MinneWaCkY Weather!

Hello, beauties!

Wow. What a week. I first wanted to thank you for updating me with pictures and stories! I LOVE hearing about what's happening :) Poor Buzz. I'm sorry about the money. But that seriously is an incredible tithing story, thanks for sharing! I'll definitely share that within the next week or so, guaranteed. :) Mom and Claire! You both look soooo good! You're so pretty :)  Anyway, I'm glad you're all doing well... That's so great that you all watched the broadcast! It was very good. :) I'M A MISSIONARY AHHH.

So. This week. I'll start with Monday- I went on exchanges to a place called Minnetonka for the day and my companion on that exchange was Sister Quilter (Sister Shelby Ballif's comp) 

The Lord's hand was definitely in this exchange. Within the 48 hours of being with Sister Quilter, I felt God's absolute love and trust for me. It was incredible.

The first two people I taught in Minnetonka were well....kind of crazy!! L

.

Sister Beeson and Sister Mansfield in front of concert hall where Tab Choir performed.

 

 

Target Center

Sister Beeson and her MTC companion

A big group of us with  a gal named Martha who got baptized a year ago and went through the temple, and we got to go with her!!! :) What a success. (she's deaf by the way so it was cool seeing how the endowment was... it was different:)) and the one with me  is Sister Quilter who I went on exchanges with :)

Shoe Tree

Dinky Town

OL! The first door we knocked on, a man came to the door. He was old. Held a walker. Obese. Shirtless. Frightening. We said hello, and he didn't make any eye contact, he started YELLING.. ah! He was crashing his walker into the door and screaming at his walker... It was the most humorous/frightening thing in the world. Literally two seconds after leaving his apartment, this chick came out of hers and we talked with her. She TALKED our ear off about how her physical/spiritual bodies were separated when she was two years old and how she went to Heaven, and sat in a big meeting with Abraham and his posterity, and Isaac and his, so on so forth. And she said at this big meeting, God told her that her whole purpose and duty on this earth was to start some oil company. She was interesting... we handed her a mormon.org card and went on our way. So, that was my first impression of Minnetonka... WOW. Anyway, the next couple of days went well, it was fun. I seriously LOVE exchanges, get to meet new missionaries and see around Minnesota! It's just the best!

Hmm... Oh yes! On Thursday we were able to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert!!! WAHHOO!! It was AMAZING. I'd see Cheri & Rob on the screen a few times and it honestly made me feel closer to home knowing that a family friend was in the same building as me :) They performed at the Target Center and we were able to invite the Johnsons (the family that is getting baptized) ..(just the parents) they LOVED IT. They had music for all types of ethnicity's because... that's just what it is in Minnesota... SO DIVERSE. I love it. :) So that was definitely a treat. Alex Boye had a solo and he even danced and did the splits hahah it was great.

On Friday... Before Sister Mansfield and I were talking to Brother Johnson, the weather was just sunny, humid & hot. Well, we talked to him for about 45 min, and when we went back outside, it was STORMY. The sky was a super creepy gray, and I was joking around/half serious questioning if there was going to be a tornado... Sister Mansfield was like ''the sky has to be kinda green for that to happen'' well, sure enough, there's some green in the sky. The clouds were moving SO fast. It looked like fast motion. Scariest. Well, we drove about a block to a less actives house, and once we got there, it starts POURING. I have never seen rain like this. We ran out of our car to the less actives house, had our umbrellas and were out side for literally 5 seconds, and when we reached the door we were DRENCHED. Insane. Well, we got texts from our leaders telling us to stay inside because it was super dangerous outside. The power went out, we got some candles. The lightening/thunder/wind was CRAZY. I have never been a storm like this before. It was kinda thrilling! Anyway, once it settled a little, we hurry and got back in our car to get home, and we literally drove through a RIVER. People's cars were half way covered with water and broke down and had to push their way out. The water was up to their thighs/hips. There was no other way out, so Sister M and I went for it! We drove through the river! the water went half way up our windshield, it was freaky! On the drive home, we heard a billion ambulances and saw tonnnns of trees and branches everywhere fallen down. I felt like a survived something huge just because of what the after effect looked like. Haha... it was purdy cray.

