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

Busy, Busy Week!

Dear friends and family,

What an incredible week. Zone meeting, two exchanges, a priesthood blessing, and a new mission president later, I am still here doing what I have been called to do: missionary work.

We started the week off by meeting our new mission president, President Cleveland and his wife, Sister Cleveland. President Cleveland was the head basketball coach at Brigham Young University and Fresno State University. I love them both very much. They are fantastic at what they do. President Cleveland gave us a very profound sports metaphor of course! Haha. He explained to us the transition of moving from Utah right when his team was becoming fruitful to switching over to the struggling Fresno colleagues. After losing their first game they did a drill known as ladders or suicides. He had his fellow captains at each line to make sure they were touching the lines. Well when the report got back, they were not touching the lines. Again and again they ran, without victory. Some were simply not doing their duty by touching each line. After many attempts, President Cleveland stopped them. He simply stated, “We are going to touch all of the lines. Is that clear?” Time did not matter as much as making sure they touched all of the lines. In that moment they all took the time. They walked and placed their hand on the first line and back, then the second, and the third. They did not stop until every member touched all of the lines. He then let them go. President Cleveland humbly questioned, “When are you going to touch all of the lines spiritually?” After that drill his team came to practice and worked in unison further than they ever had before. It makes me question, “What lines am I falling short on or skimming over?” Every line is important.

Roshanna is doing wonderful. We watched the Restoration DVD with her. Then she CAME TO CHURCH!!! She says that she wants to come again and again. She loved it and said that she had chills the whole time. This week her daughter Mariyannah started listening in on our disscussions. She prayed for the first time with us and Roshanna started crying. It was an emotional week.

So last week I talked about, Daniel the man who asked about my Bible. We started teaching him. He is one of the most interesting men I have met. He talks like a philosopher and grew up in the projects of Chicago and Gary Indiana (The killing capitol in the nation). He loved meeting with us and he could sense our virtuous presence when we walked by him.

Then again at zone meeting, an echo of the lesson we learned earlier came back to mind. At the conclusion of the meeting we were asked to go to the back of the chapel. The divider was opened and our observances began to unite when we saw nothing but an exposed gym before us. We collectively soundlessly walked and took the time to touch all of the lines.

Love, Sister Bennett

Work, Work, Work

Dear family and friends,

Things are continually progressing with Roshanna. She believes that the time is here when her boyfriend Carl will pop the question. She is continuing to live the Word of Wisdom. We cannot teach her fast enough. She wants all of her family members to learn from us. She has convinced Carl’s dad to listen to our message. Her step-father was in and out of the room during two of our lessons. He was touched that we would leave our family, work, and school to come out here and preach the gospel. After we left he asked Roshanna what are names were. She told him, “Sister Bennett and Sister Caldwell.” He said, “I won’t remember that. I will just call them Jesus’s friends.” It is amazing to be recognized as a representative of Jesus Christ.

Ben feels that his faith is still shaky. He is slowly starting to build his faith back up. We had a spiritual experience while we were there with him. We talked a lot about prayer. He keeps telling us that he is praying for a sign to show him that what he is doing is right. Sister Caldwell felt prompted to tell Ben, “If you pray right now and ask God, he will answer your prayer.” Ben questioned, “How do you know?” She replied, “I just have a feeling within myself that you will get your answer.” He prayed. It was so sweet. He still asked for a sign, but this time I got the impression that by sign, he just meant a recognizable answer. I also felt prompted to share that I would pray for hours when I would drive to and from my home and college. Ben said that he was driving to Michigan for a wedding this weekend and he would take that time to ponder and pray about Christ and the Church. We have faith that he will receive an answer for his prayers.

We met with our bishop last night. We were able to talk about how to help the member’s with missionary work. It was short and went well. Our bishop asked us if we could meet more often to coordinate the work. Thing are looking up all of the time.

That broadcast last night was ah-may-zing! Members are so important to this work. We cannot do it without them. I will never be the same kind of member when I get home. “Every member a missionary.” The Lord is hastening his work. It is miraculous to be in the mission field at this time. Miracles are happening all around us. The younger generations of missionaries are fantastic. We are all learning and growing together.

I was very proud of myself. I hate singing in front of others. I roped my new companion into playing her violin for a musical number in sacrament. She roped me into singing for her song… I in turn recruited our zone leaders to sing along with me. As we met to practice, Brother Brinkerhoff decided that I should sing two whole verses by myself. I was frightened, to say the least. I pushed myself and it was beautiful. It turned out quite well. At least that’s what all of the members told us. The ward was so excited when they saw two elders in sacrament meeting. They thought the long awaited second set of missionaries had arrived.

In a week I will have a new mission president. I am staying the Indiana Indianapolis mission. One forth of my friends will be gone! I am excited to see what the future holds. I love you all. It is true, live it, and share it. Hope you are all doing well

Love, Sister Bennett your favorite sister missionary serving in Indiana! ;) Love you Sister Bennett Jr.

2330 Northwestern Ave.

Apt. #3

West Lafayette, IN 47906