FAMILY!!!

This week has been truly an amazing one, and I have wittnessed many tender mercies of the Lord!! First off, I need to thank Mom again for making be bring the jacket because it snowed like 3 times this week!! CRAZY! haha Its almost MAY, but it´´s ok because there will be plenty of time to heat up in Portugal in a few weeks!! Well the Devotionals this week were incredible! Richard G Scott spoke to us on Tuesday night and Me and my companion were only 4 rows away from him!! HOW CRAZY! When he would look into the crowd you could actually feel him looking into your very soul! haha Quite the Experience and the spirit was So Strong!! I want to share a few things he said! He started out by saying that every good thing that has come in his life stems off his decision of serving a mission... pretty amazing... Also he said we may question our decision to serve but we WILL NEVER regret it.... pretty sweet aswell. He said learning a language is especially great, and then he said a few words in portuguese!!!! Eu falou um poco portugeuse! I speak a little portuguese! So clearly he loves the portuguese speakers the most!! hahah just kidding of course! Lastly I wanted to share that he said our mission calls are truly inspired of God, and that we are serving where we are serving for a very specific purpose, and we  need to make sure we find that purpose, reaching out to others that have been prepared for and waiting for us. Ok so our first district meeting was last sunday... and I had no idea what was going on... The branch presidency all came in and was like, we are ready for the meeting! I froze and looked at our district and then we all arose and began to sing and then had a prayer... I then rattled some things off about how our district is doing, and asked if they had any comments. They did... and then it got silent. They looked at me and I said nothing... haha The president said, Elder Beckstrand would you like to share your lesson... I said of course not having an lesson! haha I asked that the district open to chapter 3 of preach my gospel and I was going to somehow pull a lesson out of thin air! hahah The President said the lesson is supposed to be about of the Missionary handbook, but since I had prepared it would be okay not to for this week.... haha Now I had a choice to make... I was honest and said President, I have nothing prepared and was just going to make up a lesson from what I have been studying.... haha He said oh that´´s alright and we ended up having an amazing testimony meeting within our district that brought us even closer together. After the meeting he asked if me and my comp would come meet with him. I thought great I´m getting fired after a week! haha He called us in and asked if we would be the new Zone leaders after only being in the MTC 10 days... It was one of the greater shocks I´ve experienced and continues to be so! haha It´´s been a really great experience tho being able to reach out to more Missionaries and help them feel loved and welcomed. Our Zone is amazing and we truly feel blessed because when we meet and talk with them It feels like we are the ones being strengthened! A lot of people have been asking about the language and how it is going! haha Its going well, and I know I still have much to learn, but each day I feel like I am better to express myself and help our investigator come unto Christ. I know in the MTC they are all fake, but if you take them serious the Lord wil too. For Example we are teaching a man named Elison and he is an aweomse guy! Loves his family and is learning to love the lord. I have been working on memorizing the primero visao in portuguese. And we were teaching of the restoration in our upcoming lesson. I prayed that the lord would help me remember what I have studied so I could say the words from my heart and not a book. As I began the first vision, the spirit overcame me and I could feel the love of the savior filling the room. I was able to finish o primero visao e testificar these things were true, and that I knew the book of mormon was restored by a true prophet in Joseph Smith. It´s crazy to think I have about 3 weeks left until I get my flight plans to portugal, and time is just starting to go so fast already. I am anxious to get to portugal but also look forward to the time left in the MTC, There is all you can eat food! Basketball everyday! Temple Sessions once a week! Your never alone... constantly surrounded by 6 elders! haha that can be bitter sweeet.... haha Also that´´s awesome Joel and Brian got to go to that GAME!!! WHAT! so sweet! and shot on the Court at halftime! That is super awesome, and especially sitting that close! ha Major bummer about Kobe however... He will be back... and more focused this time! haha Also I want to thank everyone for the support! and Lori I did get your package it was awesome! thanks so much! and thank you roo and the glassfords for the package it was great! and to the lewis family for also sending a sweet package! be sure to tell them thanks! ha  Also Mom I have been recieving your treats as well and they are awesome thank you so much!! Dad it sounds like all is going great with basketball and you seem to be quite the Coach! No suprise there! It´´s always fun to hear how things are going at home with the family, ward,  basketball, the yard, NBA.... all the good stuff! haha I love you all so much! Mandy make sure you keep listening to Mom and Dad and working hard and playing hard! haha Ashley good luck in your tournanment this weekend! Have fun and be safe! Thank you all to your amazing exmaples! It was so good to get Jacobs letter! He is such a rock in the Gospel, and I know he probably speaks better Japanese than my english! haha I can´´t wait to come your way in a few weeks bro! The MTC is an amazing place and I love it, but your right the food has lived up to its nortorious nature! hahaha Keep up the amazing work in Japan and know we all love you and pray for you.

