Merry Christmas and Happy New Year part 2

Life is just too good.

And for Christmas..who needs to buy a Christmas tree (especially when you have no money) when you can just make one! I had to get real creative, but I was determined to have a Christmas tree haha. This is the best I could do.

Christmas morning we spent with Bishop Folau and his family #Theeeebestttt Mate Ma'a Tonga Brekky (Breakfast) haha. 

And then we kicked it with our other family, the Masima's! They went all out to dress up haha, it's fun being apart of other family's traditions! 

We found this crazy as Christmas Spider, he's got decorations on him and everything! #DefinitelyPoisonous 

And then there was this crazy guy at the train station, he was just by himself closing his eyes and shaving his face.. everyone thought he was crazy but I went to talk to him..one thing turned into another and then he started singing to me in Egyptian! Hahah I was like "ohhh this is new" I had to remember the moment by taking a pic with him.

Yep a lot of stuff happening! Pray for Charley this week! Love being a missionary around this time. Have a Happy New Year everyone! Ofa atu!

Sister Beck

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Been a hectic ending of the year, aye! I'll explain through pictures!

The Temple Lights was just beautiful, we had so many people just drive past the temple on the highway and they would see the beautiful picture of the Christus which would intrigue them to stop and see the lights. What a blessing!

Temple + Christmas lights=my favourite things in the world.

Also do yous remember that non member friend of our member who turned out to be a former investigator that I met at a tour I did? Well she came to church that following Sunday! Miracles.

Language study/lesson with our member TJ can be fun when it's next to the city's big Christmas tree! :)

Then we had our Christmas Conference! We all got in our Polynesian (tauvala and tupenu) get up, one of our members made dresses and ties for our whole Zone and even President and Sister Bingham's #FavoriteZone ;)

They are just the cutest!

Then President surprised us with the movie Moana! Me and my hoa were so emotional watching it hahah, such sookie babies.

Straight after Christmas Conference, we went straight to Charley our investigator's wedding! Yeeeah! Bishop married them and this Saturday she is preparing for her baptism :) She looked so beautiful 

Merry Christmas!!!

SANTA IS COMING!!!!!! OH MY GOSHHHHH! Seriously going to be the best week ever I hope we're all excited!

Some news. We had a ward baptism this week and our investigator Charley FINALLY attended a baptism! She was so shy about watching the little girl in the font and I told her to come right in front of me so she could have the best view of it. She couldn't stop smiling though, she's very excited (and more nervous I think) for her baptism. And she's getting married THIS saturday!!!!! Yayyy finally! Been a long way coming for this family to get on track!

Something unique our zone gets to do this Christmas is give tours at the Sydney Temple Lights. They have just been incredible! Especially last night, I kind we have a script to follow and it's long as (literally a book) but I ditched the script and just shared my own testimony throughout the tour and started teaching about the life of the Saviour. And TURNS OUT in one of the tours I gave, our member was in it and her non member friend as well, and she happened to be one of our former investigators (we had no clue, just met her last night). She said she was suppose to be baptized last year, but things got in the way. After the tour she wrote in her comments on the form, "I really loved the tour and learning about my Saviour, Jesus Christ. Especially because I've been feeling lost, and I know now that I can turn back to him again" We're excited to follow up on her :) The tours have been a beautiful opportunity to teach and share the true Spirit of Christmas, which is being in the Spirit of Christ to everyone! Becoming like his example, and Lighting up the World by doing so! 

Love you all and have a Merry Christmas!

Sister Beck

Pics: 

-Saw HEAPS of my old members at the Christmas lights, it was just the best thing ever! This is Mama Taufa

-This is Kiara from Dapto ward! We went crrraazy when we saw each other again! haha love her to peices.

-Lavinia Tupa who got baptized, and the Taumalolo girl who was baptized the day before :)

-Doing our shopping for our little Zone Christmas Party!

"Hola"! And "Malo e lelei"!

Well some exciting news me and my companion have a special assignment to cover the Tongan ward AND help with the Spanish Branch straight after our ward in Fairfield Stake. It is the only Spanish ward in all of Australia, so people come from all over to attend. There's only Elders in the Branch and they need help with the music and some single women LA's, M's and Potential investigators's. IT'S HECKA FUN! Might as well add Arabic, Chinese, and Hindu to the languages we're learning ha!

As you can see it's a bit exhausting for us haha. But whats better than exhausting yourself in the Lord's work and helping more of his children? Let the gospel be preached to all NATIONS, KINDRED, TONGUES, AND PEOPLE!

