That we might not shrink!

Hey y'all!!!

How are y'all doing today? I am doing Fantastic!! This week has been awesome, but also crazy (as usual).  What are y'all dressing up as for Halloween tonight? I decided to be really creative this year and dress up as a sister missionary haha ;) 

Well here is a sampling of my week:

Monday: We hung out with the other sisters in our district for p-day! So that was awesome! In our district we have 4 sets of sisters and 1 set of elders! So it's super fun to have sisters in my district! This is my first district with more than one set of Sisters.  Yay!! In the evening we saw J. and S. who are recent converts. We did some family history with them to help them prepare to go and do baptisms at the temple. 

Tuesday: We had our district meeting! I played a musical number at it. I rearranged the "Savior Redeemer of my Soul" that I played at the last ZTM so I could perform it by myself instead of the four we were able to perform together at Zone Conference. It went really well! In the afternoon we saw C. and it was super exciting because her husband N. came and sat in for the lesson! We taught the Plan of Salvation and it was such a good lesson! I just love knowing that God  has a plan for all of us and then being able to share that plan with other people! In the evening we saw J. ( a less active) and B. (her unbaptized son). That went really well! We read 2 Nephi 1:15 with them and talked about God's love for each of us. Then we had our branch missionary meeting.

On Wednesday we went and did service for a sister in the ward whose husband died about a month ago. We were helping her sort through some of his stuff and organize her house. It was helpful to know the Plan of Salvation and to be able to talk and share our love for that while we sorted.  Then we had a lesson with J. and S. where we actually talked more about family history work! In the evening we taught a guy named R. Sister Pickett had met him once before and he is a really cool guy. We were talking to him more about the Book of Mormon and why it is so important and the keystone to our religion! 

Thursday: We went out and tried a few people and spread the love of the Lord with any one and everyone we saw! Then we did service for a man who owns a boxing gym. We helped him clean the equipment and mop the floors. His name is J. It was almost like being  back at yoga day with J. (since that was at a martial arts studio). But the marshall arts studio was much bigger than this boxing studio. It was still fun ha,ha! In the evening we had a dinner with a family who the husband is less active.  So it was another great day!

Friday: We went and did service at We Care packing up food boxes for those in need.  What a great way to meet people in the community!  I just love doing service! It is awesome!! Then we planned for our upcoming week which is always good! In the evening we saw M. and P. again. They are still doing so good. They are so cool! We watched a Mormon message called "The Hope of God's Light." Which is really good and talked about God supporting us in our lives. 

Saturday: In the morning we saw a ward member named P. With her we talked a lot about prayer and the importance of praying and turning to our Heavenly Father in all things. So it was good! In the afternoon we saw W. (recent convert) and shared a video called "Good things to share" and talked about missionary work!! My favorite! Then we had a Trunk or Treat activity! It was combined with the Dutch Fork and Irmo Ward and it was a ton of fun!! J. and her family came and also M. and P. came!! The Young Men have been really good about fellowshipping P. and he even helped run one of the stations with them! It was a super fun activity. When the actual Trunk or Treat part happened I unashamedly went around "trunk or treating" with P.  ha, ha! It was a blast :) In the evening we saw a less active couple named Z. and B. We had a really good lesson with them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Sunday was great! We had church! M. and P. came! Wahoo!!! Then the rest of the day was spent going out and trying people and spreading gospel love! 

So it was another fantastic and blessed week :) 

My Spiritual thought: This morning I was reading a CES devotional from 2013 titled "That We Might 'Not... Shrink' " by Elder Bednar. In it he quotes Elder Maxwell from the October 1997 general conference saying, "As we confront our own... trials and tribulations, we too can plead with the Father, just as Jesus did, that we 'might not... shrink' -- meaning to retreat or to recoil. Not shrinking is much more important than surviving! Moreover, partaking of a bitter cup without becoming bitter is likewise part of the emulation of Jesus." 

I know this Gospel is true. I know Christ lives and is my Savior and your Savior. I know His Atonement is real and can and should be applied daily. 

 

I love y'all so much and I hope y'all have a blessed week and a Happy Halloween!!!

 Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :)

 

 

Sister Bennett with her brother-in-law's cousin!  Small world!

 

 Trunk or treat fun!

Sister Bennett and Sister Pickett

Ward Trunk-or-treat Party!

 

 

Keep our focus on what the Lord HAS given us :)

Hey y'all!!!

How are y'all doing today? I am doing good!! This week has been awesome, but also crazy (as usual).

