Week 12 - Service

It was great to talk to Elder Beattie this week. 

It sounds like everyone in the flat is have a good time, Brayden did say on his call this week that he's learning he can have fun while on a mission. It seems they are finding their groove and he's settled into both the area and the routine. Well, here is the letter: 

G'day everyone 

Hope you all are doing good. It has been real busy here. We have done around 5 service projects in the past week. 

The first one that we did was by far the hardest and most confusing. This lady wanted us to help her move her things in the house to a different one down the street. When I heard that is what we were doing, I thought something like, "oh sweet, moving boxes to a truck, thats easy." 

Little did I know that she had taken everything in her house and put it into a pile in the middle of the floor in the dining area. There was a massive pile about the same height as me and we had to pack up the bedrooms from scratch. It was bonkers. The most discusting this was the fridge, if you think of the grossest thing that you have ever found in your fridge, that was everything in her fridge 🤢. 

The funnest one that we did was a bunch of gardening and yard work around this really nice house with a gorgeous view. We did alot of weeding and trimming bushes around their house. One of the missionaries that was there got bit by a spider that had the butt the size of a quarter, luckily it was not poisonous. He just said that it was a little tingly around the bite. I also saw my first "deadly" poisonous spider. The lady that was there was like, "dont touch that one, it can kill you." 

I made sure to stay clear of that one. They also warned us that there was a Huntsman spider that lived in a tree next to their shed (if you don't know what that spider is, I recommend searching it up). They had a wonderful dog thought that really loved me. His name was Whiskey. 

On Friday we had a Zone Conference, I got to go in person this time because I wasn't sick. It was super fun, we got to share the reason that we came out on a mission, and we also did a lot of trainings (lessons) about how to be able better missionary. We were told that Elder Bednar was going to be there by the zone leaders, but they just showed a video of one of his talks. Though I was disappointed, it was a really good talk about obedience amd how being obedient brings us blessings. I have definitely seen that on my mission and it was like extra motivation to do my best to be obedient. 

We got to teach 1 lesson this past week, they were 2 boys named Lawson and Flinders, whose parents are active, but they have just never been baptized. We went to their house last Monday for dinner and had a lesson with them. It went really well and I think that they definetly have the potential to be baptized. They are awesome, they love AFL and basketball. They also watch NFL with their dad and know alot about it.

A different visit had the home owner bringing out their pet Leaf Bug. 

This past week has been good and this week is going to be way better. 

Thanks for all your prayers, they always help. 

Emoji of the day:🦧 

Slang of the day: lollies (candy) 

Week 11 - Work Hard, Play Hard

Another positive week for Elder Beattie. 

Our call was early because they were meeting the Sister Missionaries in their District at the church to hang out for their PDay. 

We did get an extensive tour of his flat including the empty cupboards and fridge. Sounded like grocery shopping was on the list of "Must Do" for later in the day. He also showed us how the toilets flush and sadly they flush in a way that there is no swirl so we couldn't see for ourselves if toilets really do swirl in the opposite direction on the other side of the world. 

Well, here is the weekly letter:

Aloha everyone! 

Happy Chinese New year! 

This past week for me has been really good. We got alot of work done and found lots for new people. 

On Tuesday we went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders and I was with Elder So'e Chu Shing, we found ourselves at some guys house and he bred southern American birds. There were macaws of every color, and size. It was cool. He was nice enough to show us around and see all of the cool birds. 

*On our call with Elder Beattie he mentioned that some of these birds are worth crazy amounts of money, up to $20,000. Looks like he has quite the collection going.

On Thursday we started a service project where we dug a 1 meter deep hole and found a super broken pipe. He gave is some killer hotdogs and bananas afterwards, it was awesome. After that we got ready for the day and taught the 1st lesson over zoom to some lady that likes an hour away. It went really well and I hope that she will continue to listen to us teach. 

