December 2, 2013

Dear Everyone,

Happy late Thanksgiving!! It has been an awesome week. I loved getting all of your emails about what you did and seeing how much fun you had! That was something I was really thankful for this week. MY FAMILY! I am not going to lie I missed being at home and having a thanksgiving with family but only for about 2 seconds haha. We were so busy this week that there was no time to feel homesick or anything like it. So I will tell you a little bit of what happened around Turkey Day. So in the morning before we had our feast we had District Meeting which was really great! (I still stress over them every week and even get a little nervous but it is good practice for me!) After District Meeting we went over to a members house for a thanksgiving feast! She is a recent convert of about 2 weeks! She is pretty awesome and reminds me a lot of mom (because they have the same RED HAIR). It was a great time but we did not spend a lot of time there. We promptly left the meal and went about doing the Lord's work. 

My companion and some other elders had an idea to go around and shovel snow for people as a way of finding new people to teach (Shovel tracting). This was a way awesome experience! I do not know if it was because of thanksgiving or what, but people seemed to love us!!! (maybe because we were shoveling a foot of snow out of their yards?) It seemed like everywhere we went we found a warm welcome and an invitation to come in and have hot chocolate and pie! It may have been one of the happiest tracting experiences I have had :). We found 2 new investigators because of it and 2 or 3 others with some REAL potential. It is amazing what can happen when you go around and just DO GOOD. I think people were more open because they felt more like they were working with us as opposed to us working ON them. It is so important to see people as your family and to treat them as such. I know as a member of a family that I do not like being told what to do but would rather work with someone and learn from their example.

This week was also the week of our long awaited FIRESIDE!!! It was so much work to put together! I prayed a ton and stressed even more, for about 2 weeks, creating a presentation that would be easy to understand and invite the Spirit. We planned on this fireside being directed toward nonmembers and encouraging members to invite their friends. Well it worked! Our prayers and efforts were answered with an outpouring of the Spirit. It was nothing but the Grace of God that allowed this to come together so perfectly. We, along with the Sisters, (from Orchard Park) were able to teach the Restoration in a way that involved the people and taught them the most important message that, we as missionaries, have to share. The greatest thing that resulted from our efforts was that the people who needed to hear this message came to the fireside! We had planned, of course, on having all of our investigators come (we have about 21 investigators) and only 1 came. Of course we were disappointed but, come to find out, the Lord had different plans. What I came to realize was that the members needed to hear this message more than anyone else in this area. They were the ones that needed the light of this wonderful message in their lives. For the sole purpose that, they could have something to share with their friends. We also needed to gain their trust and support in moving this work along. The only way this was ever going to happen was for them to see us in action. 

I have really been strengthened this week to do more than I could ever hope or aspire to do on my own. I know that this was only possible because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His ability to overcome all things has added strength to my physical capacities as well as my emotional, and Spiritual and has led all my trials to be swallowed up in the Joy of Christ just like Alma says in Alma 31:38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith. I know that things are true and that we are able to overcome all things if we can just recognize our dependence on our Brother Jesus Christ and ask Him in Faith to strengthen us. 

I hope you all have a great week and really prepare yourself for this wonderful CHRISTMAS season! I am so excited for CHRISTmas! By the way...we just found out that our whole mission is getting together for Christmas eve and having a day long "event" (aka party) I am very excited but not as excited as I am to teach and testify! :)

Thanks again!

Love you all,

Elder Bevan