Jesus in Sand art on the Canary Islands

Elder Beal,
Another fantastic week has passed. You have several artichokes growing in the garden. I harvested the last giant bowl of cherries this morning. The kids have just about eaten all of them; they are worse than the birds! I got the garden in this week, some fun tomatoes like green zebra striped and a Cherokee purple. I can't wait to see what they look like and taste them. The girls helped me make tamales tonight from scratch they turned out fantastic! Hopefully you got the video. They also made homemade taquitos and deep-fried them they're super delicious as well.
Jeff, Eric, and your dad are on a four-day motorcycle ride in Northern California and Southern Oregon. They don't have a whole lot of phone service but I did receive this beautiful picture from your dad today.
Today is the fifth Sunday, when the bishopric teaches during third hour. I thought they taught both hours. I did not prepare a lesson today for gospel doctrine. I was sitting in the third row of gospel doctrine waiting for the bishopric to come in and teach for about five minutes, before it dawned on me that perhaps I'm supposed to teach! I walked out into the hallway and asked Bishop, and sure enough I am supposed to teach. I felt pretty foolish that I didn't realize Sunday school would be the same. I bravely and humbly walked back into class, and announced that I would be the teacher. The class is so wonderful and receptive to my being unprepared. They participated when prompted by the Spirit and it was wonderful! I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon, and especially grateful for the spirit. You see, I had not prepared particularly for this lesson nor read it. However, I have studied the Book of Mormon many times and the spirit was able to bring to remembrance the doctrine of Christ from the teachings of the Book Mormon.  Each week I feel like I am I'm bumbling  through most of the lesson with occasionally a fantastic spiritual teaching moment. Thankfully, the brothers and sisters who come prepared to learn by the Spirit will be taught by the Spirit.  Then no matter how bad I bumble in my perspective, from their perspective because they are worthy of the Spirit they can be taught. Certainly, you have times that you will be able to relate to this. The spirit is the best and only true teacher. Be worthy of his companionship, strive to heed his counsel and you will be utilized as a tool in the Masters hand. You are a full-time representative of Jesus Christ. You have the authority to act in his power and his name. You know and his love for you and you must share that love with all those whom you come in contact with. I love you and I'm super proud of you!
Love, Mom


Sent from my iPhone
crazy hair day
crazy Nauvoo day! It was left out in the parking lot near where she parked and I asked her to bring it into the store and plug it in. Instead she drove it all over Walmart I was so embarrassed. Funny girl!

 Hey Momma,
It's been a long week this last week, today there was a baptism in our branch and we're the ones that fill up the tank. So we studied in the church this morning. The baptism was really spiritual. It was the son of the president of the branch. Saturday was loco because it was a holiday and the championship soccer game in Spain. By the way Real Madrid won, it was cool. The holiday is called El Día de Canaria. Some of the artists here made some portraits out of sand on the street of things and people. That same day we showed around some Americans some of the beautiful places here in Puerto and it was alright. Also, last week we did Exchanges with Lanzarote and it was fun but their Piso was Nasty. We got to take a boat there and back and it's really pretty. And we ate Salchi Papas which is cut up hot dogs and French fries with a ton of toppings, it's South American. We also met this guy from a member and taught him like 4 times, he's really awesome and is so hungry for the gospel. He has a baptism date for the 18 of June, and I think he's going to do it. I'm exited because this is my third transfer here in Fuerteventura  and there's a lot of good things going on here. I hope that the Family and the ward is all ok send the ward my love. Thank you for everything Mom y'all are the Best. Moroni.

Power of One- Lamanite on a Wall

Elder Beal,

I believe in the power of one.  It only takes one match to start a forest fire, one goal to win a championship game, one light bulb to illuminate a room, one prayer from a 14 year old, unlearned boy, to restore the gospel to the Earth once more.  You are just one disciple serving as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We cannot comprehend all the good our influence in the world has.  The ripple effect goes beyond our vision capabilities. A lot of crazy has happened this week, but I won't bore you with the mundane details. The main thing that is important is for you to know that we love and adore you.  We miss you, but wouldn't want you anywhere else at this time.  We KNOW that you have been called of God, we know that you know it, and we know that God knows it.  Keep up the great work, keep smiling and loving His precious children.

Today in Gospel Doctrine we were studying the prophet Abinidi.  His testimony was firm and unshakable even unto death.  We only know of one conversion during his ministry; Alma, who had amazing success teaching the words he heard from Abinidi.  I shared the story below that President Hinckley once shared.

Gordon B. Hinckley:


                                                “You don’t know how much good you can do; you can’t foresee the results of the effort you put in. Years ago, President Charles A. Callis, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, but who previously was president of the Southern States Mission for twenty-five years, told me this story. He said that he had a missionary in the southern [United States] who came in to get his release at the conclusion of his mission. His mission president said to him, ‘Have you had a good mission?’


                                                “He said, ‘No.’


                                                “‘How is that?’

  “‘Well, I haven’t had any results from my work. I have wasted my time and my father’s money. It’s been a waste of time.’

