Christmas Is WHEN? This is ALL WRONG

 

December 17, 2012

 

Dear Mom, Dad, Erin, Britt, Damian, Jordan, Brandice, Colin, Cortney, Ammon, Solon, Zach, Shyler, Emery, Addie, Dashle, Coy, Rowyn, Talmage, Liam, Eilish, and Ecklyn (yes Solon, I said Ecklyn. I'm praying that Ecklyn will be her name),

How is everyone? I hope I didn't forget anyone's name, but I'm on a mission! I can barely remember what day of the week it is let alone the names of my entire, ginormous, family! I hope you are all very excited for Christmas! It's so weird that Christmas is next week. It feels all wrong to me. It's....warm outside. Well, mostly. It's actually been overcast and rainy here the past three days, but it seriously doesn't seem like Christmas AT ALL. I need snow. I mean, it's still always in, at the lowest, the 50s here. It's just throwing me off. haha. I'm excited to get to talk to everyone on Christmas! I'm sure you're not as pumped as I am, but act excited, ok? haha. 

This week went by really quickly! The definite highlight of the week was having zone conference. It's always so fun to see other missionaries that I have served around, who have been transferred to different areas. I love hearing the comments and viewpoints of the other missionaries, and it really strengthens me. I especially loved the opportunity to see Sister Castro and talk with her more. It's nice to be able to get to know her better and I always feel so loved when she is around. She takes good care of the missionaries and we really are so grateful for her. She has a very comforting spirit about her and I think that's why I love being around her the most - it's probably because she is a mom. That's my guess. I really enjoyed when she spoke to us. She is very powerful and is absolutely guided by the Spirit when she speaks. One thing that stuck out to me the most that I learned about, was praying. I have been feeling lately that I need to improve the way that I pray. I have a relationship with my Heavenly Father through prayer, but I know that it could be so much stronger. In my patriarchal blessing it talks about how I will have a great relationship with Him through prayer and that I will feel Him close to me as I pour my heart out. As we were taught about pleading with God through prayer, I was really pondering on what that means and how I can improve my prayers. I spend a lot of time praying throughout the day but I know that I could be praying more. I need to take the time to really focus when I pray and I think that will help me feel that I am exerting my best efforts when I am praying. Anyway, that's something that I'm working on right now. Something that I've done whenever possible is to pray vocally when my companion is in the shower. I find that I can focus so much more when I'm praying vocally and I know how powerful vocal prayers are. I also pray vocally in the shower sometimes, which seems funny, but it helps me a lot. I'll keep you updated on improvements/miracles that I see as I work on improving my prayers.

This week we taught Choice, Heena, Rocio, Kathy, the Lams (less-active), Liz, Brother Luke (less-active), the Pflaumers, Nancy, Shelly, Nanci (less-active) and Kelsey, Cheyenne, Michelle, Ginger (less-active), the Oatmans, Elias, Judy (less-active), Hani, the Matweyews, and Anthony.

Elias is really great! He came to church with us again yesterday. The hard thing is that both of the wards we cover meet at the same time, so we were in sacrament meeting with Elias, but we had to leave halfway through second hour to go to the other ward. Sister Eaton said she would sit by him when we left and take care of him, so I hope everything went well with him. I wouldn't have worried if Brother Pierson (the ward mission leader) was there, but he was at home with the flu. Elias is very in tune with the Spirit. He's aware of how he feels when he prays and when he reads. The hard part is when he reads in the Book of Mormon. He's been reading every day for 10 minutes, but it's hard for him because he didn't finish high school. He just doesn't know how to read that well. I think he gets a little discouraged by that, but the great thing is that he keeps trying. We've told him that we know he'll see his reading skills improve if he continues to read in the Book of Mormon, and I really do have the faith that that will happen. The Lord blesses those who put Him first, and that will happen for Elias if he continues to do so. Elias is a sad guy. He moved away from his family in Washington because of a bad relationship he was in and is living here with his aunt. It's been such a blessing for him to be able to pray and to have learned how to pray. He always talks about how when he prays he feels better or he feels safe. That really touched me, because I have had those same feelings a lot as I've been serving my mission. The thing about teaching Elias is that he is 29. He could go to the singles ward, but we're not sure right now if that is what's best for him. We've been praying about it a lot, so we'll see what answer we receive about that. I hope we don't have to pass him off to the singles ward elders. That always makes me nervous for some reason, even though I know that the elders are really great missionaries. We'll just need to be very sensitive to the Spirit so we do what's best for Elias.

We taught the Oatmans again this week. They didn't read like they said they would, which made me pretty disappointed. I just want them to read and pray so they can receive their answers sooner rather than later. They had questions for us when we came because they had talked to a friend of theirs who used to learn from the missionaries. They asked about the Word of Wisdom and about how there are parts of the Book of Mormon that are word for word with passages in the Bible. The funny part is that the whole time Deanna kept saying that they need to give it time and stay open. She's really great. I think she really wants to know if this is true for herself. We told them that a lot of the concerns they have now, and possibly will have in the future, will be resolved by first getting a reassurance/answer for themselves about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and both Keith and Deanna talked about how it's hard to think that there are three kingdoms when they've been raised to think only of heaven or hell. Deanna also talked about how she doesn't understand why God would have people that were really good and followed Jesus Christ, but just didn't become members of the LDS church,  not be able to live with Him. Even when she expressed that concern she basically answered herself and said that she would have to give it time and pray about it. How great is that? We invited them to be baptized on the 19th of January and Deanna said yes right away - that she would make that her goal. Keith was hesitant. He said he felt like that was trying to rush things, but we explained that it's showing their faith in God to give them answers so long as they are doing their part by reading, praying, and coming to church. Keith then agreed and said that he would set that as his goal as well. I know that they'll get an answer. They were planning on coming to church with us on Sunday, but on Saturday night they texted us and said that they didn't feel like they should come to church with us yet. They said that right at that moment they were reading "their homework," and Deanna said that they would need more time and prayers. My heart sank a little because I know how powerful the Spirit is at church, especially in receiving answers to their questions. Sister Stoker got in the shower right after that, so I knelt down and prayed vocally about Deanna and Keith. I prayed that they would feel the Spirit as they read and that they would be able to recognize it. We are meeting with them on Wednesday night, so I'm excited to hear about how reading and praying has been going for them.