BUT we will still Mate Ma'a Tonga! (Die for Tonga!) Our Ward mission leader bought us these shirts :) even though Tonga is out of the World Cup (2nd best won the Cup, my country, Australia! Ha!) The Tongans have not given up their Tongan pride! Tongan flags errywhere!

Aaand I'm just kind of in love with them. I'm grateful the Lord has allowed me to serve next to the most Christ-like, loving, and self-less people this Christmas season. Read D&C 84:88-91 and THAT is the kind of people they are. May we all live up the challenge of becoming like our Saviour this Christmas and to LIVE in the Spirit of Christ this year!

That is all from your favorite Sister missionary! Ofa atu!

Sister Beck

Good things happening

 It was transfers this week and ya girl is still with the Tokos! 6 months in Tonga! Yeeeeah. Lets hope my skin gets just a bit darker this transfer :)

Well some REALLY exciting news, Sunday me and my companion were called up to talk in Sacrament because Bishop thought it would be our last sunday, and I had nothing prepared especially in Tongan so that was a bit stressful but algood, because you know who we saw who was sneaking in the back of the chapel when we stood up?! D! The one who went away for like a month because of his mom wouldn't allow it! Some things went down with his mom and she ended up kicking him out and now he's staying with our member TJ. He told us, "Sisters, things just have been real bad since stopping our lessons." He asked to come back, we had a lesson in the chapel again (in the picture) and he wanted to go to the baptismal font room for the lesson and said "this is my favorite room" oh my goodness. yep. And then there's J, who bore a beautiful testimony to us in this lesson that we had on the Tree of Life (1 Nephi 8) and said, "I know I'm not going against my parents, because they're going against Heavenly Father, because this is true. They're going against what's true, that is my testimony." These kids man..they were someone very strong before they game to this earth life. No doubt about that.

In other news: Charley is FINALLY getting married end of December to her partner so we could FINALLY put her on baptismal date, 6th of January! 

I love you all, the church is true.

Sister Peki

Heaps of pics are you ready?:

-Santa's afraid to get sunburn in this heat. Welcome to Australia!

-Another transfer with this sista!

-Mate ma'a Tonga! Our members is actually the best and they went and bought the team's jersey for us :) Wanted to cry! 

-But poor Tonga, they were cheated real bad by the English in the Semi-Finals. Hoi, heaps of tongans out numbing the hurt feels with alcohol hahaha. Like this guy, he's wrapped in a Tongan flag, crying.

-The crew is back! This was their expressions when they found out we weren't getting transferred...

-Then I said, "Can you just lie please?" lol

-My beautiful trainer, Sister Uelese crying because she had to say goodbye to me ;) A great missionary the ASSMission is losing! Returned with honor my dear Sister :)

-Now Sister Doig crying because she wasn't going to be companions with me for Christmas hahahah nah jokes.

Does anyone still even read this?

Haha jokes jokes, but yeah not too much happened this week because I was puke.

But anyway two of our investigators: D and Jay. Both 16 yrs old and SO KEEN to learn the gospel. Both friends from one of our members TJ (same member who was mates with Irie! We're all just one big happy family lol) We meet almost everyday after they finish school and have lesson next to the font in our chapel. They would be baptized, and they LOVE reading from the Book of Mormon. The only problem is...you guessed it, the parents. The other day, D got a pretty bad hiding from his mom because he was caught reading the Book of Mormon. Jay comes from a 7th Day Adventist family -__- yep one of those lol. And oi the kid is so smart. She feels it in her heart after our first lesson that her church wasn't true. She's been reading from the Book of Mormon, trying to find the courage to tell her parents. I told her to use the scriptures. She came across one in a little game that TJ did with her, 2 Nephi 25:26-27 "They ought not to harden their hearts" BECAUSE IT'S THE TRUTH! It was a literal answer to a prayer, and we watched it happen.

There's always adversary, but like I said last week. Nobody can change the truth. Whether they hate it or not. And "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing, persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, columny may defame but the truth of God will go forth bodly, nobly and independently!" Please pray for them.

Love yous!

Sister Beck

Pics:

-Our little crew that we teach. Like honestly how cool is that. We teach these kids literally everyday after school at the chapel. It's a dream.

-Pretty fun Zone Pday!

-Oh and we surprised Jay one day because it was her birthday!

-Tonga beat the New Zealand ALL BLACKS! I'm way too into this World Cup haha.

-The Tongans had a huge parade after and snapped a pic with these guys. 

-I was waving my flag everywhere, me and my hoa were waiting for someone to come beat us up hahah. Got QUITE a few dirty looks from some Samoans though!