So here's the run down:
Monday was spent running around packing like a mad woman! Then in the evening we went and said goodbye to B. and then to S. and S.. With S. and S. we made cookies and then we talked about individual worth with them!!

Tuesday: Transfer day!!! We got there just in time for the meeting to start and slipped in the back. Then transfers were called out! I got transferred to Chapin!!! Chapin is a branch in the West Columbia Zone (my first zone). And my companion is Sister Pickett!! She is from Idaho and she just finished training! She is a lot of fun and funny! She is super friendly with everyone and is an awesome missionary!! So the Lord has again blessed me with an awesome area and an awesome companion! Life is good :) Chapin is only 20 minutes away from the church building transfers are held at. So we came home, ate lunch and jumped right back into the work. We saw a girl named C. She's been meeting with the missionaries for a few weeks now and is really excited to learn more. With her we read Moroni 7 and talked about gaining spiritual knowledge. Then we saw a lady named W. who was baptized in September. With her we talked about the temple because she is preparing to go do baptisms at the temple in just a few weeks! In the evening we had our branch missionary meeting which went very well. 

Wednesday: We went out to meet some people. We met a guy named T. who at first seemed very hesitant to talk with us, but then he opened up and agreed to read the Book of Mormon. So that was cool! We also met a guy named T. and we gave him a Book of Mormon and will hopefully see him again soon! Then we went and saw a lady named K. that has only met with missionaries a couple of times. We shared Moroni 10:32 quickly with her. After dinner we saw a couple named Z. and B. who were baptized in January. We talked about Christlike attributes with them. 

Thursday we had a really awesome zone service project!! Our zone went to the state fair in Columbia and assisted people that were in wheel chairs! So that was awesome!!!! In the afternoon we had a visit with a member in the branch, Sister W.! In the evening we saw a part member family. We only taught the mom (who is a less active member) named J. and her unbaptized son B. With J. and B.  we talked about our baptismal covenants from Mosiah 18. 

Friday was another awesome day! We went and did service at a place called "We Care". It's basically a food pantry. So we were in the back filling up bags of food for people. Then we saw C. again. With her we read the introduction to the Book of Mormon. Then we planned for our next week! In the evening we saw a mom and son, M. and P. We taught them about tithing and fasting! They are really cool! They want to get baptized really badly, but they have a couple things to work through first, but I am so impressed that they have a lot of desire. M. asked if she could start paying tithing before baptism. So that was cool! They have a lot of faith. 

Saturday we had more service!! We went and helped a lady named B. clean her house and start to organize her things for her. So that was good! Around her house we were able to meet a guy named D. who had talked a little bit with missionaries before. And we met a lady named L. who's grandma was actually a member of the church! In the evening we saw a couple named B. and D. and we watched a video called "He lives" with them and talked about the atonement and resurrection of Christ! 

Sunday was great! We had church and I'm already getting to learn everybody in the branch. Chapin is actually really big for a branch so that's really awesome! We meet in the Irmo building (where transfers are held) so that's pretty fun! Church was really good! In the evening we met a lady named L. and talked with her about the Book of Mormon and she told us we could come back!! Then we saw M. again! We watched a video called "Because of Him" and with them we talked about the changes they have seen in their lives as they've been meeting with the missionaries so that was super cool!!

My spiritual thought of the day: 

I read this really awesome talk this morning called "The Laborers in the Vineyard" by Elder Holland from the April 2012 general conference. He talked about the parables of  the laborers in the vineyard that is in Matthew 20:1-15. He talks a little bit about the danger of envy and he said this,

 

• "Furthermore, envy is a mistake that just keeps on giving. Obviously we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know! What a bright prospect that is- downing another quart of pickle juice everyt time anyone around you has a happy moment!"

 I thought it was a funny way to state a very simple truth. The Lord has given us so much, even if it doesn't look like much. And our lives truly are so much better and we can find such greater peace and happiness if we focus on what the Lord has given us, instead of what He has given others.

 

I love y'all so much! I love being a missionary! I am excited for this next transfer! And I hope y'all have a blessed week!

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :)

 

With new companion Sister Pickett at the State Fair :)

serving!

With former companion Sister Staheli :)

 

"The joy we feel has...everything to do with the focus of our lives."

Hey y'all!!!!

We had another big and exciting week here in Inman!!! Missionary life is just so awesome!!!

So here is the run down of the week:

Monday was p-day! We had fun playing games that J. and K. let us borrow! Then in the evening we saw S. B.! We shared 2 Nephi 32:8-9 and talked about the importance of prayer in our daily lives.

