Beth's Mission Dec 11 Round Rock 12

We did get transfer calls today!! Sister Watt and I are both staying in Walsh Ranch for another transfer!! We will be in Walsh Ranch for Christmas!!!

This week was a great and crazy week!! It is always so strange and amazing how the days feel like months, but the weeks feel like days!! So crazy! But it is such a blessing to be able to be busy serving the Lord!

This week we have had more people say that they want to get together with us to have a Family Home Evening, or go on visits with us, or have a neighbor night, or cottage meeting, and it has been so great! Our Ward Council is really starting to show their support and desire to help us and let us help them in this great work! One thing that we have talked about is that we as missionaries really can't do anything without the members! The best way for us to find those who are ready and prepared to hear the message of the gospel is through the members who are friends with them! We have seen that with many people and how important it is for those who are searhing for the truth to have friends who are there to support and uplift them! As our dear Prophet President Thomas S. Monson has said, "Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together … to bring souls unto Him!" What a blessing it is to share the joy of the gospel with others!!

That is the case with our investigator Bailey! She is so awesome and has a lot of friends in high school who are members of the church. She wasn't able to meet with us yesterday or ome to church, but we are praying for her and are grateful for the miracle of friendship!

We also have a new investigator this week who's name is David! He is a referral from a member couple in the ward who just met him 2 weeks ago! We had a lesson with him on Thursdayand -we were on exchanges so I haven't been able to meet him yet- Sister Watt said that it went great! He knew a lot of members of the church growing up and is interested in learning more! We have another lesson with him this Thursday and we are so excited and blessed with another miracle to witness!

Also on Thursday another miracle occured. IT SNOWED!!! That's right, it full on snowed!! I think they said it hasn't snowed in 7 years!! Sister Hill and I were together and we were up in Taylor with a family for dinner and when we walked outside it was snowing!! The kids were so excited and we took pictures and just couldn't believe it! The whole ride to our next appointment (where we also played with the kids in the snow) we were just laughing and in awe!! It was kind of funny too to see the people who didn't know how to drive in it haha I was driving and it really wasn't coming down that much, but people were going so slow! Haha definitely something you don't see everyday in this part of Texas! And it stayed until the next morning! We made a little snowman haha it was so great! Definitely a miracle to remember!

With the Light the World initiative, it has been so awesome to notice even more opportunities to serve and to see others serving as well! I would love to hear about any of the experiences you have had finding ways to serve or how others have served you! One of the greatest things about the chance to Light the World is that it doesn't have to only be these 25 ways in 25 days! We can light the world everyday of our lives if we will look and pray for opportunities and get out and serve!

I was reading Sister Bingham's talk "That your Joy might be full" from this last conference and this quote stuck out to me:

"Jesus instructs His disciples to keep His commandments because He knows that as we follow His example, we will begin to experience joy, and as we continue on His path, we will come to a fulness of joy. He explained, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”"

I know that as we truly seek to become like Him as we seek Him, we will have such joy! And we will be able to help others to feel of that light and joy that we feel!! Who is someone that could use a little uplifting or that could use a smile or a kind note? I want to invite you to think about someone or multiple people and do something for them! I know that they will appreciate your kindness and that you will be able to feel the joy of service in your heart! 

I am so grateful for all of you and for the strength and support that you give me!! You all mean so much to me and I am so grateful for your examples and the light and love that you give me! Thank you for everything! I love you so much!!

I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sister Broadbent

 

Pictures:

1) District Meeting- Vista Ridge District

2) Round Rock Zone

3) Snow with the Lopez family!!

4) Our little snowman!

5) It was so cold!! We put socks on as mittens and wrapped ourselves up!

6) Snow and the sunrise

7) Sister Watt and I back together again!

8 - Sister B and Sister Watt with a family

Beth's Mission Dec 4 Round Rock 11

It's snowing!?! That's so awesome!! I'm not sure I miss the snow haha, but it is weird not having snow when Christmas is coming! It's basically fall here haha the leaves are starting to fall on some of the trees and it's beginning to get a little chilly at points, but honestly it's not even cold! It's weird! And everyone says that it's not normal for it to be this warm this time of year, but we're not complaining! It doesn't quite feel like "the holidays" though- definitely a different expereince!

