Semana 76:I Wouldn't Even Trade These Two Years for an Infiniti G35

Semana 76:I Wouldn't Even Trade These Two Years for an Infiniti G35

Hey y'all! Well it has been a pretty good week out here in the good 'ol desert of San Jorge. I wish I could think of everything off the top of my head right now. I have about fifteen minutes left to write so I will try to cover the good stuff. :)

The week started out slow. We have been struggling to find the elect people that are truly interested in this message of salvation. If people only knew how this gospel could bless their lives they would be lining up in troves to hear the message of the restoration. Unfortunately, Satan is winning the battle and will continue to win this battle until the second coming but hey, we have a secret weapon old scratch doesn't have... THE BOOK OF MORMON. :)

We have been walking a lot! I wake up every morning with black circles under my eyes but somehow we just keep going. Some of the other missionaries that have cars have been using our fellow-shippers and so then they don't have time to go out with us. Sometimes I feel like we get the short end of the stick but as Elder Eggen says, the Lord recognizes our sacrifice and blesses us according. He is such a good companion. He inspires me to apply myself more in my personal and language studies. I call him "Elder Davis" from time to time as a reference to him going to UC Davis. He just is a really smart yet personable missionary. I'm willing to admit he is more Christ-like than me. It has helped me a lot to strive to be a better man.

We went out with a fellow shipper this past Friday who we had never used before. He was a really nice kid that is 20 years old and he is a native of St. George. His dad is Hispanic so he knows Spanish even though he is more Americanized. So that night he pulls up and takes us to our appointment in this beautiful Infiniti G35. We got in the car and he has his new iPhone hooked up and he was wearing a silk purple button down shirt. My first thought was that he must've been a really good missionary and he got blessed when he came home. We got to talking, mostly about the material things and about his family and he mentioned he hadn't served a mission. We talked some more as we knocked the doors of an apartment complex and he told us he has been working since he was 14 and just feels like a 40 year old in a 20 year old's body. I thought that was sad that he was so young but felt so old. I feel completely opposite! :PI shared my experiences I've had in coming on my mission and how much it has helped me but he said he just doesn't want to serve a mission. He was a really good fellow-shipper and really helped us out and for that I am so thankful. More than anything though I'm thankful for the lesson he taught me. At the end of the night we got into our apartment and I looked at Elder Eggen and said, "I'm so thankful you chose to serve a mission. I wouldn't rather be anywhere else right now". He agreed with me. It was such a learning experience for me. Even though this person was a year younger than me, has a really great job, has a car I would die to have and plenty of money in the bank, I wouldn't trade where I'm at for anything in the world. Not even an Infiniti G35 car. :) It makes me smile thinking about that night I could literally feel that Elder Eggen and I are happier than we would ever be if we were not serving the Master. "... though worthy to serve, [many] may feel they have more important priorities. Well do I remember the Lord’s promise: “For them that honour me I will honour” (1 Samuel 2:30). None of us will honor our Heavenly Father and our Savior more than by serving as a devoted, compassionate missionary." (The Lord Needs Missionaries By President Thomas S. Monson) The call wasn't given out of convenience us 19 year old boys. The call wasn't given to those that just "want" to serve. The call was extended to every worthy young man and I don't regret a single minute I've baked under the Utah sun. I'm livin' the dream!

We finally got to meet with an investigator we have been seeing for several weeks. He works at Olive Garden and Red Robin and hardly ever has time off. We were able to sit down and explain the Restoration of the Priesthood and how the Prophet Joseph Smith, in his sincere desire to know of the truth, kneeled in a grove of trees in upstate New York and there, saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. It has been awhile since we have had such a good lesson like that. We were on splits a couple nights before and Elder Eggen had invited him to be baptized. He said he wanted to learn more and wasn't ready. I explained the feelings/promptings of the Holy Ghost and he expressed he was feeling those feelings he had never felt in the Catholic Church. I asked him if he would follow those promptings and the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God and he agreed. Lessons like those are why I serve a mission. Teaching the gospel has brought me more joy than my own conversion. "And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the ^akingdom of my Father, how great will be your ^bjoy if you should bring many ^csouls unto me!" (D&C18:16) I love being a missionary!

Well I am out of time. Those were just a few of the miracles we had this week. I hope the funeral went well. Give both my Grandma's kisses for me. I hope Grandma Candy gets better soon. She needs to know that she has to eat! I love you all. I can't believe Kodi leaves for school in 21days! Time goes so fast. Vaya Con Dios.

Dios es amor,

Elder Bennion

Semana 75: What A Precious Gift Life Is

Semana 75: What A Precious Gift  Life Is

Well where do I start this week? It sounds like things have been pretty difficult back home and taken some ups and downs. I guess as Rascal Flatts says, "Life is a highway, I'm gonna ride it all night long..." I suppose we just have to roll with the punches and take what the Lord gives us one day at a time. Please give Grandma Ward my love. That is good to hear she is handling things so well but death is never easy to handle. I'm so thankful for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how we have such a better understanding of where we go after this life. I know Grandpa will be going to a place of rest and joy. He will most definitely be in paradise. 

