5. Week 5 MTC: Barbershop Quartet

Cześć!

What. A. Week. 

Happy Tears:

If any of you really know me, you know that the second I start REALLY laughing, the tears start streaming. And boy did that happen Tuesday night. During our nightly planning session, St. Theriault, Barlow, Rassy, and Adriano decided they would harmonize and sing the Polish phrase "oh jeku" (oh crap). It sounds really immature and believe me, it was, but it was so funny. They spent 45 minutes trying to sync up and hit perfect pitch (or whatever that means--that's probably why I didn't get invited to be a part of the General Conference choir). Oh, and they added choreography. I was in charge of filming, and 9/10 times we couldn't get through the first 2 seconds because one of us would start cracking up. The Elders sure know how to brighten my day. (Videos​​ attached--of both the real deal and a mess up). 

OH, we're halfway there!!!!!

Not that anyone is counting or anything, but we hit our halfway mark in the MTC today. Also, we found out that we are leaving a WHOLE DAY EARLIER. October 24, baby! Lesss go! 

Devotional Notes:

Kathy Clayton (L.Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy's wife):

4 suggestions for maximizing moments and miracles:

1, Note the miracles--see and notice everything from the sunsets to the changed hearts of those we teach. 

2, Trust Heaven

3, Be Patient--Heavenly Work takes time! Angels are surrounding us. 

4, Live with Love--

Starszy Dickson said the following in district review, "When you love others, you become happy". So true! What a good kid. 

L. Whitney Clayton:

-The world needs our work now more than ever before.

-proclaim & declare 

-EVERYONE is in the predicament on whether to believe or not to believe.

-pray to see the tender mercies of the Lord.

Favorite Quote of the Week:

"Earth is crammed with Heaven"

Something that was on my mind all week: 

Psalms 23

In the beginning, David's life is going pretty well. He refers to the Lord as "He",etc. Then, in verse 4, as he 'walks through the valley of the shadow of death", (life isn't going so well now) his language changes. He goes from referring to the Lord as "He" to "Thou". His language changed as he needed the Lord. 

I've needed the Lord more now than ever in my life. My relationship with Him has changed. I challenge you to ponder your relationship with Him!

Direct Polish Translations: 

This week, we learned that in the song "Come, Come Ye Saints"... the part where it goes "All is well, All is well" translates to: "It's not that bad, It's not that bad". Hahaha. Also, one of our favorite past times is looking up Polish idioms...if you have a chance, you should definitely take a look at them. 

Other:

-SO MUCH RAIN (BLESSINGS ON BLESSINGS)

-Snow capped mountains (photo attached)

-3rd place in handball again ("good for a girl", again)

-cereal, salad, soup, repeat. 

Love & miss you all :)

Pa Pa! (Bye-Bye!)

xoxo,

Siostra Beem <3

Write me or "dearelder" me! 

Sister Talia Murphy Beem

OCT24  POL-WAR
2005 N 900 E Unit  45
Provo UT 84602

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

Siostra's Beem, Rawson, Larsen, Starszy Theriault

With Sister Rawson

I think Utah skipped Fall this year.

YAY..halfway there!

Portland Polish Festival t-shirts--they even glow in the dark!

4. Week 4 MTC: Living the Dream

Czesc!! Jak sie masz? (Hello!  How are you!?)

The events of this week:

1. Missy 

My cute roommate from school, Missy, came into the MTC this week. She is going to the Tacoma, WA mission. I saw her about 10 minutes after she got dropped off--I think I was crying more than she was! (photo below). 

2. 3 apostles in 1 week? I must be dreaming. 

In the past week(ish)...we've had D. Todd Christofferson, M. Russell Ballard, and Quentin L. Cook come and speak. What a treat that was!

Here's some of my takeaways:

M. Russell Ballard: 

-Enthusiastically start our day--we are witnesses & we testify! It's contagious. 

-We, missionaries, are standing IN for the Lord. 

-It is what people FEEL at the beginning stages of activation or teaching....they sense we have something special (and we do!). 

-"I would be dynamite if I went back in time and re-served my mission"--it was so funny to hear an apostle to say a not-so-humble statement. Haha. He said the way he would've changed would be to: Smile, Radiate, Think, and Know more. 

-Throughout your life, you come to know the Lord. But more importantly, throughout your life, the Lord comes to know you. 

-This is the beginning of a lifetime of service. 

Quentin L. Cook:

"The 4 Love's":

1.Love your companion(s): "How can we, in unity, take this gospel to the world?"

