Semana 87: Going Back To My Birth Place- It All Comes Full Circle

Semana 87: Going Back To My Birth Place- It All Comes Full Circle

Que onda familia,

This week turned out to get better and better as it went on. A couple of items of business to take care of first though: We had interviews with President Leonard on Thursday and my ecclesial endorsement  interview is done for BYU. All he needs is my CES ID. If you would email that to me I would appreciate it mucho! It feels really weird to be looking up classes and having to think about all this. I'm just nervous and don't know if I want to go to BYU. :P There is just a million thing on my mind about it all. I just want to be at the place where I will be most successful and can pull a 3.8 or higher. I did find out after my mission I can take a Spanish placement test through BYU and it will give me 16 credits of either A, B, or C credit depending on how well I do on the exam. That would really boost my GPA if I could get all A credit. I also need to fill out my FAFSA info sometime soon. I have no clue how to do it so I'm going to need your help. The last thing is if you go to Nike will you look at their basketball shoes. I keep playing in my airmax 180's and I keep thinking I'm going to roll an ankle any day. haha You could also just grab a pair of basketball shoes from my closet and send them in a package. I forget which basketball shoes I have. Just don't send the baby blue and yellow Jordan retro ones. Those would get too beat up out here.

I'm sure you wondered what the title of this week’s letter is for and that is because we got transfer calls last night. I will be going back to EPHRAIM and I will be covering the Spanish branch and all the family wards. My companion's name is Elder Herera and he is from Peru. He has only been out for three months so I'm going to have another young missionary. That really isn't anything new. The average time all my companions have been in the mission when I get them is about 5 months. I'm excited to go back to where I started and to try to teach some of the people that weren't ready at that time. More than anything I'm excited to go back knowing Spanish and being able to communicate. It should be good... just cold. 

Last Monday was another perfect day for golf. I only shot a 44 but I ended up cracking the head of the driver I was using so I had no driver. haha Brother Jones gave it to me as a trophy. I think I will need to cut the shaft off to make it more portable although Elder Earle and I like taking practice swings with it from time to time. All of our lessons fell through so that was disappointing. At five o'clock everyone texted and told us they would have to reschedule. It was discouraging but that that doesn't kill me can only make me stronger. We ended up having three lessons (Bridy, Hermano Perez, and Gene) but they were not the most quality lessons.

Wednesday we went on exchanges so Elder Lewis from Dallas Texas came with me to Beaver. He is a hoot and is always messing around so tracting for four hours out in a place called The Grove flew by. It was nice to have a change for the day. We met a ton of free spirits that said they didn't need a church, they said they could reword the bible under a tree and feel the spirit. I though it could have been a good segway into the Joseph Smith story and how Joseph Smith prayed in a grove of trees for an answer to his prayers. As witty as I though that would be I refrained and didn't get smart with them. We did end up teaching the most lessons out of any other day of the week though. Nothing feels better than just doing work and having the day fly by.

Thursday we spend a good portion of the day out in Richfield because of interviews with President Leonard. He cut his hair shorter than I've ever seen it and his eyes were really puffy. It just seemed like President looked older and a bit tired this time. I'm sure I only know a portion of the duties President has and it amazes me how each and every mission president dedicates three years to serve with out payment. It sure is a testimony builder that this is Christ's church. After we got home from Richfield we stopped by the post office to get the mail and a lady yelled out her window, "How many outfits do you own?!" We just laughed. I thought it was a random comment to make, especially in Beaver. Then the next day a lady stuffed a twenty-dollar bill in my shirt at the post office as we were leaving. That was just one of the many people that have been really generous with us. I found out as well two other restaurants we can eat at for free and the gym here in town is free. If there were more people to teach in Beaver this would be a fantastic area. 

I was realizing this week we have a lot of investigators and most of them have only made baby steps while I've been here in Beaver. I felt a little discouraged that it seems like that has been the trend for me over the past few months of my mission. Then there was a voice that told me to “never forget my success in an area is paved by the struggles and hard work of past missionaries who were just not as fortunate to see the fruits of their labors.” I remember in St. George I was the benefactor of several baptisms that were people who had investigate the church for three years straight. 

