I Might Be Able To Do This

June 24, 2013

Dear Family,

Wasn't the broadcast yesterday wonderful!?!?!? I hope that you all learned a lot from it, because I did. I really loved how it was directed at the members of the church, because they have as great - or really a greater responsibility to do missionary work as the full-time missionaries do. I love how it was mentioned that the missionaries are there to assist the members with their missionary work...it's not the other way around. I know that members want to do missionary work, and I feel like the broadcast should have inspired all members to seek the counsel and guidance of the Lord on what their role is in missionary work. It's also exciting that the full-time missionaries are going to be doing work on the computer more. It sounded a little weird to me because I'm better face to face with people....because I have red hair...but maybe I can put a picture up so people see that I have red hair. I think that's what really brings me success here. Right black heads? hahaha. JK! I think my favorite thing about the entire broadcast was how often love was mentioned. This work is a work of love. The whole reason we do this work is because we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to have all of His children receive a fulness of joy. If we strive to love those around us, we will become successful missionaries. I know that is so true. I hope all of you are thinking about people that you really love who don't currently have the gospel or have strayed from the church. Reach out to them in love and I know that the Lord will bless and help you. Who were you all thinking of as the broadcast was shown? I know that everyone had someone come to their mind.

Enough preaching. Sorry. It's kind of what i do.

I have a wonderful companion. Sister Hegstrom is so spiritually mature. It has become more and more obvious to me that she really is supposed to be my companion right now, because she can handle being left with another new missionary and working. She understands the gospel so well, meaning that all of her focus is on the Savior and helping people learn of Him. I really have felt a strong confirmation that she is here to push me and help me to grow. We worked really hard this last week in our new, fresh area. There's a lot of work to be done, but I'm at ease having Sister Hegstrom here with me to do the work. I'm just so impressed by her humility and patience. It's hard, I know through my experiences with Sister Tippetts, to have a companion who needs to leave and go to meetings which takes up proselyting time. It's hard at times to feel like you're being left behind, but Sister Hegstrom is so patient with everything. Sister Burwell and I needed to meet this week with the other Sister Training Leaders a lot, but Sister Hegstrom was ok with it and was up for anything. She went right out and worked with Sister Anderson (the missionary that Sister Burwell is training), without hesitation, on her third day as a missionary. Then, she came back and was so excited to tell me about everything that she accomplished. She's also so humble and teachable. I know that she really looks up to me a lot for everything. She really trusts me. I hope I can continue to qualify for that trust. I'm just worried that she feels like she needs to become me. A lot of people say stuff about me to her and because I have the assignment of being a sister training leader I'm sure that creeps into her head as well...it did for me with Sister Tippetts. I'm just trying to help her see that the way I do missionary work doesn't have to be the way she does it. She should learn from me, yes, but then adapt it to herself and teach in a way that suits her. She says that she understands and isn't trying to just become me, but I still worry. Tonight, Sister Burwell and I are going on our first exchanges. I think Sister Hegstrom is a little nervous about me leaving, but she'll be fine. I know the Lord will make up for everything as they go out and work hard together.

In our area this week, we had a lot of really wonderful miracles. We didn't have very many opportunities to sit down and teach people lessons, but it was still a great week. The lessons we had were really good and they were answers to my prayers. I had been praying that we could have a few real lessons so that Sister Hegstrom could feel the joy of teaching people about the gospel. She was so happy after the few lessons we did have and  was so positive the entire time that we were out tracting. She just kept saying "I'm just trying to 'watch and learn'."

On Sister Hegstrom's and my first day together in fourth ward, we spent almost the entire day unpacking, getting groceries, and looking through the area book. We had a dinner appointment that night, so we went to that and planned to come back to the apartment afterward to sort through things a little more. Well, when we left dinner I just wanted to go teach someone about the gospel. I was going crazy! I can't stand going an entire day without declaring to someone, and I felt like Sister Hegstrom needed that opportunity right then. Well, I turned to her while we were driving in the car and said "should we go find someone to teach and baptize?" I was surprised when she excitedly said "yes!" I had her tell me where to turn and pick a street to start tracting, so she directed me to a street with a lot of condo complexes on it. We got out and went to knocking. At first no one was answering their doors. After a few more doors, a lady opened the door who was from India. Her name was Gagan and she said that she was Hindu but believes in Jesus Christ because she had gone to a Catholic school. She hadn't been to church in a long time, and was actually thinking that she wanted to start going. We talked to her about the Book of Mormon and the restored church of Jesus Christ on the earth today. She accepted the invitation to learn more and we left. That was about fifteen minutes of tracting, but the Lord blessed us to find someone new to teach. I know that was a gift so Sister Hegstrom could feel excited about the work. Right after we met Gagan we went back to the apartment. That was a little tender mercy.

One huge miracle about being in 4th ward has to do with a man named Sage Ford. I taught Sage Ford with Sister Lillywhite when we served together in the 2nd ward. Sage and his wife had to move to the 4th ward and Sage had a hard time being taught by elders for some reason, so he discontinued having the lessons. When we started looking through the area book, I hadn't remembered that Sage was here so when I saw his name I was so excited and so happy! We tried by his home multiple times during the week but to no avail. Finally, on Friday morning we stopped by and their family was home. They were busy at that time, but they asked us to come back in the evening. Sage was super excited to see me and I was so glad that he was still there! When we went back that evening we talked about where Sage is at currently. He still believes that the church is true, but he felt too pushed by previous missionaries. He said that he really liked being taught by me and felt a connection there, so he felt that God had sent me to come teach him again. I don't know about that, but I'm glad that he feels that way. The message is true no matter who is carrying it, so I wish Sage wouldn't have let little things get in the way of his getting baptized, but it's ok. We taught him the restoration and invited him to be baptized. He accepted the date of July 27th and is going to work really hard to not let Satan stop him from getting baptized, again. He even came to church with us yesterday, with his wife and baby, and texted us afterward saying how grateful he was that he came. I'm excited to help Sage. He really needs the atonement in his life because he's been through a lot. That was such a great miracle!

