eight months

I've officially hit the 8-month mark on my mission! Sometimes I feel like I've been here forever and other times I feel like I just got here yesterday. But it feels great when I think about everything I've learned and how I've changed as a missionary. For a quick recap of this week, it was tough. One day I named a "Series of Unfortunate Events" because quite literally everything went wrong. My companion got really sick (we think from something she ate), lessons fell through, nobody was accepting our contacts in the street, investigators became unsure about baptism, recent converts had a terrible trial and we just did everything we could to keep our heads up and finish the day. It was a welcome relief to go home and plan for the next day. It was a day of testing and small trials, and I'm glad to say we overcame them. Sometimes, all you can do is keep moving forward and trying your best. We have been teaching people a lot about diligence with the example of trying to go up on an elevator that is coming down. If you don't keep moving, you'll never get anywhere. It is hard to be diligent, but it's absolutely necessary in the Gospel. You are either progressing or not; there is no "resting" and as a missionary I have learned that lesson. Often times people think they are doing okay and don't need to keep reading or praying, or going to church all the time, but to stop any of these is to stop progressing, to stop receiving blessings and to stop preparing for the future. So keep going! Keep learning and doing all you can to live the Gospel.

     This last week we had the opportunity to help a woman in our ward with our laundry. She's in a wheel chair and we stopped by to share a message with her and found her hard at work. So we forced our way in (people are really resistant to letting us help them do any type of labor) and set about helping her. She had a washer but we had to wring the clothes out, rinse them in an outdoor sink, soak them in another type of liquid, wring them out and then hang them to dry. With both of us working hard it took us an hour. We were tired but happy when we finished—I love serving! 

Missionaries are always hard at work—sharing the Gospel and serving.

I hope you all are doing well and serving others. I finished the Book of Mormon last month and am working on Doctrine and Covenants, which is actually really easy in Spanish. And oh man there is so much good stuff in there. I'm reading a lot of mission calls right now, and it's inspiring for anyone who wants to share the Gospel. Keep studying the scriptures everyday, they will help you wherever you are in your life.

I love you all!!!! Have a fantastic week :)

Love,

Hermana Bennett