My trainee, Sister Stoker, is doing well. Obviously she is still going through some ups and downs, but I know that she's going to be fine. She feels like she isn't progressing or growing, but it's so obvious to me that she is. When we had zone conference, I was talking to Hermana Walker about what it's like to be training and I told her that the coolest thing is seeing the Lord working with Sister Stoker to help her change and be shaped into a very powerful missionary. Although Sister Stoker is unsure of herself, I know that she's a great missionary. She wants to be perfect at everything because that's what she's used to. She's just like I was, but she's learning to rely on the Lord more than herself. That's something that I'm still trying to learn as well. I just know that we are so much more successful when we choose to rely on the Spirit rather than relying on our personality or our own abilities. We are promised to be given power and we have been set apart and given authority to teach the people in our area. It's hard for her to just listen to me bear my testimony about that and to just be ok with everything, because she has to experience it for herself. I'm just trying to help her recognize the blessings and to see the changes that she's been making already. She breaks down every once in a while because it's hard and sometimes I'm not really sure what to say. All I can really say is to be patient and trust in the promised blessings of the Lord. That's what helped me when I was struggling and it still helps me. I read the blessing I was given when I was set apart or I read my patriarchal blessing and I remember that the Lord ALWAYS fulfills his promises to us if we are obedient and worthy. She'll learn that just like I have. 

 Merry Christmas! 

We'll talk next week!

You know what I want for Christmas? A letter from Cortney, Colin, Britt, Erin, Solon, Damian, ZACH (that would be crazy), and Dad. The others are good to me and write me letters. :) 

 

I love you all!

 -Sister Bennett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUNKED HIM!

 

December 10, 2012

 

Dearest FAMILY!

How is everyone this week? I got some good emails, I think. I haven't read them yet, but I did see some sweet pictures! SNOW! I miss snow, honestly. It's so sunny and warm here. It just seems wrong to be listening to Christmas music in the car and seeing everyone's Christmas lights. By the way, you all have to come to California with me next Christmas. The lights they do here are INSANE! Seriously. They have lights all over the ground, in their trees, and on their houses. They don't have to worry about snow! It's crazy! We actually got to help an investigator set up his lights this past week. I think he was surprised by me because I kept saying "no, do it like this." haha. He's really awesome. His name is Bill and his wife is a member. Bill comes to church all the time but just won’t be baptized. We're going to his house for Christmas dinner. We give each other a hard time, so it's fun to go and see him. Plus, putting up lights was nice because usually, I would help out with that at home. Remember last year when I was trying to make our trees look like temple square trees? Yeah, harder than I thought it would be. Haha. I almost fell out of that tree by the driveway like 10 times! Hahah. Good times. :)

President Castro talked about me at zone leaders' council. Our zone leaders go and receive training from President Castro and the assistants and then come and teach it to us. Elder Castanda told me that President was talking about me and about how much I've changed. He said that I'm very persistent now and exactly obedient. I guess he talked about how proud he is of me. That was nice, but also made me feel weird or something. It's nice to know that President is aware of me but now I just feel like all of these people will be watching me. I just want to stay out here in Moorpark and be left alone. hahaha.

Well, this week we didn't have as much success as would seem usual. It was kind of frustrating to me. I just want to be a good example to Sister Stoker of hard work and obedience so she can see the success that comes from doing those things. It was kind of a weird week, but at the same time, we had a lot of different things going on that took up proselyting time, so I guess I need to remember that. I just want her to feel good about the work that we're doing and gain a strong testimony that success comes when we are obedient.

This week Sister Stoker has grown a lot. She doesn't see it, but there are big differences that I can see. She is more confident now and has shown more faith in declaring to people on their doorsteps and in teaching. I know that it's really hard being a new missionary. You just want to be good at everything right now and don't want to have to go through the hard part of adjusting. I know that, because that's exactly how I felt. I have been doing my best to counsel with her and give her advice based on my experiences as a new missionary. She is very similar to me, so I've just been talking to her a lot about patience and how the Lord's timing is always what's best for us. I have shared with her how grateful I am for the things that I learned in those first few, very hard, weeks of my mission and I know that she'll feel the same way. She's struggling for sure. This morning she was crying and talking about how she just keeps thinking "I don't even have to be here." I have been trying to help her see the blessings that she's been receiving. I've also been trying to help her remember why she came out here to serve a mission. I remember when President Castro said to me that I made this decision to come on a mission. No one forced me to be here, and I needed to remember why I decided that. Sister Stoker needs to remember that as well. She is going to be a really great missionary, but it is going to take time to learn the little things. "You can't walk without first taking the baby steps and falling a lot" is what Sister Tippetts always said to me. She was right. Man, I sure did have a great trainer in Sister Tippetts. I've been really trying to use the things that she taught me to teach Sister Stoker. I think maybe the thing that I need to do the most, and be better at, is helping Sister Stoker feel loved by me. I'm really striving to put her first and to remember another thing that Sister Tippetts taught me - my companion is my #1 investigator. Sister Stoker will make it. She's tough and I know that she wants to be a great missionary.

This week we were able to teach Heidi, Bill, Nancy, Anthony, Brother Mason, Elias, Delfy, Hani, Sister Honor, Sister Keith, Shelly, the Oatmans, Heena, the Bergs, and the Matweyews.

Heena is doing pretty well. Last week we had discussed a lot with her about baptism and what is holding her back. She told us that she reads in the Book of Mormon every day and prays, and she actually admitted to us that she knows that she doesn't get answers from her book of scripture in the Hindu faith, but that she does get answers when she goes to the Book of Mormon. She is still held back by the idea that being baptized means that she's Christian and that she is going away from her heritage and who she is. Sister Tolliver was at the lesson and asked if Heena believes that Jesus Christ is the Savior. Heena said yes, so we told her that she is already Christian then. Heena has felt the Spirit so much and she is very aware of it. She came to church last week and she told us that she almost wanted to go up during fast and testimony meeting so she could say something. I'm struggling to understand how to help her gain the desire to be baptized. She doesn't exactly understand why she must be baptized, so what we've decided to do is to go back to the scriptures with her and point out the doctrine of Christ. We are commanded to be baptized, as Christ was, and hopefully we can help her feel the Spirit as we share scriptures about why we need to be baptized. I feel that Heena will just need time. Eventually something will happen and she will want to be baptized, but I just want to know how we can help her get there now! Ok, patience is something I'm still learning about. I love Heena and I just want her to have all of the blessings that she deserves - especially the gift of the Holy Ghost. She said that she would continue to pray about baptism and try to change the wording of her prayers to be more specific so we'll see what happens there.