This week was a pretty great week!!

We had exchanges on Tuesday and Friday and Sister Hill and I got to be together again! She is so great! I love her and it is a privilage to get to serve with her! On the Tuesday exchange we had a lesson with one of the families they are teaching in the Spanish Branch and we got to read a chapter with them in the Book of Mormon! I read in Spanish and it was awesome! They helped me along and said I had a good accent haha One day I'll be fluent! ;)

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference! It was the Christmas conference and it was so amazing!! There were a lot of musical numbers and I got to play the hymns and for one of the musical numbers and it was so fun! The trainings were amazing and we talked a lot about working with members and having ministering visits and using the Book of Mormon in every teaching opportunity. So good! It was a great Zone Conference up here in the Austin area!

This past weekend was our stake's Stake Conference and it was so great! President and Sister Polley spoke in the Adult session on Saturday and they, along with the Stake Presidency, apparently talked a lot about missionary work and how members truly need to work together with missionaries to increase the work! We weren't able to go, but we heard all about it and have had over five families already schedule cottage meetings and ministering visits and we are so excited!! It truly is a miracle!! And Sunday we had a mission wide fast for ministering visits and claiming the blessings from them. We have already seen blessings and miracles occur and I know that as we continue to work with the members- because we truly can't do this great work without the members!- we will see even more blessings and we will be able to help more and more people feel the Light and Love of Christ!! What a blessing we have to be a part of this glorious gospel! And what an even greater blessing we have to share it with others!

One way that we have loved sharing the gospel is with the Light the World initiative! It is so amazing!! It has been one way that the members have been able to reach out to others and serve as our Savior served! I think the most important part of this Light the World is that it reminds us that we can serve and Light the World all year round! It is such a blessing to look outside of ourselves and serve! I know as we serve others we will be blessed and strengthened in all that we do!

On Saturday our townhouse neighborhood had a service/beautify day and we got to meet a lot of our neighbors and serve with them as we fixed some things in our complex! It was so great and for the Light the World, we brought water for everyone to have! It was such a great service day!

A favorite quote that I found in my studies from this past General Conference is from "Turn to the Lord," By Bishop W. Christopher Waddell:

"True enduring happiness with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome the most challenging difficulties comes from a life centered in Jesus Christ. … There is no guarantee of overnight results, but there is absolute assurance that, in the Lord’s time, solutions will come, peace will prevail, and emptiness will be filled.”

Knowing that Heavenly Father is there for each of us has helped me a lot this past week. One thing President Polley told us is that we should be Praying as if everything depends on the Lord and then working as if everything depends on us. I love that so much! Trust in God, work hard and everything will work out!

I am so grateful for all of the support and prayers I feel from each and everyone of you! Thank you for being a part of my life and for helping me to be who I am today! I love you all so much!!

I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that you can find your own ways to Light the World!

Love,

Sister Broadbent

Pictures:

1. Texas Ornament passed down from previous missionaries

2. Austin Zone Conference

3. Baking Cookies for our neighbors!!

Beth's Mission Nov 27 Round Rock 10

This week was a great week! 

We were able to do a lot of service from helping Sister Owen's with her Etsy business, to painting the older women's nails at the Living Center, to preparing food for the homeless and needy on Thanksgiving, to helping a less active in our ward decorate one of her four Christmas trees!! It was a great and busy week!

First, Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope that everyone was able to eat lots of food and especially recognize the things that you are grateful for! There is so much that we have to be grateful for! I was reading a conference talk from President Monson on the attitude gratitude. "A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude."

I have realized once again the blessing of agency! We choose if we want to be happy, if we want to be grateful, if we want to be obedient, if we want to serve others, if we want to share the gospel. We have the power to choose! It is such a blessing to reevaluate our choices and choose to align our will with Heavenly Father's!

This week we were able to have a pass off lesson with the YSA Elders for Ryan and Preston! We had a great lesson about the Book of Mormon and they went to church again yesterday! We are so excited to see how they grow in the gospel!

