WEEK #28 GOODBYE TO HONDURAS FOR NOW

(Note from mom) It is with a heavy heart that Elder Beeston must say goodbye to Honduras for now. The battle he has been fighting with an illness not yet completely understood has made missionary work a burden. Therefore, while he has put on a happy face and done everything in his power to remedy the situation despite his suffering, it has nevertheless been decided that he must take a break from his mission to get well. 

We are so grateful for the support of an amazing mission president who has only wanted the best for Derik from the start and has done everything in his power, exhausting every resource Honduras has to offer, to keep Derik there. We are also grateful for amazing family members and friends who have shown nothing but love and support from the day he opened his mission call. And of course we are grateful more than words can say for your continued support and prayers as he battles this illness in his desire to continue to be able to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He sees fit. 

Derik wants more than anything to go back to Honduras to continue his service. But he also understands that there are some things we don't get to choose and that everything happens for a reason. So we look forward with much anticipation to the next chapter of his story and whatever that brings! And we know that everything will be okay in the end because if it's not okay, it's not the end.

WEEK #27 WEIRD WEEK INDEED

Weird week indeed it was. But a good one. So about a week ago we found out that one of the members in our ward had to get baptized again because the church couldnt find her papers and so because this church is a church of order, she needed to get baptized again to have her papers. Her name is celeste and she is 16 and she lives in our area so we got a freebee baptism hahahha. It was really random and she was super super upset and confused and would just cry. Everything turned out well though. When we were at her house doing the interview, our mission President called and asked if it was true that she was getting baptized again. Turns out he knows this family really well because the older sister of celeste served for a bit in this mission while she waited for her visa. He loves this family and told us he would be at the baptism and then my comp told him that he should do it and we asked celeste and she said yes so we got to do a baptism with pres:) It was coooooool.

Somethin else really strange that happened this week. Getting ready to head out on saturday and work and the dog roxi walks through our house which it never has done, goes to the back part of the house and just starts puking. then starts foaming out the mouth and shaking and running into the wall and couldnt breath. We figured she got poised with something and so I had to grab her foamy mouth and open it up and we poured oil down it. Then milk. Then the last option coffee to get her to throw up and she wouldn't. So we just stayed there for the whole morning and thought she was going to die. She just keep running her head into the wall and then falling down and it really was sad to watch and I thought I was going to watch this dog die. We left it back there for a while cuz we didn't know what to do and we gave away all the pups to people that would give em milk. Turns out roxi is better now and now we want the pups back. we only got two now. Really weird experience. 

Things aren't going too hot right now out here but we are working hard and just trying to do our best. I am learning every day and am learning a lot about myself and the weaknesses I have. But, God chooses the weak ones to do this work. Sometimes I wish I didn't have some of the struggles I do but God gives us weaknesses to help us humble ourselves and come to Him for help. I know this is His work and He gets the credit. Thanks for your love and support and prayers. 

Elder Beeston

WEEK #26 BAPTISM Y QUINIENTOS

So this week on Tuesday we had out interviews with Pres. Klein and which was super helpful. After the interviews we went and found a taxi to go home. He told us he would take us for 20 limpiras each and we were super happy for that. I chatted with the fellow while he drove us home and when we got out of the car I thought to myself hey this guy is a good guy...imma give him a little extra. My comp pulled a bill which was I thought was 50 limpiras and so i took it and gave it to the guy and felt really good about it. As i was telling the dude to take the money my comp was asking me.....hey what are you doing?? I told him...dude its alright i will pay you back. He's a good guy and needs this...So I give the taxi driver his money and he speeds off and my comp just looks at me in shock and said...dude you just gave him quinientos (500)....I said..I know! He needed it:) still thinking it was only 50...my comp says again...DUDE...YOU JUST GAVE HIM QUINIENTOS. Then I finally realized that that's not 50. So I gave the taxi driver 500 limpiars to take us a couple blocks and it was all the money my comp had. So I had to pay him back...But at least we helped someone out right? Sometimes I aint thinking. heh.

So besides that it has been an excellent week. We had a baptism on Saturday! His name is Lenin and we had been teaching him and his mom for quite some time. He is really timid and shy but we helped him overcome that a little. Everytime I see him i give him the biggest hug and now he loves it. The baptism was great and he said he felt super good after. The following day he received the Holy Ghost in church and wasnt even scurrrrred:) Now we are working with his mom and brother and we have a lot of other investigators who are starting to progress. Central America has a new area plan to build up the church here and its super sick. Im not gonna explain all the details of it but we have a plan we are doing to baptize, reactivate, and to have at least 80% of our recent converts in church each sunday and increase each ward 10% with members. One of the things we have to do as missionaries is have a B of M in our hands at all times no matter what. Its awesome. I always hold it up high when we walk past people and when i wave i wave with my B of M.

