I’m Old…er.

 January 21, 2013

 

"Dearest [Family].....God is Near You....Watching O're You Day and Night"......ahhh I don't know the rest of the words to that song. Good one though.

Whelp, my birthday is over and I am ok with that. It was an ok day. Well, we'll talk in terms of Haley vs Sister Bennett. For Sister Bennett, my birthday was great. We traveled back from exchanges in San Louis Obsipo in the morning - we stopped at McDonald's first for a b-day BREAKFAST -woot! -  and then had appointments the rest of the day. The lessons that we had were pretty good, especially considering the circumstances of not having time to plan when we got back and that we were super tired. Also, we had a great lesson with Bob and got to go to a baptism with him. That was great! Perfect birthday gift for Sister Bennett! For Haley, it wasn't the best day ever. Since I'm a girl I seem to be always up and down with emotions. I don't really know the people here in Ventura too well, so no one knew it was my birthday. Bob didn't even remember and we told him a few days before that. It wasn't a day for me to feel super special, although Sister Lillywhite made her best effort at it. She gave me some really cute earrings, made me a cake, and made me a really funny card. Sister Stoker also sent me a card with some pictures of us in it and she had made me a piece for a visual of the plan of salvation lesson that I had lost. That was sweet. I haven't gotten the package from you yet, mom, but I'm excited for it! I'm going to have a good birthday p-day today! I think we're going to the mall, and I'm going to get myself some new shoes! Well, I really have to because both pairs of shoes that I wear the most are basically done. They've served me well for a good 8 months. One really nice thing that happened for my birthday was that I got to sit by President Castro at the baptism. Toward the end of the baptism he asked me if he could see my planner. I was thinking "Oh no! We didn't even have time to plan today since we had been on exchanges! This is the worst possible day for him to look at my planner." Thankfully, Sister Lillywhite had filled in some of my planner since I had been complaining that it was so empty...it just looked wrong. She had written happy birthday all over it. Well, when President got it he wrote me a really nice note. It was simple, but it made me feel appreciated. That was nice. Anyway, it was a good day. I shouldn't have expected it to be all about me....I'm a missionary. We serve others. Haha. Duh.

It's going to take some more time to get used to being a traveling sister. I'm not accustomed to going to meetings, traveling, and doing all of this extra planning that keeps us inside when I would usually have been proselyting. I get a bit of an itch if I have to stay inside for too long, so it's been interesting attempting to make this adjustment. This week was really great. I was so grateful to have been able to attend zone leaders council. Usually, it's just the zone leaders that attend that meeting. They meet once a month and President Castro instructs them and gives them training. Well, the traveling sisters were invited this time so that we can get ideas and prepare for sisters' conference. I received many answers to my prayers in those ZLC meetings and it gave me a lot of motivation going into this new calling as a traveling sister. One thing that I really enjoy about when President Castro teaches is that he walks us through passages of scriptures. It's very powerful, and it reminds me of the guidance I should be receiving through my scripture study. He was a professor of religion at BYU-I, so he knows his stuff. I felt the Spirit a lot at ZLC and I really hope, and pray, that we can help the sisters have a very spiritual, powerful experience when they come for sisters' conference next week. One of the best things about being at ZLC, for me, was listening to the comments and insights of the zone leaders. It came to me as a very powerful, testimony building experience of reconfirming that the Lord works through us to accomplish His work. It was amazing hearing these 19-21 year old boys share their testimonies and what they have learned. They could be doing anything else in the world, but they are here. I would never guess they are only 19-21 years old because of the maturity they have. That was really neat for me witness.

On Thursday we went on our first exchange. We drove up to San Louis Obispo, which sits on the coast, on Thursday night. It's about a 2.5 hour drive. When we got there we planned for the next day with the sister that we are having the exchange with. It was really nice that I wasn't very nervous. Well, it was actually a miracle because I had been praying that I would feel confident and prepared to go on exchanges. I spent the day on Friday with Sister Baliar. She is from the Philippines. I love her accent, haha. I was really excited to get to know her better and to learn new things from working with her. She's really cute. She's just super excited about everything, and she just kept telling me "I'm really excited to work with you Sister Bennett"...even when we were done. haha. She also kept talking about how happy she was that I would go try the less-actives that had "DNC” (do not contact) next to their name on the ward list. haha. She told me that Sister Putnam had told her that I would go do it because I'm not scared of anyone. Haha. Sister Baliar was just so excited all day, so our exchange was super fun. We spent a lot of the day out knocking on doors, which was a blessing because her goal was to be able to speak of the importance of families while teaching the restoration. I thought that was a great goal, and she was definitely focused on it throughout the day. She always started the declarations out by asking about the person's family and she shared experiences that she has had with her family. Sister Baliar is really loving. All throughout the day she just told me how great she thinks that I am. It made me feel so good! That was something really big that I learned from her - she really focuses on others and looks to learn things from those around her. In a companionship that is so important to building up your companion and I'm sure that her companionship is unified because of her selflessness. I am definitely going to take that and apply it to my companionships. I really didn't feel like a "traveling sister" throughout the day. It was just a normal day of missionary work. At the end of the day, before we went in, we sat in the car and I reviewed with her the exchange. We talked about things that she learned and goals that she has for the future. I shared with her the strengths that I saw and things that she can work on. I am just really grateful to have had the Spirit guiding me as we talked and throughout that entire day. She expressed a lot of gratitude for me and for the exchange. She said she learned a lot, so that made me feel good. Hopefully she really did! Haha. Exchanges are fun! We're going on another one tomorrow. We're driving to Agoura tonight and will be spending the day there tomorrow.