Yesterday we were able to have a lesson with a new investigator referral from a young man in our ward. Her name is Bailey and she has a lot of friends in the church. We taught the Restoration and it went so well! She agreed to read the Book of Mormon and we will be meeting with her again! So great! The spirit was so strong as we quoted the Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision. It was so powerful. I love the peace and strength that the spirit brings. I know that Joseph Smith truly did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that beautiful morning. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true! I am so grateful for the love and strength that I have felt from my Heavenly Father! I know that as we truly turn to Him and have faith, we will be able to become who He needs us to be and we will be able to get through anything with the Savior on our side!!

We are so blessed!!

I am so grateful for this gospel!

Also this week the Light the World launch video came out!!! If you haven't seen it, go watch it!!! It is amazing!! There is a calendar of 25 ways to serve over the 25 days until Christmas starting December 1st!! It will be so awesome!! How can you light the world?

I am so grateful for each and every one of you and for the love and support that you give me! I have truly felt your love and prayers and I am so grateful!

I hope that all is well! Have an absolutely wonderful week!!!

I love you all!!

Love,

Sister Broadbent

I forgot to tell you about my birthday! 

It was such a great day!!

We had a wonderful ward council, then church was amazing.The primary sang to me super loud and it was so cute and amazing! Loved it!!

Then we decorated Christmas trees and it was awesome!

Then we had dinner with the Creers and it was so great! Her mom made me a homemade double layer German Chocolate cake and it was absolutely amazing! Thank you for the cake mix and recipe as well!! We will be making that soon!

And she gave me a neckalace and candy! So kind!! (Oh! Thank Cari for sending me those earrings!! They are so cute!!! Love them!!)

After dinner we went to our lesson with Bailey which was so good!!!!

Then we went to share the Light the World video with familes and it was awesome! We stopped at the Lowe's house and they gave us ice cream and she gave me lotion and stuff! So kind!!

It was such a great birthday! Definitely one to remember!! I was thinking about you and the family all day and I am so grateful for you!! 

Thank you for everything!!

I love you!!!

Pictures:

1. Sister Hill and I on exchanges!

2. Thanksgiving with the Bjarnason's!!

3. Decorating a 12' Christmas tree!!

4. We set up our Christmas tree and nativities today!!

Beth's Mission Nov 20 Round Rock 9

This week was quite the week! Full of ups and downs! It's amazing how the ups ALWAYS far out weigh the downs!! Especially as we turn to our Father in Heaven and open our eyes to the Joy and Blessings He gives us!!

During Exchanges this week, Hermana Hill and I went out finding and contacting and it was a great day! We went "Chalking" at a park (which Sister Watt and I did again with a returned missionary in our ward and it was awesome!) As Sister Hill and I were out, we tried to talk to everyone and then there were three people that we passed that we felt so bad for not talking to! We decided to repent and made the determination to talk to every person that we came in contact with and we did!! Then we found Preston and Ryan! They are brothers who expressed interest in learning about Christ and agreed to have us come back! It was a miracle!

The Next day Sister Watt and I had a lesson with them! Ryan is more interested than his brother Preston, and it was good to get to know him and teach him about the Restoration! 

Then on Sunday they both came to church!

Sunday was a crazy but great day!

We got up and planned and got ready and just as we were about done getting ready, we got a call from our District leader saying that one of the Elders in our Zone was sick and they had to go do exchanges and they might need us to go to their ward to cover for an activity they had for Primary! We got things situated and luckily the Hermanas could give us a ride, but then as we were driving they called us back and said we didn't need to go anymore! So we went back home! We did Personal Study and Training and then a member picked us up for Church! Then Ryan and Preston came to church! We weren't expecting Preston to come, but it was so great to have them both there!

 It's kind of an interesting situation because they are YSA aged young men, and so we will be passing them off to the YSA Elders- but the YSA ward just got dissolved, and now one YSA Ward is covering 4 stakes! It's all been kind of crazy! We were grateful that they came to church and are hoping that they are truly interested in learning more about the restored gospel!

