Happy Halloween!

Elder Beal,
I know today is a special day for you. I hope you can count your blessings with joy. It is the first holiday you spent away from me. You were only four days old and not quite ready to leave NICU. They dressed you in a little pirate costume to celebrate. Eight years later you were baptized on Halloween. Ten years after that, she said 'sure'. Two years later you will see a specialist to get your health back in order. I wonder what next year will bring?
We carved pumpkins tonight and had the ward trunk or treat last night. Rick gave his homecoming talk today. It was so awesome to hear him share stories from his experiences on his mission where the spirit directed the way. I will share a few things he said. "President Holland spoke in his mission while visiting and taught the missionaries to -Seek for and follow the Holy Ghost." Later on Rick said that in the beginning he would ascertain who was ready to hear the gospel or not, but somewhere in the middle of his mission he came to the point where he couldn't bear to see someone pass by without sharing the gospel. He then said that the spirit wouldn't direct his words until after he initiated a conversation.
I hope you are aware of the spirit directing your path. I am sorry your thyroid is not working correctly. I have peace in my soul that you are in good hands. I hope you will find a few minutes to study it out and pray for guidance. It was nice to visit with your mission mama, sister Pack. When I got her voicemail on your birthday, I thought oh no, my sweet pyro son must have celebrated with firecrackers instead of candles and caught his home on fire. I was relieved when I returned her call to learn that I was wrong. Upon hearing the news, I was vacillating back and forth between fear and faith concerning your health. After my fair share of tears and prayer I chose to have faith and have felt comforting peace during this time of concern. I will forward the email I sent to her about our family medical history. Please let me know how your doctor appointment goes today. Hopefully, you'll get your ganas back soon. Remember the Savior's response to every trial is "Lift up your heart and be of good cheer."  Just read it again today in the first few chapters of 3 Nephi 1:13 when the Nephites are afraid they will be killed on the morrow if the sign of his birth isn't given. I love you!
Love,
Mom

Fun week in the mission.

Happy Halloween Mom,

This week has been good and I've been waiting for this day for a long time. As a district we carved pumpkins listened to music and eat lots of candy . They've started me on a pill that I have to take every day before I eat like grandma, I hope that I get better. They're going to start me on a lower powered pill and then move up. I'm not excited to take medicine for the rest of my life. It's been kind of hard to accept it because I don't want to have a problem. I hope that my energy gets back to where it was before. I really like your letter that you sent me, I love all the special things that I've done in my life. Thank you for the reminder of all the blessings in my life. I love you so much mom and I'm super excited to speak and talk to all you guys. In two months. I want to hear more from Rick, he sounds like he really loved his mission! I love you so much I'm so glad that your my sweet momma and that I have a sweet family. Happy Halloween love Moroni

                    🇪🇸 Élder Moroni S. Beal 🇪🇸

                              Madrid,  España 

                                        Gijón 

Happy Birthday???

Moroni,
I love you so much!!! Happy birthday 🎈
Rick left on Sariah's birthday and is home now on yours. Enjoy these pictures.


He asked lots about you. He seems great and shared a bit about his mission. Best two years of his life. Don't get homesick, we'll all be thinking of you and be here when you return. Love who you are with, what you are doing, and who you represent.
Have an amazing day!
Much Love,
Mom


Sister Pack called me on Moroni's birthday.  She is his mission mama and wife to the President.  At first, I was thinking oh no, what did he do? Light a birthday cake with firecrackers? Burn the apartment down? I didn't say any of this I was just preparing myself. I was wrong.  She said that she knew he had been struggling with his health for a little while and at first wondered if it was a case of the lazies or depression, so she was getting ready to give him a swift kick in the rear, but wanted to do a little investigating herself first, so she asked all of his previous companions what kind of worker he was and about his character.  They all reported back that he was top notch missionary. She asked him to have some blood work done.  She sent the results to a doctor in Germany who assists the missionaries. He said that it is amazing this kid can even get out of bed.  His thyroid is practically non-functioning and he needs to see a specialist right away. She told me Moroni had an appointment set for Monday and they would probably start him on a hormone replacement therapy that he would have to take the rest of his life.  She asked for a family health history. She then told me not to worry. She said when she calls him that night to wish him a happy birthday she will relay my love.  I am grateful she called and have not heard from her since. I am going with the no news is good news theory!

Sister Pack,

It was lovely to speak with you this afternoon. Thank you for taking care of my son and all the missionaries!  After we spoke, I called my mom and it turns out my family does have a history of thyroid issues. 

