March 28, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey guys!

So I don't have hardly any time today. Just a little recap is that this week was really slow, probably because spring break was this week. So most of our investigators are families and with spring break, they all left on vacation. That affected our progress with some people but not a ton. We will pick it up this week!

Also, it was the cherry blossom festival today!!! So pretty much every missionary in my mission and the Washington, D.C. North mission were in the tidal basis today. It was awesome! Here's some pics...

March 21, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody!

So it's that time of the week again and I gotta say, I had a pretty good week. Lately me and Elder Justesen have been struggling in this area. Things seem kinda dead right now with not much going on. Don't get me wrong, we have investigators and a lot of them are progressing, but the problem is it just seems like we don't have a lot. We are teaching a lot of families right now so that makes it so much better, but it doesn't help our schedule very much because they are all practically on the same day! So we go through our week with hardly anything to do, literally it's just been finding and tracting for a couple of days, then we get to Wednesday and BAM! Our whole schedule is full for the day. Then it repeats on Thursday until Sunday then BAM! Sunday's schedule is packed!

Speaking about investigators, mine are doing great right now. We have this family in particular that are progressing a ton! It's a family of three (technically 7 but their oldest children have all moved out except for their youngest daughter) and they are awesome. They love going to church and they love when we go over because of the spirit they feel. The Hermana described it to us as she can't wait for our next visit because of the peace she feels, and it pains here when we have to leave or we aren't able to come over. As a missionary if you hear something like that you just want to scream "THATS THE HOLY GHOST!! DO YOU WANT TO BE BAPTIZED??" But I restrain myself and make sure they understand first.

Now, seeing as it is almost Easter, I'd like to share a little something I recently had clarification on. It came from teaching one of our investigators the other day and it really helps set apart our church from all the rest. So during Easter time, most other churches seem to remember that Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross. Yes, this is true, and it is actually a really good thing if you think about it. Without that atonement, there would be no possible way for us to repent of the sins we have committed and return with our Heavenly Father. Now, what sets us apart is that we believe this event is really important, actually, one of the most important things to happen on this Earth...ever. But, when Jesus Christ was resurrected, THAT is why we celebrate Easter. THAT is why our church is set apart from the rest. It is because we focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of this event, we too will be able to be resurrected and return to Heavenly Father WITH our bodies and be able to obtain eternal life. The resurrection made it possible for each one of us to live again. This is my testimony on why I believe Easter is so important and it is this moment that I teach nearly every day because it is just that important. I love the Savior and I love being able to teach about his resurrection.

Love you guys and I'll talk to you next week!

Elder Biehn

March 14, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Updat

Hey everybody!

So I had quite the week. Lots and lots of service! Not only working for Grandma Ruth but also another lady that just moved in. They aren't Hispanic but hey we're helping the English elders out with it.

Speaking of Grandma Ruth, we are getting things started with her garden now that it's spring and things are beginning to blossom. We are heading over pretty often and this past week we even had a BBQ! It's so fun to be able to do some actual physical labor to help somebody out, especially for Grandma Ruth, who really needs the help. Anyways, for our BBQ we cooked lots of hot dogs and brats, and I got a chance to do the cooking!

March 7, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody!

So first things first, transfers....the dread or the delight of every missionary. I had them this past Thursday and a lot of things got switched around in the Spanish program. President is having to prepare all the areas for mid-April which is when 7 Spanish missionaries all go home at once. So there are going to be a lot of changes coming next transfers. As for this transfer, turns out President thinks I'm doing a good job and that I need to stay for one more transfer. Yep, I'm staying in Little River for yet another, and this transfer is going to be 7 weeks! I already have 6 months in this ward and by the time I'm done here, I'll have spent 8 months here. That's 1/3 of my mission in one area! There's only a handful of people who have spent 5 transfers in one area so far, and now I'm part of that group

I also had a pretty cool experience last night that I'd like to share. As me and Elder Justesen were in a lesson with a family we were teaching, we started joking around and being super friendly with these people. We also had the chance to teach them a little bit of the Plan of Salvation and how that can affect their family. Anyways, I want to focus more on the conversation we were having before the lesson. There wasn't anything special to it, no groundbreaking information that we found out, nothing crazy, it was just short simple conversation. That got me thinking, "How crazy is it that I am having a conversation and joking around with a complete stranger inside of his home with his family?" And it's true, that just doesn't happen in the world today, where someone you meet for the first time, you invite them in and have a good conversation with them. It's hard enough just to get people to talk to their neighbors. Yet here I am being invited into the homes of complete strangers. It makes me wonder exactly how much power the position of missionary holds in the eyes of other people. What would compel them to invite a complete stranger into their house? Someone they've never met before. It must be something unique to being a missionary, a servant of the Lord. And the people recognize this, and they want it in their homes. I've never been hit so hard at exactly how much power I have just by wearing this plaque on my chest, that has His name on it, Jesus Christ. It's something special indeed.