This week in Ventura we had some really good lessons and some great miracles. We taught Ruby, Chantell, Bob (twice), Matilde (less-active), Jennie, Sage, Teresa, Brother Dumond, Jane (twice), Cheryl, Jose, Sister Rous (less-active), the Avangelistas (recent convert), and the Rabagos (less-active).

Bob is so great. He's just ready to be baptized! We taught him twice this week, and both times he came prepared and so excited to learn more. He is always talking about his baptism and how things are going to go for it. He's still going strong with living the Word of Wisdom. That is just such a great miracle! He just stopped everything, cold turkey! On Saturday, we had a lesson with him at the church on the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was so great, because immediately afterwards there was a baptism and he wanted to go. We all went to the baptism and it was a really great one. The Spirit was really strong there and I think that helped Bob a lot because it was somewhat unknown to us. We had tried to explain what a baptism is like, but it's definitely better to attend one so that he can feel the Spirit there. He came to church again yesterday, and as usual he was taking notes and adding comments in the classes. We're hoping that we can move his baptism to a sooner day than the 16th of February, because he's ready! We'll see what happens when we meet with him this week and discuss it. I'm just so grateful that we get to teach him. He is definitely elect, and I'm glad that Sister Lillywhite and I have been prepared to teach him and that we're trusted by the Lord through our obedience and diligence.

One great miracle was that Sister Rabago, who is less-active, came to church with her family yesterday. It's such a miracle because she hasn't been to church in 3 years. I was so happy to see her there and even more so because she was so happy to be there. Everyone in the ward made a big fuss over her, which was really great because I think she really appreciated that. She also talked about how strong the Spirit was there and that she just really wanted to keep coming. We went to the Rabagos' home last night to teach them, because they are all less-active, and she just kept talking about how much she loved church. She said she couldn't pick out a favorite part because she loved it all so much. That family is so great. I just love them so much already, and I'm grateful to feel that for them. That was something I was praying for, to love the people here just as much as I loved the people in my last area. I can see that the Lord is blessing me to feel such.

 

Well, I love you all. Have a great week...I know I will!

 

Love,
Sister Bennett

 

P.S. - Dad, I'm IN Ventura. There are 4 wards here, and we are serving in the 2nd ward....so our area is their ward boundaries. It's beautiful here. I'll need to send pictures soon. I keep forgetting to bring my camera in to emails.
 

                                 Exchange with Sister Balair

"Nuuuuuurse!"

 January 14, 2013

 
Dear Family,

Funny story: We teach a lady named Jane who is currently in a hospital type, assisted living place  because she has elephantiasis in her legs and at the moment she’s paralyzed from the legs down from a fall that she had. Anyway, she shares a room with some lady that's like 90 something, and when we were teaching Jane that other lady kept yelling "Nurse! Nurse!...NURSE!" I wish I could record for you how it sounded. Then she would say "Nurse!!! I need a new straw!" We would continue our lesson, then "NURSE!!! I WANT THE WINDOW OPEN!" Hahahaha. It was soooooo funny!!! Sister Lillywhite and I say that all the time. One of these nights I'm going to do it while she's sleeping...."NUUURSE!"

 One week down in Ventura, and everything is going well. I feel blessed to have come at this time to Ventura because people are just coming out of the woodwork to be taught. It sounds like there really hasn't been much going on in this area for quite some time, but I know that the work is going to be flourishing soon. We're working hard and are obedient, and the sisters have been doing that for the entire time Sister Lillywhite has been here, so we will be reaping the rewards of all of the labors that have been performed in this area. Sister Lillywhite is so great. I'm excited to be her companion for a while and to learn from her. She's had a lot of experience, obviously, since she's ending her mission at the end of next transfer, so I'm grateful that I've been given the opportunity to be her companion and learn from her before she goes home. I really enjoy being her companion because she's really fun. She's not too serious about the work, but she's just the right amount of serious. She understands how important this work is and does her best while still being herself. I really like that. I think sometimes she makes light of things just to protect herself or to help herself move on from hard things, but it's really great to be with her. She's such an amazing missionary and I know that I need to take in as much as I can from her, especially about being traveling sister. I want to understand how I can help the other sisters in the mission become better and be prepared for all of the new missionaries that will be coming and I know that Sister Lillywhite understands how to do that.

