"The Worst"

October 29, 2012

 

Hey there!

Happy Birthday to Britt this week! Oh and Happy Halloween!!! We get to go in an hour early on Halloween night...for safety purposes, so Sis Putnam and I are planning to doing something fun together. If only we had some ideas. haha.

As of late I've started using the saying "the worst" way too much. I think I tell Sister Putnam that she's "the worst" like 50 times a day. Obviously it's used in sarcasm, but I'm trying to drop it. haha. It's difficult to do. I didn't realize how often I say it!

Thanks for the pictures, Erin! They are so cute! Zachy is looking scruffy as usual. Keep up the good work Zach. The boys look adorable. The sister, Sister Wutkee, from Thousand Oaks who opens the FHC told me that Talmage looks like me, a lot. That was surprising. He's cute, so I'll take it!

I'm happy to be out here in sunny California while all of you back in Minnesota are enjoying some Halloween snow! Haha. Suckers! It's been really nice here. Actually, the past two days it's been a bit hot, but at night it's in the 70s or mid 60s. Sister Putnam is cold all the time because she came here from Bakersfield. She gets mad at me because I always notice when she's cold and turn off the air for her. The goose bumps on her arms are just too obvious. Haha. She's pretty funny. We've stayed up late talking probably one too many time this week. One night we just went on this tangent of talking about baby names and what name we really look like. She told me I look like an Ashley or Brittany. GROSS! Not that those names are gross, but that's not what I look like! I look like a Haley! Duh. It was hilarious for some reason. We were like rolling on the ground laughing about it. I'm not sure why we were on the ground and not in our beds, but it was fun. I'm enjoying being her companion...STILL! It's a Christmas miracle!

On Thursday we had to go get our oil changed in Thousand Oaks after district meeting. It was going to take about an hour and a half and we hadn't had lunch yet, so we walked over to California Pizza Kitchen and had lunch together. That was soooo good! Mmm! CPK!  Oh, and thanks Mom and Dad for buying me lunch. Haha. You're so sweet. :)

Oh and Dad, did you know that Dennis Pitta went to Moorpark High School? He grew up in the ward that I am currently serving in. Pretty cool, huh? Too bad his family no longer lives here. It's still cool though.

Ok, enough small talk. Now on to what's important!

I hope you've had a really great week like we had here in Moorpark. This past week I have been thinking a lot about the Atonement and how as my understanding of it grows, so will my desire to share the gospel. I feel like there are too many times when I just pass by someone on the street and don't stop to talk to them. I'm working on being more bold and giving everyone that we see the opportunity to hear about the gospel. I know that we really need to find more people to teach and I have faith that as long as we are obedient we will have the Spirit with us to help us recognize those who are prepared to hear the message of the gospel.

We were able to teach the Matweyews, Mathew, Michael, Penny B (less-active), Nanci and Kelsey, Jim and Heather, Nancy V, the Eatons, Anthony, Heena, Sean M, Brianna and Justin (less-active), Jan Diaz (less-active), and Hans this week.

The Matweyews are moving right along toward their baptism. They have come to church the past two weeks and I know that Sister M has really been feeling the Spirit as she's attended. Yesterday, Gavin even stayed for all three hours of church and he said he really liked it! We taught them this week about the prophet on the earth today and we also taught them about prayer. Our lesson about prayer was really good, because I think it helped Sister M, especially, understand that it's a relationship. It doesn't matter what other people think when you pray, but it's about developing that strong connection with our Father in Heaven through prayer. Gavin is really great. He loves praying and a few weeks ago we made him a "prayer rock" to help him remember each morning and night to say his prayers. He said he loves having that prayer rock and has been praying every day. He's such a sweet kid. He is always so excited when we come over to teach them. He told us last week that he thinks it's kind of exciting if we're a few minutes late because he's always waiting and watching at the window for us and he gets nervous that we might forget or something. Don't worry, we're not late often, but it was cute to hear about how he's excited to see us and learn more. I have really developed a strong relationship with the Matweyew family. I feel so much love when I'm with them and I feel like I really am able to see them the way that the Lord sees them. I've been day dreaming, maybe too much, about when I'll come back after my mission in a year and go to the temple with them when they are sealed as a family. Just thinking about it gives me the chills and makes me feel so much joy. I can't wait for November 10th when they're able to make the first, so important, covenant of baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We were able to get in contact with a former investigator named Sean this week. Sean is 17 years old and when I first got to Moorpark Sister Tippetts and I met him and talked to him about meeting with him. He told us then that he would need to talk to his dad because his dad had been against it before. We tried to start teaching him, but it didn't happen then. Well, we stopped by last week and saw him and set up a time to go back and teach him. When we came for our appointment, Sean said he didn't have much time, so we talked with him and shared a scripture on his doorstep. I asked him if he really wanted to meet with us or not, because I didn't want to just keep showing up to his house and sharing scriptures on his doorstep. He looked surprised when I asked him that, and he said that he really does. He is going through some hard things right now with his family and with school, and I know that he needs the gospel in his life. When I first met him he had talked about how he knew he would become a Mormon someday, but just didn't think that he was ready for that yet. He has a lot of faith and I  pray that as we teach him, he will be open and willing to heed the promptings of the Spirit.

Meeting with Nanci B (less active) and Kelsey (investigator) this week was interesting. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation. Nanci really wants Kelsey to learn and get baptized. Kelsey is 18 years old and doesn't seem to have any idea of what she believes. She doesn't have any friends and she is constantly consumed by reading books, which is great, but I think Nanci just wants Kelsey to learn for social reasons. We've realized that Kelsey honestly isn't interested, or she really isn't ready at this time to hear about the gospel. As we taught her about the Plan of Salvation she was all over the place. She was very argumentative throughout the entire lesson. It was really hard to be patient with her and not just argue over different points that we were teaching about. It was probably good for me to have been in this situation, because it really helped me understand the importance of my testimony. No one can argue with me and tell me that I don't KNOW these things are true. Kelsey kept wanting things to be more complicated than they are when it comes to gaining a knowledge for herself. I bore my testimony probably ten times in that lesson and each time I felt the Spirit telling me, and Kelsey, that these things are true. I think Kelsey was just feeling uncomfortable and maybe even scared about trying to pray before reading in the Book of Mormon because she isn't used to thinking about these things. Her mom didn't raise her in a religious atmosphere so this is all very new to her. Anyway, we're not sure what to do with the situation because we want to keep teaching Nanci so we can help her get back to church, but Nanci wants us to come over for Kelsey. At this point we're just planning to focus on Nanci when we plan the lessons and hopefully Kelsey will be humbled through the lessons so she can accept the gospel. We'll see how this goes.