                                                “Brother Callis said, ‘Haven’t you baptized anyone?’

                                                “He said, ‘I baptized only one person during the two years that I have been here. That was a twelve-year-old boy up in the back hollows of Tennessee.’


                                                “He went home with a sense of failure. Brother Callis said, ‘I decided to follow that boy who had been baptized. I wanted to know what became of him. …


                                                “… ‘I followed him through the years. He became the Sunday School Superintendent, and he eventually became the branch president. He married. He moved off the little tenant farm on which he and his parents before him had lived and got a piece of ground of his own and made it fruitful. He became the district president. He sold that piece of ground in Tennessee and moved to Idaho and bought a farm along the Snake River and prospered there. His children grew. They went on missions. They came home. They had children of their own who went on missions.’

        “Brother Callis continued, ‘I’ve just spent a week up in Idaho looking up every member of that family that I could find and talking to them about their missionary service. I discovered that, as the result of the baptism of that one little boy in the back hollows of Tennessee by a missionary who thought he had failed, more than 1,100 people have come into the Church.’
                                                “You never can foretell the consequences of your work, my beloved brethren and sisters, when you serve as missionaries” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 360–61).

Love Always, 

Mom

Wow.! That was a really good talk Mom. The work is going good, we have a couple of Dates of baptism for some of our investigators. I know that if I only get one baptism that it will bring blessings. I'm here for a reason and if it to do Gods will then that's all I need. Before I didn't have a testimony of hardly anything, but now I know with all my heart that God lives and that The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints is Gods only true and perfect church on the Earth. This Saturday me and my companion are going to have an island tour! And I'm really excited. The guy that takes us is awesome he speaks English and he loves the Missionaries the only bad part is that he is in active, but we're working on that. Mom I love it here and I'm so glad that I'm in Fuerteventura! I've seen some of the best people in my life here and I'm happy. I miss the Family and Home life but I know that someone here is waiting for me. I love you and I will see you on the flip side Jack!! 

Elder Beal

Face to Face Q&A with Elder Bednar-Apostle of the Lord

Elder Beal,
Tomorrow is an exciting day for you! What a wonderful blessing to not only be taught by an apostle, but to be face to face while hearing him bear testimony of the Savior. I bet he has a great personality. Might even be funny. So happy for you. So glad you are serving a mission and can be blessed by awesome experiences like this.
Malachi's team lost to brother Idiart's team on Saturday. The game was great. Our boys aren't used to losing so it is a good lesson for them. Nauvoo is sweet and peaceable as always. Camilla is working crazy long hours and celebrates one year with Jayden tomorrow. Sariah is trying to figure out her plans for post graduation. She passed her Springboard so it should be smooth sailing for her at this point. Christian and Aleesha moved into the new house this week and Sorin is learning how to paint the outside with his dad. They are so stinkin cute!
Dad and I are just trying stay balanced in the midst of all the chaos. My scripture for this week is found in Mosiah 7 the final verse.  This gives me great hope that no matter what we might battle in this life, if we seek the assistance of the Savior we can be strengthened. Repentance is always necessary and always possible.
I would love to hear about your week with your new companion and Elder Bednar's visit.  I love you more than my words can say. I love watching your videos over again and again.
Love,
Mom

Hola Padres!

This week was awesome and yesterday with Elder Bednar was amazing. He taught us by our questions and then after we asked him questions he would say, "can I ask you a question", and then he would give us a question, every question that we answered was correct, because it was from the spirit and what we felt and thought. It was truly inspiring to talk to an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm glad that I studied and prepared so I could be spiritually ready. At the end of the meeting he asked us if we noticed anything that he talked about and why. He talked a lot about our future and about the kids that we will have and how we will have to learn to take care of them and watch over them. I asked him why and he said to me open up your scriptures and go to Mosiah 8: 15-17 which says: 

15 And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet.

16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.

17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.

After that he said I'm a seer and a revealator and I can receive revelation for you.  It was an awesome meeting and I was lucky to be there. I love you mom and I'm so thankful for supporting out here on my mission, a lot of missionaries don't have that support. I give my love to the family, Moroni

Mother's Day Anticipation for the call

May 7, 2016

Moroni,
We are super excited to talk to you!!!! Love you lots!
Mom

May 8, 2016- prior to the call

We wonder if our connection would be better if you FaceTime Malachi's iPad.
His address is:  melloguy@rocketmail.com
Nauvoo is going to FaceTime Karlita at the same time so she can join us.
Love you!

