I'm Tired

July 1, 2013

Dear FAM BAM JIP BOOM BAM,

I don't know how long I can last going from training Sister Hegstrom to exchanges and back, over and over again. I'm already so tired from just one week! I feel like the idea of taking a nap distracts me from my purpose! Just kidding, I feel the Lord stretching me, but it's a really good thing. It's something that has been very needed. I've already seen His hand so much in enabling me to do the things that I've been asked, by Him, to do. I had some really great experiences on exchanges this week and it was a pleasant surprise to see how Sister Hegstrom and I just continued on, as if I hadn't been gone, when I was back in our area with her.

I had an amazing exchange this week with Sister Howell in Santa Maria. She is from Virginia. The goal that she wanted to work on was to talk to more people, because she said she just really doesn't like declaring at all. That night, after she shared her goal with me, I prayed so fervently to see miracles with declaring during our day together. My prayer was answered. There was literally not one person that said "no" to us that entire day. That had never happened to me before on my mission. Every declaration we had was 30 minutes long and all of them said that we could come back! We got five new investigators for the sisters to teach and they all seemed honestly interested in our message. We even talked to a few Spanish people and they agreed to have the Spanish sisters come back and teach them. It was amazing! I'm just so grateful for that experience, because I know that Sister Howell really needed it. At the end of the day, she told me that she was why we need to take time to talk to everyone and that miracles really can happen through declaring.

On Wednesday, I went on an exchange with Sister Thurgood in San Luis Obispo. She is doing really great. She is training after being out just 6 weeks! Sister Howell is as well. I loved seeing how focused she is on her companion and helping Sister Higgins grow and learn.  I kept forgetting that Sister Thurgood has been out for just 6 weeks. She is doing really well.

I'm so grateful that Sister Burwell and I get to work together still. I really draw so much strength from our companionship and especially our friendship. It was really hard last week for me to be separated from her and to be in a brand new ward at the same time. When we see each other at district meetings where we're with our other companions, it's a little bit awkward because we aren't sure how to act. We're trying to be very careful about it, because we don't want Sister Anderson and Sister Hegstrom to feel left out in anyway. We want to make sure they know that they are our companions, but Sister Burwell and I are just super close. When we see each other we just want to talk and catch up on the things that we missed since we last saw each other. I'm grateful that we have companions that understand the relationship that Sister Burwell and I have. They understand that we are each others' best friends and that we miss each other. I honestly feel like my friendship with Sister Burwell has gotten so much stronger now than it was before. She helps me keep perspective and she always shows so much faith in my ability to accomplish the tasks that I've been given. I don't know why, but she always seems to put me up to some super high standard in her mind. I feel that way about her. I look up to her a lot and trust her more than I've ever trusted anyone outside of my family. Our friendship is one of the greatest blessings of my mission.

Sister Hegstrom and I had a lot of success this week with the time we had together in our area. We had the best member present lesson that I've had my entire mission with a family consisting of a father (Danny), and his two sons Daniel (35) and Steven (21) that we've been teaching. We had a couple come with us, the Bleiweisses, who are a convert (Sister Bleiweiss) and a returned missionary (Brother Bleiweiss). We taught them about the Book of Mormon, and the Spirit was so strong as Brother Bleiweiss shared the experience he had when he gained his own testimony of the Book of Mormon. One thing that he said hit me really hard, he told them that "If this Book is true, then these sisters are really representatives of Jesus Christ and you need to heed their teachings." SMACK! That one really hit me in the face....hard. The Spirit confirmed to me that what he just said was true and that I truly am a representative of Jesus Christ. At the end we were asking Daniel, the son, if he would say the closing prayer, but then Steven spoke up and asked Brother Bleiweiss if he would say it. Steven said that he really liked what Brother Bleiweiss shared and wanted to hear a prayer from him. That was really special. Brother Bleiweiss actually picked Steven up yesterday and brought him to church! It was so awesome. Steven said he liked it and plans on coming next week.

There are other wonderful things going on in the 4th ward for us now, but  I don't have time to write all of them. I just know that when we ask, we receive. The Lord will bless us with miracles if we press forward with faith. I desire a baptism in this area, and honestly I've come to a point where I just expect it, because I know that the Lord keeps His promises and answers the prayers of His righteous servants. We will have a lot of success here if we rely on Him and keep working hard while being obedient.

I'm so thankful for everything President Castro does for me. He is really trusting me to do a lot. Once again he, and the Lord, have helped me to raise my vision of who I am and who I can become.

I love you all,

Sister Bennett