We had a really good lesson with Heena this week. About two hours before our lesson with her, she called us to confirm the appointment. While I was on the phone with her she told me that she had a bad week and she sounded really stressed. Then, out of nowhere, she kind of unloaded everything on me. She said she felt like she wasn't really getting answers to her prayers. She also talked about how when she had gone to church, the Sunday before, she felt like I had ignored her. She said that Sister Putnam came and hugged her and gave her attention, but that I was very distracted. She was right. I am very busy at church. Sister Putnam was trying to help me get things done as much as she could, but she doesn't know everyone yet so she can only do so much. We had just spoken in sacrament meeting so there was even more going on than usual because everyone was coming up to us and introducing themselves or telling us we did well. I remember giving Heena a hug and saying hello, plus when I was on the stand I was smiling at her and waved to her. I felt really bad, though, that she felt like I hadn't given her attention. That made me a little nervous to go to our appointment with her, but as we drove there I prayed to myself and I felt a lot of comfort so I knew that we would have the Spirit with us to guide us in helping resolve Heena's true concerns. When we got there she told us about how great she felt after church on Sunday, but then the week following was really rough. We talked to her about Satan and about how he will do anything he can to stop us from knowing the truth or doing things that the Lord wants us to do. We totally had the guidance of the Spirit as we taught her that night. It was really amazing to feel the Lord working through us to help Heena. When we left, Heena felt great and she had a better perspective on things that she can keep with her as she will go through more trials while learning more from us.

Those were just a few of the experiences that we had this week. There were so many more, but there just isn't enough time to share them all! I'll just have to type faster next week!

Here's a scripture I read this morning - Alma 37:6-7. I was thinking about how we, young, immature, simple missionaries are the small and simple means by which the Lord brings about great things in missionary work. It's humbling to know that we are instruments in the Lord’s hands. How are all of you being instruments in the Lord's hands? How have you seen the Lord use small and simple means to bring about great things in your lives?

Well, that's just something to think about.

 

Have a wonderful week. I love you all!

Love,
Sister Bennett

 

P.S. - Funny story: This week when we were tracting, we got to a door and there were obviously people home. They didn't have a doorbell and I really wanted them to answer the door, so I took it upon myself to knock REALLY hard so they would be able to hear that someone was at the door. Well, that hurt really bad. About an hour later I had a really big bruise on the knuckle of my middle finger. Hahah. Well...I need to give them the best chance possible to hear about the gospel! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I Said No Thank You!"

October 22, 2012

Bonjour Famille,

Congrats to Baby Eilish on being blessed! Woot! That's awesome! The pictures were super cute and all of the missionaries here agree, she's adorable. :)

It has been a really good week. My new companion, Sister Putnam is great! She's from Draper, UT. She's a really cute, sweet girl. She is always willing to compromise to how things have been run here in Moorpark for the past 4 1/2 months. We've had a fun week getting to know each other. I haven't laughed so much since I was with Sister Tippetts. She's a really good teacher and what I really like about her is that I feel like she always has my back. As we've been talking, I've gotten the impression that she hasn't always been EXACTLY obedient, but that's ok. She will be now, because I'm not willing to be disobedient in any way. Obedience is way too important in this work. We must be obedient to have the Spirit, and we have to have the Spirit in order to do the work. I think she understands that she's about to become exactly obedient. This morning, in companionship study, I actually asked her if she found it kind of annoying that I'm so obedient. She told me no and that she needed to be more obedient. She said she's always been obedient, just not exactly obedient. I then said "good, because we're going to be exactly obedient. End of discussion." I laughed a little after I said that, but I know she knew I was serious. I'm glad that I can help her recognize the blessings of obedience, because there will be blessings. Then, after we are companions, she can go on and be more obedient. I've heard way too much about how English sisters aren't exactly obedient. That needs to change, so I'm glad I can be an example. Anyway, Sister Putnam is awesome, so I'm excited for this transfer with her.

We were asked to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday. I was kind of nervous about speaking, but a little excited, too. I was excited to help the members feel more excited about missionary work by hearing both of us speak. I spoke about how we become converted to the gospel and what we see, as missionaries, in people as they become converted. I was praying a TON before I stood up to speak, because I was worried I wouldn't speak for long enough, but as I spoke the words flowed easily. I'm grateful that I had the guidance of the Spirit. A lot of people came up to me afterward and told me that they really loved my talk and they said that I'm a really good speaker - that was a new one. Haha. In my talk, I shared examples from people that we've taught, including talking about Tonya and Kayli - who were at church. It was good for me to speak, because I know that I will have to so much more throughout my mission and my life.

It's been a good first week of the transfer. It's nice to have a new transfer to review and refocus on things that are important at this time. It's been a great week here in Moorpark with Sister Putnam. I think we are going to be able to do some great work this transfer. We seem to work really well together so far, so I'm excited! I'm really grateful to be able to continue doing the work here in Moorpark because I still feel like there is more for me to do.

I really enjoyed transfer meeting. Something that stuck out to me was when President Castro talked about making the small choices to be obedient. I have seen the blessings in this work as my companions and I have decided to obey with exactness. It was a good reminder to hear him speak about those small decisions and how we should remember that we can only control the choices that we make. Having that perspective will really help me a lot, because sometimes I feel down when people choose to not listen or to reject the message when I know they've felt the Spirit. They still have their agency and I can only decide to use my agency in the best way possible.

This week we were able to teach the Matweyews, Nancy, Michael, Nanci and Kelsey, Anthony, the Eatons, Jim, Heena, Brother Mason, the Abdelsayeds, and Kayli. We also had lessons in which we dropped Annette and also Sam.

