#BecauseHeLives

This week can be summed up by two words: rain and sun. We have had extremely hot mornings followed by crazy thunder and lightning storms in the afternoon. I love it! But my companion is not a fan of the rain.

A downpour in Mexico City.

Anyways! The first lesson I learned this week was about the lasting and seemingly permanent effects of gossip. I have never liked gossip and here on the mission I have seen just how destructive it is. We have been searching out less actives in our area since I first got here and on Tuesday we finally got a hold of another one. Before she let us in she warned us that if we had come solely to judge her than we had better leave. We assured her we wanted nothing more than a few moments to get to know her and she let us in. Throughout our short visit she told parts of her story which include some comments by sisters in the ward. I do not know if they were intended to be so cutting, but some of the remarks were unnecessary and in some instances, rather cruel. This sister has about nine years in the Church and has been inactive for about two. She wants absolutely nothing to do with the Church. mainly the sisters, and it makes me sad. Partly it is her reluctance to let go of the past so that she can move forward, but at the same time, I can understand where she's coming from. Several people, members and non-members have questioned why people who claim to be followers of Christ and members of the only true church can act so contrary to the teachings. They have been hurt almost beyond the point of letting members near them and it breaks my heart. This is their salvation! And so many need more support than they are receiving. I couldn't find a Mormon message specifically on gossiping and instead have this video with a similar outcome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYVvE4tr2BI.

     After that sad start to the week, we taught a recent convert whose granddaughters were also listening to the missionaries for a time. One of her granddaughters, a 17 year old with a baby, opened up to us and told us she wanted to start listening to us again, that she wants to get baptized and have the happiness and peace in her life that she experience when first listening to the missionaries. She lives with her boyfriend and he also expressed a desire to move forward in the Gospel and it was just such a surprise to us! A wonderful, happy surprise. They already have the lessons and know more or less what they have to do and why so it'll be nice to explain it simply and help them remember what they already know. We will also be getting them married and that's always an adventure!

     The last highlight of this week was on Sunday with our single mom and two kids who have a baptismal date for April 12. I guess her kids are always pestering her with questions about the baptism, what it'll be like, what they'll wear, etc. My favorite question? "What do we have to do to become members of this Church? Because we love it and want to be members as soon as possible." When she said that I just marveled for a moment. People really are prepared and I am so thankful that I have had this chance to see someone wholeheartedly accept the Gospel. We got to talk with her and resolve her concerns and she even decided to move her baptism to the 11th so she can get confirmed the day after instead of waiting a week. She really is amazing! 

     I do love this work. The opportunity to meet people and help them change their lives is an experience I know I will never have again. Only two and a half months left to make the most of it!  And just because I can, here's the newest Easter video from the church! http://www.mormon.org/easter Watch it and share it!

     Love you all so much! Have a wonderful Easter week!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

Unintentional matching—harder for sisters than elders!

first and last

Buenos días mi familia!

This week went by quickly! We worked hard and found an awesome new investigator whom we just love. She accepted everything we taught her! She actually just got back from the US where she first met missionaries and went to church. And before I go any further, my new companion is Hermana Tirado! My first and last Mexican companion in the mission. I really thought I was going to finish my mission without a Mexican companion but I am so glad I was wrong. She is an adorable 20-year-old from Tijuana who studied architecture before the mission. Her brother is also on a mission in Veracruz and they entered and left the MTC the same day. Fun, huh? Anyways, we get along wonderfully! We have the same interests, same favorite movies and TV shows—we are just so alike. It sure makes training a lot easier. I just adore her and I know we will have a fun three months together. She was pretty nervous when she first got here but she's warmed up and has already gained so much confidence.

Anyways, I don't have any highlights from the week. Other than the new investigator we are working hard with the other two families we are teaching. One has a baptismal date for the middle of April but the other family is very hesitant to pick a date. I'm hoping that conference will help them! Listening to the prophet and apostles does amazing things in terms of helping investigators with their doubts. And this Saturday we will have the Women's Conference so that will be exciting! It's going to be a good week!

     I love you all so much! Have a great day!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

Christ's Church

Hi Family!!