2. Love the people: & respect them, their culture, and their traditions. 

3. Love your mission president: Quentin L. Cook was talking about the inspiration he gets when assigning mission calls...he said that an assignment basis often pertains to mission presidents, more than the people. 

4. Love the Lord: "The Atonement is best written about in Preach My Gospel than any other book out there". 

-The Savior's Atonement makes up for all the "unfairs" in life. 

-Chapter 3 of PMG contains ALL of the doctrines in this dispensation. 

-Gordon B. Hinkley designed PMG so it couldn't be memorized--we are supposed to teach by the Spirit instead. 

- Chapter 3 of PMG was "written on both sides of the veil". How cool?

-Testify and Promise Blessings

-Can He TRUST us with spiritual experiences?

The Ending of Quentin L. Cook's testimony:

"I know His Face and I know His voice"--all of the MTC was freaking out when he said that. Gasps galore!  HOW AMAZING IS THAT? In district review that night (where we all come together and talk about the devotional), Brother Bradford, the First Councilor in our Branch Presidency, said "That was the most direct statement about the Lord I've ever heard from a prophet, or an apostle". 

3. The Polish:

This week, we started learning Polish cases...which statistically makes Polish one of the hardest languages in the world to learn. I can testify that that is true. Ahahah. But, Krok po kroku (step by step)...it's coming along!

4. My Best Friends--Oops, I mean District. (The Office, pt. 2)

I am blessed here in the MTC. My District is the best. And since many asked, but few received...here is our list of everyone in "The Office"...(The Elders picked who the Sisters were and the Sisters picked who the Elders were).

Michael Scott- Theriault. He's a leader. And he's hilarious. 

Dwight- Sassy Rassy. Whoops, I mean Starszy Rasmussen. For obvious reasons, he was chosen to be Dwight. He's got the sass. He's got the spunk. And he does the best Dwight imitation.

Oscar- Stokes. Not physically speaking...but definitely intellectually speaking. Stokes is a genius and has enough sass for us all. 

Jim- Barlow. He's outgoing and likes to joke with the rest of the Elders. 

Creed- Starszy Hansen: Best one liners out of anyone in the district. Starszy Hansen is pretty quiet...but man is he funny. 

Andy- Adriano. This is probably the most accurate match. Adriano never stops singing (we're trying to move him towards hymns...but he's still stuck on Bruno Mars and such). He is loud and fun. 

Darrell- Dickson. Talk about an all around funny guy--and loved by the entire zone.

Pam -me. I like keepin' the gang organized. 

Kelly- Sis Larson. She LOVES to talk...thus, making her Kelly :)

Phyllis- Sis Rawson. Not physically speaking either...because I'm pretty sure I could fit 6 Sister Rawson's into one Phyllis...but she is funny and speaks her mind (in the most loving way!). 

5. Favorite quote of the week:

Brother Eggett (our MTC choir director) shared this quote before the Tuesday devotional (I can't stop thinking about it): "The Lord doesn't protect your from pain, he perfects you through it"

6. Favorite moment of the week:

Starszy Hansen was studying in the hallway and asked if Starszy Stokes would throw him his Polish dictionary. Starszy Stokes grabbed it, stood up, ...and then CHUCKED IT out the door. Like you know those things that calculate how fast baseballs are pitched? If we had one, it would've easily been 100mph. I've never seen Starszy Rasmussen laugh so hard. Everyone was dying...because it was so not like our usual, timid Stokes! 

Have an amazing week!

Remember who you are and what you stand for :)

Xoxo,

Siostra Beem <3

Write me or "dearelder" me! 

Sister Talia Murphy Beem

OCT25  POL-WAR
2005 N 900 E Unit  45
Provo UT 84604

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

Temple Pics... (Beem, Rawson, Stokes, Adriano, Hansen, Larson)

"My Best Friends--Oops, I mean District" (plus one)

Sweater Wednesday!

The gray sweater club (Rasmussen, Stokes, Theriault, Barlow, Beem)

Sister Parker and Sister Beem (Tal's freshman year roomie)

Our Thai and Marshallese friends:)  

They left this week and are serving in Perth and Brisbane.

The Elders in Tal's zone (all are going to Eastern Europe)

Sister Beem and Rawson at Provo temple

Studying Polish...

Starszy's Barlow, Hansen and Stokes

I think it's casual Friday at the MTC--(haha)

Starszy's Rasmussen, Theriault, Adriano & Dickson

TRC (Teaching Resource Center) at the MTC

This picture includes recently returned Poland missionaries and the

current group going out.  