My mother has four brothers and three sisters. One of her brothers has thyroid and goiter issues. He had an iodine deficiency test by spreading iodine on his skin and seeing how quickly it absorbed, his within a few hours, determined he was deficient. He remedies his issue by taking iodine. All three of my mother's sisters had their thyroid removed in their thirties and forties.  My mother is the only one who still has hers and only starting having issues in her sixties. She takes a hormone replacement pill every morning at 6:30 on an empty stomach.  I had my full work up as part of my annual in February and mine is working normally. I was deficient in Vitamin D and tested positive for Lupus, but have not had any symptoms from that. I did notice a picture of Moroni a while back where he kind of looked like an oompa-loompa, he was very orange compared to his companion. I will find the photo for you just in case it is a symptom. This is all the information I know of that might help. 

Warmly,

Kimberly Beal

This picture came in his letter dated August 15, 2016

Turns out this was when he was severely sick and they believe his kidneys and liver were shutting down.

ganas

Elder Beal,
Happy birthday! Feliz cumpleanos! Two decades ago, I was blessed to become your momma. What a lucky girl I am! Those early days with you and your brother tromping all over the mountain with our dogs are treasures to me! Now you are traversing all over Spain with new brothers as your companions. I am going to celebrate your birthday welcoming home your buddy from his mission. Rick was released last week and has been traveling his mission with his dad and is scheduled to return home on your birthday. Funny thing is he left on Sariah's birthday. I did not send any perishables in your package this time because of how many months it was held up in Spain last time. Hopefully, it will be quicker this time and you shouldn't have to pay a ransom for it.  
The sisters came over and taught us about the Holy Ghost then surprisingly both Nauvoo and Malachi each had someone in mind that they wanted to give a Mormon.org card to. Wonderful missionaries.
I love you so much and pray you are well. You light up my life! Though you may feel all on your own, you are never alone. My heart is with you, the Holy Ghost is your constant companion, and the Savior will strengthen your back or carry you on his shoulders.
I love you,
Mom
Malachi's final game.

My cousins wedding.

Hey my amazing Mom, 

This week was pretty good, I can't believe that I'm already 20 it feels like I just turned 18. This week was awesome, we went to a pueblo called Vsllaviciosa we talked to tons of people and we ate lunch with one of the members. I think that I had growing pains last week and it made it hard to work like usual. Elder walker and I had a pretty hard week and we realized that we didn't have any ganas to work. So we sat down on a bench and humbly told each other the things that bothered us. We came to the conclusion that we didn't have ganas to work because we weren't obedient on the small things. So we made goals of perfect obedience and cleanliness. Starting today was little bit hard because I was sore but I can't wait to see the happiness and all the fun that we will have through perfect obedience I really do believe that we changed our missions on that bench. I love you mama and you didn't have to send me a package but I really do appreciate it. I love Gijón so much and the members are so awesome. I have almost ten months left and I want to enjoy it with hard work and obedience. I love you so much mom and I'll see you in two months on the 25! 

Moroni.

                    🇪🇸 Élder Moroni S. Beal 🇪🇸

                              Madrid,  España 

                                        Gijón 

I love this man, he is so full of life and adventure!

Jesus in Rio de Janeiro

Elder Beal,

Life is ever-changing!  I am so happy to hear how wonderful the people in your ward are to you.  When you have changes, I am sure leaving Enrique will be the hardest. I love him and his sweet Orfilina so much and I have only known them through your letters and videos.

Changes around here this week:

Camilla and I helped Sariah get settled into her new apartment in Provo. She has 5 room-mates and they all seem wonderful.  Jordan Fagan lives right above her and all the girls are fantastic.  One attends BYU and just returned from her mission to Hong Kong, her friend served in your mission.  Two attend UVU are preparing for missions. They all are boy crazy!  

On our way home yesterday, Camilla toured BYU-I. Donavaghn and cousin Kira gave us the tour.  The campus is so beautiful!  Every building is wonderful, the grounds are amazing and the temple overlooks it all. Not going to lie, it is remote, but I think worth it, the spirit is strong there.

Nauvoo and Malachi stayed behind for their games and to keep dad company. Karlita stopped by and said hi to dad while she was here visiting her family this weekend. Made his day:) Malachi's game was cancelled due to extreme weather, the worst since 1962.  I don't think it was anything this far inland outside of a little wind and rain, but there are videos of the coast with a tornado over the ocean and winds clocked at 100 mph.