Well, it's been a heck of a lot better week thanks to your prayers. I love you. I thank you for everything!!! You're all so amazing and I'll see you in 1.5 :)

Love love love you!

xoxo

<3 Sister B

Amazing Exchange

(What you are about to read is sort of a journal-entry-type letter.  We are only allowed to send letters on p-days, so I'll just kinda keep you updated on what's happening day to day until I send this on Monday:)

Mamacita and Family:)
Holy Cow I miss you all so much.  I think of all of you every second.  The mish has really made me appreciate you all so much more:)
It's rainy here all the time.  So many people are not interested in the message we have to share with them. It's super frustrating, but I keep telling myself they're not rejecting me or my companion...they are rejecting Christ's message.  It's pretty dang sad sometimes.

So, for the past couple of days a ton of our appointments have been falling through.  But when it reaches about 8pm, we're not as discouraged because miracles happen!
 For instance, on Sunday, literally no one came to answer their door, but at 8pm, we knock on a door, and a gal named Kataline invited us in and we stayed for a whole hour teaching her!  That is seriously so rare for something like that to happen.  We're going to continue teaching her, and hopefully more miracles will happen:)
Oh, and a side note: her husband is baptized.  An elder, by the name of Elder BEESON baptized him!! Weird, huh?

Monday night, same kind of thing was happening; appointments falling through and no interest in the message.  Then about 8pm I was suuuuuuper thirsty.  We stopped at a gas station to fill up my water bottle, and as I was looking for a water fountain, I made eye contact with an older man, dressed classy, smoking, sitting on a lazy boy in the back office and he motioned for me to come.  
He pointed to the water fountain, then we got talking.  I told him who we were, he told us who he was, and as about 5 minutes passed, he told us to pull up a chair and offered us orange juice.  We chatted for nearly an hour about everything! From polygamy to baptism, to prophets, to church, to word of wisdom, etc.  He literally had soooo many questions.  It was awesome.  His son is/was a Jehovah's Witness and supposedly "knows his Bible like the back of his hand." We  told him about the Book of Mormon and he is super interested in looking through it.  Anyway, the old man's name was Zuhair and told us that we are always welcome to come, especially if we are hungry or thirsty and they'd have food for us!  VERY nice people.

June 5th...yay!  I got sooo many letters today!  Perfect timing too because today was a rough day: 
White people scare me! 
Buzz would actually love Minnesota because there are lots of Africans. I LOVE them!  
I got letters from Mom and Dad, Grandma Gaye, Scott Gunther, Kailey Voucher, Matt Carlson and others! What a blessing.  

I went on my first exchange a couple of days ago! It was SO great!  I was companions with Sister K.  Sister K IS Hannah Peterson!  She talked like her, laughed like her..EVERYTHING was just like her!! It was soooo fun.  And to answer Dad's question: Sister K, is definitely the funniest person I've met here!
Anway..Sister K and I dropped by the H family's house.  We knock on the door and I hear a billion barks.  3 pit bulls :/ AHH! 