I love my mission and being able to serve the people here in northern Virginia, especially in the cities of Springfield, Burke and Lorton. It's practically my second home now I've been here so long! That is a joke a lot of the members have with me, they keep asking "Elder Biehn, when are you going to switch your records over to Little River? You've been here long enough!" I've come to love these members and I'm thankful for another transfer to be able to serve them.

Elder Biehn

March 4, 2016 - Transfers

Hey so I didn't get transferred... Again. So that makes 5 transfers in Little River!

This is my address still

8523 Burling Wood Dr. Apt T4
Springfield VA 22152

Love yah!

February 29, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody!

So I've had quite the week! But first, I'm going to start with what's going on for transfers. Transfers are this Thursday, however, we don't find out any information about them until Tuesday. Which is tomorrow. So up to this point I still have no idea whether I will be staying in Little River or getting transferred. It's honestly up in the air and this is the most nervous I've been for a transfer yet. I very well could stay in little River for one more transfer, that wouldn't be surprising at this point. In fact, I wouldn't even mind that much because I've come to love this ward and things are really starting to pick up in my area. But if I do get transferred out, I literally could go to any area in the mission and it would make sense. I suppose I just have to wait and see, then let you guys know next week what happened.

On Saturday, I had a surprise baptism! One of my investigators from when I served in Springlake got permission from his mother to be baptized! So I got to attend that and it was great to be able to see him again. He was baptized by his best friend in the ward, which was one of the priests. I really enjoyed seeing not only him be baptized, but this priest being able to exercise his priesthood to perform the baptism. I'll include some pictures from it.

Then last night we had a Charla Fogonera, or in other words, a fireside. This one is for new and returning members. I always love these because it gives me the chance to connect with old missionaries that I have served with in past areas, and also see some of my favorite people from past wards. So of course I saw the Bella Vista people that I love, because they always go to these, but I also saw a few people from Springlake as well. I'm hoping it'll be that way with Little River once I leave.

I'm getting to know so many people and making a ton of friends out here, it's crazy! Only on a mission would you be able to make friends from all over the US (and other parts of the world) and still become best friends. I love it and there will definitely be some reunions once my mission has finished. I'm loving my mission and I'm loving all the people that I am meeting, it's awesome! And by the way, ONE YEAR DOWN! That's right, I just hit my year mark this past Thursday. It's all downhill from here and of course I had the ceremonial burning of the shirt to mark one year of my mission. It's ok, it was an old shirt and I was going to throw it away anyways

Elder Biehn

February 22, 2016 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody!

So I had a great week this time around! It started off a bit rocky because we got snowed in again, not nearly as bad as before but still we couldn't do anything. It didn't even snow for very long, just in the morning until the afternoon so there wasn't a ton of snow. However, apparently there is this thing called frozen rain. Basically it is so cold that when it rains, the water instantly freezes once it hits the ground. Well it was raining, and that means there was ice, lots of ice, everywhere. We couldn't walk, let alone proselyte. I ended up falling flat on my butt because I'm not used to walking on ice . Elder Justesen fell too so that made me feel a little better and not like a total Californian... So we spent that whole night inside, which really threw a wrench in our plans. 

But there is good news! After all we did this week and doing a ton of finding, we ended up finding a totally of 9 new investigators! That's a crazy amount! And the best part is, they're all families! We found three new families that we will be able to start teaching which gives us a crazy huge teaching pool. I love it when things work out .

Another interesting story, I now know why it is not a good idea to do trios. A trio is when there are three missionaries working together, and I got to be in one on Wednesday. Our district leader had an exchange he was going on, so that means Elder Pickett had to come to us for that day. Well, we had a blast to say the least, and if trios were a common thing, almost nothing would get done! We were still able to get a bit accomplished though, but most of our night fell through. So we were just cracking jokes the entire time we were driving from appointment to appointment. 

So I had a really good week and it looks like things are starting to wrap up. This upcoming week is the last full week in this transfer, then transfers are the following Thursday. I've been here for 6 months now and I'm expecting a transfer pretty soon. I've really come to love this ward, its members, and all of my investigators. It has really grown on me. And even now I know Springfield and Annandale like the back of my hand! 

Love you guys and you'll hear from me next week!

Love Elder Biehn 

Tayler at a Naval Base on P-day.