This week I have been reminded again and again that Heavenly Father truly has the full plan! Everything that happens is for a reason! Every good or bad thing, everything is in His plan and he truly knows each of us in our individual needs! How great is the Plan of our God!

This week I have also been reminded to Find Joy in everything and to be grateful for the seemingly little things just as much as the bigger things! There are so many blessings everywhere if we will open our eyes and look for things to be grateful for!! I have been reminded of President Uchtdorf's story about finding Joy in the Journey in his talk, "Of Regrets and Resolutions." One portion I love is, 

"We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”

Brothers and sisters, no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it." 

There is always something to be grateful for! I hope in this season and always we can truly Count our many blessings!

 

I love you all so much!! I am so grateful for each and every one of you!! I hope that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Love,

Sister Broadbent

Pictures:

1. Sister Watt and I featuring our "Friendship Bracelets" that I made

2. Sister Watt and I again featuring her fish tail braids she let me do

3. One portion of our "Chalking" -I'll try to send more later or next week!

Beth's Mission Nov 13 Round Rock 8

 This week was a pretty great week!!

We had a lot of people give us their left over Halloween candy and other treats this week! Add that to the wonderful dinners members give us and I don't think we'll ever go hungry! Definitely eating well! I'm very grateful for their generosity and kindness, but we have definitely had to be more aware of our exercise and what we eat at home! Haha the members are so great though and I truly am so grateful for their willingness to feed us!

On Tuesday we had dinner with a less active woman in our ward whose oldest daughter is also less active that we are working with to get to the Young Single Adult Ward, and whose youngest daughter is not a member! It was so great! Venessa is really working on coming back to church and she wants to bring her whole family with her! Including her non-member husband! The Dinner we had with the girls was great! We brought Jasmine with us (the YSA recent convert) and she really connected with Skylar and we are praying for good things! We talked with Meghan and hopefully things will work out for her as well!! Overall it was a very successful evening!

That is probably the biggest thing that happened last week for the lessons we had. Abraham had to cancel his lesson due to flight plans being delayed. And Hailian also had to cance due to being sick! However! We did find a new family this week!! We were out contacting a potential who thanked us for bringing a little Utah to her door  and then we decided to knock on one of her neighbors down the street. They answered and even though they didn't have a lot of time to talk right then, they listened to us and agreed to have us come back! We are excited!

We have three lesson planned for tomorrow all before Noon!! It will be a great morning and we are exicited to have three different members come out with us as well!! One of them is a recently returned missionary who just got back from serving her mission is Seattle! She is so cute and has already helped us so much!

Great things are happening in Walsh Ranch!

It always amazes me how important it is to have a good attitude! Through the disappointments and discouragement, if we keep a positive attitude and trust in God that everything will work out then it will! We have the right to be happy! If you aren't happy, before blaming others or your circumstances, maybe take a step back and look at how you are feeling and how you can change the way you feel. That has been something that has been on my mind this week and oftentimes, all that needs to be done is for me to change my attitude, look on the bright side, find joy in EVERYTHING- even the hard and bad things, and realize that everything is part of Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness!! "Men are that they might have Joy!"

2 Nephi 9:18 "But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever."

What a promise! I know that as we "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" trusting in the Great plan of our God, we will be blessed beyond the joy that we can feel now!

I love you all so much! Thank you for your support and strength that you give! I hope that you all have a wonderful week this week and I invite you to find someone or someway that you can serve and show your gratitude for others and for Heavenly Father in this holiday season!

Love, 

Sister Broadbent

Pictures:

1. It's been rainy and chilly here! Enjoying the cool weather!

2 & 3. Huge cinnamon rolls that members gave us!!

4. After a wonderful and long day of exchanges with Hermana Ferrell!

5. Some huge mushrooms that we saw while we were out walking one day!

Beth's Mission Nov 6 Round Rock 7

This week was a crazy, great, week full of tender mercies!!!

First- Happy November!!

And Happy Belated Halloween!! I hope it was great and safe for everyone!

We spent our Halloween night cleaning the house of our recent convert Bill! We had 9 missionaries cleaning with us and it was quite the adventure!!

