Hello Mom! Look what I ate.......NICE!

Hello. This week was a nice week. A bit hot, but still nice.

Tuesday was a good day. We met and taught a refferel from a member. Super nice to get refferals from members. Makes the work easier and more effective. On Wednesday, we had a nice DDM and even I shared a ST about facing trials with joy and looking forward to difficulties because you know it will be for your good or it is for Christ's sake. It is something that has stood out to me. I want to be the person that has a smile on his face when challenges hits and always has a great attitude. THe funny thing is in the afternoon that day we got bounced a ton and it seemed like everybody we taught was super stubborn and wouldn't even let us talk to them. Funny how the Lord works sometimes. ha We also taught a nice family. They seem humble and it was a great lesson. THe thing is they are not legally married. ALso got to try white ants for the first time. It was white ants and cabbage. It actually was really nice. It probably helped that it was dark and I couldn't see what I was eating, but I thoroughly enjoyed. ha Then we had a really nice dinner with Elder and Sister Grundy. Reminded me of a nice meal back home. 

White ants.... Crunchy, yet satisfying!

On Thursday.we had a good day. Had a few bounces, but did some finding which was good. Also taught two powerful families. Sunny and Jennifer and Peter and his family. They are out two progressing families right now. They are really cool people and really want to learn. I am hoping and praying for the best right now. On Friday we were on exchanges with the ZL. WE were with Elder Kgomo. He is from South Africa. He is hilarious and makes missionary work fun. We met with some less actives and some recent converts. We also almost got ran over by a huge cow, but luckily the lord blessed us. THen we got chased by a drunk guy all the way home. hahaha. THat guy was not easy. Also got some awesome refferals. SUper nice.

On Saturday we did a lot of finding. Everyone says they can meet with us on Saturday's, but then they can't. Weird how that works.ha. But we had some good lessons and found some nice families. On SUnday it was a great Sabbath. We had 57 at church and we had 7 investigators at church. 3 families there. It was awesome. The branch was really getting involved and welcoming them and geetting to know them. The spirit was on fire! You could feel it. We also found some really nice families after church and got some nice mangoes from the tree. With the help of some accurate throwing Ugandan kids. Man I need to bring them back to the USA and start a baseball team with them. They have some arms.... ha. Kids are funny. ALso had another version of white ants. THis one was mashed up into a paste dipping thing. It was not as nice. Kinda tasted like dirt.... 

It was a great week. Reallly excited for this upcoming week. The Lord is blessing us in this work. It is fun. I have been studying through Alma this week and really about the missionary work of Alma and the sons of Mosiah. Great examples to all of us. I have been really grateful lately for many of the things that are going on around me. It is one of my favorite things to do is to be grateful. Especially being grateful to my Heavenly father. YOur relationship will grow with your father in Heaven as we are grateful and we realize that we are sons and daughters of him. That he is our father. I know it to be true. It is something so simple, but yet so important to really understand. Have a great week everyone. Love you.

Love Elder Beck

Mom questions.....

1. How are your allergies?

My allergies haven't really been a problem. I have never even taken an

allergy pill since I have been here. I sneeze sometimes, but other

than that nothing much. (A miracle! Tender mercy)

2. Do you have a cell phone yet?

Ya we got a cell phone. It has been nice to have one. THe phone is a

basic Nokia phone. Just the brick ones.

3.  What kind of cell phone do they give you?  See previous

4. What is the language that they speak in Gulu? Other than English that is...

They speak Acholi up here. IT is a weird language. It sounds like

Chinese or something when they are having a conversation. I have

learned very small since I have been here.(very small? I think he is speaking the local slang language now??)

5. How do you feel about Poky baseball beating highland?

Wow that is

cool! And about Hunter pitching.

Thanks mother for the email and the love. You are the best. Love you. (My favorite part of every email)

Love Elder Beck

Tender Mercies

Hello this week was a great week. We started on Monday with Zone Conference and we talked a lot about Tender Mercies and this week I noticed a lot of them.

On Tuesday we did some service in the morning. We did some digging. Not easy, but funny to show these Ugandan's that a white guy can actually dig. Three of us digging hahaha. Then we had some good lessons and even met a new family and taught them. 10 Kids! wow that is nice. Also some killer dogs here so we had to wait for a little bit before we could get out. Ha. 

