St Lucia 19

Pigeon Point

Lieve vriendjes and vriendinnetjes!

Not a lot of time this week, we went to Pigeon Island today. so kind of fort thing on st. Lucia. Was nice to see. Kind of like Nieuw Amsterdam. This week was a good week! Church here is just growing, attendance is about 70! When I just arrived it was about 40 so! It's wonderful, witnessing God's Kingdom growing and blessing peoples life. Great lesson I learned this week: "Ask and you shall receive". Truly it's that simple. Whenever God promises it will fulfill. Ask in faith, try it. Whether it is a desire or question or even something as simple as "I need a ride". Ask in faith and you shall receive. But then how do you ask in faith? What is faith? "hope for things which we not see, but which are true". Truly believe that God will answer your prayer, expect it to happen. Don't demand a time or place, but only expect it to happen. Then you will see miracles occur in your life. Then God's hand will be noticed, and faith will grow. This week was fasting and after fasting you eat and drink plenty. Then you go out, but Sundays you don't buy anything and your far away from your apartment going about the Lord's business. And that just makes you feel so tired. So we were walking home, from far, like 30 minutes and I was just done, out of energy. I thought o please let somebody give us ride. 4 seconds later a investigator passes by in his vehicle wondering if we need a ride! Isn't life just wonderful. So have faith, ask and expect it to happen
Love,
Elder Thomas Bechan  

St Lucia 18

• Lucian Bread‏

Lieve vriendjes and vriendinnetjes,

I learned a valuable lesson this week. I did a trade-off with a Elder in my zone who has been struggling because of lack of succes. He expressed that he really tries to be obedient to the rules lately but that he is still not seeing baptisms. Made him question whether it is all worth it to follow the rules. I was able to help him understand that that's not why the Lord asks us to follow his commandments and his plan. The Lord doesn't want you and me to keep the commandments to only bless us. Of course He gladly wants to give us blessings to see us happy and to make our day. But I came to a personal believe that's just a side-purpose. I believe his main purpose is to change us. To become like Him, to be sanctified and purified even till we are like he is. We shouldn't do obedient, we should be obedient. Receive blessings by keeping the commandments will help us to allow God to change us. When we receive a reward for something we are more likely to do it again. Please brothers and sisters, keep the commandments. Experience the power of God's Spirit that will polish your character. 
We also had a baptism this week! Silas is the name, he is amazing. Very sensitive to the Spirit. He is reborn, I can see that at him. He is a new person now and he is feeling the blessings of it.
Crap out of time..

Well have a good week!

Love,
Elder Thomas Bechan

• driving to baptism‏

• Love baptisms with waves and ting‏

• Silas baptism‏

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  • st lucian daycare telly-tubby‏

  
  
  
  
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St Lucia 17

Daniel's Baptism

Lieve vriendjes and vriendinnetjes,

Was another great week. Being a missionary is the best, everything I do just gives me happiness. This week no time.. But we had a baptism! Was the BEST. Want to invite you to ponder for yourself why you decided to get baptized. Just ponder on that and see how that blessed your life. If your not baptized, go find out why you should, it's the start of great blessings in your life.

Peoples take care! And know that I love you.

Elder Thomas Bechan

• P-day activities are the best in the Caribbean‏

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  • Pirates of the Caribbean (tam-tam-tamtam-ta-ta-tam)‏
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St Lucia 16

Lieve vriendjes and vriendinnetjes,

How are you enjoying life? Is it treating you as wonderful as it is doing to me? I hope so. This week has been amazing. Since two weeks I have a new companion Elder Glade. He has some rough edges but he will get there. I worked so hard this week, it makes me feel amazing. But I also learned a very valuable lesson: "The Lord does not walk on crooked paths" (D&C 3:2). What does that mean? I experience that the Lord uses you and me to bring "to pass the immortality and eternal life of men". He takes me, just a 20 year old (gosh where does the time go), and puts me on a strange island to help souls come unto him. He then leads me, I feel that guidance every day. It is almost tangible, that's how real it is. He doesn't just tell you what to do and then leaves. He stays with you, he shows you the way, you are just merely a tool. It is kind of like a parent teaching his child to swim. Everybody knows that it is very important to know how to swim. But you don't just take your 4 year old and toss him in a swimming pool! You step down first into it. Then hold your child while he is in the water. You tell him how to make strokes. You remain with him till he is capable to swim by himself. But even then I believe you will still keep a close eye on him, just to make sure he is doing alright. God is always there, helping and guiding. Sometimes holding you so you don't drown, sometimes just watching till you ask him for help.
So yes to get back to the walking on crooked paths. The Lord will never bring his work to pass by unrighteous means. That is not in his nature. For only a good tree brings forth good fruits. So if we want to be able to help build the kingdom of heaven, we need to be righteous. The moment you choose (for it is always a choice) to be unrighteous, to willingly decided to disobey. Even if it is just one tiny commandment, the Lord will withdraw his hand in his work. For a good fruit can never come from a bad tree, a banana tree will never ever grow a mango. Then we realize that everything just doesn't work anymore, we repent and become righteous again. Then without hesitation the Lord will continue his work. He did that with Joseph Smith, and he even does it with me, a simple 20 year old. I can testify to you that you will never be successful in doing the Lord's work, till you be righteous. You might see some blessings, but those will only be for a short season. When the Lord calls you to his work (whether it is to be bishop or a second counselor in a young woman presidency or whatever) just be righteous. Then you will see miracles.
Shoot out of time..
Love,
Elder Thomas Bechan 

