October 7, 2013

Dear Everyone, 

I hope that I will be able to say all that I have in mind to say and that I will also be able to answer any other questions you may have.  The weather here is very inconsistent, it is really cold and windy one day and hot and muggy the other, this goes along with the people as well. 

I have been asking myself what more can be done to move this work along. After many experiences this week I have learned to be grateful for the little battles that are won. I will tell you of the little battles that were won this week. The first battle that I had to over come was District Meeting. I have not yet mastered the art of feeling 100% comfortable with teaching. However, this is a good feeling because it humbles me and then I am able to have and feel the Spirit work through me. It was a good district meeting I know this because I was jotting down mental notes as I was teaching and testifying. 

The second battle came as we were teaching this lady who has a lot of questions and concerns. After applying the Preach My Gospel section on Concerns she was finally able to move on. This principle was put perfectly into words when President Thomas S. Monson quoted Abraham Lincoln about winning someone to your cause! (Check it out). The third battle came while trying to resolve problems with my companion...I had a lot of questions on what I should do and even more on how I should go about doing them! Lets just say things happen at a certain time for a reason.I say this because after all these challenges arose I was able to sit down in a monthly interview with President Francis and he gave an assignment to look for answers in Conference. Well this not only resolved my questions but it built my testimony of the power of inspiration given to those that speak at General Conference. I had written down 11 questions or concerns I wanted to have answered and all of the questions were addressed individually. It was just perfect. 

I have so much to say about conference, I would even go far enough to say I have too much to say! The over all theme that I felt kept coming up throughout all of the sessions was love. Whether it was love of God or of all mankind. It made me think about Jesus Christ and how he overcame the world through love and isn't that why we have Apostles and Prophets? They are here to help us in our path home by overcoming the ills of this world! I can tell you that they have shown me the way and the way is Jesus Christ and His Gospel. After one of the sessions I was reading the scriptures and pondering about one of the messages and I thought of this little saying that I have heard so often "It does not matter what you know but who you know" I thought about that and it is so true. That person that we need to know is Jesus Christ! So I took the liberty to add to that saying, "It does not matter what you know, but who you know, and what you know about Him". If we can just understand this more deeply what this really means to "learn of Him" we will never depart from the path home and our burdens truly will be taken away.

As for those that I am teaching we are having little progression, but like I said before you have to learn to recognize the little victories in order to really be prepared and worthy for the big ones. We have a lot of hope for one of our investigators. Her name is Jessica and she is in a tough spot with her husband. They are separated but now back together/separated again. It is tough, but she watched conference on Sunday and Loved it! The coolest part was when she was listening to the Prophet. Since she is a Jehovahs Witness she knows a lot about Prophets. After hearing the words of a true and living Prophet she was dumbfounded (for lack of a better term). She told us afterwards that she did not want conference to end and that she wished President Monson would have spoke more. She is making big leaps towards following Jesus Christ. We are so excited for the Faith and Testimony she is gaining! 

We may not be making a big difference when it comes to outward appearance but I have learned that not too many people wear their hearts on their sleeves especially in a world that we live in now. It is important to never get discouraged and to be steadfast in the Faith that we have. This Church is so true we must begin to plant the seed of Faith into the hearts of those around us and be patient and let the Lord succor His people. 

Well Cattaraugus is doing well colorful leaves are in no short supply. Trees are the most abundant resource Western New York has aside from dead opossums :) ahaha the leaves are falling and winter is coming. I am pretty excited to shovel the snow :) 

Thanks so much for all of your emails and letters. I am so lucky and have never felt without support! I am so blessed.

Love,

Elder Bevan

P.S. Mom we did watch Conference at the Church. And nope we did not get a dinner appointment but we went around bugging the members till they fed us ahaha :)