Wednesday we met another great family in the afternoon. This family we met when we just invited a guy to church. He came and now we visited him and his family. His family is great and most of them really want to know of the truth it is great. Definitely a tender mercy to find them. I had some simsim paste that a member gave us. It wasn't amazing, but still edible. Interesting.  (Sim sim paste googled....https://diningforwomen.org/recipes/ugandan-g-nut-and-sim-sim-sauce/)

On Thursday we had been without power and water for almost 2 days so that wasn't to0 fun, but it came back on in the evening so another tender mercy. haha. In the morning Elder Grant and I were determined to find someone teach them and get a baptism date with them. and guess what??  we did. We found this guy who let us in and we taught him and accepted a baptism date. It was great!! It made us realize how powerful attitude is in the work. Then after lunch we went out kinda to the village and met an Awesome less active. Then we came back and had some good lessons.

On Friday, we had a tough day. We got bounced quite a bit and we were expecting to get a phone finally, but they forgot to bring the Sim card with the phone. Man. I guess we will go an entire transfer without a phone. haha. Also the Grundy's came down. they are the new Senior couple up here. They have been to the UKM (Uganda Kampala Mission) 2 times before this time.

On Saturday we were able to watch some conference.  Man! It was great !  The spirit had prepared me and it was different than any other time I had watched conference.  It was great and it flew by. We also visited the family we met earlier in the week and they had studied and read the book of mormon. Powerful. We also had a dinner appointment. Posho and Beans gotta love it. 

On Sunday, we were able to watch some more conference. Now,I have watched all of it except for priesthood. It was powerful again. Learned so much. Disappointed with low show at church though, but still had some investigators show up. It was a great week. Today we just cleaned and went to the market to eat.

It has been a week full of tender mercies. This week and almost everyday I have been on mission I have noticed the beauty of the earth here in Africa. The clouds. The mountains. The sunsets. or the villages. It is beautiful. God is real. It reminds me everyday. I also see something everyday that makes me laugh. Whether it be another missionary, a pet monkey, or some funny kids. Also, we met some great families this week. Another is that it is mango season and I am enjoying on these mangos here. Many other tender mercies this week. It has been awesome to see all these great blessings that the lord had blessed me with. Look this week for all the tender mercies in your life this week. It will be a great benefit to you because it was for me. Have a great week. Love you.

Love Elder Beck





Mom Questions...
1. I know it's mango season but do they get any kinds of berries there? Strawberries raspberries ?
Not really any berries here.

Huts and village in or near Gulu

Gulu at night

Gulu Butterfly

Gulu Sunshine

Gulu sunshine too

Gulu landscape

First full week in Gulu

Birthday Mac n Cheese for Mack...num!

Welcome to our compound apartment!

Hello. It has been a great week here. It has been tough. Especially with no phone, but Elder Grant and I have been able to manage the whitewash. We have some great families and hope to find even more who are ready for this gospel.

Tuesday. We did some service in the morning. We filled and carried some Jerry cans for an investigator in the other branch. It was good. Then we went out tried learning more of the area and met with some different Recent converts. It was a hot day but a good day. We went out into the village pretty far. It was beautiful with the sunset out there. It looked fake. It was great!! Missionary work in Africa is the best. 

On Wednesday we had some great appointments. With some great families. Sunny and Jennifer. He is an Indian that married a local girl. Sunny has been to the church and he says he feels Gods presence there. His wife hasn't come yet, but she will come soon. They are a powerful family. Saw a lot of naked babies and kids running around  today. ha.

Thursday we did some service again getting Jerry cans and bringing water for a family. The guy showed us pictures of him going to Salt Lake city for a medical thing and he got to meet Elder Bednar. That is awesome. We also helped a family crack peanuts or g-nuts as they call them here. It was fun. Great family, but super staunch in their religion. We also got lost today trying to find an investigator. I was surprised .....it was our first time getting lost so far. hahaha.(apparently they get lost a lot!)

Friday we met with some less actives and met with a powerful family and had a great lesson with them. They are not legally married, but that is ok. It is something we  and the branch can help them with.

Saturday. We did some finding in the morning and we met this guy that grew up in England. He had a sick accent. He didn't come to church but he was an awesome guy. haha. Also celebrated my birthday with mac and cheese and cookies. I also opened my package and I love the socks! I wore them on Sunday and felt great! We also had a great missionary activity where the members bring a friend. We played some games and watched the Testaments. Super powerful movie. The spirit was there. I almost cried. hahaha. (he's sensitive, I love that quality in him). Then afterwards we talked with this guy and bore super powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. The spirit carried with us after the movie. That is why the church puts out those videos. They are powerful and bring the spirit into our lives. Go watch a few of the videos or movies this week. 

Sunday. We had a great sacrament service. 53 this week. A lot better than last week and I gave a talk in church. We also went to branch council. It was long but I saw a lot of powerful members that want to strengthen the branch so much. It was great. Then the Chatfields and the APs (assistants to the president) showed up. We made some Tacos for lunch. Then when we went out there was this insane storm that came. It looked gnarly from afar and it came quick. It rained hard for like an hour. It was also supper dark after the storm. Me and Elder Grant were stepping in mud holes and puddles all the way home. We could not see anything. haha. It was a good day.