At the first of the week I was looking ahead and it looked like we were going to have to do a lot of tracting because we really didn't have many appointments set up to teach. I didn't want to do tracting all week, so I was praying that we would be able to get in contact with those investigators with whom we hadn't set appointments up yet so that we could have a good balance of teaching appointments and tracting. Well, it all worked out great. We contacted a lot of investigators and they were all willing to set up return appointments, which was such a blessing.

We taught Stephani and Gavin Matweyew on Monday night, as we always do. They usually feed us dinner and then we have a lesson afterward. We asked Sister Matweyew about how the Word of Wisdom was going, and she confessed that she had coffee the day before. I was really sad when she said that, because she had been doing so well. She went a week without drinking coffee. We talked to her about reading D&C 89 to gain a better understanding of the Word of Wisdom and we invited her to pray about it as she tried her hardest to keep that commandment. She said that she wanted to do it, and that she wouldn't mess up again. I know it's hard for people to give up these things, but I know the blessings that come as we obey God's commandments. I just need to remember to be patient with them about keeping the Word of Wisdom. I have never experienced trying to give up an addiction, so I will be doing my best to just support them and offer any help that I can so they can receive those blessings. On Monday, we taught Gavin and Stephani about tithing. It was a good lesson. Sister M said that it was really good and simple and she understood what was expected with tithing. She then asked if it was ok to just pay a small amount one month but then make up for it the next month. We explained to her that it is a principal of obedience and we are promised that we will receive blessings that we will not have room enough to receive (Malachi 3:10). She started to tear up and talked about how they're barely scraping by and that it was going to be really hard. Then brother M spoke up and told her that they should test God and see if He really will do that. He said that they should try paying tithing for a few months after being baptized and watch as God does bless them for their sacrifice. I was really grateful that he was there and that he could bear his testimony about the importance of being obedient. I know that they will be taken care of if they pay their tithing. I just want them to pay it as soon as possible because I know that it will give them comfort and peace concerning their finances. The best part of the week, with the Matweyews, was at church. Sister Putnam and I were sitting on the stand because we were asked to speak in sacrament meeting. As I looked over the congregation, I knew that Sister M was there with Gavin, but then I realized that Brother M wasn't sitting with them. They had come to church by themselves, without Brother M because he was sick. I was so happy! She told me that she really loved my talk and her eyes filled with tears as she talked to me about it. It was a sweet moment.

This week with Nancy was a little difficult. She just doesn't keep her commitments. She enjoys reading the Book of Mormon with others, but she won’t make time to listen to it on her own. She says that she just likes to read with other people. I was doing my best to try to help her understand the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and finally just told her that she can't expect us to do all of the work for her. She can't just wait for us to read with her or to take her to church, but she needed to do those things so that she can have the experiences that are crucial to gaining her own testimony. She has strong faith in Jesus Christ, but she still needs to really come to know for herself what we share it, that this, His one and ONLY true church has been restored to the earth. We read 3 Nephi 11 with her to help her understand and see that when the Savior visited the Americas, he established his church. He did the same in Jerusalem. We explained that chapter to her as we read and invited her to pray specifically to know if the Book of Mormon is true. We asked her if she had tried doing that yet, and she said "to tell you the truth, no." Then Brother Shorten, the member whose home we had the lesson at, spoke up and asked Nancy if she found it kind of scary to ask Heavenly Father that. She told him that it was. Then he shared his testimony and it was really powerful. I was so glad that we had the lesson at his and his wife's home because I wouldn't have thought to ask her that question. I just hope that it sunk in with Nancy and that she did go and pray about the Book of Mormon. She said that she would, so we'll see when we meet with her again.

Michael was a referral from the Spanish elders. It's kind of a cool situation, actually. When we were leaving an appointment at Nancy's apartment one day, I stopped and started talking to this Hispanic man. He told us that he doesn't really speak much English, so we asked if we could send missionaries that speak Spanish to his home. He agreed and gave us his address. Well, when the Elders went to meet him, they talked to Anthony (the 16 year old who is getting baptized) and Michael (Anthony's cousin). They then sent us back that same address and told us to go and meet them. I'm glad that we had been diligent in talking to everyone and had talked to that Hispanic man, because it ended up blessing us with two great people to teach. We taught Michael twice this past week. He has gone through a lot. He has two daughters out of wedlock who have different mothers and the mothers aren't the greatest about letting Michael be around his kids. It's hard to teach Michael because he just wants to tell us about his problems. Well, the second time we taught him, we made sure to go over the expectations of us coming to meet with him. We talked to him about how we are there to teach him about the Savior and help him know for himself if the things we teach are true so that it can bless him and his family's life. We then read through the introduction to the Book of Mormon with him and at the end of the lesson I invited him to be baptized. He first said "I don't know" but then I just asked him again and said "if you come to know these things are true, will you be baptized?" He said yes and we set the goal for him to find out for himself and be baptized on December 1st. That was really cool because I felt the Spirit urging me to invite him to be baptized again, even though I had just asked the same question. I'm excited to continue teaching Michael because I know that it will help straighten out his life and give him the perspective that he needs as a father.

We had a really good lesson with Heena. She hadn't done what she said she would, which was to go a week without saying Hindu prayers, but only praying to Heavenly Father as we have taught her to. She said that it was too scary. We read in the Book of Mormon with her and as we read, a verse about faith really stuck out to me. We talked about faith with Heena, and having faith that she can receive answers to specific questions like if she should be baptized. We invited her to just go one day without Hindu prayers and only pray to Heavenly Father and in those prayers we invited her to pray about baptism. She said that she could do that. I knew in that moment that if she did, she would get the answer to be baptized. We invited her to come to church and it was a blessing that we were speaking because she said that she wouldn't miss us speaking for the world. Well, when Sunday came around, sure enough, Heena was sitting on the back pew of the chapel and she brought her father, who is visiting from India, with her. She had a huge smile on her face and as I spoke I looked at her a few times and she had that same big grin on. She stayed for our Gospel Principals class, as well, which Brother Lutz taught. We had to leave in the middle of it to go to the other ward, but Sister Lutz told us that Heena had been asking really great questions and afterward she told Sister Lutz that she really enjoyed church. I can't wait to meet with Heena this Thursday and see what she has to say about everything! I love her!

