bautismos

Well, we're halfway through this transfer! Time is most definitely going by more quickly here in the field. I never thought it would happen like everyone said, but it is. I spent three months in my first area and when I finish this transfer it will be over four months. Crazy! But this last week we had two really rough days. We were walking for over four hours trying to find someone. We leave the house at 11 am and we have lunch at 2, except that day they couldn't feed us and instead had given us money. So after three hours of exhaustion and no lessons, we went home and ate and took short naps. It was another hour before we started finding people and we had to work extra hard to make up for the lack of lessons. We were done for when we finally got home and I have never been so happy to go to bed in my life.

     The next day was much better, we found some new people to teach and we had a great Family Home Evening with a family in our ward of less actives and investigators. We had a puzzle and lesson and they had the treat. It ended up working out really well and I just loved seeing everyone (literally a dozen people) working on this little puzzle that we had made. It was a great experience. 

     And on Sunday our mission president and his wife came to our ward. It was really fun to see them and it was amusing to see our ward react to them—most didn't seem to know what to do. But after church, we had two baptisms!! The sons of our last baptism, Patricia, finally got baptized and it was perfect. We had a lot of support from the ward plus some of their extended family.

At the sisters' most recent baptism.

I seriously adore this family, they are all wonderful and such fun to teach. An example is this: on Sunday the family who was supposed to feed us couldn't and so we were going to eat with the relief society president, but she couldn't either and instead gave us money, which was no help at all. When the family Lopez found out they insisted we come over and eat with them. So we went over and we're getting some food together and waiting for some water to boil when we realize that gas has run out! They were quick and got a little grill type thing set up and we're all outside trying to get it hot enough to cook some meat. It took a while but we finally ate and it was delicious. They always make really good food and had actually made us a cake for later, also tasty. Basically it was a fantastic day. 

     I hope you are all doing well! This week we have been teaching a lot about commandments, specifically tithing and fasting. My testimony of these two principles has grown immensely and I know that as we follow all of the commandments, including the counsel of the prophets, we will be blessed. Our life will not necessarily be easier, but we will have the strength and the knowledge to endure and overcome our obstacles. I know this Gospel is true and I love it. I hope each of you will continue to learn and exercise your faith through your actions—you and your family will be blessed for it. 

I love you all so much!!!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

go, go, go!

¡Buenas tardes mi familia!

Not too much happened this week but we did get to meet with our new mission president as a zone! We had interviews with the president and talked with his wife—they are both awesome. They are always happy with so much energy and I can really tell they just want to help us help the people. But this week has been both really hot and a bit chilly with lots of rain. One afternoon we were outside when it started pouring rain. We headed to our next lesson and the family was just astonished we were out in the rain. All they could say was that we were soaking wet! They quickly hurried us inside and then made us hot chocolate and then went out to buy us some sweet bread. Oh they are so nice!

     We started teaching a new family, and right now they are all doing so well. They've come to church twice and are really progressing. We had an appointment with them but when we went they were eating. They had us sit down and eat with them and then they brought out a cake they had made for us! It was a walnut cake—very tasty! Our other activity this weekend was making a banner for our soccer match! We didn't do well in the game, we played an extremely good team, and to be honest we didn't stand a chance. But it was fun and we went back and played as a zone in our stake center. I love playing sports! So we made the banner in the photo and it was so fun to create something on a large scale.

The Nezahualcoyotl zone missionaries and their banner.

I don't have a specific message to share with you, just that I know this Church is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he restored the true Church of Jesus Christ on the earth once more and I am so grateful for the peace and happiness I have found within the gospel. Life is hard and it is difficult to understand the "why" but I know that we each have a purpose and if we ask Heavenly Father, he will help us with the plan. I love you all and hope things are going well.

¡¡Que tengan una buena semana!!

Love,

Hermana Bennett

little things

Hola!!

This week was long and crazy busy, which has now become normal to me. Quick note, cambios happened last week, but we didn't have them, so I'm in Heroes for another transfer! By the end of this current one, we will be halfway through our missions!! But this week we made a goal to talk to as many people as possible and we taught fifteen different investigators this last week, and TWELVE of them came to church yesterday—it was amazing! But not too many less actives showed up, the World Cup final started at the end of our services and lots of people left after the second hour. But last week we did another "Mormon Table" and contacted like crazy in another area in our district. It was the same area as last time; they are just have a tough time, and I'm glad we could help for a little bit.

The missionaries at their contacting table.

Yesterday turned out a bit crazy. First, on our way to visit some people, we passed a man selling ice cream. He had been working on a house earlier last week and we tried visiting the family there probably four times in two days. But he recognized us and offered us some ice cream for free. We tried a cheese flavored one that was really, really good! From there we went to try and find some contacts from the prior week. We ended up knocking on one door and a man answered (we were looking for a woman) and the first thing he asked was if we were from Utah. Once my companion said yes, he said no thank you and shut the door. I should mention he was completely drunk and his mouth was all bloody. But we waited a few minutes and tried again, hoping someone else would answer. Our lucky didn't hold and he came back but this time got up in our faces demanding to know what we preached, telling us we were all wrong, that our religion was filled with inconsistencies and that nothing good has ever come out of Utah. It was really frustrating because he would ask a question, wait a moment for us to answer, when in reality he didn't care what we had to say, he only wanted to argue and yell at us some more. It turned out to be emotionally upsetting for me and I was close to tears by the time we were able to get away from him. But now that it's happened once, hopefully the next time I will be better prepared to handle it.

     But on a more positive note, my best friend and former companion, Hermana Gurley's mom sent me a skirt!! It is black with a white pattern and it fits perfectly. I am so grateful for all the kind people in this world; they certainly help to balance out the bad. And I just want to say, one person can make a difference, and it doesn't take much to life someone else's spirits. I am grateful I get the next 11 months to keep helping people and making their lives a little better and a little more peaceful. I know this gospel is true and I am glad to be a Mormon.

The new skirt from Hermana Gurley's mother.

 I love you all so much! Keep being awesome.

Love,

Hermana Bennett

The zone just prior to transfers (cambios).