3. Week 3 MTC: The Office

Czesc!

So... you know how I was so grateful last week that we didn't have to move apartments? Literally 20 minutes after I got off of email, we had to move because of the stinkin' bats! It was more of a preventative measure though...so no rabies shots :) 

This email might seem like it's a little everywhere...and that was just the nature of this week, so I apologize!

On Sunday, I was super sick. I blame Elder Barlow. He started the sickness among District 12 (that sounds like a Hunger Games reference, but I promise it's not). 

On Monday, the Czechs and the Slovaks left. It was the saddest thing ever. They are all so sweet. We had 14 sisters in our zone, and now we only have 6. And it'll be that way for at least another 3-6 weeks. One of the Czech Elders is visa waiting in Salem, OR. So if any of you see an Elder Plewe, say "Hi!" :) 

On Wednesday, we got new missionaries in our zone! And we got to host. It was so fun. I'm a Sister Training Leader now, so I got to spend a good part of the day with the new members of our zone. They are already a great addition to our little family. 3 of them are going to the Adriatic North mission, speaking Czech. One is going to the Adriatic North mission speaking Slovak, and the last one is going to Macedonia​​​​ speaking Bulgarian. 

Some other fun things this week:

1. Elder Barlow and I analyzed everyone and profiled them as characters in "The Office". Everyone in our district fits someone perfectly. It was a good time. 

2. Aussie Handball. If you don't know how to play, learn. It's a grand ole time. There's something about me and P.E. games. Towards the end of our exercise time, we have zone-wide elimination round. And I got third place. Which, "for a girl" (rude, elders), was pretty decent. 

3. We had Chick-fil-a this week. Tender mercy indeed. 

4. I was given a Ralph Lauren pillow by one of the Czech sisters (Sestra Brown) before she left. That thing is gold. During our move, we were without pillows for 3 nights. I am eternally grateful for that Sister and her pillow. 

5. Sister Redding. She is our second councilor's wife. She is my bff here at the MTC. She is my mom away from home. I adore her and her bear hugs :)

6. The Elders call each other names. Not bad names. Just names. For instance, Starszy Adriano calls Starszy Rasmussen "his little cucumber" (in polish). It's the funniest thing ever.

7. My homegirl Missy comes to the MTC this week. I can't wait. 

8. My favorite Polish word of the week: "nadzieja" = hope. But it really is just fun to say. Also, I challenge all of you to learn the word "Atonement" in Polish (use google translate). It's a favorite around here.

Spiritual thoughts of the week:

During our mission conference on Sunday, the Norby's spoke. The Norby's were the senior missionary couple that survived the Brussel's airport terrorist attacks. They bore their testimonies on submitting our wills to His--whatever the outcome of that trial was going to be, they were going to accept it. They had so much faith and love for the Savior. They are amazing people!

On Tuesday, D. Todd Christofferson came and spoke. It was truly life changing. He talked about how God needs to be able to TRUST US. He also talked about Repentance and how it connects to EVERYTHING in the gospel and what we teach as missionaries. It is truly a blessing and special witness to hear an apostle of the Lord speak and bear testimony of the Savior and his work. 

My girl, Ally Starke said it best this week: "...I really do loving wearing this name tag everyday. It's funny how something like a black piece of plastic can set you apart from the world in such a magnificent way."

The church is true!

Have an amazing week! Thank you for all of your letters and emails...they brighten my days!

Xoxo,

<3 Siostra Beem

Write me or "dearelder" me! 

Sister Talia Murphy Beem

OCT25  POL-WAR
2005 N 900 E Unit  45
Provo UT 84604

Countdown to Poland!

Packing up and moving from the bats!

50 days!

2. Week 2 MTC: "MT.....Cheese!"

Czesc!

Everyone was right, "make it to Sunday"! This week FLEW. The days are looooong, but the weeks are short! I don't have much time to write, but here's a quick summary of the week:

On Wednesday, all the sisters in the entire MTC were urgently called down to the gym for an "emergency meeting". We all thought it was going to be about dress code or something, but then President Burgess (MTC Presdient) got up and said, "So sisters, we have a bit of an issue. Around this time of year, bats like to make their way into the residence halls during their migrations. If you are on the 3,4,5 floor of 17M, you must permanently move all your stuff to 13 M in the next 3 hours". I LIVE IN 17M. AMONG THE BATS. But I live on the second floor, so we're good...count your blessings. Everyone on those floors had to get rabies shots (aka my worst nightmare). A sister on the fourth floor told me she woke up in the middle of the night and there was a bat ON HER NECK. Goodness, I just about died when she told me that. 

