way and do something kind for someone! Make the most out of this holiday season! I love you and am forever grateful for all of you!! 

Forever and Always,

Elder Beddes, Diesel, Coco :)  

Best gift I got for Christmas hahhaa

 

 

 

 

December 25, 2016 Christmas

Dearest Colten,

I just love hearing about your missionary experiences! Missionary life seems both rewarding and challenging at the same time. I say this often, but please know that you are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I know you are 'strong and of a good courage', but as a mother I think it's natural to worry about our children. You are a lot like me in the sense that we are 'sensitive souls', which has both pros and cons. We tend to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders at times and at other times, feel indescribable joy. I think there are times that we feel too much! So much so that it literally hurts. Being sensitive makes us want to make a difference, though. We want to influence others for the better. When I heard about the church's new slogan, 'Light The World', I loved it! I wanted to be a part of it! I knew from experience that small random acts of kindness could go a long way! I shared with you and the family and challenged each of you to participate... and so we began. Daily RAOK's (Random Acts Of Kindness) I learned really weren't that hard. In fact, my life seemed to revolve around my family and I quickly realized that we, as parents, are constantly doing RAOK's. I just needed to step up my game. I couldn't help but think of this quote by Dieter F Uchtdorf, "As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness.” I wanted to feel this way, but I quickly became discouraged... I just wasn't into it. Where's my Christmas Spirit? What difference does it make? My head was in the right place, but my heart wasn't and I just wasn't feeling 'happiness' serving others. I mostly felt weary. My nightly prayers became longer as I pleaded with Heavenly Father to help me stay positive. I would fall asleep thinking of Mary, Joseph, and the 'Little Lord Jesus' in hopes of regaining that 'Christmas Spirit'. I continued to try and 'Light the World' by doing my part because I knew, recognized or not, in some simple way it would make a difference. Don't misunderstand, I still cared and wanted to share happiness, I just lost a bit of that happiness along the way. About a week before Christmas, out of the blue I was contacted by Sister Takahashi (from Canada) who said that she had a strong feeling that she needed to contact the moms of the missionaries and ask if there was anything she could do for us (for them) to make Christmas more meaningful and to make sure the missionaries felt loved and lifted. She also invited you to Christmas Eve dinner! What a wonderful person and example of what it means to be of service!  I loved that she took the time to reach out to us and it instantly put my mind at ease concerning you, my missionary son who I worry about constantly (I know, I need not worry!). I knew you would be taken care of over the holidays and it warmed my heart.  We asked her to make your favorite brownies and include one of your favorite quotes, 'My feelings are that I may be like clay in the hands of the potter or like a fiddle in the hands of the performer. I am not going to dictate God, but feel to say, Father play through me in a manner that shall be for the salvation of this people." -Heber C Kimball.

Christmas Eve night, Sister Takahashi sent me some wonderful pictures of my happy boy and his companion participating in her family traditions. The next day, Sister Harvey (also from Canada) invited you and Elder Bybee to be with her family on Christmas Day. My mind was at peace knowing that you were being taking care of and loved while away from home. People never cease to amaze me with their kindness and generosity! These two sisters simply loved and took care of my boy because they cared. It meant so much to us! Sister Takahashi  reached out to me later Christmas Day following another prompting, which touched my heart profoundly. I honestly feel it was an answer to a prayer. She said exactly what I needed to hear, "This Christmas I have been reminded that the Lord loves us and he is aware of us. Gods plan is the best plan and how cool is it that he trusts us to be a part of the work and lift and bless one another?" She then sent me a video of her playing the guitar and singing, 'As Sisters in Zion':

1. As sisters in Zion, we’ll all work together;
The blessings of God on our labors we’ll seek.
We’ll build up his kingdom with earnest endeavor;
We’ll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.
2. The errand of angels is given to women;
And this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim:
To do whatsoever is gentle and human,
To cheer and to bless in humanity’s name.
3. How vast is our purpose, how broad is our mission,
If we but fulfill it in spirit and deed.
Oh, naught but the Spirit’s divinest tuition
Can give us the wisdom to truly succeed.

Oh, how I needed to hear this reminder! He trusts us to be a part of His work! How could I not find joy and happiness in serving others when I'm on the Lord's errand? I truly believe there are angels among us, as evident in Sister Takahashi. In my patriarchal blessing, I am told that I will bring happiness into the lives of others and to share and always be a good neighbor and that the Lord will lead me, guide me, and strengthen me in this endeavor. Sister Takahashi, with the Lord's promptings, was instrumental in doing this- giving me strength when I felt weary. She was being a good 'neighbor', an angel among us! I believe the errand of angels, to cheer and to bless, is given to us all. I especially see this when I think of my missionary son. How vast is your purpose and broad is your mission, Elder Beddes, but yet you fulfill it day in and day out in spirit and deed. What a great example you are to me! I truly believe that Heavenly Father IS aware of each of us. He wants us to be happy and will lead and guide us and help us succeed. I'm grateful Heavenly Father is aware of each of us. I am grateful for the angels in my life who strengthen and lift me and that I am blessed with opportunities in life to love and lift others. I want to make a difference. I want to be an angel. I love you more than anything, sweet boy. Keep up the good work! Go out and be an angel!
Forever and Always, Love,
Mom