Anthony is still doing really well. He has been praying every morning and every night on his knees and he said that he had been reading in the Book of Mormon. Before we could really ask him about how he felt as he did those things, he said "I feel really good when I pray every day. Plus, I really like reading the Book of Mormon, too, so it's not that hard to do it when you ask me to." I just had to laugh, because he's way too great! We taught him about the 10 Commandments and about keeping the Sabbath day holy. He agreed to obey those commandments. He came to church on Sunday in his nice purple shirt and black tie, and he said that he wanted to try going to the normal youth Sunday school class. I guess he wanted to meet some of the other youth, or go with friends that he knew from school. I kind of wished that he had gone to gospel principals because we talked about the Priesthood, but I'm sure it was still good for him. It is good that he's making friends so then, hopefully, he'll start spending his time outside of school with those kids. Anthony is a really good kid and he is always expressing how much joy he feels from learning.

It was a really great week full of great teaching experiences. I'm excited to continue seeing these people progress and come closer to our Savior. I have already seen the happiness that it has brought them and I know that that joy is only going to continue to increase as they work toward and are baptiz

I hope you all have a great week! I love you!

Love,

Sister Bennett

 

Moroni 7:41 - This is what we should all be striving for. The Kingdom of God.

P.S. - Funny Story

Yesterday we were tracting and we walked up to this open garage to talk to a man who was working inside. When we walked up, I introduced us as missionaries and he said "no thank you." Well - he doesn't even know what he is saying no to, so we proceeded to start declaring to him and he said "I said no thanks." Then sister Putnam started in and he SCREAMED "I SAID NO THANK YOU!!!"

Moorpark Is My Home!

October 15, 2012

Hey family!

I don't have much time, so this will probably be short!

I'm staying in Moorpark! We got transfer calls this morning and I get to stay!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it!! I'm so happy! That will be six months in Moorpark. My new companion will be Sister Putnum. I hear she's really quiet and I bet she'll be good for me. I'm really excited. I just can't believe it, to be honest. I was so sure that I was going to leave Moorpark. Haha.

I got some mail this week from the sweet primary kids in the branch - a bunch of really funny pictures and some letters. I didn't know half of the kids, but I recognized Blake and Jared. That's about it. Mom, you'll have to tell them thanks from me. I'll try to send them something cool, but I don't really have time. hahah.

I'm sorry I won’t really be replying to any questions. I just don't have time today. I will answer any questions/respond to your emails through written mail or next week. Thanks Solon for sending me an email and a pic of the finished bathroom. It looks really nice!!! Woooot! Someone teach Dad how to send pictures because when I get them they're so small. Anyway, I'm going crazy right now! I'm staying! AH!

Now for the update,

This week was good. It seemed like we had a lot more time to tract and find new investigators, although we didn't pick up as many new people to teach as I had hoped. This past week we taught Heena, Nancy, Anthony, Annette, Amanda V. (less active), Sean, Sam, Brother Mason, Stephanie and Gavin Matweyew, Delfy, and the new converts.

We had a bit of a mix up this week with Anthony. He is really hard to get in contact with because he doesn't have a phone. Cody, his cousin who is a member, usually relays messages from us to Anthony at school. Well, that method isn't the most reliable because sometimes Cody forgets what he is supposed to tell Anthony or forgets to tell him anything at all. We went by his apartment a few times trying to catch him, but nothing was working! Finally, on Saturday morning we went over and Anthony was home. He looked so happy when he opened the door. He said "I was worried you were mad at me or weren't going to teach me anymore." That was pretty funny. On Saturday morning we read in the Book of Mormon with him, and he really enjoyed that. He said that he learned a lot and he thinks it's really fun to read with us. We set up an appointment to teach him on Sunday at Tonya's house, which is what we usually try to do with him. Yesterday, we taught him about following the prophet. It still always surprises me how much he takes in as we are teaching him. You would never guess that he is listening when you're teaching him, but whenever we ask him questions or when he asks questions it shows how closely he really was listening. He really wants to be baptized so we're working toward that with him. He wants to be baptized by his cousin, Cody, who isn't worthy right now to do so, but we are going to figure out what goal to set with Anthony for his baptismal date when Cody will be able to perform the ordinance. I love Anthony and I love the recent converts (Tonya, Caitlyn and Kayli) for bringing him under their wing. The thing that is stressing me out is that Anthony lives in the boundaries of the 1st ward but all of his support and his cousin live in the second ward. I'm not really sure what to do, but I've been praying about it and trying to understand what will be best for Anthony.

Nancy met with the Bishop in the 1st ward to get to know him and so he can get to know her. That was really good for her, because afterward she felt like she really has support from him and from the ward. She decided that she needed to push her baptismal date back. She was supposed to be getting baptized this Saturday, but she feels like she isn't quite ready and like she doesn't know enough. I would be disappointed about that, but I was feeling like she wasn't ready to be baptized. Nancy has a hard time understanding things sometimes because she is basically illiterate. We have the Book of Mormon on CD for her to listen to and we are working with her a lot, going over and reading with her a lot of times, so she'll be able to feel more comfortable with what she knows. Also, I just didn't feel like she could be ready for baptism since she's only been to church in 1st ward once, hasn't been going every week, and doesn't keep all of her commitments. Sis Wilkinson really felt like she should just get baptized, so we didn't know what to do. I guess Nancy coming to us saying she wanted to push it back was an answer to my prayers about it. Sister Tolliver has been really great with Nancy, so we'll keep working with her and get her ready to be baptized on November 10th!