On Thursday, Siostra Larsen went up to Salt Lake to film a mormon message on family history work. She could only take one companion, so Siostra Rawson went with her..which meant...I was a solo sister for a day! It was fun being with the Elders all day. They really are the best. My day with them was filled with lots of laughter and mildly inappropriate jokes. 

The Elders for some reason like having themed days. For instance, they have "Blue Tie Tuesday" and "Sweater Wednesday". It was 97 degrees on Wednesday this week, but that didn't stop them from wearing their sweaters! Starszy Dickson wore a nice, red sweater but Starszy Rasmussen kept calling him "Mr. Rodgers" ALL DAY...so I don't think he'll be wearing that one anymore. Hhaha. 

Richard J Maynes came and spoke at our devotional on Tuesday. It was incredible. Before he came and spoke to us, he asked if we would read his talk titled, "Truth Restored"... I would encourage all of you to read it! He talked about the importance of missionary work and using the Book of Mormon to teach the gospel. He went in depth on all the different accounts of the First Vision. He is a remarkable speaker! He told us to talk to EVERYONE and to "be sweetly bold". Sister Maynes quickly talked after him and she told us her conversion story. She said that, "There are so many people out there who are searching for something MORE, or just something in GENERAL. You're going to your specific missions to find those people and fill their hearts with the gospel" I loved that! I know that people are being prepared for me and for the gospel and I can't wait to share it with them! 

​​​​​​​​​​The language is slowly but surely coming along! It is super hard, but I know if I put in the work, the Lord will help me with the rest. 

The Czech and Slovak's are leaving Monday...which means half of our zone is leaving us :( We don't get new Czech's until next Wednesday, so the floor of our classroom building will be nice and quiet for a week or so. 

I love you all...have an amazing week :)

<3 Siostra Beem

Talia's MTC District

Starszy's (left to right):

Dickson, Adriano, Rasmussen, Theriault, Barlow, Stokes, Hansen

Siostra's:  Beem, Larsen, Rawson

\

A close up of Tal's missionary tag!

    It's been a long day...

Polish scriptures

Sweater Wednesday

(97 degrees outside in Provo)

Class time...

Handball...

I have no idea what this says...but Polish

looks and sounds amazing.  

A full temple shot with the district.

 A temple selfie...

 Maybe they have a plaid tie day also???

The chalkboard...

"Don't conjugate the 2nd verb"

The MTC laundry room...

1. Week 1 MTC: "Krok Po Kroku" (Step by Step)

Czesc!!!

For starters, I'm in a Tri-panionship with Siostra Rawson and Siostra Larsen! Siostra Rawson is from North Carolina (but has seriously lived everywhere). She has such a gentle, but mighty spirit to her! She's a gem! Siostra Larsen has the cutest little giggle and part-time Australian accent (she lived in australia for a bit last year). She adds a sweet spirit to our trio. I just love them! 

We have 7 Starszy's (Elders) in our district! I don't even know where to start with them. Starszy Barlow is our District Leader and is a gentle giant. He is normally pretty quiet, but he is seriously so funny. Starszy Hansen won the "most unique thing about them" title. He can crush an empty soda can in between his shoulder blades. So that's pretty cool. And obviously we tested it (with a Book of Mormon--photo attached). Starszy Stokes has the best smile. Seriously. He is always smiling! He is also the smartest person I have ever met and is super into robotics. Starszy Rasmussen is from Utah and is such a hard worker. I always go to him when I need help pronouncing something--he's a natural when it comes to Polish! He is also the best person just to talk to when your brain is fried from studying. Starszy Theriault (pronounced Terio) has the most soothing voice. Like seriously, this Elder could narrate a children's story book. But sometimes I forget his last name so I just call him Elder Cheerio because it's kinda close to Theriault. Starszy Dickson and I sit next to each other in class...and when the Polish gets hard (which is literally all of the time) we just make funny faces at each other. Also, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes. Starszy Adriano...where to begin. He's from Portugal and knows like a million languages...but no Polish (yet!). He seriously talks all. of. the. time.. He always has something to say! Half the time it's not on topic, but we appreciate his imagination and humor. He also has the voice of an angel. He's still getting used to American culture (he has only visited the USA once in his whole life). Last night at dinner, they had those pudding cups with the smashed oreos and gummy worms on top...you know what I'm talking about? Anyways, Starszy Adriano was so confused by it and was like, "why would you want to eat something that looks like dirt?" Oh, Americans. We are all soooooo different. But we all have so much fun together. I love teaching, learning, and studying alongside them all :)

My zone consists of the: Bulgarian, Polish, Czech, Croatian, Slovak, and Slovenian missionaries. Our roommates are going to the Adriatic North mission. Sister Hall is going to Croatia (speaking croatian) and Sister Knall is going to Slovenia (speaking slovenian and serbian). It's nice to be around a solid group of missionaries who can understand the trials of learning a difficult language! 