The GULU CREW
Taylors, Elders harding,?, Beck, Grant, Chatfields
Elders Quinton, Magawa, ?, ?

Today we had zone conference. It was really great. Learned a lot and had a ton of spiritual food. I wanted to take a nap afterward. haha. We also ate at a nice restaurant. It was fun

It has been a great week. Not  a lot of teaching, but still great. Great things are gonna be happening here. I read in the Bom this week in Mosiah. I was reading about King Benjamins address. It is like general conference. I learned some great things from it. How we need to prepare ourselves to learn from General conference. We need to have the same spirit that the people speaking have. We need to have Spiritual impressions as we watch physically and spiritually listen. I know you already watched it, but as you go back and study really prepare yourselves a strive to receive personal revelation when you study it. Also something that stuck out to me in the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 4;20. It talks about the power that is different. I have noticed that on my mission. That the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints has power in it. It is something you can feel and see. Whether it is the power of the priesthood or the power of the Holy Ghost. It is there. Notice it your lives. Anyways have a great week. Love you.

Love Elder Beck

Mom questions....

1. Tell us more about Gulu and your companion.. Elder grant.

Gulu is good. It is not as big or as developed at Kigali but it is nice. It is a kind of isolated like Rwanda and I like that. It is not as clean as well, but it is good. The branch is good. There are a strong group of members that will be good to build from. The people are also darker here than in Rwanda. It is probably because there is more sun here. Elder Grant is well. He likes basketball. He is from Bountiful. He is a great missionary and we are good friends. 

2. Do you still take a malaria pill every day?

I take a malaria pill most days still. (does that mean he sometimes forgets?!!?)

3. How about bugs and spiders and snakes? Have you run into anything that seems a little scary?

I don't see many snakes or spiders, quite a few bugs but nothing to bad.

4.Tell us about the Taylor's.... I've read their blog. They seem very involved and excited about their service. How long have they been there?

The Taylors are great ...they are really awesome. They've sacrificed a lot to come out on mission and they are making the most of it. They are really powerful. They don't eat meat though.(we are meat eaters!) They love the people and they are being moved to a new area so we will be getting a new set of senior missionaries the Grundy's. They seem cool as well, but will definitely miss the Taylors a lot.

Dear mom, I am glad that natalie got the letter. (he sent Natalie a nice letter and some big bucks...500 francs....65 cents! ha!0 Make sure she keeps that nice. I am excited for Brennan (he's getting a mission call). Way to go poky.(vb and baseball). I do not believe that Alexis (cousin) is already coming home and that stuart (cousin) is gonna have a baby. That is insane! Time flies. Things are going well here. Thanks for the love and the support. You are the best mom ever!

Love you

Love Elder Beck

A good brother sends his sister a letter and money....

Hello little fella

Monkey on a leash

cool hut

roof of cool hut

It's mango season!

First week in Uganda (Gulu)....new digs, new area

WELCOME TO UGANDA.... (Uganda's equivalent to the Walmart greeter!)

Hello! This week has been pretty crazy! It has been weird to change and leave Rwanda to Uganda, but it is great as well.

On Tuesday I had to wash my clothes and pack. I am a slow packer as well. It takes me forever! We also visited some people to say goodbye, but it seemed like the day went by way to fast and I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone that I wanted. We also had a dinner appointment with Diuedonne and Kellen from K2. They were my first lesson I taught on mission and they doing great. Powerful family. It was fun to have a dinner and sing Hymns with them and the neighbors. It was sad to leave them though. 

Last supper in Rwanda at Kellen and Duidene's home

Elders Brogan, Beck, Koopmans (hiding), Mumba?

Elder Beck and Dieudonne

Elder Beck, Dieudonne, Kennedy?

On Wednesday I woke up super early at like 4. I couldn't sleep that night. Got ready and took off to the airport with the other 3 missionaries leaving Rwanda. It was sad realizing this could easily be the last time I will be in Rwanda, but let us hope not. We arrived in Uganda and I had my first Rolex. It is a Uganda signature. It is Chapati (bread) and Eggs (omelet w veggies and spices). Really it is pretty good. 

How to make your own Rolex .  (this is right up Elder Beck's alley as he lives on Eggs and toast! ha ha!)

Then we met everyone at the apartments in Kampala and I got to see and talk to a lot of missionaries. IT was a good time talking to them all. In Rwanda you don't get to see a lot of missionaries. IT was awesome. Got to see ELder Grant as well. Good to see my old and new companion.