We also pushed the Matweyew's date back to November 10th. They said that they would get baptized this Saturday, but Sister Matweyew needs more time. She has somewhat of a belief in everything we teach her, but she needs time to get a testimony of Joseph Smith and that this is Christ's church. When she talked about baptism, she talked about it like she's ripping a band-aid off, as if she just wants to get it over with quick. That kind of put up a red flag for us and we decided that they needed more time to really come to a knowledge of these things for themselves. She felt good about the 10th. She actually said that's what she was thinking before. We just have to make sure that we don't let her  keep pushing her baptismal date back. We've set this goal with her and we're going to help her take the steps to reach that goal. It was really cool because on Monday we asked them why they want to get baptized. Sister Matweyew said that she wants the weight taken off of her that she believes will take place when she's baptized, she wants to be washed clean. Gavin said that he really wants to feel like he's a part of the church and he knows that baptism is a part of that. He also said that he wants to be clean as well. The Matweyew family is really great. The gospel will bring so many blessings into their lives and they really need that right now.  Sister Matweyew has been noticing the way things have been turning around for their family as she has been keeping her commitments and has begun to obey the commandments that we've taught her about - like the Word of Wisdom. I was worried about teaching her that, because she loves coffee, but she agreed to keep it and she hasn't had any coffee since she said she would live that law. I'm just so excited to continue working with them and watch them progress and be baptized as a family. Hopefully we can break down Courtney's wall and she'll be taught as well. I'll be praying that we can teach her.

We had two short lessons with Heena this week. We had just stopped by both times before going to other appointments, but last night was really great. We only had time to share a scripture with her. It was a great experience for me because a scripture I had read a few days ago came to my mind that we could share. The scripture was Alma 22:18 - talking about King Lamoni's father's prayer in which he asks if God is there, and is willing to give up his sins to know God. I had thought about Heena a lot when I studied that particular scripture earlier in the week, so I was grateful that the Lord prepared me to share that with her last night. We talked about real intent with her and how King Lamoni's father had real intent as he prayed to God. The Spirit was really strong and we invited Heena to pray only to Heavenly Father, the way that we pray, and not do any Hindu prayers for one week. We promised her that she would feel the strength and support from Heavenly Father and her relationship with Him would be really strong. We also promised her that if she did so, she would recognize that He is our Father and He is the one and only God. I know that if she does what we invited her to do, she will have very powerful spiritual experiences and it will help her progress toward baptism. She talked to us about how she feels like there has been a void in her life since her husband left her and requested a divorce. I know that it has been really hard for her, and she talked about how happy she has felt as she has learned from us. Once again, we told her that is the Spirit that she's feeling that makes her so happy and told her that she can have that with her all the time if she is baptized. I know that the gospel will fill that void in her life.

 Love,

Sister Bennett

D&C 45:3-5 - Christ truly is our advocate with the Father. How humbling is it to think of Him pleading for us at that last day?

Pictures: The kid with the long hair is Anthony. The guy with the Ravens shirt on is Tyler! He's so awesome!!!

“Ask The Missionaries – They Can Help With That”

 

October 8, 2012

 

Hello family!

General Conference was AWESOME!!! I am freaking out, and now I'm freaking out even more because only Mom emailed me and she didn't say anything at all about how girls can go on a mission at 19 years old now! What did you all think? At first I was just thinking, oh that's really cool, and then I realized that Cortney is 19 and she has always said she wants to go on a mission! What's the status on that? I wish someone would have emailed me about it. Cortz, are you going on a mission now? We could have two sister missionaries out at the same time! That would be so crazy, weird, and amazing! The really amazing thing about the ages of missionary service being changed is that it makes me think about how the Lord is enlisting everyone he can to go out and bring more people into the fold. The time of the second coming is so near, because he needs everyone in His army declaring the truth! The way is being prepared for Him to come again! So cool!

Kayli V, one of my lovely recent converts, who I love so much, has been thinking about going on a mission and praying about it (she's only 19). Last Sunday she was actually fasting about going on a mission and we taught her, Tonya, and Caitlyn a new member lesson about missionary work. She took that as something of a sign. Then, when President Monson announced at Conference that 19 year old girls can now go, she got really excited and she really wants to go now. I'm so happy for her! That was seriously such great news when she told us that she really wants to go on a mission! I have been telling her a lot that she should go. I'm just excited for her.

Thanks for the package you sent, Mom. It was so nice! I loved the pictures! Everyone looks so good, and that picture of Britt with Rowyn is super foxy, as well as the picture of Mom, Nan, Britt and Rowyn. Well, they were all really cute pictures. Thanks, Ammon, for the candy! I was able to munch on some while I watched conference at the stake center. Mmmmm, my favorite kind of candy - tootie fruties.

What did everyone think of Conference? What were your favorite talks? I loved all of them, especially President Uchtdorf's and Elder Holland's (of course). Elder Holland's was so powerful! I felt the Spirit a lot as he spoke, and at the end when he talked about the Lord asking each of us "dost thou love me?" I was filled with emotion as I thought about the Savior and what he asks of me. Am I reaching my potential? Am I a disciple of Christ? I just want to serve with all my might so that I am showing Him how much I truly love Him. I want to become who He knows I can become and I don't want to disappoint Him or make Him ask me again "dost thou love me?" after I have answered him that I do.

Here's the weekly work update!

We taught some great lessons this week, and I felt really good about them. I did have some struggles this week with my companion, I won’t lie. The thing is that I was really happy throughout the week, but it just felt like she didn't want to be happy. It makes it hard when she decides to be upset and I don't know any reason for it. I have been trying  hard to watch what I say and how I say things and I've been trying to help her feel happy, but I don't know how much that worked. I just decided that I'm going to be happy and I'm going to work hard and just try to serve her. That's all I can do- my best to be a good companion. I can't force her to do anything or feel any way. Pray for me to be patient. I know I can be!

This week we taught the Matweyew family, Nancy, Kelsey and Nanci B (less-active and investigator daughter), Anthony, Tyler, Rose, Brother Peters, Wendy, Annette, Heena, Connor (recent convert), Delfy, Hans, the Bergs (less-active), and our recent convert group of Kayli, Caitlyn, and Tonya.