They were huge and they were jumping all over me and licking me like cray cray.  Sis. H is about mid 30's, has brown hair and her husband has lots of tats everywhere, gadges in his ears and a goatee.( you will soon learn here that looks can be deceiving)  We came to help them pack.  About two hours later, Brother H told me his life story.  Ready? I'll make it brief:
Brother H was just mean to everyone and everything.
He was a druggie and drug dealer.
He was in and out of prison and jail several times.
He told me a story about when he was on a train from Minnesota to Utah to go to work on some houses.  On the train with him was an 18 year old girl headed to BYU.  This girl was getting hit on by creepers on the train and was getting offered drugs.  Br. H protected her all the way from Minnesota to Utah. ( he beat up a few people who were treating her badly and helped her with her bags,etc.)
Well, once they got to Utah, they went their separate ways.  Later he got a letter from our church thanking him for protecting that gal all the way to Utah and gave him some money.  He sent the money back and told them it wasn't  big deal. 
Well, later he ended up meeting Sis. H. on some dating website.  Well, they met and totally hit it off and Brother H was introduced to Sis. H's mom.  Her mom was not fond of him.  They butted heads.  Sis H. wanted Br. H to meet her dad.  He was nervous to meet him because he didn't want to be treated badly or judged.  Well, Bro H met Sis. H's dad and it was not what he expected. Her father was sooo nice and accepting of Br. H. Later, Br. H found out he was a Mormon.  Because of Sis. H's father's kindness towards him, Br. H became interested in the church and wanted to be nice and caring like Sis. H's dad.  Long story short: 
-the missionaries met with them
-they got married
-they got baptized BY Sis. H's dad:) All this happened in February!  They have already been in the temple to do baptisms for the dead and are going to be sealed next February, so I'll still be here!  (They said they would invite me:)
Anyway, it is just SO neat to hear stories of people who made a complete 180 turn in their lives and it's amazing to hear that all that happened JUST because it started with kindness:)
Br. H speaks at firesides all the time and has given plenty of talks and is going to be speaking in stake conference soon.  Also, where are they moving to?  Shingle Creek!  My ward! Wahoo!

Anyway, that exchange was so great.  I  felt the spirit on that little 24 hour exchange! I love you all so much!
Love, 
Sister Beeson

From the Land O Lakes!!

HI!!!!! 
I just sent a huge hand written letter to y'all. Enjoy. 

To answer your questions....

Are you teaching tons?

Answer: We teach a decent amount! My first day was still my best out of all these days, but it's all good.

How many wards are you over?

Answer: I'm only over one ward... I think... haha Shingle Creek :) I'm getting to know everyone in the ward a little bit better and I've tried to pick out a family that could be my 'family' here... I have a couple in mind...So I love eating at members houses, it makes me feel soooo much less homesick surprisingly :)Oh, and ps, The Beeson family is one of a KIND. It took me until NOW to realize it.  I love our family. Honestly! I cannot believe how blessed I am and what I did to deserve to have Sam and Sarah be my parents with Buzz, Claire, Jack and Andy as my sibs. Oh, and Happy:)  You are a huge example, mom.  I've had the opportunity to clean tons of houses this week, and I've just remembered what you've taught me! I'm a better cleaner than I--or you may have thought :))

How far away are you from your mission home?
Answer:  About 30 min away

Are you on bikes EVERY day?! If so, do you like it?  Do you feel buff?:)

Answer:  I talked about this in my mega letter... Mom, I'm not on a bike. Haha every single one of your letters has asked that, and I finally worked up the courage to tell you that I'm not on a bike. :) CAR, BABY WHOO!!! But, we are sooo low on miles already this week because of exchanges (I elaborated in the letter) so we'll probs have to ride our bikes like next week. 

Have you gotten my mail yet?
Answer:
Yes, got all your letters!!! It was like Christmas!! I got so many:):):)

Well, this week has been great-ish.

I'll start off talking about the Johnson Family. I believe I told them about you last email, but in all honesty I can't remember... My mind is so jumbled! Johnson's are a young African Family--cutest. We've been teaching them a ton and the only thing holding them back from getting baptized is because they've 'already BEEN baptized' so we would explain authority lesson after lesson, and eventually we just had them fast about it. Well, last week, we visited them and were just PRAYING they received the confirmation to be baptized. President Clements even came with us to this lesson (Intimidating!!!) I'll just skip to the fun stuff: We asked how their family fast went... They looked at each other and they said that Sunday night, they were sitting at opposite ends of the room, looked at each other and Sister J said ''We need to do this'' and Brother J said ''I was just going to say the same thing''... sounds super dramatic, haha but I love how the Spirit works! They both got that confirmation at the SAME TIME! It was soooo exciting!!! So we set up a baptism date and they're gonna get baptized at the end of this month! 