Nancy is doing really great, well, when it comes to attending church. She's come to church the past two weeks and she's been meeting a lot of people there. She loves all of the little children and the people in the ward are starting to reach out to her more and are getting to know her. She keeps talking to me about how she knows why I still have to be in Moorpark. She said I can't leave until she's baptized and that's what God told her. She's so funny! She still struggles to read in the Book of Mormon and we're trying to help her with that. Sister Tolliver is really great with her. Boy do I wish that they were in the same ward. That really would make things much simpler. Anyway, Sister Tolliver has thought of some good ideas of how to help Nancy with her Book of Mormon reading, so hopefully the newest idea will work. We are mostly focused on Nancy going to church every week, and so far she's been doing it. She's planning on being baptized on the 29th of this month, so I'm really looking forward to that day, finally! We just need to continue preparing her and helping her understand that covenant that she's making and what's expected of her after she is baptized. She came to the bi-stake Christmas concert last night with Sister Tolliver and brought her son, which was great. Now, we need to talk to her more about letting us teach her two boys. I think that will help her a lot in having her family learning with her. Nancy is just so great. She has a sweet testimony. This week, we taught her the plan of salvation, again, and she told us that she KNOWS it's true. I asked her how she knows and she said that when she's learning more and more about it she feels really good and just knows that this is really the plan. I loved that! I've never heard her really bear her testimony to us, so that was a really precious moment for me.

The highlight of my week, other than Anthony's baptism, was teaching the Oatmans. Keith and Deanna have two boys and one of them, Paul, has gone to church a few times with a friend in the 2nd ward. I first met Keith and Deanna in July with Sister Tippetts and they said that they wanted to wait until Keith came back from some army stuff. Well, we finally got to sit down with them and teach them the restoration on Saturday morning. Deanna really wants to learn more. She told us that she has seen that the only religion in which the people really live what they believe every single day is the LDS faith, and that's why she wanted to meet with us. She also loves the family values that we have because they are similar to her own. Keith just seemed to be there for the ride with his wife, but as we taught I realized that he really is interested and paying attention as well. When we finished talking about Joseph Smith we asked them what they thought and how they felt. Deanna said that she believes that could happen because if she's able to believe that Moses parted the Red Sea, then why wouldn’t Joseph Smith be able to have the experience that he said he had. She told us that coming in she was skeptical and that when she feels like something is a "no" then she doesn't budge, but she said that she was surprised by how she felt. She said that at that point she felt like a "maybe" and that she wanted to learn more and find out if what we shared was true. Keith talked about how he's always been skeptical of the Bible because it's been picked over and changed and isn't really sure even about prophets in there. He did say that it's interesting that the Book of Mormon has only been translated once, so it is a pure translation. He didn't seem like he was closed, but that he, obviously, wasn't just going to take our word for it. That's the best! That means that he will really be seeking an answer. The Oatmans all came with us to the Christmas concert last night, which was really amazing. The Spirit was really strong there and I know that they felt it. Deanna kept thanking us for inviting them and was happy that she didn't miss out on such a wonderful experience. I'm super excited to keep teaching them. When we invited them to be baptized when they know that what we've shared is true, Deanna almost jumped out of her seat and said "yes!" "Of course I would!" How great is that?

Anthony's baptism was a really wonderful experience for me. At first, I was a bit disappointed about the turn out. Usually the members of the second ward are very supportive and we have had a lot of people at the baptisms, but on Saturday night the numbers were scarce. My disappointment was quickly dispelled, because the meeting was so spiritual. My favorite part was after the actual ordinance of baptism was performed. Anthony got up and bore his testimony and thanked everyone for their support. His testimony was strong and simple. I felt that same love that I've felt for him the entire time we've taught him. I also felt very proud. I know that he has such a bright future with the gospel in his life and I can't wait for him to go on a mission. There were a few other testimonies that were borne as well that really touched me. Brother Lutz shared his testimony and in it he said that I am one of the best missionaries that he has ever seen. I felt overwhelmed because I know that I have not done this work alone and that these successes should not be attributed to me. I have felt the guidance of the Spirit so much here in Moorpark as we've taught different people. I understand that the Lord is working here in His vineyard and that I am just an instrument that he is using. I appreciated the kind words, but mostly I felt grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me the many different opportunities here to see people change and become converted. We, as missionaries, are nothing without the Spirit. We cannot teach without it and therefore cannot baptize without it. I just want to remain worthy of that Spirit. Brother Lutz also talked about how he is dreading the day that I will be transferred from Moorpark. That definitely hit me hard. I love this area so much. A lot of people ask me if I wish I had been transferred so I could experience something different- Absolutely not. I have changed so much here and have had so many sacred experiences that I, too, dread the day when I will have to leave. I love the people here. Not just those who we teach on a regular basis, but also those that we just meet tracting. That is an amazing feeling. There are a lot of reasons, I'm sure, why I have needed to be in Moorpark for this amount of time - the #1 reason being, in my opinion, that the Lord has been able to shape and mold me so much here. I have felt the power of the Atonement in my life because of the different situations I've been in that are specific to Moorpark, I have come to depend more fully on the Atonement. That's something that I really needed to happen to become the missionary that the Lord needs me to be. I have so much more to learn and a ton more growing to do, so I guess I'll just have to be in Moorpark my entire mission! :)

I'm grateful for the gospel. I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to share it with others. Being a missionary has opened my eyes to the blessing of the Atonement and the power in it that changes people, including myself. Missions are hard, but what the Savior did was so much harder. I am grateful to sacrifice this much to help others partake of the grace of our Savior through His Atonement.