President Castro told us that we're doing a Sisters' Conference this transfer. It will be on the 29th of January. Of course he waited until I became a traveling sister to decide to have one. Well, in all reality, I'm excited. I'm excited that I will be a part of planning it and presenting training to the sisters. I'm mostly grateful for the opportunity because I know that I'm going to grow a lot from it. I just hope that the other sisters can gain at least something from being around me, but if not, it's ok because I know the Lord is shaping me by giving me this calling of being a traveling sister. Our first exchange is this Friday. I thought I would be nervous about it, which I probably will, but it hasn't hit me yet. I'm just really excited. I'm excited to see the other areas of the mission and get to know the other sisters. What I'm excited for the most is helping the other sisters recognize the ways in which they can change to become more powerful representatives of Jesus Christ. I know that if I seek the Spirit, I will be guided as I'm on exchanges with these other sisters and will know how to help them. I just want all of the sisters to feel the burning and excitement that I feel about the changes happening in this mission. We are pushing forward and the vision of having baptisms every month, in each companionship, is possible. I know that. I know that as traveling sisters, we can help the other sisters gain that same vision and inspire them to look high and shoot higher. It's so exciting!

Well, we had a great week as far as the work goes in the Ventura 2nd ward. We had lessons with Ruby, Jane (twice), Kristyn, Jennie, Brother Dumond (less-active), Cheryl, Bob (twice), Sister Ellis (less-active), Jessica, Jose, Sister Rous (less-active), Lisa, the Evangelistas, Krishauna, Jasmine, and the Rabagos (less-active).

It's interesting being in a new area, especially when I'm a little bit familiar with it from when I came while Sister Tippetts was on exchanges. I guess that's a blessing that I'm already familiar with an area...but not that familiar. I felt a little out of place this week as we met with and talked to different people because I don't know any of them and they know Sister Lillywhite so well. I guess that helps me understand what my companions experienced when they came to Moorpark since I knew the area and the people really well. There have definitely been times when I missed Moorpark a lot, but I've been ok. I just remind myself of how I felt when I first got to Moorpark compared to when I left Moorpark. That same thing will happen with my new assignment. I don't expect it to be like Moorpark, but I do expect that I will love the experiences that I have here just as much. The Lord knows what we need and I trust in Him to help me learn what I am supposed to learn from being here. I just need to have patience. That's what it always seems to go back to with me, doesn't it? Patience. I don't know that I'll ever master it, but it does help that I can at least recognize that I need to use some patience and show my faith.

No matter where I am or who I am with, I know that I can be happy if I'm obedient and working hard. I also know that the Lord has blessed me with the ability to feel love for others and I have felt that already here in Ventura. We got to teach Bob this week. Bob lives down by the beach. He's an older man, probably in his 60s, and lives with two roommates. I have been so impressed with him and his desire to understand and learn more about the gospel. Whenever we go over to teach him, he brings out his notebook on which he has written down questions that he has from his studying. He's been reading in the Book of Mormon, he's in 2 Nephi, and he's also been reading in the Gospel Principles book. He understands what he is reading pretty well, because when we taught him about the plan of salvation we said something about how no unclean thing can enter into God's kingdom and when we said that he responded by saying that he had read that in 2 Nephi. That was so great! He accepted a baptismal date and he's mentioned that he knows that's his deadline, that he needs to be obeying the Word of Wisdom and that he needs to be prepared by then. He does have some struggles with the Word of Wisdom, but he's working hard on it. On Wednesday, when we met with him at the church, he immediately told us that he had been cutting down on cigarettes this past week and he had gone that whole day without smoking! That was a miracle! We'll have to check and see where he is at now, but I know that the Lord will help him overcome that. I'm excited to keep teaching him and seeing him grow and progress!

Last night we stopped by a less-active family's home - the Rabagos. They also live down by the beach. Brother Rabago is a lot younger than Sister Rabago.  Brother Rabago  kind of looks like a surfer guy, but he actually drives truck - maybe he does some surfing on the side. Brother and Sister Rabago each had 6 kids, separately. Brother Rabago's youngest son is still with them, he's a senior in high school and he stayed around for the lesson that we shared. When we got there they dropped everything, they were in the middle of dinner, and had us come in to share a message with them. I hadn't met them before, of course, but as we taught them about prophets, because we told them that Elder Anderson is coming in two weeks for stake conference, I felt the Spirit a lot. Both Brother and Sister Rabago expressed deep gratitude for the missionaries and talked about how when we come we emanate the Spirit and by the time we leave, they feel recharged and rejuvenated. I felt a lot of love for them and felt a desire, especially, for them to come to church so that they can feel the Spirit there. They told us that they really want to come this next week and that they are planning on coming to stake conference, so I hope they will. I know that if they do they will feel the Spirit a lot and be glad that they sacrificed that small amount of time to put God first in their lives.