Well, Sister Hegstrom and I will continue pushing on here and doing our best to help the Lord in this small portion of His vineyard. I know that this is His work and that we are so privileged to be a part of it.

I love you all! Thanks for all of your support!

Love,

Sister Bennett

P.S. - One of the pictures is of Sister Hegstrom and I. She is from Twin Falls, Idaho. Did you ever serve there Nan? The other picture is of Sister Wood and I. She's basically my idol. She reminds me a lot of Nan. It was hard to say bye to her when I got moved to 4th ward.

Whirlwind of CHANGE

 June 17, 2013

Dear Family,

Well, to start it all out I guess I should update you all on what’s going with me here. I am whitewash training and continuing to have the assignment of Sister Training Leader. I’m moving to Ventura 4^th ward to serve there. Whitewash means that both missionaries are going into an area, brand new to both missionaries. Usually one missionary is transferred in and the other already knows the area. In the case of a whitewash, neither missionary knows the area...so that's great. There is also another set of Spanish Sister Training Leaders who were called, so President is dividing the soon to be 18 companionships of sisters between the 3 sets of Sister Training Leaders. This means that I only get to do 6 exchanges with whatever sisters are assigned to Sister Burwell and me to exchange with. That's a nice part of all of this...I will still get to see Sister Burwell often, because we're still companions as Sister Training Leaders. The 6 exchanges thing is good and sad for me. It’s good because we’ll have more time in our area. The 4^th ward has been struggling because the ward just isn’t excited about missionary work…that makes me feel a little overwhelmed. Whitewashing is overwhelming on its own. Training is stressful on its own. Being put in a ward that isn’t very supportive….is stressfully overwhelming. Now…what do you get when you add all of these things to a sister missionary that has to leave at least once a week to go and do exchanges? I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out very soon. Basically, it’s good that I can give the ward more attention than I would’ve if I had more than 6 exchanges. The sad part is that I love all of the sisters so much. It makes me sad that I won’t be able to work with all of them….only 6 companionships. With all of this said, I’m doing alright. I feel a little sick to my stomach because I wasn’t ready to leave the 2^nd ward. I really felt like there was more for me to do. Ugh…especially since Sister Burwell and I just started having ASL language study! Isn’t that awesome! We’ve been studying sign language every morning for Aubrey. President Castro gave us a sign language book and said that we needed to start doing language study. Well….that’s over for me now. Amongst all of my aches and pains about leaving 2nd ward and beginning probably the hardest transfer of my mission, the scripture in 2 Nephi 4, verse 34 keeps coming to my mind – “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh . . .” The Lord is trusting me with this assignment. He sees something in me that I cannot currently see, but I am praying that He will quickly raise my vision and help me know the things that I need to do. I know that I can do this. I have had so many experiences in my mission that have helped prepare me to be able to do whatever the Lord asks. I also know that “whom the Lord calls, He qualifies.” Even if I am not yet fully qualified at this time to tackle this task, I know that I will be in time. I know that if I do trust in the Lord, I can do all things. He is trusting me, how can I not put my trust in Him and His grace to make me strong enough to be successful with this assignment? I am giving myself to Him and allowing Him to do what He would like to do with me, my companion, and the area that we are serving in. Please keep me in your prayers. Please.

In other news….this week was really great! We had some great lessons and we had a BAPTISM!! It was a wonderful, wonderful baptism. I couldn’t be happier with the way that I ended my time here in Ventura 2^nd ward, really.

This week we taught Aubrey and Tyler, Jeff and Sarah, Maliah, Brother Wages, Geno, Buddah, Suzanne, Lisa, Brother Dumond, the Biglers, Ted, the Rabagos, Stephanie, and the Evangelistas.

Our lesson with Aubrey and Tyler went really well. We hadn’t been able to teach them since they  were both baptized, so it was nice to finally get to meet with them again. We asked them how they felt about their baptism and they both said that they really loved it. Then, we asked Aubrey about her confirmation and if she understood what was said or what was happening. She said she really didn’t understand much of what was going on at all, even though we had taught her about it previously. That’s ok, though, because she had learned a lot…I’m not sure if we could’ve piled much more into her brain. We explained to her what a blessing is and what her blessing meant. We told her that it was special for her, and that she had been given the best gift she can receive in her life. She didn’t remember anything that was said in the actual blessing, so we shared with her the things that we could remember. Her mom was signing for us which was great because she knew how to help Aubrey really focus and understand the things we were telling her. We told her that in her blessing she was told that she is deaf for a reason, it isn’t a mistake, and that she had spoken with her Heavenly Father about having this trial in her life. We told her that she agreed to it. Aubrey’s eyes were huge and she was so focused on her mom as her mom signed these things to her. I’ve never seen Aubrey this focused in the whole time we’ve been teaching her. We went on to tell her that because she is deaf she is able to recognize the Spirit more in her life and that she is to take the gospel to the deaf community. I know that she felt the Spirit confirming to her that those things had come from her Heavenly Father. I felt so much love and so much anticipation as I watched her listen to what her mom was telling her. I could tell that she felt that same love from God. I’m just so excited for her to continue to progress in the gospel. I have learned so much from her humility, patience, and desire to learn more about the plan that God has for us. She is amazing.

