Hello!

Dear family and friends,

Our investigator, Sister Collins dropped us this week. She said that her husband and she had been reading up on things and decided that this wasn’t for them. It made us sad, but her uncle got in contact with us. He is a member and he said that he would try and work on her some more. Hopefully she will find the truth.

This week I took a moment and pondered how all of the lessons in chapter three could apply to our investigator, Ben. It clicked. This is what I should be doing with every investigator. Take the doctrine from Chapter 3 and then apply it to investigator A’s life. The doctrine in chapter three will answer any questions Investigator A might have. The doctrine is meant to be personal. It is up to the missionaries to make it personal. That is what made my MTC teachers so effective. I get it.

Ben is a former investigator who was given some anti material from his family. We had our first lesson with him. He told us that he wants to meet with us weekly! He told us that he wants to get back into it. After he stopped meeting with the Sisters before, he went back to his catholic church. It didn’t feel right to him, so he didn’t go back. He wants to know the truth. I shared a scripture with him. John 14:26-27. I almost didn’t read verse 27, but I felt prompted to share it as well. He loved the part about peace in verse 27 because that’s what he wants in his life right now. I cannot wait to teach him again.

We have a new investigator this week. His name is Ponch. He loved the message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is dyslexic and has trouble reading. We gave him a copy of The Book of Mormon anyway. I felt prompted to tell him that if he has the desire to read it, that God will help him. He agreed to say the closing prayer. In the prayer he asked, “Please help teach me to read this book.” What an amazing moment.

Love, Sister Bennett

Busy, Busy Week!

Dear family and friends,

 Things are really starting to pick up here in Lafayette 2. We are super busy all of the time. I love it. This week flew by. We were able to get a lot of work done.

 We were able to meet with Roshanna again this week. She has been sick and that’s why she didn’t come to church. She allowed us to serve her by cleaning up her kitchen and living room. I hope this was a good lesson within itself, that we care and love her. We did talk about eternal families with her. She likes the idea that her sister will be able to raise those children that she lost.

We had a lesson with Sister Collins. She is doing well. She even came to church and really enjoyed it. Some of it went over her head, but she liked church! She will be an amazing member. We were also able to answer some questions she has had.

 



 We also started to teach Brother Phipps this week. We found him tracting. He knew some members while he was in the army. He told us that he will be at church next week. He has been looking for a church actually. He moved her recently and is trying to find one that feels just right. He had lots of questions for us. One of them being, “Don’t be offended, but I thought black people weren’t allowed at the Mormon Church?” Brother Phipps being African American was confused why we were teaching him. We cleared that up. He has amazing potential.

 Sister Knight went to her neurologist this week. He thinks it is just migraines. He gave her medication. She will be getting an MRI and EEG though, just to make sure it’s nothing more serious. Hopefully everything will go well with her tests.

 I loved our exchange. It was super short, so we weren’t able to do as much as I would have liked. Sister Nielsen is an amazing missionary. We talked a lot during our exchange. She taught me the difference between testifying and bearing your testimony. She enjoys bearing her testimony at the end of the lesson to reinforce the points they have taught. Sister Nielson is an amazing missionary. She has a strong spirit. She knows what a good influence can do for another’s testimony. She’s not afraid to keep going.

 I am privileged to work with such amazing missionaries. This really is the best mission in the world. The small things matter. We are starting to see growth from the seeds we planted a while ago. We are excited to work hard.

 The pictures are from our travel to district meeting in Williamsport. We just so happened to get there right before the train. We got some smashed pennies. Super fun. The train conductor must have thought we were crazy running up to the track like that. Haha. Don’t worry mom we made sure the train was a safe distance away. Also there is a picture of Sister Guy, Elder Sperry, and me. We are the last remaining missionaries in Indiana from our MTC group. Lafayette 1: Elder Sperry, Lafayette 2: me, Lafayette 3: Sister Guy. We ended up all serving right by each other. Crazy huh!?

 Love, Sister Bennett

Week 20

 

 

Dear friends and family,

We finally had another lesson with Susie. She is amazing. We talked about having a change in heart. She said that she has already experienced that. She said she has learned to tame her tongue and to not let things bother her. She really has changed from the short time I got here.

We met with a referral, Sister Collins, her uncle is a member of the church. She is ready for a new church that she feels welcome at. She has enjoyed everything we were teaching her. She has 3 children and is excited to get involved with our church. She has a 19 year old son, who we referred to the Purdue Elders. They said that they went out and meet him. His mother was so excited to see them. I guess she loves us missionaries now.

We finally met with Joey again. He has been taught all of the lessons! His dad has been through the Melchizedek Priesthood classes, so he will be able to baptize and confirm his son. We are so excited for Joey  to be baptized. He is a smart young man.

 

 

Malinda's New Companion, Sister Knight



We met with Roshanna again this week. She did not read The Book of Mormon, so we read with her. We read the first page in Nephi and she loved it. She said, “This is amazing! I want to read this book. I want to read this book with my daughter and my mom and my sister!” We are excited for her to read. She loves to read. I know that she will be able to feel the power of the book when she reads it. She told us that she talked to her boyfriend and they are going to get married! She doesn’t want to live in sin anymore. She wants her daughters to know you should wait for those kinds of relationships for when they are married. Roshanna is amazing. This gospel is already blessing her life.

I am really enjoying my time here. I love our ward. It feels a lot like my home ward. Some of the Brothers in the ward like to tease me, just like my family would. It makes me feel like I am at home. I love that the  members are so willing to help in any way they can. I am blessed to be serving here.

What a wonderful Mother’s Day. I was able to speak with many of my family members. I am blessed to have the mother that I do. She has always been there for me. She knows how to calm me down. She taught me how to build a firm foundation. I love you mom! I am also blessed to have so many wonderful examples of strong women in my life. I would not be the woman I am today without all of your wonderful examples. Thank you! I love all of you!

 

This sign was in front of another church in town!

Love, Sister Bennett

One Year to Go!

To start, two things on my mind: One: I will be flying home in exactly a year! Crazy sauce! Two. A little birdie *tweet tweet* ;) told me that Nathan Anderson is engaged! What the hay bales!? How come it took so long for me to hear about this!? Anyways, congratulations Nate! I hope you have a wonderful wedding day!

 This has been a week of miracles. There is a man in our ward that was baptized less than a year ago while on a trip to Salt Lake City. His conversion was a miracle by itself. He was offended by some of our church members and hasn’t come back to church. Since that time he has been MIA, and no one has heard from him or been able to contact him. We decided to go and find Brother Merkel. Long story short: we went further than we were supposed to and walked down a long driveway that wasn’t Brother Merkel’s. We walked back and ended up finding his house. He wasn’t there. We started to leave and then he pulled up. If we wouldn’t have spent that time walking down that pathway we would have missed him. We were able to find some needs of his and pass it onto the ward.

 Other good news: One of our less-active members quit smoking this week! Our investigator, Roshanna, brought up the law of chastity without us saying anything. She told us she knows it’s a sin for her and her boyfriend to be living together without being married. She expressed her desire to get married.

 I am blessed to be serving in the best mission in the world.

Love, Sister Bennett