I'm adjusting to things here, no worries. I really love being Sister Lillywhite's companion, even though sometimes, in certain situations, I do wish she would be a tad more serious. It's been good though. I was in need of a really good laugh, and I laugh a lot with her.

I hope you all have a good week and I hope I hear from some of you soon....Cortney! And everyone else!

I love you!
Sister Bennett

 

Keep me in your prayers....I so need it, especially now.

Another funny story. Do you know where the Book of Abraham came from in the Pearl of Great Price? Read the description of the Book of Abraham. I think it's so funny. "Ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands" - like Joseph Smith was just walking along and all of a sudden "Oh wow, look some ancient records have fallen into my hands!" Hahahaha. Hilarious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time To Travel

 

 January 7, 2013

Hello Family,

 

Well, we all knew that this day would be coming. I am leaving Moorpark. I have been called to be a traveling sister, which means that basically, throughout the transfer, I go on exchanges with the other sisters and help to train them. My companion will be Sister Lilywhite and our proselyting area, when we're not on exchanges, is the Ventura 2nd ward. Crazy. I seriously don't even know where to begin. I've been having a lot of thoughts running through my mind last night and this morning about the assignment that has been given to me. I was definitely taken aback when I spoke to President Castro on the phone last night and He extended the call to me to become a new traveling sister. I felt overwhelmed and kind of confused. I couldn't believe that I could be prepared at this point to be leading the other sisters in this mission. However, after the initial reaction wore off, I felt a sense of peace come over me as he talked about what is expected of me and also gave me words of council and advice. Moorpark has really been so good to me. I have grown leaps and bounds from the time that I first got here with Sister Tippetts until now, 3 companions and seven-and-a-half months later. I have a lot of love for the people here and I know that I will miss this area so much, but I know that the experiences that are ahead will help to shape me and mold me even more into a more dedicated servant of the Lord. I know that the Lord knows me and my potential. He has a specific mission experience planned for me and if I will just allow Him to guide me, my service will be enough. I will be able to place my gift, giving of myself for 18 months, on the altar of sacrifice, and He will accept that gift. It meant a lot to me to hear President Castro say that the Lord has accepted my service and the work that I've done in Moorpark, and especially that He is pleased with all that I have done there. The greatest part of that is that I realize and know that I really have only been an instrument in His hands. I've simply been doing my best to show my love for Him through my obedience, and He has blessed me with so much. I know that going to Ventura will be a great change for me, but I am ready. I can't spend my whole mission in Moorpark. Plus, Moorpark deserves to have other wonderful missionaries serve there and help the work progress more there. President Castro talked to me a lot about not comparing things ahead to the experiences that I've had in Moorpark. He said that Moorpark was a great chapter of my life, but that I need to turn the page now as I embark on a new chapter of my mission. He said he is a little worried that I will be too hard on myself, so he counseled me about that, and really stressed the fact that I should not compare things to Moorpark. He talked about how when we first went to Moorpark it was a big question mark ahead and that it turned out really well and I gained a lot from serving there. He said that the same thing is happening now. The experiences ahead of me a big question mark, but I will be so grateful if I can go forward with an open mind, continuing to allow the Lord to shape me. As I have pondered on the change that is taking place tomorrow, I've been fighting off thoughts of inadequacy. I know that if I rely on the Lord that I will be able to accomplish what He wants accomplished, but I'm still human. I wonder how it will be possible for me to go on exchanges with all of these missionaries and teach them something when I have so much more to learn myself. I can think of a handful of sisters that I think would do so much better in training the other sisters in the mission, but I know that that is not their calling. I prayed last night and counseled with the Lord, seeking for a confirmation that this is right - that I am supposed to be a traveling sister. As I prayed, I didn't have some huge overwhelming experience of feeling a burning in my bosom or anything like that, but I did feel peace. I realized that I already knew that this is right and this is what the Lord has called me to do. I know that because I have already received a witness that President Castro has been called of God and that he leads this mission by revelation.  It was very comforting to feel the peace and have that realization. I do know that whom the Lord calls, He qualifies. He will do the same thing with me at this time. 

 

This past week was a good week for Sister Stoker and me. It was definitely a good note to end on. We seemed to have gotten a lot closer in just the past 5 or 6 days because I realized that I needed to be better. I needed to be showing her more love and compassion, and as I was really working to do so, I was blessed to truly feel that way. I know that it made all the difference in our teaching and in our companionship unity. She is going to do so well here in Moorpark. She feels like she isn't ready and can't do this, but I know that she can. It's funny how we can't seem to see our own abilities or potential, but it's so obvious when others look at us. I feel a lot of comfort knowing that Moorpark will be left in the hands of a great sister missionary who is trusted and loved here. 

