April 8, 2013
This past week has been really spiritually uplifting and somewhat challenging at the same time. We had so many meetings, exchanges and planning to do that it ended up meaning that we didn't work in our area as much. The meetings were so packed with revelation that it made me exhausted each night....I just felt like a spiritual explosion went off multiple times this week. It was hard to collect my thoughts because there was so much to take in. On Monday night and Tuesday morning we went to zone leaders’ council. We've been one time before, so President Castro just taught us a lot and basically was raising our vision of the mission so we can raise the vision of the other missionaries. Then, on Wednesday we had dinner at the Castros' and then had a meeting to plan for the Sisters' Training Meeting that we're having on Tuesday. That was a really fun night. I just love being around the Castros so much. That meeting was especially great because we were just sitting there at the Castros' table with the other traveling sisters and we were receiving revelation for the sisters in the mission. I can't explain how cool it was. The spirit there was so strong and the love in that room was just as strong. I felt very connected with the other sisters and President and Sister Castro. I repeatedly felt that the Lord is very aware of me and that He is guiding me to understand, more fully, the things that I need to do to reach my potential as a missionary. I'm really grateful for the guidance that He has given me through the Holy Ghost and the trust that He has put in me to not only teach the people in this area but also to be a leader to the other sisters. I know that He is here laboring with me and that He loves me. I know He loves me.
This week we taught Lisa, Jose, Asuncion, Brother McIntosh, Julia, the Evangelistas, and Richard.
We had a really great lesson with Jose. We met him at the church and Sister Ruiz came with us. She's great! I love having her at lessons because she has so many great life experiences to draw from and she's good at explaining things simply. Plus, she's super excited about the gospel and you can't help but be excited, too, when she's around. At the beginning of the lesson we talked about prayer and receiving an answer about what we've been teaching. We asked what he feels about the things that we've shared. He said that he hasn't gotten a sure answer, but he feels like what he's been learning is right. The thing about Jose is that he is a very good listener. He doesn't let you know that he really cares that much, but he's taking in everything that we teach. I really feel like he has felt the Spirit, or I know that he would've told us that he doesn't want to meet with us anymore. He's young and if he really didn't care he wouldn't spend another minute of his time listening to someone talking about Jesus Christ. I'm excited for him to progress. I feel that it will be slow and we'll really need patience, but I can really see what he can become. The saddest part is that he is 27. That will be yet ANOTHER investigator that we will need to pass off to the young single adult ward elders. That can be hard. I'll be honest, that's been really hard for me especially in this area. We've found some amazing investigators that I have loved so much...and then we had to pass them off to the other missionaries. However, I know that it's what's best for them.
Well, we had our first exchange this week. We went to Dos Vientos, in Newbury Park, to work with Sister Tagaloa and Sister Randall. I worked with Sister Randall for the day and we worked hard. She is a 19 year-old missionary! She's from Centerville, Utah, and her twin sister is also serving a mission in the California Riverside mission. Pretty great, right!? Well, I wanted her to see what is expected in this mission, so we were on the go the entire day. I wasn't sure if she would keep up, but she did really great. We didn't have any actual "sit down" lessons, which was sad. I wanted to see her in that setting, but we did have a lot of opportunities to talk to people. That was good because her goal was to teach more in declarations. She said that she testifies a lot, but isn't always teaching the restoration. She's a brand new missionary, so that's understandable, but I was very impressed with how well she did. She stepped up and took the lead on talking to a lot of people. I think she was surprised at how much I let her talk. I just waited until the very last second when people were about to shut the door and then I would pick up where she had been. I really felt like it was important to help her see how qualified she already is. I knew that from companionship study with her. She was really good at teaching the restoration to me, so I wanted her to recognize that she can do that same thing with people out on the street. I talked to her about what she wants as a missionary and how she can reach the goals she has. She's going to be really great. She's actually a lot like me. She demands a lot from herself, so I talked to her about patience. She needs to remember that she is a new missionary and that she can't compare herself to other, more seasoned, missionaries. That's what made things hard for me - I would compare myself to sister Tippetts. When I finally got over that, I felt so much better and I grew so much more. Anyway, Sister Randall is doing great. She just needs to smooth out those "new missionary kinks" and she'll be ready to go. I'm just very impressed with her.
Well, I don't know what else to say. I'm having a hard time collecting my thoughts right now for some reason....
I love you! Sorry this letter was kind of lame.
Love,
Sister Bennett
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