We had a really good/needed lesson with Lisa this week. We taught her about keeping the Sabbath day holy. Lisa has always been able to understand clearly the things that we’re teaching her. She says, very often, “That makes sense to me” or “I agree with that.” She told us that she feels like we must be sneaking around and following her or listening to her thoughts, because every time we come over we teach her about something that she’s been thinking about. She said, “It’s so creepy!” That made me smile. It’s a testimony builder to hear people tell me that because it helps me realize that planning is really so important. The time we take each week to pray about and plan the lessons we will teach those  we’re meeting with during the week is valuable. When Lisa said that, it also made me feel like we must really be following the Spirit as we plan. That’s definitely a plus! Anyway, as we finished our lesson with Lisa we talked to her about baptism and how she feels about it. She said that she definitely thinks  that baptism is needed, but she can’t say that she knows that the church is the true church and better than any other church. She talked about how she does feel like she’s gotten closer to God and she said that when she learned about the Plan of Salvation that it really made sense to her, especially about the three kingdoms of glory. She really agrees with that and it answered a lot of questions she had before. We set her with a baptismal date of August 3^rd and invited her to pray about that day. I think she’ll make it and will get baptized on that day! It’s so exciting!

OK! Now for Suzanne’s baptism! It went really well. The talks were so great. Sister Smith’s, (Suzanne’s fellowshipper), granddaughter, Tiana, spoke on baptism. She just came back from her mission in Ogden and she did a great job. She spoke about the atonement and how baptism allows us to fully access the atonement in our lives. That was really great. Suzanne was baptized by a young man who will be going on a mission soon. She didn’t really know any priesthood holders, so we thought it would be a good opportunity for someone who’s preparing for a mission to do it. That made it even sweeter. Suzanne was just so grateful and so happy about all of it. She said she’s been waiting/looking for this for a very long time. I felt the Spirit a lot, and I just love Suzanne so much! That was the perfect note to leave on…a beautiful baptism.

Well, I’m looking forward to see what the future holds for me. I’m doing my best to press onward with an eye of faith, putting all of my trust in the Lord. 

I love you all, 

Sister Bennett 

                           Baptism of Suzanne   

Year of the Harvest

June 10, 2013



Dear Bennett CLAN! 

This week went well. We were very busy finishing up exchanges and we had our first Mission Leadership Council. I can't believe that another transfer is drawing to an end. I felt like we just started doing exchanges this transfer. Now we're all done and are preparing for all of the new sister missionaries arriving in a week! I don't understand how time works on missions. These past 5 weeks flew by, but at the same time it feels like it was years ago that Elder Robbins came to visit us. No matter how long I'm a missionary, I don't think I'll ever get a handle on how time moves in missionary work.

The Mission Leadership Council is basically the same thing as Zone Leaders Council, which we've been to before. Now it's just official that we, the sisters, are to be at the meeting each month for the entire meeting. It was great because I feel that I received a lot of revelation for working with the sisters. There are 18 sisters coming next week!! Basically, that revelation was very needed. I feel a sense of urgency with the new sisters coming in. I want to be able to instantly instill in them the same culture and the same vision that this mission and the missionaries in this mission have at this point, because we are growing, spiritually, as a mission. I really feel that the Lord is putting so much trust in the young people of the church because there is no hesitation to stock missions full of new sisters and elders. These missionaries coming in HAVE to be more prepared. If they weren't then the change in age for full-time mission service wouldn't have happened. I feel like it's up to us, the sister training leaders, to help the new sisters see where to put their attention and focus right away. As a new missionary, it's easy to get lost in all of the changes that you feel pressed to make. I think a big part of our job on exchanges will be to help them know how to prioritize and set goals. Also, I feel that trainers can be better prepared. These new missionaries are up and above where we, the older generation of missionaries, realize they are. I think that the trainers need to let the new missionaries play a more active role in their companionships. It's so important because so many of these new missionaries are going to be required to train after 12 weeks or back up train after just 6! I've been doing my best to teach this to the trainers that I've worked with on exchanges, but I think in the training meeting that should be stressed so much more. 

I also loved what we learned in Mission Leadership Council. President Castro talked about the way the Lord sees things. He works with individuals and I love that we talked more about how we, as missionaries, need to focus on individuals and build baptisms with individuals in mind. There are too many times when I've seen the sisters just throwing out numbers while setting goals in nightly planning without a thought of who those numbers represent. If we want to do the Lord's work in the Lord's way, we need to see things how the Lord would see things. It teaches us in the scriptures that His sheep are numbered, not counted (as Elder Robbins taught us). With each number the Lord knows the individual. That just stressed to me how we need to do the same. With each number, we need to see and know an individual that the number stands for. When I think of times in my mission when I've had the most success in reaching goals or having baptisms, I know that I was more focused on each individual child of God rather than on how many lessons I got that day or how many baptisms I had that transfer. On top of all of that, I was the happiest at those moments in my mission. I know that if we focus on Heavenly Father's children like He does, we will have more joy in this work. That's what I want the new sisters to feel. That love and joy will be a driving force for them in their missions, and so it's up to us and the trainers in this mission to TEACH them how to feel that love and joy.

We had two exchanges this week. The first one was with the San Luis Obispo sisters. I worked with Sister Stoker. She has changed so much since I trained her and even since our last exchange together. She has become an amazing sister missionary. She is focused, obedient, diligent, goal-oriented, a Preach My Gospel missionary, humble, and driven. She still gets stressed easily. I could see that training has been hard for her, because she really takes it seriously. She said she understands why I was so serious when I was her trainer. Haha. I just talked to her a lot about letting Sister Thurgood take the lead. I said that Sister Stoker has shown her how to be a leader for five weeks and now it's time to hand it over to her companion. That will be good for Sister Stoker to trust her companion. They're doing well there in San Luis Obispo.

