Training?!?!

Dear Friends and Family!

As the title alludes to, I found out Sunday night that I would be getting a new companion. Upon asking President who my new companion would be he said that he did not know because he hadn't met him yet. I was confused (naturally) and upon asking him why he told me that I would be receiving a companion fresh from the MTC! WOW! DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING!

But it has been exciting thus far! I am amazed to see just how far I've come from being new (being around someone new gives you that feeling) and at the same time see just how much more prepared he is of the Lord than I was! I think the Lord is progressively preparing the children of Men to be more and more effective advocates of the truth.

His name is Elder Holcomb. He is from Queen Creek, Arizona! He's about the most non-dramatic person you will ever meet (so pretty much the opposite of me) but I love him. We get along great! We (all the trainers and all the trainees) spent Wednesday in Edinburgh where we got to Interact and get to know one another before we actually got assigned to each other. I like that method a whole lot better than the way I was assigned; nevertheless it was a lot of fun. We hiked up a hill called "Arthur's Seat" but the local missionaries call it "Pratt's Hill" because when Orson Pratt came on a mission to Scotland he hiked the hill and asked the Lord to bless him in his endeavors. He hiked that hill a lot to consult the Lord and left his mission a while later (like 8 months or so) with 200 baptisms! It was a moment that the Mission President gave the new missionaries to consecrate their efforts to the Lord. I took the moment as well to set some goals with the Lord for how I could be a better missionary.

It has been an overwhelming responsibility to train another missionary. I have realized just how much I relied on another companion who knew certain things that I didn't. Now Elder Holcomb and I are learning together! It's a good feeling! Rather than sit there and teach an inanimate object (like a pen, or a football) I will let him Solo Teach me. I think (and the spirit seems to accord) that this is the best thing for him right now. He testifies so powerfully and he will do a lot of good on his mission. He struggles a bit with confidence, but then again, so did I at the beginning of my mission. I think the biggest thing that has caught him off guard so far has been the Scottish accent. It is really funny to see him go through the same turmoil in the first week that I did!

We have had some amazing lessons with people so far. I think I mentioned at one point that we were teaching a Jim McNeill. Jim kind of backslid a little bit and we didn't know what to do. When Elder Holcomb and I went over to see him, we had a powerful lesson on prayer and Jim began to cry. He committed to pray vocally when we left and truly seek relief for the pain and anger in his heart. I was really glad to see Jim this way. Because usually he's all joking and such and won't really let anything out. It was good to see him let the spirit into his heart. I believe this was major in him being baptized and when he prays and repents, I have no doubt that he will be.

After Jim we went up to see Lisa Padda. Lisa is also a former investigator who is the daughter of a member, and she has been taught everything about a billion times! We went up to teach her and the spirit was still very strong in this lesson. Her husband (Peter) is an active Muslim and usually just "tolerates" our lessons. However, this time as we taught, he actually participated and testified of a principle! I was so impressed at the effect the strong spirit and (I believe) Elder Holcomb's strong faith was having on these people. We will work very hard together and bring a lot of success.

I have seen that it is our duty to try our best and reach outside our comfort zone to get the miracles the lord has waiting for us.

I love you all!

Elder Beacham