Time to come home: goodbye Indiana I will miss you!

Well family and friends,

I suppose it is time I should tell you, I found out four days ago that I am being temporarily discharged from my mission due to medical issues. More specifically I have been sleepwalking an awful lot. I sleepwalk multiple times a week and I have attempted to go outside five or six times. I did not realize that it was such a problem until two weeks ago when my mission president pulled me aside after a mission conference. He told me that I would most likely be going home. After talking with him and the mission doctor we have concluded that the best course of action would be for me to go home, so I could be treated for sleepwalking. I will be home tomorrow (Tuesday) before 2 O’clock. These last four days have been a whirlwind.

Thursday: I got the call that I would for sure be going home. We ended up having our last lesson with Ben as a non-member. We talked a lot about faith and enduring to the end. It was a really great lesson. He was still excited to be baptized.

Friday: we had a zone meeting where I was asked by my zone leaders to share my testimony. I never knew how attached I would get. Afterwards we blitzed campus. Sister Hain, my favorite non-companion sister, and I tore campus up. We laughed and cried a lot these last few days. I have so many mixed emotions right now.

Saturday: Ben’s baptism. It was beautiful. It went so well. He had a lot more people show up than he thought would. He asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost. He bore the sweetest testimony. It was on his road to developing faith. It will always be one of the highlights of my mission.

Sunday: Ben was confirmed and received the Holy Ghost. Elder Hicks, Elder Sorensen, Sister Caldwell, and I sang the EFY medley in sacrament meeting. I started crying half way through, looking at all of those familiar faces knowing I had to say goodbye. Our dinner appointment also invited Ben over; it was nice to be able to spend some more time with him before I left. It was funny because it slowly spread that I was going home for medical reasons. As we were saying goodbye Ben told me that he hopes everything goes well for me when I returned home. I told him that I am going home because I have been sleepwalking. He said, “That’s wonderful! Well that’s not wonderful; I just thought that it was a lot more serious than that.” Haha. Well I need to go. I guess I will be seeing all of you soon enough. Do not hesitate to stop by, seriously. I would love to see all of you again. Please pray that I return in safety.

Love, Sister Bennett

What A Week!

Dearest family and friends,

 

What a week! Even more plans fell through this week than last week. We still worked our hardest. We continued to see many miracles this week.

We taught the first lesson to Lisa this week, who we found on exchanges. It went very well. She is committed to read from the Book of Mormon and then pray.

We finished teaching Ben his lessons this week. He had his baptismal interview and he passed! We are so excited for him. He has grown so much. One of my favorite things about Ben is that he sees the big perspective of things. He told us that he knows that baptism is not the end, that the temple comes next and that he did not want to be baptized until he was ready for that bigger commitment. Ben is amazing; he is going to do fantastic things. I cannot wait to see him enter into this covenant with his Father in Heaven.

I know that Heavenly Father lives. He never gives us a challenge that it too hard or too much for us to overcome. Jesus Christ loves us so much that he gave his life for us. He knows perfectly what we are going through. He is here every step of the way strengthening and supporting us.

Love, 

Sister Malinda Bennett

Hello, Hello!

Dear family and friends,

This has been a very busy week. We have done lots of walking. Our lessons keep falling through. It is all a part of missionary work though. We have seen miracles none the less.

We were able to meet with Ben twice this week. He is doing so well. He is so excited to be baptized in two weeks. He is getting a little anxious as well. He has grown so much. It is amazing to me, that someone who received so much anti-Mormon literature could progress as much as he has. He was telling us this week some of the things he’s had to work through. He told us about the false things he was told about Joseph Smith. It’s awesome that he did not listen and believe it. He told us that he can tell how it could be misconstrued. He is amazing and I cannot wait for him to be baptized.

I had such a fantastic exchange with Sister Pitcher. She is such a loving and kind sister. She was in the BYU single’s ward that my dad was bishop of. She has such a positive outlook. All of our plans and lessons fell through. It gave us the chance to talk to lots of different people. I really enjoyed our time together. I learned to appreciate the little things. There are some things that we cannot change.