 

Love,

Sister Bennett

  
                                                             

                                                             Anthony’s Baptism

  

   
                                With Brother Lutz, Anthony, Caitlyn, and Sister Stoker

I'm Stoked To Be With Sister Stoker :)

December 3, 2012

Dear Family,

My new companion is Sister Stoker from Burley, Idaho. She's great! Transfer meeting was really exciting when we met. They always wait until the end to introduce who's training who. I could barely sit still I was so nervous. Seriously, my whole body was starting to twitch! Haha. But when we, the trainers, walked in and sat down, I looked over and saw Sister Stoker and thought to myself, "That's who I'm training." Pretty cool, huh? haha. After transfer meeting we were walking past President and Sister Castro and they stopped Sister Stoker and me. President Castro was so nice, he told me, "We need you in Moorpark a bit longer", with a smile. He also told Sister Stoker that she has the best trainer. Then Sister Castro came up from behind me and grabbed me and said, "Oh, Sister Stoker, you're so lucky! I wish I could be Sister Bennett's companion.” Then she looked at President with a smile and said, “I'm sure we can work that out!" Haha. It was really sweet. All of the missionaries were really sweet and kept telling Sister Stoker that she's so lucky to have me as a trainer. I just kept thinking that I wish they would stop because she'll have too high of expectations! Seriously though.... 

Guess who I saw at transfer meeting!?!? Jacob Cheadle! He's doing great! I can tell he loves the work already. It was hard to not give him a hug, and I accidentally called him Jacob. haha. He's gained a little weight, so the people must be taking really good care of him. haha. That was really fun to see him. Another connection that I have here in my district is that Brother Rich's grandson is now in my district - Elder Rich. Mom and Dad will have to tell Brother Rich that when they see him. 

It's been a pretty good week when it comes to the work. We had a lot of success, which I was grateful for because it helps Sister Stoker get excited about the work. It's interesting being a trainer. I can't say it hasn't been a challenge for me, because it has. I think the biggest struggle is feeling pressure to help Sister Stoker start her mission out well. This time is very important for a new missionary and I know that the reason I am the missionary that I am now is because I had an amazing trainer in Sister Tippetts. I think a lot about the things that Sister Tippetts taught me and I've been trying to use things that she did to help me as a new missionary. The hard part is that my memory isn't the best, and I can't remember a lot of the things. I just try to be a good example to Sister Stoker. That's one thing that I know I can do. I've been praying a lot for guidance and help in knowing how to help her get acclimated and how to help her feel like she is improving. She has expressed concern about not liking the idea of not being really good at things and feeling inadequate. That is very interesting because I am the same way. I don't like to be bad at stuff and I want to feel like I know what I'm doing. I went through the same feelings as a new missionary and I am going through them again now in learning how to be a trainer. I have received a lot of comfort from my Heavenly Father throughout this week as I have prayed for His help. I have also felt strongly, many times, that I am supposed to be Sister Stoker's trainer, no matter what I think I'm ready for, because the Lord knows me and what I am capable of. It's humbling to think that he has entrusted me with the responsibility to be training. I have lost some sleep due to the new circumstances, but I think that probably happens to everyone. I know that I have help from the Lord and that I just need to rely on the Spirit to help guide me in teaching Sister Stoker. I will say that I've been super tired since I've been training because I talk so much. It's exhausting! I hope that I can get used to that, or even better that Sister Stoker will start feeling more comfortable so she can talk more! 

Becoming a trainer has also required me to do a lot more teaching. When we're tracting, I obviously talk a lot more than Sister Stoker because she is still adjusting. That's been somewhat of a trial for me. I feel like I'm not connecting with people and like I don't know what I'm doing when I'm declaring sometimes, but finally the other night I kind of snapped myself out of thinking that way. I know that the promises in the scriptures are real, that if I have faith and just open my mouth that I will have the words to say. I realized that that has been happening. I haven't run out of things to say yet. Whether that means every person we talk to becomes a new investigator or not doesn't matter, I just needed to take a step back and recognize that the Lord does keep his promises. I do feel that I can still improve a lot in the way that I declare so I'm working on it, but I will remember now to keep having faith, and as I study how to be more powerful in declarations, I know that I will recognize different things that I can do to be more effective in that area. 

Sister Stoker seems to be ok. I don't know if she's holding things in or not, but she's a positive person. I can really tell that she wants to do well. I think she worries about how she sounds or looks as we're teaching or tracting, but I'm trying to help her learn to really rely on the Spirit. I know that she already has done that. We've had a few lessons where she just decided to share a scripture or an experience that really brought the Spirit and helped the investigator understand things better. I told her afterward, "That was great! You are already getting down the most important aspect of the work - following the Spirit! It's all uphill from here!" I think she feels a bit overwhelmed about everything that she needs to learn, especially learning all of the lessons since they don't really emphasize that in the MTC. I've been sharing little pieces of advice with her that I received from my trainer as well as sharing things that I did. She always expresses gratitude for the advice and I've seen her using those things. I think the hardest thing for her, just like it was for me, is tracting. When people say "no thanks," she's ready to leave. I think she at first felt uncomfortable when I kept talking to them and wouldn't just leave when they say "no" once or twice. She'll get used to that. I hated tracting at first, but now I understand that it's an important part of the work. Sister Stoker is a great missionary, and I can really see her potential. She will be very powerful because she understands the importance of the Spirit in the work. 

This week we had a lot of good lessons! We taught Heena, Michael, Gisele, Steven, Elias, Nancy, Heidi, Nanci and Kelsey, Brother Peters, Patty, Aldo, Hani, another Nancy, Judy (less-active), Jon, Denise and Carston, Sophia (investigator) and Jesse (less-active), the Matweyews, Steven/Tonya/Caitlyn/Kayli/Anthony, and we had Anthony's baptismal interview. 

