How
are my dear siblings doing this week? I haven't heard from my lovely brother
Collie in a while. Colin, just know that I am going to try to write you a
letter today, but I feel like I never have enough time on p-day. Plus, my hand
always starts to cramp! Also, can someone smack the head redhead on the back of
the head for me? I thought he was my brother. Guess not. Also, tell him I love
him. I just want to say thank you so much to Uncle Brent for the email that he
sent me. I must be feeling emotional today, because I started to tear up as I
was reading his email. I am grateful for all of your prayers in my behalf. I
truly think about that often, how I have such a loving family that is always
praying for me, and when I feel like I can't do it I know that your prayers
carry me onward. How is my dad doing this week? I haven't heard from him in a
while, and yesterday in the car we listened to "Love is Spoken Here."
Listen to that song today for me. I thought about kneeling in the entry way in
the mornings before school with mom praying, and pictured that as I listened to
the words, and I love when the men in MoTab come in and sing "Mine is a
home, where every hour, is blessed by the strength of priesthood power." I
am so grateful that Dad has always been a worthy priesthood holder. What a
blessing that has been in our lives - to have that safety and security in our
home. That is one thing that I definitely miss, so give Dad a hug for me and
say thank you. Cortz, you can do that because you have red hair like me.
I
didn't get a chance to tell you about Sister Wilkinson last week. Sister
Wilkinson is my companion now. She is from Bountiful, Utah and she is 23 years
old. She worked as a dental assistant before coming on the mission. She played
basketball in Colorado 1 year at a Junior College, so it was fun to play with
her last p-day. I have to be careful with her, because she can seriously stuff
me. I will just have to use my speed and leave her in the dust. She also says
"that's trash," so pray for me to not pick that up because it's
annoying. haha. But seriously, pray for that because I don't want to say it.
She's great. She is very patient with me and is teaching me a lot by her
example.
I
have just had a fire blazing under my bum this past week. Each morning when we
would wake up I would have a pit in my stomach, because that was the time when
my thoughts would wander to things that I don't want to think about, things
that make being a missionary hard. That made me ITCH to get out of the dumb
apartment and start talking to people. We taught 18 lessons this past week, not
including member presents and LARCS. That's a pretty good week, but I think we
can do so much better. We also talked to about 50 different people while
tracting - well it's called "declarations." It's basically declaring
the gospel to people on the door step or when we meet them in the street. We
count those in the mission. Tell Jacob Cheadle to practice teaching the
restoration in about 2 minutes and everyone will be impressed with him when he
gets here. Anyway, that desire to work hard is just building in me. I read
quite a few scriptures about declaring repentance to people and about how the
great missionaries in the Book of Mormon basically couldn't stand the idea of
one soul being lost. That's what I want. I know that as my understanding of the
atonement increase, my desire to talk to and teach everyone will increase (as
it says in Preach My Gospel).
Mom,
I got those skirts! Thank you so much for sending them to me. I looked good in
them, and they're a lot cooler than those thick ones we bought, so they are
really nice to have. Thank you, thank you. I hope you got my request for the
GPS. I hope that papa bear will grant that request, because they are so handy
and make it so we don't waste any precious time trying to read a map and figure
out where the heck we are! It sounds like Minnesota has been pretty hot lately,
is that true? We don't ever get rain here. I sometimes think we did in the mornings when
I wake up, but then I remember that it’s just the sprinklers. One time last
week when we went running it was really misty in the morning, that's about the
closest we've been to rain though. That's really exciting that Joseph Cheadle
is coming home! That's crazy to me! I'm so excited for his family, and even
more excited for Jacob to come to the greatest mission in the world.
Well,
I'm running out of time. Here is an update on the work!
This
week we had a lot of success. We talked to a ton of people and were able to get
quite a few new people to teach! On Thursday, we taught Cristina and Eric
again. I have been thinking about them a lot, because we've taught them a lot
but they still are not progressing. I really love them and I have such a great
desire for them to progress toward baptism, but with them I have been learning
that I need to have faith in the Lord and what his plan is for them. He knows
what's best for them and whether that is that we teach them and help them be
baptized or if it means that we teach them now and they exercise their agency
to not accept, I know that the Lord is taking care of them. That's one thing I
have felt a lot this past week, how important having faith is, that the Lord is
going to do what is best for his children. I know that he is using us for some purpose
with Cristina and Eric, because I have felt the spirit work through me.