We taught Terry Anne, Heena, Choice, Shelly, Nanci (less-active), the Pflaumers, Penny Berg (less-active), Kathy/Kyle/Madison, the Cookmeyers (investigator and a less-active), Melanie, Nancy, Monica, Michael, Heidi, Anthony and the Matweyews. 

 

We had another really great lesson with Kathy, Kyle and Madison. They are earnestly searching for the truth and sometimes I just want to scream "YOU ARE SO CLOSE! YOU'RE BASICALLY THERE!" I don't do that, but I think about it a lot. :) They'll get there. Madison has been reading in the Book of Mormon and praying, a lot. She said she really wants to read more of the Book of Mormon and that when she prayed about the plan of salvation she felt the same way she felt when we had taught her about it. She felt peace and comfort and she said she really feels like she "knows" that it's really that way. Kathy has more hold ups. She's worried about the huge change that she'll have to make in her life, which is understandable. We've been trying to just help her focus first on getting an answer from Heavenly Father about it and then going from there. I know that if she does read and pray that her concerns will be resolved and the things that she thinks matter at this point won’t anymore, because she'll see that she's found the truth. Madison, and her husband Ryan, came to church with us yesterday. Kathy and Kyle went to a Presbyterian one that they've been trying out, but they said they'll come with us next week. Madison loved it. She said she felt really good being there and she enjoyed the testimonies. She said she wants what they have, that firm belief and she wants to feel God in her life like they do. She at first said she wasn't sure if she would be able to come next Sunday, because she is having her birthday party on Saturday night. Then, right before she left, she said "You know what. I'm coming next week. I'll commit now to do it because I really want to. Plus, I stayed up late last night and I still made it here today." She's planning on coming to the first two hours next week and working her way up to going to all three. She's really great! I'm excited for her to keep learning, because I know that she's going to get there, she'll be baptized. 

 

We had another lesson with Heena this week. We taught her about Jesus Christ and His atonement. I think that's something that Heena just doesn't quite have a grasp on. Basically, she needs to repent so she can feel the power of the atonement in her life. Well, we talked about Jesus Christ and shared a lot of scriptures with her. Sister Tolliver was there and was able to share her testimony of the Savior as well. Heena said that she really does believe that Christ is the Savior and that he has a plan for her. It was really cool when she was talking about how since she started praying in the name of Jesus Christ she has seen a huge change in her life and she really feels like her prayers are answered. I hope something will change that will help her realize she should be baptized. That would be a miracle.

 

Please keep me in your prayers more than ever at this point. I'm going to need a lot of strength and guidance as I adjust to this new calling and area. I really love you all so much. I am so blessed to have a family that supports me as I serve the Lord. I know that your prayers make a big difference in my service, whether the blessings are visible to any of us or not. Thanks for your love and your support. 

 

Love,

 

Sister Bennett

 

 

 

P.S. - Can I get Aunt Nicole's address? She sent my companion and me a really great Christmas package. It had 12 days of Christmas! Sadly, we got it after Christmas, but I still loved it so much! She even put nice little spiritual quotes on each gift that I was able to save. Mom, you have some really kind siblings. I love my family! Extended and immediate! 

                                                  Saying goodbye to Caitlyn

 

 

                                              With Kayli - leaving Moorpark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ammon Is A Man Now!?!?!! WHAT THE!?

December 31, 2012

 

Dear family! 

Ammon is a man. That's probably the biggest thing I learned from speaking to you all on the phone. That was creepy man. I loved talking, though. Isn't that so cool how great our family is? I felt like it hadn't been 6 months at all since I had spoken to everyone. I just love how close our family is. That's probably what kept me out of trouble growing up - I prefer hanging out with my family over anything else. I don't need friends when I have my family. haha. But seriously. Family is so much better. I'm glad that I was able to hear from all of you. It's funny how not much has changed at home as I've been serving. I've changed a lot, but it sounds like everything is just moving along there as usual. I'm not missing out on much there, but boy are you missing out on what I get to experience! Last night I was writing in my journal and thinking about how mentally challenging a mission is, but that's why it's so great. I am learning how to submit the natural man to the spiritual part of myself. That's why there is so much more joy in my life as a missionary, because I am living in a way that is always conducive to the Spirit. I was also thinking how by serving a mission I am preparing myself for the rest of my life because of the important things that I'm learning. It's definitely hard to always keep this kind of perspective, but I know that this is where I am supposed to be - serving the Lord.  That's pretty comforting. Sorry that my voice was so creepy. haha. I haven't become a man on my mission, I promise. My voice got really bad after calling you, so I was grateful that it held through so that I could speak with everyone on the phone. Well, another 4 months or so and we'll be chatting again. Put it on your calendar. :) 

Guess who gets to go to the temple on Wednesday!?!? This Sister! I'm so excited!! Today we have to do a half p-day so we can go on Wed., but that's ok. I'd rather work anyway. Plus we have to come in at 7 tonight because of New Year's Eve. Hopefully, we can get everything done that we need to. Sorry, since we don't have a lot of time I can't write much. 

