Former Companions (Cousins Erin and Kristina) - reviving an old family joke

MTC NEEDS WOMEN !

And now, Companions from the MTC:

Hermana Beauchamp in front of the Provo Temple:

Refining Faith in the MTC

Thank you thank you for the tennis shoes, socks, letters, etc....they are perfect! Those ARE the right shoes, mom, thank you so much. Where did you find my glasses? Oh also, I got my backpack from the sister missionary mall---love it!!

 

Dad, I got your letter about your trip to Italy. Sure sounds derricious :) I loves all the details about the views of the Alps and Greenland from your window. I miss you Poppalops! Speaking of Greenland, there's an elder here from there and he joined the church in Denmark when he was there for school. I asked how big the church is in Greenland and he just held up four fingers...not including himself. Crazy, eh? Also, there's a sister from Jordan that  I met in the bookstore the other day. I guess her dad joined the church because he met some humanitarian missionaries there and he started asking about the church. Cool. Something else kind of interesting, she told me that all the Christian Jordanians added "ian" to their last names during some Turkish genocide something (I was having a hard time hearing her---it was a little loud in the bookstore) to distinguish themselves, so her last name must have been Sultan because now it's Sultanian.

 

Gah!!! I'm leaving tomorrow! I can't believe it! There's so much to do...man alive. I had to say goodbye to Hermanas Font and Mitchell way too early this morning, and I miss them tons already, but I'm companions with my friend Hermana Jensen for today, so we're taking good care of each other. It's so strange only having one companion--it sure makes potty breaks quicker though!!

So this week for our devotional, we sang in the choir and we did a song called "Ever Be Near Us Lord" by David R. Naylor--It's AMAZING. I'm finding out that I have a pretty deep affinity for American Folk hymns. Thanks a bunch, padres.

 

Also, I heard something hilariously excellent the other day: "complexity is of the devil". It's funny to think about in terms of teaching the Gospel, because it's really so simple, but if we get sidetracked and start pulling in doctrine from random places, it doesn't make sense anymore and it's harder to feel the Spirit.

 

So Sunday was a really big day. Every weekend, the missionaries in our branch have to write a talk about a specified theme for that week (this week was about faith) and they'll choose someone at random to speak for 5 minutes (good prep for wards where they'll call up the missionaries to speak when the assigned speakers fail to show up ). They almost always choose a sister and an elder from the district that's leaving, so we knew it was going to be someone from our companionship. Lo and behold, the first counselor in the branch presidency kept on smiling at me through the announcements and the sacrament, so I decided I'd better review my talk again. So anyway, I got called up, gave a talk that taught me A TON about faith, and THEN I sang with Hermanas Font and Mitchell with Hermana Jensen playing piano and THEN I was asked to say the closing prayer in Relief Society (the church-wide women's organization). But for Relief Society, they have EVERY sister (presidency wives included) in the auditorium and usually some kind of General Authority Sister come speak, so I got to chat with Sister Rosemary Wixom (General Primary President (children's Sunday school)) and she gave a phenomenal talk about Christlike love. Her husband was so sweet, I shook both their hands (well, hugged sister Wixom,) and her husband said " Ya know, we just love sister missionaries. We think they are absolutely shazam!" They're adorable!

 

Ok, so here's the journal entry that led to my talk, I hope it makes sense:

 

" So last night we read Ether 12 (in the Book of Mormon) for companionship study, and verse 18 struck me as very interesting. It says, in effect, that no miracle has been performed until after one had faith, and they first had to believe in the Son of God. I started thinking about faith being a principle of action and power and how this principle tied into the content of some Large Group Meetings we'd had about setting goals and about having both desire and vision be integral parts of a goal. Without a plan of action, it's not  faith or even a goal, it's just a wish. That got me thinking about the various miracles that have been performed throughout history: social, technological, philosophical, etc. and how those individuals' faith would have been tested. I came to the conclusion that their plan and action was what made them different from others. Once they made a plan, they ceased to be merely philpsophers and became men and women who really made a difference in the world. But I was still confused as to how that would have to be based in their faith in Christ I rememebered what my teacher Hermano Anderson had said about there being absolutely no hope without Christ. Without the Savior we have no means by which we can return to live with Heavenly Father, and we therefore have no purpose on this earth. And if we have no purpose, everything we do in this life would be entirely futile. There would be no progression, no point to making goals, plans, or to hope. Therefore all hope MUST come because of the Savior, whether we acknowledge it or not. It is because of Jesus Christ that we have a purpose and a plan, and work to better ourselves and our world. So THEN I thought more about faith being the initiator, perpetuator, and end result of obedience and trust in Heavenly Father's promises, and I wondered where faith comes from if we have never experimented upon His word and had those experiences of trials of our faith. Where does that intial motivation and determination and hope come from to get us started on growing our faith? I remembered that scripture about faith coming from (or at least growing from---I didn't have time to look it up) hearing others' testimonies."

My talk ended up sounding a lot more eloquent, and in Spanish, but there's the general gist of one of the major things on my mind this week.

I love you I love you,

I get to talk to you tomorrow from the airport! Keep your cell phone on!!

