Pics from Malinda's New Area

These pictures were sent to us by the Brinkerhoff Family from the Lafayette 2nd Ward, Indiana!

Another Busy Week

Dear family and friends,

 There is a lot of work to be done here. I am busy working on loosing myself in the work. The work here is a big challenge though. I have been on my knees a lot this week trying to figure out how we can find more people to teach.  We have plans to do the finding fast. We have been going through formers. We have also been updating a lot of records. We will go to a formers house and Sister Fullmer will tell me that they recently tried them, and they were not interested, but it was never recorded that they tried them.

 We did have a little miracle though. We once again went to a formers house that had been tried recently. We decided to go and see if they were interested anyways. We prayed and right as we finished, he pulled up. We got out of the car and started talking to him. He said that he was not interested because of some of the doctrine we teach. He thought we believed that Jesus Christ was a lesser being than Heavenly Father. We cleared that up, and he asked if he could get his sister so we could talk. We ended up having a fifty minute discussion. At the end his sister asked me if I would pray to know if I had been saved and if I have the truth. I asked her if she would also pray and ask God if we, the Sister Missionaries, were confused. She said that she would. I am so excited! I know that if she prays she will get an answer. It is just up to her then to act on that prompting. They would not let us give them The Book of Mormon, so we left a card with our number on it.

 That night I went home and prayed just as I was asked to. I did not receive an answer at first. I was reading in my scriptures in Alma and I knew that not only is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints true, I also knew that Heavenly Father is watching over me and knows me personally. The feeling was so powerful that the church is true, I cannot deny it. I am so happy to be out here doing this work. That I too might be able to, “bring thousands of souls to repentance”(Alma 26:22).

 I met Susie this week. She had a baptismal date for March 30. She moved it back because her dad is going in for a risky open heart surgery. She wants to make sure he is okay before she is baptized. We went over the baptismal interview questions with her. She is ready to be baptized. Sister Fullmer even said she saw a difference in her, from the last time they met.

 Exchanges came up early this transfer. I absolutely loved my exchange with Sister Donaldson. We got a lot of work done and she gave me a lot of ideas to help get the work moving here again. I know that this exchange was inspired. I know there is a reason why it happened the way it did. I am grateful for Sister Donaldson’s advice. I learned so much from this exchange. Not everything went as planned, which ended up making it perfect.

 We have a new ward mission leader. We met with him last night. He is so excited for this work and he wants us teaching teaching teaching. I am excited about that because I have not taught the lessons a lot. He told us he does not want us using all of our time tracting and he has ideas to help us get the area booming again. I am so grateful for a ward mission leader who is there to help us with the missionary work.

 I am not going to lie this last week was a hard one for me. There are a lot of things I need to work on. I am glad that Heavenly Father is on my side. I could not do it without Him. I am grateful for my loving older brother Jesus. I had a powerful experience at sacrament. They both love me so much. I am amazed at God’s finger prints in my life. In Sunday school we talked about prayers and I took a moment to pray and ask for help with my specific weaknesses. I told Him that I knew he can take my weaknesses and make them strengths. In Relief Society we watched a clip from 17 Miracles. In it the mother prayed over the two hard sea biscuits she tried to revive. She said, “We know that through thy power, what is small and weak may become great and significant.” It was a reassurance that my prayer was heard and was answered. I am ready to get to work. I am grateful to be here as a missionary at this great time in history. I have many weaknesses so I am grateful for the atonement. I am ready to change. Thanks to all of you. You are such a huge help and support to me. I could not do this work without your prayers. I know that I have been led to safety because of your prayers. Thank you! I love you all so much and hope to hear from you soon!

 Love, Sister Bennett

I'm in Lafayette 3/18/13

 Malinda's District from North Vernon

Malinda's new companion Sister Fullmer, they are working together

in Lafayette, Indiana, right by Purdue University

 

Dear family and friends,

 

What a wonderful week! It started with a lot of packing. Haha. I loved North Vernon, but I am glad for the change. It was hard saying good-bye to everyone. I am glad I was able to share my testimony with all of them though. 