My spiritual thought is from BYU-I weekly devotional.  I will include a link for you here 

Just in case you can't link up, here is a snip it of a missionary story he shared:

In the Ensign there is a story about a young man named Christopher, who was grateful he didn't turn bread into stone or serpents. When he tore open his mission call, his heart dropped when he read the line "Michigan Lansing Mission." He had waited his whole life for that moment. He took German and Spanish in high school because he had dreamed of a foreign mission--walking the cobbled streets of Europe or hiking remote mountain pueblos in South America. What he got, however, was Michigan. Did you ever have something like that happen to you--you figuratively wanted Argentina, but what you got was Michigan? Christopher could have regarded that call as a stone, a serpent, but instead he saw it as bread. He accepted the call the Lord gave and served an honorable mission. 
More than 20 years after his return, his neighbor invited him to take a DNA test. "I had been adopted and had no idea of my biological ancestry," said Christopher. He was curious about his biological parents but was content with his life. He had a family he loved. Then the results came back. It was a "close family" match. It predicted with 99 percent that they found a close family member. 
"Before I knew what was happening," said Christopher, 

my wife composed] an email to send to this "close family" match. 

Within minutes an email came back. How old was I? Where was I born? . . . 

It turned out the "close family" match was my half brother. The person sending the emails was my birth mother. . . . [S]he wanted me to call her. 

The next morning I dialed her number. As we talked, she told me the story of my birth. 

Before Christopher hung up, he asked about his biological father. His mother thought Christopher's father was from Lansing, Michigan. Within minutes after the phone call, Christopher found his father on the Internet. He lived in an area close to where Christopher served his mission. Digging further, he discovered his dad had a sister in the same area. He emailed his father, and his father replied that his sister was LDS, and she and her husband were coming to Utah and hoped they could visit with Christopher.

As they walked in my door, I felt an instant familiarity. Suddenly another light turned on. The man's hair had gone from black to silver, . . . but suddenly I saw in front of me the ward mission leader from the Grand Rapids Ward. . . . I had worked [with him during] a large part of my mission. For months I had been at his home weekly. I had played with his children--my cousins--and been with my aunt and uncle and hadn't known it.

In light of my discovery, I knew why I had been called to serve a mission in Michigan. . . . My biological family was spread all over Michigan in the places where I was called . . . to serve. . . . I knew now . . . this was truly a call by inspiration specifically for me.[16] 

In the same way, that mission call was a part of Christopher's micro plan, and Joseph's slavery was part of his plan, our experiences are part of our plans. Why God tailors some experiences for us may not be clear now. Thus, we may have to be patient because "all things must come to pass in their time"--even understanding.[17] However, with the Savior's help we can learn to not only say, "Thy will be done[, Lord]," but patiently also, "Thy timing be done."[18] 

You may not now know all the reasons why you were called to serve in the Madrid, Spain mission at this time, but undoubtedly God does.  He masterfully coordinates all the intricate pieces to help us all to return to Him.  I love you so much and am very proud of you. I will send pictures from my phone in a separate email.

Je'taime Toujours,

Mom

What's up hot  Mama,

I have really enjoyed my week. That's awesome that Sariah is starting school especially with an old friend. It feels like everyone is growing up. Soon everybody's going to have kids. That's crazy. I'm kinda feeling low on energy. And I want to just be done with it so I can go and work hard like I should be. We hiked up a mountain in Oviedo last week, on top of the mountain is a big statue of Jesus Christ. Looks like a small version of the Jesus in Rio de Janeiro. I'm really excited for the  end of this month, I can't believe that I'm turning 20! It's been a year since I've seen you guys. I feel like the time is just flying here in the mission and I think that the reason for that is ~ I'm having fun. I'm excited for Halloween for two reasons, 1. We are dressing up because it's on P-Day. 2. I had a special time at Ray's Food Market 2 years ago. I love you mom and I want everyone at home to know that I hope that they have a Feliz Halloween tío.  (with a Mexican accent). Mucho Amor. Moroni