We met Elias this week while we were out walking. He was just standing by his truck, so we went over and talked to him. He's a hispanic guy in his 20s. He was really open as we talked to him and he said that he wanted to learn more about God so he could get over things and forget about his past. We set up an appointment to go back and teach him. When we went back, we met with Elias at a park down the street from his home and taught him about the restoration. At first he just kept talking about his ex-wife and how she hurt him, so I was a little worried that he would just treat us like his therapists, but as we started into the lesson, he listened intently and asked questions. I felt the Spirit a lot as we taught, especially as we shared Joseph Smith's first vision. I know how much the gospel can help Elias, and sometimes I just want to jump out of my seat and yell it to the people we teach - "You have no idea how much this can help you!!!" Something to that effect would be efficient. Don't worry, I didn't do that. We related what we were teaching to his situation and how through the gospel he can be healed. At the end of the lesson we invited him to be baptized and he accepted. He's scheduled to be baptized on January 12. At first he wouldn't set a date, but I felt like he had faith that he would get an answer about the things we taught. It was cool to feel the Spirit work with us as we helped resolve his concern, which was that the 5th of January would be too soon. I'm excited to keep teaching him. 

We had a very interesting lesson with a referral named Carston and his wife Denise. They are in their late 20s or early 30s. They both are really strong Christians and go to a church called Grace Bible Church. I think it's just a Christian church. Carston is a really smart guy and we could tell that he enjoys having a lot of knowledge. They fed us dinner, and over dinner it seemed like he thought this was an opportunity to teach us about things from the Bible. I wasn't sure how things were going to go with them, because it seemed like he would want to Bible bash. As we continued to talk, he told us that he was planning to read the Book of Mormon and told us that he would read it before we came back. I think that's great. I know the power that the Book of Mormon has, so we shared Moroni 10:3-5 with them and invited him to not only read it, but also to pray about it. The entire time we were there, I just kept thinking about how I wish I knew more; more about the Bible, or even about the Book of Mormon and other scriptures that we have. I felt a little frustrated after the lesson for that reason - lacking knowledge. As we drove home, I thought about why missionaries are called to serve at such a young age. Why don't older people who know more go? I knew the answer. We aren't supposed to know a ton and "Bible bash" with people. We need to be humble and rely on the Spirit to teach people. We're not going to people's homes to argue with them about who's right and who's wrong. We are to go and share our message and invite people to repent and come closer to our Savior. I think that was a much needed lesson for me to remember and relearn. The Lord is definitely aware of me and I am grateful for the different lessons that I've learned on my mission. 

Well, I hope everyone is doing great! Another week and so many more miracles here!

Love,

Sister Bennett

Putting the TRAIN in Training-Wheels

November 26, 2012

Oooooh boy, you all are in for a good email today! 

Well, how do I put the TRAIN in training-wheels you ask? I've been called to be a trainer in Moorpark this transfer! CRAZY! This will be my 5th transfer in Moorpark! I can't believe I'm training. I am so nervous, you have no idea. I feel very humbled at the idea that the Lord sees fit for me to train an incoming missionary. This is a big responsibility. I'm helping set the standard for this Sister's entire mission. I prayed a lot about it last night and this morning, shed a few tears, to be honest, and felt the confirmation that this is what the Lord knows and sees that I should do. I know that he will qualify me to do this. I just need to have faith and be obedient and I know that I will be able to help this sister start her mission out right. Please keep me in your prayers a lot. I know you already do pray for me. I read a scripture this week that reminded me of the support of my family - Moroni 8:2-3. Just say a few extra prayers for me now. Thanks! 

How is my family?!? I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving! I haven't gotten to read the email from Mom yet about the craziness at the Bennett home,  but I'm sure it was really fun. I spent Thanksgiving at the Akinas' home. I really like their family, but they are too willing to have missionaries be disobedient. They were telling us about things that the missionaries would do with them in the past when they came for a holiday and I was like "ooooooh no sir!" We do not disobey. I had a lot of fun eating with them, but for the next holiday I'm definitely going to do things differently. This having been my first one, I wasn't really sure how things are supposed to go, but now that I have, I want to change things a lot. We started the day off by having district meeting. That was good as always, and then the festivities began. The Akinas had us come over at like 3 and we didn't eat until 5! I was not happy with that. I mean, it was nice to spend some time there with them. We played a few games that were really fun. The Akinas have 4 daughters and three of them were home. Jade (19), Kayla (9), and Alee (16). They seemed to enjoy having us there and they laughed at me a bit too often. Haha. I seem to make a fool of myself a lot. The food was good that we had. I missed having ham, especially since I don't like turkey, but it wasn't that bad. They cooked it on a rotisserie thing. It was pretty...alright. Haha. After we finally left the Akinas, we went to a part-member family's home and had pie. Bill is the non-member and we've started meeting with him. Their family is really great and I'm really happy that we got to go and spend some time with them. For Christmas, I want to be out talking to people a little more. I thought it would be a really good opportunity to go and share a message and everyone in the zone was praying to find a family to teach since they are usually all home and together on holidays. Well, we didn't have that chance because we were barely out talking to people at all! Oh well, it was still a really good holiday and I'm grateful for the people that were so kind to us and fed us and what not. I will be honest, I felt a little homesick when I woke up Thanksgiving morning. I've never been away from home for any holidays. Plus, it made it a little harder to know that you were all together. I just had to push my thoughts about what I would usually have been doing on that day out of my head. Just know I thought of you all! However, you should be a little jealous because it was 84 degrees here for Thanksgiving. How's the weather where all of you are? Hahaha! Suckers! 

One sad thing that happened this week was that Brother Lutz is going to be released as the ward mission leader in second ward. They just reorganized the Bishopric and he is the 1st counselor now. He hasn't technically been released, so I'm not through with him yet! Hahah. He's so great. I love their family a lot. They've definitely been my family away from home and the idea that I wont see them as much makes me a bit sad, but I know that he's been called to do what the Lord needs him to do and that our next ward mission leader will be really great as well. We're going to be spending Christmas at the Lutzs' so I'm really excited about that! OH, one funny thing that brother Lutz told me about last night. He said that he was talking in his Bishopric meeting about us and how the ward would be losing a missionary (because Brother Lutz kept telling me that I'm going to Bakersfield) and Brother Rasmussen said "Which one? Is it the athletic one?" Brother Lutz said yeah and asked how he knew I was athletic and Brother Rasmussen told him that he could tell by the way I walk and present myself. Haha. OH GREAT! What does that mean? haha. 

Now for the update:

This week went really well. We saw a lot of miracles and very promising new investigators. I'm really excited that I will be staying here for this next transfer to continue seeing the fruits of our labors here. I was a little sad at the possibility of missing out on Anthony's and Nancy's baptisms as well as not getting to teach some of these new investigators that we have now. I have seen the Lord's hand in this work a lot this week and I know that he will continue to guide it here in Moorpark. 