Love you more than all the snow we got this morning!

Hermana B.

Hermana Beauchamp's District at the MTC (right)
These are all Spanish-speaking missionaries heading to
all parts of the Spanish-speaking world, even the USA!






Hermanas Mitchell, Fort, Beauchamp (below)

MTC Photos Week Two

Brother and Sister-in-law Hermana Beauchamp and Elder Palmer meet up at the MTC (Elder Palmer is the brother of Ryan's wife Chelsea.)

A Little Extra News

January 22,2011 (via snail mail this week)
Hey Fam!
I forgot to mention something in my email but had no time....last week in the temple there was an Elder Elijah Barton who was going through the temple for the first time - pretty cool, right? Well, when I finally got my flight plans, he was listed as my travel group leader, and as it turns out he is from Scotland and he's assigned to my mission. Not only that, he is from OBAN! (Mom's note: Oban,county Argyle on the west coast, is the ancient seat of the McDougall clan, from which we are descended and which we have visited a number of times as a family.)So cool! Apparently his family lives on the edge of town and raises deer. Anyway, any family history questions you want me to ask him?
I love you endlessly,
Hermana Apple

MTC Week Two

Hey beautiful Fambly!! Sorry the letter last week was cut a little short, the computer kicks you off when your 30 min runs out, but it is helpful for learning how to manage time better.
As for the backpack question: I'm pretty sure we ordered it--they should be calling you for my address fairly soon. Although you may just want to have them send it to the mission home. hmmm. The shoes haven't arrived yet, but mail's been kinda spotty these last couple days, so I might even get it tonight. Fingers crossed!!
Also, what's Dad's cell number? I'll be flying out of Salt Lake around 11:00 on Wed the 26th (holy canoli!!) and I get to call home from the airport. So keep your cell phone on you around 10. Did he have fun in Italy? I'm so excited to hear about his trip!
I can only respond to letters on Tuesdays, but I can receive mail any day of the week *cough cough*. But seriously. it's like Christmas. and is a gift from heaven.(Editor's note: you may write to Allison any day at: www.DearElder.com and address it to Hermana Allison Clare MorningSkye Beauchamp. They print out the letters and deliver them the same day.) Thank you for your little updates this week. Tell Lauren to write too. I miss her pretty face so much. Also, will you send me Jared's mailing address? I wrote a letter to him, but forgot that I don't have his address. whoops.
Ok so the main amazing thing that happened this week was that Elder Holland came and spoke at a Tuesday night devotional. Oh my gosh it was incredible! I love when he speaks because it feels like he reaches in, grabs my soul, and shakes it awake. ("Awake my soul, no longer droop in sin...".. awesome) He mainly spoke about how blessed we as missionaries are to have "Preach My Gospel" and how that entire curriculum is centered around personalizing the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for everyone who hears it, but how it will take so much more of us to really work with the Spirit to know what each person we talk to will need and be receptive to. He said "You have to be a thousand times better missionaries than I ever was." Whoa. better than Elder Holland?
Anyway, one of my absolute favorite parts was when he related the story of Peter after Christ had been crucified and resurrected, although in a bit plainer language and applied it to us as missionaries and what we are to do after our missions.
So after Christ was resurrected, Peter wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He had certainly loved Christ and served Him as well as he could, but now that He was gone, Peter just figured he would go back to doing what he had always done....fishing. They'd been fishing all night and hadn't caught anything and were very frustrated when they saw a figure on the shore who called out to them and told them to cast their nets on the other side. When they did so, their nets nearly broke with the weight of all the fish they had brought in. Peter recognized the Savior right away and went to go be with Him. The Savior asked him, "Peter, do you love me?" and Peter answered, "of course I do" to which the Lord responded, "Feed my sheep". Peter wasn't getting the message so Christ asked him again "Do you love me?" and Peter said again "yes, you know I do"....but he still didn't understand so Christ asked him a third time "Do you love me more than anything else?"( and Elder holland said, and ya know peter was very sensitive about threes by this time") and Peter said "I do. More than anything." Then Elder Holland with his pulpit-pounding, earth shaking voice told us what the Lord wants us to know. " When I asked you to leave your fish, your nets, your boat, it was forever." He said, you cannot be what you have to be unless you love Him. Your call is to feed His sheep forever. you cannot go back to how things were because you are now a missionary of Jesus Christ. and if you do, you will break my heart and you will break the heart of the Savior. If you are ever tempted to walk away from your covenants, remember, you've left your nets. You are going to feed His sheep forever. Because you love Him"
I really don't know if I can do it justice, but just imagine that it was Elder Holland driving that message into your heads. lovingly, of course, but with the power of God in his voice. Amazing.
We have another fireside tonight and I hear it'll be another somebody from among the general authorities of the church.
I'm almost out of time, but I love you so so so smuch. Please remember the Savior this week. He's been helping me every moment of the day and I'm so grateful I can feel it.
I love you I love you more than all the missionary nametags at the MTC!! Be good!
Hermana B

Allison was set apart January 3, 2011 by President Poulson , Bishop Forbes, Dad and Ryan