 

I am so excited to be here in Lafayette 2 with Sister Fullmer! I've been thinking a lot about Sister Porter this week because I know she lived around this area! It has been hard trying to understand why we are not training. We have been trying to stay positive though. I love Sister Fullmer’s loving and kind spirit. She is so happy to be out here which makes the work a lot easier. We know it is going to be a challenge to find more people to teach because almost everywhere has been tracted without a lot of success. We are trying to find more ways to find new people that we can teach. I am ready to get to work. I know the Lord will help us with our efforts to try and make Lafayette fruitful again.

 

I have not been here long, but I already love the area and the ward. They are so nice and happy to us as missionaries. I was so excited to find out that Brother and Sister Miskin are in our ward. They met at BYU when my dad was their bishop. They then moved into my home ward in Alpine. I know my family is excited because of that too.

 

While I have been here we’ve met with a recent convert Brother Vaughn. He is going though an extremely hard time right now because of a divorce. He was brought to tears as we were talking to him. It broke our hearts to see him like that. We were able to talk to him about the atonement and how it can help him forgive his ex-wife. Hopefully we can help to bring his spirits back up.

 

We also met with Sister Broderick who is less active. We were able to talk to her about quitting smoking. I told her a story about my great-grandfather and how he quit smoking. She told us that every morning when she gets up she says, “Something wonderful is going to happen today.” She said maybe she’d try to say, “I’m not going to smoke today” instead. Hopefully that will help her to do it. We were also able to talk to her about her self-worth.

 

One of my goals has been to share a stronger testimony with everyone. So I hope it is alright if I share a part of my testimony with you. Growing up I wanted to go on a mission because I wanted to do something that meant a lot to someone. I was given strong examples of being a missionary my whole life. I was prepared from that young age to come and serve a mission. With the new age change and increase in missionaries, I know that just like I have been prepared our Father in Heaven is preparing the hearts of his children. His timing is perfect and he has a plan for all of us missionaries out now. I know that this gospel is true and that it will change people’s lives if they allow it to. I know that we are lead and directed by a prophet of God. It is a miraculous time to be a missionary, as we all are as members of His church. I know the things I have said to be true. Many miracles are happening and will continue to happen. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

Love, Sister Bennett

Letter 3/11/13

Hello family and friends, 

 

What an amazing and exciting week! I started off the week by going on exchanges with Sister Farr! She is such an amazing missionary with such a strong testimony. She asked for my help with teaching the Plan of Salvation, which is probably my favorite lesson to teach. I really enjoyed her testimony. She bore it often and made two of our investigators cry. It was nice because that is something I’ve been working on.

 

The weather ended up being horrible by the end of a day. Our trainers called us and said that President Collins told them to stay put for now, and we would have to exchange the next day. It was a long exchange, but I loved every minute of it. I was the one driving though, and the roads were getting bad because of the snow. We were in Seymour which is 25 miles away from our apartment. As we drove I was nervous. The roads only got worse and then our phone died… *gulp* I turned on the CD player. “I Need Thee Every Hour” came on. I started to sing it. A peace came over me and I knew that God was with me and that we would get home safely. Music can be a powerful means of drawing the Spirit closer to us. I am grateful for good music. D&C25:12 is true, “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me.”

 

On exchanges we met Sister Ivy. I’ve met her once before and Sister Bonner had two times before that. It was a miracle that we found her. She wasn’t home when we got there, but walked up right as we were about to leave. She talked with us for a little bit. She said she wasn’t ready to meet with us. She’s had a lot of men wrong her in her past. Sister Farr testified of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s love for her. She started crying and said, “You know what? I want you to come back and share your message.” What an amazing experience.

 

We met with Brother McQueen and his wife sat in. We read with him because he hasn’t been reading. His wife said that she’s glad her husband found something he could believe in. She doesn’t see the need for another book besides the Bible. She said, “As long as you’re coming in the name of Jesus Christ and doing it out of love, I am fine with it.” I guess she ended up not being fine with it because the next time we met with Brother McQueen his wife told us that they had prayed and that they received an answer that this is not the path for them. It was heart breaking. Brother McQueen couldn’t say much. I could see on his face that he knows that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I’m sad it ended this way. One day he will become a member of our church.