From Sister Takahashi:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

From Sister Harvey:

December 19, 2016 The Boy Who Gives Us All Joy

Oh good you got my package!! That was fast! Just one of the families that were going to New York just took them down and sent them off!! Hope you like them! I didn't do as much this year... cause i'm poor lol so i'm sorry! Sounds like everybody is doing alright! Sports are still going, everybody is working hard in school and everybody is having fun it seems! And i loved the Christmas Picture that you sent!! I'm so excited for Christmas! It's my favorite time of the year for sure! We've been talking so much to people, it's been freezing too so it build character! It was like -15 the other day! Not fun! We get Christmas Mormon.org cards for the Christmas season and they are good ice breakers to contacting people on the street. We found a ton of potentials that are wanting to meet this week so we will see how they go! Found a new inv. he seems really cool! He's really receptive to the gospel and has a great love for his family. Loved teaching him the plan of salvation! 

Had the opportunity to watch some ysa open there mission call the other day! IT was so awesome!! It brought me back to when I was opening mine! Seems like yesterday honestly! It's pretty weird to think about life before the mission because it doesn't seem real. It honestly feels like it was a dream or something, I don't know what it is. I miss my son Elder Hafen! He got transferred out to a place kind of like Napanee! The zone doesn't feel the same with him not being there! He seems to be doing alright though! 

Elder Bybee is doing great as always! We have the most in depth conversations about the Gospel it's amazing! He is such a good guy and loves the Gospel with all of his heart. Learning a lot from the guy! I was thinking a ton about the person i've become on my mission and how much i've changed. I can honestly say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has given me a much better perspective of life and my purpose. I know what matters in this life and I have a better understanding of The Plan of Salvation. Many people I talk to and even people I know take the Gospel and the church for granted. They think that the Gospel is important but they think that the things that they are doing right now regarding work, friends, partying, drugs, looking at porn, etc are more important and will give them more pleasure right then and there than reading The Book of Mormon for example. They don't look at the decisions that they are making in an eternal perspective. They use the Gospel as a back of plan or they go to God whenever they need something or are in a desperate need. That's not what it is for. Sorry i feel like i'm preaching right now lol but just know that this is the most important thing i have ever done in my opinion and I absolutely wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. Have a Merry Christmas all of you and remember the boy who gives us all Joy. 

Forever and Always,

Elder Beddes, Coco, Cocojo

P.S. we will be skyping at the harvey's probably around 2 or 3 over here. We will let you know for sure though! I can't wait to speak to you guys, it feels extremely weird that it's already the time to do that! haha      

I love this district so much!!

December 12, 2016 Power to Change

Wow it's been a great week!! We've been doing a lot of contacting at a university called Queens! Lots of nice students are over there! A lot of them are in a hurry getting to class and stuff like that but we were able to find 3 new and get 8 potentials!! So it's pretty sick! We've been meeting with probably my favorite investigator of all time, Ebe!! His real name is Ebenezer Debebe!! He's from Quatar! He's been raised a Christian! And his best friend is a Mormon! He's part of worldwide group called Power to Change! A bunch of Queen's students are part of the group! And we've met a lot of them and they are so nice!! We've been talking about the fundaments and basics of the church with him!! And he came to church yesterday for all three hours and he loved it! We are already really good friends. We have so much in common it's creepy! I was meant to meet this guy! What else.. oh man we were invited by one of our investigators to one of there bible study classes... man what an experience.. in Elder Bybee's words, he says, "Tuesday we ran into this super down to earth guy who invited us over for a gospel study group on Friday.  We show up, everyone is super nice..apparently though, Friday is their sabbath day...kinda weird.  and on top of that, they start with a ton of singing and dancing.  halfway through this interesting show, we kind of realize that this is what they would consider to be church.  later on we find out they're a group of the religion "12 Tribes". We let the guy who invited us know that we had to leave early cuz we had another lesson.

So the weirdness continues, and then this old man stands up, and starts basically throwing down on us without looking at us.  Talking about how "Christianity has it wrong and people have been brainwashed by the religious institutions, blah blah blah".  we sit, listening politely, until the time comes that we have to go.

We stand up to leave, and he starts yelling at us, just ripping into us.  Elder Beddes starts smiling, cuz it's just so funny, as i grab our coats and we start putting them on, smiling at this guy.  He gets done yelling, and is like "NO, YOU GUYS TEACH US ABOUT GOD.  PLEASE, I'LL SIT DOWN."

