Hello
family and friends that I miss dearly,
This
work is so amazing. Not only does the gospel change investigators lives, but
the lives of the members as well. Missionaries work more efficiently when they
work with and to support the ward. We have had to re-establish the trust with
our ward because previous missionaries have “had a reputation of being pushy”
that’s from a members mouth. We are growing that trust and we are so busy we
hardly have time for lunch and dinner. I love it. I wish every week was as
productive. I love this work. I love this area. I love my mission. I love my
companion. I love this gospel. I am so blessed.
This
week we received a text from one of our ward members telling us that he had an
impression we needed to go to a "Kay" street or a street starting
with "K." We followed his prompting and we could only find one street
starting with K in North Vernon. It took us awhile to find it, but when we did,
we tracked it. Only 2 people answered the door. One could not speak English
very well, so we left him a pass along card in Spanish for a Book of Mormon.
The other door was opened by a small girl and her mom came to the door and told
us she was not interested, we still left a card. A few days later our 2nd
councilor, Brother Bailiff and his wife took us out to dinner. Our waitress
ended up being the lady who said she wasn't interested. She recognized us.
Brother Bailiff is always seeking opportunities to share the gospel with
others. He asked for a few of our cards with our numbers on it that he could
give to people he talks to about the gospel. As we left he talked to the lady
at the table next to us and gave her a card. Sister Bonner looked back and saw
our waitress kissing the girl at the table that Brother Bailiff left our card.
Sister Bonner recognized the girl as the same girl who opened up the door on K
Street. It clicked the lady who Brother Bailiff gave our card to, is the mother
of our waitress/ the lady from K Street who told us she wasn’t interested.
Something good is going to come out of this experience.
At
district meeting this week we learned about prayer. Elder Petersen talked to us
about when we pray to try and give thanks for all that God has given us and
then to pray for the needs of our investigators and to try to not pray for
ourselves but those we are in contact with. He had us all go right then and do
this. It was powerful to see the difference of praying for others instead of
all about myself. I know I do still have prayers asking for strength and
guidance, but it is nice to have prayers where my focus is on my companion, my
ward, my area, and those I teach. I’ve seen a huge difference in the meaning
and power of my prayers.
We
met with Brother and Sister Deaton again this week. Their son was not
there this time. It was good because we brought up the topic of baptism and if
the previous missionaries had talked about it. They said they had and that they
were offended by how it was presented. We talked with them about their
concerns. They don’t understand why they need to be baptized into The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when they’ve already been baptized into their
church. They don’t understand about the Priesthood authority of God. We are
planning on taking them on a church tour so they can feel the peace of the
building. When we get to the font we are going to bring up baptism and the Holy
Ghost. We are hoping and praying this goes well and that they can understand
why the proper Priesthood authority is so important.
We
met with ward council this week and it was amazing. I guess before the
missionaries weren’t even acknowledged, but they started off with sharing some
missionary experience they and their families had and then they kept on
referring everything back to us. They gave us a ton of people we can go see.
The ward is changing and growing to see the importance of missionary work. I
can’t wait to see all of the work we can do now that we are starting to grow
that trust with the members.
This
week we were able to visit a less active family. We read with them Ether 12 and
talked about the importance of faith. Brother Fugate told us that he hasn’t
been to church because whenever he starts going to church his finances
drastically change for the worst and he feels like he shouldn’t go because bad
things happen and that maybe God is punishing him. Sister Bonner asked if he
has heard of tithing before. He said yes he has and he always pays it when he
has money. He told us, “When you started talking about tithing something
started poking me.” He said that he is willing to give church another try. We
promised him God would bless him if he does. I can’t wait to continue to visit
with them and help them strengthen their family.
We
met with Sister Magallon and her family again. We went over the Plan of
Salvation. Sister Magallon really understands what we are saying. We did have
to clarify some things, but she told us how she explains it to her children and
would relate it to her kids so they understood. She told us that even if she
doesn’t get her birth certificate by March 9th she still wants her
children to be baptized that day. At first her kids didn’t want to do it if she
couldn’t. She explained to them why it is so important to her that they are
baptized as soon as possible that they all agreed to be baptized that day, with
or without their mom.
Sister
Bonner’s had the stomach flu for the last day or so. Poor thing, she was up all
night vomiting. She is doing better now. We have full week ahead of us
and can’t wait to get back to work. I love you all so much.
Until
next week,
Love
,
Sister
Malinda Bennett
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