 

We went tracking this week and found a couple dozen 3x5 cards on the ground, strewn across the roads. They had written on them, “Message from Heaven:” and then John 3:16 written on them. It was fun to find them. We found 9 potential investigators this week from tracking, all of them set up return appointments as well!

Well we got a call from President Collins yesterday… It wasn’t what anyone expected. I am leaving North Vernon. Sister Bonner is staying and training someone else. I am shocked that I am not training because we have so many new Sisters coming out! We did have a sisters conference this week and President Collins told us that we needed to trust his judgment and that those of us not training he need our specific talents for a specific purpose. We need to look for that specific assignment, find it, and then achieve it. I’m ready to do whatever the Lord requires of me.

 

What a bitter-sweet week coming up. I’ll miss the little Hoosier town of North Vernon. I’ll be sure to let you know what area I’ll be serving in next. God bless all of you! Listen to some good quality music that brings you closer to God this week, will ya!? I hope all of you are doing well.

Much love, Sister Bennett

Letter 3/4/13

Dear family and friends,

 

This week was fabulous and fast. I had my birthday Tuesday. I also met Elder Ballard. He shook my hand and asked me, “Are you enjoying your mission?” I told him, “Yes I am.” He replied, “That’s what matters.” It was a great week. We have another busy week set for this week as well. We have exchanges and a sister’s conference.

 

This week we taught, Brother McQueen, the Plan of Salvation. He told us that it answered so many questions he’s had. He said that it all made sense. His cousin died just over a week ago, so it really related to his life. It made him happy to think his cousin wasn’t in Hell, but learning about the gospel.

 

We met with Sister Magallon twice this week. The first time we went over moving her children’s baptismal date because they haven’t been coming to church. She was disappointed, but committed to start coming. We talked to her about her children’s desire to be baptized. She told us that she was worried that her oldest son was just doing it because his siblings were planning on being baptized She talked to him and he told her that he wanted to be baptized for himself. Her older daughter said that she likes where she is at, and doesn’t have the desire to go back to their old church. The younger brother remembers everything we teach them. He understands the most about the gospel.

 

The children are excited about their new date. We went over the baptismal interview questions with them and the importance of coming to church. We found some things that we need to go over with them again. When we started talking about going to church, the oldest son told us that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be baptized anymore. We told him that we could work with him until he is ready. He agreed to that. He has a hard time waking up in the morning to come.

 

We received a referral this week from a member for her longtime friend, Brother Rosemire. When we met Brother Rosemire and asked if he would like to learn about our message, he said, “I want to learn as much as I can about your religion.” So we set up an appointment. We met with him Saturday. He has learned about many religions and none of them sit right with him. He recently lost 300 pounds and got out of a hard relationship. He is ready for a fresh start. He was very talkative, but he liked the things we were able to share.

 

We met with Brother and Sister Deaton this week. They finally made it to church, but they didn’t like it. Brother Deaton said it was too quiet. They said they discussed it as a family and they concluded that right now, the church is not for them. They told us that they loved us. They told us that they realized that we would be able to keep making visits with them, but they still want to keep in contact with us. They want to let us know if Brother Deaton got his disability in April. It ended on their terms though and they have our number for when they are ready to learn more. It was a very bitter-sweet lesson. Their work is not finished, some day they will be members of our church. 

 

Our meeting with Sister Malone was less than ideal. It was good in the sense that now we are on the same page. Sister Malone will not listen to anything else we have to say until we find her biblical proof that God commanded polygamy. She believes that in olden times God tolerated but did not agree with polygamy. She told us that if she gets over this hump of polygamy and knowing that a prophet would never command it again, she would be baptized.