Tuesday: We saw Sister K. and had a good visit with her. Then we saw Papa J.! We taught the Law of Chastity and he is getting more and more set on being baptized- which is awesome!! Then we saw Sister M. We read out of 2 Nephi 9 with her and talked about the Plan of Salvation. Then we sang at Golden Age! In the evening we saw B. and had a really good lesson on obedience to God's commandments! Afterwards we saw the M. family and taught about the Word of Wisdom. Then we were able to stop in and briefly see a less active named A. that we hadn't been able to see in a really, really long time! So it was a full day!

Wednesday we helped out at the soup kitchen! Such a blessing! Yay!! In the afternoon we tried a lot of people who ended up not being home, but it was still good and we enjoyed being missionaries! In the evening we held our Book of Mormon class which went really well! Afterwards we had our ward missionary meeting!

Thursday: We had yoga day! Always a favorite!  Then we planned for our upcoming week! Then in the evening we saw K.! We watched the Mormon message "Life's drama" with her and talked about how we are responsible for our own actions. We then tied it in to the lesson on since we are responsible for our own actions we should use our agency to do good things! So it was good :)

Friday: We had our Zone Training Meeting!!! I was part of a really awesome musical number! It was me, Sister Coleman, Elder Guzman, and Elder Swingler (two of the Spanish elders in our district). Elder Guzman and I did a guitar duet for the accompaniment! We sang "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul." And what was extra cool was that the Spanish Elders did one of the verses in Spanish! It was just really awesome! I love THE MESSAGE! 

 Savior, Redeemer of my soul,

Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,

Whose wondrous pow'r hath raised me up

And filled with sweet my bitter cup!

What tongue my gratitude can tell,

O gracious God of Israel.

 

 Never can I repay thee, Lord,

But I can love thee. Thy pure word,

Hath it not been my one delight,

My joy by day, my dream by night?

Then let my lips proclaim it still,

And all my life reflect thy will.

 

O'errule mine acts to serve thine ends.

Change frowning foes to smiling friends.

Chasten my soul till I shall be

In perfect harmony with thee.

Make me more worthy of thy love,

And fit me for the life above.

 

 The rest of the meeting was good too! In the evening we saw J. and read 2 Nephi 31 with him and talked about baptism and enduring to the end! then we saw E. and D. and read Enos with them and talked about prayer!

Saturday: We saw R. in the morning and had a super good lesson with him about Temples. Then we saw B. We read Alma 36 with him and talked about repentance! Then we saw Papa J. again! We read 3 Nephi 11 with him so that was good! In the evening we saw the B. family! We originally planned on teaching about the priesthood, but then they had a lot of questions about the temple so we talked about that instead! So it was another good day:)

Sunday was great! We had church which is always awesome! B. and B. came! It was B.'s first time coming to church so that was really exciting! He really liked it and wants to come again :) the M. and B. families were there as well :) The other exciting thing was the ward organist is out of town, so I was asked to play the piano during sacrament meeting (luckily that was ahead of time). I was a little nervous, but it went really well :) Then we saw E. and D. again and taught them about the Plan of Salvation! Then we saw the M. family again and shared Moroni 7:16. Then we saw J. and K.! We listened to the general conference talk. "Joy and spiritual survival". so that was great :)

So it was another amazing week being a missionary!

The other news of the week is that transfers are here again! This time transfers are on Tuesday (so tomorrow) and because of that the transfer voicemail came out on Saturday. Unfortunately my name was a part of the voicemail, so that means that tomorrow I will be headed off to a new adventure! I am sad to say goodbye to all the people here that I have been working with for so long, but I am excited for the new adventure ahead of me!

For my spiritual thought today I wanted to share a quote from "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Nelson. During the talk he speaks on how as we focus on Christ we can find joy during our life no matter what we have going on. He says, "My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." I know that as we put Christ as the main focus in our lives that everything else will fall into place and we will find joy come what may!

 

I love y'all so much! I am nervously excited for tomorrow! And I hope y'all have a blessed day!

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :)

 Saying Goodbye to J. at Yoga day!

Zone

District Fun!  

 

Too much District Fun!  ;)

 

I do put my trust in Him!!

Hey y'all!!!

How are all y'all doing today! I am doing great! As blessed as ever :)

Here is the run down of this week:

Monday: We had another fun p-day! Followed by seeing L. again. We taught her the Restoration and it was well received :) Then we saw S. again. We read the Book of Mormon introduction with him and reviewed the purpose of the Book of Mormon. So that was always good :)

Tuesday we had a district meeting that went really well!!! Then we saw Sister M. and watched the Mormon Message "Refiner's fire" with her and talked about how our trials make us better people! Then we sang at Golden Age which is always so much fun! In the evening we saw B. again and also read the introduction of the Book of Mormon with him. We've been trying to do that will all the people we've been teaching who are either struggling to read the Book of Mormon on their own or don't really understand the importance of the Book of Mormon. So it's been really good! Then we saw Sy. and we talked about the importance of obedience to God's commandments.