From Monday to Wednesday we were in a trio with Hermana Ferrell! It was so fun! We got to visit some of the Spanish members and contacts in her area and it was awesome! Made me want to learn Spanish even more!! It was a crazy few days figuring out transfer info and Sister Training Leader info and everything else! We had a lot of fun though!

On Thursday Hermana Ferrell went to pick up her new companion Hermana Hill!! She is so cute!! She went to the MTC in Mexico and is from West Jordan, UT and is just so awesome!! We got to spend most of the day together on Friday because Sister Watt and Hermana Ferrell had to go down to San Antonio for the Mission Leadership Conference! Sister Hill and I had a great day together and I am excited to get to know her better and go on more exchanges with her this transfer!!

This week on Monday we had another lesson with Abraham! We were able to go over and read the Intro to the Book of Mormon with him and discuss some of the questions that he has been having. We talked about the great importance of going to church, praying daily, and reading the scriptures everyday (aka CPR- Church, Prayer, Reading) He hasn't been able to read due to work and other committments, but I think the lesson really helped him to understand why he needs to read! He even said that if he finds out the Book of Mormon and what we teach is true that he will get baptized! We've talked about baptism in every lesson so far and now he just needs to exercise his faith and find out for himself if it's true! We are excited to continue teaching him!! And next Sunday he doesn't work and will hopefully be at church and at our Cottage Meeting that night!!

On Friday we had our last lesson with Bill! He has officially taken all of the lessons before and after his baptism! He is doing so great! He has a calling as a teacher in the High Priests, he has had some great experiences going home teaching, and he is a fellowship for Abraham and a less active in the ward! He is doing great things to continue to strengthen his faith and it is so great to see the warmth and welcoming spirit from the ward! He is excited to be preparing for the temple and is also preparing to receive his Patriarchal Blessing! It has been so neat to see the strength and happiness that has come from his decision to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized!

This week we have really been trying to find the tender mercies that Heavenly Father gives- They are everywhere!! From the beautiful world He has given us, to the answers to prayers as we find new people and new investigators! He truly is aware of us and cares so much about us! 

Because of the crazy week, we weren't able to find or contact as many people as we usually do. So on Saturday both Sister Watt and I (without knowing) had personally prayed for specific things like finding at least 10 new people, finding 1 new investigator, and using the little Spanish that we know to help someone find the gospel. All of our prayers were answered!! We talked to over 10 new people, we found 1 new investigator- Larry- who we are excited to teach, and we were able to talk to a Hispanic gentlemen and give him the Hermanas information!! These things were just little, but it strengthened my testimony so much! I know that Heavenly Father truly answers our prayers if we pray in faith and show that we are willing to act upon the promptings we receive!! 

One of the scriptures that has made an impact on me is D&C 6:36 "Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not, Fear not." I know that as we are truly remembering Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in all things and noticing all the blessings they give us, we will have no need to doubt or fear.

I am so grateful for this gospel!!

I hope that all is well!! I hope that you have a wonderful week!! Keep Smiling!!

I love you all so much! Thank you for everything!!

Love,

Sister Broadbent

Pictures:

1. Happy Halloween!!

2. Our trio!! So fun!

3. Sister Watt and I matched and didn't even plan it!! Socks and everything!

4. Cute Hermana Hill!!

Beth's Mission Oct 30 Round Rock 6

This week was a great week!!

Transfers are this week!! So crazy!! We got the call this morning and both Sister Watt and I are staying in the Walsh Ranch area!! So excited!!! Sister Watt will be a Sister Training Leader as well! Hermana Rueda heads for home today! She is so amazing! And Hermana Ferrell will be training a new missionary! So we will get a new missionary in the house and Sister Watt and Hermana Ferrell will be the Sister Training Leaders over the area!! So exciting!! 

Sadly we had three lessons that cancelled this week, but they all have been rescheduled and we are looking forward to them! We have a lesson with Abraham tonight and we are excited to teach him again! We also have a lesson set with Hailian on Thursday that will be great! We are praying that both of them will be able to attend church soon! They weren't able to come yesterday and they can't come next week because the area is doing a broadcast thing at the Stake Center, but we will count on the next week!!