Our first night at the MTC, we sang "We'll bring the World His Truth" and sang the last line as "we are now (instead of "will be") the Lord's missionaries, and bring the world His truth". Ah. It was so touching and powerful. ​​​​​​​​​​ 

Also, we had our first lesson this week! With an "investigator" named Ania. And it was all in Polish. We taught her about God's love and prayer. I think I understood about 40% of her basic, basic, basic Polish. But I honestly felt pretty good about that. WE HAVE THE BEST TEACHERS. Brat (polish for "brother" ahhaah) Smalley and Siostra Cheney are so great. They are so patient with my million questions a day. Brat Smalley said (after I read 2 verses in the Book of Mormon in Polish), "I promise I'm not laughing at you or how you're saying things. I would never do that. I'm just laughing at the painful memories of learning and hard language" Hahhaha. 

Some things I liked this week:

1.obedience=blessings and strict obedience=miracles. I loved that!

2. Mourn with those who mourn, THEN comfort those who stand in need of comfort. 

I love you all! I'd love to hear from you!

Have an amazing week!

Siostra Beem <3

P.S. Sorry if there are spelling mistakes...my brain is jello!

Write me or "dearelder" me! :)

Sister Talia Murphy Beem

OCT25  POL-WAR
2005 N 900 E Unit  45
Provo UT 84602

The Tripanionship 

Sisters Rawson, Larsen & Beem

Starszy Hansen and his famous shoulder blades.

Siostra Beem & Sister Kelly (from the same ward back home)

Recreation time

Roomies

 (Sister Hall & Sister Knall--going to the Adriatic North Mission)

Tal being Tal...

...with Siostra Larsen at the Provo Temple

MTC drop off day and first email (day 1 & 2)

Written 8/25 (day 2 in the MTC)

HEY! HOW ARE MY FAVORITE PEOPLE?

I only have like 10 minutes, but things are good and life is great!

My P-Day is Saturday, so be waiting for that!

I'm in a Tripanionship! Siostra Larsen and Siostra Rawson are THE BEST. We are having so much fun learning, teaching, and studying together. There are 7 Starszy's and they're the best. One of them is from Portugal! Our zone consists of: Bulgaria, Czeck, Slovak, Poland, Slovania, and the Adriatic North Mission. I'm not kidding when I say this, 32 minutes into my MTC stay, we were speaking Polish. It's nuts. We have our first lesson tomorrow and I'm praying for the gift of tongues big time! We can kinda pray, too, so that's cool. And when I say pray, I mean read off of a piece of paper because we don't know anything that's happening. Something cool that might happen: Siostra Larsen is really big into family history and is speaking at a General Authority Luncheon in a few weeks, and because we are her companions,we get to go hopefully! So cross your fingers. How are you guys? I can feel my brain literally growing (headaches) and the salad bar is my best friend. So much Polish, so little time! My teachers are great and I couldn't ask for a better zone. I know this is where I need to be and who I need to be with...it doesn't mean it's easy...but I know it's all worth it.

LOVE YOU SO MUCH,

Siostra Beem <3

Little Brothers helping her with her luggage

Saying goodbye to Noah

Saying goodbye to Logie Bear

Saying goodbye to G-pa

Saying goodbye to Dad

Tal with the boys...

(G-ma and Mom flew with her to Utah...)

Last Dad/daughter pic for 18 months

Tal with 2 of her UVU roomies, Missy (who is off to Tacoma on her

mission in 3 weeks) and Madalyn.  She was so lucky to have such

awesome roommates!!!

Mother/daughter hugs before the big drop-off

3 generations...  G-ma loved this day and called it

a "highlight" of her life--how cute is that?

One last selfie...

And we only had ugly tears for about 5 minutes...  it was seriously

one of THE BEST DAYS!!!

And she's off...

Later that night Siostra Rawson's Mom posted the above photo--a rare first-day pic inside the MTC (an MTC teacher took it and sent it to her).  They all look SO HAPPY!