Wednesday: We helped out at the Soup Kitchen again. So fun :) Then we saw Papa J. He is still doing good! Wants to work towards baptism, but not too quickly, ha,ha! With him we had  a lesson on fasting and focused on it being a way for us to get answers to our prayers. Then we met a lady named A. We were able to tell her a little bit about the Book of Mormon and she was super excited! So hopefully we'll get to see her again soon :) Then we saw A. again. He was a guy we were teaching a little while ago and so it had been a little while since we saw him. We also read the Book of Mormon introduction with him haha :) In the evening we had Book of Mormon class which went really well!

Thursday: J. was out of town so were weren't able to have our yoga day class :( *tear* But it gave us time to go out and find more people to teach. It ended up being a day packed full of teaching! One of the lessons we track as missionaries is the number of less active/recent convert lessons we teach (shorted to LARC). On Thursday we taught 7 LARCs. It was crazy!!!! First we saw R. W.! He is still doing good, but his health problems have been acting up a lot lately so that was super sad. But with him we also talked about the atonement and how trials help us to grow. Then we saw a lady named V. that we see on and off. We read the story of Enos with her and talked about the importance of prayer. Then we met a guy named R. He was really nice and he let us share Ether 12:27, but he didn't really want us coming back either. Then we saw a lady named M. that we also see on and off. With her we talked a lot about faith and prayer as well! Then we saw Sister M. and finished teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a really good lesson and she's really excited about the Gospel. In the evening we saw the M. family and had a good lesson on the ten commandments. Then we saw S. and talked about faith as well. So it was a crazy, awesome LARC day!!!

Friday: We planned out for our week! then we saw N. and also read Enos with him. In the evening we saw K. which was so fun! We read Alma 36 with her and focused it on how when we turn to Christ he supports us in everything! Then we saw E. and D. and had a really good Restoration lesson with them! They are just such an awesome family!

Saturday was also good! We saw T. and her son E. We taught then the Plan of Salvation! We also saw B. and had a lesson on obedience with him as well! It's been cool to see the progress with B. who I've been teaching basically the whole time I've been here). Early on he didn't really seem to understand the need for commandments, but as we retaught obedience he seemed to get it more! So that was great :) Then in the evening we saw the B. family and also taught them the ten commandments!

Sunday was really good! It was a little disappointing because we had 6 people lined up to come to church and none of them came. But the M. Family and B. family still came so that was good! And what makes it even cooler is J. brought one of her friends with them! So yay!!! We saw the B. family (member from the ward) and had a lesson with them on the importance of the Book of Mormon and the blessings we get from reading it and then sharing those blessings with others! It was great! It was fun because at the time we had scheduled to see them Sister S. dropped in as well so she was there too! (She's the member that we've helped a lot with their house so I'm pretty close to her). Then we saw J. and K.! We read the story of the 2000 stripling warriors with them out of Alma 53 and 56!

So this week was really awesome!! And I'm sure this next week will be too! Being a missionary is always great! Not always (or ever) easy, but always amazing!!!

For the spiritual thought of the day I want to share a verse from Alma 36, which is the conversion story of Alma the Younger. In verse 27 he says, "And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me." I know that God loves each and everyone of us because we are His children. I know He does everything He can for us and that He will support us during anything we go through.

I love y'all so much and I hope y'all have the most blessed week ever!!

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :)

Finding the KEY to FREEDOM

Hurricane weather

Blown Away by the Hurricane

The Book of Mormon makes all the difference

Hey y'all!!

I hope y'all had a fantastic week! We had another good week here in Inman :)

Monday: We had another good p-day taking it easy at our apartment! We also painted these cute crafts my mom sent us! So that was fun! In the evening we saw R. and read Romans 8 with him because it is just such a good chapter that everyone should read! Then we went and say Sy. and Sa.! We read the story of the 2000 stripling warriors and talked about how God protects us when we have faith in Him. We then played "go fish" with pass along cards, ha,ha,ha!