On Thursday I woke up and again I didn't get a lot of sleep because it was hot and not comfortable. We got ready and left with Elder and SIster Taylor to Gulu. I got to ride in a sweet new Ford Ranger. SIck truck! IT was great to get to know the taylors as well. They are awesome people. We saw the NIle River on the way there as well. It was huge and a lot of water is coming down that thing. 

Elder Beck is in denial....ok, maybe he's not actually in the Nile but right by the Nile!

We got to gulu and moved in and checked out the area. It is pretty cool. all 8 missionaries and the senior couple stay in the same compound. so it will be fun. On Friday we had a solid day. We got to go out into our area with Elder Majawa who was in the area formerly, but now it is split and he is in the other half of the area. He showed us around, but I was so lost that day. I can't remember anything! haha. It was a good day though.

On Saturday we had a zone meeting and then me and Elder Grant got to go in our area alone and tried not to get lost. haha. It was good. We met a ton of families and some stubborn people as well. This area has a lot of families and a lot more people speak English here. It is really nice and we didn't even get lost.... That much. 

On Sunday we had church in the morning. The church building is pretty nice. The branch is struggling a bit right now. Only had 38 at church, but there are a lot of solid members. It is going to get better. We also had a couple lessons in the day and we have a super powerful person we are teaching. He is from India, but married or engaged to a lady from Gulu. THey are super nice and he says he feels something different at church. He is going to come here from now on. IT is awesome to see people recognize the spirit in their life. It was an awesome day. Today we cleaned and went and played some basketball. It was an actually pretty nice court and it was fun.

Overall it is awesome here. IT is different from Rwanda, but I am excited for the time I get to be here. There are more people that speak English. The missionaries in the Zone are awesome. It will be fun. Elder Grant is a great missionary. I am excited to learn from him.

Hoop time!

Full court on pday!

I have learned a lot from this week, but something that I really remember was in Romans 8:18 It says something like the sufferings that we go through now are not worthy of the glory that awaits us. Life can be hard,  things can be hard, but if we stay faithful the glory and the gift we receive will be something so much better we can't even compare them. Someone said one time that 'When we get to heaven and receive Eternal life we will be asking ourselves and Heavenly Father. Is this all that was required of me?' I am excited for that day....to  be with my family forever. It is what gives me hope and what should give us all hope in the great plan of happiness. I am grateful for this gospel. Have a great week. Love you

Love Elder Beck

MOM (and others) QUESTIONS:

1. Did you get your birthday package?  (his birthday is April 9th!)

Yes, picked it up at  mission home on way to my area.  (YES!)

2. How is your new area and is it far from your living quarters? Where do you email from? 

Our new area is only  like 5 minutes or 10 away from our apartment.

There is a small internet cafe near the apartment. The computers are a little older, but still nice. 

3. How are you doing? How is Uganda compared to Rwanda.From all the accounts of missionaries  going from Uganda to Rwanda think say Rwanda is supposed to be the nicest living area and most modern of all the areas compared to Uganda. Is that true?

I am doing well. Rwanda is one of the nicest places on the mission, but here in Gulu it isn't too bad. (I think he thought he would be living in a grass hut and cooking over an open flame)  

There are 4 of us in a apartment and we stay in the same compound as the other 4 missionaries and the senior couple. SO it is pretty awesome.  Things are well here. The apartment isn't too bad at all. They say that the water runs out sometimes and the power goes out occasionally, but so far so good. Except the water smelled a little funny at first, but it is getting better. The area is good. There seems to be a lot of families here. Me and Elder Grant see the great potential this place has. THe branch is smaller right now.... only 38 at sacrament meeting, but it has some strong members and is going to start strengthening. It is going to be difficult, but some great things can come out of it. 

4. I was wondering some clarification to the pictures you sent from the Safari last week. You were pointing to something. Was that the hippo out in the middle of the water that you're pointing to or Tanzania? 

I wasn't pointing at anything. haha. 

5.  Also, in your pictures from  last week.....who was baptizing Adrienne? She looked pretty happy! 

It was Bizimana baptizing her. He is the Elders Quorum President. 

6. When do you get to listen to General Conference?  It was awesome!

General Conference I am excited for. We should be getting it in a couple weeks or so, not sure on the exact date though. 

Sounds like you had a great week. 

THanks for being such a great example to me. You are the best Mom! Love YOu!  Thanks for the support Dad. I love you!

Love Elder Beck

Study area in apartment in Gulu

Open air and comfy couches

This is where the magic happens...eggs and toast anyone?

Misquitoes aren't getting though that net!