Missionary work is not easy but that is the way God intended it to be. Salvation is not cheap and neither should missionary work be. I've seen many great missionaries while serving and I've seen a few knot heads as well. One thing I've learned though is that if this church wasn't true, the missionaries would have destroyed it a long time ago.

I've made it a goal to download and listen to every General Conference address by both Elder Holland and President Monson before I go home. I've listened to 15 or so talks by Elder Holland and it just confirms to me every time that this is the restored church of Jesus Christ. I'm livin' the dream! Vaya con Dios.

Dios es amor,

Elder Bennion

Semana 86: Why Do We Seek The Lord When We Are In Danger But When We Fall In Riches We Act Like He Is Just a Stranger?

Semana 86: Why Do We Seek The Lord When We Are In Danger But When We Fall In Riches We Act Like He Is Just a Stranger?

Hey y'alll! Well, where do I start? I hope your vacation was good mama. This week was kind of a long one. The week started out really well though- golf was really fun. :) I didn't play great but my drives were good. On the ninth hole I almost landed on the green on a par four. That was a good way to finish out the day. :) I tied for first with brother Jones but I have a feeling next week I can play better. I made a lot of rookie mistakes. Anyway, enough about golf! It is such a blessing though to have fun things to do on p-day. I've been in areas where we don't do anything and it wears me down. Having fun on p-day plays a role in how effective I am as a missionary through out the week. The day got even better in the evening too. We had dinner and a lesson with the Eichorns. We have been trying to see them all transfer and finally the persistence paid off. They are probably one of the funniest families I've ever taught. Take Kim Haugen and multiply her by five and you have Rachelle. haha The lesson went well and we will be going by tonight again. President Robinson should be joining us for the lesson since he lives two houses away. It pays off to have good people to fellowship investigators. President Robinson is a lot like P-Rich. We see him weekly and I just love how down to Earth he is. We had a really good lesson with the Guzmans on Monday night as well. It had been quite a while since we had met with them. Brother Guzman had a lot of questions and was pretty hard headed in his thinking but it turned out well. I've gotten a lot bolder as I've aged in the mission field. Just like elderly people in their old age, I've began to care less about the potential of "offending" people and dancing around topics such as baptism. I've found that I say what needs to be said now where as before I couldn't do it. I've received a lot of inspiration from Elder Holland’s talks and it seems to be helping me to become a more effective missionary.

I remember way back when I wanted to become an NBA player and I watched countless hours of Jordan footage, I recorded every Lakers game I could and tried to mimic Kobe's moves. Now, when I shoot a jump shot my tongue hangs out because it was a habit that became engrained in me, just like Jordan. When I shoot free throws I do the same routine Kobe does because it has become a habit. No matter what we want to do we are best served to watch and follow the "pros". I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter what we desire to do, we will become the best when we learn and strive to be like the best.

Through out the week we had a few more opportunities to do service. One afternoon we did some work on a ranch and helped a man take down his horse arena. It was hard for this man because this ranch is now a shell of what it once was. At one point rodeos were put on at his house, there was a concession stand, and the place was alive and popin'. Because of the down turn in the economy it forced this man to sell his horses and get out of the business of horse training. It made me feel bad for him. It was a lot of work but it made me feel good to know I was just helping someone. It is amazing how happy I am doing something so simple.

Saturday night we were able to help the Baldwins out moving more stuff. It was later in the evening and we had just finished up a really good lesson with Juan. We had exhausted all of our plans and then I remembered brother Baldwin had said they could use some help at 7:00. When we got over there they had just got home and so we went to work. Again, that same feeling of gratitude filled me for the opportunity I had to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord.

I wish I had a bunch of great stories, finding new people to teach that have been prepared by the Lord but let the truth be told, there hasn't been much of that lately. I feel like a candle in the wind at times but my flame has yet to die out. I feel like after being in hard area after hard area I'm burning the midnight oil of optimism but at least I'm not burned out. I still have an unquenched appetite for missionary work and we will just have to see what happens next Sunday come transfer calls. I love you all. Vaya con Dios!

