April 25, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody!

So first things first, we had transfers this past week and I finally got transferred! I have left my past area of Springfield for an area that's actually not too unfamiliar. I'm back in Bella Vista! That's right! I'm back where I started my mission, although not the same area. I started in Arlington, but now I'm in the other area, Falls Church. So I still need to learn a new area just not a new ward. You can't believe how excited I was when I found out. And then this past Sunday was awesome because I got to see all of the old members that I knew. And the best part is, they remembered me! I wasn't expecting that because it's been close to a year now since I was being trained. Crazy right? Oh and another bit of cool news. Not only am I back in Bella Vista, but now I'm serving as the district leader for my district. Monday night I got the call saying that I will be serving as district leader and Tuesday night is when I found out I will be heading back to Bella Vista.

I have to admit though, I do miss my old area of Springfield and the Little River Ward. That's where I knew everybody and everything. I mean, I was there 8 months so of course it grew on me. BUT I'm excited to be able to do the same exact thing for this Ward now. It helps too because I kinda have a head start on getting to know people and the area. A lot is already super familiar, I just have to relearn it now.

Oh right! My new companion! So remember about 6 months back when I said that we were getting a greenie in the little River Ward? Well, now he's all grown up and is my new companion! Elder Pickett and I are together now which I'm super excited about. I don't even have to spend the time now to get to know my new companion because I already know him! So this transfer just keeps getting better and better!

I'm so excited to be able to jump into an area and start working right away, especially one that I love so much. I always knew I would return to Bella Vista, I just didn't know when. Oh yeah! I forgot today is also my 14 month mark. Crazy how time flies...

And here is my new apartment address....

132 Chanel Terrace Apt. T1
Falls Church, VA 22046

Love you guys and talk to you next week!

Elder Biehn 

Me and My New Companion Elder Pickett.

 

Big Rock Ready to Crush Me...Had to get a picture of the moment. I feel like I'm Indiana Jones. 

Pose for Effect.

My New District

 

 

 

April 21, 2016 - Transfers

Hey everybody! So I ended up getting transferred. I'll tell you more about it this Monday. Anyways, here is my new address.

132 Chanel Terrace Apt. T1
Falls Church, VA 22046

April 18, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody!

This week was great! I got a ton of stuff done but there were three things that stand out the most. Pretty much all the big activities happened this week and I gotta say it was super stressful to make sure everything went smoothly, but it did!

So first up is a big service project we have been planning for the young men. It was service at Grandma Ruth's house. For anybody that doesn't know, Grandma Ruth is a lady that we do service for every week, and in return she feeds us good ol' Texas style meals. It's awesome. Anyways, she had a huge project for us, which is mulching her front and back yard. Like I said, huge project. A lot more than just me and Elder Justesen could handle. So I had the idea to invite the young men to get some service hours. And you know what, they loved it! They loved being able to help out and perform this service. They especially loved the food at the end of it all, like typical boys do. We spent a total of 3 1/2 hours there gathering up the old mulch (which took most of the time) and then laying out the new mulch. But everyone helped out great and they even offered to come back and finish some other things as well! Man, the youth of Little River are awesome!

Then the same day was our HUGE ward activity put on my the missionaries. It was called "el sueño de lehí" or to translate, Lehi's Dream. It. Was. Awesome! The rest of the district had been there the whole day trying to set up and it was coming along once we got there. So what we had planned out was basically a tour around the church, but it was like you were actually a part of Lehi's dream, like one of the people that Lehi saw. So we had set up an Iron Rod for them to follow which was really just a long piece of string and it led them through different temptations that the people would walk past and see like Sports on Sunday, Gossiping, Technology, Worldly desires. Things that people really struggle with this day and age. Then we get to everyone's favorite part (apparently this turned out to be everyone favorite) which was "La Tinieblas" or The mist of darkness. Everybody was too afraid to even go into the room we had set up! The room was set up to be a maze but the catch is that is was completely black! There like no light which we weren't expecting at all! But it made it perfect because it really showed the members that in the mists of darkness, you are LITERALLY stumbling through pitch black darkness without any guide. EVERY member saw this and it really impacted them. So then after they got out of the maze, there was a path with the iron rod again! Then this path led down a hallway and we had set up a bunch of different things the members could do in order to make sure they held to the Iron Rod like missionary work, temple work, keeping the commandments, reading scriptures, etc. And then we get to the end of the hall and they turn the corner into the gym. There we had a whole Tree of Life set up and everything! Even with our own personal Lehi, a member from our ward that could be a Hispanic Lehi . It was awesome! Our tree of life was made out of these balloons with lights in them so that way it lit up in the dark! It was sweet. So then we started playing the 1 Nephi 8 over the speakers so that way people could listen to the experience. Once it got to the great and spacious building, the curtains pulls back and there were all the people from the temptations rooms pointing down mocking, just like in the chapter. It was SOO cool and all the members loved it.