On Saturday we did some service for a guy Ned Monte, we filled in the holes that we dug to find the broken pipes. That took a couple of hours and afterwards he made us some killer hamburgers that had a spicy sauce, BBQ sauce, some bacon and an egg. It was actually really good. After that service my companion (the District Leader) had an idea for everyone in the district to find at least 1 person before we went back to the flat. We decided to knock around one of the members houses and we accidentally took a wrong turn and missed the house by like 3 streets. When we were walking towards the members house we saw a kid playing basketball by himself, we both felt like we should go and see him, but we kept on walking. We ended up walking past him like 3 more times before we went up to him. His name is Hunter and he was 14 years old. We played some 1 on 1s and he destroyed both of us. It was kind of humiliating. After we lost by alot we shared a brief lesson about the Atonement and then left. He seems to be seems to be pretty interested. 

When we were walking back to the car we noticed that we were out of water so we asked some guy in his garage if we could have a quick drink. He was super nice and got us some water and we chatted a bit. He doesn't seem to be super interested, but he wants to learn more about our church. 

Today was great as well, it was district pday and we hung out in the church gym and played basketball, volleyball, ping pong and some bored games. It was pretty fun. After that we went back to the flat for our dinner appointment. At this dinner appointment they had 2 kids that are un-Baptized and we got to teach them the first lesson after dinner, it was sweet. 

The biggest thing that I learned this week was to listen to the spirit and never ignore a spiritual prompting. If we had ignored the prompting to leave hunter alone, we never would have met him. 

Emoji of the day: 🇨🇳 (Chinese new year) 

Slang word of the day: uso: brother. (Used in the same way that you use the word bro) 

Elder Brayden Beattie.

Week 10 - Temples and Bananas

This week was great chatting with Elder Beattie. They were going to be spending his PDay playing some district against district basketball against Elder Mecham's district and since Brayden mentioned he and his companion, Elder Phelan, have been playing basketball and working on their verticles for their daily excerices it'll be interesting to hear which team won. 

He has really enjoyed getting out and moving around a lot more. He said he's done more member visits this past week than he has done the rest of the time combined. It's nice that he was able to stay in the same area and get to know the members better, introduce them to Elder Phelan. 

This is the introduction given to his new companion in his letter this week: 

"I have a new companion, his name is Elder Phelan. He is pretty cool. He is 5'6 and had red curly hair, he makes me look tall, it is great. I'll attach a picture of the both of us below." Chatting with him we learned that he is also the district leader and this is his first time training, he's from Arizona and Mandarin speaking (so cool). 

He goes on to say:

Last week we did so much missionary work, it was amazing. We were able to teach a lesson to someone that was referred to us, she is great. At the end of teaching the lesson, we invited her to pray to know the truth of our message and she was like, "I don't even need to pray. I already known that what you have said is true." We were both like "WHAAAATTTT!? That's Awesome!! Hopefully we will be able to have another appointment with her later tonight or tomorrow. I think that she has the potential to be baptized!

One of the member visits that we had was with a guy who was from Japan, he gave us some bananas as a snack when we were leaving, it was epic.

The best part of this week happened on Wednesday. We were able to do a session in the temple! It was soo cool. We got to go with our district and it was great to be able to spend some te with them. I was able to feel the spirit very strongly while I was in the temple. (Brayden did mention on our call that while they were at the temple he ran into Elder Mecham who was there doing baptisms.)

So far I am loving my district, I feel a way stronger connection between all of us then last transfer, so whenever we see each other it is like a party (a righteous one... obviously).

Emoji for the day: 🍌               

Slang word of the day: eshay: wanna be gangsters 

Until next time

It's been nice to be able to chat with Elder Beattie each week and hear about his life. We get to hear a little bit more details about what he shares in his letters. This week we learned that the one lady he mentioned in his letter that was referred for a discussion referred herself. Her son had been invited to play basketball at the church so while he was playing she went to the church site and did some research. From there she was curious and wanted to know more. She grew up as Hindu so has a faith background, which is great, but never felt like it was totally right. Hopefully she is willing to hear more and also willing to give these Elders a chance to bear their testimony's and she'll feel the truth through them.