Christmas was pretty good overall. I wish we could have spent more time serving. I really wanted to go caroling with my companion because we actually sound alright when we single together, but I lost my voice so that wasn't going to happen. We did get to have our Christmas meal with a part-member family, which was great. Bill, the investigator, has been coming to church for a long time and we are trying to get him to start taking the lessons from the missionaries. I think he definitely felt the Spirit while we were in his home for Christmas. He even offered the prayer before we ate dinner, which was really cool to see. I just hope that he can have an experience that causes him to open up and have a desire to understand why his wife goes to church every week and why it makes everyone so happy. He recognizes that members are a lot happier and seem to be more fulfilled, but he is just lazy about wanting to know why for himself. It's just so weird to me. He is the most active non-member ever. I don't get it. 

This week we taught Bill, Jolie (less-active), Jan (less-active), Nanci and Kelsey, Nancy V, Yolanda, Kathy and Madison and Kyle, the Cookmeyers (part-member/less active family), the Pflaumers, Heidi, Russell (less-active), Heena, Holly, the Bergs (less-active), Denise and Karston, Jon, the Matweyews, and Anthony!

We had a good lesson with Heena this week. She had told us that she never plans on getting baptized because she is Hindu, but she keeps all of her commitments and has recognized the Spirit in her life since she has been praying and reading the Book of Mormon. I'm not sure what to do with her. We taught her on Saturday about real intent. We shared the story of King Lamoni's father from Alma 22 and talked about how he was willing to give up anything to know God for himself. I think that Heena wants an answer to her prayers about baptism, but she doesn't have real intent. She has already made up her mind that it can't work for her to be baptized because it's going against who she is. She asked how we can have real intent when we haven't had it before - how we can make that change. We talked about having faith that God knows what's best for us and will always guide us on the right path. Heena even came to Nancy's baptism on Saturday and I know that she felt the Spirit there. I just don't know what's best for her right now. She said she would like to continue learning, but that it's up to us if we think we should keep teaching her. What do you do with someone that is keeping their commitments but is against being baptized? Before we went and met with her I felt sure that we needed to drop her, but now I'm not sure at all. I spend a lot of my time thinking about her and what needs to happen for her to progress toward baptism....I'm just still unsure. 

Kathy, Kyle, and Madison are so great! This week we taught them about the Plan of Salvation. The lesson went really well in terms of how Sister Stoker and I taught together. It's probably one of the best lessons we've taught together. The Spirit was really strong and I know that Kathy, Kyle and Madison felt it as well. They were so focused as we taught them. They had a lot of really good questions that they asked and they weren't asking to be contradictory but they really wanted to know more. Kyle kept "freaking out" over what we were teaching them. He said he's never heard anything like this before, but that it was making so much more sense to him than anything he had been taught before. The best part was asking Madison about what she thought. She told us that she felt a lot of comfort about this plan and that she really believed that it is true. I had borne my testimony to them about how I have received my answers about the plan of salvation, and Madison said that she felt a lot of the same things that I described - really full and especially peaceful about what we taught. She also said it made her really want to read the Book of Mormon so she can understand the Plan of Happiness better and get her own answer about it. That was really cool. When we left the lesson I was so happy. I was full of the Spirit and of gratitude that the Spirit had touched their hearts during that lesson. Kathy and Kyle actually came to church yesterday as well. They came late and sat in the way back of the overflow, which isn't the best because all of the little kids are back there. We were up toward the front sitting by Nancy because she was going to be confirmed and didn't know they had shown up until Brother Pierson (the ward mission leader) came and told us that they were in the back. I had a thought that we should go sit by them, but I ignored it because I didn't think we should leave Nancy. That was not very smart of me. Kathy and Kyle left early because they couldn't hear anything and I'm sure they would've stayed if at least one of us had gone and sat by them during the meeting. I learned my lesson there; never ignore promptings from the Spirit - ever. We're teaching them again this week, so I'm really excited about that.

