His convert baptised someone!!!

Yeah! He sent another picture!!!

Elder Contreres is his companion-from Costa Rica. . .

And Alonzo is in the back in the middle.

This is probably one of my favorite e-mails yet. . . His mission dream was fulfilled this week!!
Alright before I send you some pictures, you always ask me about the work and I always tell you about how busy I am. Well I decided to send you a picture of some cool things that have happened here in my area. So yeah we had a very successful week, um in this picture there are 3 families, one of the families has a very interesting story. The mans name is Jose Lainez and he had a very hardcore problem with smoking and stuff like that. So one day I was walking down the street and I saw some guy walking next to us, so while walking with him my comp starting talking to him, at this time I was on divisions and was with an elder named Elder Rivera, well anyway he started talking to him, and he invited us to his house, so we went to his house and talked to him about the gospel and three months later he got baptised and confirmed a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and brought 3 friends to church to see his confirmation so were gonna be teachin three more families from him. It really is very important to talk to everyone being a missionary, I can literally say that I have seen miracles happen. This man, Jose Lainez, smoked 40 cigarettes before and now ZERO and used to drink coffee and now doesnt and his family are now members of the one true church on this earth.
Well there you are a neat picture. O and the one with a tie is Alonzo, and the bigger lady and two of the young ones there are from referels that Alonzo gave us. ha he got to baptise them on Saturday, which was my dream in the mission, My convert was able to baptise someone else while I was still here. I truly have been blessed. Now you always ask me for a neat story, so I decided to tell you one. But dont be hoping for too many more, cause many of them are sacred to me and things that will change me forever. So there it is.
Love you all
Elder Beckstead

HOT HOT HOT!! The BOM is AMAZING!!

Hey family,
Well another week has come and gone here in the hearth of Central America, the work is really going well and I LOVE THE people here. For this weekend here in the zone Choluteca Norte we are working really hard because there are a possible number of 21 baptisms here in the zone, but im really nervous because many of the baptisms are really ify, So were gonna work our hardest to try and tear this place up here this week. but well see.
So yeah
So the other day our ward mission leader showed up to our mission correlation with a shirt on that said ¨all I want for christmas is- santas list of naughty girls¨ haha I asked him if he knew what it meant and he said no I thought that was pretty stinkin funny!

So today for P-day we did something really fun, we played football again. Man that was sooo worth it too, I miss that game soo much. Seriously, the other day, just out of pure curiosity I ran a 40 yard dash and timed it, I ran it in 4.70, which is a lil slower than before and not good enough so im gonna have to start runnin alot more again. As for food, we usually ask the members to hook us up with food, but they never give us enough, so I always have spaghetti there in the house waiting for me for when the works done for the day.
So the other day I taught a workshop class to our entire zone, this was like 4 weeks ago, but yeah during that time I challenged every missionary to only teach with the book ofMormon, well every missionary in our zone. I seriously have gained such a strong testimony of the book of Mormon in the little time I have in the mission. That BOOK IS AMAZING. I know that the faster that book is in the hands of an investigator, the faster that person progresses and or gets baptized. It's really incredible some of the things that have happened here due to the book of Mormon.
So yeah I got my camera Fixed and no I have not seen any bugs lately and yes the iguanas are everywhere. as for the weather, Im going crazy. I wake up in the morning and its hot, and brutally HOT HOT HOT, then at around 5 every day, it rains. But it doesn't only rain, it POURS and gets everything allll wet. Its awful. I come home everyday to a wet house with wet clothes and wet everything. Im sooo tired of that. I just want one of those normal days we used to have back in Idaho, with out the crapy weather, or maybe they'll send me to Teguz where the weather isnt as bad.
whew Im just glad im not in el triunfo, haha there the weather was bad and we never ever had any power either. hahahaha just things that happen here in the mission. count ur blessings.
I would tell you the most important thing I learned, but that would go against conduct. Some things I keep between me and My journal. Sorry I just dont like sharing some things with everyone.

well thats all i got, really as time goes on I run out of things to say cause for me, well im used to the life here now, nothing really stands out to me anymore. Im really runnin out of things to say. well have fun and peace out.
Elder Beckstead

Not much to say!!!