When one of our lessons fell through as well as our back-up we asked our member if we could go over to the church and give her a lesson. She agreed we ended up giving her a mock church tour. At the end she thanked us. She told us that she did not realize that we did that as missionaries. She said, “I would totally feel comfortable inviting my friends to come do a church tour, it is less invasive.” She also appreciated the peace and accessibility that our church houses provide.

Love,

Sister Malinda Bennett

A New Week

So sorry I am a week late getting this posted for Mlinda
Dear Family and Friends,

This week was tough. God helped me through. Thank you to those of you that sent me letter, I really need and enjoyed them.

Sister Broderick is a less-active in our ward. She had a stroke this week and her birthday was on Friday. We were able to go and visit her at the hospital. She loved our meetings. She told us, “The first thing I am going to do when I get home is pay my tithing.” We talked about how because she is in the hospital, she can’t smoke. So now she has funds to pay her tithing with. Those are the only two things keeping her from the temple! She is going to make it back there. I am so excited!

Last week at church an Elderly Sister came up to us and said, “Sisters I need your help. I have a friend I want to invite to listen to the discussions, but I don’t know how to invite her.” We set up a time to meet with her so we could help her overcome this fear. As we got to her home, later that week, she informed us, “I did it, I asked her! She accepted and she will be meeting with us today!” So we were able to meet her friend Teri and teach her about the restoration. It went very well.

We had a lesson with Ben yesterday. We planned on finishing the restoration and going into the Word of Wisdom. Brother Miskin came with us. It went very well. Ben admitted that last week he went and had two beers after work. He told us usually he wouldn’t have thought anything of it. However, the next day he felt awful and he knew he shouldn’t have done it. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he committed to live the word of wisdom. I was able to promise him that God would help him when he struggled and is tempted to drink. I could tell that he believed my words.

This week I hit some of my lows on my mission. I am grateful Heavenly Father has put me around the same areas as other great missionaries. It is hard to ask for help, so I am learning to become more graceful when it comes to asking. We had interviews this week. President Cleveland gave me the advice that I needed. He is definitely an inspired man. Things are looking up. I had to remember this week: yes Heavenly Father will always give us the strength that we need, and a lot of times that strength will come in the form of others.

Love, Sister Bennett

Wow! What a week!

Dear friends and family,

This has been a wonderful week. We saw many miniature miracles this week. Every week we play bingo at a nursing home for service. We also go visit a less-active woman there. She does not do or say much. One day we were visiting her before bingo. We invited her to go with us. She was reluctant, so we pushed her to come join us. She agreed. She couldn’t hear the numbers well so if I pointed, she’d put the chip. All of the aides there were amazed that she came, sat down, and played. I guess she sleeps all day and only leaves her room for meals, so this was a huge step.

We met with the Daniels again this week. In the first lesson we read from the Book of Mormon. Daniel the elder really enjoyed it. Daniel the younger was having a rough day. We also were able to meet with them again last night. We watched “The Restoration” with them. Daniel the younger’s mother, Linda, also joined in on the lesson. Both Linda and Daniel the elder loved the movie. They said that many of the questions Joseph had they have. Daniel the elder really connected. He was making all of these references to scriptures and bore his testimony that he knows Joseph Smith was called of God. We urged him to act on those feelings and pray. He loved that we don’t want him to take our word, but to learn for himself. They were both amazing lessons.

We talked with Roshanna about baptism again. She told us that Mariyannah and her nephew, Davion will be baptized on the same day. Davion has also been sitting in on the lessons. We are excited to help them progress. They have not come back to church, however. Roshanna lets other things take priority over going to church.

We had an amazing lesson with Ben. He is still looking forward to be baptized. He is concerned about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. He does not know what to expect. We showed him a picture and he freaked out. He thought the boy had fire coming off of his head. He looked closer and realized that it was someone’s hand. We are trying to find a sacrament meeting he can go to where someone receives the Holy Ghost. Besides that Ben is doing so well! He is more engaged in lesson and he looks us in the eye. Where before he just would look at the ground and off into space. He is happier. He still has the same stresses of work and life, but he is handling them better with God by his side. He has come to church three times. He missed this week because he was called into work. He is amazing.