Nancy got baptized on Saturday night! It was so great! I was pretty disappointed with the support of the 1st ward, however. There were more people from the 2nd ward that came to support Nancy than there were from her actual ward. I just think that people don't understand what it's like to be a convert, changing your life and coming into a whole different world. Nancy needs the people in the ward to reach out to her and bring her into their ward family. That's probably the hardest thing for me to be patient with as a missionary - ward members not going outside of themselves to welcome others. I know that there is a lot going on in their lives so I just don't know what we can do to help them understand or recognize the importance of fellowshipping new members or investigators. Anyway, the Spirit was very strong at Nancy's baptism even with the lack of attendance. She was so happy afterward and I am grateful that I was here to witness it. She keeps saying that I'm going to be leaving now because she thinks I had to stay in Moorpark until she got baptized. She might be right. haha. Who knows? I guess we'll see very soon.

I've obviously been thinking about that a lot - transfers. I maybe get too distracted by trying to figure out what's going to happen - will I stay again or leave? I love Moorpark a lot and I've learned so much here, but I am ready whenever the Lord says I should move. I'm ready to experience a new area and learn new things that come when you have to adjust to a new area. It's definitely up to what the Lord sees is best though, and that's what gives me the most comfort. It doesn't matter what I want or think because I don't know what's best for me or what's best for the people here. The Lord knows everyone perfectly and knows where I need to be to help people progress in the gospel. I'm just nervously/excitedly waiting to hear what's happening for this next transfer.

This week was a really good week. I was grateful to celebrate Christ's birth and speak to my family, but I'm excited for the holidays to be over. I just want to be back to normal so I can focus on the work. There were too many distractions with the holidays.

I love you all! 

Sister Bennett

 

P.S. - I got a really nice letter from Ruth Bartholomew. Thanks for that Ruth! I'm glad you've enjoyed reading my letters. Sometimes I wonder what exactly I've written. Haha. I never have time to read it before I hit 'send.' Anyway, thanks again for the letter. I really enjoyed hearing from you and thanks for the nice compliments you gave. 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    

"And On the Morrow Come I Into the World" - 3 Ne 1:13

 

December 24, 2012

 

"Happy Christmas Harry!  Happy Christmas Ron." – A little Harry Potter for you. 

Merry Christmas to all of you! 

What an awesome time of year it is to be a missionary! Seriously. I wish I would have paid more attention to the real meaning of this holiday. This morning I took my entire study time thinking about the Savior and reading about the prophecies of His birth from the Book of Mormon and the Bible. I also read in Matthew 2 about the wise men seeking Him. There was so much leading to the birth of our Savior. One thing I noticed in all of the scriptures I read prophesying of His coming, was that they all spoke of how He would come to the earth to redeem His people, to be our Savior. The prophecies didn't speak merely of His birth! Yes, we celebrate the birth of the Savior at this time of year, but why is that birth so important? It's important because of what He would do with His time on the earth. He came to fulfill His purpose in atoning for our sins. He came to submit himself to the father. The prophets had been telling of his coming for such a long time (1 Ne 10:4-5) and the believers in 3 Nephi 1 were going to be put to death if the signs that Samuel the Lamanite spoke of didn't come to pass. I love 3 Ne 1:13-14 when the Lord comforts Nephi about the believers' lives being threatened. The way was prepared and the time had come for the Savior to be born in the city of David. On that day, all of the prophecies that had been given came true – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." (2 Ne 19:6). I'm so glad that we have the scriptures and the prophets who teach us about Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for His atonement for me and the opportunity I have to share that with others as His representative. I hope you all remember why we are celebrating Christmas and what it means to you personally to have your sins forgiven through Jesus Christ. 

We had a Christmas devotional on Friday. There were 5 zones there at the Camarillo stake center. I was overwhelmed a few times by the feelings I was receiving from the Spirit. Throughout this past week I had been kind of struggling because of the season - struggling with thinking about home a lot and missing my family. In the devotional, an elder played a medley on the piano that combined Christmas hymns with missionary songs. As he played, he went from playing a beautiful rendition of "Angels We Have Heard On High" (which once again reminded me of home) to "Called to Serve." As I listened to "Called to Serve" I pictured myself at my home branch, the day of my homecoming talk, standing and singing "Called to Serve." As I pictured that, I felt an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that I am serving a mission. I felt so happy to still have so much time ahead of me, because I know that I have so much more to learn and accomplish before that day comes when I'm at home reminiscing on the amazing experiences I had on my mission. It's so great that I am currently having them! I think a lot about President Uchtdorf's talk from this last conference about regrets. I don't want to focus on the finish line as I'm serving my mission. I am going to do my best to enjoy every minute so that I don't have any regrets. I just loved the entire Christmas devotional. It was so fun to play "name that tune" with all of the missionaries there and the messages that were shared were so uplifting.  