It has been so great to involve the members in our lessons! We call it a "ministering visit" when we teach a lesson and have members teach with us. With Hailian it has been so great to have the Williams there! Brother Williams bore his testimony about it yesterday and mentioned how much it has brought back the strength that he felt on his mission and how much it has strengthened his testimony! So awesome! I love being able to help strengthen the members as well as invite others to come join us in the happiness and joy that we have!! The gospel is so amazing!!

Most of our time this week was spent finding and contacting Less actives in our ward! It was so great! Last week in Ward Coordination with our Ward Mission Leader Brother Raica we talked about those that we needed to go by and give our ward newsletter to! He made this ward newsletter of upcoming events, a spiritual thought, and ward contact information to hand out and it has been so great! The biggest reason we were doing this this past week was to invite people to our ward Fall Festival that was on Saturday!! It went so great!!! There were so many people there! Four of the less active familes that we invited came!! It was awesome! And the ward completely welcomed them and talked to them and it was awesome! One of the families is a part-member family that we are working with- The Powers. The mom is a less active member who we have been visiting with and she has been working so hard to come back to church and is wanting to come back with her family! Her youngest daughter Meghan and her husband Dominic aren't members. I don't think that he even knew that she was a member, but he knows now! And all of them had such a great time at the festival! They were able to talk to quite a few people and hopefully made some friends and we are excited to see what comes of it! We might have two new investigators soon!

And yes it got cold!!! That night of the festival We were freezing!! We didn't know it would be outside so we didn't bring our coats with us- big mistake haha. Sister Watt was especially cold because she is from St. George and hates the cold and has poor circulation so she was basically an icicle. I was enjoying the cool until the sun went down and then I also froze. But, they had a chili cook-off that was so good! Members have been feeding us a lot of chili lately and it is all so yummy!

For the temperature, Basically, During the day it feels super nice, the perfect temperature with a slight chill in the breeze so that's been great, but as soon as it gets darker or hits about 6:00 pm, it gets freezing!! Okay it only got down to the mid to lower 50s... but compared to 85+ it was freezing!! We pulled out all of our coats and scarves and tights and everything haha. But we've been told that the cold comes in waves between the hot so it will be fun!!

This week I have been studying my Patriarchal Blessing and one of the Talks by President Uchtdorf from this past General Conference "A Yearning for Home." It is such a great talk! I have realized more and more that that is what we are all yearning for deep inside! Looking forward to the day when we can be reunited with our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother and continue to grow and progress on this great Plan of Happiness! How great is the Plan of our God! 

I loved what President Uchtdorf ended with "As we embrace the gospel in faith and deed, each day and every hour, we will draw a little closer to our God. Our lives will be better, and the Lord will use us in remarkable ways to bless those around us and bring about His eternal purposes."

What a blessing it is to have the knowledge of the gospel and to be able to strive to be our best and do our best so that our Heavenly Father can use us to help others on this journey Home!

Omni 1:26 

"And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."

I am so grateful for the opportunity each of us has every single day to start fresh, to repent and to decide again that we will give our whole souls, that we will give everything to Him and to His glorious work! I know that as we do this and continue to come unto Him little by little, each day doing a little better than we did the day before, we will be blessed now and for the rest of our lives and into eternity! God is Good! I know He lives! 

I love you all so much!!! Thank you for e-mailing me! I love getting mail and e-mails and seeing how everyone is doing! I apologize in advance if I don't reply right away, but I'll do my best! 

Thank you for your prayers and love that you give! I am truly grateful!!!

I hope that y'all have an absolutely wonderful week! Happy Halloween!!

Love,

Sister Broadbent

Pictures:

1. Happy Halloween from Walsh Ranch and Palm Valley!!

2. District Meeting this past week!

3. The Famous Texas Sized Round Rock Donuts!!! It was HUGE! We got this last week and we are still working on it haha but it was pretty good!

