July 8, 2013
Dear Family,
My motto for the week: "Lead Thou Me On." I say that to Sister Hegstrom every time I want her to take the lead, but also I keep saying that to myself. I'm just trying so hard to recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit.
This week was a really quick week, again. I feel like I start every letter by saying that the week went by so fast, but was so packed full with important learning experiences that at the same time it seems like it was so long. That's the life of a missionary, I guess. I really learned a lot this week from exchanges. We also had Mission Leadership Council. We have it on the first Tuesday of every month. This time, President Castro had asked Sister Burwell and I to lead a discussion on the proper relationship between elders and sisters. I was surprised that he asked us to do this, but he said that he really trusts us and our ability to seek the will of the Lord. He actually told Sister Burwell and me that we are the leaders of the Sister Training Leaders. My jaw dropped a little. I feel like I've tricked him somehow. I don't feel that I am the best decision for that, but I am grateful, again, for his trust and for the trust of the Lord. The Lord is really pushing me to become so much more. He's done that my whole mission, and I pray that I'm allowing Him to change me in the ways that He'd like.
I'm really grateful for leaders in the mission who seek the will of the Lord as they prepare to teach us. I'm especially grateful for President Castro. He also teaches us the things that we need to hear in that moment, and I know that it's because he truly seeks the guidance of the Lord. The things that I learned in MLC were really important for me at this time and I know those things are what I need to be teaching the sisters through my interactions with them. I learned that I need to know my Heavenly Father so much better. Sister Castro talked about how we need to know Him so well that it runs through our veins. I know my Father in Heaven, but I feel like my efforts to continue to get to know Him have been minimal. I know that as my relationship with Him is strengthened, the people I teach, including the sisters, will feel His love through me. That love changes people. I know that because I've experienced it, so if I want to help others change and come closer to their Heavenly Father, I need to know Him better than I do now. Where I'm at will never be enough. I'll always remember when we were taught that if we're not progressing than we're going backward. We can never stand still in our progression. We must be moving forward. We have never arrived. That's just one of the lessons that really stuck out to me from this week.
Sister Burwell and I went on two exchanges this week. We had exchanges with the Dos Vientos sisters and the Camarillo 5th ward sisters. Both of these exchanges were a little bit different than any of the exchanges that I've been on before. I felt that the sisters I went with were more closed off to feedback and instruction, so I had to work a lot harder and prayed that they would recognize things from what I did since they didn't want to hear what I had to say.
My first exchange was with Sister Casper. She's been out for 9 weeks. She started training after 6 because she had to. We had no one else to become a trainer! Isn't that so crazy?! We worked in the Ventura 4th ward for the day. It was a day of hard work, that's for sure. I really wanted to get a lot done while I had the chance to actually work in my area, so I think I tired Sister Casper out. It's good for her. I could tell that she likes to take things super slow and that she kind of over analyzes everything. She is lacking faith at this point. She said it herself. She struggles to know what to say because she wants to speak super eloquently, but when she sits there trying to think of the words to say they don't come. At the same time, there's me standing there just blabbering on, stumbling over my words, because I know that if I just start teaching the words will come. I used to be like her, but at some point I had experiences to help me understand that there is a better way. We talked about that a lot during the day. One important thing about missionary work is that you just have to do it. You can't keep one toe on the wall. You have to totally jump in. I realized by the end of the day that I couldn't just tell her that, but that she would have to experience receiving blessings through the promise in D&C 100 on her own. I just tried to show her the entire day. She said she enjoyed the exchange and that it renewed her desire to work hard in Dos Vientos. She was feeling discouraged about how things were going there, but I think she'll be better now. She talked about how it's a hard area, and there hasn't been any real success there and basically said she doesn't expect any. She was talking to the wrong sister missionary. I really don't like it when people put labels on areas. The field is white everwhere. The scriptures don't say the field is white except in Dos Vientos. I told her that, and that if she wants success she'll have it. She just needs to show the Lord she wants it through obedience. I hope I helped her. I'm not sure, but I did what I felt I could do for her.
The other exchange I went on was with Sister Dixon in Camarillo. I felt sad that the first feeling I had with Sister Dixon was that she isn't exactly obedient. It made me sad because I know that her trainer is and I know that her trainer is working her hardest to help Sister Dixon learn of the power of obedience. When I had that feeling, I started to have a little panic attack. It worried me for a minute that the new sister missionaries would become disobedient, and that all of the progress we've made in helping to change the culture of the mission would be going down the tubes in no time. Then, the thought came to my head that everyone can change and grow, and that I was there with her for the day to show her why obedience is such a wonderful blessing. Sister Dixon is a really great person. She wants to do well as a missionary and I'm a little worried that the driving force for her at times, is that she wants personal recognition. We have zone conferences coming up, and President Castro asked the Sister Training Leaders to teach for part of it. We're going to have the elders and sisters separate for an hour and we'll be teaching just the sisters. I know that the things we've planned to teach them will help her and so many other sisters. I felt so grateful for the inspiration that we, the Sister Training Leaders, received as we prepared a handout to send them to study in preparation for our meeting at zone conference. It's exactly what they need. Anyway, Sister Dixon wanted to work on talking to everyone, and she did really well with it throughout the day. I talked to her about teaching the restoration at every door and she said that's something that she really wants to do. At the end of the exchange, she told me that she was inspired by how often I share my testimony and how passionate I am about the things that we teach. I was so caught off guard because I had been focused so much on how I would help her see the importance of obedience. That was really sweet of her to say to me, and it made me grateful for the gift of a testimony. It made me even more grateful that I can share it all day, everyday.
