Monday, May 22, 2017

Still here in Bindura! Happiest ever.

Hello family and friends,

Transfer news:
I am staying here in Bindura and my new companion is Sister Namugenyi from Uganda. She is a super sweet and humble sister from my MTC group. Saying goodbye to Sister Nafula was very hard. I love that girl and please keep her in your prayers as she is returning home without the greetings of her mother.

This week I have a story. We were leaving an appointment late one night and I felt a prompting to turn left instead of right. Sister Nafula and I were led in the same direction. We then passed one of our investigator's homes, Jeremiah and greeted him. I asked if his mother was around so that we could ask permission for him to be baptized. We found her and asked her, she said yes. Then we asked her what church she went to and she mentioned John Mazoe. We invited her to come to church and she goes, "oh yes, I have been plenty of times. I am a member." There are conflicts in her family because her husband does not allow her to attend The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We told her we would teach her husband. This story is an example that shows when we follow the spirit and open our mouths, miracles occur. I am so happy to start teaching this sweet family.I am blessed to still be here in Bindura to take part in this miracle.

I have learned so many things on my mission, but something very important and dear to me (that I know I always preach about) is love. It is the first and greatest commandment and we know that we cannot enter into the kingdom of God without the attribute charity.I have learned to love people fully, regardless of how they treat me which can be a hard thing sometimes. As human beings, we do not like others to demean our worth or make us feel small but we must remember that how we treat others is a reflection of ourselves, and we are all God's children, The hardest to love need love the most. I am thankful for being here and learning so much each and every day. I am thankful to be a missionary and that Heavenly Father allows me to even though I am far from perfect. I love the people and Zimbabwe. This gospel is true. We need to apply it in our lives or else we are nothing. 

Pictures coming next week. 

Packages and letters:
65 Enterprise Rd. Highlands Harare Zimbabwe.
-the easiest way for me to receive packages cheap & fast is by using padded envelopes. :)
--
Love,
Sister Beckstead

Happy Belated Mothers Day!!!!

Hello family and friends,

HAPPY BELATED MOTHER'S DAY!

Yesterday was amazing. Even though the network connections were terrible I am so happy to have been able to talk and see with my family. I love them so much, they are the best!

I am not emailing for so long today, just came on shortly to send a few photos. Just know I am very happy and working hard here in Zimbabwe. I am always grateful to be serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Will respond to personal emails next week. 

Pictures:
 Wayne & I, baptisms of Mercy and Ladin, my companion's birthday, mormon helping hands and gotta love sweet gifts from members.


-- 
Love,
Sister Beckstead













Find Yourself Through Him.

5/1/17

Hey family and friends,
To be honest it has been a long and busy week. Tuesday the Bindura Zone traveled to Harare for our zone conference. Wednesday, Sister Nafula and I stayed in Harare for exchanges in Chitungwiza. Thursday, we traveled back to Harare and the rest of the week was normal missionary work in Bindura. 

As I reflected and reviewed what I should share today, my mind and heart kept pressing towards faith. Faith is never constant, it is either progressing or digressing. We all know what faith is and how to define it but today I want to talk about faith in ourselves. I read a conference talk earlier this week entitled, "You Can Do It Now!" Here are some parts I liked:

"We 
can feel so burdened by our failures and shortcomings that we begin to think we will never be able to succeed."
"No one likes to fail. And we particularly don’t like it when others—especially those we love—see us fail. We all want to be respected and esteemed. We want to be champions. But we mortals do not become champions without effort and discipline or without making mistakes."
"We acknowledge that your path will at times be difficult. But give you this promise in the name of the Lord: rise up and follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer and Savior, and one day you will look back and be filled with eternal gratitude that you chose to trust the Atonement and its power to lift you up and give you strength."
In zone conference, President Mkhabela defined a goal as "a commitment without a guarantee of success except faith." While this is relating to missionary work, it can also relate to us personally. I know that if we try our very best each and every day (and I mean our very best), our eyes are focused on eternal goals, and we are committed to our Savior, we will have success. Follow in His footsteps. Do the things Jesus Christ did when He walked on the earth. Learn about Him in the scriptures. When it gets hard to press forward, remember, faith is always pointed towards the future. Fill your time with things of eternal importance like blessing the lives of others through your talents, callings and actions. As we become more like our Savior Jesus Christ we will find ourselves because He has the attributes that make someone truly beautiful.
I love and miss you ALL....
BUT........ just one favor.............
I would love to hear from you all. Just a short email with how life is going and maybe some pictures. I would really appreciate it!!
pictures:
1, 2, 3, 4- zone conference!
5-brother Ngonisa, our ward mission leader doing some stone work.
6- chipage drying to prepare for the grinding mill
7- the areaaa
-- 
Love,
Sister Beckstead