This week we had exchanges with the traveling sisters. I stayed in Moorpark with Sister Lillywhite and Sister Stoker went to Ventura with Hermana Baker. I really enjoyed working with Sister Lillywhite. She is such a great missionary and we really connected with each other. It was really fun to work hard but laugh and have joy as we were doing it. I think lately I've become so serious as I've been out working that it was a good reminder to me to have fun while I'm going about doing this work. I don't have to be so serious about everything. There is definitely a balance that needs to be maintained, but we are meant to have joy as we share the gospel. Sister Lillywhite teaches so well. That's one thing that I really learned from her - the importance of teaching simply. We aren't aware of the words that we use as we teach and how most people are very unfamiliar with them. Sister Lillywhite understands the doctrines of the lessons so well that she can teach them simply enough that a child could understand (just like it talks about in PMG). That's a goal that I have. I want to really dig into the lessons more and gain a greater understanding so that I can teach it in a simpler manner. Sister Lillywhite is also great at declaring. She teaches using short, but powerful, statements so that the people we speak with have the best opportunity possible to understand what they are either accepting or rejecting. I really like that. She helped me recognize that I'm doing well with declaring and that I need to remember that not everyone is going to want us to come back. I had been getting frustrated with myself, feeling like I wasn't connecting the message to people's needs, but I understand now that I just need to have more patience with myself and those we contact while tracting. I'm really glad that we were able to have exchanges, especially because Sister Stoker seemed to have learned a lot. That made me happy. 

Sister Stoker is continuing to improve and adjust. I think she's starting to get to the point where she's used to being a missionary...well at least more than she used to be. She still has her struggles every once in a while, but she's so much more confident now! It's so cool to see that. She's trying her hardest to help me teach as we declare to people while tracting, and she's doing really great with teaching during lessons. She still needs to get over the idea that we aren't college students anymore. I'm trying to set that example for her with the language that I use and the way that I interact with people so that she understands the magnitude of our calling to represent the Savior. The great thing is that she has shared with me that she recognizes that. She recognizes the need to remember that she is no longer a normal 21 year old singles ward girl. She's a representative of Jesus Christ. I know that things like that just take time to iron out, so she'll figure it out. I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to be here with her in Moorpark. If I am asked to move to another area, I know that she will take care of the investigators here and through her obedience the work will continue to progress. That's very comforting to me. 

This week we were able to teach Cheyenne, Rocio, Kathy, Nancy, Nanci and Kelsey, Khajid, Choice, Shelly, Steven, Delfy, Denise and Karston, David Jr., another Nancy, Sophia, Heidi, Christine, the Matweyews, and Anthony. 

Kathy is a new investigator. We met her last week while tracting and she agreed to have us come back over. When we got there her 19 year old daughter (Madison), her boyfriend (Kyle), and her younger daughter (Riley) were all there. Madison and Kyle wanted to sit in on the lesson as well, which we were definitely okay with. As we taught them, Kathy was agreeing with a lot of what we were saying and it also seemed to connect with Kyle a lot. Madison really wanted to hear what we had to say as well, which surprised me, because she asked if it would be okay for her to nurse her baby, having a cover-up of course, while we taught because she didn't want to miss it. When we got to the point of the great apostasy, Kathy got a little heated as she talked about how all of these different people had the Bible and would do totally different things. It was pretty funny because I said "Woah Kathy! You are totally jumping the gun right now! Did you already hear this lesson from some other Mormon missionaries?" Haha. As we finished sharing the message of the restoration, we invited them all to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and be baptized when they know for themselves that it's true. They agreed. We didn't set them with a baptismal date, but in our next appointment we plan to. I'm really excited to continue teaching them. Kathy kept saying, before we left, that she was so glad that we came back and that she was looking forward to us coming this week. How great is that!? 

One sad thing that happened was with the Oatmans. They kind of dropped us. I'm actually a bit confused by what happened . We went over for our appointment on Thursday night and when we got there I knew that Deanna wasn't home because her car wasn't there. Keith answered the door and said that they needed time and didn't want to continue meeting at this point. He said that they weren't ready to commit and they wanted to figure some questions out between themselves. I told them that's why we're there. Our purpose is to help them answer their questions or help them know how they can get answers for themselves. Then Keith told us that maybe after the first of the year we can continue again, so I'm not sure if we've really been dropped. I guess we'll have to go back and see what we can find. Sister Stoker was pretty bummed about it. It really does feel like a punch in the stomach when you're excited about teaching someone and they drop you out of nowhere...well that's how it seems - that it's out of nowhere. I've just been praying for them that they'll want to continue meeting with us. We'll see. 

Enjoy your time together for Christmas! I love you all and miss you, but I love where I am so it's ok! 

I will talk to you....TOMORROW!! What the!? Don't mind my accent. 

Love,
Sister Bennett

 

P.S. - We'll be calling at like 10:30-11:00 our time. I'll probably let Sis Stoker go first, so it'll be more like 11:30-12:00 probably when I call. Just be ready because I don't have the greatest idea of when...haha. I'm pretty sure it should be around those times though. 

 

 

 

 

 Christmas California style with Sister Lilywhite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                              With Hermana Walker and Elder Smallwood.