The other exchange we had was with the Santa Maria sisters. I worked with Sister Wilkinson for the day. She was so excited to have exchanges with us. She's still working really hard, as always. I'm always impressed with how she talks to everyone she sees. She is happy to be training and enjoys her companion. As she shared things with me about her companion, I was so happy to see how much Sister Wilkinson loves her companion and puts her companion first. Sister Howell needs a friend, and Sister Wilkinson is fulfilling that role. She's such a stellar missionary and I learned a lot from our exchange together.

This week, in our area, we taught Suzanne, Bree, Brother Dumon (less-active), Daniel, and Stephanie. Lisa came to church, as well!

Suzanne is so ready to be baptized....SHE PASSED HER INTERVIEW! She'll be baptized on Saturday! Crazy, isn't it. Woah. This work is just insane. Suzanne is a testimony to me that the Lord truly is working in our area when we are away doing exchanges. She came to us. As we've been teaching her, I've seen her change even though it has been a short time. She is willing to do what the Lord asks of her because she has already seen many blessings from being obedient. She told us, in a lesson this week, that she has seen her faith grow so much already from meeting with us and from coming to church. As we went over the baptismal interview questions with her I felt the Spirit come over me many times because she invited it to be there with us through her conviction and testimony. She truly understands what it means to repent. When she talked to us about what it means, I was amazed at her answer and then the thought came to me that she understands so well because she has done it. That is why I've seen a change in her - she has partaken of the atonement of Jesus Christ and through His grace she has changed. There's an obvious light in her eyes . That's what this is all about. People like Suzanne are the reason I get up everyday at 6:30am, study, go out the door at 10:00am and talk to strangers all day...everyday. Really, it's the love I feel for these people that pushes me out that door and opens my mouth. I just feel so blessed...over and over again..by my Father in Heaven, to have the opportunity to know these people.

I don't know that I can share anything better than what I've shared about Suzanne. I guess it would be important to mention that there are two kids - Daniel who's 12 and Malia who's 9 - that want us to teach them and be baptized. They're from two separate families and both talked to us this past weekend about wanting to be baptized. Blessings. This truly is the year of the harvest!

The work is going so well right now people and this isn't the only place that is harvesting! I'm pretty sure the field is white in Minnesota as well....and Utah...and Arizona....and wherever Britt is now because I have no idea where she is. Now get out there and (Nacho Libre voice)PREACH! TEACH! BAPTIZE! GO AWAY! READ SOME BOOKS.....about missionary work.

I STILL love you all, a lot. :)

Sister Bennett 

Bakersfiel​d is HOT. Too Hot. YUCKY!

June 3, 2013



Hola mi familia, 

We had a really busy week. We had three exchanges and on the days when we were in our area we were very busy with lessons. The exchanges that we had this week were really great. I felt very humbled by the end of the week that I've been given this assignment when there are so many sisters that could do just as well as I do, or most likely better than I do, with this assignment. The sisters in this mission are incredible. They have sacrificed a lot to come and serve the Lord. Some have sacrificed temporal things while others are sacrificing their fears, doubts, inhibitions, and shortcomings. It's always really neat to work with new missionaries because they're just beginning to learn to rely on the Spirit and on the atonement of Jesus Christ. I try to not tell them "I know how you feel" all day, but I can really relate to some of these sisters and how they are feeling. I feel like I was brand new to the mission just yesterday, and I just want to help them have more patience with themselves. It's crazy how great I think they are versus how they feel they're doing. So many of these new sisters just feel like they're not where they're supposed to be at this point, but they're doing wonderfully. I'm sure that's how our Father in Heaven feels when we feel inadequate or unqualified for something. He may want to just shake us and say "Do you know who you are and what you will become!?" That's especially something that I need to remember for myself. That's what I learned, personally, from exchanges this week. I need to remember my divine potential and be patient with myself.

I'll start by talking about the exchanges we had this past week. We started the week off by having an exchange with the Moorpark sisters. I spent the day in Moorpark, again, with Sister Hiatt. She's from Payson, Utah. I wanted to see if she could handle the area. She definitely can. I was super impressed with her. At the beginning of the day, I just felt that she doesn't quite understand the importance of obedience so I prayed a lot that somehow I could help her see why we're obedient and want to be obedient. At the end of the day, after we went over how the exchange went, when Sister Hiatt prayed, she said that she was thankful for what she learned about obedience from me and prayed that she could become more obedient. I was so grateful! There hadn't been anything during the exchange that I had done to correct any disobedience and we didn't even talk about obedience, but somehow she still recognized it and had a desire to become more obedient. That was a miracle! We were so busy the entire day. We went from appointment to appointment with no time in between. It was neat to see how Sister Hiatt teaches. She has a really strong testimony that always invites the Spirit so much, and people listen when she teaches. She's a little unsure about the doctrine of the lessons, but that will come. I'm really excited to go on exchanges with her again in a couple of transfers and see how powerful she is when she learns the lessons really well. She's really great! I'm so happy that she's a part of this mission because she is a special missionary.

For our next exchanges we headed to Bakersfield. Boy was it hot there! We started with the Rosedale sisters and I worked with Sister Allred, from New York, for the day. Those sisters have been spending a lot of time tracting, but I knew that we could have success on the exchange if we worked hard. We set some high goals, according to Sister Allred, but I was confident that the Lord would provide ways for us to reach those goals. Sister Allred really wanted to work on teaching in unity in declarations because she said that she never talks when first contacting people. She's really shy and isn't very sure of herself, which is crazy because she is an amazing teacher! I just tried to always leave room for her to teach. When I would pause and give her time to formulate her thoughts and start teaching, she did really well! We had a lot of success that day! We reached all of our goals and I think it helped Sister Allred see the importance of setting meaningful goals and then working to reach them. She seemed to really enjoy the day and I hope that I helped her recognize how great she is!