4. Yes it was freezing!

5. Featuring Purple tights haha- I'll have to invest in some new tights

6. Sister Watt and I!! Love her!!!

Beth's Mission Oct 23 Round Rock 5

This week has been such a great week! Not too much happened, but at the same time a lot happened haha I'll try to remember the important things.

A Few Funny bits: 

Thursday Hermana Ferrell wanted to order something from dominoes because (long story short) Sister Watt's parents had ordered Pizza for us a couple of weeks ago and they had seen the pizza guy around and Hermana Ferrell wanted to give him a card. So a member offered to order lava cakes or something for us and then he delivered them and she said, "We have something for you." Then gave him a card with our number on it. It probably wasn't the best way to go about it, but who knows! Maybe one day good will come from it!

Saturday we saw a dead deer on the trail we were biking on- we almost hit it haha! And then when we were biking back someone had pulled it over onto the grass (picture)

Spiritual + Good bits:

Tuesday we had Exchanges! I went with Hermana Rueda and it was so great! We had dinner with one of their recent converts and she is so sweet! So excited about life and everything and the food she made us was so amazing!!! It was so great to be with Hermana Rueda! She goes home next week! So crazy!

Wednesday we had New Missionary Follow-Up in San Antonio! It was so great to see my Sister's from the MTC and the other Elders and Sisters that I came out with! It was great!! Then for lunch we went to Buc-ee's! SO good!! It's a HUGE gas station that is basically a grocery store, tourist shopping, home decor, and the best BBQ, and the cleanest and biggest bathrooms!! It was awesome!! Apparently Texas is known for thier gas station BBQ- it didn't disappoint!!

Thursday night we had a lesson with Hailian! She is so amazing!! The language barrier is a bit of a struggle at times, but it is wonderful that we have a member Brother Williams who speaks Chinese! She asked so many incredible questions about what we have been teaching and it is clear that she really wants to understand and follow Jesus Christ! She is so sweet and I am so excited to continue teaching her! We're praying that she'll come to church next week!!

Friday night we had another lesson with Abraham! We had our recent convert Bill come with us as well as a laurel from the ward! It was so good to have both of them there testifying and sharing their experiences!! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and it was so good! Abraham asked a lot of great questions and liked the viewpoint on Agency. He also really wants to understand everything and right now we're praying that he will increase his faith and really seek to know if the church is true. He is a firefighter and doesn't have a lot of time, but he is willing to learn! We are also praying that he will come to church next week!

Friday was also my Month in the Mission mark!! So crazy! Time flies! Next week we will get transfer calls!! So crazy! We'll see what happens! 

Saturday our Zone had breakfast with President Woodfield! (The Stake President of the Round Rock Stake) We talked about each of our wards and how they are doing with helping us with Friend Sundays, Cottage Meetings,  and ministering visits- We definitely have some work to do, but the ward is so great and so willing to help us and we are excited to continue the work with them!

Sunday it was the Ward Primary Program!! It was the best!! I love kids so much! They are so adorable and I love how simply they know that the gospel is true! They have such sweet and powerful spirits! Their message was Choosing the Right and it was perfect! They are so sweet and we had smiles on our faces the whole time!!

It was such a great week!! Sister Watt and I have been getting along so great and I love her so much! We have so much fun together as we're biking and walking around contacting and living the best life! I am so grateful to be serving my Heavenly Father! 

I've been reading "The Fourth Missionary" and it is so amazing!! Thank you Josh and Mary for recommending it! It changed my week and has definitely changed how I do things! It talks about aligning our will with God's will and truly giving all to him- every desire, every want, everything. We have to completely give ourselves. I know that if we truly give our whole selves, we will truly be able to do His will and become who he wants and needs us to become. We will be blessed beyond measure! I know He loves us and truly wants us to one day return to live with Him!

Mosiah 5:7 "And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters."

I love you all! I hope you all have a wonderful week this week! Thank you for your kindness and love!! Try a little harder to be a little better!