One hilarious story that he shared with us that didn't make the letter was at one of the houses they went knocking they got barked at. Not by a dog.... by a guy. He really didn't want to hear what the Elders had to say so he started barking at them from the door to scare them away. I think he's just happy to be going out and doing some work that he'll happily take a guy barking at them. Haha. I'm glad to hear he's having all the experiences (good, bad, funny) and able to apply the things he's been learning. Sounds like Elder Phelan is a great trainer, keeping him busy and giving him exposure to the work. 

Transfer Week

This past week was one filled with a lot of praying and fasting for and by our Elder Beattie and his companion by our amazing support system. With upcoming transfers on everyone's mind and possibilities of what the next 6 weeks could potentially look like for our Elder we were anxious to hear from him.

Brayden and his companion received a phone call from the mission President mid week to check in after reading about the current situation Brayden had been facing. It is great for all of us to know that President Vongsawad is aware of Brayden and was putting in the time and kindness to offer insight and advice to the situation. Brayden mentioned that after he got that phone call from the President he ran into the flat and told the other Elders "Guess what!? President really does read those emails we write each week!" Haha.

A few days later Brayden's companion sat him down with him as they were getting ready for bed so they could talk.... Finally, the end to the silent treatment. They have had some strong tension and his companion had been sort of isolating himself during the day and locking himself in a room solo so they've been stuck in the apartment other than dinner appointments or splits. His companion mentioned that he hadn't told anyone this yet but that he would be leaving the mission the next day, that things weren't good for him, in his head, with his family, with the mission. Everything was hard and he was done. Brayden used the Tree of Life vision from the Book of Mormon as a lesson how the people didn't know the way through the mist so they had to hold on tight to the rod, continuing forward until they could partake of the fruit. Brayden did say it was a lot longer of a thought/explanation than he quickly mentioned on our call but he was able to share this message with his companion. After, the Elder went to the other room and stayed there for a half hour but when he came out he told Brayden that he was going to stay, keep going. After that chat their relationship seemed better, less tension and his companion was back to talking to him again.

Brayden mentioned that since he's been stuck in the apartment he hasn't had the opportunity to do much teaching at all and so having an experience where he could teach using the Spirit and help out his companion was a great testimony building experience for him.

On Sunday a member of one of the wards Elder Beattie is assigned to was giving his farewell talk before heading to New Zealand. Brayden had the opportunity to give a talk on missionary work in sacrament meeting and use those skills he practiced as a High Council speaking companion those few months. Later in the day, he and his companion got news that they were both going to be affected by transfers the next day. His companion moving to a different area and Brayden getting a new trainer (one of his flatmates). He seems very optimistic about the change and knows he already likes his new companion from rooming together and going on splits before. He did go on splits often with the other companion who is now headed to the islands (?). Brayden mentioned his 2 new flatmates also both seem like they'll be easy to get along with so hopefully they all get to work and have a positive next transfer. It also gives his old companion a chance at a fresh start and an opportunity to make some changes and finish his mission on a positive note.

Transfer day the missionaries gathered at the chapel at the Brisbane temple and took advantage of checking out a nearby viewpoint finding other Elders up there too. Brayden was also able to see Elder Mecham, his MTC (Missionary Training Center) companion, as his companion was also getting transfered. They will still be in the same zone so they'll be able to see eachother at zone conference and catch up there. Brayden really cares about Elder Mecham so it was great to hear he's doing well.

Week 8 - Happy New Years

Elder Beattie got his first haircut in the mission field this past week. I think the only other person to cut his hair has been his dad but it seems to look pretty great so, yay for success. 

Today our phone call took place with him outside enjoying the sunshine of the late morning while we were able to show him our view of the sunset on the mountain ridge. The car battery was waiting to be fixed so we texted first before the weekly video call and it was great to just read his thoughts on the things he's learning during his studying and to see this different side come through. The desire to go out, meet the people, build relationships and teach is strong and he seems to be applying what he's learning into his daily practices which is exactly what a parent wants to hear. 

Well, here is the weekly email:

Hey, everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic new years! For us we had to be back to the flat by 6 o'clock rather then 9. Crazy stuff must happen here on new years eve. 