Hey fam, Que HONda
So hows everyone doing? The boys, the sisters, the parents and grandparents, and well everyone?
So I really enjoyed ur emails, but I haven't recieved any packages lately i'm not really expecting any though due to the fact that I thought you were done sending them, but ill keep an eye out, and dont worry, if I get an umbrella I won't be able to use it, seriously it doesn't rain here, it pours and an umbrella really doesnt help so I just soak it in, literally. hahahahaha
Please thank Grandma and Grandpa for the money. . From me.
Well I really dont know what to say today Ill have more to say next week. Love you all very much!
Elder Beckstead

Miracle of a Priesthood Blessing

Mitch talks about Priesthood Blessings because of this little story about Mandi's youngest son Parker-he's 4

(e-mail from Mandi to Mitch)
Oh, here is a story for you. We went camping with the Moser's the past few days, and the first night Parker fell into the fire, not just a little fire, his body was completely laying in the fire, it had been burning for hours so lots of hot coals too. I saw him and it seems like it took me forever to grab him, although it wasn't even one second, and I just knew that we would be on our way to the ER, I immediatly poured the closest cold thing on him, which was Kool-aid, and I was asking him where he was burned and he was of course screaming and yelling his hand. I was asking him where else, and he said just his hand. Mitch, I know it was a miracle, someone was looking out for him, because he was just burned on his hand. It wasn't even near as bad as it could have been. It's blistered up and stuff, but wow, his clothes didn't even get burned. In my mind I can still see him laying in the fire, and I don't know how he was only burned on his hand. TOTALLY a miracle, some little angel was helping him I just know it. Tyson was in the weightroom and hadn't made it back yet, so my brother in law gave him a blessing and in the blessing he blessed that Parker would get better through the night (he was in lots of pain). Parker didn't sleep too much that night, he kept his hand on ice, and whenever it fell off, it would really hurt, but when he woke up in the morning the first thing he said was, "Hey, that guy was right, my hand doesn't even hurt anymore". His hand hasn't really bothered him much since. It was scary, but a good experience for Jaxon and Parker to see how a blessing can really help out. Well, that's all I've got for now.

Dear family, whats up
Wow that thing sounds pretty scary with Parker, freak you know its true, that does sound like a miracle and sounds pretty legit as well, im tellin you, here in the mission I have gained a really strong testimony of priesthood power and of the power of blessings. It's crazy, many people don't believe, yet they ask for a blessing anyway. So nothing really ever happens, but then they really get desperate and humble themselves completely due to their condtion, They always seem to have more faith and the blessings always seem to work. So yeah I'd say that the mission is a very humbling experience. You gotta love it.

So here in Hondo so far it has just been raining alot. I'm so tired of rain. During the day it's way, way hot and then at night it rains soooooooo much. One time it rained so hard that I was completely soaked within 1 minute, i'm talkin my entire body drippin wet.
They say here that it's never been such a wet, rainy season. its rediculous.
But yeah, the work continues as usual, we're really concentrating on familias right now here in the mission and I've realized that familias bring more trials and challenges. But in the end the reward is so much more worth it. That's an amazing thing I'll tell you what.
So all my friends are gettin home and startin off all over again with the normal life, thats so weird. I swear the other day I thought they didn't exist anymore, I haven't seen those guys in soooooo long. I wonder what it's gonna be like to see there faces for the first time in 3 years. Im not sure how im gonna feel in that moment, surprise or what. I do know that i'll be way happy.
And yes it will be an amazing moment when I walk down that airport. I'm not sure how I'm gonna treat it. I'm probably gonna pee my pants, so that might ruin the hug situation, im sure Chuck would hug me anyway. hahaha!!!
So Alonzo is a stud, this week he brought a family of four to church with him and now were teachin them and its really crazy were workin so hard and trying to get a whole bunch of people married here too, and thats stinkin hard too, i'll tell you what , bein a zl in the south is kinda stressing. hahaha but Elder Falabella said that anything worth anything in life is stress'ful. so yeah the faster I deal with the stress the better right.
Im still strugglin to believe that all my buddies are all pretty much home, thats just weird.
theres like 40 of em.
And I'm last! I guess my welcome home is gonna be the biggest by far. ha sweet.
So I dont really know what else to tell you all, everyone wants to hear a story but I really don't have any at all on the mind.
This week i'll think of one and write it down and then write you all next week with something.
Well thats all I got, love you all soo much and have an amazing day ok.
Peace out
Elder Beckstead