This week in our area we taught Sage, David F., Miranda (less-active), Kylie, Adam, Tria, David L., the Parkers (recent converts), Jackie, and Cheryl.
We had a really great lesson with Sage this week about the Word of Wisdom. I felt very impressed to talk about how the word of wisdom can help him as a father. I know that he's been taught about the Word of Wisdom before and he's done really well with it. He has given up smoking and chewing tobacco, but he still struggles with drinking coffee everyday. We talked about his daughter and how sacred her little body is. We asked if he would give her a single thing that is mentioned for us to not partake of in the Word of Wisdom. He told us that it was a dumb question. He said he would beat up anyone that would even think of giving his daughter those things. We then talked about how our bodies are just as sacred as his baby's body is and that we need to treat it that way. Sage has a really strong testimony of priesthood blessings, so we taught him about how he will have the priesthood after he is baptized and he'll be able to bless his own family. That idea really hit him. I was able to bear my testimony about the blessing it is to grow up in a home with a father who worthily holds and exercises his priesthood. That means so much to me, and his daughter deserves the same thing. On Friday morning, we got a text from Sage and he said "Ok. Day one of no coffee starts now." That was so neat, because he wasn't supposed to totally give it up until Saturday and we were planning to go and talk to him about it again, but instead he was proactive and decided to do it on his own. That was a great experience.
This was a good week. There have been a lot of miracles in our area, and I know that the Lord needs us here to do this work. I'm really grateful for such a wonderful companion, Sister Hegstrom. Each time I go on exchanges it helps me recognize how prepared she was to come on a mission. She goes above and beyond what a lot of sister missionaries, not just new, understand and do. I really am focusing on her and how I can help her take the next steps as a missionary so she'll feel ready to train or do whatever the Lord will ask her to do. I'm grateful that the Lord has trusted me to train her, because I know that she is so important to this mission. She will be a wonderful leader.
I'm really grateful for leaders in the mission who seek the will of the Lord as they prepare to teach us. I'm especially grateful for President Castro. He also teaches us the things that we need to hear in that moment, and I know that it's because he truly seeks the guidance of the Lord. The things that I learned in MLC were really important for me at this time and I know those things are what I need to be teaching the sisters through my interactions with them. I learned that I need to know my Heavenly Father so much better. Sister Castro talked about how we need to know Him so well that it runs through our veins. I know my Father in Heaven, but I feel like my efforts to continue to get to know Him have been minimal. I know that as my relationship with Him is strengthened, the people I teach, including the sisters, will feel His love through me. That love changes people. I know that because I've experienced it, so if I want to help others change and come closer to their Heavenly Father, I need to know Him better than I do now. Where I'm at will never be enough. I'll always remember when we were taught that if we're not progressing than we're going backward. We can never stand still in our progression. We must be moving forward. We have never arrived. That's just one of the lessons that really stuck out to me from this week.
Sister Burwell and I went on two exchanges this week. We had exchanges with the Dos Vientos sisters and the Camarillo 5th ward sisters. Both of these exchanges were a little bit different than any of the exchanges that I've been on before. I felt that the sisters I went with were more closed off to feedback and instruction, so I had to work a lot harder and prayed that they would recognize things from what I did since they didn't want to hear what I had to say.
My first exchange was with Sister Casper. She's been out for 9 weeks. She started training after 6 because she had to. We had no one else to become a trainer! Isn't that so crazy?! We worked in the Ventura 4th ward for the day. It was a day of hard work, that's for sure. I really wanted to get a lot done while I had the chance to actually work in my area, so I think I tired Sister Casper out. It's good for her. I could tell that she likes to take things super slow and that she kind of over analyzes everything. She is lacking faith at this point. She said it herself. She struggles to know what to say because she wants to speak super eloquently, but when she sits there trying to think of the words to say they don't come. At the same time, there's me standing there just blabbering on, stumbling over my words, because I know that if I just start teaching the words will come. I used to be like her, but at some point I had experiences to help me understand that there is a better way. We talked about that a lot during the day. One important thing about missionary work is that you just have to do it. You can't keep one toe on the wall. You have to totally jump in. I realized by the end of the day that I couldn't just tell her that, but that she would have to experience receiving blessings through the promise in D&C 100 on her own. I just tried to show her the entire day. She said she enjoyed the exchange and that it renewed her desire to work hard in Dos Vientos. She was feeling discouraged about how things were going there, but I think she'll be better now. She talked about how it's a hard area, and there hasn't been any real success there and basically said she doesn't expect any. She was talking to the wrong sister missionary. I really don't like it when people put labels on areas. The field is white everwhere. The scriptures don't say the field is white except in Dos Vientos. I told her that, and that if she wants success she'll have it. She just needs to show the Lord she wants it through obedience. I hope I helped her. I'm not sure, but I did what I felt I could do for her.