I'm so done by now, and so I walk up and say, "alright, i'll share something."  and proceed to bear testimony of the Savior.  It was such a cool experience.  this preacher guy is all chapped, but people in the room are nodding their heads as i testify of the reality of the Savior.  We walk out the door into the cold, and this girl comes running outside, and says 

her: "Do you guys really believe that Jesus was Resurrected?"

us: "yes, yes we do:)"

her: "Do you guys believe in repentance?"

us: "yes, yes we do:)"
her: "I wanna learn more about your church"

us: "well, you came to the right place.  we'll be back next week, we'll set up something."

her: "i'd really like that."

And there you have it. It was pretty interesting. I felt like the Savior almost as we stood there getting yelled at by this guy telling us we aren't Christian and stuff in front of a lot of people. But because of Elder Bybee's short testimony we were able to have someone follow us out of the building and ask us those things!! Can't wait to meet with her!! It was an overall good week! Me and Elder Bybee are having a ton of fun! We were really nervous that we were going to get transferred but it turns out that we are staying another one!! Get to spend Christmas here! So excited!!! 

I can't wait to skype you guys!! It's already that time?? Man time flies!! I know my redeemer lives and loves me too!! He watches over us and knows our doings!! He knows what we are feeling, how we are doing, and the potential that we all have!!! He's cheering us on, and I bare witness of that! Love you all,

Elder Beddes, Coco, Jojo

Toronto!

This is one of my investigators!! Ebenezer D!! I love this guy so much! We are such good friends. One of those people where you know you weren't sent here for a reason and it was to me Ebe!! haha  

 

December 5, 2016 Emails from Baptized and Re-Activated Members

Wow what a story!!! I really liked the story!! I'm going to print that off! Tell her i say hi! ok ok let's see.. the week wasn't the best, i'll be honest. we had a real eye opener this past week. We were really busy this week but we weren't as effective as we should have been! Each night we felt like we worked really hard but in reality not a lot happened! We could have been a lot more productive with our time! So it was a good evaluation between us!! We are going to work extremely hard this week to make up for it! We are excited!! Lots of miracles happened though! We were able to receive a ton of media referrals which is pretty rare to receive and we set appointments with them!!! So excited to meet these guys and start teaching them! The zone is struggling honestly... it's just a bump in the road though, it'll get better!!! We have another zone council this week to pump everybody up so it'll be good!!!  Me and Elder Bybee are having a blast together!! We are such good friends! We went on a ton of exchanges this week! They were really fun! Especially exchanges with the AP's learned a ton!!! Welll i gotta go sadly. Sorry about the short email!! But here are some of the things some of the people i baptized and some of the people i helped reactivate said!! 

Hi Elders,

We hope that you both are doing well and are safe.

We HAVE great and EXCITING news.

See pictures for further insight...hahahaha

We wanted you both to be the first ones to know. So maybe before Elder Herbert goes home we can meet up at the temple. JK

We also wanted to thank you both for all of your love and support and for the encouragement that you both shared with us through all the thick. We have been greatly blessed to have had you both in our lives and to have had the chance to get to know 2 of the most awesome, loving, supportive, encouraging young men that the Lord could have blessed us with.

We love and pray for you both daily. You are both keystones in our family and will always have a place in it.

Oh yes and one more little bit of info for you......Nikita said she is leaning more to serving a mission.

Isn't that awesome.

Everyone is doing well.

We will be emailing you on Christmas, so have a little look when you have a few minutes.

Again we love you both and miss you dearly.

Keep in touch with us even when you go home.

Love

The Jones Family.

 

 Hey huni :-)  thing are going ok, i just got asked if i would like a calling and chris just passed his priesthood interveiw so he is getting that next weekend bishop is bumping him to office of the priest right away :-) ... mckena is doing well she has been going to young womens for about the past month or so she likes it so much better... other then that we have 2 missionaries going home this coming transfer... anyway we love u to and miss u very much...

Love,

Mel H.

 

Dear Elder Beddes,
So we were all figuring it has been a year since you first came to Stoney Creek. I thought in honour of that we would send you a little letter and a copy of Thomas' letter from last week. He seems to busy every p-day. He tells us he is short on time in every letter so we don't get much info each week. He seems really happy though and loving the people of Uruguay.
How are you? Are you loving serving with Elder Bybee?  We miss both of you so much. Kingston is good place though. It is where we first lived when we got married. We loved it there and would have stayed if employment would have allowed it. We had a great Stake conference this week. President and Sister Shields were there. They seem awesome. I spoke with them briefly just to tell them how great our elders are. Elder Baird was standing right next to me and told me later he was mad I didn't talk him up like I did Elder Herbert, MacDonald, Gomez and Hunter. Oh how we have missed Elder Baird!!!

Anyways I hope you are working hard and having success. Say hi to Elder Bybee for us. Andrew still wears his tie each week. We are having Elder Herbert and MacDonald over this week to say good-bye to Elder Herbert. Wish it was YOu! I will paste his letter at the end. Take care and enjoy your week. (I have attached a couple photos so you can see Andrew in the infamous BYBEE TIE, hope you can open them)

Love,

The Hobbs Family

Teaching an AP the art of making good macaroni and cheese lol

Making some cookies for the "Gators"

Eye of the tiger