Well, fast forward to yesterday. We invited the Johnson's to church (They have poor church attendance and wouldn't be able to get baptized on the date we scheduled if they didn't come to church) Well, we were so confident that they were gonna be there because Sister J didn't have work and we followed up with them the night before and said they'd be there. THEY WEREN'T. UGH!!!!!  That instantly put Sister Mansfield and I in a funk. We showed up at their house after church and Brother J answered the door, we told them how disappointed we were!! He apologized and said they 'slept in and the girls braids weren't done'
 Anyway, there was a baptism that night and we were asking if they were still up for coming. Brother J couldn't because he had a meeting, but he said to call Sister J. 
The baptism that we were invited to is the COOLEST story. Basically there is this guy from Kenya who is a pastor of a church and runs a little orphanage. Well, he traveled to America to find ideas to run a better orphanage (so I heard, idk if that's true) well, he was in America for about a month until he ran into some missionaries, the missionaries did their thang, and he ended up getting baptized! The pastor in Kenya traveled back home and told his congregation that while he was in America, he found the truth and was baptized. He started teaching HIS congregation the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ! How amazing, right? Well, this pastor had a friend named Peter. He told Peter what had happened to him and Peter decided to go to America to find the missionaries! Within 2 weeks, Peter found missionaries who happened to be my zone leaders, they taught him, and THAT was the baptism we invited the Johnson's to!! 
Sister Mansfield and I really wanted to go, but we could only go if we had an investigator come with us, we called Sister Johnson a billion times. No answer. The baptism was about 20 min away, and it started at 7. At about 6:50 Sister Johnson called and was like, "Hayyyy! Got yo' message, and I wanna come to da bapteezim!" YESSS. We rushed to the baptism, and literally got there when the speaker said 'amen'. Perfect timing! We were able to see Peter get baptized! It was such an incredible experience. Sister J really seemed to enjoy it too, and we told her that we have to push her date a week back because she wasn't at church, but it's ok. It's a good thing because she doesn't seem to be TOTALLY for it; yet. The baptism definitely helped her see the importance and feel the Spirit. So it's been pretty good, still cloudy EVERYDAY. What the heck. So not Minnesota. 
Also, my Bishop called and asked for me to speak on Sunday. No biggie right? Well of course Sister Beeson gets assigned the topic 'The Abrahamic Covenant' So, if you all wanna try to write me a letter asap on any suggestions, that'd be highly appreciative. Something that I learned this week that has really been stuck in my mind was a scripture found in.... Mosiah..10..verse.. 17? Ah dang, I cant remember. But basically it says if you have faith there will be miracles. I have been soooo discouraged this past week (normal, I know) but enough to make me believe that because every door I knocked on doesn't want to hear the message, that NONE of the doors will want to. But after I read that scripture, it really helped me realize there are still people EVERYWHERE who need to hear the truth! That night, I got a letter from Sister Clements and it said basically everything I just said, FAITH will bring MIRACLES. The Lord is amazing! He knows exactly what I need to hear. 
Also, side note: She said ''You should sing in your lessons." Maybe I'll take her up on that challenge! I've been singing way more anyway lately. Sister Kirkham even asked me to do a singing musical number... eek... I'll give ya the det's on that later.Anyway, hard week. But I'm learning. It's all good. I feel your prayers. I love you all! I'm a missionary!! Who'da thunk?! Crazy :) I love this Gospel. I love YOU ALL!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Sister Eliza

NEW IN TOWN

MAMA MAMA MAMA! Oh my heck. I'm here in Minn Minn. 

Things are WAY different than I expected. We got to the airport, and I felt the most overwhelming love for every single person. It was the weirdest thing. I truly could feel the love that God has for every person. It was so so great. And EVERYONE looked at us differently, our tag and then our face. It was so interesting. 

I met my Mission Pres & his cutie wife. The first thing they said to me was that they saw 'a cup video' from Utah! 

 Haha they got a kick out of it. They are so so so nice. Sister Clements looks and reminds me a lot of Aunt Anne, it's pretty comforting. :) 

Well, we got in a van and headed to Bloomington. We walked into they chapel, and there was this cute old man that was like "Hullo thurr.. Welcome to Minnesooooda" love the accents. We walk into the gym and there was a huuuge table full of homemade casseroles... (hot dishes:)) and everything was GOLDEN compared to MTC food. Haha they decorated everything just super cute and made us feel totally at home. I literally was trying to hold back tears all day, I loved everyone!!!