Another awesome thing that we found out this week is that Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve is coming to talk to us March 14 and it's a multi mission conference!! Which means that I am gonna see Elder Hayden Hunt! Me him and Measles are gonna chill together and listen to an Apostle of Jesus Christ speak and get super pumped to work harder. It's gonna be in the biggest chapel ever in the middle of san pedro sula which can hold all of us. I am so excited to see my buds:) Also March 5 Elder Duncan of the seventy is coming to talk with all of San pedro sula east so that will be super cool too. Things are going well with my comp. We are the bestest of pals. He is an excellent missionary and I sure hope I can learn a lot from him. Great week it was. I love you all and appreciate what you do. Keep trying to be better each day. 

WEEK #25 GOOD WEEK

Bueeennnooooo.....Where to start. Where to start....hmmmmm wowzers...where do I start. Uhhhhhh well...right! This week was actually very eventful! So this week was changes and my comp didn't really think he was gonna get changed. But we went to the meeting and they said he had changes and that I was getting a new comp! They then told me that my new comp would be Elder Coj!! He is from Guatemala and is the coolest missionary in the whole mission besides meas. So the awesome thing is that Elder Coj was in Ceiba with Elder Measles and I told Measles that if I could have any other comp in the mission it would be Elder Coj. I also told Elder Coj every district and zone meeting in Ceiba that one day we would be comps! So when I heard I freaked out and I called Elder Measles and he told me that everyone was freaking out in Ceiba and it was such a significant experience. But I got a new comp and I now live with 3 latinos in my house. 3 latins and me. And none of them speak a lick of English so it's gonna be quite the adventure for me. The other two are from Ecuador and are goof balls.

Other crazy thing that happened this week....Roxi had puppies!!!!! Hahah, it was the day after Elder Oliviera left and we were coming home at night and some of the neighbors were out in front of our house and Roxi was in a box. I was really confused and then we went and saw that she delivered! She had a total of 10 pups and 4 died and so now there is 6 little guys just chillin. We can't do anything with them for two weeks so they are just hanging outside part of our house until we can deliver them. We figure it will be a good way to contact people. Nobody is going to reject us if we offer a pup. But ya I'll send some pics. It's pretty rad. 

My new comp and I have a lot of energy and are ready to work here in this area and get this ward going. The ward here is really helping us out and is doing it's own little mission with zl's and dl's in each area of the ward and they are going to find references for us. So things are looking pretty good. My comp is too cool cuz he gives me tickles on my back and makes me feel really good and is a great leader and everybody in the mission loves him. He is super animated to work here. I have the most time in this area out of the four of us in the house so I have to show the dudes around and it stresses me out. Things are going good though. We should have a baptism this Saturday. A kid named Lenin who's 13 is gonna get baptized so we are gonna be working hard with him. I am super excited. Love you all and hope you have a great week. Thanks for all your support!

Just a pic I found on Hna Klein's blog posted January 5, 2015

WEEK #22 GONNA HAVE PUPS

ROXY

Well this week alright. The work right now here is pretty tough but we're working hard. My comp got really sick so I had to go for three days straight with the youth in the ward and teach. It was actually a good learning experience because I had to be the one to start all the lessons and take control and answer questions. It was tough but I learned a whole bunchies. We had 6 investigators at church and we have 1 (Eugenia) that's been twice now and should be getting baptized if...... she accepts the law of chastity. It's quite a problem here. Getting married is like one of the hardest things to do in Honduras ha.

Roxi is still tagging along. I have learned to just take deap breaths when I want to nail her. Also got some big news...shes pregnant!! We're gonna have puppies, which is awesome but also not awesome because first we can't have pets. But no matter what we do to Roxy...she doesn't leave so I don't know what I'm gonna do with her pups. Probably just give em to members. Might send one home to my fam too. I am really growing to love the food here. Maybe it's just cuz I'm always so hungry. You know it's bad when you start eating the bones of the chicken and thinking it's good. I feel like Deryke Terrell out here. I have also had to put a limit to the amount of baleadas I eat. They are soooo good. I love them. The tortillas here make me cry every time I eat them. I will definitely miss them one day. Well, don't got much else to say. We got invited to a baby shower the other day of a girl in our ward....she's 15. Don't think we got time to go though. The work will pick up this week. My comp and I are working better together and we got a new elder in our house from Ecuador who I think will really help me. I have a testimony of this Gospel and I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing even though it's so tough somtimes haha. Have a great week!!