May 8, 2016- moments after our Mother's Day call which ended abruptly, cutting us off and we could not reconnect :(

Moroni,
It was so wonderful to visit with you!  I am so proud of you and love you very much! Thank you for being such an amazing, obedient son. Sorry we could not say goodbye, but I am thrilled for the time we spoke!
Love,
Mom

His response which broke my heart:

I can hear and see y'all

The next day was our scheduled email communication, well I write on Sunday evenings as he is 9 hours ahead of us and he responds on Mondays:

Elder Beal,

It was so fantastic to visit with you today!  I loved seeing your smiling face and hearing your testimony.  You are truly a treasure to me, and I am so thankful that you are sharing the gospel with your brothers and sisters in Spain.  It was great to hear how much you love the people and how some of them remind you of friends and family back home. I will send some photos of Rick that I got this week in a separate email.  If I understood you correctly, it sounded like whoever has your lost/stolen iPad is logged in and that is why you can't send emails and pictures and videos.  It would be funny if it was in your luggage in Madrid.  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.  It seems like that should be an easy fix. 

 Anyway, this is an exciting week ahead of you; being taught at the feet of an Apostle of the Lord is such a marvelous blessing!  He is Nauvoo's favorite apostle.  I know you will be dedicating extra time this week studying his words and preparing yourself to be inspired by the power of the Holy Ghost during your visit with him.  You must not delay in writing down that very evening all that you learned from him and every impression that came to your mind. Especially write how you felt.  I do not expect you to share all your thoughts and feelings with us, but you will cherish this journal entry for years to come.  Be obedient in this counsel.

I love you with all my heart.

Love, 

Mom

Hey Mom it was really good seeing everyone yesterday also. I'm just bummed I didn't get to say goodbye. Its okay though at least I got to see you. I've been thinking a lot about what you and Dad said. I have a testimony but I want to be better. In the last conference, a lot of the prophets talked about finding Power. For some reason I want to find more. I want to fill my mission with service and Love. I want to be like Christ and Peter I want to give my life for the bearing of my testimony and I want to do it with power. I know that I've been given authority, but I'm not exercising it as bold and strong as I should be. I don't know but something needs to change in me and I think its just around the corner. I love you Mother and I loved talking to you, thank you for being there and supporting me. Love,

Elder Beal

He bore his testimony to us in Spanish during our Mother's Day FaceTime call.  It was so powerful.  One of my children got a video and someday it is my hope to attach it to this post.

Elder Bednar

Elder Beal,
It is crazy that your mission father has died (Returned with Honor). I read a little bit on his blog, and he only served in four areas! He really loved his mission, and was able to show his parents around for a week when they came to pick him up. Tell us all about your new companion. Where is he from? Does he speak English? Are all of the missionaries serving there from the states? I hope the two of you get along well, please tell us his name.
Earlier this week, I watched a few clips on YouTube where Ellen Degeneres sets up a scene where someone needs help from strangers. After the stranger stops to help for a minute, they reveal that they are on her show doing the 'cash for kindness' segment. It amazes me how many people would walk by or refuse to help.  The people who stopped amaze me, as well as remind me of you. You are good at being aware of the needs of others and helping.  As I was mowing the lawn yesterday evening, a smile crossed my face as I thought to myself, "if you were here, and saw me mowing, you would simply walk up and take over for me."  That part of your personality is admirable. You rarely ever share the stories of who or how you've helped. Perhaps they seem like no big deal to you, but they can be game-changers in people's lives. So keep obeying those prompting and helping others as directed by the spirit. I have no doubt that as you do this blessings will flow into both your lives. Mosiah 2:17.
I gave my first lesson in Gospel Doctrine today, it was strange because for the last 2 decades I have always been with the youth and children. I rarely even get to attend the adult classes let alone ever teach. Thankfully, I was among friends. They actively participated and had wonderful contributions that made me feel uplifted and edified. This will truly be a testimony growing experience for me.
 I don't have any new pictures to send this week. I didn't do much but Malachi went camping with dad on Friday then Saturday afternoon he was a rock star at his soccer game. He is really improving! I am super excited to visit with you next Sunday, my eyes fill with tears just thinking about it!
I love you so so much!
Mucho gusto amore,
Mom

 Hey mom!

This week was really más o menos. I had a lot of fun with Elder Morris but I'm still sick however I'm l getting better. I've been thinking of how fast my mission is going because it feels just yesterday I was in Vigo talking to y'all. Anyways I'm really excited for two things, one I get to see your wonderful faces and the other thing I'll send in another email. I love you all and I'll see you on Sunday with FaceTime at 9:30 am there and 5:30 pm here because the islands are an hour difference form Madrid, its an 8 hours difference between us. I love y'all and nos vemos el Domingo.

His other email with the exciting news:

April 24, 2016

President Pack

Dear Elders and Sisters,

We hope everyone is well. We have great pleasure to inform you that we will be blessed as mission to receive a visit from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The meeting will be held on Saturday, May 14 in Pavones from 16:00 to 18:30 hours. All missionaries of the mission, except the Canary Islands are invited to this meeting. The missionaries of the Canary Islands have a special meeting with Elder Bednar on Monday, May 16 in the chapel of Las Palmas from 14:00 to 16:00 hours.

We must prepare ourselves spiritually for this great opportunity. We ask everyone to be seated reverently at least a half hour before the meeting begins. We will send information about your trip to Madrid and Las Palmas to have this information available. It is a blessing to share this experience with you.

Fondly, President and Sister Pack