How are you doing?? This week was a fast one as we tried to get things figured out. We weren't sure if my current companion was going into a trio in another area or staying here in a trio with me and my newbie companion. Last night we got word that she has changes and based on rumors will be going to her first area to finish her mission. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous to be here without my companion but I know it will be a good experience for me to rely even more on the Lord and his help. Every time I think that maybe it's not going to work out well, I just think about how many people have trained, how many will be training this cycle and how many future missionaries there are still to go out into the world. They too will need trainers and those trainers will also have to rely on the Lord and on the spirit to help their new companion adjust. 

     This week I've been searching out all the English Liahonas I can find in our apartment and I've found quite a few! Many are the Conference issue and I so excited to have conference in just a few weeks! I loved Conference weekend at home but in the mission I look forward to it even more. There is always so much good counsel and I already have some questions ready for Conference. One article I loved was about why we need Christ's Church.  Lots of people we talk to say that they don't need a church and that they have faith and they pray.  They sincerely believe that's enough, but it's not! Finding this article has helped me feel more prepared for when we find the next person who says they're fine without.  I've included it below for you to read!

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2013/02/we-need-christs-church?lang=eng 

And nothing else really happened this week! I love you all and hope you have a great week with lots of sunshine. I love you all!!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

embarazada

Hola!!

Well, the subject line says it all! Estoy embarazada!! Haha, just kidding! But really. I am having a daughter! Next Tuesday we have changes and my President has asked me to train one of the new sisters that are coming. They are all Latinas so at least I won't have to teach them Spanish! And it also means that I will finish my mission here, in Juan Escutia with companion #11. I'm nervous but really excited! So if you have any advice for training, let me know! We had a meeting last week with the President and the assistants who taught us a few things. 

That said, on Wednesday I will hit 15 months in the mission! Time is going by faster and faster and they say when you're training, it goes even more quickly. This last week we also had zone conference with the Pres. and it was great! Starting out, if we went early we got to watch "Meet the Mormons" and it was awesome! I loved how we got to meet members from all walks of life and see how the live the gospel. It was inspiring and I just loved the last song by David Archuleta. In our meeting our President focused on how we can become fearless missionaries through knowing Jesus Christ and understanding his atonement. I think we can apply this same idea and message to all people. If we really understood and applied the atonement in our lives, we would not be worried about what others think. We would not hesitate to share the Gospel, to talk to another about what we believe. We would love everyone, knowing how much Christ and our Heavenly Father love us. Yesterday I was studying in the Bible and I came across a scripture in 1 John 4:18 which tells us that "there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear". Knowing the Savior, trusting him, and most importantly, loving him, will allow us to fear no one and rely on Him even more. I testify that this is what this life is for. To seek him out, to learn of him and to love him so that we can be made perfect in love. And then to help others do the same.

I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

The nighttime view from the sisters' home.

The sisters on the roof of their home.

A daytime view from the top!

change of heart

Not much happened this week. We worked with a lot of members as well as the families we found the last week. One is progressing really well—they came to church yesterday and this is really hard to make happen. Everyone works on Sunday and the people are pretty poor so if they don't work, they don't eat. But we're already seeing the changes in them and they can see and feel it too which means they're willing to take that step and make the sacrifice! 

     All throughout the week I couldn't help but reflect on this work and the miracles we see every day. People accept us, they leave behind old habits, they start praying and studying the scriptures, they are willing to accept our word, our teachings and act on it. They have a change of heart. 

     I wonder that all over the world 18- and 19-year-old youth are acting in the same spirit and seeing the same miracles. The Lord trusts us to do his work, he has this young generation devoted to helping others, devoted to serving people. I can really see that Heavenly Father is always preparing people, someone might say no today but in another month, another year, they will accept and when they do, they will be ready to accept the Gospel and take the invitation to make those same changes that really change who we are. It is incredible. 

     In other news, this coming Friday we have zone conference and if we go early we get to watch Meet the Mormons and I am so excited! I heard about this movie when it was still being filmed and I am glad we finally get to see it. It came out in theaters this past Friday and lots of members have gone to see it and say it is awesome. Next Monday I'll let you know how I like it. But I hope you've all seen it! It looks like a cool opportunity to meet members from around the world. 

     We're doing well down here. In two weeks I will have just two transfers left and I know they will go by fast! I hope we can all make better use of our time, to use it wisely and to serve others. I love you all and pray for you daily. Have a good one!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

A friendly neighborhood pooch.