last days

Well! This is the last one. Sometimes I can't believe it's come to an end but here it is. My last week in the mission went by quickly. To be honest it didn't feel real that my mission was over but saying goodbyes hit that home. Every time we left a house or said goodbye to a member I had the thought that this would be the last time I would see them or be in that house. It was a sobering thought. 

Friday night we had a full day planned for Saturday when we got a phone call saying that due to the elections, we had to be home by 6pm Saturday and that Sunday we couldn't leave, just for church in the morning. So I spent my last day as a missionary running around my area saying goodbyes! It was a little disappointing but it was for our safety. Sunday we attended church and then we ate pozole with a member and then it was back home. After about an hour I was going crazy so I put myself to pack a few things and then I started baking. With the Bishop living above us we got to go up and we watched a short Church movie with them and then it was back down to our apartment. 

In my studies this week I focused on chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel which is about the attributes of Christ. I feel like there is so much more I need to learn and to change but I guess that is what we have our lives to do. I've changed on the mission and now I'm going to put into practice what I studied and taught for the last 18 months. I know it won't be easy but it is always worth it. 

I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

blessings

This week went by fast and with only one more I have a feeling it will finish faster than I'd like. In the last few weeks we've had a lot of trouble finding people to teach and in the three weeks prior to this past one we only found a total of three new people to teach. Every week we changed things around, how we contacted, how we asked references, but nothing seemed to make a difference. In our district meeting last Monday we talked about attitude and how it makes the difference in the work. I didn't feel very different after the activity but I think it helped us. Our week went a lot differently - we found seven new people to teach. It was a huge blessing and answer to our prayers and I know this week we will keep finding people. We found out that they will be putting Elders in our area when I leave and while we are both sad about that, we know it'll all work out.

     Members are already gearing up for my departure and have started giving me gifts. One member almost started crying when my companion let it slip I was close to leaving. That made it feel more real. I also had my final interview! That was an interesting experience and it was a chance to reflect on my mission and how I've changed. Sometimes I feel I'm still me, the same I was, but I know I've changed throughout my mission, and my president was quick to tell me I've changed a lot. I guess we'll see what you all say next Wednesday! It's coming fast.

     I was reading through some Liahonas the other day and came across a quote I really liked and I found the talk online in case someone wants to read it. It talks about challenges and trials and how necessary they are. One part explains that "One’s life, therefore, cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free...
     Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, “Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!” The mission has been hard, there have been moments where I wonder if I can do it, if it's worth it, and questions of why is this happening to me. As Elder Maxwell explains, these are the experiences we asked for in the Pre-Earth existence, we knew they were coming and we cherished the opportunity to have them so that we can become like our Heavenly Father. Life is hard, but it's our attitude that determines our success, and while hard, it's always worth it. 

     I love you all! Have a great week.

Love,

Hermana Bennett

la voz

Hola!!!!

Well this week went by fast. It was slow for work but we had lots of ward activities and good turnouts to all. On Wednesday we had a movie night, Friday was a Family Home Evening and on Saturday in the morning we had a temple trip and that evening was karaoke! Yes, I sang. It was terrifying but I had my comp plus my district leader helping me; we sang "Bailando." It was a very busy week but we enjoyed it. Having so many activities made it easier to invite people that we talked to in the street. 

At the temple visitors center.

 Something random that happened last week: on Thursday we went outside and found that there was a rainbow-like ring around the sun! It was really cool but everyone else was freaking out. We passed by the grocery store later on and people were going crazy stocking up on supplies. Everyone thought it was a sign that the world was ending!

The unusual rainbow.

 This week we've been studying a lot from Preach My Gospel and I've focused on working on my patience. I've realized in the mission that while I am patient in trials and situations, I'm not always very patient with people. Something that's really stuck with me is that, when we are impatient with others, with their flaws or whatever, we're really judging them and expecting more from them than necessary. Also, by being impatient with them, we're really just impatient with God and his timing. His timing is always perfect and so we need to develop more faith and with more faith comes more patient. I love this work and I love you all! Have a great Monday!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

service

Buenos días a todos!

This week went by pretty quickly. Our area's been pretty hard lately; mostly that it's been hard to find people to teach. That's probably the hardest part in any area, the most important but also the hardest. Sometimes you feel like you're doing everything you can with no results. We are still working through it and trying to help the members help us. The ward has planned lots of activities this week so hopefully we'll have some more references to help with our goal of finding new families to teach. 

     Nothing exciting happened this week. On Saturday my companion opened up to me that she hasn't been feeling one hundred percent. I had noticed her energy was down but I didn't want to criticize or make her feel bad for having a harder time. When we talked about it I kept having different impressions of things we could read to work through it. During the week I had studied chapter 1 in PMG which focuses on our purpose as missionaries and which we read parts of as well as a booklet that they give all new missionaries to help them adjust. I'd read it a few times in the mission—even though other companions said it was useless. I'd always found it helpful with whatever I was facing and it turned out to be just what my companion needed. Too often as missionaries we feel like we have to do it all—maybe it's something we struggle with as sister missionaries more so than elders. Anyways, the pamphlet was exactly what she needed to read to feel better. On Sunday I convinced her to get a blessing and since then, she's doing even better but more importantly, she feels like she's doing better and so her confidence is increasing again. 