WEEK #21 DOGS

Hey fam! I am so happy today! This was the best day emailing so far.:) hahaha that's so funny about Jorge! 

(excerpt from mom's email) Dad got a call from a guy named Jorge. He asked if we had a son living in Honduras and wanted to know our address so he could come and give us a note that he said you wrote when they saw you at Pizza Hut. So dad gave him our address and then when he started thinking about it, he thought, "Shoot! Who is this guy? Derik never mentioned a note he wrote to us. Maybe it's a trick. Maybe Derik made a shady friend in Honduras and he is coming to collect. I better meet him in a public place." Ha ha. You know how it goes when you let your mind go crazy. So I called him a few times the day he was supposed to meet up with this guy just to make sure he hadn't been gunned down or anything. So funny! Obviously he was a super nice guy who offered to take packages for us when he makes trips down there. Another tender mercy from heaven. You would think that we would have had more of these with Tanner's mission because it was so close and in the states but we've had more people connect with us about you and your mission than we ever had with Tanner. Must be because we need that knowing that you are struggling and so far away. I love tender mercies from heaven. What a loving Heavenly Father we have!!

I would think the same thing too haha. You made the right decision never trust anyone from here. I am so happy you got my note though. It was awesome when they told us they were from orem. Their ingles isn’t too hot but I'm sure you could communicate. And I know it is a miracle from God too. You are right mom and it gave me comfort reading that.

We finally got people at church this week! A tender mercy it was indeed. My comp and I decided to commit to work as hard as we could and strive to be obedient and if we did, that God would bless us with people at church. Cuz these last few weeks we've had nothing and I got angry. Little miracles like that help a lot. The work is starting to get going here. When I got here we had nobody cuz my comp and his last comp did nothing. He's changed a lot though and he's got a new energy to him. Brasilenos are interesting people. I like being his comp though cuz his parents send him so much tasty food from Brazil and I eat it all. I sure do love goodies. Roxy, our dog is still following us everywhere and is starting to think that she is part of the crew. I made sure she knew she wasn't when she tried to enter the house though. We lock it up at every house we go to and run away and its always there waiting at our house haha:) dumb Roxy. Starting to test my patience she is. The only dog I love is my dog Kona. Sometimes we'll be talking to people and I look at Roxy and she just makes me so mad and I wanna just punt her. Then I get distracted and forget what we're talking about. A distraction she is. Sometimes I feel sympathy though cuz it's not an easy life being a dog in Honduras. Last night we walked like 3 miles to a house for dinner and she followed us the whole way as always, sat outside and whimpered, and then after dinner we got a ride home and she ran as fast as her little legs could go to follow us home but just couldn't handle it. This area where we ate is gated off and there is no way out. But bout 20 min later we're at our house locked out and here comes Roxy running home. Who is this dog?! We're thinking about getting a white shirt for her. Not much else has happened this week but we're working hard and hope to get some more people on date for February. It got a bit chilly a couple days this week, bout 90 degrees, so I had to grab my sweater. Hope it heats back up. This area is so cool. I love it. It's got some of the coolest views and it's just crazy. We're in the city of San Pedro Sula and it's a thrill every day. The people are pretty hard here though. LOTS of apostacy. It's a bit sickening but fun talking with the people and helping them and helping them realize how wrong they are with love and helping them find the truth. Should be an excellent week this week. 

Dad I am glad you are still reading the B of M in spanish. I'm half way through it but made a goal to finish it this change. I gotta get going. It's helping my spanish a ton. My spanish is actually getting a bit better every day I think. Everything is getting a little bit better. Like you say mom, just take it one day at a time. So that's what I'm doing. I'm actually taking it about 5 minutes at a time, well I'm trying to haha. We have another person on date named Eugenia! Super awesome she is. She was at church which is way far from where she lives. She walked  that whole way at 7:30 in the morning. She was the first one there. So siick. Miracle she is. Hope things go well with her. We also brought some weirros (kids) to church and had another couple that's been going for years. They just are waiting on getting married which is the hardest thing in the world here in Honduras. The other lady we had on date named Claudia, we just found out she goes to Tegucigalpa every week to see her boyfriend there so we hope things are ok but well see. 

Things are getting better though! Next P-day we are going to play in the soccer stadium here that the best team here plays at. They're called Olympia. Imma bring my football:) Hope you guys have a great week! Thanks for your help with everything! Loves all around!

Elder Beeston

Mom can you also send me a B of M soft copy in Portuguese whenever you send another package? A kid here got his call to Brasil but there is nowhere to get a Portuguese B of M here ha. That would be awesome cuz he wants one!

ps. The football is really helping me out haha. I throw it up in the air whenever I'm stressed while laying on my bed. The pump is awesome too! So sick!!

p.p.s. Mom i literrallly just had like 7 pics coming. I had it all working and........my camera died. Just right now hahah. I'll send a bunchy next week. Sorry!