-The Tongans did a massive parade and I snapped a picture with these guys

-I was waving my flag everywhere and me and my hoa were just waiting to get beat up haha. We got QUITE a few dirty looks from the Samoans though!

God's Love

Wanted to share a beautiful message from one of the stores in the Ensign this month,

"How often we beleive the message of the adversary that we are beyond hope? But the prophets tell us otherwise. Isaiah proclaims, 'Let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy unto him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Mormon in the Book of Mormon says, 'As oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.' The joy of the gospel is that it is never too late. For as often as we seek forgivness, the Lord's redemption will allow us to start anew. "

The Atonement has been brought up SOOOO much as of late. Lol. Sometimes we try to change, we feel like, "Really?? I'm down on my knees again to you pleading for forgivenss for the same things over and over again. Nothing changes, there is no hope because I keep making the same mistakes." Oh my goodness family that is the Atonement in a nut shell. It is there to be used. Someone very close to me expressed that this week. I pleaded to my Heavenly Father to use me as his instrument, so that I could exrpess the Saviour's love that he has for this daughter of His, and for her to NEVER lose hope. And i've never felt the Sprit stronger when I felt the love for this child of God.

To anyone who reads this, I hope yous all know how much the Saviour and our Father in Heaven love you. I know this sounds really sappy and overused like you've heard it 1,000 times, but like when Moroni comes to visit Joseph Smith that night 3 TIMES with the same message! It never changed!.... It's true, it's the same message over and over again. But it's true, as true as the first time you heard it, and the truth will never change.

The work is going so strong in the Other Side of Heaven! But the lessons i've been learning have been so priceless to me. Definitly one of the many reasons God's sent me here in this Tongan ward. What a guy!

Hope you have a fantastic week! Sorry the email is kind of all over the place again!

Ofa atu!

P.s. Happy Halloween! And probably Thanksgiving while I'm at it! Because 'Straylia don't celebrate any holiday haha.

Pictures:

-Bowling game going strong

-Repping that Tonga for ya! 

-Oi yous wouldn't beleive it, Tonga vs. Samoa this week and TONGA WONNN. Farr they're acting like they won the whole Cup but all goods, this is the game that matters haha. Just imagine Utah vs. BYU times a thousand because they're countries. But yeah, it's big.

-Elder Santana, funnies Elder, he calls me mom all the time when he sees me, just because he started his mission in this area while I'm STL (mission lingo i guess haha

Many lessons learned this week!

First off, MATE MA'A TONGA! Tonga SMASHED Scotland in the World Cup (50-4) this weekend and the Tongans are going crazy ova here. We gonna win it.

ANYWAY, heaps of lessons learned this week. My mission President summed it up nicely in an email he wrote to me:

"When the winds and rain of adversity come down, it's important to remember that it is doing so on all of us; no one is immune to adversity. However, "...when we build our house on a sure foundation...whereon if men build they cannot fall...[and]it shall have no power over you to drag you down". Go forth in strength and make adversarial issues into revelatory experiences."

I hope the rest of this email makes sense...We had SO much adversity hit us this week, one being a situation with the Sisters that me and and Sister Malupo had to take care of. We met with the sisters in the chapel discussing the situation. Before they came I was praying so hard what to say, searching through the scriptures. Hoping to find something the Lord can say to these dear sisters instead of me. The scriptures always just say it better than we do! Came across 3 Nephi 11 when the Saviour appears to the Nephites, one of the FIRST thing he teaches is about contention. HOW ODD IS THAT. OF ALL THINGS! In verse 30 he says "this is not my doctrine" I said to these sisters you can just read between the lines and tell that it is hurting Jesus Christ to see contention with his brothers and sisters. It HURTS Heavenly Father to see his children fight. 

My dear family, this was one of the most important lessons to learn from our Saviour. When there is contention even in your own heart, if your on about someone else, or disappointed in yourself, your hurting the Saviour even more. Please take his counsel as he says his doctrine in verse 32, "that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me." I pray that you will keep the peace everywhere: in your homes, in the family, and with yourself. And repent. Christ fought so hard for it in the Garden. 

This experience explained President's thought to me. "Let adversarial issues be a time for revelatory experiences."

There were other things that I would love to share with you all but the email is long enough, good thing I keep a journal! Share it with you when I'm home I guess haha!

Love you all,

Sister Beck

Pics: 

-Charley our investigator asked if we could go to the Petrol Station and blow up this blow up thing for her baby to play in. It was already 9pm and too late to take it to her house.....sooooo we played with it for the night in our flat and yes i do fit :)

-Then we had fun and took some pics. Not much entertainment in a missionary flat so yeah we had fun with it hahaha.