Cristina just always talks about how she lost her faith when she was 22 and how
it was heart breaking and she doesn't want to go through that again. It's hard
because I KNOW how much the gospel will bless her and her family. It kills me
when they don't read or when she feels the spirit and she just relates it back
to how she once felt, and how it is just a good memory. Eric didn't say much
the last time we taught them, but we are teaching them tonight and I have been
praying so hard for them to have a change within them, that the spirit will
touch their hearts in a way that they can have even just a desire to know if
these things are true. I just feel so much love for them that I cannot think
about them not accepting the gospel without basically having tears running down
my face. I know that through the spirit anything can happen, and that it is all
in the Lord's hands.
We
taught Anthony this week, as well. He had a friend over, named Andy, and we
invited him to listen to us as we taught Anthony and he agreed. Anthony is
currently trying to quit drinking alcohol because he has to take medication for
psychological purposes and you aren't supposed to drink alcohol as you take the
medication. That, in and of itself, is a blessing and a preparation for Anthony
to be baptized. This is a very recent thing and as we spoke to him about the
importance of reading the Book of Mormon and as we read in it with him, we
talked about how as he reads he will have the strength necessary through the
spirit to stop drinking. He always talks about how he can actually focus when
we teach him, and he said it again last time as we read the introduction of the
Book of Mormon with him. We've explained to him that that is the spirit and
that he can have that same clarity as he progresses and is baptized. We invited
him to be baptized last time, when I was with Sister Tippetts, and he had accepted
to be baptized on September 15th. Now we just need to continue to help him grow
his faith and his relationship with Heavenly Father. His friend Andy said that
he would come next time we teach Anthony, and he also said that he would read
in the Book of Mormon. That was another blessing from the Lord.
On
Tuesday night we got to teach a woman named Samantha. She is a mother of two
boys, one of which is about 9 months old. We taught her the restoration and I
was so blessed to be able to feel the spirit working through me as I taught,
and Sister Wilkinson felt the same way. She was a bit distracted at times as we
taught her, but when I shared the 1st vision with her she was very focused on
me and on the experience that I was sharing. I know that she felt the spirit
and it was really cool because she told us that she had always felt like
everything had "shattered," speaking of Christ's church during the
great apostasy and that it totally made sense to her. We invited her to be
baptized, and she said that she would if she found that these things are true,
but we didn't truly set her with a date. I just really hope that she has been
reading in the Book of Mormon, because I know how powerful it is and that it is
truly the best tool for conversion. I know that if anyone reads the Book of
Mormon, with a sincere desire to know if it is true, and prays about it that
they will receive a strong confirmation that it is true. There have been a few
times when we've talked to people while tracting and they have said that they
read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it and received the answer that it is
a lie, and I just wanted to tell them that I know that they didn't because I
know that isn't possible. If they truly desire to know if it is true and read
and pray about it, they would not receive an answer that it is not true,
because that would be a lie from God. It is true. I know that the Book of
Mormon is the word of God and that it contains the gospel of Jesus Christ that
will lead us to eternal life.
We
got to teach Delfy again this week. That was a great experience for me because
I felt the spirit as I promised Delfy that Heavenly Father put us in her life
so that she can hear this message and accept it. I love that as a disciple of
Jesus Christ, I can promise the people we teach things, as guided by the
spirit, and know that if they take that promise that it will happen. We talked
about the importance of the Book of Mormon with Delfy. She talked about how she
knows there is a reason that we met her, just like I had said, but that she
wouldn't commit to being baptized until she reads the Book of Mormon. She
talked about how she'll know if it's true as she reads it based on her
feelings, and that was before we said anything about it. She is so great. I
felt so much love and compassion for her as we taught her because she is going through
some hard things. Her son is addicted to drugs, and she worries about him a
lot. I know that the gospel will bring her the peace in her life that she
needs, especially at this time, and I know that she has been prepared for us to
teach her at this time in her life.