Our lesson with Stephanie and Gavin (Matweyew) was really great! We watched the restoration DVD, which is a clip from the Prophet of the Restoration movie of everything leading up to the first vision and the Book of Mormon being translated. After we watched the movie, we asked how they both felt as they watched it. Gavin said it helped him understand a lot better what happened and he said that he felt really good while he watched. Sister Matweyew started crying and talked about how she understood what Joseph Smith went through. She felt like she's gone to so many churches growing up and felt like she was just waiting to find the truth. I felt the Spirit a lot as she was talking about that, and I know that she has finally found it. This is Christ's church on the earth, and I was so happy to tell her that. I felt so much power in those words as I shared my testimony with her. She also talked about how she's felt so much more strength in her life as she's been meeting with us. She said she has had strength to do things that are really best for her family that she never would have done before. I really felt grateful that the Spirit was there, because I had been praying a lot that when we taught them they would have a spiritual experience. Just as President Monson spoke about, our prayers are answered in the small and large blessings we can see in our lives! As a missionary, I feel like we are really able to know the power of prayer because we aren't left alone to do this work, of that I am sure.

This week with Heena, we went to the church and did a church tour with her. It was really cool to walk around the church and just tell her about what each room is used for and what she would be doing when she comes to church. We paused at different pictures of Christ and I felt the Spirit a lot as we just stood there in silence and took in the images of the Savior. Heena seemed to really be enjoying it. The best part, of course, was when we walked into the chapel at the end. I really feel like I stepped through a force field of the spirit as I walked into the chapel. It was so peaceful and calm as we sat in a pew and taught her about the sacrament and read in Corinthians about the Savior instituting the sacrament with the apostles. I am so grateful that I can feel the Spirit every day. It's something that was missing in my life before my mission, and after feeling it so often as a missionary I will never want to go back to just feeling it once a week in church or whatever. We are entitled to have the Spirit with us at all times when we have the gift of the Holy Ghost, and I wasn't taking full advantage of that gift. Now that I have started to understand it better, that gives me a great desire to help others receive that same gift after baptism, because it is so amazing to have the presence of the Spirit in your life all the time. At the end of the tour, Heena said that she really liked it and she really felt good. She is so wonderful. She talked to us about how she's been praying the way we taught her every night and now she said she's doing it in the mornings, too, before she does her Hindu prayers! That's great! She is always talking about how good praying makes her feel, and we constantly are reminding her that she is feeling the Spirit. I just want her to get baptized so she can have the Spirit with her all the time! We're working with her to get her to come to church. She came to General Conference with us Sat morning and said she really liked that as well, so she's been making big steps in the right direction. Now, we just have to help her continue progressing toward baptism. I just love her!

Anthony is one of my favorite people to teach, because I just love getting to teach youth. I think I love it because I know how the gospel will change the course of their lives, and being able to help them know the truth early on is really exciting. Anthony isn't a normal teenager. He is so focused as we teach him, even when he doesn't seem focused. When we ask him questions to range how much he understood or was listening, he is always able to answer in a way that shows that he really understood what we were teaching him. He reads the Book of Mormon in between each visit, and I can tell that he really wants to learn and be baptized. Once again I am grateful for the Spirit, because I know that Anthony can feel that the things we are teaching him are true. He has talked about how good he feels as we teach him and I am so happy that he is recognizing a difference. His lesson was really great because we had it at Tonya's house with Tonya, Kayli, and Caitlyn there. They have really taken Anthony under their wings and are trying to get him as involved as they can. They are so wonderful and I know that it will really help Anthony to have that support because I'm not sure if he has any coming from home. Every time we leave after teaching Anthony, I am always filled with so much love for him and I know that's a blessing that comes from the Spirit as well.

Hans is a man that we've shared scriptures with on his doorstep like 5 times, but we have never gotten to go in because he's a single man. We've set up appointments so we could bring a woman with us and he would usually have something come up and would cancel. We finally got to teach him this week! We actually met him at a park near his home and brought Sister Omer with us from the ward. Sister Omer served a mission in Brazil. She was great to have along with us. Hans is such a cool guy. He has a lot of knowledge about, well it seems like everything. When he had cancelled on us one day, he had told us in a text that he still wanted to meet with us because he could tell that "[our] message has great purpose." Isn't that awesome?! Well, as we taught him about the restoration he was very intrigued. He asked a lot of really great questions. At the end of the lesson he told us that what we had just shared with him is really huge. He talked about how he had never heard anything like that before. I was thinking "I know Hans, because you haven't heard the truth yet." Haha. My favorite part of teaching him was when we had him read Moroni's promise (Moroni 10:3-5). He read it out loud and before we even asked what it meant to him, he told us that it was obvious that everyone is being invited to read the Book of Mormon to find out if it's true. Then he said that the most important part of what he read was that the only way he would get an answer is if he's really sincere and desires it. He talked about how no one could go into finding out if it's true half-hearted. We invited him to take Moroni's promise and read and pray about the Book of Mormon. He told us that he would absolutely pray about the message that we shared and that if, as he prays, he is directed to read the Book of Mormon that he would do so. I know that he will if he does take the time to pray and ask God if what we taught him is true. I am so excited for Hans to learn more. He just seems like a lonely guy. He told us himself that he is a searcher. I just want to help him find what he's been looking for - the gospel! He's so great. I can't wait to teach him again.

One sad point of the week was that we had to drop Gary Gunn. That was hard for me because I really love Gary. I had been praying so much, and so hard, that he would open up and let the Spirit touch his heart, or more likely respond to the Spirit which has definitely already touched his heart. However, he just isn't ready at this time to receive the message of the truth. I think his mind is just too clouded by his sorrow over the loss of his wife, and he can't find room in there to give to finding out if our message is true. I don't know, though. I just know that what he needs is the gospel. That is what will heal the wounds that he has from losing his wife, but he wasn't willing to read or pray and he stopped coming to church. I'm going to continue to pray for him and for missionaries to visit him again someday when he is more prepared. It was really sad as we drove away from his home, because I knew that I would probably never see him again. When I finish my mission, I am definitely going to write him a letter and find out how he's doing. Hopefully by then he'll be more prepared. Only the Lord knows when Gary will be ready to receive the message of the gospel.