Dios es amor,

Elder Bennion

P.S. Thank you to my Fairy Godmother for the pumpkins, card and other goodies on our porch this week! ;)

Semana 85: How Can I Be More Like The Prophet?

Semana 85: How Can I Be More Like The Prophet?

I hope you all go to enjoy General Conference as much as I did. I know I say this every General Conference but it is one of those things I have loved on my mission. I would rather go to every session of General Conference in exchange for a trip to Disneyland. That is how good it is! lol After the Saturday morning session where President Monson announced the new age limit of missionaries (18 for men and 19 for women) I felt pumped up and ready to do missionary work. It felt like new life was breathed into and I was ready to do wok. As elder Holland said, this work is hastening and we must answer the call of the Savior to go fourth and teach all nations. I got this mental picture of a sports team in a commercial or a Nike commercial with different players saying, "Are you ready?" "Are YOU ready?!" and at the end a player says, "The Savior is coming, are YOU ready?!". I can't help but think how close the second coming is and how many people are not ready. It is our duty to bring the world His truth. Whether or not they accept it is their choice.

I don't know if I can pick a favorite talk from conference. I wold have to say Anne Dibb's talk was a good one. Elder Earle pointed out the fact that she smiled during her whole talk! That woman has some strong cheek muscles! I guess you would have to growing up with President Monson as your father! :) I loved the part about the girl that had a shirt that said, " I'm a Mormon? Are you?". It reminded me of the need we all have to be bold in declaring ourselves members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I also never knew Brooke Willburger was LDS! It was sad to remember that story. I remember when it was all over the news. It is neat to know through that her mom knows the Plan of Salvation. What comfort the gospel can bring a family in despair. President Uchdorff's talks were great as well. I especially liked Scott D. Whitney's talk about the Laie Temple. It is amazing the effort that goes into building a temple. It brought back fond memories of going to the open house and seeing the grandeur of the temple inside. The attention to detail is not done solely to stand up to the scrutiny of the human eye but to the inspection of the Lord. And just remember, as Elder Nelson said, if you ever want to know just about anything, "ASK THE MISSIONARIES!". :)

This week was a little slow teaching wise. I was looking through my past planners and it is astounding to see I'm on track to teach over 2,500 lessons while on my mission. This is when I have to remember how blessed I've been and know that the Lord is in charge of this work. Having less to do gave us a great opportunity to do some service. There is a neat man here in Beaver that is a recent convert. His conversion story could easily be made into a novel! Him and his wife are from New Port Beach area and he used to run with an outlaw motorcycle gang. Ask uncle Rob what an R.O. Nomad is and it will explain a lot more! he spent many years incarcerated but has completely change and paid his dues. We went out to his ranch and helped clean some horse stalls and do some other little things. It was fun getting to do some service and be around horses. He has this beautiful Tennessee walker that loved me. It is a shame we can't ride even on P-day. We did service for another person this week and I just love it. We ate with a family named the Hutchings this week and I asked sister Hutchings how they got married. Long story short, brother Hutchings is always doing service for people and that is what sister Hutchings loved about him. It worked out pretty well for him so I know what I need to do when I get home. SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE is something that Elder D. Todd Christofferson mentioned as well during the priesthood session of General Conference.

Some other note worthy things that happened this week were: Meeting a lady from Big Bear (she isn't a member... Yet), Anne should be getting baptized November 3rd, sister Moss and her sister, sister Healy, brought us subway on Friday when we didn't have a dinner (that is a funny story. Listen to my voice recordings!), and a REALLY nice man gave us WAY too much money!

Well I think that is about it.Time to go play golf again so I have to jet but I love you lots mama. I hope everything is going well. Please pray for us to find new people to teach who are interested. We really need more work. Vaya con Dios.