After working with Sister Allred in Rosedale, we headed to north Bakersfield and I worked with Sister Evensen from Orem. She is really stressed about the new mission being opened and being in the Bakersfield mission, and she is even more stressed with training in an area where there hasn't been a lot of success recently. I know that everyone can have success and that there isn't one area in this mission where it's impossible to have baptisms. I just want the sisters to see that. If they want to have baptisms, they will have baptisms. Sister Evensen was very discouraged by the lack of investigators in her area and the lack of support from the two wards that she's serving in, but I talked to her a lot about putting trust in the Lord to do HIS work. We found some great people that day and Sister Evensen did really well with teaching them. She's so great at connecting with people as she teaches and she really has fun with missionary work.

This week we taught Suzanne (three times), Ted, Lisa, Bob, the Heaths, Judith, Stephanie, and the Rabagos.

We had three investigators come to church yesterday! It was so great! Suzanne was there nice and early so she came and sat by us, but as the meeting began Lisa sneaked in and sat down. We needed to divide and conquer so Sister Burwell got up and went to sit by her. Then after the sacrament was finished being administered to the congregation, I was just sitting there listening to the member of the bishopric give his testimony and all of a sudden, there's Stephanie at the end of our row looking at me like "surprise! I really came!" I was super excited! As testimony meeting continued on, I was getting a bit anxious because the testimonies were going downhill. Everyone kept talking about such deep doctrine and I didn't want the investigators there to wonder what in the world they were doing there. At that point I started to pray...hard. When I finished praying, Sister Jones got up and bore the best testimony followed by a powerful testimony by Sister Burwell and then the Bishop got up and spoke about his conversion. It was amazing. The Spirit was so strong there and those last three testimonies addressed things that all three of those investigators needed to hear. That was such a tender mercy from the Lord. I felt so great about the way things went and all of them said that they'd be back next week! How great is that!?

Oh, the best news of the week came from Kayli on Saturday night. I had written her last week and told her to go to the temple and pray about going on a mission, because she's really been struggling with making that decision. She really wants to but she was scared about how her parents would react. Well, she went to the temple to do baptisms and then took some time to pray and read her scriptures. She got the answer that she needs to go, so she's for sure going on a mission! She said she's willing to give up everything to serve - her car, her phone, living with her parents. She is so inspiring! I just love her so much. She's felt really alone lately because she doesn't have the support she needs from her family. When I prayed after reading that letter, I just started crying. I was so happy for her, but also so grateful for all of you - a supporting family. I don't recognize that often enough...the blessing of having such a wonderful family that supports this decision of serving a mission. It really means a lot to me because this mission has changed my life. Thanks so much and please keep Kayli in your prayers as she is preparing to tell her parents about going on a mission.

Anyway, life as a missionary is rolling along....a bit too fast if you ask me! Sorry, I'm SO TOTALLY OUT OF TIME! I'll write more next week! I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Bennett

 

Gift of Hands

May 27, 2013



Dear Family,

This past week was very successful in more areas than just numbers. Sister Burwell and I are just becoming closer and closer, and as our relationship is being strengthened, our teaching is getting better and more powerful. The Lord is really helping me see the things that I can do in our companionship to uplift Sister Burwell and help her to grow. My focus is directed toward her so much more than in my previous companionships, which at times I feel regret about. Becoming a better companion has been something that I've prayed for/about my entire mission, and I've seen myself growing, but with Sister Burwell I've been growing so much because I'm finally getting it. Something that Sister Tippetts said to me in my first transfer always plays in my mind when I try to figure out how to be a better companion; "Your companion is your first and most important investigator." Those words are profound. I wish I would've reflected on this and made this realization sooner...Sister Tippetts showed me exactly how to do that - put my companion first. Everything Sister Tippetts did was to help me and to teach me. She was a true leader- she taught just as Elder Robbins said, "Teaching is the essence of leadership." When I think about my time with Sister Tippetts, I can't always remember everything that she said, but I will always remember how much she loved me and taught me by example. This transfer I've really been trying to implement the things that she did with me with Sister Burwell. My love for Sister Burwell has grown so much and I can see who she is as a daughter of God and as a representative of Jesus Christ. Sometimes at night we just stay up and talk about our day and the spiritual experiences we've had, and a few times I've been overwhelmed with the Spirit...feeling the love that Heavenly Father has for her. She has taught me so much and has pushed me to grow and change because she looks to me as an example and she really trusts me. That is a great responsibility, and I take it very seriously. I know that the Lord has been blessing our companionship and will continue to do so as we give all we can to be unified.

The work this week was amazing! We got some really great new investigators and have someone that really wants to be baptized this transfer! That will be the other baptism we need to reach our goal of two baptisms this transfer! Amazing! It's so true, if we desire baptisms and expect them, as we are obedient and work hard the Lord will provide. I just feel so indebted and overwhelmed by how much He has blessed me during my mission. I sometimes wonder why. Why me? How can I be deserving of these blessings when I've seen other missionaries that are so much better than me not have as much success? I guess those questions push me to work harder, because I don't want to be ungrateful.

We taught Aubrey and Tyler 3 times this week, Jim (less-active), Sharon, Lisa, Jacob, Julie (less-active), Sister Ellis (less-active), Suzanne, Bri, Geno, Ted, and the Rabagos. Oh, and we had the most amazing baptism of my mission!