Kodi's car looks great! I can't believe you got such a good deal on it! Tell him to watch” Meet the parents” and find the part where Jack Burns is talking about green cars... "Genius' pick green". :D

This week was good. The weather was really strange. For most of the week it was REALLY hot and then by Sunday we had rain. I really don't get it but I was thankful for the rain. We did a lot of tracting this week. We tracted for five hours straight almost every day this week. Don't worry though mama, I am drinking lots of water. I am curious how many miles I've walked. I would venture to say we walked between twenty and twenty-five miles this past week. My shoes are holding up really well too! I think that they will last me to the very last foot step when I step off that air plane. :P Please pray we find some new people to teach. We need some new people. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday I went on exchanges with the Sunset English elders. It has been a long time since I have been to an English area. Usually I stay in our area but because it was necessary that I went to their area. I was with an Elder from Laie so we had lot to talk about. He said I probably had walked past his house all the time going to the beach. It was neat to see how many people they are teaching. It just is such different work! We never teach children and a lot of the work here in this mission in English is working with less-active families. Elder Eggen did a great job in our area and it gave him a chance to take the lead. 

We gave a zone training on the power of prayer on Wednesday. We got the assignment from the zone leaders Tuesday night. Nothing like last minute but it turned out really well. It reminded me of HOW important it is for all of us to pray daily and pray sincerely to our Father in Heaven. Prayer moves mountains.

After all the trainings and exchanges I was ready for some work in our own area. I guess I got that because we did lots of working/ walking. Well I am almost out of time. I hope next week is good for you all! I can't believe school is starting for all the little ninos here in Utah already! The summer just flew by! I love you! Remember how precious this life is. God has blessed us with this opportunity to prove ourselves, to grow and to become more like him. After the trial of our faith comes the blessings from above that can distill upon us like dew drops from above. Vaya con Dios.

Dios es amor,

Elder Bennion

Semana 74: In The World But Not Of The World

Semana 74: In The World But Not Of The World

Hey family! This will probably be a short letter. I attached a few pictures so I hope it will make up for the few thousand words this email will lack. I'm glad you got my email last week from Alvarado. She and her husband are saints, SAINTS I tell you! I cannot begin to tell you how much they do for us week in and week out. They are definitely one of the nicest families that I have met in my mission. 

It was a decent week for the most part this past week. It didn't really compare to the previous week when we had that miracle baptism of Ramona. She was just an elect woman and it was so neat to bring her the gospel. Last Monday was really fun though. We usually get stuck in a routine of doing emails, shopping and washing clothes. By the time that is all done we don't have any time left so it was a blast that we got to go to Zion's National Park. We went there with the Alvarado's and Malory, who is from the Spanish branch. We didn't have a ton of time to hike and see all that Zion's has to offer but it was nice to get out and have some fun. The one thing that disgusted me was the way girls dress now. I'm convinced before my mission it was just not something I thought twice about but at Zion's I was just disgusted at how it appeared as if mothers and daughters were having competitions to see who could wear the shortest shorts and look good. I felt embarrassed for some of the husbands there. It reminded me of the scripture in John 17 that says, "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (We as Latter-Day Saints)... are not of the world, even as I am not of the world". It just made me thankful for all the teachings and guidance our modern day prophets give us to lead and guide us in how to dress and act!

On our way home a storm came in and it poured down rain. The roads had small rivers going over them and it was just a mess. The weather has been so weird here this summer. It has been cloudy and humid some days, rainy and sometimes pretty warm. It has been strange but life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. 

We walked a lot this week. It seems like all of our investigators are turning into creyentes and don't want to actually put their faith into action. I can't even begin to count how many doors I've knocked this week. We have had to walk further to the parts of our area that we didn't visit last transfer much because of the distance. It has given me a chance to reflect a lot on the mission, what I can do to be a better trainer and a better person in general. Sometimes I get frustrated that these people are so evasive or hard headed but Christ never said this work would be easy. I love in an excerpt from I read from a talk given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland that said something to the effect that this work was never meant to be easy. Why would we as missionaries, or Latter-Day Saints in general, think that it would be easy when the price Christ paid for our salvation was so great. In missionary work we are given such a small glimpse of the struggle Christ went through and for that I'm ever indebted. It is the struggle, the climb that makes the sweet moments so sweet and the successful moments so exhilarating.    

We had a meeting with Elder Terry Wade of the Seventy this week. It is such a special feeling to be in a room with such righteous and chosen men of God. We met to discuss how we can better the Spanish work here in the Sunset stake. Only in Utah could you have a stake meeting and an area seventy would be invited to that meeting. 

Well I have to run. I got more out than I expected! Some quick thoughts are:

. PEGGY! I love you! Thank you for all the food you sent with Sister Ward. The sisters in the visitor center were drooling when I came in. I got lucky it was all there. ;D

 P.S. I will be finished with your letter soon!

GRANDPA Ellingson!!! Happy 75^th Birthday to you!!!

Aubrey, Kati, Hannah and Kellyn... HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I know it's late but consider this as close to being on time as I can be! 

Make it a great week! Serve someone in need. In the grocery store, at home, or where ever you find yourself, find someone in need and help them. Ask yourself, have I done any good in the world today? Vaya con Dios.

Dios es amor,

Elder Bennion