Just yesterday we had a great miracle; every single person that we tried to contact was home and we had a lesson with all of them! It was really awesome because I had prayed a lot the night before and yesterday morning that the people that we wanted to try to see would be home. I was praying especially hard because on Saturday night no one was home! That's the worst when that happens because it feels like we aren't doing anything. We need to be talking to people and it just felt like we were in the car so much, driving from house to house. That was a great blessing to have had so many lessons yesterday. Hard work does pay off. Add in obedience and you have a recipe for success. 

This week we taught the Matweyews, Anthony, Michael, Delfy, Nancy, Nanci and Kelsey, Heidi, Blake, the Oatmans (Keith and Deanna), the Caudels (less-active), the Smedleys (less-active), TerryAnne, Brother Mason, Gisele, Monica, and Sister Schaffner.

Our lesson with Delfy went really well. We taught her about prophets because she said she believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet (supposedly) but she believes there are many prophets. She said there are probably a lot on the earth at this time and we just don't know about it. I guess we didn't help her understand the role of a prophet well enough. We talked to her about authority and about how God has always called a prophet to lead and guide His children on the earth. That morning during studies, there were specific scriptures that really stuck out to us for teaching Delfy and the Lord obviously prepared us because Delfy seemed to gain a better understanding through those scriptures. I think Delfy believes us, the missionaries, when we say things, but I know that she doesn't have her own testimony of these things because she is struggling with reading the Book of Mormon. I just felt a huge desire for her to read it because I know that if she does she will find out that it's true. I bore my testimony to her and promised her that she would get an answer if she would sacrifice some of her time to read and pray about it. The Spirit was very strong and I have been praying a lot that she will have a desire to read it. If not, we may need to stop visiting her because I'm worried that she just likes the missionaries too much. It's not about us, it's about finding the truth for herself, but she needs to have a desire. We'll see what happens there. You can tell someone is becoming too comfortable/converted to the missionaries when they're worried all of the time about if we're leaving or not and not more concerned about the messages we share. Delfy has a lot of faith and I know she has felt the Spirit, but I don't know if she is ready yet to accept the gospel. 

We got to teach Heidi again this week. She's pretty great. She has a lot of questions and it makes me excited because I know that if she will read the Book of Mormon that those questions will be answered. Heidi has a 12 year old daughter and we really hope that she, Rachel, will get involved in the lessons. I think Rachel would really like church and that she'll connect well with young women there. Rachel plays the drums, and so do I, so we connected quickly and I just hope that my companion and I can be good examples to her and that she'll want to learn herself. Heidi seems very logical, which is fine. She just doesn't seem to have a firm foundation in her life at all. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation because she asked a lot about why it matters if what we teach is true. I think, well I know, that Heidi really needs to gain a testimony of the Plan of Salvation so she doesn't feel like she's just wandering around in her life. She talks about how she has had many different "purposes" - being a student, having a career, raising a child. She feels like she's completed a lot of her purposes here in life, so it was fun teaching her about the plan that God has for us. I really hope Heidi will start coming to church because I think she could really use that support in her life. She's a single mom and it doesn't seem like she has many friends, so one goal that we have is to get her to church, of course, but also to really try to get members involved in her conversion. 

We also got to teach Gisele again this week. She's so sweet. She seems very open to learning and said that she is excited to read the Book of Mormon. Brother Lutz, our ward mission leader, had a copy of the Book of Mormon in Portuguese for us to give her and she was really pumped about that. We are lucky, because in our ward there is a couple who served in Brazil and they are really active in doing missionary work. Sister Omer, the wife, is going to be coming to our next appointment with Gisele, so hopefully they'll really connect and enjoy speaking Portuguese together. It will also be nice to have Sister Omer there because she can explain things that Gisele doesn't quite understand. I'm excited to keep teaching her, but the main goal is really to get her family to learn as well. 

One cool experience that we had while tracting this week was meeting Blake. When Blake opened the door he basically asked us to come back and teach him before we could introduce ourselves. He said he knew who we were and he was really interested in Latter-Day Saints and what we believe. He also told us that he has read part of the Book of Mormon and really enjoyed the message that it contains. He talked to us about how he has met so many different LDS people and he feels that we contribute so much to society. Basically he just had a ton of good stuff to say about the LDS faith. We asked him if we could pray with him and explained how we pray. We talked about how we know it's not memorized but that it is truly a relationship that we have with our Father in Heaven through prayer. He remarked that that is really nice and after Sister Putnam prayed he said that her prayer was very beautiful. I'm super excited to go back and teach him next Saturday! He seems to be very prepared to learn about the gospel, so I'll keep you updated on that. 

I love you all so much. 

Talk to you soon,

Sister Bennett 

Dunk 'Em

November 12, 2012

Well Hey There Family!

This week has been sooooo good! Why? We dunked the Matweyews. Finally! Haha. Ok. Dunking them isn't the best way to put it, but it was so awesome! More on that to come.

I got so many awesome pictures this week from Solon and Cortz! What were you for Halloween anyway Cortz? A nerd? That's my guess. What was everyone else for Halloween? That was a bit ago, so I feel like I should have already heard about it.

It's gotten a bit chilly here for the last few days. The actual temperature is nice (60s-70s) but it's been windy so it makes it kind of cool. It's still better than the weather in Utah and Minnesota, though, so I'm happy. I have nothing to say to Collie though because I know it's the warmest in AZ. Haha.