Dios es amor,

Elder Bennion

Semana 84: Missionary Work is Like a Taylor Swift Album

Semana 84: Missionary Work is Like a Taylor Swift Album

Hey family! If this email is a little scatter brained I apologize. I am going to try and type quickly so I can write a response for Peggy's seminary lesson tomorrow. :) Forgive the spelling errors in advance. So first off thanks mama for all the Spanish books this week. It is funny, I was going to ask you this week if you would order me a medical terminology book and then there was already one in our mail box. I've already memorized 70 new words. Most of them are body parts or ailments so it is applicable to missionary work as well. I has felt weird not speaking Spanish on a daily basis but I'm coping. Thanks for sending me the voter registration form as well, I sent that off right away. This week was a little slow. I feel like I got out here and there wasn't a lot of potential but I went to work, we found a lot of new potential investigators and we taught a good amount of lessons. We had some really good things happen and I'

m loving the work but I just want to do more. I guess that is why missionary work is like a Taylor Swift album. There are always a few good songs that remind you of good times but there are always a few angry/ frustrated songs about broken relationships that just didn't work out. Now maybe that is a bad analogy but that was the best I cold do. After all I haven't listened to T-swizzle in forever! :P haha

Last Monday was pretty good. We played basketball finally. It has been 5 months or so since I've played. My knee help up and I did pretty well. I won all three games of 21 and I couldn't miss from 3-point land. I always makes my day when I can drill it from outside and then drive in and reverse it. Now if my basketball game would only transfer over to missionary work. :)

Thursday we started teaching a part member family. We mainly taught Blayden who is 10 and his brother Beau who is 8. Their oldest daughter Braxy goes to church all by herself. She just amazes me at what a good example she is for her family. I've never really taught kids much during my mission like the classic Utah St. George missionary so this is a new experience but things are going well. I've always loved kids. We also taught a different part member family this week that made me pretty sad. It makes me sad/ frustrated when we go over to this particular house because the parents do not make the wisest decisions. We went over one night and the house was hazier than downtown Las Angeles at rush hour from all the cigarette smoke. The mother is pregnant and she still smokes. :S This week we visited several people and their houses were filled with smoke. I felt disgusting and smelled bad for the rest of the evening. It just makes me want to be like Alma and speak with the trump of God (Alma 29:1-2). Sometimes I feel like my words just are not powerful enough and I get frustrated with myself. I just want to be an instrument in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of truth, even to the knowledge of their Redeemer who is Christ (Mosiah 27:36). I feel like in Spanish work I never had to deal with members doing such things blatantly in front of me. My Christ like love is definitely being tested.

We are going to begin teaching a girl named Jamie at the stake president's house this next week. It has been a process to get all this set up but it is all worth it. She texted us and told us how she has taken the lessons before and feels like she is ready to be baptized. The only problem is that her parents told her she is too young to make the decision to be baptized. We are planning on fasting and praying their hearts will be softened and she will be allowed to be baptized. She reminds me a lot of Kellyn Christiansen. She is in seminary and everything but I think we will have our work cut out with her. It is hard when someone has received a witness of the truth of the gospel but is prohibited to act on such promptings by external forces. Again, I feel weak because I cannot do anything more. 

Saturday we helped a family named the Baldwins unload a trailer. We met them last week and they are moving down from Orem. They were just in Vancouver visiting family at one of the Lackamas creek wards. We were lifting what felt like a 300 lb. mattress and Elder Earle blew out his pants. I died laughing and luckily the Baldwins are professional sewers so they fixed them up quickly. We had nothing to do in the afternoon. We had ran out of miles for the month and so I prayed we wold be put in the path of someone who needed our help. I never would have guessed that things would have worked out the way they did but they did.We did not have a dinner either that night so they ended up inviting us over for dinner. The best quote I heard this week was one Andrew shared with us. Albert Einstein was once asked by a reporter how it felt to be the smartest man alive. Albert Einstein replied, "I don't know, ask James Talmage". How cool is that!? If you are not familiar with who James E. Talmage is, he is the author of several books including Jesus the Christ and was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Einstein knew the church is true and so do I! Vaya con Dios.

Dios es amor,

Elder Bennion