Love, 

Sister Broadbent

Pictures:

1. This dog is blind and deaf and the cat came over to get some love too haha.

2. Hermana Rueda and I

3. The TSAM Sisters reunited!

4. A beautiful trail we bike on!

5. Nametags!

6. Another Beautiful trail we bike on!! It is so beautiful here!!

7. A Beautiful Texas House with the Beautiful Texas sky!!

1. Companionship Study Outside!

2. Buc-ee's!!

3. It is seriously the biggest gas station I have ever seen! We figured it has over 250 gas pumps!! So crazy!

4. The dead deer

5. Sister Watt and I!

Beth's Mission Round Oct 16 Rock 4

This week was such a great and fast week!!

The Subject line is because I keep forgetting to tell you! There are these "Crunchies"- we're not entirely sure what they are-they look kind of like acorns or some kind of nut or something. But they are everywhere! And they are the funnest thing to crunch when we're walking and biking around! Haha, so fun!

Tuesday we had Zone Conference!! The Austin Zone is so great! We went down to stay the night before with the Sisters in the Austin Capital Area which was so fun! Then we had Zone Conference! It was so amazing! The trainings and inspired teachings were exactly what I needed! President and Sister Polley talked about the Prophet's invitation to read the Book of Mormon as well as what President Eyring and President Nelson talked about in the most recent conference and then they invited us to start reading a clean copy of the Book of Mormon and mark the Doctrine of Christ (Faith in Christ, Repentance, Baptism, the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End) as well as any verses that stick out to us. I'm excited to continue doing that! I actually started doing that along with marking when it talks about God and Jesus Christ at the beginning of the Transfer! It has already blessed my life so much! Quoting President Nelson, "My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions." 

I know that the Book of Mormon is true! There is true power and strength that comes when we read it every day!

Tuesday was Quite the day!! After we got home from Zone Conference we received a phone call from a man whose wife we tried to contact earlier. We were excited that someone actually called us back! But sadly, he called only to bash us- first bashing over the phone! It was quite the experience!

We taught and found quite a few people this week!!

We found Cynthia and Jose on Tuesday who agreed to have us come back! We went back and they weren't home, but we aren't giving up yet!

On Wednesday we were finally able to teach Abraham! He is so awesome! He truly wants to know the truth for himself and wants to be sincere in building his relationship with God. The Restoration lesson went so great and we are going back on Friday!

Thursday we did mini exchanges because Hermana Ferrell was sick, but both companionships had appointments. So I stayed with Hermana Ferrell and Sister Watt went with Hermana Rueda. But then Sister Watt and I were able to go to our lesson with our investigator Hailian! We met at a member's house and it worked out perfect because she speaks Chinese and Brother Williams speaks Chinese! It was such a great lesson! We taught her about Jesus Christ and watched the Findng Faith in Christ Video in Chinese. Afterwards she asked what she could do to follow Jesus Christ! So we told her!! 

On Friday we found Susan and Antonio who agreed to have us come back tomorrow!

Then on Saturday we did "Blitz Exchanges." Sister Watt and I only have one apartment complex in our area and it is also in the Spanish Sister's area so we decided to split up and contact and go through our areabooks! I was with Hermana Ferrell and we talked to so many people! All of them spoke Spanish which was so fun! Even though I couldn't hardly speak a word haha- But we found Rigoberto!! They taught him yesterday and he is really interested and has previously been to Church 9 times!! The Lord prepares his people!!

Then on Sunday we had Caesar come to church!! 

It was such a great week!!!

We are praying for each and everyone of the people that I have mentioned and more!! I know that Heavenly Father truly cares about each and every one of His children!! He knows us! Personally and Individually!!!

It is such a blessing to teach and help others to feel of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love for them! My question for each of you is: What can you do to better follow Jesus Christ? There is always room for improvement and what a blessing it is to have the Atonement of Jesus Christ that allows us to repent daily and do our best to become a little better each and every day!! Heavenly Father has blessed us so much!! All we have to do is choose to follow Him everyday!

I love you all!! Thank you for your love, support, and prayers!! I am so grateful for you!! 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week!! God is good!! He knows you and He loves you!!

Love,

Sister Broadbent

1. Sister Watt and I!! Love her so much!!

2. Some vultures we saw getting ready to attack ;)

3. Beautiful area!!!

4. We found Chip and Dale's home!!!