New Companion-another Eder Contreras-from CR

Chelsi and Mandi

Just before biathlon 15 miles on bike, and 3 running. . .

We never have pics on the mission so I will put pictures from home

in the blog. . .(7-31-2010 Preston Idaho)

VOLVEREMOS VOLVEREMOS
HEY HEY HEY whats up family
how are you all doing, well its sound awesome just as I am here in the south in Choluteca Honduras its very interesting here and very humbling still as always.
So That is soooo awesome about Chuck and Mandi, hahaha I couldnt help but chuckle a little bit at what happened to Chuck there, I just thought about how mad she would have been. haha she is crazy.(they both competed in a biathlon Saturday-they made Chelsi/Chuck go back and tell them her number so she was not happy about that because she has a number pinned on her and written on her arm and leg) But congrats to both of them in the race, next they need to try a triatholon, hahaha after Mandis next child that is. Im thinkin that here pretty quick another ones gonna come outta no where, I think she'll have 4 in total, thats probably gonna be my goal, that is if I have time before the second coming.
So things here are normal, were still workin hard, but I did have a change and that was awesome, I have a comp from Costa Rica right now, and he speaks a litttle English but not much. so yeah His name is Elder Contreras, so he's my second comp with that name. But I loved my last comp with that name so well see, so far all is very well. But we are a little stressed out with alot of work thats been going on. But little by little were gettin caught up. Man Im startin to love this work, literally more and more everyday, and I wanted a Latin comp again and I got one so im way excited.
SO about the rodeo, thats unfortunate about Grandma and Terri, but theres always next year. And guess what, next year I will be there and be ready to cheer on Grandma as well. How fun is that gonna be but were done talkin about that, haha im not that trunky. I will say this, once again im gettin the strange realization of that the mission will end eventually, which is kinda sad I think. I thought about it today and if they made me go home for some problem that there might be here in the country I would be sooooo upset. WOW I love this place, not cause its well developed by any means, but because it Honduras. haha crazy place.
So about Spanish, I think those test are really easy, well from what I hear. So im thinkin well get those 16 credits pretty easily. Im, sure if I can hold my own in a conversation here in Honduras I should be able to pass the test, seriously its sooo weird being able to understand the language here, like reading and stuff for me is not quite yet like english, but gettin there. ITS SOOOO WEIRD and an amazing talent that I will be able to use forever, what a blessing that God gave to me to be able to be here in Honduras and talk Spanish and learn it. Im stoked.
As for the schooling stuff. Dont worry to much about all that stuff right now, just know that id like to register and when we talk in December we'll talk about the rest of the stuff, Plus I get two calls a year so ill probably call ya in like March or something due to the fact that ill be home around Mothers day. But dont get too excited aout that yet ITE.
Well I love you all and it was amazing to be able to email you all again today and tell you how thankful I really am that I have such and amazing family and friends, how truly blessed I am to be able to grow up in a place like Clifton Idaho as well. WOW what a blessing, God really was looking out for me as I pray that he looks out for each and everyone of you all each and everyday.
Take care of yourselves and don't do anything stupid alright.
LOVE YOU ALL
Elder Beckstead