It was a very eventful week. We had district meeting on Wednesday, mission president interviews on Thursday, the Matweyews' baptism on Saturday, and their confirmation on Sunday. It made for a really busy, but amazing week! We taught a good amount of lessons in between all of the different things that we had going on. I felt like it was a good growing week for me, personally. I can feel my desires changing and my attitude toward missionary work continually becoming what I really want it to be. I've been reading in Alma in my Book of Mormon reading, and it’s hard not to want to have that great desire that Alma and the Sons of Mosiah had toward sharing the gospel. I have a great yearning to bring souls unto Christ, as they did, and I know that as I continue to understand the Atonement more that I will feel as they did that "they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble." (Mosiah 28:3)

Mission president's interviews were really great as always. We have training going on while President Castro interviews the different missionaries in our district + half of another district in our zone. The Assistants had called us earlier in the week and asked us, Sis Put and I, to do a part of the training. We were to teach about "I will go where you want me to go" and what we DO when we get there. I enjoyed preparing for that, a lot, because I learned a ton. Well, we taught right after President Castro shared a message with all of us and he decided that he wanted to wait to start interviews until after we taught our part. It didn't really make me nervous to have him there, but I could tell that Sister Putnam didn't like the idea that President would be sitting in. Teaching went really well, and all of the other elders and sisters who were there told us that it was really powerful and simple. That's great and exactly what we wanted! After we shared our message, the assistants and zone leaders taught about "I'll be what you want me to be" and "Say what you want me to say." Obviously we were going with a theme from hymn 270 (I think that's the number). It was great and I learned a lot of things that I can apply to the work and to the investigators we're teaching. My actual interview with President Castro went really well, as always. He talked to me a lot about the change in age of missionary service. He said that he totally understands now why I came into the mission at the time that I did before they changed the ages. He said that I will be a great leader and teacher to these young, incoming sisters. He said that he knows that I will become like a "Sister Dalton or Sister Tippetts" to these younger missionaries - meaning someone that they really look up to and strive to exemplify. I told him that I really enjoyed what he shared with everyone at the beginning of interviews. He talked about how when we're obedient, tribulation still comes and it's after those tribulations that the blessings come (D&C 58:2-4). I told him that I've really been striving to be obedient and have been wondering and kind of worried about being more obedient. He stopped me as I was talking and said "Sister Bennett, for some missionaries that message that I shared is very necessary. In your case, you are on a different level than most missionaries. You need to just take what I taught and tweek it to meet your needs." He said that he knows that I am exactly obedient. He also said that he can see how much I have changed and he said that the best part is that I have been letting the Lord change me. That hit me hard and it made me feel really good, because that's all that I've really wanted. I just want to allow the Lord to mold and shape me to become a great missionary and a good person. President Castro said that a lot is expected of me and I know that I can reach those expectations with the help of the Lord. He also told me I need to have better posture when I speak. haha. He said that I do most of the time, but then there are glimpses when it's like I think to myself all of a sudden "what am I doing in front of these people? I can't do this!" That's probably true, but I'm glad he gave me that advice, because he said that I'm very powerful when I speak and share my testimony. He also talked about remembering who I am - a representative of Jesus Christ - a sister missionary. He said that I just need to leave Haley behind for now (he actually said my name....that was SUPER weird) and become Sister Bennett 24 hours a day. I agree with that and it's what I'm really going to be working on - my posture and remember my calling as a missionary. I have more power than the kings of the earth because I have been set apart to preach the gospel! (My Missionary Commission). Anyway, interviews were great. President Castro really knows how to make me feel humbled and feel like a million bucks.

With another baptism, it brings me to recommit and refocus on my purpose as a missionary. Baptisms have always helped me regain the perspective of this work that I need and the Lord has blessed me to have baptisms at very crucial times when I needed my vision raised. After the Matweyews' baptism on Saturday I, as always, was brimming with the Spirit. While we were driving back to Moorpark from Thousand Oaks, I thought a lot about how "this is what it's all about." I had just seen a mother and son enter into that first, so important, covenant with our Heavenly Father. I have been so blessed to have been a part of teaching them and helping them make those links in their family chain. We serve as missionaries to help families come together - for eternity. I think this baptism hit me the hardest for that reason. It has been an amazing experience to watch the Matweyews as they have accepted the gospel. It's miraculous to see the difference in them. They understand who they are and where they are going as a family and I know that in the not so distant future Zach and Courtney will have a desire to learn about the gospel because of the example of their family. The baptism itself was very spiritual. The Matweyews had family members who came from all over California, as well as Utah and Arizona. Many prayers were answered on Saturday that have been prayed for more than 20 years now. I felt very humbled when Grandma Matweyew (Bro M's mom) came up to me and wrapped her arms around me for a long time. She was crying and told me that she had been praying for Michael (Brother Matweyew) and his family to be able to be sealed for so long and that now they will be able to go to the temple and be sealed together forever. She expressed a great deal of gratitude toward my companion and I. All that I thought at that time was how grateful I am to my Father in Heaven for using me as that instrument for the Spirit to teach this family. I feel so lucky that I have been in Moorpark as they have learned. Sister Matweyew cried a lot at the baptism and Gavin just looked so happy. He had a smile on his face for the entire baptismal service! The happiest person in that room, however, was Brother Matweyew. That was the first time that he has used his Aaronic priesthood. He was very nervous, but his smile seriously took over his face. He did a great job in baptizing them and I felt really proud. Now, in a year, their family will be going to the temple to be sealed - Sis and Bro M to Gavin. Eventually they will be there with their entire family, with Courtney and Zach. I look forward to a year from now when I can come back after my mission and join their family in the sealing room and see them take upon them more blessings that come from living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We had some other great lessons this past week, as well. We taught Jose, Steven, Brother Mason, Maria, Nancy, Nanci and Kelsey, Delfy, Heena, Judy S, Justin, Anthony (finally!), Eddy, Melanie, Brother Peters, and Steven E with Kayli and Caitlyn there.

We got a lot of new investigators this week, which was a blessing that came, I know, as a result of our obedience and hard work. We spent a good amount of time out tracting and as we showed our faith to find new investigators, we had success! Jose, Steven, Melanie, Steven E, and Maria are all new investigators. Maria is one that sticks out to me a lot. We had met her two weeks ago while we were walking from an appointment to go get our car. She was outside with her dog, walking to her apartment from her garage. We said hello and started to talk to her. She told us that she had seen us around a lot and that we always look very happy. We laughed and told her that it's because we have such a happy message that we share! We talked with her for a bit longer and set up an appointment to come back and teach her. We had that appointment this last week and she was home and invited us in! We taught her about the restoration on the gospel. She already has a foundation of great faith in Jesus Christ. That was very obvious to us. As we talked about prophets she made the comment that the prophet is the one who tells us what the Bible ACTUALLY means. I liked that a lot. As we taught her I felt the Spirit working through me and that is just the best feeling in the world. She was very receptive and said that she'll have to do some studying of her own and pray about the things that we shared with her. We said "great!" That's exactly what she needs to do! Her husband is some kind of pastor and she said that she wanted to ask him about Joseph Smith. Who knows what her husband will say, but we're planning on inviting her to have us over when he's home so we can teach him, too. We have an appointment with her this week and I'm excited to go back and see what she has found as she's read from the Book of Mormon.