Keep the Faith, and keep serving the Lord! Love you all!

'Elder Beckstrand

This week has been soooo amazing!!!! :)

We had an amazing devotional on tuesday night given by Richard G Scott!!! He said some amazing things, and something that really stuck with me was that everything good that has ever came in his life stems off his decision of serving a mission!!! How Cool is that!? He also promised us that if we are learning a language we will all Be Masters of that language... which is a pretty awesome promise from an apostle! I love the MTC and my Companion and my district!! Also Me and My companion have been made Zone Leaders as of last week which is pretty crazy.... WE Definitely weren't expecting that!!!! haha It has been so good to hear about how everything is doing at Home and I am glad you are keeping the grass alive and growing!! haha that was 7 Years in the making!! ;) haha Our Zone is doing really well and we are so blessed with amazing missionaries that are willing and love to serve the Lord! The MTC is kind of an amazing awkward growing stage for all Missionaries!! haha It's so amazing because you can feel the spirit so strong all the time, but at the same time you really want to get out into the field and interact with people who you can really change forever. I know I need this time to truly prepare myself to be the best I can be tho! Everyone is asking about how the language is coming... and it's coming really good! I know I still have a lot to learn, but everyday I learn more and am able to better express myself through the hallowed language of portuguese! haha Also I am writing a letter to send home today of some of my written portuguese that maybe dad can help translate! ha So it should be there around tuesday! No crazy investigator blow experiences with me and my companion this week... However, a companionship in our district had quite the experience.... hahaha So anyways last night our district was teaching their investigators but me and my companion could'nt be there because we were welcoming the new district in our zone with the branch president... But when we got back they filled us in! ha So anyways, they were teaching the investigator how to pray... and they handed him a pamphlet showing him our prayer structure. He agreed he would pray and then he started reading the outline of how we pray. One of the Missionaries couldn't hold back his laughter and he started busting up in the middle of what the investigator thought was a prayer... like it was loud! haha and then when he pulled himself together still trying to stop laughing he said sorry I'm DISEASED! And the investigator just got really big eyes and rushed them out after a quick prayer..... hahahHAHA! Never a dull moment at the MTC! Also, we went to the temple today and it was amazing!! :) I have really gained an even greater appreciation for temples while serving in the MTC, and the peace and spirit of the Lord that is felt there is so real! We are so lucky to be blessed with Temples so close! It is really good to hear how basketball is going, and nice to hear how the team is doing! Make sure Grandma and grandpa know that I loved the poem! It was awesome! and I want to thank Lori, the Glassfords, and the Lewis's for sending awesome packages! Also Grandpa B. I ran into one of your Mission Companions! Elder Shirts! or something like that, he said you were his last companion and that you were his favorite and wanted me to say hi for him! It's crazy how the work of the lord is going forth at such a pace! Also that's awesome joel and brian were able to have the dream experience at staples center! not even fair! haha Also Dad, there are so many Disney fans here and whenever they hear that you were a Disney animator they freak out and think your pretty much the coolest person in the world and want to know everything you've drawn! ha And they think it's pretty cool that we are serving the same mission as well! Mandy make sure you keep listening to mom and dad and working hard and having fun! Your awesome and I love you. Ashley keep up the awesome work and be a good example like I know you are! You are the best sisters ever! My companion is Elder Fraser and he has brown hair and is about 6 ft! Hopefully you can find out who he is through the pictures. It's so crazy that I'm almost down to three weeks left in the MTC! It is starting to get real that I will be in portugal soon and that is such a crazy awesome feeling! Thanks to JAcob for his awesome exmaple for serving it up in Japan!! I see Missionaries here going to Japan and always tell them to look you up when you get there!! So you may be having a bunch of new missionaries coming to look you up!!! haha I love being updated with things going on there with family, ward, basketball, the yard! ha all the good stuff! Thanks for the support, and I really appreciate it from everyone!! Letters are the best and EVERYONE dear elder it up! haha Dear Elder is really nice because you get them the same day in the mail! haha I love your letter mom, and I appreciate you keeping me updated, and Dad I love it to, except for when you give me news that Kobe is out for the season!!!!! haha JK Maybe he will return for playoffs! ha Well just in closing the work is moving on at a rapid rate at the MTC and every Wednesday more and more Missionaries pour into the MTC and it's incredible! I love you all, and keep the faith!