I'll start with Suzanne. She is so prepared! She has been searching for a long time and she already knows that she's found what she's been looking for. When we met with her for our first lesson, she had read in the Book of Mormon and was raving about what it taught about baptism, she had been reading in the Gospel Principles book and thought that the teachings about prophets are so great, and she was asking about how she's going to be more involved in the church. What? Where do these people come from? As we taught her about the restoration she was just eating it up. She just kept saying "I believe. That's true. I know it!" When we got to teaching about the great apostasy and we read in Amos 8 about a famine, she said, "It's like this time was a spiritual famine. I know it. They were famished spiritually!" Hahah. She is so funny, but she was picking everything up so quickly! I was just so happy as we taught her because she was so excited about everything. When we invited her to be baptized on the 15th of June she almost jumped out of her chair and said, "Oh yes! That would be perfect! My birthday is two days later and then it's Jeanen's (the member) birthday. This will be a milestone day in my life!" I had to keep pushing my jaw back up because it was hanging open the entire lesson. I could hardly look at Sister Burwell because if I did I would've jumped out of my chair and started dancing around with her. Suzanne is a miracle and an answer to our prayers. This has strengthened my testimony that angels are truly declaring to people at this time, preparing their hearts to receive the fulness of the gospel. Isn't that so great? Isn't this work so amazing?

Exchange. We went and worked with the Dos Vientos sisters this week. I went to Dos Vientos with Sister Tagaloa and Sister Burwell stayed in Ventura with Sister Casper. Sister Tagaloa is doing well. She is a little stressed about this round of training. Sister Casper is different than Sister Randall, so she's trying to figure out how to adjust to meet Sister Casper's needs. I was happy to work with her and give her advice on what to do to help Sister Casper. Our day in Dos Vientos wasn't the most successful day ever, and I felt kind of bad about that. I felt that maybe I wasn't doing enough and that Sister Tagaloa didn't have the best exchange ever, but when we had the exchange review she shared a lot of things that she learned from me. I was grateful that I could help her in some way. She has been growing a lot. Training has really pushed her to trust more in the Lord and to do things in His way. His way is the best way, isn't it? It's so neat to see how these sisters have grown since the last time I had an exchange with them. That's what I get this transfer, I get to go with a lot of sisters that I've already worked with. It's so wonderful.

OK, now for the baptism!!! This baptism was the most powerful baptism of my mission. It was even more powerful than the Matweyew's baptism, and I never thought that I could feel the Spirit more than at their baptism. Heavenly Father loves Aubrey and Tyler so much. As soon as the opening hymn started the Spirit seeped into the room. It was almost like someone turned on the air conditioning and the Spirit came into the room through the vents. It just slowly came upon me and was overwhelming me. The talks were great and the musical number was wonderful...some young women had learned how to sign to the song "When I am Baptized." Aubrey really enjoyed that. Sister Burwell said the opening prayer and I said the closing prayer both in sign language. Sister Wood taught us how. We had written down what we wanted to say and then we went over and she taught us how to sign it. I could tell that Aubrey really loved that we made the effort to do that for her, and I wasn't even nervous to do it. I was just so excited to be able to actually communicate with her and help her see my testimony, through a prayer, for herself. That was really neat. Everything was so great, but the best part was seeing Aubrey's face after she was baptized. She literally LOOKED different. She looks so happy now and there was an obvious glow about her. I can't describe the difference, but there is one. I know that. Sister Pellum, the mom, stood up at the end and thanked everyone and, as she was crying, said that she's never felt the Spirit so strongly in her life. That meant a lot, because we've wondered if she's even been affected by the lessons. I'm glad that she felt the Spirit and I hope that it will propel her onward into truly being active in the gospel...not just in the church. The confirmations yesterday were just as powerful. Aubrey's confirmation was almost like a patriarchal blessing! In the blessing she was told that she had conversed with her Father in Heaven about this trial she's been given in life of not hearing and that she agreed to it and knew the things that she would need to do. She was told that through her inability to hear, she will be more in-tune with the Spirit and she was told that she was given this trial so that she can take the gospel to the deaf community. I almost started crying because all of those things answered prayers that I've prayed since we first started teaching her. I just love Aubrey so much and I have learned so much as we've taught her. Heavenly Father knows His children and His plan is perfect. I know this.

That baptism just topped off a great week. The Spirit that I felt at that baptism can carry me through the rest of my mission...easily. I'm just grateful that I was there and part of it. 

Love,

Sister Bennett

Raining Miracles, Baby!

May 20, 2013

Dear Family!

This week was so great! We've been praying for miracles to happen here in this area - specifically to find investigators that have been prepared to progress toward baptism. The Lord has answered our prayers and has literally been pouring out blessings. I feel a little disappointed with myself, because there were many times last week when I was lacking faith. I felt like the work was going downhill and I didn't know why. I kept beating myself up about it because I felt that possibly I was doing something wrong or, more likely, I wasn't doing enough. However, after hearing from Elder Robbins my perspective was changed and I remembered learning (in Mosiah 23:20-21) about how sometimes the Lord chastens us, even when we're doing well and keeping the commandments, to help us become who He wants us to be. I guess last week was a chastening week and this week was a reward for enduring the chastening. I think the Lord needed to help me be more prepared for these elect children that He would like Sister Burwell and me to teach. My faith needed to be tried, and even though it was only a week...in missionary work a lot happens in a week...I learned a lot. This past week, I was able to use the new things that I learned from my "chastening" and we saw many tender mercies.

I think one reason that we've been so blessed this week is because last week during weekly planning we set some really good companionship goals for this transfer. Now each week we're setting goals to reach the goals that we've set for the transfer. We've set goals to teach in unity, to focus our conversation on missionary work, and to have 2 baptisms this transfer - Aubrey and Tyler's and one other baptism. I feel really good about these goals and as we pray about them and do our best the Lord will make up for what we lack and we'll be able to achieve these goals that we've set.