We had our last lesson with Tyler this week. Now he is in the hands of the YSA elders. We brought Kayli with us to the appointment and it was great. Tyler's relationship with God, through prayer, is really strong. He told us about how he's felt as he has been praying and talked about how he has been getting a lot of answers to his prayers. He had been praying a lot for his best friend, Allie, to be less against him being baptized and he found that the Lord did soften her heart. That was a great blessing, because I've been praying for those around him to have their hearts softened toward the gospel, as well. Kayli shared how she overcame her trials before she was baptized followed by a really powerful testimony. I was really glad that we had invited her to come, because it's hard to not feel the Spirit when she's bearing her testimony. It is so simple and pure. I think Tyler felt the Spirit a lot from hearing the testimony of someone who has gone through what he is kind of going through as he works toward baptism. Tyler is just really awesome and I'm sad we don't get to teach him anymore, but it's what's best for him. I just hope the elders take good care of him!

It was a good week. I see the hand of the Lord in this work whenever I take the time to look for Him. I know that we are not alone in the vineyard, just as it talks about in Jacob 5:71-72. The Lord is laboring here with me and he will continue to work here after I'm gone from Moorpark. I just hope to work with my might and bring forth fruit that is pleasing to Him.

I hope you all will have another good week! I want to hear about missionary experiences my family is having, but no one ever shares any. That means you aren't having them! Haha. Will you all pray to have missionary opportunities? It's so important for everyone to share the gospel. The Lord needs all of us.

I love you all so much.

 

Love,
Sister Bennett

 

 

Funny stories:

When we had exchanges last week, we stayed up talking with Sister Lillywhite for quite a while. In the time that we were talking I just fell asleep, but Sis Wilk and Lillywhite continued talking. At one point I kind of started waking up and I heard Sis Wilk say "Well, I guess we don't really have much more to talk about so we should probably sleep." I was still kind of asleep, however. I then heard the blinds over the sliding screen door moving and remembered that I hadn't shut the screen door before I went to sleep. The thought popped into my head that someone might be in the apartment. A few seconds later I heard running and opened my eyes and someone was in the doorway. I gasped! The first thought that popped into my head was "We're missionaries! How can this happen to us? We'll be protected!" I was frozen. I had no idea what to do. Then Sis Wilk said "what?" It was her standing in the doorway. She went to get the fan and I must have fallen back asleep after I heard her say "let's go to bed." I cannot tell you how real I thought that was. I truly believed that there was an intruder in our apartment. The worst part was that I was frozen! If that really happened I wouldn't even be able to defend myself! That was so crazy. I seriously had a heart attack. After I realized it was Sis Wilk I recognized that I was breathing really quickly and my heart was pounding! Hahahahah. It was so so so so so scary. That was the scariest moment of my life so far. Good thing it wasn't real. Right mom?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Want To Be Like Alma

 

 

October 1, 2012

 

Hey Family!

How was everyone's week? I hope you are all doing so great! I am so glad to have such a wonderful family. I feel your support a lot and when I am going through a hard time, I remember that there a lot of prayers that are said on my behalf and that gives me a lot of comfort and strength.

This week we ate dinner with the Zierenber family. They have 11 kids and all of them have been married/gone through the temple. That's two more than our family has, so I know we can do it! I really loved hearing about them and about how all of their family is doing really well and are so strong in the church. That's how I see our family in a few years. I can't wait for that day when we are all sitting together in the celestial room at the temple! That will be Mom's best day!

This week I've been reading in Alma. I love Alma. He is just such a great missionary! I love Alma chapter 5...well let's be honest I love all of those chapters about his missionary work. Alma is just so aware of the Spirit. He is also declaring that the Spirit of the Lord caused him to say the things that he's saying and he knows, through the Spirit, that the people understand what he is teaching.

Well, I don't have much time. Here's the update!

We taught Stephanie and Gavin Matweyew this week along with Mathew, Nancy, Kelsey, Anthony, Tyler, Heena, Annette, the Caudels (less active family), and Tonya, Caitlyn, and Kayli.

Our lesson with the Matweyew family was interesting. We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Gavin was really paying attention and he learned a lot, but Sister Matweyew was so tired from work and moving into their new house that she was basically falling asleep the whole time. It was hard to teach when she was falling asleep. It made me feel like we weren't doing a very good job of keeping it simple and short. Gavin really enjoyed the lesson, however. He asked a lot of questions and I think it was really good for him because he said that he was really excited to be baptized. Zach, the oldest son, actually sat with us for the lesson, too. That was really awesome! He even participated in the lesson. As we asked Gavin questions, Zach was trying to help him or Zach would just answer the questions himself. Courtney wasn't home when we taught them, so I hope that she'll be home for our lesson with them tonight. Even though Sister Matweyew seemed to not be paying close enough attention, she told us that she really enjoyed the lesson and she said that she was grateful for it because she felt like she really needed it. The problem is, that the Matweyews haven't come to church the last two weeks. They didn't come yesterday, and they said that they would be coming for sure. It's hard for us to help them prepare to be baptized if they aren't making it to church each week. Sister Matweyew also hasn't really been reading in the Book of Mormon, but she said that she really wants to. She said that a lot of times at night she would think about it, but then get distracted by something else that needed to be done in their new house to get them settled in. Tonight, we're planning on teaching them the restoration again so that they can understand why it's so important for them to gain a knowledge of their own that this is Christ's church. I pray that they'll be able to feel the Spirit a lot, because I know that as they keep their commitments and get baptized that they will have so much more peace in their lives, and they really need that right now.

Nancy didn't show up to her appointment on Tuesday morning, so on Saturday we stopped by her house and she was home cleaning, as usual. She wasn't doing too well. She told us about a situation she is going through with some man that has been stalking her and keeps calling her and harassing her. The whole situation has made her depressed and she didn't look good. We talked to her about prayer and about how she can get comfort from her Heavenly Father in those situations when she is really down. She told us that she had been praying, but hadn't been reading in the Book of Mormon. I told her about how there were a lot of times at BYU when I was feeling down or alone and when I opened up the Book of Mormon and just read a few verses or a chapter that I felt weight lifted off my shoulders and I really felt comforted. We read with Nancy from the Book of Mormon and invited her to read whenever she was starting to feel sad or down. That night, Nancy came to the Relief Society broadcast with Sister Tolliver and we rode with them. The broadcast was so good! Nancy was so happy by the end of the dinner and the broadcast. The sisters that we were sitting with us were really great with her and made her feel very welcome. The talks that were given in the broadcast were perfect for Nancy and for me. They really focused on how the Savior knows us and how we are not alone. I love how much each of the speakers talked about the atonement. I felt the Spirit a ton during the conference, and it was a much needed boost for me. Nancy came to church yesterday, as well. She finally went to the first ward and Sister Tolliver (who is actually in the 2nd ward) was nice enough to go with Nancy to the ward that she is supposed to be in. Everyone was very welcoming and I think Nancy really enjoyed it. During the 3rd hour in the 1st ward, Sister Wilkinson and I actually helped Brother Pierson (the ward mission leader) teach. Since it was the 5th Sunday, they had a special meeting on missionary work. Sister Wilkinson and I taught about the importance of members in missionary work. I felt theSspirit a lot as we taught and I think the members received it well.