St Lucia 15

Lieve vriendjes and vriendinnetjes,

Did you have a merry Christmas? I think, know with a surety, that this last Christmas has been the most exciting Christmas of my entire life. Christmas eve we were all (misisonaries) together in the church to watch our christmas movie and about 5minutes into the movie the rain came down. And it never stopped. Pouring rain with tons of lighting and thunder. The senior couple came in about halve way through the movie and told me that the weather was out of control!! So we stopped the movie and decided to try to get back to our appartment! So we split up and took other missionaries as well to get home. But boy the weather was bad! We said a prayer and went out. As missionaries you have to stand outside of the car to back your companion out. And I must obey so I did that. Water was just coming down the hill like a river. The water reached till my ankles and it was coming down the hill (this computer doesn't let me send pictures so that will come next week). After a little while driving we made a turn but because of the water the car just drifted straight! And we ended up in a gutter... Car was tillted side ways in about a 45 degrees angle. I think I never got out of the car as fast as I did that night. So we were standing their hoping that a car would pass by to pull us out. Didn't happen.. So we went back to church walking to just water as deep as you ankles flowing down to the beach. It was quite the adventure. Spend the night under the church (we have a missionary appartment under the church). Next morning all the water was gone and look like nothing happened... Later we found out that the southern part of the island just got destroyed. 6 people lost their life, houses were washed away and just defestation. As result of the storm we also didn't have any water till this morning. We had a water tank but that thing ran out after a few days. Glad that we have a emergency supply of water so enough drinking water. But no water to flush toilet, do dishes or take a proper shower. Felt a little bit like we were surviving. 
But the work most go on and we had an amazing week! We found a amazing Trinidadian family who you can feel are prepared by the Lord. The Spirit of God touches them when we teach them. Also a 21 year old investigator we have is preparing to be baptist on the 11th of January! The work is just wonderful. All you ever have to do in your life is obey. When you are obedient to the terms that God has set for our happiness. You gain happiness. It's like a law of physics. If you drop your pen it will fall to the ground, If you obey God you will feel happiness. Immediately. For we can read in Mosiah 2:24 "He doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you". I can testify with all my heart that this is true, for I experience it. Go try it, and if you do I can promises you in the name of the Lord that happiness and peace will come your way.

Love,
Elder Thomas Bechan

PS. Thanks everybody for the beautiful christmas presents! I got a few packages and  letters and it's the best thank you very much!
PPS. I got my transfer call I'm staying in St. Lucia and will have a new companion: Elder Glade. I will train him to be a zone-leader! 

St Lucia 14

Rizaria Got Baptist!!‏

Lieve vriendjes and vriendinnetjes!

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope all of you will have a great Christmas this year. My week was good but kind of slow. Every single soul on St Lucia is preparing for the Christmas season. And by preparing I mean buying liquor and picking a party to go to. It amazes me how different Christmas is being celebrated by the general peoples. Kind of set that they miss out on the meaning of Christmas by doing so. For with Christmas we remember Christ. But honestly how do you do that? There are a lot of different ways to do that but a good one is just to be nice. In remembering Christ we should be striving to be like Him. As members of the church we have promised to take upon the name of Jesus Christ and to follow him in what we do. "For he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. "Wherefore, my beloved friends, can we follow Jesus, save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?" Just be nice, aim to be like the greatest man who ever lived.
Have a wonderful time everybody!

Love,
Elder Thomas Bechan

St Lucia 13

• me + President Mehr‏

Vriendjes and vriendinnetjes

Deze week was belachelijk and geweldig te gelijke tijd! 

Belachelijk awesome is what I mean by that. On Wedsnesday I flew into Trinidad for missionleadership council. President Mehr flew in all the zone-leaders in the mission. It was a spiritual feast. On Thursday we had an entire day of instruction and spiritual experiences. It truly was amazing. Then the week ended perfectly! Rizaria got baptized!!! Baptisms are amazing. It is a beautiful simple act that gives a person so much more happiness. The gospel is the best, simple and powerful. All you have to do is obey. Obedience is the first law, everything starts with that. That how simple it is, just obey and your happy. I experience that every single day. Obedience brings forth blessings, exact obedience brings miracles.

Love,

Elder Thomas Bechan

• Dutch buddies‏

• missionleader council‏