I love every second of being out here. We have a great work that we are doing. Yesterday I was able to share with Sister Caldwell what keeps me going. Why I am still here, plugging along. I am here on a mission because I have something is invaluable. I walk everyday by my brothers and sisters who are ignorant to this hidden treasure. This treasure is the knowledge of this gospel. I have been extremely blessed to be raised in the church. I refuse to walk by someone without talking to them. These people we walk by are the same brothers and sisters we fought with so we could be here on this earth. I can just imagine them, from before, telling me that when I got to this earth I needed to find them. I needed to bring them the gospel. Who may have pleaded with me, I do not know. God knows, and I put my trust in God. So I open my mouth to those who are in and along my path. It is awkward and unnatural to open up to a stranger on a spiritual level upon meeting them. I endure a moment of awkwardness because I know that I have something they need. Something they cannot get unless I open my mouth. I do not want to get to the other side and have to explain to my brothers and sisters why I would not open my mouth. I know that when I open my mouth, God will fill it. He wants their salvation more than I do, because he sees more than I see. I love this work. It is a privilege to be here doing this work for my brothers and sisters.

Love,

Sister Bennett

Tough Week

What a week! We had a lot of appointments fall through this week. So we just kept plugging along.

We had a wonderful lesson with Ben this week. Last week we found a concern. He was not sure what to expect while looking for an answer to his prayers. We took the time to read scriptures with him about how the Holy Ghost talks to us. Ben accidentally read the wrong verse, so he corrected himself and read the right one as well. It was perfect. Both of the scriptures had to do with baptism. So we ventured onto that topic again. We were guided by the Spirit and he has a date for August 24. He is really excited and we are excited! Man, oh man. I cannot wait for him to make this covenant with our Father. We still have a lot of work, and now we have a time frame to get that work done in.

We were able to meet with Michelle a former this week. She was so excited to see us again. We talked a lot. She really wants us to start meeting with her friend. She is not so sure about meeting with us herself, because she does not want to step on her husband’s toes. It was one happy meeting. Hopefully we will be able to teach all of them before long.

I am not going to lie; this was probably one of the hardest weeks of my mission. I have learned a lot and I am also making changes. Dealing with stress on a mission is harder than one would think. I do not have the same outlets I did before. I cannot just go for a bike ride to calm my nerves. I have been relying a lot on my Father in Heaven and my Brother Jesus Christ for help, support, and strength. I know they are here strengthening me. It is times like this week where I just get to work. It is the best remedy for being stressed. To focus on others and soon my problems do not seem so big, or it gives me the time to process the situation. I have relied heavily on God this week to tell me the things to say and do. I know the next few weeks will be challenging. It is a good thing that with God all things are possible.

Love, Sister Bennett

So Good

Dear friends and family,

Time is flying by. We had such a good week. A lot of our lessons fell through. Yesterday made up for all of those cancelled appointments though.

We were able to go out and visit with Brother Merkel again. We found some needs. It was hot and we were outside. Brother Merkel asked, “Would you like something cold to drink? All I have is beer though… Wait… that’s a no-no huh!?” We had a talk about the word of wisdom. He has not been to church in a long time. He said it’s because he is sick. We asked if he would come once he was better we got a not dedicated, “sure.” We taught him some doctrine and the next time we asked he is committed to come.

The highlight of the transfer was a lesson we had with Daniel (the elder), Daniel (the younger), and Daniel the Elder’s dad. We taught the whole restoration. It was amazing. While Sister Caldwell relayed the first vision the spirit filled the room. The Holy Ghost prompted me that Daniel the Elder felt it as well. At the end of the lesson, they all committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. I asked Daniel the Elder if he felt something when Sister Caldwell talked about Joseph Smith’s story. He said yes and I was able to teach about the Holy Ghost. At the end we all kneeled and Daniel the Elder offered the prayer. It went along the lines of: “Father God, I thank you for my Sisters who came to share this wonderful message with us. They were an answer to my prayer for more family because they feel like they are my family. I also thank you for answering my prayer about finding some more spiritual guidance for my brother Daniel. I am also grateful that I now connected with my father on a spiritual level, which is also an answer to my prayers.” The spirit was so strong. He also thanked God for Joseph Smith and what he did. It was a powerful prayer. It is one of the sweetest moments to hear an investigator pray out loud for the first time. I love this work so much. I am blessed to be here.  I can’t wait to see what the future has in store!

Love, Sister Bennett