We had another really wonderful lesson with Tyler this week! He is so great and so elect. He told us all about going to the Young Single Adult ward in Westlake. He loved it there and he said that he couldn't wait to go back next Sunday. Sadly, he got called into work yesterday so he couldn't go, but he was really mad about it and said that he was going to make sure his bosses never did that again. He's awesome. We taught him about following the prophet. He told us that it really makes sense to him to have a prophet on the earth and he said that he would go online and read a talk by President Monson to prepare to watch General Conference this weekend. He told us that he doesn't have any support from his friends and his family about being baptized. He talked about how they didn't know what they were talking about because they had never learned about the church for themselves. Tyler just has such strong faith and he's a really great guy. He said that he isn't just going to take someone’s opinion on things, and that he knows how he's felt as he's met with us, gone to church, and read the Book of Mormon. He was just so happy as we taught him, and he said that he felt like he was on some high ever since he went to church that past Sunday. We reset him with a baptismal date of October 27 and we're most likely going to pass him off to the YSA elders this week.

Anthony, who we got as a referral from the Spanish elders when they went to contact a referral we gave them, is another great investigator. He is the 16 year old who we met last Sunday, who is a cousin to Cody - the kid who shared the gospel with Tonya and Caitlyn. We met with Anthony two times this past week because he really wanted to. On Wednesday we taught him the Plan of Salvation. Each time we've met with him, he is really quiet at the beginning of the lesson, but by the end he is really energetic, happy, and asks a lot of questions. It's neat to see how he reacts to feeling the Spirit. He has prayed at the end of each lesson as well, and he always talks in his prayers, about how he's grateful for how he feels as we teach him and the happiness we bring. That is so cool! The Spirit has really been working on him and he is so open to it. He read between each visit we've had with him. He told us, when we met with him on Saturday, that he read for a while right after we taught him on Wednesday. The best part of the week in regards to Anthony was yesterday morning. Anthony was planning on going to Cody's house and staying overnight on Saturday so he could go to church Sunday morning with Cody. Tonya had sent us a text that night asking about Anthony (because she knows him through Cody) and if he was going to church because Tonya wanted to give him a ride. We then figured out that Anthony hadn't gone to Cody's house like he had planned to, so on Sunday morning we went over to Anthony's apartment, with Tonya so she could give him a ride, to wake him up for church. When we got there, his mom opened the door and said that she had just dropped him off at Cody's house. Anthony had gotten up and ready on his own and had his mom take him to Cody's house! That was so great! Anthony said he really liked church and he spent the entire day with Cody, Caitlyn, and Kayli. He actually came to our new member lesson with Tonya, Caitlyn and Kayli because he was still with them at that point. That was interesting, but he said that he really liked it. I'm really excited about teaching Anthony, but we still need to get him to have his mom sign his permission form. Cody said that might be a problem, but I've been praying a lot for her heart to be softened so Anthony can learn.

We were supposed to teach Heena on Wednesday, but she got caught up at work and forgot that we were coming. We were planning to teach her next week, but on Saturday as we were following what we planned for the day I really felt like we should go visit Heena. We went to her house and knocked a few times and no one was answering. I was really confused, but then as we were about to leave, Heena opened up the door. She fed us Indian food for lunch that she made and we were able to read in the Book of Mormon with her. She kept talking about how we always have such perfect timing because she was about to go take a shower and she wouldn't have been able to hear us if we hadn't come then. It was really good because we were able to talk to Heena about church and about what was holding her back from coming. We realized that she just doesn't want to go and feel like everyone is trying to make her be a Mormon. We talked to her about doing a church tour this next week, and she said that sounded really good. I'm not exactly sure why we needed to see Heena right then, but I'm glad that I listened to the prompting from the Spirit so we could see her that day.

Yesterday we went to 2nd ward for sacrament meeting, and it was fast and testimony meeting. The Bishop was conducting so he bore his testimony, and after he finished he invited the new converts to come up and share their testimonies in the meeting as well as the youth. Tonya got super nervous! A few other people got up and bore their testimonies first, but then Kayli was the first of our recent converts to get up and share her testimony. I felt the Spirit so strongly as she shared her testimony. I just felt so much love for her and I felt so grateful that she has been baptized after waiting so long to receive the blessings that come from being a member of the church. She has such great conviction and while she was standing up there sharing her testimony she looked like a missionary. We always tell her she should go on a mission, and I think that she will. She will be such a great servant of the Lord as a missionary, and I know that she would just touch the hearts of so many people. I was getting kind of emotional as she bore her testimony and I just felt really proud. She has already grown so much more since she's been baptized. It really seems like everything is coming together for her in her life. She is more confident now and she's so much happier. She reads in her scriptures all the time and is so willing to share her testimony with others. Her testimony is simple and so powerful. I am just so glad that the Lord allowed me to serve in Moorpark at this time so I could teach Kayli and see how the gospel really blesses people. Tonya shared her testimony as well and I was sure that Caitlyn wouldn't get up because that's not something that she would really ever do. Surprisingly, she did get up and share her testimony. I almost lost it then. Her testimony was so pure. The best part about her bearing her testimony was how happy she looked up there as she shared it. Tonya has told us about how Caitlyn is just steadily changing and jumping into the gospel. Tonya told us how Caitlyn has changed the goals she has for her life and how she is recognizing what's really important to her and what she really deserves as a daughter of God. I love those three. I think I say that every week, but I really am so grateful that I have been able to teach them.

I love you all!

 

Love,

Sister Bennett