This week we taught Chris, Lisa, Julie M (less-active), Lindsey, Brother Dumond, the Heaths, Aubrey and Tyler (twice), Luis, Suzanne, Toni G (less-active), Stephanie and the Rabagos.

Saturday was a miracle day, so I'll share about what happened on Saturday.

We started the day out by teaching Aubrey, Tyler couldn't come because he had a baseball game in the morning. We taught about the restoration using a lot of pictures and some hand crated visual aids. The lesson was fantastic. Aubrey was focused and we know that she understood because we did a review of what we taught in the morning when we met with them again in the evening on Saturday. When we reviewed the restoration, she answered all of the questions that we asked and she knew what happened next as we taught. We met with them twice on Saturday because we were in a crunch. Aubrey is usually gone during the week because she goes up to a deaf school in Riverside. We were trying to do 3 lessons and an interview in two days. I cannot begin to say how stressed I felt about it, but for some reason I still felt peace amidst my stress. The reason for the peace came when we met with Aubrey on Saturday morning. Sister Pellum, Aubrey's mom, told us that Aubrey doesn't have school this week so we can meet during the week! That was a miracle! It lifted such a huge weight off of our shoulders, but not as much as when we could tell that Aubrey was understanding what we were teaching at a rapid pace. I know that the Lord has expanded her understanding and capability to learn these things. That is really the biggest miracle. She and Tyler are so excited to get baptized, and the best part is how excited their mom is. Sister Pellum needs this push, and I'm grateful that we've been able to really get to know their family and that I've been able to come to love them so much. Aubrey even got to come to Young Women's yesterday. I sometimes worry about how things are going to work with her getting fellowship in the ward, but I know that Heaven Father loves Aubrey and is going to provide a way for her to feel like she is a part of the ward family. The ward has already been so great and I know that they want to do all that they can for Aubrey. Now we just need to figure out what it is that they can do. I'm so excited for Saturday! The baptism is going to be amazing. We stopped by to see Sister Wood this week to ask about anything special that may need to be done for the baptism, and she told us that if we say the prayers at the baptism that she'll teach us how to sign a prayer. That would be so cool to do for Aubrey. We don't know if Sister Pellum wants us to speak or pray...or maybe none of the above, but we'll see what happens. I'm super, super excited!

We had a really cool experience on Saturday with the Spanish Hermanas here in Ventura. A few weeks ago we found a really great man named Luis. Luis is from Argentina. The first time we talked to him, he seemed skeptical and he seemed almost like he was going to argue with us, but I just felt love for him. At the end of talking with him, I asked when a good time to come back would be. Sister Burwell looked at me like I was crazy. I felt a little crazy because he didn't seem like he was interested at all and if we came back he would just try to argue with us. Well, the words came out and Luis agreed to meet with us again. Well, when we went back two Saturdays ago we understood why I felt prompted to ask him to meet again. He is searching right now and had just lost faith in religion because he's looked so much and has never found. In that lesson we realized that he really needed Spanish missionaries. He speaks English really well, but we felt that being taught in Spanish would help him spend less time trying to figure out what we're saying and more time listening to the Spirit. This past Saturday we met up with the Spanish sisters and had a pass-off lesson with them. They taught him the restoration in Spanish and we couldn't leave because then they wouldn't be able to stay in his apartment and teach him. I am so glad that we were able to be there. I knew I couldn't contribute by teaching in Spanish, so I just prayed the whole lesson that Luis would feel the truth of the message. Seeing the Hermanas teach him was a learning experience. They taught with such reverence and love, and it helped me understand that the most important teacher is the Spirit. I didn't understand what the sisters were saying, although I did understand a lot...surprisingly, but I understood the Spirit. It enveloped that room and Luis, when invited to be baptized, said "of course!" His baptismal date is on the 15th of June. That was a wonderful experience.

One last miracle before I report on exchanges. . .
We had dinner with the Smiths on Saturday evening and they had a friend over to have dinner with us. Her name is Suzanne. She is a really happy lady, in her 60s, and she just brought so much life into the room. She told us that she has a Book of Mormon, from her friend, Sister Smith, and that she's been reading it and loving it! Sister Burwell and I just looked at each other like "whhaaaaat?!!!" To put it simply, we were excited. The great thing was that we had planned to share a message about the Book of Mormon, so when it came time for us to share a message we were able to get a better feel for where Suzanne is at. She was raised Catholic but disagrees with the Catholic faith. She just feels that they don't live what they teach, but she loves the LDS faith. She was ranting and raving about everything that she loves about the church. It was almost like she was saying, "please, teach me and baptize me." I was just so caught off guard by her that I probably seemed like I didn't even know what we believe or teach! She came to church yesterday and we're meeting with her on Friday to teach her the first lesson. The only problem is that she lives right outside of the boundaries for 2nd ward. I don't know what to do, but we're just going to start teaching her and pray about it. It's hard because she has such great fellowship in 2nd ward. We'll see about that.

Ok, so exchanges. It was our first one, and we had it with the Agoura sisters! I stayed in Ventura with Sister Randall. I went on an exchange with her last transfer, and it was neat to see how much she's grown. She really wants to be move involved in teaching. She said that she bears her testimony a lot but doesn't feel that she contributes much to the actual teaching part. We worked on teaching every other bullet point in the lessons. She did pretty well. I can tell that she wants everything to sound just right, so sometimes she gets a bit wordy or flustered. I understand, because I felt the same way. We talked a lot about teaching simply and about studying the lessons and then practicing how to teach them in the simplest way possible. I enjoyed working with her because she has a really positive attitude. Even when she was talking about how she wished she would've done something better, she was so happy and positive. That's so great, especially for a new missionary. That positive attitude will propel her and help her become a really powerful missionary. She really loves the work, and that's so wonderful to see in a young, new missionary. She's eating up every moment of being a missionary and I'm excited to see how much more she grows before I go on an exchange with her again.