Anyway, we had some food, had some interviews, got our bikes, took some pics, and then we met our trainers! I honestly had like the BIGGEST freak out moment. I couldn't imagine leaving Sister Schwartz or Sister Ballif. They are my girls! I was scared because we were going to be completely separated! Going to different places! With different people! I definitely had to rely on the Lord completely. I knew NO ONE. We all started kind of crying, and then they introduced us to our trainers. My trainer is Sister Mansfield. She's cute! Kind of reminds me of Michelle Fluckinger. Anyway, we kinda got to know each other, said our goodbyes to MTC peeps, and headed off! 

I live in ShingleCreek Minnesota... It's... hmm... pretty ghetto. But on the bright side, there are sooo many streets that look like AF :)

We live with two hermana's... they're cool :) But honestly, I know that this is something you don't want to hear, but I have been SOOOO homesick. My trainer is great but our personalities are completely different, and I don't know, it's definitely an adjustment. 

 My prayers & YOUR prayers are helping.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, our mission president challenged us to commit someone to baptism within 24 hours of being in Minnesota. WHAT. No way. NO NO NO. I couldn't!!! Well, something weird happened, at about hour 18, I committed FIVE people to baptism. 4 out of the 5 accepted, and the other would have to think about it. CRAZY! First day, 5 people! Not trying to brag, but... AH! That's a big deal for me, ya know? So, that definitely made me feel better.

So, I've taught ONE white person so far. Everyone else is African. The kiddies kill me, they are ADORABLE. One of the families we are really working with is the Johnson fam. They are soooo great. Gorgeous clan. They have been taught all they needed to, they believe everything we have taught them, they have come to church, but the ONLY thing that is keeping them from getting baptized is because they have already been baptized. So they don't understand why they'd need to do that again if they already have the Holy Ghost. I tried to help them understand the difference in authority & priesthood, and they're still struggling. It's hard. But I soooo know they'll be baptized sooner or later! I can just tell :)

Anyway, we're teaching so many different kinds of people, they are SO SO hard to understand, but I'm slowing adjusting to it. It's good. After my awesome, successful day 1, things have kind of gone down hill :( TONS of appointments are falling through, no one will answer the door or phone calls, and it's just been cloudy/rainy and discouraging. I'm totes in Scotland, dad.

Hmm... there's like so much on my mind. Um, well Elder Holland is coming to speak to us on the 15th! Wahoo! That'll be the be the best. Also, we can maybe go to the MoTab performance if we find an investigator to come with us! So fingers crossed! :)

Wellllll... I've definitely been looking forward to today the most to hear from you all! I miss you all like crazyyy. But this is so good for me. Haha I've never done something like this before. I'm tired all the time. And wanna cry all the time--for who knows why. And I just feel like I'm in a dream. But this is my new home, so gotta make the most of it! :)

PS Mom... you said you sent letters &/or packages? I haven't got anything since I've been here, just a heads up. Maybe it'll come later in the week, but I'm just letting you know. Thanks for all the support everyone! You're all in my prayers more than ever!!

Love you ALL!!!!!!! <3 xoxoxoxoxox

<3Sister Beeson

Fun Fun in Minn MInn

Dear Brother and Sister Beeson,

On Wednesday afternoon, my wife, Julie, and I, greeted Sister Elisa Beeson at the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport and welcomed her to this great mission.  She was happy and excited to begin her mission.  Thank you for all of your efforts to prepare her for the adventure that lies ahead.  We understand what a great sacrifice you are making to support your daughter. 

We drove from the airport to the mission home and took pictures of our new group of elders and sisters.  The day was sunny, and beautiful.  We then had lunch and provided a mission orientation.  I also interviewed each missionary.  The Assistants provided training in finding new investigators. 