Love, Elder Beckstrand

Jaden's First Letter Home

Hello FAMILY!!!!

HOLY COWW!! the MTC IS SUPERRR GREAT!! I love it here and Pday today has been amazing!!! It's crazy to think I have already been here for 10 days but at the same time it feels like I've been here way longer than that! haha It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense!! We have been teaching investigators, well fake ones anyway... haha but it's been a real amazing and humbling experience to try to teach the gospel in the portuguese language! The first prayer I ever offered in a lesson I asked a blessing to be with the "fish" rather than our investigator and me and my companion just lost it, and so did the investigator! hahaha but it was the first lesson and we are improving everyday! The language is coming a long and I know we will be able to speak what the lord would have us say as long as we work hard and have faith in him. It was so good to get all the E-mails from friends and family! I love being informed of how things are going in your lives, and especially with the lakers and NCAA ;) jkjk of course! But anyways the MTC is pretty hard to describe... the food goes straight through you, the small living space is crammed, the computer rooms are border line contentious, full laundry rooms and everything else... hahaha BUT i wouldn't have it any other way! The spirit is always so strong, and it really does prepare for marriage... at least I'd imagine so! because if you can put up with a guy 24/7 the transfer shouldn't be all that difficult! make sure Tyler gets this! ;) haha but No in all seriousness the district and companions are amazing! I feel like we were all meant to be together for this time to prepare us for the mission field! It's also really nice having 6 sisters and 6 elders because they prevent us from getting to hyper during study time... haha We also went to the temple this morning for P day which was really amazing and the spirit was so strong!! The temple is such a beautiful and peaceful place. It also has already snowed up here again, and I'm actually glad you make me bring that jacket mom... haha I have used it a couple times! But anyways I really want to send you pictures but the computer I am on doesn't let me... and all the other ones are slammed... Hopefully I can get a chance to send a few! There really are so many people here, and it is always fun to see a familiar face. Just to point out that me running into Adam the first day I really believe was a tender mercy of the Lord... The only reason we found him was because we got lost and walked out a random door and we literally ran into each other and I haven't seen him since... haha And it sounds like he posted the picture and you were able to see that I was doing good sooner than you were able to because I forgot to put postage stamps on my first letters....... haha! rookie mistake! Anyways I'd love to be updated with how things are going there! Ashley... Mandy... Sounds like you two are doing great as always! :) keep doing your best and everything will work out! The Lord wants the best for us and all we need to do is humble ourselves enough to come unto him! I can't wait to fly out to portugal, but at the same time i only get 4 more temple sessions for 2 years! I love you guys so much, and know me and JAcob are doing the right things! The gospel is true and keep the faith!

Love Elder Beckstrand

ps. please update me with the yard... haha and I'll try to send picutres as soon as I can! or maybe I can send home the memory card? Just let me know what you'd like!