 

Elder Ballard, President Stevenson, Elder Lansing, and President Collins, all gave amazing talks. They made me want to be a better missionary. I’ve made a goal to bear a stronger testimony and bless specific blessings. I am ready to work harder than I have been. For all of you who have asked me if I ever felt gipped because they lowered the age limit a few months after my call, here’s why I am glad they didn’t change the age limit until after my call. Elder Lansing told us “They surge is just beginning… You are a part of it. You are living it. You are the ground of this work.”  He also talked to us about the importance of bearing a strong testimony because I have been called as a representative of Christ.

 

Bishop Stevenson also talked about the importance of us Sisters that are out now.  That it’s not a coincidence that I am a missionary now. I have to accelerate my learning, so I can teach all of the missionaries coming out now.  He talked about the blessings that come from living the commandments we are given.

 

Elder Ballard is truly inspired. He told us that we’ve been to primary, Sunday school, seminary, young women’s, and young men’s. We know this gospel and we (missionaries and members) should not be afraid to share it. My favorite piece of advice he gave us was that he keeps a picture of the Savior on him at all times. When he questions if he can still keep going? If he can do it? He looks at that picture and He gives Elder Ballard the strength and encouragement to go on. We should rely on Him more. He loves us with an infinite loves. He wants to help us, but he rarely interferes without our invitation to him for help. I loved every minute of receiving revelation while I was in our meetings. Remember Satan may be good, but God is greater. I love all of you. I pray for you daily.

 

Love, Sister Bennett

2/25/2013

I am a slacker!!! But I will get caught up today on Malinda's letters!

Hello family and friends, 

 

We met with Brother and Sister Deaton this week. They told us we can’t ever go another week without seeing them because their week went horrible without us there. We went over why going to church is so important and going to Christ’s church. They understood what we were talking about because they made it to church! Sister Deaton hasn’t been to our church in 4 years because she was offended. I think they enjoyed it. Brother Deaton said that it was different. Hopefully it was a good different. Lots of people came over and introduced themselves. We hope that the Deatons continue to come to church.

 

Sister Bonner told me that she has tried to get a less active family to open their door about 50 times since she’s been here. We knocked, not expecting much and the Stillengers finally answered their door. We were so excited. We got their number so we can find a time we could come back to talk with them.

 

Our meeting with Sister Magallon and her children was pretty rough this week. Sister Magallon had a friend there. We met this friend at a food pantry we do service at and when she came she was her alter ego, if that gives you insight into the kind of person she was. We were going over the law of tithing and fasting. Sister Magallon’s friend kept on asking off the wall questions. We invited her to learn more about what we believe. She told us no because she already has her beliefs. We got through the lesson. Sister Magallon was confused about what fasting was before. Once we explained it she said that makes sense. At the end of the lesson she told us a few times that she was excited to fast and pay tithing once she becomes a member. Each of her children also said they will obey the laws of fasting and tithing, once they are members.

 

We finally had our first lesson with Sister Malone. We planned on going over the restoration. We had planned to watch the 20 minute version with her. She told us she had seen that movie at least 5 times. She told us she believes everything about the church. The only hold up she has is that God commanded the saints to practice polygamy and that the prophet won’t ever become corrupt. We asked clarifying questions and then began to teach her simple truths. We could tell she was thinking out the things we said. She said most of the things we said made sense. Sister Mallon loves the Native American culture. She asked us if we believe the Native Americans (being descendants of the Lamenites) were being punished because of the wickedness of their ancestors. We were able to clear that up with easily.

 

Brother Harris and Sister Huber told us they would be at our lesson and never showed up. They live with Brother Danforth and Brother Danforth told us that they went back to sleep. So we didn’t get to meet with them this week.

 

We have a new investigator. This has been the highlight of my week! We met, Brother McQueen, tracking one day and taught him about the Book of Mormon and set up a time to meet with him. We met him and he was golden! God had prepared him. He told us after the first time he met us he felt this peace and he didn’t want us to leave. He’s never had that with anther church. He always becomes confused. The lesson went great. He is so excited that we call him Brother McQueen. He told us he always wondered what kind of initiation one had to go through to be called Brother or Sister. He accepted a baptismal date. He was going to come to church, but he ended up having to go to his cousin’s funeral. We are so excited to teach him more.

 

Love, Sister Bennett