One of the biggest miracles of the week was that we found Anthony, finally. Anthony had moved and didn't know where he was moving to before they did the actual move. He doesn't have a phone and the only way to contact him is through calling his mother. We had tried getting into contact with Anthony through his cousin, Michael, who we are also teaching, but Michael wouldn't respond to us. I was getting a bit frustrated because Anthony has been preparing to be baptized. Well, on Wednesday when we tried calling Anthony's mom again she answered and we just decided we wouldn't ask for Anthony, instead we just asked her if we could get their new address so we could stop by and see him. The idea was a success! She gave us his address and we went by on Saturday morning, which is when we usually can find Anthony at home, and Anthony was there. It was so funny, when Anthony opened the door he looked so surprised and happy. I was worried that he was going to hug us. I kind of scolded him for not trying to contact us, but he said that he had lost our number in the move. We sat down outside and taught him right then and there. When we finished with the lesson we brought up baptism to him and told him that we would probably need to push it back a week to make sure that he is ready and so that we can finish teaching him the lessons that he needs. He looked really confused and said "we already had to change it once from the 3rd to the 10th. Now we need to change it again?" It was nice to see that he still has a great desire to be baptized. We told him that the 24th of November would be the best because we need more time to teach him, and Cody, his cousin who he wants to baptize him, would have more time to be ready to perform the ordinance for him. Anthony still looked a bit disappointed but agreed to the 24th. We invited him to come to the Matweyews baptism that night and he agreed, so the Lutz family picked him up and brought him. After the baptism we went over and talked to him and asked what he thought and he just smiled - the biggest smile ever. That was enough for us to know that he had felt the Spirit a lot and was ready to be baptized. He's so great! We're really excited to be back on track with him and that he'll be baptized in a few weeks.

We had a really cool experience with one of our new investigators, Justin. We went back for our return appointment with him on Saturday before the baptism. When we got to his house, as I was getting out of our car, I saw Justin and his family pulling up and he looked surprised and almost like he said "oh great" to his wife. I was thinking that he was going to find some excuse of why we wouldn't be able to teach him right then, but I said a little prayer to myself that he would be receptive - especially because it was getting chilly outside and I didn't want to go tracting. We walked over and started talking to him. He was a bit standoffish at first, but then as we were talking he told us that he had read the entire introduction and the testimonies in the Book of Mormon right after we left, the first time that we met him. He said that he had some questions and started asking them, but we jumped in and said that we would love to answer his questions as we taught him. He said ok and invited us into his home. I have taught the message of the restoration many times and many people have shown interest as we've taught them, but no one compares to how intrigued or how interested Justin was. He had tons of questions. He also talked to us about a LDS friend he had in high school and how Justin thought that this friend always had the best attitude and perspective toward life. It was great. I was a bit worried about Justin's wife, but she came in at the end and talked about how she thinks it's great that we're coming over because she's been trying to get Justin to go to church forever. We invited her to sit down with us next time we come over and she agreed. Justin told us at the end that he thought that was so great! He said "ok, when are we doing this again? I love this. What's the next lesson going to be about?" It was a cool experience to see how he was, at first, not excited to talk to us, but by the end of the lesson he wanted more. He also asked us what he should read to get ready for our next lesson. I'm really excited to be teaching him and his family. Sadly, he can't meet for two weeks, but I have faith that he'll read in the Book of Mormon and be just as excited to sit down and meet with us again.

The last lesson I wanted to write about was with Steven E. Steven is the kid who was set to be baptized the Saturday after Sister Tippetts and I got there. Sadly, he had crashed his dad's BMW and his dad told him he couldn't get baptized. Since that time Steven had been continuing to come to church and we had met with him every other week, but then he dropped off the face of the earth for about six weeks. Well, two weeks ago he showed up at church again and he told us that he was staying with Tonya and Caitlyn because he needed a place to stay during the week since he works and goes to school in Moorpark while his dad actually lives by Malibu. Well, Tonya has been on his case and has told him he needs to get back on track to baptism. Last night, we had a lesson with him at the Lutzs' home with Kayli, Caitlyn, and Cody there. We taught him about the restoration and we watched the 20 minute video about Joseph Smith's experience. The Spirit was really strong while we watched the video, and afterward we asked them all what they felt and thought about what they just saw. It was neat to hear a few of them bear their testimonies and that really invited the Spirit even more. We invited everyone there, including Sis Tolliver and Sis Lutz, to take some time when they are alone and kneel down and pray about Joseph Smith. When we asked them if they would do that, Steven piped up and said that he already has and he knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet. He said that he (Steven) felt like his story is similar to that of Joseph Smith’s. That he had been searching for the truth and as he prayed about it he had gotten his answer. We told him that he should pray about it again so that he can strengthen the testimony that he already has even more. I have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, but I still pray every single day to know if it is true, and the amazing thing is, I have it reconfirmed to me every day that I pray about it.

It was really a great week. We've been seeing a lot of miracles here in Moorpark. We actually started a "Miracle Board." We got a poster board and taped it up on our wall and each night we write down at least one miracle. Most days we can't just narrow it down to one, so we write down two or three miracles that we saw that day. That has been really fun and it has helped us a lot to recognize the blessings that are coming as we've been working hard. We are not alone in this work. That's for sure.

Here's a scripture that really hit me this past week - Alma 29:9-10. Seeing people come unto Christ really helps me remember and see the mercy of the Lord in my own life. It's a blessing to be out sharing the gospel and having a constant reminder of his mercy and love for us. I hope you have a good week and are doing missionary work.

I love you all very much!

Sister Bennett

P.S. - I hate daylight savings. It's dark way too early and everyone thinks it's way late when it's like 6pm! Ah! Boo.

 

 

        Baptism of Matweyews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       Haley with Sister Putnam and Matweyews