Barbados 12

 I just love being a missionary it's the best :) No worries about anything it's such a good life! Teaching people, meeting people, serving God, there you got three ingredients to a happy life. The vibes that are on Barbados are amazing, I love the people here so much. It's hard to put it into words what I truly experience. Try thinking about some of the best memories you have and how you felt. Then put it in a row for 2years, that might be a indicator of how I feel. Even walking through the burning sun is a blessing. Had a great experience yesterday of how missionary work brings that joy into life. We took a member with us teaching yesterday. Mainly because his dad told him it would be a good idea. He had been kind of lacking on church and the desire to come was slowly disappearing, so his dad volunteered him to come out with us (great idea by the way). So we showed up at the house and he just walked out without any form of happiness. Checking his watch twice every second, and just not very motivated. Kind of tried to get him excited or to open up. After the first appointment, which went really well, he seemed more excited. Good thing me and Elder Smith are good at being ridiculous and at one point I think we really got him to open up to us. I think he really liked coming out with us. From being unwillingly volunteered to having a great time. When we asked him when he could come with us again his response was: "Any day besides Monday". The Spirit that missionary work brings is miraculous. I testify to you that it is real. I experience it every single day, my life is wonderful. And I see it happen to other people. My invitation to you is to "catch the wave", get excited, it truly is one of the greatest blessing you can have. Do you have a struggling family member who finds it hard to keep the faith? Send them out with the missionaries, they will love it!! Do you feel you could use more God in your life? Or get a boost? Go do missionary work. It is the greatest blessing in my life and I love every single aspect of it 
With love,
Elder Thomas Bechan

Barbados 11

Dear friends and family,

What a week! My last week with Elder Hale, sadly enough. His two years is up, Thursday he'll be back home in Arizona. Really loved serving with him, he is a great guy. New companion will be Elder Randon Smith, he was in my zone in St. Lucia and he is a great guy. It will be wonderful.
Yesterday Desmond got baptized! He is a 72 year old man with a troubled past. But somewhere within those long years he decided to change and turn to God. In a miraculous way we got in contact with him and now 5 weeks later he is baptized. Every single thing we invited to do, he did it. Simply because he truly believed we are send by God and whatever we teach him is God words. He has such fire when he prays and that's how he figured out everything must be true. The happiness that started radiating from his countance grew every single time we would visit with him. It is a great blessing, perhaps even the greatest at the moment, to witness such a miracle happen before my own two eyes. 
I am simply happy. I feel great, nothing in my way. I truly know that the Gospel is true, because of the simple fact that I live it. Only way you can find out if something works, is to try it.I testify that keeping God's commandments is what gives the greatest joy, it truly does. 
This week was just wonderful, that's about the only way to accurately describe it. And we even beat Spain 5-1, how glorious is that. Not that I saw anything of it but it's still great. 
Hope everybody will have a great week! Love and enjoy, that's a key to happiness.
With love,
Elder Thomas Bechan

Desmond Joseph's Baptism‏

Barbados 10

The nine year old

 Deborah baptism

Spending some time on St Vincent

Week was amazing! You know that you are in the best mission in the world when you get flown in to a training meeting. Spend three days in Trinidad to attend the mission leadership conference, it was glorious. 
Made a week a bit short but it was great! Deborah got confirmed and church was great! Hope everybody is doing great! Want to invite everybody to be more grateful. THis Sunday I ended up sitting next to a 9year old in sacrament meeting without any parent around. Had a wonderful time entertaining him. I made him a paper airplane and he was in seventh heaven. If only I could be more able to appreciate things as he does. Would make my life even more wonderful then it already is. Maybe that's one of the reasons why God wants us to become like a child. I testify that showing gratitude allows you to recognize blessings, and also to receive more. Count your blessings, count them one by one, count your many blessings see what God has done!
Till next week,
With love,
Elder Thomas Bechan

 Me and president Mehr

 Our Vincy group

With my boy elder Jex

 Plane to Trini

Eating Trini Doubles

Barbados 9

Lieve vriendjes and vriendinnetjes,

This week was Glorious! That's I think the only proper word I can think about right now to describe it. We did a puppet show to educate primary school age children about the dangerous consequences of using tobacco. It was great! I got volunteered to be the spokesman so I had to entertain the children in between the five short fragments we performed. First group was a about 100 4-5 year old children, was wonderful. Shouting all over the place yes and no questions, was great. Second group was 8-11 so had to work out a less childlike act. All went well! Made one little mistake by calling a boy a girl (he really looked like a girl a lot), but I think he got over it. Next day we went to an all-boys school and even the news showed up! Have my face in the Barbados news papers! Was really fun to do the things. Deborah also got baptized this weekend! Oh how I love baptisms, that should be a new pass-time activity. Who cares about going to the movies if you could witness a baptism right? Feel such a wonderful Spirit during the performance of the ordinance that I simply cannot walk out with a smile on my face. Dear friends, being a missionary is so wonderful! If only I could give you a small piece of what I experience you would be in the clouds all day. It's being lead/nurtured/fellow shipped/guided/loved/corrected/taught/etc. purely by the Spirit of the Lord. It is so wonderful! Wish it would never end! The wonderful part of it is that you as well may experience what I have! It's so simple: Just do missionary work! Blessings will flow freely! I promise you that! Tomorrow we'll fly to Trinidad for a next mission leadership training! I am so excited. This mission simply is the best in the whole world, I mean who can say they were flied in to attend a meeting!
With love,
Elder Thomas Bechan