At about 6:30 pm, Sister Clements and I introduced them to their trainers, who greeted them with big smiles and bear hugs.  After some more training, we sent them off to their assigned areas. Sister Beeson has an outstanding trainer whom I carefully and prayerfully selected.  In two weeks, we will bring them back to Bloomington for a day of training in finding, teaching, and extending the baptismal invitation.

Your daughter joins a remarkable corps of accomplished and dedicated missionaries.  There is a great tradition of obedience and accomplishment in this mission.  She will serve with missionaries who desire to build the kingdom and who are willing to sacrifice their all for the cause.  We serve in a beautiful part of the Lord’s vineyard where mighty rivers and beautiful lakes are plentiful.  We are privileged to serve among faithful saints.  The work is blessed and prospered by their faith and commitment.

Please encourage your daughter to obey all mission rules.  She will become stronger, more mature, and more self-disciplined as she faithfully follows the rules.  Her first area of service is Shingle Creek, Minnesota; her companion is Sister Stephanie Mansfield.  Attached are some photos, which I hope you will enjoy.

If you need to contact the mission office, the number is 952-835-7788. 

We send our love and best Christmas wishes,

I MADE IT TO MINNEAPOLIS!!!!

Oh my heck I’m here and everyone is so cute and welcoming! I feel like I’m on ‘New in Town’ they all have cute little accents and every meal is like a BBQ! Its super rainy and humid, but I’m here safely and love it already! Muah love you all!!!  <3

Family,
What a day!  It was definitely a good one.  Something super great happened to me.  I read my patriarchal blessing for the first time today since being here and something that stuck out to me was that I am going to be a leader for my sisters and the youth.  I kind of just laughed in my head thinking "pffft. Eliza being a leader?"  

Well, a couple of hours later we did a mini group activity where we'd split into groups of 3 and there would be one facilitator to choose a chapter in the BOM for the group to read and the facilitator had to "lead the discussion, ask inspired questions, and help the group recieve personal revelation." I was the facilitator! 

Of course I was really nervous to do this because I am NOT a leader.  I was wondering why Br. Crockett asked me to be the facilitator!  Anyway, I did it.  We read Mosiah  chapter 2.  I felt impressed to have our group read that chapter for some reason.  Ironically, Mosiah 2 is basically about King Benjamin and the qualities of a good leader.  King Benjamin wasn't any ordinary king. He SERVED continually. The best leaders are the ones who look out for others and sacrifice their time and serve always. 
 Most leaders come off bossy and want power.  We can not only learn about King Benjamin, but look up to his EXAMPLE.  So after reading in my patriarchal blessing about my future leadership, getting called to be the facilitator and reading about the qualities of a good leader, Br. Crockett came up to me and said, "Sister Beeson, I want you to know that the Lord told me to choose you to be the facilitator.  I don't know why but you are a natural born leader!"  FAMILY!  That made my day....my life! 

 It was soooo comforting to know that someone believes in me as a LEADER!  By this point I was already crying because 1) I was being hard on myself for not believing in myself to be a leader..no confidence.
2) Because of what Bro. Crockett said! 

Anyway, we head back to the classroom, and I'm just being a girl overcome by all sorts of emotions and then Sister Balif declared a "compliment circle".  It's when you sit in a circle and compliment someone...pretty self explanatory.  Haha.  AHH. My district is SO great.  I have grown to love each one of them so much.    ANYWAY...the moral of the story is: I AM SO BLESSED to have an amazing district I feel genuine love for EACH one of them.

SO, the words about my leadership in my blessings will happen on this mission, guaranteed.  I know I'm going to have to get out of my comfort zone and GROW. I truly am going to be a new gal when I get home, I already am!

Sorry if this letter seems super braggy, that's not my intention! I just want to let you all know that I am growing and learning so much and recognizing God's love for me more and more each day. I am SO blessed.  Know that I am so happy I am here.  I am continuing to pray for the people in Minnesota that their hearts will be ready and softened and prepared to receive the message I will be sharing with them.  I pray for all of you daily and multiple times.  I love you!!!
Love, 
Sister Eliza