This past week has been quite uneventful. There was really one thing this week that stuck out to me. On Tuesday, we did another miracle Tuesday, where we do se contacting for a whole 3 hours and the goal that was set by the mission president was for everyone to find 6 people during that time. This time we did not find all that much people. We ended up finding 3. It'd all right though, 3 is better then 0. One of them was and aboriginal from one of the biggest tribes that are/were in Australia. She was pretty cool. After her, we were driving by a member's house and we got a prompting to go and visit them. It was really cool because they were about to leave in 5 minutes and they had a non-member daughter, we invited her to go to church with her family on Sunday, but sadly she didn't show up. The last person that we found was near a referral that we got. He was helping his friend move stuff in the garage, they had just finished up when we had gotten there and his friend left to grab something in his house. We chatted with him for a while, we gave him a picture of Jesus and taught him a little about him. It was cool.

That was my favorite part of the week because we were able to go out and listen to peoples storys and hear how they were doing. It was also really cool because it felt like things were just falling into place, like we were right where we needed to be, when we needed to be there. That just proved even more to me that the holy ghost is there and that God really does have a hand in our lives.

One big lesson that I learned this week was to not judge a book by its cover. Some of the people that we talked to this week were not the people that I thought would want to listen to us. That also goes to the people In the flat. They are all so much more different then I thought they were going to be when I first saw/met them.

One really cool thing about the area that I live in, is that Chris Hemsworth also lives here too! I haven't seen him yet, but I am still searching for him. I'll find him someday, then baptise him. 😉 

Transfers are next week, that should be fun, I have a feeling that me and my companion are going to be with each other for a while, I think that we have a thing or two that we could learn from each other.

Answers to some of your questions:

1. The members are great, they love to feed us!

2. The weirdest food that I had to stuff down was a salad, this was no ordinary salad, it had mangos, avocados, and some spicy peppers. It was nasty. And she gave me two plates of it 🤮

3. There has been many many creepy bugs, there are so many nasty looking spiders, it is so gross.

4. There has been quite a few kangaroos that I have seen, so far it has been 7 🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘 

5. I have not seen any koalas yet, there are signs everywhere that say watch out for the koalas, but I haven't seen any yet.

There is this book that I was able to look through that was called: daily joy. It is by Presedent Nelson, and it has a scripture for every day of the year and it has a small paragraph about that verse underneath about his thoughts on that verse. It is really cool, I would recommend it to everyone!

Slang word of the week: bonnet: the hood of the car. Weird, right?

Emoji of the week:🥑

Hope y'all are having a blast!

From the one and only,

Elder Brayden Beattie.

There are 4 Elders that live in the flat Elder Beattie is in. He and his companion have a car and are over 3 different wards while the other pair of Elders are on bikes and cover one area. Brayden has said he loves when he goes on splits and gets to ride on the bike. A part of that might be because he's getting fed so well he likes the exercise but I think he's just an active individual so getting out in the fresh air and using his body is familiar and uplifting. Sadly one of the bikes (the one pictured) lost its peddle recently and is out of commission and getting repaired. 

As this past week was a more challenging one for Elder Beattie I was so grateful for the network and support he has around him and all the people that love him. He had decided to act instead of just ask why me and reached out for suggestions from some family that have served as Mission President and wife and they immediately responded with the most perfect advice. Even when things are challenging there is so much good out there if we are willing to seek it, to realize it. It's great he was willing to realize the resources available to him and it was such an answer to prayers to have them reach back so quickly while they're on family vacation. He is so loved and supported and I know he feels it.

Brayden was able to chat a bit with Elder Mecham over messenger on PDay and although they are only 30 minutes away from each other, they are in different districts so haven't seen much of one another. Seems like such a great guy, can't wait for him to come to Canada and explore with Brayden post mission.

Other exciting information Elder Beattie didn't put in his letter is that the grand daughter of the apostle Elder Holland is serving her mission right now in the ABM (Australia Brisbane Mission). He's never seen her but we've been reading quite a few of Elder Hollands talks lately and so it's kind of cool to know he has family doing the work just like Brayden.