We
taught Wendy her first "new member lesson" this week on eternal
marriage! I love Wendy. She is so amazing. I always learn so much from her when
we teach her and I often wonder if she's getting anything from us. Well, I know
that she is because she still has a lot more to learn, but her faith and her
increasing knowledge of the gospel is so inspiring to me. I just want to sit
down with her and study the scriptures with her all day. She has such great
insights on the Book of Mormon and especially on the Bible, and her testimony
of the power of studying the Book of Mormon with the Bible has made me have a
goal to really take the time after my mission to study both together deeply. I
want to start doing that now, but it's hard when I am studying for
investigators as well as trying to read through the Book of Mormon again before
my 6 month mark. It's just hard for me to decide what to study each day because
we only have an hour! Anyway, Wendy is doing really well. She is preparing to
go to the temple, and next time we are teaching her about temples and family
history work. There is a ward Relief Society temple trip coming up where the
Relief Society are all doing baptisms for the dead, so we are going to help
Wendy prepare to go to the temple then.
Tonya
and Caitlyn are doing so well. We taught them yesterday after church about the
Law of Chastity. I love them. They have helped me so much as a new missionary,
not because they are so easy to teach, but because I have felt so much joy as I
see them learn and progress. It has helped me understand what a mission is
really about and how wonderful missions are/how great my mission will be
because of those experiences. With them I have really learned how all of the
hard things that happen are washed away by just one spiritual experience. Those
experiences make the hard things absolutely worth it. They have both been so
prepared to receive the message of the gospel. Caitlyn had already decided that
she was going to abstain from having sex before marriage. I love teaching her
because I really feel like I'm myself. As I've been adjusting to life as a
missionary there have been a few times when I've felt like I've lost who I am,
or like I haven't been myself, the true Sister Bennett, but when we teach
Caitlyn, for some reason I am able to be myself, sarcastic, fun, but still
spiritual. I am trying to find that balance between still having my personality
while being a hard working missionary. Tonya is so great because she is so
loving and caring. She is always so grateful to us for teaching them and it
really makes you feel good when she talks to you. It was actually her birthday
this past week, so we dropped off some candy and a card for her, secretly,
because we felt like that would make her feel good, and she said that it truly
made her day to read the card with our testimonies in it. That was a fun
experience. I am just so excited for them to get baptized on August 25th.
Caitlyn is a bit hesitant about the 25th because she wants everything to be "perfect"
but I know that as we are guided by the spirit we can solve her concerns. She
is actually going to Girls Camp this week, so that will be great for her to
have some spiritual experiences there as she gets to know the other young women
in the area.
My
favorite part of this last week was meeting a 17 year old boy named Mario and
his mother Murrae. We were knocking on their street and met a man named Buzz
who said he was a "pro- religion atheist." He said that he doesn't
have faith but that he thinks religions are great. After we talked with him for
a bit and got nowhere with him, we asked if he knew anyone that we should go
and talk to and he pointed to a house across the street from him and said that
Murrae was having a hard time because her husband is sick. We went to contact
Murrae the next night and met her son Mario. As we talked with him, he
expressed interest in reading the Book of Mormon and seemed really excited.
Actually, while we were talking to him at his door his mom, Murrae, came home
and said hello and we met her, but she just kept on her way doing what she was
doing. When we finished talking to Mario and asked when we could come back he
said "How about tomorrow!?" Well, we went back last night and taught
Mario and Murrae about the restoration. Murrae was crying after the opening
prayer and she cried many times throughout the lesson. She would then make it
seem like she was only listening to support Mario, but both Sister Wilkinson
and I know that she was listening for herself as well. I was so full of the
spirit as we taught them that I thought I would probably explode. Mario had
already read in the Book of Mormon and had found a lot of things that really
stuck out to him. He asked us about how he could know if this was true and he
asked us many other great questions. When we invited him to be baptized he said
that he wasn't sure if he really had "real intent," as we had taught
him, because he wanted to study many religions. He said that it was just like
what we said about the apostasy, a lot of churches have truth in them and he
wanted to find the truths in all churches and then decide which one he would
follow. We then explained, again, about how the fullness of truth is in the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that as he reads the Book of
Mormon he will come to know that for himself. I was just on a spiritual high
after that lesson. Those are truly the experiences that make everything worth
it, and I can't wait to teach Mario and Murrae again.
Funny
story: When we were playing basketball last Monday, the ball was going out of
bounds and an Elder tried to save it by throwing it back in and I got NAILED in
the head. It was pretty funny. haha. That's the funniest one I could think of.
Thank
you all for your letters and prayers,
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