The other exchange I went on was with Sister Dixon in Camarillo. I felt sad that the first feeling I had with Sister Dixon was that she isn't exactly obedient. It made me sad because I know that her trainer is and I know that her trainer is working her hardest to help Sister Dixon learn of the power of obedience. When I had that feeling, I started to have a little panic attack. It worried me for a minute that the new sister missionaries would become disobedient, and that all of the progress we've made in helping to change the culture of the mission would be going down the tubes in no time. Then, the thought came to my head that everyone can change and grow, and that I was there with her for the day to show her why obedience is such a wonderful blessing. Sister Dixon is a really great person. She wants to do well as a missionary and I'm a little worried that the driving force for her at times, is that she wants personal recognition. We have zone conferences coming up, and President Castro asked the Sister Training Leaders to teach for part of it. We're going to have the elders and sisters separate for an hour and we'll be teaching just the sisters. I know that the things we've planned to teach them will help her and so many other sisters. I felt so grateful for the inspiration that we, the Sister Training Leaders, received as we prepared a handout to send them to study in preparation for our meeting at zone conference. It's exactly what they need. Anyway, Sister Dixon wanted to work on talking to everyone, and she did really well with it throughout the day. I talked to her about teaching the restoration at every door and she said that's something that she really wants to do. At the end of the exchange, she told me that she was inspired by how often I share my testimony and how passionate I am about the things that we teach. I was so caught off guard because I had been focused so much on how I would help her see the importance of obedience. That was really sweet of her to say to me, and it made me grateful for the gift of a testimony. It made me even more grateful that I can share it all day, everyday.
This week in our area we taught Sage, David F., Miranda (less-active), Kylie, Adam, Tria, David L., the Parkers (recent converts), Jackie, and Cheryl.
We had a really great lesson with Sage this week about the Word of Wisdom. I felt very impressed to talk about how the word of wisdom can help him as a father. I know that he's been taught about the Word of Wisdom before and he's done really well with it. He has given up smoking and chewing tobacco, but he still struggles with drinking coffee everyday. We talked about his daughter and how sacred her little body is. We asked if he would give her a single thing that is mentioned for us to not partake of in the Word of Wisdom. He told us that it was a dumb question. He said he would beat up anyone that would even think of giving his daughter those things. We then talked about how our bodies are just as sacred as his baby's body is and that we need to treat it that way. Sage has a really strong testimony of priesthood blessings, so we taught him about how he will have the priesthood after he is baptized and he'll be able to bless his own family. That idea really hit him. I was able to bear my testimony about the blessing it is to grow up in a home with a father who worthily holds and exercises his priesthood. That means so much to me, and his daughter deserves the same thing. On Friday morning, we got a text from Sage and he said "Ok. Day one of no coffee starts now." That was so neat, because he wasn't supposed to totally give it up until Saturday and we were planning to go and talk to him about it again, but instead he was proactive and decided to do it on his own. That was a great experience.
This was a good week. There have been a lot of miracles in our area, and I know that the Lord needs us here to do this work. I'm really grateful for such a wonderful companion, Sister Hegstrom. Each time I go on exchanges it helps me recognize how prepared she was to come on a mission. She goes above and beyond what a lot of sister missionaries, not just new, understand and do. I really am focusing on her and how I can help her take the next steps as a missionary so she'll feel ready to train or do whatever the Lord will ask her to do. I'm grateful that the Lord has trusted me to train her, because I know that she is so important to this mission. She will be a wonderful leader.
Mom asked about the Bakersfield split. That happened on July 1st. It's official, Bakersfield no longer exists in the California Ventura mission! I feel fine about it. The sisters that are in Bakersfield are ones that I know should be there and I felt at peace about it. I wasn't super close with them, but I still really love all of them. Most of the sisters stayed in the Ventura mission, so I was happy about that. The split is a good thing. The Lord is hastening His work! WoooT!
Well, until next week! I hope you're all doing well!
Love,
Sister Bennett
Sister Bennett
One of the pictures is of me eating Ahlote for my first time!!! NACHO LIBRE STYLE! The whole time I was eating it I kept saying "get that corn outta my face!" or I kept trying to act like I was throwing it into Sister Hegstrom's eye. Haha. I love Nacho Libre. The family in that picture is the Bleiweiss family. They're my favorite family in the 4th ward. They're super missionary focused and they help us out a lot.
The other picture is with Sage and his family. He's a big guy, huh?
The other picture is with Sage and his family. He's a big guy, huh?
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| Dinner with the Bleiwise - I love elote! The corn from Nacho Libre! |
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| The Ford family with me - That's Sage and his family |
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