Well, there's the update. The work is great, and I am, too!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Bennett

Blasted!

May 14, 2013

Dear Family,

I LOVE YOU! It was absolutely amazing to talk to you on the phone. You all sounded so happy and I was about to burst, myself, with happiness. Thanks for being such amazing siblings and parents. I'm so lucky to have you.

This was a crazy week! It was one of those weeks where, when I reflect on it, I need to remember that numbers don't say everything...actually, I feel that they don't say much at all because the time we spent in meetings and planning are so important. There are no "key indicators" that measure how much I learned, how my faith grew, how much closer I came to my Savior, or how much joy I felt this past week. They also don't record time spent praying about, pondering and planning for the sister missionaries that I have stewardship over or how my love has grown for each of them individually. At times when Sunday night rolls around and we're adding up our totals for the week, I get a bit frustrated because the numbers don't match how I feel about the week. Luckily, right after we do numbers, I go into the room, kneel down, and account to the master of this work on my stewardship. That's when I really feel His love and feel how proud He is of me. He reassures me that I'm doing my best and that's what He has asked me to give. He also helps me see past numbers and seemingly temporal things, and shows me how the things that I've done this past week will affect me and, more importantly others, in the eternal scheme of things.

Prayer is powerful. It is through prayer that I've learned of who I really am as His daughter. It's through prayer that I've come to understand what the Savior is asking of me as His representative. It is through prayer that I feel an even deeper connection with not only my Father in Heaven, but my family here on the Earth. My love for my family has grown so much and I feel that my relationships with all of you are so much deeper now than before, even though I'm hundreds of miles from each of you. That's something that I realized on Sunday when I was able to spend a little time talking to all of you on the phone. It really hit me that the love that I have for you isn't of this world, but it's an eternal love that will never fail. Elder Robbins spoke about choosing to love and that we don't "fall" in love because that eliminates agency. When he said that, I realized that that is why my love for my family is so deep. I have chosen, over and over again, to love each of you. Now I understand how important the Savior is in relationships and how He is the one that can make love perfect. It is through His grace. I just learned so much yesterday, and I'm grateful for the insights that I received as I listened to an especial witness of Jesus Christ.

Having Elder Robbins here was absolutely amazing. I felt overwhelmed by how much I was trying to take in. I felt that I couldn't write fast enough, and I just wished that he would pause for like 30 minutes after each comment so I could ponder on what he just said. Sadly, that didn't happen, so I felt like I was trying to drink water from a fire hose (as Sister Tippetts always used to say). He was just blasting us with pure doctrine! I loved it! The Spirit was so strong in those meetings that we had with him. It wasn't like I felt the Spirit super strong at one point and then I would get hit again when I heard something that was specifically for me, but it was a steady outpouring of the Spirit in those meetings. Everything that was being taught was something that I needed to hear. I had been praying and pondering about questions that I could seek revelation on through Elder Robbins’s visit, and I received very clear answers on those questions. When Jordan told me that the last 6 months of my mission will be the best 6 months of my mission, I thought about that a lot, and I wasn't sure how I could do that. I had been thinking about how it is my decision what the rest of my mission brings, but I was struggling to know where to begin so that I can accomplish the things that I and, more importantly, the Lord wants me to accomplish the rest of my mission. It is very clear to me now that a great part of what I am to accomplish throughout the remainder of my time here is to teach these other sisters. The Lord is asking me to really consecrate myself as a missionary and leave everything on the altar of sacrifice. I've done well, but I can do better. He wants me to take responsibility and teach these new missionaries how to become effective advocates of the truth. He wants me to teach them what their potential is as daughters of God and how to reach that potential. He wants me to do that because then I will understand those things better myself, and I will also be able to affect more people. He is giving me such an amazing opportunity to not only affect those in my area, but to allow my influence to be expanded to all of the sisters and those that they will teach, or train, or be companions with. It's a bit daunting, but I know that the Lord has been and will continue to qualify me. I know that He loves me because He trusts me with this LARGE, GREAT, HUGE, CRAZY task/responsibility. I am happy to have it.

Well, I want to write a quick update about Aubrey and Tyler before I finish. They are doing well. I was feeling a bit of stress about their baptism, because we're under pressure to have Aubrey ready by the 25th. Her mom, Dawnya, told us that her family has already purchased plane tickets so they can come to her baptism on the 25th. I almost screamed when she told us that, because we were about to tell her that we felt that the baptism should be moved back since we can only meet with them on the weekend. Well, we told Dawnya that we would go ahead as planned and see what happens. If Aubrey isn't ready, she isn't getting baptized, but I feel at peace about it. That night, I was praying about it a lot and wasn't sure if we were doing the right thing. I didn't want Aubrey to feel pressured or rushed into baptism, but then I realized that she doesn't need to have a perfect knowledge in order to be baptized. She needs to understand who she is, who her Savior is, and that only through His true church can we return to live with God. As I was praying, I felt peace. I felt that she will be ready to be baptized by the 25th and that I need to trust in the Lord and in the Spirit to prepare her, not in myself. Aubrey has come such a long way in a very short time. Whenever she prays I feel the Spirit so strongly and it's just so beautiful to see the changes that are happening in her, her brother, and her mom. I really love their family and I'm excited for when they'll be baptized.

I love this work. There really is nothing else like it in the world...that's because it's not of this world.

Love,

Sister Bennett