And then last but not least was the Charla Fogonera (fireside) last night. It was super awesome because I saw a lot of the missionaries and people that I've served around before. But it was also super sad because we have 7 missionaries leaving this transfer! 7! That's a lot of missionaries that I got to know and be friends with. So now I'm hitting the point in my mission where the people I know are going home and soon I won't know hardly anybody! It's so weird.

Well, that about sums up my week! I'll send pictures if I can find them!

From
Elder Biehn

April 11, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey Everybody!

My week went pretty well if I do say so myself. A lot better than last week when I had gotten sick, that's for sure. What me and Elder Justesen mostly did this week was a lot of tracting. And I mean A LOT. Practically every day for at least an hour at a time. We were able to get in with a couple people which actually surprised me. What usually happens is we stand on the door step trying to give our whole approach about the Book of Mormon or about families or whatever else. Well the first time, we met this lady named Sandra. She opens the door and we introduce ourselves as the missionaries. She invites us right in, without us even saying or asking anything. So we were like, alright, I guess we're going inside this time. We were able to have a good discussion about other religions except she started bashing on the Jehovah Witnesses. I mean it's not our job to bring down other religions but dang this woman was relentless. Haha. Then later this week we were knocking in the same general vicinity and practically the same thing happens! We introduce ourselves as the missionaries and another guy invites us right in. Turns out this guy and his whole family were pastors for some other religion. He was actually super cool!, he even invited us to come to his culto (services) for this Saturday! I'm debating on if I should go, cause I really want to! I'm just glad he didn't try to bible bash with us. As we were talking to him he started bringing out a ton of scriptures from the old and New Testament, and when that happens, alarms start ringing in my head saying get ready to be bashed. But he didn't! So we left a good message along with a Book of Mormon for him to read.

Speaking of bible bashing, guess who we ran into this week... Yep the JWs! Except they more so ran into us because they knocked into us! We had just finished our morning studies when they knocked on OUR door. Super weird. But we didn't bash hardly at all because it was this dude who brought a little girl with him. She gave us the whole thing about searching the bible for answers and whatnot and I really didn't want to ruin this little girl’s day. The older guy however, he really wanted to go at it. We told him we were missionaries as well and he really wanted to start bashing and asking us different questions. But it really just ended with a "have a good day." Oh well, maybe next time if they don't have a little girl with them, then I'll have my chance

So I don't know how many of you have heard of Adelle's new song "Hello." Well, we have but in a different form. Some RMs from Utah decided to make a parody of it about missionaries, and let me tell you me and Elder Justesen have been jamming out to that ALL WEEK! It's awesome and you should go check it out!

Oh, I've gotten a lot of questions about transfers. So next week is transfers, on the 21st. The way I see it, I have a 95% chance that I will be leaving. But I won't know until the Tuesday right before. So that's that for now.

So that about sums it up for my week. Lots of cool stuff happening and I am definitely seeing miracles happen. I love you guys and talk to you next week!

Elder Biehn

April 4, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody!

So I don't have much to report on this week. You see I got sick and basically couldn't do anything for the first couple of days. Then it decided to last the whole week. So I sat in my apartment, bored out of my mind! I felt so bad because that is exactly the opposite of what I need to be doing. But I'm better now and ready to put in my all this week.

So conference was amazing! I loved it because it was exactly what I needed! Every talk had something I could use to either help myself to improve or help the ward I am serving in. I loved the quote "We will never be perfect until after this life, what is important is if we keep trying to be perfect" and that really impacted me. It tells me that despite all my imperfections and things that I'm struggling with, it's meant to be! Just because I have made mistakes or I don't do things exactly right, it won't condemn me. As long as I'm trying my best to be like my Father in Heaven then I will be perfect, not in this world, but in the world to come. I really loved that. I loved the talk by Elder Holland where he mentioned that as long as people put in the effort to be perfect then we will receive blessings. If we had to be exactly perfect with no faltering allowed, Heavenly Father would not be able to give out any blessings! It is the intent that matters the most.

I loved the chance to listen to the leaders of the church because I know what they speak is the truth. And that is exactly what I must proclaim here in Virginia, the truth!

Love you guys and talk to you next week!

Elder Biehn