     Thinking back on this experience I remembered a quote from a talk I read by Elder Nelson. It says "education is the difference between wishing you could help other people and being able to help them." You could also say "preparation" in place of "education" and I really felt this when talking with my companion. I felt that all the times I had felt down, or discouraged, studying and reading on the topic, all of it was to help me in that moment with my companion. Every moment we decide to learn and to prepare, it all helps in that critical moment when someone needs us. There is always someone in need of our help, we just have to prepare and learn now so that we can help them when Heavenly Father prompts us to. I know this Church is true and that the Holy Ghost really does direct our thoughts and helps us to be better people. 

I hope you all have a great week and that you can find opportunities to serve someone!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

P.S. You should watch this video on service. It's perfect.

seventeen

First off, happy mother's day!! I am so grateful to all the wonderful examples I have in my life and for all you do. I can't wait to see you all in person but for now, this will have to do! :) It was weird to consider it my last video chat and that the next time I see you all will be in the airport in person. It's going by so fast. 

     Well! I'm up to 17 months in the mission with just four weeks left. I can hardly believe it's come but it has and we're making the most of it. This last week was pretty slow for investigators—we've had trouble finding the contacts that accept us in the street and as such we've been teaching more members, less actives and converts. We did have a trip to the temple with our converts, Yadira and her kids Milton and Miguel. They are such an adorable little family and I just love teaching them. After the visitors center we went to the temple store and they wanted to buy everything! They are still progressing so fast and doing so well. All three of them have a hunger for the Gospel, to learn everything they can and apply it to themselves. 

The sisters with Yadira, Milton and Miguel.

This last week we studied a lot from Preach My Gospel focusing on the commandments section. As part of the training period we have sections to study each week plus lots of practices. It's been really good for me to help me in my teaching and it has really been the best experience of my mission to train someone. I know that obedience is the first law of heaven, that if we hope to progress and improve we have to be obedient. It's the only way to receive the blessings spiritually, temporally and that of the Holy Ghost to always be with us. It's perhaps the one we need most in our daily lives. I know we need it as our constant guide and friend in all things.

     I love you all! And sorry I haven't been taking photos. I will forward one from the temple in a moment. But have a wonderful week and make the most of it!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

family history

Hello Loved Ones!!

This week went by so fast and I know the next five weeks are only going to pass by even faster. And next week we get to Skype! So excited for that! But this last week we taught a lot about family history and that plus working on my own "Family History" book got me thinking even more about why it's so important. In one lesson with members I realized the connection between family history and the restoration of the gospel. From the time Jesus died to when Joseph Smith restored the Church, there was the great apostasy in which there was no Priesthood authority on the earth. That means that for nearly 2,000 years no one was baptized by the power of God. And every single one of those people need the Gospel, they need their ordinances done in the temple and we are the only ones who can do it. We have to find them, search out our ancestors so that all who lived in that period of darkness can have the Gospel. That's a lot of people!

One highlight from this week was a movie night we held at the church to watch "Meet the Mormons." We invited everyone and we had a good turnout—some less-active members who haven't come to church in years came for the movie. Hopefully it'll help them to make the transition to come back to Church. 

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful Monday and I'll see you on Sunday! :)

Love,

Hermana Bennett

At a training meeting a few weeks ago.

activities

This week has just been packed full of ward and district activities! On Tuesday we went on divisions and I stayed in my area with one of my old companions while Hermana Tirado went to another area. She was pretty nervous about it but it all went well! We also went and contacted in another area to help out some Elders in our district one morning. Then on Friday we had a Family Home Evening in our ward and it was great. We had some investigators show up and they really enjoyed the lesson and activities. There were two games. The first was called Choco Krispies and you have to dance/walk from one end of the room to the other with a lime between your knees, and then you have to drop it in a cup on the floor. It wasn't too hard but the lime kept bouncing out of the cup! Then we hosted a game where we asked random trivia questions and the teams had to make a tower of empty soda cans on a plate that was floated in a bowl of water. It was surprisingly hard to do but one team finally won with the last question!

     On Saturday we had an all-day activity with the youth in our Stake. All the missionaries serving in this stake met up with all the youth who wanted to participate. We had some training and then we got assigned a new companion for the day! It was crazy to see so many people packed together but it was a fun day. In our ward we often eat together with all the missionaries, so this day we were 18 missionaries eating posole all together. Two Elders were assigned two youths each as so many wanted to come. My little companion for the day was so cute, an 18-year-old studying biology, preparing for the mission. She was so nervous to speak but I think it really helped her understand what it was like to be on the mission.

Katherine's companion for the day, Kitzia.

Today we had a district activity as one of the hermanas is going home tomorrow! We had a BBQ and we played volleyball plus water balloon ball. It was so great and relaxing. We made hamburgers and just enjoyed one last event altogether before we have changes tomorrow.

The elders prepared a special send-off for the sister headed home.

The district playing water balloon ball.

This week went by fast with lots of contacting and teaching and lots of really hot days. It has been hard but also 100% worth it. I know this Church is true and there are so many people who have no idea what they're missing out on. I love you all and wish you a great week!

Love,

Hermana Bennett