                    🇪🇸 Élder Moroni S. Beal 🇪🇸

                              Madrid,  España 

Answered Prayers

Elder Beal,
Man of few words, please tell me about your illness. Did you receive a priesthood blessing? Are you getting better? Did you see a doctor or visit a hospital? I hope and pray everyday that you are well. I love you.
Another super busy week. Time zooms by so quickly here, I can scarcely catch my breath. Today is grandma Emily's birthday. We were able to stop by for a lovely visit this afternoon. It was wonderful to sit a spell and visit. She doesn't look a day over 36!
The girls party was fun. We had a nacho bar and a S'mores station. They played signs and fugitive.
Sariah needs to pack this week, I am driving her to Utah on Wednesday. It feels surreal. I have lots of peace mixed with sadness at how fast you all grow up.
Malachi assisted in my Gospel Doctrine class today. Our lesson was on listening to the words of the prophet. We were in the last three chapters of Heleman where Samuel the Lamamite stood on the wall of Zarahemla to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Malachi came in during the last 10 minutes and stood on a wall of chairs and preached to my class. I am so proud of him and thankful for his willingness to serve. I am a lucky mom to have such amazing kids. Each of you bless and enrich my life in different ways.
Dad and his buddies camped outside of Grants Pass and rode some new terrain there. I think he likes his new bike.
In my lessons this week, I had to do a few different styles of ancestor searches. On books.google I typed Ezra T. Clark, your great grandfather on Emily's mom side and found a portion of his testimony in The Teachings of the Prophets: Joseph Smith. Read chapter 27 to find it. I love the encouraging words of the prophet. Elder Christopherson is coming here this weekend for a regional conference.
I love you!
Mom

Hello Momma, 

Everything is good. I'm not sick anymore and I'm starting to feel trunky because Christmas is in two months! I do believe that the cure  of my sickness came from everyone in the church praying for the missionaries. I've been taking some vitamin shocked drinks to help me out with my energy. For some reason I've been pretty low and I need that extra energy to keep working. I swear that I received about thirty calls last week from the members asking me if I was ok. They're so amazing. I've affected them in some way that they really worry about me. The remind me of home. Enrique really helped me out a lot last week, I will always cherish him and his sweet joyful spirit. This week was really fun we walked around in Leon for about four hours trying to find some new people to teach and we passed by some old amigos. That's so awesome that Elder Christofferson is coming to our stake. You guys will really enjoy that. I love mom and I'll see you luego!! Os quiero!

 Moroni

Strange Illness

Elder Beal,

Your baby sister turns 16 tomorrow!  She is a sweet delight who always finds the best in others.  Her and Sariah are going to celebrate their birthdays together this Saturday night. Sariah will move into an apartment in Provo, UT on her birthday weekend. CRAZY how fast time flies!  So did you do something silly to celebrate your half-time in the mission?  

Tonight while we were playing Life, Camilla accused Malachi of tooting--twice.  He defensively responded "It was only once!"  She quickly said "With a half-time in the middle?" I sent you a picture of their silliness.  

The last talk of all of conference reminded me of you.  Dale G. Renlund spoke of his fire cracker incident. Boy will be boys. Smoke bomb in the locker room? Fart spray during trek? He's turning out alright, and so are you.  I love all the hope and joy of conference.  I loved watching President Monson wave to the crowd as he was leaving after the Sunday morning session.  What was your favorite talk? 

I was able to sub in Seminary on Monday. The lesson is found in the first half of Matthew 13 and was on the types of soil the seeds land in. The parable likens the four types of soil to the condition of our heart. In the story the savior shares what happens to the seed (word of God) in each type of soil (our hearts).  Though only one type of soil is successful in growing the seed, all of them can become like that soil. The work of amending, and harrowing, and weeding might need to take place before our soil can be ready, but it can be ready.  Our Seminary class is filled with wonderful, amazing youth! There is 19 actively attending! Fantastic group. 

It is great how much love your ward shows to the members there.  Love is really what life is all about.  Love God first and everything else will work itself out.

I love you and hope you have a fantastic week!

Love, 

Mom

Hey Mom,  
This week hasn't been the best, I'm actually sick right now. I might go to the hospital today. We had some changes here in my district, so today was kind of crazy. Right now we're in Domino's eating. It's been a pretty nice day. On Tuesday, I went in shock for some reason and my whole body went numb. It freaked me out and then this week I've been super tired and all achy. The members have been calling me all day because they heard that I was sick and so they were worried, it really means a lot, they're so sweet. I love you mom and I'll talk to you next week.
Love Moroni

                    🇪🇸 Élder Moroni S. Beal 🇪🇸

                              Madrid,  España 

                                        Gijón 

I appreciate all your prayers in his behalf.  I am filled with peace and know all will be well.  It is great to have so many dear friends.  Thank you! ~Kimberly