-And one more cause..why not!

- I don't know if I sent this already but this sticker is on just about every door in Australia...Haha "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing!" So we knock anyway :)

I'm still alive!

Oi, sorry I haven't written in heaps long but i'm still kickin it over here!

Some news: 

We've got this golden investigator named Joe, he's Fijian, have had some solid as lessons with him and we put him on date for 11th of November.

Last night we had a ward FHE and it was ALL ABOUT MISSIONARY WORK! These Tongans I tell you, once they get the work going, there's nothing stopping them. They are determined to embrace and bring as many of his children into the gospel! We set goals for the transfer for our ward to Bishop (because we do that as leaders in our zone with the missionaries) and briefly told them to him. Turns out it was the center focus of the FHE and the whole ward was discussing on how they can help us hit these numbers. It was a dream to be honest. Also Joe went to it (all of it was in Tongan so thank goodness he couldn't understand haha) and afterwards EVERYONE was talking with him, inviting him to activities and everything.

The Lord is great, missionary work is about the best thing ever. I pray that my ward back home and everyone else can partake of the same blessings and good spirit missionary work brings!

Ofa atu!

Sister Beck

Picture:

-Fairfield's Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders, these elders are the best (Elder Chan and Elder Wayman)! We smashed our goals for our zone last transfer.

-And for hitting our goals, President rewarded us with a movie night with the Stake, you bet it was, "The Other Side of Heaven"!

Faith in Every Footstep

We had the wonderful opportunity hearing from our living Prophets and Apostles this weekend at General Conference, for all of my non member friends reading this. They are given revelation from the Lord to speak the needs and concerns of His children. And they speak right to us! Boy did they speak to me!

Conference has had me thinking trunky thoughts aye haha. With just a short time left on my mission, I asked Heavenly Father, "What would you have me learn with what's left on my mission and for when I go home?" To be honest, I'm heaps scared. But 'Faith in Every footstep' seemed to pop out to me in every talk that was given. Faith in every footstep will lead us to our final destination which is ultimately with our Heavenly Father. I'll follow Christ the Lord, and I know as you do the same, we don't have to fear any challenge or circumstance that is ahead of us. WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! (Our family motto ;) oh what)

Pics

-Some of my Canberra family came all the way to see me! Nah jokes, they were actually going to the Temple..but the Temple closed because of conference and they were led to the same chapel where I happened to be.. to watch General Conference! How great is Heavenly Father!

-It's been a year! Nana Julie and Tina :)

-The Tongan Prince came to Sydney for a Fireside, (he's a convert of about 2 years!) so we got to dress up in Tongan traditional clothes. Didn't snag a pic with him though..too famous.

It WAS a good week!

It was pretty much Birthday week for me.

Monday: Pday

Tuesday: Zone Conference

Wednesday: Temple day

Friday: Birthday

Sunday: Baptism :)

There's just one experience I want to share with you. Sorry this email is going to be long as.

Charley FINALLY had her own spiritual experience confirming what we're teaching is true! Her and her partner 'One have been struggling with their relationship. It's really sad, but one night after they fought, Charley went into her room with her phone and was looking through my Facebook page (ahem stalking, but you know haha nah jokes) and she found an article I posted AGES ago by Thomas S. Monson, our prophet. It was a talk about trials and overcoming challenges. Anyway she read it and she said "it's as if it was speaking right to me right now. I had this....WEIRD feeling!" Shes said she's never experienced anything like it. And then like 2 min. after this experience we rocked up at her door and said we were thinking about her and gave her a cake. Hoi! She said she knew this was a sign from God. Family I can tell you that Heavenly Father is so mindful of all of our individual circumstances! And he listens to our silent prayers. This experience reminded me of his incredible love for all of us. who knew A TALK I POSTED AGES AGO would be helping my investigator to find her answer. That's also a lesson for everyone to watch what you post! Ha!

Irie's baptism was also amazing. Seeing the one you come ot love dress in whiteis the most incredible feeling.

What a week.

Love yous, 

Sister Beck

-Saw my MATE! My Chan!

-President suprised me and told me he ordered me a Tongan badge and said I could have it if I gave a talk in Tongan to the missionaries at Conference. Heaps nervous but I did it!

-Everyone calls me Sister Peki now it's heaps good. Our Ward mission leader was so happy when he saw it. He posted it on FB, check it out mom!

-22 at the Temple!

-Temple!

-Members bought me a cake! Spelled my name wrong but you know, details details ;)

-Mate maa Tonga! Photo shoot with the Tongan flag!