Tuesday was also good! We had our district meeting in the morning which was great! Sister Coleman gave a training on the Holy Ghost. I'm a proud mission mamma ;) Then we saw Papa J,! He is still doing good and progressing well! We taught about the power of the Holy Ghost in helping him recognize his answers to his prayers, specifically about the Book of Mormon. Then we saw Sister M, again and shared 1 Nephi 3:7 with her. Then we sang at Golden Age! This week it was extra specially because once a month there is a Baptist group that comes in a sings a little and preaches a little and there had been some scheduling conflicts a few times in the past, so this time we planned in advanced and we all sang together! So that was really fun!!! In the evening we saw Bobby and read 3 Nephi 17 with them. Then we saw E, and D, and taught about how Christ and His Atonement can heal us of any afflictions we have.

Wednesday we helped out at the soup kitchen with Sister R, again! I just love the soup kitchen! Then we briefly saw a lady named L, and shared Ether 12:27 with her and talked about how when we turn to Christ we can be strengthened to overcome anything in this life. Then we met the nonmember wife of a less active. Her name is K. She has read a little bit out of the Book of Mormon before so we were able to talk to her about that and she told us we could come back! So that's exciting!!! Then we had Book of Mormon class! This week only the M. Family came, but both of them were very excited to show us the progress they had made in their family history! D. doesn't get excited about a lot of things, but he was very excited about family history so that was awesome!! Then we had our ward missionary meeting!

Thursday we had another great yoga day!! That will always be a  highlight of my week :) Then we saw B. again. It's a little hard knowing how to teach B. because she wants proof of everything and doesn't really believe that we are to learn things by feeling them, so it's definitely a growing experience! But I love her and she is awesome and wants to learn! so our goal is to help her learn more by the spirit :) Then we saw Sister M. and taught her about faith and repentance! Then we saw K. again. We talked about the importance of prayer! Then we met a lady named L. A couple months ago one of the Elders got sick and while at the doctors shared the gospel with his nurse and referred us to her, but we hadn't gotten to meet her until then! So it was great finally getting to meet L. We started sharing the Restoration, but she didn't have time for us to finish, so we set up another time to come back!

Friday: we planned for this up coming week! Then we saw Papa J. again. We read Moroni 10 with him out of the Book of Mormon. Then in the evening we saw a lady named D. that I met on exchanges a few months ago. We were able to share the Restoration with her.

Then we had Missionary Christmas, aka Conference Weekend!!!!!!!

Saturday: It's weird though because out here conference doesn't start until noon! So in the morning we went and saw R. again and taught about following the prophet in honor of general conference! Then we watched the morning session with the R. family! And it was so good! Then we watched the afternoon session at the C. home with K. and R. (a part member family). So that was way awesome!!! I just loved general conference so much!!! The talks were just so inspired :) Then we saw the B. family and also taught them on following the prophet in honor of general conference!

Sunday: In the morning we were out trying some people! I'm glad we are usually at church in the morning on Sundays because it's hard to be out trying people because everyone is at church Sunday mornings here so no one is home, ha,ha! Then we watched the first session of conference with the K.'s! R. was going to come, but he woke up super sick :( But it was another great session! The afternoon session we watched with the T.'s! It was strange because that's who we watch the Sunday April sessions with so it was a strange time warp. I can't believe I've been in the same area for two General Conferences! It's crazy/cool! After conference we were able to meet another part member family, D. and L. D, the less active, was really excited to get another copy of the Book of Mormon and eagerly started telling his wife about it, so that was cool! They definitely want us to come back, but have crazy work schedules, so hopefully we are able to see them again soon! Then we saw J. and K.! We read Doctrine and Covenants 6 with them and talked about finding answers to prayers and comfort through God.

So it was another fantastic week with Conference as the beautiful cherry on top!

My Spiritual thought today is going to be based on one of the conference talks (surprise!). I really loved the talk that Elder Nattress of the seventy gave. He told a story of how when he was a young boy his mother would read the Book of Mormon to him and his brother everyday while they were eating breakfast. He talked about how they wouldn't be paying attention, but rather reading their cereal boxes. One morning he asked his mom why she was doing that every morning and then he said, "Mom, I'm not listening." She talked about how she knew that as the study the Book of Mormon as a family that they would be strongly rooted in the Gospel and that she would not lose any of her children. I know that reading the Book of Mormon makes such a huge difference. I cannot talk about this enough. There are so many stories from my mission of what a difference that reading the Book of Mormon makes in peoples lives. I can promise that as we are all firmly rooted in the Gospel, the Book of Mormon, and in Christ that we will not got lost in the craziness of life.

I can't wait for General conference to come up on the gospel library app so I can read and reread those wonderful talks again!

I hope that y'all have a blessed week! Go forth and do good!

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :)