OLA FAMILY!!

this week was pretty sweet!! sounds like you guys had a really sweet week aswell!! Wow first Off with Jacob jumpin right in the game! haha thatºs the way to do it! and with BYU doing work, thatºs always sweet to hear! Then with the soccer going on with Ash, love ya ASH! , and then mandy just being Mandy, love ya pants!... sounds like it was a good week! ha This week with our investigators was a rollercoaster! ha we have a lot of people, but our church is really far away, and you have to take a metro so itºs hard for them to come to church, but the elects will come we know! ha and we had Castro in church with us this week, and he is awesome! Castro is the father of two girls who are members but the wife of him is a catcholica, entao we have two helpers with us already, and we know he has felt the spirit, and he knows these things are true. We taught a lesson Saturday night and the spirit was so strong, and he came to church with us the next day, and really like it! We plan on marking him this week, so that will be sweet, to see how he progresses! and also Manuel, he came once, but with him he has a really tough life, and work is hard... and itºs hard to get a hold of him, but we have faith we will find him this week and be able to teach him! He also lives literally right on the beach so that is pretty sweet!! haha and I finally will be able to send pictures today to show you guys just how sweet this area is! itºs so sweet that we spend a lot of time contacting tourists... but we are starting to pick up the signs of who is a tourist and who isnºt so that we can contact people in our area!" ha It makes it more interesting! Portuguese people are awesome! ha we have our ward mission leader, Tino, and he doesnºt have a whole lot but everytime he hears us walking by on the street he runs out of his house and invites us in and gives us juice... and is the nicest guy, and he is really converted to the Gospel, and has already been a member 3 years, and he likes telling people that! ha Thatºs so cool that you guys had that time to hang with the stratfords!! itºs kinda sad I do see Elder Strat anymore... but we still will in the future for sure, just not every week like it was! ha Thatºs sweet that Iºm serving close to those people Dad baptized forever ago! ha It would be awesome to be able to pass by and see them. Itºs crazy that its already Setember... time is going really fast, and we need to make the most of everyday, because this time will pass too fast, not just my time on the mission but our time here on earth! itºs crazy! like just during my time here on the mission I have realized that our lifes really arenºt that long, and that we need to make each day count because each day really is the first day of the rest of our lives! So many people we talk to say if God existed there wouldnºt be so much bad in the world. and thatº exactly what Satan wants us to think, to only focus on the bad. But I canºt remember who said it... but donºt let us be overcome with evil, but letºs overcome evil with good... thatºs wisdom! ha and there is good in the world, and this is the church of Jesus Christ, and he is the head, and itºs our job to share this message with the world. Thanks for being awesome, and for your letters, i always look forward to them! have an incredible week, and make it count! Thanks for your examples, and stay awesome!

Com amore, Elder Beckstrand

July 1st

OLAAA! FAMILIAAA!

FOGO! este Semana fui BEM QUENT! haha it was so hot! Like St. George is hot.. CLaro but here itºs like Wet hot... I miss the St. George Hot... haha! When your out talking to people you can literally feel the beads of sweat coming out of your head... Inspiring! há! It sounds like Everyone at home is doing awesome!! A little scary with Elder Beckstrand in Japan! I hope your feeling better Bro! your such a rock for me to cling to in my life, and I canºt believe that you only have a few weeks left of your Mission, and I really wish I would be able to fly home to see you for a little or maybe you could have a lay over in Portugal... haha! No Iºm just messin even tho that would be awesome! It will be such a special reunion when you return with our family, and Itºs funny how excited I am for you guys to see each other! haha This really is the work of the Lord, and If I had one wish em este moment.. it would be to serve one Transfer with my Bro! Itºd probably only take a week for him to pass me in POrtuguese! haha But really that would be cool, but I served with Elder Strat whoºs bro served with him, which is a pretty big milagre também! Sorry... About this week! há It went real well! Except still No baptisms here in Guimarraes... NUNO passed the interview and wanted to be baptized last saturday but it was short notice, and we wanted to make it a little more special for him so we are very excited for this weekend because we will have a double Baptism with Nuno and Tatianna!! they are so cool, and definitely ready to enter the waters of Baptism. We have been seeing Miracles out here in Guimarraes, and we have another marked for the next week on the 14th, his name is Fernando, and he is awesome we just gotta help him come to church, and then we have David who is BEM SUAVE! há but he is out of town alot but once we get him to church... haha! I was really stoked to hear about how Ash is doing with BBALL!! and also with Mandy getting stung with a bee... that doesnºt sound too much fun Pants... but hang in there! This place is really incredible, and me and Elder Ricks are doing all we can to push through the heat each day to try and bring souls to Christ, and we are seeing Miracles! Another thing is that Iºm really starting to like the Portuguese Language! Like I speak Portuguese probably more than english now... and I sometimes get upset if my comp responds in english... haha not upset.. but ya know. Porque realmente este língua e incrível e eu sempre quero falar com meu pai em este língua depois este missão porque.... este bem suave.(This language is BEM SAUVE-real smooth) haha Also we are still playing soccer with Nuno in the Mornings and itºs pretty fun... except Iºm not all that great, and just want to BALL but itºs good! há Oh I totoally forgot... also we had a big broadcast that we watched last night and now MIssionaries are going to be USING A LOT more technology!! FACebook... Ipods... Ipads! oh ya! haha Estou Brincar... I joke probably it will be the same for a while but we will see! Well you guys are all amazing! Mom keep being awesome, and always be the amazing exemple that you are to me, and Dad you are awesome, keep going on those walks with Mom so you can eat your ice cream! haha Estou brincar contigo pai, você sabe já, porque realmente quando eu voltar, vamos jogar basket cada dia. Itºs sad to think me and Elder Beckstrand only have a few weeks left, and I know he will finish like he started, na incredible Elder, and an amazing BRO! but I will still be out here with GMA AND GPA! haha

GUARDAR A FE!

Guimaraes, Portugal

OLA FAMILIA!!! Como VAi!!

WOW! this week was pretty crazy!! Where to start... WE started off hooping it up with the Jovens and I realized I should probably stick with basketball because we played soccer after and that was just rough... these kids were just doin work, and me and my comp couldnºt do anything! haha but The language is definitly coming along, and each day I learn so much more, and I really do love speaking the portuguese language. My trainer says I am doing really good, but I am still working on understanding, but the same is true there that each day I can understand more, and carry on conversations with less and less help... Whenever we walk past school aged kids they always yell I AM AMERICAN.... or English... but itºs funny and we always laugh about it. This really is the most beautiful place in all of Portugal, and Iºm not just saying that! haha Itºs true everyone who I have talked to have said that, and itºs not hard to see why... incredible. Ya with our investigators things are going pretty well... itºs always a little sad when they donºt show up or arenºt home... but you just gotta keep pushing through that and with faith things will work out. We have 7 or 8 progressing Investigators right now... and we have one Marked for Baptism!! WOO! Que FIXE! he is super cool, his name is João! We were also going to mark two other ladies named Maria, and Anna Maria... somthing about maria here in Portugal,.. haha but both there husbands want nothing to do with us, but through the help of the spirit they allowed us to continue teaching them, and they both know this is the true church we just need to pray for their Maridos to come around... I know now what dad meant when he talked about the beautiful streets and the tiny roads and all the skiny cobblstone roads... they are so sweet!! itºs awesome... I definitely need to take more pictures on another pday or something like that... and at night the light the place up... like every window on some roads.... LOCO! haha itºs crazy to think that we only have 3 weeks left until transfer... like seriously!! I really hope I get a few transfers here In Gumaraes.... The Members have kinda lost their fire, and we are really trying to get them excited about bringing more members into this Gospel. So me and Elder Tucci have just been talking with anyone and everyone trying to find more people who are interested in their Savior Jesus Christ. This week we have found 21 new investigators, and we have faith that there will be some with real growth, and who will progresso towards the waters of Baptism... Ideally they all will! haha One problema we have aswell is that we have NO GAS! haha no stove no oven... and worst of all No hot WATER!! haha itºs been like 8 days... FOGO! But itºs alright because at least we have water! haha so all of you at home be grateful for the little things that arenºt really that little!! Also me and my comp arenºt the best cooks so we throw down cereal like itºs nothing! which is nice because it leaves less dishes to clean and itºs quick! haha Itºs getting pretty hot here... and we walk ALOT, but thats a really good thing because I eat a lot of food, and I would be gaining weight if we didnºt ! haha Dad did they have incredible pasteries when you served here aswell.. because they are seriously sooo good.... But it sounds like Elder Beckstrand is doing awesome as always in Japan!! I canºt believe he is almost to his last transfer!! I have loved the time we have been serving together, and I feel this connection with him as we serve even tho we are in diferente parts of the world, and I look forward to the time we have left to serve together. I love you bro, and letºs make this time we have together count! I know this Church is true, and Iºm so grateful for the opportunity we have to serve these Missions. We have an opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime, and itºs hard but itºs the best. I love you all so much, and keep being awesome!! Ash keep hoopin! MAndy keep on keepin on! haha your awesome, and Dad you need to update me about the FInals!! haha you canºt die on me just because the Lakers are out! I still need to root against the heat! haha Thanks for the letter Mom, and keep on feeling better!

COM AMOR;

Elder Beckstrand, Gaurdar a Fe ate o fim!

Familia!!!!

OLAAA!

Como Vai!? Primero quiero resposta as perguntas de Mai. The first night we stayed in a hotel porque there were so many of us, and the Missao casa would not fit us... haha It was really cool, and the hotel we stayed in was where the first Church meeting was ever held in Portugal! President Fluckinger is awesome, and his wife is great too! Ya he came around and talked to all of us that first night, and he is really motivated to prepare the people of Portugal for their temple, and so are we! this is a very exciting time to be serving in Portugal. My trainer has been out a year and we both like basketball a lot so we are going to head over and play at the park right after these emails! haha podemos receber pesquisadors por meio nos abilidades para jugar basket... tu nunca sabes! haha YES I feel really tal here, and people keep shouting American at me like I donºt already know that I am, or they just like stating the point... haha either way itºs kinda of funny. The plane flight over was really sweet just because right after they fed us I was out until we were 45 minutes away from England, and I only woke up because they were ready to serve me breakfast which was a treat! haha England was pretty awesome, and we were only there for like 1 hour... but it was still cool to see things there for a minute, and continue to Portugal. When we flew into Portugal it was incredible. SUCH a beautiful place, and I know that the Lord has a work in store for this área. One thing I donºt like all that much are the trains! TRAINS Everywhere! haha the only way to get around... but I am getting to like them more, it just isnºt fun to drag your luggage from train to train... haha Dad, tu sentir mesmo o no? But we have also been out teaching and out of no where WE GET dumped on by massive rain storms, and honestly we may as well be standing in a pool... hahah but Itºs AWESOM! I thinke my shoes are still drying out from thursday! Gumeraes is so incredible, but we are White washing the área which means we have no leads, except the ward list, so we have only been here three days, and have no idea where anything is, but each day gets better, and we have a plan for this week which I will tell you about next week if it goes well! haha We only have 6 investigators... but also there are a lot of innactive members in our ward who we will try to teach aswell. I feel like I am understanding more and more each day, and I have crossed some people who speak english which has been cool to use at times as well. WE have BBAL today which is sweet!!! Oi Pai! Serio esse lugar eº muito incredivle, e eu somos gratos para servir aqui em Gumaraes. Os pessoas podem difícil para falar com, porque estão ter diferente areditas para eu amo os pessoas de Portugal. Sei que Deus tem um plano com esse povo. I know that through Christ we can do all things, and we will be able to do whatever we are meant to do here in Gumereas. Thats really cool Butch served really close to here.. Iºm sure he will agree it is the setting of the Lord of the rings, or something epic like that! haha I love you all so much! thanks for everything, and love you forever!!!

TE Amo Muito!

Com Amor, Elder Beckstrand. Gaurdar A FE!

WOOOO!!!!

Familia!!

I am in Portugal!!!! This is insane and so amazing" haha I am serving Guimaraes, and itºs sooo amazing here!! Holy Cow"!!! I love the people here so much, and there have been already been so many cool experiences its unreal<"!!!! My language is a little rough but thats understandable, beause everyone talks so fast here, but holy cow Dad this is a great place, and we have a lot of work to do today, and i love you all so much!!!! Congrats on Ash catching her toad, and all that! haha looks pretty large, We have a sweet balcony where me and my companion are staying in and from the balcony we can see 3 Castelos!! ha QUE FIXE eh! itºs a little frio aqui para esta bom. I know that this is where Iºm supposed to be and my Trainer is awesome, his name is elder Tucci an Austrillian!! haha Que Fixe.

I love you all so much, have an amazing week! plus my pday is on monday!