WEEK #20 WORKING IN A TRIO

This week was super funny haha. But first off the work still isn't going too well right now but I've had enough of it and we're going so hard this week. I'm so sick of feeling how I do and I'm just gonna work as hard as I can and make it fun cuz this is my time. I am going to do everything I can though and leave it up to God. I'm grateful for your guys' help though. 

We had 1 investigator at church yesterday but I promise you we will have at least 4 this Sunday. I got a comp who likes to finish the day at 7 o'clock but that ain't about to happen. He's a sweety pie but his desire to have people at church is not there. He has it in his head that this area is dead but we are getting along and I hope we can animate eachother to work hard this week and exceed the minimum. I've also decided to open up my missionary life book they gave us which helps with stress so imma give it a try.

We have had some funny experiences though. First one is that this week we have been working in a trio every day with a dog that we named roxi that follows us everywhere no matter where we go. Sleeps outside our house and then in the morning she goes everywhere we go until night. It's insane ha. I try to kick it and make it leave but it will not. We make it a goal every day to lose roxi so sometimes we just take off running and try to lose her. At first it was super awesome but now I wanna kill it cuz it just sits outside of every house where we are having lessons and all the other billion dogs here start barking and we can't even communicate during the lesson. And she won't leave! Just sits there and whimpers till we come out. The other day I did a side kick (not hard) and kicked her into a hole. It's a true test of my patience ha. Another funny/awful experience is that we were walking down a road one day and there was this dude out drunk on the road and this super drunk old lady yelled at us to come sit down but we told her we couldn't but she kept yelling and then my comps made me sit down. She said "Oh I love gringos. Take me to the states!" and starting running her fingers through my hair haha. Then she started kissing my arm!! I was freaking out and she then started to try to kiss me on the lips and i said "Hermana we have to go!" And we took off haha. My comp was just laughing at me. It was awful haha. 

Also, this week we had a zone meeting with Pres. and it was just our zone and was so sick. I understood everything and prayed that my light headedness would go away just for the meeting and it did and it was the best!:) He taught us about holding to the rod after the mission and that he is more concerned about what we do after than what we are doing right now. The way to stay strong is through service which is our first covenant, which leads to the Temple. He also taught us about the importance of paying tithing and not being worried about money. He shared a story that was so awesome. Pres Klein is super ridicoulosly rich and had 6 cars and a huge house because he loved money. He told this part very pridefully which was super awesome haha. Then he told us he sold the house and the cars because of something Hma Klein said to him I can't remember. But he realized he wasn't happy with the big house like he was with his first house with Hma Klein which was tiny. Money ain't important. Word. 

But ya that's about all that happened this week. This area is really cool. I'll try to get some pics. It's hard to pull out your camera here though. But I'm blessed to be here and the ward is awesome. God is preparing these people here to receive us but we have to do our part as missionaries and we are just gonna keep pressing forward no matter how hard it is. It's a battle everyday but I guess that's what makes it so awesome. 

I am glad that you were able to go to the Temple and feel better and I am grateful for your prayers. The Temple seems foreign to me ha. I don't remember anything. I sure would like to go. Bummer you have to go back to school and work now. That was always the worst haha. But I guess that's life right?! Thanks dad for the updates!! haha and I am glad Kona feels better. I am grateful for your love and concern. I am fighting the biggest battle of my life right now.  But I know I can conquer this if I will have more faith than fear. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me. 

Answers to dad's questions....

1. How are the burgers and pizza in Honduras?

Burgers are not very good, haha. They try really hard but Honduras meat ain't like the states!! Pizza is still pretty much the same ha. I always love when I get to eat pizza. I eat a box of pizza, which is 8 slices, like it's a snack haha. It's crazy!!!

2. Have you played any marbles with anyone or that game even still around?

I only played marbles once cuz they don't play in Ceiba. But here all the kids do and imma start playing marbles with em. But they're all way good so I'm scared.

3. Have you met any Honduras people taller than you?

Out of nowhere you will sometimes find some big Hondurans who are super tall haha. But for the most part I'm still the tallest. I've heard that Guatemalans are shorter than Hondurans though.

4. I am still reading the Libro de Mormon en Espanol!

Keep reading! I'm in Alma. I read en voz alto 3 caps every day and it's helping!

I hope you all had a great new year! New Years here was soooo nuts!!!!!!!!!! Way more crazy than Christmas. Sounded like a war going on outside! Thanks again for everything! 

Elder Beeston